October Memories

Today was "High Five Friday," a term I learned from my son-in-law (Note:  I strongly dislike the reference "in law."  I would prefer to stop at "son," but then confusion results, explanation follows, and I usually forget what I was going to say.  I wish someone would come up with a better term for a person who joins a family via love rather than from the womb.  End of rant).  Now... where was I? 

I spent today trying desperately to unwind from my previous hectic month.  It's been a challenging summer and early Fall at my office, but we can see light at the end of the tunnel and I took my High Five Friday off!   I browsed the shelves at my favorite local gift shop and put myself in the holiday mood.  I thumbed through my magazines, searching for inspiring recipes and colorful displays.  I looked forward to Thanksgiving, and I looked back at photos of previous Autumn seasons.  We have no cookie orders this week, so I thought I would share some of my memories of past Octobers.  

Kimi and I spent an adventurous week exploring the east coast a few years ago and enjoying the beautiful fall colors.  We found these trees in Maine.  I find myself attracted to groups of three ~ coincidentally we were blessed with three daughters.    The green, gold and red leaves intrigued me.   Three sisters, three trees ~ all at different stages, each beautiful in their own right, and yet standing together.  Pretty cool.

We couldn't travel the east coast without paying tribute to one of the grand lighthouses.

So my son, referenced above, is a never-say-die Red Sox fan, and by association, we have joined the ranks.  We had to snap a picture of this box of "Green Monster Mint" ice cream especially for him. Check out the li'l chocolate mint socks!   When you travel through Mass, you can't help feel the pride the Sox fans feel for their team.  

On to Vermont, and this little lady caught my heart.  How can you resist that face?  I could have spent hours on this multi-generational, family run dairy farm.  "Grandpa" was so friendly and his welcoming style reminded me of my own dad.   Kimi had to pull me away from this farm and was only successful after suggesting we tour the Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory down the road!  

One of Vermont's many covered bridges.  Amazing to see the way they were built. 

Fast forward a year - Kimi's October wedding inspired this creation of Cinderella's coach.  This was the cutest thing!  Once again, the Hubster came through using his collections of miscellaneous junk from his workshop.  Check out the clever use of these hinges (windows and steps), the lamp finial top, and even a horseshoe door! 

What's a wedding without XOXO Cookies?  Surely you jest ~

A photo album of October wouldn't be complete without a costume or two.  Kiska the wonder dog loves to model.  Her master takes great creative liberty over what she wears, and Kiska doesn't always agree, but she always cooperates.  It was an especially blustery day as she sported this striped muffler.  Shades of Piglet, don't you think?

Hmmm... Care Bear?  Really?!

Happy October to all our friends, even the two-legged ones!  

Deep in the Heart of Texas

I "met" the nicest lady through the blog a few weeks ago.  She was planning a wedding shower for her soon-to-be daughter-in-law, and was making arrangements early, down to the very last detail.  She contacted XOXO Cookies about making some party favors.  She knew exactly what she wanted - something simple and classy, with just a hint of the bride's colors - a lemon yellow and an avocado green.  We exchanged emails and then spoke on the phone, and we came up with these fashionable cookies.  All white dresses, tied with a trio of yellow, green and ivory ribbons.  Lovely.  

The shower was in Texas.  And Texas is a BIG state (just ask any Texan!).    And cookies traveling to Texas could have gotten lost, which is why we always ask for a return receipt when shipping.  Only this time, the return receipt request was forgotten!   

Now my new friend had informed me that she was going to be out of town the week prior to the shower.  She was going to have her son check for delivery, and take them out of the hot Texas sun, keeping them secure and safe until the shower the following day.   But I know how busy a young man can get prior to his wedding, with all those honey-do lists from his sweet bride.   So it seemed conceivable to me, that this young man may just forget to check on the cookies.  

And that's when I became Mom the Worry-Wart, a title I have earned honestly.  So, what if some wild beastie parked himself on her front porch and decided to investigate the box?  (I have heard that armadillos like cookies.)   What if, what if...?  My mind went wild as the day of the shower came and went, and I heard nothing from my new pen-pal Mary.   "It's just not like her!" I remarked to Kimi.   ...Unless something terrible happened and she was too kind to tell me!     Kimi tried to reassure me that the cookies were packaged well, that the shipping was guaranteed, but I was inconsolable.   Then I put myself in Mary's shoes.  Just back from a trip.  Organizing a party.  Okay, I relaxed and went on to our next project.   (But secretly, I continued to check our in-box.)

