Spring-y Decorated Sugar Cookies

I LOVE making my "special cookies" which is really just cut-out sugar cookies that are decorated (that's the special part!)
With LJ's preschool carnival coming up, I knew I wanted to contribute something for the cake walk!  Since I needed to drop it off a few days beforehand, I went with these cookies.
Check out the best recipes and tips all in one place- the blog Glorious Treats.  If you don't follow her blog you are missing out on some great ideas for parties, cakes, and of course, cookies!
I used to use a different recipe but now I use hers and it turns out great every time.

Step One: Don cure apron and no make-up.  (Okay, the no make-up part is just on there as a disclaimer!)

Step Two: Make dough, chill, roll out, then choose a couple of flower cookie cutters and go to town.  I know, I know, that is a million steps.  HINT: Roll out your dough on top of a flour-cloth towel that you have rubbed flour into.  It will NEVER stick, and it won't add a bunch of flour to your yummy dough!

Step Three:  Bake em'.  HINT:  Cool your sheets in between batches by throwing them in the freezer for a minute!  This will keep it from melting your dough too soon.

Step Four:  Make some Royal Icing and separate it into batches for different colors.  I used the green, yellow, and pink as-is, then mixed pink and blue for purple too.  These are the Wilton gels and they worked great.  HINT: I take a ziploc, put the interior plastic part for the frosting coupler in the corner, but DO NOT snip corner off yet.  Then you can fill with the frosting and seal so it doesn't dry out while you are doing the other colors!  You will need to snip the corner before you frost, obviously!  Use the freezer bag ones or your bag might split.

For my daisies, I did the petals first,then made a spiral of contrasting icing in the center.  Then I added a dot of green.

For my tulips, I decided to get a little crazy and make a floral scene.  I did the grass outline first, then flooded, then did the flowers, then the stem/leaves, and finally, the dots in the center in contrasting icing.

And to make everything look better, fancy packaging!  I got three of these cupcake boxes for $3.50 at TJ Maxx.  They are the "Meri" brand if you want to try to find some.  They are perfect for cupcakes, but worked fine for the cookies too!

I hope this inspired you to get baking!  I hadn't done this in a while and it was fun, I have missed it!  My house was a mess after because I let my 2 year old run wild.  Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten the cookies done!

I am working on the i-spy tutorial!  I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and spent waaaaaay too much money buying miniature things to put in them. So excited to get the first one done!

Dark Chocolate Ganache Cake Recipe

My mom's birthday was a couple of days ago, and she wanted a REALLY good chocolate cake.  So, I got out this recipe that I have used a couple of times and had a lot of success with!  I have topped this with a Chocolate Buttercream frosting before, and I have topped it with a Nutella frosting before.  But since my mom is a true choco-holic, I went for a classic- Chocolate Ganache (and a LOT of it!)
I do not know the original source for this recipe, but I do know that I have tweaked it from the original (amount of vanilla, and amount of cocoa/water mixture).
So here it is!

Dark Chocolate Ganache Cake
from ToBeContinued

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cups + 2T all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

• In a small bowl, pour the boiling water over the cocoa powder.  Set aside to cool.
• In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
• In mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar and blend until thoroughly combined.  
• Add eggs one at a time until combined well.
• Add vanilla.
• To the mixing bowl, alternate adding flour mixture and cocoa mixture until just combined.
• Pour into a greased and floured pan (this amount makes a medium-sized bundt cake, or one cake pan.)  If you want a layer cake, double the recipe.
• Bake for approx 25 minutes, or until cake springs back when gently touched.

For Chocolate Ganache:

• Bring to a gentle boil 1 cup heavy cream or half and half
• Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of broken up dark chocolate pieces.  (Use a high quality dark chocolate that is around 60% cocoa for best results.  This is IMPORTANT- some common brands of so-called dark chocolate will not work!)
• Allow to cool at room temperature, then pour over cooled cake.  (For layer cake, put cooled ganache into your mixer with whisk and whip up into a more frosting-like consistency.) 

Before Serving, use a vegetable peeler and slowly peel chocolate curls off the long side of a chocolate bar over the top of the cake.  The more the better :)

mmm, chocolate curls!

 This is a very rich cake, so that is why I typically make it smaller.  Serve it up with some ice cream if you want!

LJ: "I gonna eat this cake up, mommy"  Me: "We have to wait until tonight for Ga-Ga's party!"

Her face, after I locked the cake in the laundry room...note the fork dropped on the floor in defeat!

Later that night- yummy!

Cake Face!!!

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Super Bowl Week- Post 5 (Super Bowl Funnies!)

Today is my final Super Bowl Post!  We've talked FOOD, sewn a TOY FOOTBALL, figured out what to DRINK, and planned our OUTFITS. 
Today it is time to LAUGH!

