In the shop~

~Find them here~

Catching up~

I just realized that I have about 136 food (sweets!) posts in a row (minus the shirt re-do),

so here's what has been going on in the Allday household:

The van got mistreated this week.

I'm sure the would be robbers were very dissapointed at what they found.

Or in this case didn't find.

Unless you're in the market for an old diaper bag, a broken soccer chair or boogery car seats, there's not much of value in there.

Except my Austin Entertainment Coupon Book.

I was so relieved that they left it.

Dumb criminals.

By the end of the day, Josh and Lucas had the van looking brand new.

Soccer season is in full swing

You can buy this here.

If you do I will give you 10% off. Just let me know you found it here.

Happy Easter everyone!!!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a great Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe because:

A. The cookies taste great

and

B. It is super easy to throw together and can be made by hand.

For those of you that keep your mixer on the counter top this is not a big deal. I have to store mine away in a closet so I like a recipe that can be stirred together entirely by hand.

It uses shortening (I know, I know) but the shortening actually lends to a crispy texture on the outer edges of the cookie and you can still have the soft chewy interior.

1/2 cup butter, softened but not melted

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix butter, shortening and sugars. Don't overmix~ use a heavy spoon and mix by hand. Mix in vanilla and eggs. Sift dry ingredients together. Add them to the wet mixture. Stir until JUST combined. You should still be able to see some flecks of flour in the dough. Add chocolate chips. Scoop large and equal size cookies onto parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 350 until just starting to brown on the edges. The interior of the cookie will look under baked. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 2 minutes until the cookie is "set" enough to remove without falling apart.

Shirt Re-Do

I bought this simple tank top to wear with some of my

summer skirts to soccer games, shopping, etc

but didn't like that it looked like a plain and manly undershirt.

So I hand sewed some "petals" on and made it a little more girly.

Super easy project that can be done while watching your fav. evening TV show.

(Let me know if you want a little tutorial on making the petals and I'll put one together. There's TONS on the internet, too.)

Butterfinger Blizzard Cupcakes

I found a little gem of a recipe a few days ago on this great site... Butterfinger Blizzard Cupcakes. I made them today and they are seriously delicious and super easy to make.

You can even mix the cupcake ingredients by hand with a wire whisk and save your mixer for the frosting.

linked here:

http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/04/sweets-for-saturday-14_22.html#comment-form

catching up~

Ha! I'm always "catching up!"

Opal escaped last week and apparently had the time of her life roaming the neighborhood. Rumor has it that she had traffic stopped coming and going on a major street near our house. The sweet lady that found her said Opal enjoyed some R and R playing with her dog and cat in her backyard. Meanwhile 2 little boys were beside themselves looking for her. It was so sad to see Zachary squeaking her little toy and calling for her!

Just made 12 of these cupcake toppers for a customer in California and love the way they turned out. There are just a few for sale in the shop, but I'm thinking of making more sets to list.

Speaking of cupcakes, when I purchased the above cupcake, there was a "tip jar" on the counter at the bakery. I was the only customer in the shop and the man behind the counter was just sitting and listening to his ipod. When we came in, he was super friendly to us, joking with the kids and carrying on. When I paid without leaving a tip he changed instantly. It was hilarious! I hate, hate hate tip jars. I never leave a tip in a counter-top tip jar. Never. Never-ever. But I'm thinking about bringing my own tip jar into shops from now on.

(confidential to my husband....please do not read any further.....)

When your 4 year old drops his sucker on the dirty parking lot, is it bad parenting to encourage him to "Hurry! Hurry! Pick it up and eat it before the germs crawl onto it?"

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Made these bars this weekend and they were so, so yummy! Josh says they may be the best dessert I have ever made. While you are visiting the recipe site, have a look around. Your tummy will thank you.