And several days later, I got what I wanted.  Good news!  I received the most gracious note from Mary, describing what a beautiful day it was on Lake Austin.  I have never seen Lake Austin, but I imagined the setting sun she described and I wanted to be there.   White tablecloths, yellow flowers and her good china set the stage, and the dresses arrived safe and sound.   It sounds like Granddaughter Samantha especially enjoyed them, which makes us smile.

Thank you Mary, for allowing XOXO Cookies to make this Texas bride's day special.   And if you have any pictures of Lake Austin, we'd love to see them.  I promise not to panic if it takes a while - - I know you are one busy Mom right now.  :-)

p.s.  Mary did e-mail me some pictures of the special day and is graciously allowing me to share them with you.  I enjoyed seeing where our little creations spent their day and hope that you do, too!  Thank you Mary.  My apologies for not figuring out the slide show feature earlier.  As it turns out, I discovered that Smilebox (an old friend of mine) makes it SO easy!    Enjoy -

Free slideshow created with Smilebox

Southern Charmer Weds!

No rain was going to stop this bride from getting married in the gardens of the Dana Powers House. 

After a stormy day on the coast full of thunder and lightning, the weather calmed just in time for these love birds to exchange their vows.  A few rain drops here and there only added to this special moment.   And remember that rain on a wedding day brings good luck!

The reception was held in the beautifully decorated barn where the guests dined, danced, and ate cupcakes into the night.  The evening was filled with love and laughter as friends and family traveled from near and far to celebrate this beautiful occasion. 

On the Menu:

• Harvest Pumpkin Cupcakes with Chocolate Chips and Nuts
• Chocolate Raspberry Delight Cupcakes with Raspberry Filling 
• Orange Dream Cupcakes with Orange Cream Filling (my favorite!)

The cupcakes were topped with a cream cheese icing, fresh raspberries, ivory sugar pearls and fresh mint leaves picked that morning from a friend's garden.  (Thank you, Jaimie!)

A white cake with raspberry filling for the bride and groom finished off the dessert table.

The verdict is still out on the favorite! 

Thank you for letting us celebrate with you on your special day! 

Hugs and Kisses to the new Husband and Wife!  

XOXO 

30th Birthday Hoe Down

What a fun year, all of my friends are turning 30!  One of my roommates from college decided to have a country hoe down to celebrate her 30th. The birthday girl wore a Red cow "girl" hat and Brown boots so she wanted some sassy matching cookies.

I wish I could have been there to help celebrate just like when we lived together and turned 21!  I was so happy to be able to dress these cookies up for the special occasion and send them on their way with love.

Happy, Happy Birthday to my dear friend "P" 

xoxo 

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Babies, babies, babies!  Is it me, or is there a sudden abundance of baby bumps these days?!  It's such an exciting time for me - my daughter's friends are having babies, and starting the most exciting times of their lives.  And they don't even realize it!   How could they?  Oh I know - they can imagine what it's like to see their baby for the first time.  To witness baby's first steps.  To hear baby call out "Mama."

  

But what about the things they haven't even imagined yet?  Like when their toddler sees them get dressed up for work, out of their 'mommy clothes' for the first time, and exclaims "You're pretty, Mommy" . . . yes - they will melt.   They don't know the relief that will overcome them when their baby's first high fever breaks.   Or how lonnnng that very first day of school will be for MOMMY ! 

A few words to these young moms and moms-to-be:   Go slowly.   Appreciate every single moment - even the bad ones will teach you more about life and more about yourself than you ever could have imagined. . . When your child was nothing more than a baby bump! 

Congratulations to all our friends having babies.  We can't wait to meet them!

This mom wanted to coordinate her cookie favors with the decorations of her baby shower.  The result - moons and stars and everything magical for this baby girl.  

Congratulations to Kara and Rob from XOXO Cookies!

Yippee Ki Yay Cookies!

One thing you can count on ~ there is always a birthday to be celebrated somewhere!  This extra special birthday party was in honor of my dear friend's cousin.  He turns seventy years young this month, and I'm betting that's no exaggeration.  We've known members of his extended family for many years, and their enthusiasm for life, their devotion to family, and their dedication to their work, is unsurpassed.  I was honored to contribute to this celebration, and it made this project so much fun to work on!