This has been a lot of excitement for our Midwestern city.  Not that we never have ANY sports-related excitement (Hello Colts, Pacers, Butler Basketball, NFL combine, Indy 500....) but this is different.  There are celebrities everywhere- I mean, everywhere in Super Bowl Village that is.  Big celebrities too- here for The Today Show, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon- here to sing (Madonna, Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine...and more!)

Photo courtesy HeyGirlIndy.com

So everyone has been a little excited.  My female friends and cousins (including myself) have all gotten a little ga-ga over Ryan Gosling being here...and we aren't the only ones!  Some clever person created this hilarious site with some "Hey Girl" sayings.  Have you seen the funny ones on Pinterest???  Well, these ones are Indy specific.  Hilarious, go HERE to check out all of them!

credit

The hottest ticket in town besides the big game has been Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.  Sadly, my husband and I did not get tickets, but we tried!  I did have some cousins who got to go, so jealous!!!  Last night, they aired a "Real Housewives of Late Night" that included some Colts "wives".  I mean, to see these gigantic manly dudes dressed in drag is truly a spectacle.  If you need a laugh, watch this video on the Jimmy Fallon site!!!

credit

Now, I am against releasing the ads before the game.  I mean, I am not really a sports person, so the anticipation of the commercials is about as exciting as it gets for me!  Now that they've been released, what do I have to look forward to?  Dessert.  Ah, yes.  Dessert.  Well, since its been released, HERE is a link to the "Ferris Beuler" Honda CR-V ad. 

Super Bowl Week- Post 4 (What do you wear?)

So, what does one wear to a Super Bowl Party???  I say anything goes, but for fun, here are some ideas for a few "types" of women :)

1. The Type "A" Hostess
Hosting at your house?  Are all of your appetizers made from scratch and perfectly football themed?  Did you build that crazy stadium made out of food that's been floating around on Pinterest?  Then this outfit might just be for you:

Super Bowl "Type A" Hostess by tbc-tobecontinued featuring blue shoes

 

2. The Chick who is there to eat, see the commercials, see the halftime show, and otherwise avoid actually watching the game.
You really like the social aspect of Super Bowl Sunday, not necessarily the sports part.  Unless you get to see Tom Brady's handsome face, or Eli Manning's cute little son, you are not going to be looking at the screen :)  I threw in some stretchy pants, because eating is your sport of the day, right?  If this is you, then you might want to wear something like this:

 
At the party but not feelin' the game by tbc-tobecontinued featuring lacoste shoes

3. The Sporty Girl
You are actually at the party to, SURPRISE! , watch the game!  You have a team you are cheering for and you actually know what a play is, how they score, etc.  Maybe you even won your Fantasy Football league this year.  You need an outfit that shows off your team spirit- how about something like this?

Sporty Girl by tbc-tobecontinued featuring dark denim jeans

4.  The 9 Months Prego Girl
So, really I just made this outfit for me...no wonder it includes some really cute diamond earrings and slippers :)  But seriously, playing around on Polyvore is fun!

prego at the super bowl party by tbc-tobecontinued featuring flat heels

Well I hope you enjoyed this post, I had fun making it!  If you haven't checked out my previous Super Bowl posts this week please do!

Are you a follower yet?  When I reach my current goal I will do another giveaway!  So join in on the fun and follow along!

Super Bowl Week- Post 3 (gameday drinks!)

It's Wednesday, and things are really ramping up in Indy!  I live in the suburbs, and the traffic was STILL crazy this morning!  Good thing once people are in Super Bowl Village they never have to drive anywhere.

Today I am sharing some inspiration for your drinks on game day.  Being pregnant, I won't get to enjoy anything with alcohol, but that doesn't mean I can't share!  Also, I know many of you choose to not drink at any time, so remember that many of these can be made virgin!

This will be in countdown style to my favorites!!!

GAMEDAY DRINK COUNTDOWN!

Number 5- Jack and Coke
If you're going to drink booze on game day, a classic Jack and Coke will fit right in.  Make it a Diet Coke if you want to cut back a little on the calories.  The only thing about this choice is that if you're a lightweight like me you only can have, like, 2, before you're done.  So, that is why this is #5 in my Gameday Drink Countdown!


Number 4-  Margarita
NO mixes, please!  Margaritas are simple to make, and a fresh, made-from-scratch margarita is sooooo yummy!  Bonus- you can make this virgin and its basically a limeade :)
My recipe:
Juice from several limes (about 1 cup)
1 batch simple syrup (1 cup water, 1 cup sugar)
1.5 oz tequila
1 oz triple sec
4-5 cups of ice (more if you want to cut the tartness of the limes)
Rock salt for rimming glasses
Limes for garnish
Simply stir together (or blend if you like them icy) and pour into a salt-rimmed glass!  Stick a lime on the rim too for a garnish. (Adjust alcohol to your taste!)

