Cast Off Cookies

Today was a great day for arms!  My 7 year old had his cast taken off.  


Background history - he fell off the monkey bars on the first Monday of summer vacation!  Can you believe it?  To show our thanks to the wonderful orthopedic doctor and staff, I designed these cookies for my son to give them.  In return, they gave him the cast...  off of his arm. :)   Will life return to normal? 

With two boys, this is our normal!

arm and leg cast cookies

Lucky for us we had heard about a waterproof cast that you can request.  We opted for that version and were VERY happy we did.

My son was not slowed down in the least...

swimming...

 (it even matched his swimsuit set!)

the beach...

(we did duct-tape a latex glove on his hand to keep out sand)

and even archery, ultimate frisbee, and bbgun shooting...

He even went off the diving board (many, many, MANY times).

We didn't take any photos of that --

What happens in the cast, STAYS in the cast!

Feeling a little Cake Spy...

Feeling a little Cake Spy this evening, and I'll tell you why.  Two reasons: 1) Deb's Cookies and 2) Cake Spy!

While up in my hometown of Winchester, Massachusetts last week, I took the boys to the local farmer's market held in the commons.  It was a gorgeous day and everyone had their tents popped up, produce displayed, and music going.  We stopped at this one tent, Deb's Cookies, and stared wildly at rows of cookies, brownies, and pound cakes, wrapped up so cutely and begging to be taken home!!

Can you tell I brought this lucky bag home for us?  My two sons (ages 7 and almost 5) were given samples of Deb's heavenly brownie and they just HAD to have more.  I felt it was my duty to please them, given I just HAD to have more, too!  These are absolutely the best brownies I've ever tasted, bar none.  Seriously.  Better than my own, and I thought I had a mean brownie! LOL

My mother bought her chocolate chip pound cake, which I helped devour.  It was absolutely fabulous and the perfect size to compliment a breakfast or dessert treat.  It tastes divine with coffee, milk, or wine (my personal choice). :)

I first learned of Deb and her cookie business through my mother (Winchester resident), who knows all the goody-goods of the town.  Meeting Deb at the market, she is one super sweet lady as we chatted for a bit about baked goods and business.  I wish it had been for longer, but my two charges were charging ahead of me and she was SUPER busy with customers (can I blame them?).

Lucky for me she can be found online at Deb's Cookies and on Facebook at Deb's Cookies Online (Winchester, MA)  If you're feeling a little Cake Spy yourself, you should check her out.

Now, about Cake Spy...  If you're not familiar with that phrase, cakespy.com is (get this) a Dessert Detective Agency!  How cool is that?  Jessie Oleson and her team make it their MISSION to spy on all things sweet and sugary!  Writer and Illustrator, not only does she make her blog posts inviting, informative, and fun, she also has a book coming out soon of her sweetest and sugary-est treats!  Spy on her yourself!  Happy baking!  Happy eating!

4th of July Jam

Last year I made a lot of jam.

strawberry, peach, blueberry, cherry....  

This year, not so much... yet.  

(I blame the cookies)  

But I did take a break from the oven to go stove-top yesterday 

and produced this strawberry jam.  

It actually made 5 jars, but one is already half-eaten in the refrigerator. :)

I decided to spruce them up a bit to get into the 4th of July spirit.  

Normally I'll put a piece of fabric and ribbon around them, 

but I didn't have any holiday fabric at the ready this time.  

I just used blue cardstock to cut the circles and 

stole some foam star stickers from my children's craft box. 

 And voila!  Instant 4th of July Jam!

Happy 4th, everyone!