One member of the family owns a ranch with a very cool barn, but the only animals inside this barn are the party-goers.  (I can say that cuz I've been one!)  So the plan for the family is to provide an evening of food, libation, music and celebration in this lovely barn-made-party-place for this birthday boy!  Hence, the western-themed cookies.

Best wishes go out to you, Jerry, for another wonderful year ahead ~ full of fun and happy surprises, and of course, more family parties at the Ranch!  We trust your party was a HUGE success! 

Happy Birthday from XOXO Cookies!

Please Mr. Postman. . .

What a surprise to learn that our cousin had just announced her plans for a wedding within a couple of months!  Heidi is the little sister of our May bride, for whom we created the cupcake tower!   What an exciting/expensive/craze-filled year for the Mom and Dad of these two beautiful girls!  And they couldn't be happier.  Which made it that much more exciting when bride-to-be Heidi asked us to make her some photo cookies for her reception.   The challenge here (and with EVERY batch of cookies, there has to be a challenge...) was that due to scheduling conflicts and work schedules, we weren't going to be able to attend this wedding in Nevada.  That meant we had to ship our hand-decorated cookies.  In boxes made of cardboard.  Through the August summer heat to Fallon, Nevada.  A challenge we were willing to accept.

After several email exchanges of photos, we finally found one with enough resolution and contrast to make a cute photo cookie, worthy of this bride and groom.   Some technical difficulties with our equipment kept me awake a few nights as I realized we had a few more challenges than we anticipated.  Thankfully, the internet is an endless source of information, and a few google searches led us to the solution for our mechanical frustrations.    

The production was now in full gear, but somewhere between cookies number 76 and 142, I lost my cool and just took a big toothy bite!   I couldn't help myself.  Each batch of white chocolate fondant was getting more tempting and the aroma of the almond sugar cookie was intensifying in the warm summer kitchen.  Okay, I suppose I was getting delirious with row after row of smiling faces staring up at me.  Sorry, Heidi.  I lost my head.  Or was it yours?  :-)

Once the cookies were bagged, they were painstakingly packed in layers of bubble wrap and barrels of good wishes, and deposited with the able folks at our trusty post office.   And I learned again how much I really do appreciate a good night's sleep.

Congratulations Heidi and David!  

We were sorry we couldn't join your friends and family to see you on your big day, but we were so happy to learn that the cookies made it without mishap.  

May you and your future family be blessed with years of happy memories together!

from your cousins at XOXO Cookies

Study in White

We received a request for some more wedding shower cookies.   I always love hearing about the plans for the various celebrations.   No two parties are the same, and no two cookie orders are the same either!  The party is scheduled to be a tea party - an afternoon with guests dressed in white, enjoying the coastal sun.  Finger sandwiches, salads and ice tea are on the menu, so these little white chocolate frosted cookies in the shapes of dresses seem like the perfect choice!

I wasn't sure if I could meet the challenge of giving different looks to all white dresses, especially with my partner across the country enjoying some family time with hubby!   But once I got started, I felt like I was on an episode of one of those design shows!   Add a strand of pearls and you instantly have a more formal look.  Maybe some top-stitching here, or maybe here?    And how about a 'patterned fabric'?  Yes, a summer tea party needs patterned fabric.  

Once the cookies were finished, I transported myself back a few (ok, a few dozen!) years and considered how fun these would have been to use as props for my own Barbie doll parties.   And I imagine it would be easier to stay focused during endless hours of wedding planning if you have a dress made of sugar and white chocolate to keep your energy levels from dipping!  Yes - those pre-printed "don't forget" lists for brides should include an endless supply of cookies.    :-)  

These were all packaged up and ready for delivery.   I must admit, this order turned out to be one of my favorites so far.    But I've said that many times before, so I will reserve the option to change my mind.  ~S

Happy Wedding Planning to Heather

from XOXO Cookies !

Shoring Up for a Party!

You can't go wrong with a wedding in Cabo! The cookies for this wedding shower are sure to get everyone excited about the big day in Mexico.  I was so happy to be able to hand deliver this order to my friend Bree and her young boys, whom I have not seen in way too long.  I hope they all have a great trip and have some fun in the Mexico sun!  ~ K

The hostess reports that the event was a success. . . and what a beautiful presentation of the cookie favors, with a framed thank you for attending!   This bride-to-be must be feeling so loved to have this kind of attention to detail. 

