A Pleasant Surprise

Hello Sweet Readers!
I have been missing the sun lately. It's been rather gloomy here and I'm a Vitamin D kind of gal. Today it rained, and through the rain, there were some patches of beautiful blue sky and even a bit of sun. I had to go out and see. And shoot some pics.

Well, it went away fast, but as I was trying to capture it behind our hummingbird feeder, I got a pleasant surprise! This little guy came humming by and I was able to catch him in my lens. Mind you, I did not have my camera set to capture his wings perfectly and didn't have time to fiddle with my camera, but at least I caught him. Thanks for visiting, little guy!

See, there was a bit a blue sky and sunshine. Oh, how I miss it already.

I also snapped some shots of our oranges that are growing so nicely. They should be ready any moment. We usually allow my eldest to have the first one on his birthday, which is in just a week and a half. It has always been strange to me that they come ripe this time of year. They seem like they would be so perfect for summertime. But they do bring a bit of summer to winter and for that I am grateful :)

Project 365, Week 1 Photos

Hello Sweet Readers,

I hope that your weekend is going along marvelously.

I wanted to share with you a new project that I am attempting to undertake. It's called project 365. Basically, I am to take a picture every day during 2010. Seems simple enough, and I pretty much do that anyway, but somehow making the committment to do it seems a little more daunting. But I will try. I have reorganized my photo storage and I am hoping that will help. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

For instance, I am using Picasa and as you can see from the collage above, I have not figured out how to get the photos in the collage to be chronological. I was able to mark the dates, but it is really disconcerting to have them out of order! I have come to terms with it for this week, but honestly, I need to figure it out, so if you have any tips, please feel free to share.

So let me tell you a bit about the photos. I dont' think I will normally have time to do this, but here goes for this time. The first day, January 5, marks the day I decided I would do this. So I guess it's more like project 360 for me. I was wearing my Costco "ugg" boots and I love them and they keep my feet warm no matter what, so I took a picture of them. Why not.

January 6th I took my older son to IHOP for breakfast. He was still off this whole week, so we got to have some fun quality time together. On January 7th, I was able to chat a bit with my dear neighbor, Nancy, who happened to have just gotten her hair done, so I snapped a couple shots of her. On January 8th, David and I had a really fun and not so "by the book" game of Junior Scrabble. On the 9th, the whole family went to the grand opening of a fabulous new library in our town. And on the 10th, I shot this photo of a creme brulee cheesecake I made to bring to a church potluck.

So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse of my week. Don't worry, more sweets to come this week :) Have a great one!

Magical

Hello Sweet Readers!
As you may have gleaned from my previous posts this year, my husband and I grew up in Southern California and we both have family there that we visit often. Very often, in fact, especially since it's a 400+ mile drive with two kiddos. In 2009, we visited nearly every month, so we decided last February to get annual passes for our family (it was the boys' bday gifts and a gift to ourselves for being awesome parents..ahem...).

So we went to Disneyland and DCA a lot. We still have one trip left, hopefully, but I wanted to share some of the holiday photos and decorations from November and December with you. If you haven't gone during Christmas, you must. It's so beautiful! Of course, I would advise somewhere around the first week of December or exactly December 23rd if you want to avoid massive crowds (which we did not).

I hope your week is going well. Have a great weekend.

My Little Monkeys

Hello Sweet Readers!
During our Christmas vacation in Southern California, we had some wonderful weather. And my boys had a wonderful time. They love visiting family and playing in Grandma's incredible boy-worthy backyard. They love their Auntie Ellen, their cousin Anthony and the rest of the great family they are so blessed to have.

They discovered they can climb the big Jacaranda tree in Grandma's front yard. How fun for them. They loved every minute.I love my little monkeys.

Salsa Samplings from Someone Special - They Could be Yours, too!

Hello Sweet Readers!

I have something savory for you today :)

One of my brothers is an amazing cook and will likely be the chef and owner of his own amazing gourmet restaurant someday. At least I really hope so. He is very talented at what he does and can make amazingly delicious food almost by thinking it. He has a real talent for making up fantastic recipes and he aims to please! Unfortunately, he lives in Southern California so I don't often get to partake of his creations.

