Hot Air Balloon Baby Shower

This is one of the cutest themes ever! I loved working with two of my darling friends to help plan a "flying high" hot air balloon themed baby shower. These two gals are super talented and created so many delightful touches using a teal, brown and green color palate. From the gourmet tea sandwiches and iced coffee set up to the bunting and hot air balloon centerpieces (inspired by this post on Hip Hip Hooray), the event was beyond adorable. This is the perfect theme for a baby shower because it lends itself to both genders and so many great details.

I had such a blast doing the dessert table, with goodies like cloud and hot air balloon sugar cookies, strawberry shortcake shots, crispy treats, triple chocolate crunch cupcakes, espresso cupcakes and cheesecakes.

My photos don't do the party justice, but here's a little taste of this sweet event.



Cotton candy with cloud labels were used as party favors.

These "It's a Boy" flags can be downloaded at Prudent Baby!

The mommy to be and sis -- aren't they gorgeous?

Brown and Blue Cake With Dessert Table

Just finished this first birthday party for a friend's adorable baby boy. We went with a clean and sweet chocolate brown and blue design for the three-tier cake. I covered it in fondant and added coordinating polka dot ribbon at the base. They also requested a sampling of mini desserts including apple pies, lemon dream bites, chocolate chip cookies, salted brown butter crispy treats (my new favorite recipe thanks to Smitten Kitchen) and vanilla bean cupcakes. The event was held at a park in Simi Valley and so the desserts had to stand up to some serious heat. All in all, this was the perfect selection for an outdoor summer party.

Here are some of the mini desserts. The pies came out really cute and the lemon bars were a success (my first time making them!).

I love the little ribbon flag detail on these crispy treats.


Hungry little hands got to one of the cookies before I could get a shot!


One more shot of the cake and birthday boy up close.

A Summer Bridal Shower

This fun bridal shower used bright pops of color. This was my first dessert table. It was a good experience to see what worked and what I needed to rethink. Mini desserts are a lot of work, since you are essentially making five to six individual recipes each with several components. But guests love the idea of being able to sample a little of everything and it creates a focal point for the party. This setup included chocolate dipped cheesecake pops, tiramisu shots, coconut cream cheese cupcakes, triple chocolate crunch cupcakes, peanut butter pies and monogrammed sugar cookies.

A Busy Month!

August has been a busy month! Cookie orders, a bridal shower, two baby showers and a birthday. Here's a photo of some more logo cookies I did for Azusa Pacific University. I didn't get a shot of the finished basket, which also included an order of triple chocolate crunch cupcakes. More event postings to come!

Logo Cookies

Finally set up my new birthday present -- an edible ink printer. I made these corporate logo cookies for a friend who sells Arbonne skin care and makeup. These will be packaged in clear cello bags and used as thank you gifts at her workshops. I love the flowery logo design, and so I played it up with a summery hot pink border and some pink sanding sugar.

I think they came out super cute, though I'm glad this batch was a test run. I need to use more icing underneath because the frosting sheet with the image looks a bit bumpy. Anyway, I'm so excited to try some new designs. My next project will be for a bridal shower.




They taste great too!

Party Disposables

Love love love these new items from Garnish, one of my favorite party/entertaining packaging sites. They've got great things like paper straws, wooden utensils, berry baskets and other clever things to add detail to your food and party set up. Can't wait to use their new goodies, especially the wooden cones and ripple cups.

Edible Ink Printer

Can't wait until my birthday present arrives next week. It's an edible icing printer from Icing Images. I have so many exciting ideas for cookies and cakes that I think will help take my business to the next level -- plus it's loads of fun to play with. I can create wedding monograms, corporate logos, characters, photos, graphics, text and more. The possibilities are endless. The photos above are just a few examples of what you can do with one of these babies.

Photos (from top): Fairy cookies, monogram cookies, and Love cookies.

Go Diego Go! Cake

Just delivered this three-tiered cake for a second birthday -- my first time attempting a stacked cake. The little boy's name was Diego, so they did a Go Diego Go! theme. My husband poured me a nice glass of wine -- it's my birthday too today -- and now I'm relaxing. I learned so much from this job. There were a few disasters, thankfully rectified, and now I can apply all the newly gained knowledge to my next project. More details to come, but here's a few pics of the cake -- photos aren't the greatest but you get the idea.

My husband made the jaguar...so cute!

Inspiration Board: Summer Lobster Boil

Lobster Bake by lulublue77 on Polyvore.com
Here's my simple inspiration board for a backyard lobster boil party I'm throwing in August. I'm thinking of using the lobster bibs as invites by writing the party details on the front. I'm going for a simple, rustic look with mason jars, Kraft paper, galvanized tubs filled with beer and soda bottles, maybe some spiked sweet tea and of course, lots of seafood spilled out over the center of the table.

Life Is Too Short to Drink Bad Margaritas

My husband and I are admitted margarita snobs. The mix can't be too sweet, it must be strong, and there's gotta be plenty of lime flavor. Whether you opt for a salted rim or not, that's your business (I personally do). But the other elements are non negotiable. So when I was let in on a secret margarita recipe from a friend of a friend the other day, I got busy whipping these up. As we speak, my oven's cranked up to 400 degrees, I have no air in my apartment, and summer is in full swing. What better way to usher in Father's Day weekend than with a batch of these babies.

The clincher is that this cocktail is based on a mix from a surprising source -- Trader Joe's. We've tried just about every margarita mixer under the sun, except this one. The second magic ingredient is Rose's Sweetened Lime Juice, which I've seen in the market but never used. And the third component, good tequila, of course.

It seems so simple, hence its brilliance. I'm not one for superlatives, but this is our new favorite summer margarita recipe ever. Try it this weekend...you won't be sorry!

DIRECTIONS:
Fill a mason jar, or lowball/old-fashioned glass, to the brim with ice. Pour in tequila to the halfway point (this seems like a lot, but it's mostly ice). Then, fill the glass to the top with the Trader Joe's Margarita Mixer. Top it off with one tablespoon of Rose's Sweetened Lime Juice. Stir. Garnish with a lime wedge. Enjoy!

The Best Blueberry Muffins

I picked up a flat of blueberries from the market yesterday and was inspired to make my favorite batch of muffins this morning. I'm in love with this recipe, not only because they taste amazing, but because in less than an hour you'll have a fresh-from-the-oven treat to enjoy with your coffee. They're so easy to make and all you need is a bowl, no mixer.

These muffins rise beautifully and the crackly mound of crumb topping is divine. They're seriously delicious and make quite an impression -- especially if you make them for a brunch or give them as a gift. This recipe is forgiving, meaning you can play around with it and customize it. I bake six jumbo muffins and only use half of the topping -- it makes a lot. The thick batter isn't overly sweet, which I love, but if you like your muffins on the sweeter side, add another quarter cup of sugar or pile on even more of the sweet topping. You could easily swap out the blueberries for another berry too. As their name implies, they're to die for.

To-Die-For Blueberry Muffins
(from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Tea Cookies

I made these teapot and teacup cookies for my mother in law after being inspired by this fun tutorial from Mischief Mari Cookies. Instead of making a stencil for the cameo image, I put a piece of wax paper over my image and traced over it with royal icing. When the cameo dried, I just peeled it off and applied it on the cookie. Then I painted it with gold luster dust.