Photographs of the big event were provided by Linda Jordan Photography.    Thank you, Linda, for allowing us to share your artwork!   I do find the 'joy in the beauty' when I see your work! 

xoxo, S

Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-Cake . . .

It's Rylee's Birthday!    She lives in the beautifully green State of Oregon (a particularly favorite color of XOXO Cookies), and we don't see her nearly enough.   But according to pictures we see, she's every bit as cute as we would imagine.  Her Grandma and Grandpa were traveling to visit the family and celebrate her birthday this weekend, and these cupcake cookies were ready in time to hitch a ride.  

Happy Birthday, Rylee!  We hope to see you and your big brother sometime soon!!

xoxo

Southern Charm

You gotta love that southern charm! After you meet this bride, it is plain to see the southern charm everyone talks about and that fun accent just adds to her sweetness.    She is planning a wedding for the fall and wanted to let her bridesmaids and close family know that she was thankful for their love and support through life and especially now, while planning for her wedding.   As a surprise treat, she decided on some of her favorite cookie designs to have sent to these special people in her life.

Her mother came out from North Carolina to help with some wedding planning and I was lucky enough to meet her. We had such a nice time discussing the bride's plans.   It made it that much more exciting knowing we were going to create these cookies and send them across the country to such wonderful people. 

The bridesmaids dresses for the wedding will be green and these little dresses were perfect to send to the attendants.  The Mothers of the bride and groom received the pink dresses, Dad got the tuxedo heart, and Grandma got the "XO."  The bride was so thoughtful and wrote them each a nice personalized note which we dressed up in a cute card and enclosed in the packages.   How special is that?!  We look forward to making more treats for the wedding in October!  ~K

Happy Planning ! 

XOXO

One Fish, Two Fish. . .

Another BABY is expected, and soon-to-be Auntie Meegan ordered some custom decorated cookies for her little sis's baby shower.   The theme was Dr. Seuss!  We immediately knew the colors had to be bright primary colors, and it wasn't long before we settled on our strategy.  We decided to expand on one of the Doc's most popular books - - Who wouldn't get the connection when they saw red and blue fish?!

The faces on these li'l guys cracked me up.  Such silly fish, and such a tall and crazy striped hat!  We were truthfully stumped when it came to finding a cutter for the cat's hat, but where are you if you don't have a Cat's Hat when you are saluting Dr. Seuss!?    

We decided we needed to think outside the box once again, so Kimi took another critical look at our drawers of assorted cookie cutters (that's when it gets fun).   She pulled each one out, turned it over a couple of times and squinted real hard as she tried imagining one of them revealing itself as a cat's hat!  

I was asking my handy hubs if he could design a hat worthy of Dr. Seuss, when Kimi's eyes lit up and she produced a graduation scroll cutter.  Hmmm.... not what I had in mind. . .  but wait!   I see it!  We turn it vertically, cut it off here, tweak it there, and voila' ~  a hat fit for the most distinguished Cat of all.  Brilliant!

We used the cover of One Fish, Two Fish as inspiration for another cookie, and when they were finished, we couldn't resist posing the fishies for their photo shoot.    Congratulations to the soon-to-be Mom and Pop.   Happy thoughts for a speedy delivery and a healthy future reader!   

And of course, Best wishes from the Fishes!

xoxo

Go Fourth and Celebrate!

One of the best days in the year!  Relaxed, non-hurried, picnic-filled Fourth of July!  The day holds special significance for our family, as Daughter Number Two joined our family late one summer night, 27 years ago.  She waited just long enough for us to enjoy some backyard fireworks (some of us 'enjoyed' the show more than others), then made her entrance ten minutes to midnight.  Things haven't changed much over the years.   She still delights us all when she enters the room, and her sassy sense of humor punctuates family conversations like the fireworks do the night skies.   

Since she missed out on the 'bee pops' her big sis and I created a few weeks ago, we decided to make some cake pops for our Day-Before-4th-of-July BBQ/birthday party in the park.  Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, covered with a layer of chocolate and festive sprinkles - yummy.  

We toted them into the evening's baseball game (Rattlers vs. Another Team) and even had enough to share with members of the dug out.   The pops are just big enough for a few polite bites, but we found most of the guys happy to pop the whole thing in their mouth at once!  

Happy Birthday, Lindsay!  We love you in all your silliness!

XOXO, Big Sis and Mom