FLOUR & SUGAR: 2011

12.30.2011

Happy 2012!

Did y'all know that its ~~almost~~ IS 2012 (yes I started writing this yesterday, yet ran out of time to finish)? Did y'all know I am using y'all to get ready for moving to Texas in just 6 months! Yes, I said it, 6 months from yesterday the hubby and I will be driving our 2 SUVs and a U-haul trailer to the Lone Star State and I don't even have to tell you, but I will...we are excited! Confession, I am not sure that Texans even use y'all as much as the other Southern states use it (please my Texan followers, inform me) but in my mind, they do and you better believe that I will be using it in it's fullest the minute I plant my West coast foot in Texas soil. And you are aware that my West coast foot will most definitely have a boot on it, because that is what I do! But for all of you who think that I bought boots just so that I can live in Texas...I have got a tid bit of info for you...my history with boots (the cowboy variety, not the fashion boot variety) goes WAY back. Way back that is to when I was a little toe-head running around with the sheep and horses that paint the memories of my childhood. Yep, that's right, I was a little cowgirl! I am pretty sure that the cowgirl feeling never dies despite how many urban cities you live in, you can always find it, and I think everyone secretly has a little cowgirl in them! So let's just say I am more than a little excited to explore my inner cowgirl in a place that embraces all kinds of cowgirls and boys alike! Okay, so why am I hear on this beautiful new day of a new year you ask??? To wish you all a Happy New Year and a wonderful start to your 2012! I don't know about you, but I can just feel that this year is going to be a good one and I am ready to face it full force! I mean here are just a few of the exciting things to come in 2012...

12.24.2011

Merry Christmas II

Amongst the sock cookie craze, I took on a couple other orders. The first were some snowflake cookies I did for a fun group of friends. I wanted to add just a touch of color on each cookie and came up with these:

After these I did two birthday sets that a friend ordered for her two girlfriends. I LOVED these sets because I was given a couple of guidelines as to what the birthday girls liked and was given creative freedom for the design.

Next...some more Holiday cookies

Then there were some Holiday cupcakes in a jar...of course I had to put some cookie additions on them as well...I also planned a little tutorial for these so stay tuned for that...

And finally, my last Christmas order were probably my favorite Christmas cookies thus far. I was going for a modern sophisticated look and I was pretty happy with the end result...sorry about the dark pics again...

Oh wait, there were also some cakepops there at the end :)

Okay all, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy the love life and laughter of the ones you love! I hope to hear from you all soon and thank you again for following! Happy baking, happier eating!

Merry Christmas!

Hmmm...if you are wondering whether or not I realize that I have not posted a single post in the last month...the answer is YES! I have been so bad at blogging this lovely month of December and every night when I sit down to blog, I realize, oh wait, I have yet another order to do! Trust me, being busy is a good thing, you know the way I think about it is...may as well take advantage of the busy times so that the not so busy times don't seem so boring! So am I complaining that I have been busy, definitely not! Am I apologizing for being so busy that I have not had time to respond to comments or post anything since November 24, definitely yes! So now I am going to give you a photo rundown of everything I have been doing in December!
Before I do this however, I want to take a moment to thank all of you for not only taking the time to read my posts (as infrequent as they are) and I really want to thank you for all of your comments! They are so sweet and thoughtful and I try really hard to reply to all of them. I am not sure if blogger even notifies you that I replied to what you wrote, but just in case you don't know, I am thankful for your comments!
So whirlwind tour of December of 2011 here we come...
My first set of Christmas cookies was for a group of soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. These cookies gave me complete satisfaction and truly made me realize why I LOVE baking. And to top it all off, they sent me the sweetest picture of a group of soldiers all holding my little sugar cookies! Amazing, and I hope that all of our troops know just how amazing they are! As for the picture quality...sorry, it was a bad day for lighting ;)

Next up, I did some Christmas cookie gifts for a friend to give to her clients...

Loved these snowflakes so I made them a few more times...

Next I did some baby shower cookies that were designed after the little lady to be's nursery

The next cookies may be some of my favorite cookies I ever made...PACMAN! These were for one my good friend's 30th birthday party that had an 80s theme

So these all got me through the first 4 days of December and then I was on to my HUGE order of sock cookies! These sock cookies were made for a fabulous gal who owns Gumball Poodle sock company, a company that sells splendid word socks. She ordered her top selling socks to be transformed into cookies to give to her client for holiday gifts and it sounds like they were a hit!

loved the bacon ones!

Yes...there were a lot of cookies!

Ok I am going to continue onto the next post so that I don't shut down your computer trying to load all these pictures...

11.24.2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all have a fabulous turkey day filled with whatever traditions make it yours!

Happy cooking, happier baking, happiest eating!

11.16.2011

Exciting News!

Yep, that's right my amazing husband and I are moving to Texas! You know a few months ago when I was talking about looking for a real job? Well what I mean is, I will finally be done with "training" to be a doctor on June 30th 2012, woohoo! So what lies after residency? A real job, with real hours-well real doctor hours which is a whole lot better than the crazy person hours I am working right now, and the best part...a real life! I am so thrilled to be almost done, and finally after an 8+ year journey, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! So where are we off to you ask? San Antonio! I am looking so forward to our new venture and although we will be leaving family (which was the HARDEST part in this whole decision) and friends behind, I just know that we will meet many new friends in our future and have LOTS of family and friends in for visits!

Blue

A week or so ago, I had a request for some baby shower cookie favors. Generally when I do a party theme, I am usually asked to do something that matches the invitation or decorations etc. This time I was actually asked to do a cookie I had done almost 2 years ago! I thought, hmmm...how am I going to do that cookie similar to the original, because that was obviously what the client wanted, but different enough to make it look like it is not truly the same cookie. So here is what I came up with. Hard to tell, but I put little pacifiers on instead of a mouth :)

11.05.2011

The Classic: Apple Pie {Tutorial}

Yeah, yeah...I hear ya, it has been quite some time since I last shared a recipe much less a tutorial! Well, never fear, you have got one here. I have been on a quest to find the perfect apple pie since, oh I don't know, the year I met my husband! He is a big time apple pie fan and his mom makes a stellar one that he always starts to crave right around the beginning of fall (yes people we do get fall here in Los Angeles). So me being the baker wife, I am always trying to reinvent the wheel, you know how it is! So I get these extravagant recipes and tweak them all sorts of ways to make a gourmet apple pie when you know what...he just wants a classic apple pie! Come on Linzy, just keep it simple and make a classic! I use third person purely for effect, lol! So anyway, my quest is a pretty slow one because I bake one every fall, but then we get our craving filled, I get frustrated because it wasn't what I envisioned and then I'm over it til the next year. So it is a slow quest for the perfect apple pie!