Celebrate Baby!!

We are baby-crazed on the Central Coast these days! Expectant moms are looking so darn cute and the enthusiasm for what's about to happen is evident on their young faces.   I am, of course, going to be the MOST excited grandmom when that day comes for our family!   With three daughters of my own, it surely will happen one day.  So for now,  I am content to keep bakin' away and living vicariously through these young women's beautifully big bellies.   

This super cute mom is due in two short weeks and has decided not to know if baby is a future ballerina or  a linebacker.  So I chose the colors of baby's room for the palette.   I start bonding with these li'l creations and like my own girls, it would be impossible to pick a favorite.  (Yes, girls, it's true!)  But in this case, I think the li'l blue onesie stole my heart.   Or maybe the lambie.   - S

Happy Bridal Shower

We were so lucky to make these bridal shower cookies for a new friend.  She had a combined bridal/ bachelorette party locally and the boys traveled out of town for the bachelor party. The boys were begging to take along a few of these cookies for themselves, but I don't think the girls gave in :) ~K 

Life is better at the coast...

My very good friend turned 30 on Earth day! She has always loved the ocean. She was a graduate in Marine Biology, has always lived on the coast whether in Maui or California, and teaches children about the creatures of the sea. These cookies were a perfect fit for her. 

We celebrated her birthday in Avila Beach with a mountain bike ride, a hike, lunch by the beach and we topped it off with some wine tasting.  As we sat at lunch and talked, the girls commented that they didn't want to eat the cookies because they were too pretty.   With this statement, my friend's husband reached over, ripped the head off the sea horse and threw it in his mouth!  She looked at him with shock as he chewed his bite and calmly said, "See?  They are just cookies!"  :)  -K

Happy Birthday, friend!

Birthday flowers

This edible bouquet was made with love for a co-worker of mine. Her birthday was coming up and a few of the girls at work decided to surprise her with a little something special. She spends her work day surrounded by plants and wildlife so it was very fitting to send her flowers with a little frog in the mix. We also put pictures of an endangered plant that she helps protect on a few extra cookies. You can never have too many cookies, especially at our worksite. -K 

Food Safety Certified!!

After a few days of reading through the food safety manual, we drove south for a day to participate in the Food Safety Class.  We learned just about everything you would want to know about food safety. At the end of the class, we took the exam.  My mom neatly and confidently filled in each bubble with her number two pencil.  I, on the other hand, started second-guessing most of my answers. . .  the correct temps to cook beef versus pork. . .  The temperature you are allowed to receive frozen shrimp started swimming through my head.  

A few weeks later we both received the certificate stating that we passed our food safety class and are now able to legally prepare food.  I think I will stick to cookies and cakes and leave that shrimp to the OTHER professionals.  - K

Wildflowers!

The wildflowers were amazing last year, but with the El Nino conditions of this winter, our county's floral display is even more specatular this Spring!  We have been scoping out the areas north of the Cuesta Ridge, and south of us, in the hills of Santa Barbara County.  The afternoon treks have become somewhat of an annual family ritual.  I love being able to enjoy some quiet  meandering on my own,  only to be drawn back by the silly antics of the people I know as 'family'.  The good food is always a welcomed passenger, too!  -S

 

Kiska is so fun to watch on any day, but seeing her amongst this beautiful display of color makes me smile.  Can't you just see the excitement on her face?  Awww... li'l doodle bug - we love you. -S

It almost looks fake, doesn't it?

I wish we had smell-o-vision so you could enjoy the fragrance of these sparkling blue lupine. -S

And (one of) my most favorite flowers of all.... the blazing color of the California Poppy!  Am I right?  Spectacular! -S

On my day off  I grabbed the dog, the camera, packed a lunch, and tried to beat the crowds to get a sneak peak of the spring display. Since it was in the middle of the week and before the news broke that the flowers were among us, we were only accompanied by a few people painting the beautiful landscape. By the next weekend the whole family was in tow in search of more flowers.  -K

May the road rise up to meet you.

I've been looking forward to this day for a long time.... St. Patrick's Day always holds special charm for me.  Corned beef and cabbage and green mashed potatoes are always on the menu, and the crazy Irish tunes I listened to as a kid are still etched in my memory's songbook.  

But this year, we are welcoming some good friends' new baby into the world with an 'after the fact' baby shower!  A "meet and greet" if you will!  Baby Rohan arrived much earlier than expected and Mom missed her baby shower altogether.  But as luck (of the Irish) would have it, that meant that Baby Rohan got to attend his own party, and better yet, all of the guests got to swoon, snuggle, and smother him with kisses!  Quite a treat for us all!    Check out his sweet cherub face on these cookies.   Adorable li'l lad, isn't he?!    Welcome, Rohan!

S.

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back,

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rain fall soft upon your fields,

And until we meet again,

May God hold you 

in the palm of His hand. 

xoxo

Happy 30th birthday!

My very good friend celebrated her 30th birthday yesterday with a "I'm Wiggin' out cuz I'm turning 30" party.  Everyone came in crazy wigs or hats to help celebrate out at her family's ranch.  We decided that she needed some sassy cookies to make the night complete!  After we found out she would be wearing a pink wig and a black sweater, we thought the bright pink and green with black would be perfect.  

