61 Days 'til Halloween

I know it's only Labor Day weekend, but my brain's already leaped ahead to Halloween.

We've been tossing around costume suggestions at our house since June. I think Gus and Bea have settled on some fun ideas, despite my plea for someone to dress up as cotton candy this year. Maybe I'll have to save that for myself. 

Break out the jigsaws and hot glue guns, the costume crafting begins..... now. 

Purrfect Pals

Gus and Cake were sharing a sweet moment in front of the patio door the other day, so I grabbed the camera for a few quick pics.

That boy loves his kitty cat.

Peace. Love. And Kindergarten.

Bea was all smiles as she hopped, skipped and danced her way down the hall to Mrs. Dalton's kindergarten class on Monday. She even flashed me the peace symbol, as if to say "no worries, mom.... I've got this."

There were no tears - from Bea or her parents - just lots of excitement and anticipation for what the year has in store.

Fifth-grade Gus

School started last week for Gus. 

He's the big man on campus this year - Fifth Grade. It comes with some pretty hefty responsibilities, like doing the safety patrol before & after school and being a flag presenter at the morning assembly.

Such a big guy now. (Literally, I think he's one of the tallest in his class.)

Foam, Silicon and Just a Dash of Cinnamon

Last month, after I sent my brother, Kevin, a cake postcard for his birthday, my brother, Ken, requested a slice of apple pie for his birthday. Jokingly, of course... but I took it as a challenge.

Mission accomplished.

It took six attempts (and lots of upholstery foam, clear silicon caulk, almond caulk, cardboard, yellow food coloring and yes.... actual cinnamon.) But, I finally managed to make a mailable slice of apple pie. I'm not sure if I'll create any more of these soon. It was a struggle to get it to look right AND stay together. I think my husband was ready to kill me. For about three weeks, I obsessed (and actually dreamed at night) about new and better ways to make this crazy thing.

Here's hoping it arrives in one piece. Happy Birthday, Ken!

*FYI... the pie finally delivered. Although, it took four days to go from Wichita to Salina. I'm sure it got heavily inspected by suspicious postal employees as well as drug-sniffing dogs.

Cheers to National Rum Day!

Even if you're not a big fan of rum, you'll still love these Rum & Coke Cookies I dreamed up for SheKnows.com. 

The tutorial shows how to make both - striped & swirled varieties. Plus, the possibilities are endless when you use cookie cutters too.

Have fun. 

Your mouth will say "YUM" with every rum crumb.

 

Purdy Birdy

Eric's been busy building another bird bookcase. A sweet woman in Wisconsin saw the blue bird bookcase he made for Redbud Pediatrics and emailed us last month, asking if he could make another one - this time pink - for her little girl named, Birdy.

Of course! What a special present for a wee-one's first birthday.

Now we just have to get it securely packaged and shipped north this week (after the paint has had a chance to cure.) 

Faux Frappé

I made some faux frappuccinos for my friend's birthday at work this week. They're actually Starbucks cups, frosted around the inside with chocolate whipped cream cheese icing. Then I cut and stacked circles of cinnamon roll twists inside the cups, and topped them with vanilla whipped cream cheese icing.

Looks like the real deal, doesn't it? Just don't go trying to suck them up with a straw - forks required.

Wimpy Kid à la Mode

Last week, I experimented with making some simple Diary of a Wimpy Kid cakes with Hostess Sno Balls for Gus' 11th birthday party. 

But then I quickly realized, no matter how cute they were, the birthday boy probably wouldn't eat them because they're covered in coconut.

Soooooo.... just to satisfy my favorite picky-eater, I revised the recipe. Instead of a Sno Ball snack cake, the head is made out of vanilla ice cream.

Still cute. Still fun. And happily gobbled up by Gus and his friends.

3 Musketeers? Nope. 11 Gusketeers.

Gus turns eleven years old on August 6th. And every summer, he likes to bring treats for all of his YMCA Summer Camp friends. He's not a big fan of cake. But he LOVES candy. Chocolate mostly.


Gus' favorite candy bar lately, has been 3 Musketeers. So, I just altered a number & a few letters to make them 11 Gusketeers. We attached the Gusketeers to a big, foam core "11" with some double-sided tape, and added a large, happy-go-lucky, foam core Gus to the top.


Today's the last day of summer camp, so it's guaranteed to be one, big party. (Even our cat wanted in on the fun this morning.)