However, since I was there for Christmas, he graced us with some of his yummy salsa! While he goes on with life before opening his dream restaurant, he is selling yummy, fantastic, homemade salsas. And that is what is pictured above. The red salsa is made with vine-ripened and fire roasted tomatoes and double roasted peppers.

The green salsa is made with garlic roasted tomatillos, Jalapeno and Serrano peppers. Beautiful, huh! Soo yummy! Just thought I'd share in case you lived in Orange County and wanted to give it a try. He is making all different varieties, so I encourage you to try them if you get a chance.

If you'd like to get in on some of this masterpiece, email Mike @ FreshTomatoes3@gmail.com.

Have a great week!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Sweet Readers!

I hope you are enjoying a relaxing and wonderful New Year's weekend! I wish you all much joy this year. May your blessings be bountiful and your relationships rich and meaningful. May God bless you beyond your dreams...

I wanted to ring in the new year sharing with you some of my closest friends. These ladies are dear to me and I love being with them. They all graciously took me out for my birthday dinner and I was so blessed by the company, food and perfect gifts.

They are all beautiful, generous and thoughtful, and I am a very lucky lady to have them in my life! This time of year is makes me so thoughtful and prayerful about the blessings and challenges in my life. God is so good and it's a wonderful time to reflect on it.

Snow Covered Cake Wreath

Yum! This is my favorite cream cheese pound cake. I made it in this wonderful wreath pan from Williams Sonoma that I have had for many years. I love the way it looks like fresh-fallen snow.

Have a wonderful day!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Sweet Readers!

Please know that I am wishing you all a very Merry and very Blessed Christmas today! God bless you!


These are the photos on our Christmas card this year. I intended only to include the first one, but after seeing some of the outtakes, I just couldn't resist including the second photo inside the card. NOEL!

Smiley Cheer!

The 2009 Smiley Tree...
The precious Smiley glass groom and bride ornaments we received our first Christmas together...
The Smiley banister (I love love love having a bannister to decorate at Christmas. Now, with two boys using it to slide down the rest of the year, that's a different story!)

Smiley mini cupcakes with fondant pointsettias...
The Smiley spread brought to a holiday party...

More of the Smiley cupcakes...

The Smiley glitter "S" made for me a few years ago by a dear friend.

Cheers!

Christmas Tree Cupcakes

Merry Merry Sweet Readers!

These are a variety of cupcakes made for an impromptu and very wonderful dinner at my neighbors. They invited us over for a lovely and fun meal and I brought these for dessert.

I hope you are having a fun holiday season and enjoying your time with family and friends.

My Birthday Lunch at Ella

Hi Sweet Readers,

I wanted to share a little bit from my birthday lunch on December 16th. My sweet hubby took me to a very elegant and beautiful restaurant called Ella. We had such a wonderful time. Above are a few photos from the day, my new Lisa Leonard necklace (love her jewelry and blog: http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/blog/), and my handsome husband and me at Ella.

Here is our delicious meal. I forgot to shoot our first course and salad before we starting eating it. Isn't it beautiful!?



And this is Ella. The photos don't do it justice, so go here and check it out if you are interested. (http://www.elladiningroomandbar.com/) It is very classy, elegant and unique. I loved it. The service was great and the food was delicious and so beautifully plated. I would have shot more photos, but I was feeling quite conspicuous as it was and I'm sure my sweet hubby was also.

Thanks for letting me share a little of my birthday with you. I will have another post shortly with a bit more from my celebrations if you will indulge me :)

Old English Themed Gingerbread Cookies

Hello Sweet Readers!

I made these little gingerbread cookies for a fabulous dinner party we went to last Saturday. I blogged a bit about it here: http://smileyssweetsandcreations.blogspot.com/2009/12/coconut-snowball-arrangment-and-happy.html.

I ordered the cute little Old English sugar wafers from Fancy Flours and they were really easy to use. You just frost the cookie, let it dry, cut around the image and apply it with piping gel or corn syrup. I then covered it with some sanding sugar for a sweet effect (and to literally copy the picture in the catalog :)

Hope your week is going well. I had a fabulous birthday today with many wishes from great friends and family. I am very blessed...