We enjoyed making these cookies and had even more fun showing them off. Everyone got a kick out of the photo cookies with her face on them and they were the first to go.  We loved making matching shoes and hats for the dresses and we felt like we were playing dress up on the little cookies.  :-)

K.

Summertime Picnic

The sun came out for a few hours this morning, so I moved myself outside to soak up a few rays.  The rain is much needed in our California coastal community, and we all appreciate it so much.  But feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin makes me forget about all that, as I mentally transport myself back in time, when our girls were young.  Days spent on the beach playing on boogie boards with friends.  Picnics with family friends and sand in the macaroni salad.  Watermelon juice running down little arms.  Standing in line deciding which flavor ice cream would best adorn their soon top-heavy cone.  Bottles of sun screen, and yet still brightly pinked cheeks.  Portable barbeques and matches that succumb to the wind.   Kites.  Fireworks.  Tidepools.  

I love the rain, but my best memories are in the sun, with my family.  What's better than that?   

S.

Spring bouquet

My sister's birthday is in February.  I wanted to do something special for her, and since we've had buckets of rain over the past several weeks, I especially was ready to think Spring!  So I explored our supply of flower cutters and decided on this tulip design.  My sis was the only one of the three of us daughters who was graced with (Irish) green eyes, so I had to add a shamrock to the mix.    A butterfly cookie placed in the back finished off the 'bouquet' and it was ready for potting!  

Happy Birthday from your Little Sister. . .   I hope you had a wonderful celebration!   xoxo, S.

Homage to Gramma

As promised, today was decorating day.  The stresses of the week disappear when I can immerse myself in any creative project.  Apparently my true spirit lives on the right side of my brain.  And my right brain has had a very good day!

Even more fun than decorating the cookies, was working on our future portfolio.  Taking pictures of our li'l creations all 'dressed up' for the day made me smile inside as I remembered my mom, and the dressed up holiday tables she loved to set.   She was a product of the depression, but as my mom told it, her mother always set a beautiful table with crystal, china and fine linens even in those hard times.  Having glass blowing artisans as family members, the appreciation for color, texture and patterns was not lost on the young girl. 

I am finding that the appreciation continues to meander through the blood lines.  As I explored the linen cabinets for fun colors and textures, Kimi went outside to pick some freshly rained upon camellias.  I couldn't help but imagine that my mom was somewhere watching and appreciating the efforts that were being made to dress the table in its Sunday best.   .... It's all in the details.  with xoxo, S.

Flour Power

Here it is. . . my virgin blog.  I must warn readers that typically, when I get gabby and I see my friends' eyes beginning to glaze over, or my son-in-law heading for the door, I excuse myself and blame my long-windedness on my Irish descent.  With all the other blood lines mixed in, I'm sure it's a misrepresentation.  I doubt anyone has ever accused the English of being quite as verbose about the minuscule things I manage to go on and on about!    Example . . . I've never managed to fit my feelings of appreciation onto one of those little store-bought note cards!  . . . I could be in serious trouble here.

Okay, so I am SO excited at the prospect of going forward with our cookie project!  We have been working on designs and techniques for the past couple of years and the more we do, the more fun we have.  Admittedly, it HAS been a great way for me to stay in contact with a busy daughter.  :-)

So let me share my weekend.  Inspired by a recent find of very affordable and yet quite fresh eggs from our very own Cal Poly Poultry Department, I set out to bake a batch of cookies.  Kimi and I wanted to try out some new design ideas, and with the purchase of 15 dozen eggs (you heard right!), it seemed like the thing to do.   Soon enough, my trusty Kitchen Aid mixer was groaning.  I imagined the electric meter outside spinning wildly as my oven diligently kept up with tray after tray of the sugary shapes being escorted in and out of it's stainless steel door.  My just-cleaned floors and my normally dark counter tops were white with flour and sifted sugar dust.   And we had every cookie cutter imaginable put to use.   Dozens of cookies later, we decided we'd rolled, cut and baked enough.   Thankfully, we had run out of butter.    We'll decorate next weekend!     ~ S.

Happy Valentines

"The life and love we create is the life and love we live." 

- Leo Buscaglia

Happy Valentine's Day!
(with xoxo's from K and S)

Welcome babies

We had such a great time making the little duck cookies for a twin baby shower. 

We wrapped two little duckies in each bag. One of our new favorite designs is the little pregnant mommy! A perfect way to show mom that she is also being celebrated. 

 

 

We made it!

XOXO cookies has decided to enter the blogging world and thanks to my talented husband, we have a template! My mom and I can make things taste good and look pretty, but we have learned very quickly to leave the technical things to the pros (or at least the ones who can decipher computer lingo).

Photos by Nicole Boughton

My very dear friend wanted to have a cupcake tree at her wedding and asked us to help. We decided they also needed a cake to cut to make the day complete. Her mom wanted to help out and bake the cupcakes and we would do the decorating, sounded great to us! After my dad constructed the perfect cupcake stand, we added some ribbon to each tier and started stacking. The cupcakes were a hit and since then the stand has made appearances at many other weddings and parties.   

~K