Big Big News!!!

Hello!!

I have been neglecting my blog lately and I haven't been able to catch up on my favorite blogs either.  I have a very exciting reason though....

I AM OPENING UP A BAKERY!!

I am delighted, excited and beyond ecstatic to start this new chapter in my life!

I have linked my blog up to my new site so I can easily post and share recipes, but more importantly, I will be able to catch up on all your fab blogs that I have been missing out on over the summer!

Please visit my new site Allyson Jane and take a look around... we're having a GIVEAWAY!

Also, you can become a fan of Allyson Jane on our new Faceook page here !

Apple Pie

Apple pie is my favorite.  Most. Favorite. Ever. 

Although I generally don't care for sweets, if I am left alone with an apple pie, it might not be there the next day.

This recipe, hands down, makes the best apple pie I have ever tatsed.  I wish that I could tell you that this is an old family recipe, but I actually found this on the Williams Sonoma website several years ago.

Click Here

for the recipe

If you can't find the apples listed in the recipe, I would try and use one sweet apple and one sour.  Macintosh work well if you can't find the Pink Lady apples.

If you and pie crust haven't made nice yet, this post may be helpful, or this video.

Homemade Lemon Curd

My neighbor Marcie is so sweet.  She's so friendly, always has little fancy things for my daughter and is just so cool.  Everyone should have a neighbor like Marcie.

The other day I was making some of my homemade lemon curd to fill some cupcakes.  Usually I have a ton left over so I decided to give some to Marcie!

To quote her:  "Allyson, your lemon curd is to die for."

Click Here

for the recipe

Lemon curd goes great on toast, as a compliment to fresh raspberries, as a cake filling.... if you like lemon, you'll find something to use it for!

Shrimp Etouffee

Shrimp Etoufee... defintely one of my {go to} recipes when I am having company for dinner, but it's also a great, quick week night dinner!

As most of you know, I really try and cook with only fresh ingredients.  Usually, it makes for a very affordable dinner, and you won't hear me complaining about that!

Click Here

for the recipe

Saute the onions and celery in butter, add the garlic, cook for a few, and then add the shrimp, cayenne pepper and salt.

When the shrimp are pink, mix the flour into the water and slowly add to the pan.  Wait until the sauce thickens, and then cook for 6-8 minutes.  Add the scallions and parsley and cook for two more minutes.

You can certainly adjust the cayenne pepper up or down depending on preference.  The amount in this recipe gives just the right amount of kick without being too peppery.

  I like to serve this over plain white rice, with garlic bread of course.  Generally we have a salad, but opted not to tonight.

Not bad for a Monday night dinner!

Mondays

How do you spend your Monday evenings?

Jake's 8th B'day

Happy 8th Birthday to my son Jake! 

Being 8 years old, one of his favorite things are movies.  Ask for a movie party and you shall receive! 

My friend Shannon from SCRAP LIFT IT made these custom Movie Night invitations for me.  Shannon is SO FABULOUS... I just told her my theme and she made 8 of these for me! 

She has made all my kids' invites over the years, and she'll make some for you too!  Email her over at luckygirl1207@hotmail.com and get your order started! 

I designed Jake's entire party around her custom invitations....

These are the goodie bags I sent home with the kids.  Edible image cookies!  I chose three of Jake's favorite movies : Indiana Jones, Star Wars and Mall Cop.  There is one of each cookie in the bags. 

I wonder if these will make it all the way home?

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Memorial Day

This is a cake that I made for a barbeque on Memorial Day Weekend. 

I doubled my standard white cake recipe, and poured it onto two cookie sheets, to make a traditional sheet cake. It's frosted and filled with homemade cream cheese frosting, and decorated with blueberries and raspberries.

Using the left over frosting, I piped stars in between the raspberry stripes. To make sure that I had 7 red stripes and 6 white stripes, I measured the width of the cake and divided by 13. Then I made 13 marks with a toothpick and added the "stars and stripes".

Ice Cream Cookies

I was asked by a local photographer if I could make some goodies for her upcoming photoshoot.  She's doing a "Summer Looks We Love" theme and she thought it would be cute to use some treats as props.

Her only request was to use a pretty blue color.

Kim from the TomKat Studio remarked how perfect these would go with her ice-cream shoppe party circles inspired by Gymboree!

I suppose she is absolutely right!

Littlest Pet Shop Birthday Cake and Goodies!

Little Miss Lindsey turned 8 years old this afternoon!

Since her mom and I are friends, I offered to make Lindsey any kind of cake she wanted for her birthday, and as you can tell... she chose Littlest Pet Shop as her theme.

Her mother had decided against traditional "goodie bags" so I made 20 little kids 20 cupcakes and 20 cookies to take home with them!

I bought some 24 ounce cups and lids and used those as the to-go containers for the cupcakes. Believe it or not, this is THE BEST WAY to take a cupcake to go. There's a little lip in the bottom of the lid that keeps the cupcake from knocking around.

Yeah.... these didn't make it all the way home. The kids ate them immediately.

:)

Cookies for an upcoming dessert table!

Practicing with some cookies for an upcoming dessert table!  This one will be SO cute, can't wait to share some photos!

Disco Dust makes everything better, doesn't it?

One shoe can change your life

Remember this post about my girlfriend who has everything, and what do you get her for her birthday?  Well to go along with the "K" that I made her, I also made this sign with one of my favorite quotes on it.

I bought the wooden sign at Michaels and painted it hot pink.  Then I printed out the words in the size and font that I wanted, and I used carbon transfer paper to trace them onto the sign. 

 Enter trusty paint pen (Michaels also)... those are the best things ever!  Since this font is very girly, it's twisty and small and tedious.  For this project, I used an ultra fine point paint pen.

I used a glossy finish spray and stapled a ribbon on the back.  Of course I couldn't resist bedazzling it a bit with a little sparkle on the flower.

The leopard print on the "K" will go fabulously with the pink and black on this sign.

Happy Birthday Kymmie!

K is for Kim

What do you get the birthday girl that has everything?

Nothing.

You make her something!  Every girl likes their initial, right? 

My girlfriend Kim just turned one of the bedrooms in her home into a closet, and this will fit right in!

I can't get over how easy this was to make.  I bought one of those 3D cardboard box letters at JoAnn's, some cute scrapbook paper (this one has a velvet-like texture), and some Mod Podge, which by the way, is the BEST STUFF EVER!

I covered the surface of the K with Mod Podge and smoothed the paper down.  Then I flipped over the K and used a small craft knife to cut away the extra paper.  I painted the sides and back with some black paint that had little flecks of glitter in it.

This letter is on the larger size at 24 inches. It will make a fabulous statement in her home.  With a different scrapbook paper, this would be so sweet in your little girl's room.

Yay! I can't wait to give it to her!

Happy Birthday Rebecca!

We are celebrating my friend Rebecca's 30th Birthday tomorrow at lunchtime.  She is going to LOVE these cookies I made for her!

Summer

Wishing summer would hurry up and get here!

These cookies will do, for now.

:)