MSC Cupcake Club - Gingerbread Cupcakes

Hello Sweet Readers! Today is the day for the December edition of the Martha Stewart Cupcake Club. Our assignment was gingerbread cupcakes. Here they are beautifully displayed on my sweet new gift given to me last night for my birthday (which is tomorrow!). My dear friend Debbie gave it to me. She did the glass etching herself. Doesn't it look wonderful? I love it! What a sweet gift :) Some of my wonderful girlfriends took me out to dinner and treated me to a special night. They are all so thoughtful and I am so thankful to have been blessed with such great friends.
So, I had to bake these today, and this is why I am a little late in posting. I usually post in the morning, but since I had to bake the cuppies today, well, here they are. The above photo is the sifted dry ingredients. It included 2 tablespoons of ginger. That's a lot, but it is actually not overwhelming in the cupcake.
And a little bit of unsulphered molasses...
The batter was a rather thick one..
The cupcakes cooling with my sweet present to add to the photo (get ready, you will be seeing more of it). I made a dozen regular sized cuppies and three and a half dozen minis with this recipe.
I made the gingerbread throughout the week since I am packing it in gifts as well. These are some of the cookies I made on top of the cupcakes. I actually used the recipe from her magazine rather than the one in the book. I have used it before and like it. I double the recipe, however, and got a royal mess in my 600 watt mixer. Poor little baby was having a hard time with the thick dough, so I had to help it out.
Had to include these shots of my present. I just love it. I know I have been taking lots of pictures for my blog with my Christmas tree in the background, but I love the look and the bokeh that the lights make. I have to take advantage of it while I can!
Here is another of the cuppies topped with a candy topper I made. It has little bits of peppermint in the white bark. Yum!
And just a little peek at my gingerbread cookies. I will not blog any more about them because I am sooo bad at piping that I have officially deemed them unworthy. Just had to post this so you would know I did actually make them.
So the verdict on the cupcakes? I liked them. They were tasty and moist, but not as great as I expected them to be. They were spicy, but not too spicy. I like the cookies better! I did like my version of the buttercream. I added brown sugar and cinnamon and a tad of nutmeg. That, I really liked, but I I like things sweet.

Have a great day!

Coconut Snowball Arrangment and Happy Birthday to my Sweet Husband!

Hello Sweet Readers!

I hope you are having a warm and wonderful weekend with your family and/or friends enjoying the season and all it has to bring. We started our weekend with a fabulous party at some good friends and today is my hubby's birthday. We get to spend today with the boys and then tonight with some friends for a "Bracebridge Dinner". The Bracebridge Dinner is the annual dinner at the Yosemite National Park's elegant Ahwahnee Hotel. It is held in their beautiful Bracebridge Hall. (http://www.bracebridgedinner.com/main.html)

Our hostess sent out the menu and each couple will bring something from it. I am doing roasted cauliflower soup with brioche croutons. I personally love cauliflower, so it's a good thing for me. I don't expect it to be the hit of the party, however, due to many not liking cauliflower itself. Hey, maybe I will win them over. I also made some cute old english gingerbread cookies for it that I will share in another post.

So all this says nothing about the above photo. So here are the details. I made this for a potluck my hubby went to this week. They are little coconut cream cheese candies. I attached them to a foam ball with toothpicks. They are small, but tasty. I guess they were well-received because when he got to the dessert table, they were already gone and he received many compliments that he sweetly forwarded my way:)

MUST Make Coffee Toffee

Merry merry sweet readers!

I am in full baking mode over here. I need to find more space in my house to hold it all, and it's getting pretty dangerous having to "test" everything (over and over and over) before it goes out!

This has been the worst culprit. It is coffee toffee and it's simply divine. The toffee is made with lots of butter, brown and white sugar ...all the normal goodies that makes toffee so yummy...and then you add espresso powder and just a bit of molasses. These are just too hard to resist! Then you top it with rich chocolate and toasted hazelnuts. Oh, come on, now!

I'm wondering if anyone is going to get any of this besides my husband and I...

For the recipe that you must get, go to:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/12/coffee-toffee/