Number 3- Bloody Mary
Ahh, a Bloody Mary.  Reminds me of living in Nashville, TN in my 20's and having brunch with friends after church, haha!  This is another drink that can be made virgin if you want!  These are the ingredients I use, feel free to mess with the ratio to get it to your taste preference!
Clammato juice (yes, this is clam juice mixed with tomato juice!)
Celery Salt
White pepper
Louisiana Hot Sauce
Vodka
Garnish with celery stalk
Mix together to your preference- or do a Bloody Mary serve-yourself bar!  Include a variety of salts, seasonings, hot sauces, and garnishes (hot pickles, blue cheese stuffed olives, etc.)  The Clammato juice makes all the difference for me- I NEVER use regular tomato juice for mine!  Try it!

Number 2- High Quality Beer
Are you a grown-up?  C'mon, its not our goal to get "trashed" so go for quality, not quantity.  Provide a sampling of grown-up beers such as Guinness, Stella, Blue Moon, even Corona!  Your guests will be happy, and so will you :)

And my NUMBER ONE gameday drink choice is..................
Local Microbrewery Beer!!!!
Now, this is easy in Indiana- we have so many great choices right here in the Indy area!  In Noblesville there is Barley Island, downtown Indy my favorite is Sun King, from Bloomington (home of IU) is The Upland Brewing Company...and a million more it seems!
Why local beer?  This beer supports our local community so that's a bonus.  Plus is is FRESH!  And you can get great deals- Sun King, for example, has $5 growler fill Fridays.  So, you get 32oz of high quality, fresh, local beer CHEAP!  They often have seasonal offerings, free tastings, and many other perks.  If you don't know where your closest local brewery is, find it stat!  And if you want to try microbrews from other regions, nicer liquor stores and places like Whole Foods usually carry a decent selection of microbrews.  You might even find some from one of Indy's breweries which would be festive to serve since we're hosting the Super Bowl this year!

Super Bowl Week Festivities at Sun King Brewery!

Enjoy your Super Bowl party, and if you do have alcohol at your party remember to be safe and keep your guests safe! 

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Super Bowl Week- Post 2 (Stuffed Football Toy!)

This weekend is not only the Super Bowl, it is also the birthday celebration of a sweet little boy who is turning one year old!  He is the son of our close friends, and we are so excited to be celebrating this milestone with them.
His party theme is of course football, I mean, how could they NOT do that theme with the Super Bowl being in our own city this weekend?  He also was dressed as an injured Peyton Manning (complete with neck brace) for Halloween.  What a cutie!
So, along with his other birthday gifts I whipped up this toy football using a few scraps, some stuffing, and embroidery floss.

To get started, print off this FREE pattern for the football panels. If you want a larger or smaller football, just use the general shape, or you could mess with your printer settings to shrink or enlarge my pattern.

Cut out four pieces from your fabric.  I used a heavy home-dec weight fabric, but you can really use whatever you have on hand that is sturdy.

I varied the direction I cut mine out since it had stripes- this gives it extra visual/textural interest.

Then, begin sewing your panels together.  Take your first two pieces and put the pointy ends right side together.  Use as close of a seam as you can!!!  I also used a double stitch instead of a plain straight stitch to make this more durable. (DESIGN NOTE- if this is for a tiny baby, you could add "taggies" if you want.  Just stick them in between the seams and pin!)

Very close seam- see how its inside the edge of the presser foot?

Reinforced stitch!

After you sew the first two panels together, turn it right side out so you can carefully lay down the third.  Be sure the points are all sew over as we don't want a hole in the tip of the football!

Adding third panel- right sides together!

Third panel attached!  Starting to really look like a football!

Now simply add your fourth panel.  Then you have all four panels and one side open.  Turn the entire football inside out and line up the open ends right sides together.  Sew them, but leave a hole in the middle (about 2 inches) for turning/stuffing.

Inside out- carefully sew the last home together!  Don't forget to leave an opening!

Now you need to turn it right side out and stuff.  Be generous because you want the football to be relatively firm.  (DESIGN NOTE- if you want to make it more interactive, you could add some crinkly sounding plastic, bells, etc. inside.  Stuff them into the very middle though so they aren't felt on the outside!)

All stuffed.

Sew the opening shut using coordinating thread.  Don't worry about it looking perfect- you will cover this part with laces!

Now, get some embroidery thread (I used off-white for a vintage feel).  Use all 6 strands and double them over so its nice and thick.  Sew the end parts and a couple of criss cross parts!  Then hide your knot at the end.

And that's it!  You're done!  Mine took about 20 minutes from start to finish, including taking photos.  So if you wanted to make one for each kid coming to your Super Bowl Party, you just might have time to whip through these this week!  It would make a great gift any time of the year for a little one- including girls.  I am thinking of making LJ a pink one- she would love that!  You could also do this as a doggie toy as long as your pet doesn't chew things up- the stuffing or fabric could be a major doggie choking hazard if they do!

In other Football Related Crafting, have you seen Little Becky Homecky's football beanie hat?  It is adorable!  Go check it out!!!

Remember to join me all week as I post something every day Super Bowl Related!

Are you a follower yet?  If not, join the fun!  When I reach my current goal I will do another giveaway!!!