My, oh my, baking and pie

It has finally cooled down here, and I am really enjoying the weather... and the clothes... jackets and sweaters. Yum yum. And along with the great fall weather, baked goods galore!! Here are just a few recipes and an icing tutorial-- oh, joy!

• milk chocolate cookies-- yum, yum-- from Martha Stewart via Heart of Light
• delicious-looking popovers from angry chicken
• A tutorial for Magnolia Bakery's icing on Cupcakes take the Cake
• Pumpkin Pie Bites from Bakerella
• adorable pie tins from LollyChops
• and last but not least, recipes from the new book The Happy Baker:A Dater's Guide to Emotional Baking

9 Days Left!

Hey everyone!! I don't know if you've seen it, but there is a poll to the right, so you should look there now! And then VOTE!!

I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, and I am thinking of doing a little restructuring, so all feedback is important. So, please, please, please VOTE!!

If you would like to leave me a little note, comment on this or any of my other posts!

A boy and his Star Wars plushie

So, despite how deceptively simple I though an R2D2 plushie-- for a certain special birthday boy-- would be, I couldn't abandon true Star Wars geekiness for ease and less stress.

My mission: to make one very correct plushie for a very discerning seven-year-old.

I think it turned out pretty well in the end. I left in as much detail as possible, although I did abandon the legs--or arms--or whatever. But I don't think he cared too terribly much.

I loved seeing him open his R2D2 pillow, and although it was a lot of work, it was a lot of fun too. It was a challenge to freehand this robot without a pattern, and I think it worked out pretty well.

Finally moved in!!

I am finally moved in, mostly!! And to commemorate my great achievement, I made some house-warming-- oven-warming-- cupcakes! And they turned out beautifully!! Nicely mounded and cracked on the top, and perfectly golden brown, but still moist. I might be a little bit too proud of them...

Honestly though, I cannot consider myself entirely moved in. I don't have a cake tester-- or a single toothpick-- in the entire apartment. So, the perfectness of my cupcakes relied entirely on chance. But that still doesn't burst my bubble!

Just a few new things...

So, I found a lull in between all my running around that happened to coincide with a bit of good light in my living room. In honor of such a momentous occasion, I took a picture of the few pieces that I have managed to get done while watching Top Chef-- to which I am addicted.
(side note: Hooray for the Georgia boys!!!)


Also, please, please let me know what you think, because these are going to be the foundation for what will hopefully be my line sold in a small boutique called Sugaree's in Murfreesboro, Tenn.!

A little bit of lovin'

Although I have not yet begun to explore my new city, I am relatively settled into my new apartment. And as I settled into the task of catching up on my reading yesterday, I found more than 700 posts in my reader.

I can't help but be overjoyed with all this new information, even though I haven't found the time in which to use it. But I feel the need to pass it on to my readers, in hopes that you will do something with this collection of ideas.

• a wonderful, huge poppy boutonniere from CRAFT magazine
• this nifty and neat-o rolling pennant rubber stamp from Just Something I Made
• some beautiful, inspirational Clara French cake plates on Twig and Thistle
• and a wonderful tutorial for printed hankies from Meet Me At Mike's