it's a first...

When I was hired to create a baby shower invite for an expectant mother of twins, I couldn't wait to get started! I think I even had them designed before I had a date, location or details. Designing an invite for twins is a first... and I think the finished product is super cute!

it's easy being green...

Kermit didn't know how easy he could have it with this recipe!

Grasshopper Pie

I never really celebrated St. Patrick's Day til I inherited my husband's family. They are Irish and treat this holiday as special as Christmas. We wear crazy costumes, eat Irish food, drink lots of beer, and dance Irish jigs! I contribute the dessert every year. Last years was a bit more adventurous and creative but with a 40-hour a week job, sometimes I have to take the easy route. (Hence, the pre-made pie crust)

I have never made this pie before and found a recipe from Pioneer Woman and really wanted to try it. Then reality struck that since St. Patrick's Day falls on a weekday this year, I don't have much time to tackle one of her made-from-scratch recipes. So, I set out to find a quicker version and viola! I didn't have mint extract so my cool whip is just plain old cool whip flavor. And the comments on this recipe suggest using chocolate fudge pudding in order to give it a thicker consistency. My grocery store didn't have that either, so this might end up being a little runny. We will see.

I have yet to taste it, but how could it be bad?

chocolate = good

andes mints = good

cool whip = good

Put it together and... well, you get the picture.

just a sweet, little nest of sweetness...

This was my first real job where I was "hired" to create something sweet. Usually, I just use friends birthdays to try new things and add to my blog, but this time I was actually sought after and paid (yes, with real money) to bake! I can't believe it, seems I am movin' on up... to the east side... to a deluxe apartment in the sky... okay, I will stop. But I know you are singing The Jeffersons in your head now... you're welcome.

One of my closest friends and fellow-creative-thinker, Abigail, was throwing her friend, Amanda, a baby shower. I made Abigail these red velvet cake pops for her birthday last year, which led her to think of me when she was trying to decide what to do about the cake for the shower.

She tells me that Amanda LOVES carrot cake and after seeing the amazingly cute invites Abigail designed, my creative juices started flowing. The carrot cake sandwich cookies that I have made in the past, just happen to be the best thing to come out of my oven, in my opinion at least. But how to creatively display them? It was Abigail's little birdies on the invite that inspired the idea to put them in a nest! How cute are they? For the recipe, refer back to my previous post.

To top it off, I had to include a little welcome sign.