Happy New Year Everyone!

I know I've been really absent lately and I'm going to try to change that this year. I guess I just want to be one of those bloggers that just shares what I recently found or made and that's it. I really do applaud all those who have time or the ability to create on a daily basis. I have many resolutions this year, which kind of surprises me because I thought I didn't have any. I guess because they are more like goals that just need to be met. This year I hope to be announcing that we will be having our first child. Thanks to a great fertility specialist our dreams are not as far as they seemed a couple years ago. Next I would like to smooth out the details and be able to open my own online store. I have so many creative ideas that are pushing me all over the place I just need to sit down and pick one that will work the best. Another goal is to be going to culinary school in the fall!! I am so excited and can't wait. I plan to use this time before hand to brush up on my culinary skills so I won't be so lost and discouraged when I get there. I would like to say that all of these are great resolutions/goals to have this year. I just know that this year is going to be totally awesome!

Here are somethings that I had been working on during the holidays. 

For New Years this year there wasn't much we could do because a bunch of us had to work the next day. I still wanted to have a little fun though so I made these paper blowers. I was thankful I came across the idea at Love Pomegranate House. They were easy to make and were a hit. I think these would be a great addition to any party. 

Cotton Candy Maker

Hand Spun

For Christmas I got lots of much needed appliances for my kitchen. One was a cotton candy maker! I was really excited to see this one because it meant I didn't have to spin sugar by hand anymore to make my own cotton candy. :) My sister has the Bella one and my mom gave me the Jelly Belly one. I would have to say I like mine more because it make way more cotton candy and when you buy refills it has a lot more packets. My plan is to make my own mix though and have unlimited flavors! :) 

During the Christmas season I went crazy on baking! I love to bake, but I also forget there is just two of us in this apartment and we will become diabetic if we're  the only two eating it. Gingerbread had to be one of my favorite concoctions this year. Once I figured out how to do it from scratch I was hooked. One of the last things I did was little drums for my husband. He's a percussionist and even though it gets kind of girly around here I try to find things that suit him too. For Christmas I made Eggnog cupcakes with Tennessee honey whiskey frosting. I got the base for my cupcake from Baker Royale. I just used all, all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon of baking powder and instead of sugar I used Truvia.  For the frosting I ended up using store bought vanilla and adding the whiskey in because I was running low on time. My egg whites would peak, but when I added the butter it would collapse. I was trying to remember what I would do in this situation before and I think your suppose to fold the butter in to keep it from breaking up. To add to the holiday baking I made a Diamond Supply Co. cake for my brother-in-law for his birthday. I was quite ecstatic to see to my piping skills had come. Frosting seems to be my best friend and fondant..not so much. He loved it and that we enough for me! 

One of my gifts from my husband was Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". I plan to cook something out of here and get further knowledgeable about french cooking. I have to say that I like the way that this book is written out. I don't think I see very many cookbooks like this anymore. 

Finally, I was able to baby sit my niece for a while through all the hustle and bustle of  December and it was lots of fun. I had been making cinnamon ornaments earlier during the week and I decided that it would be a cool idea to make one of her hand for her mom. I of course had to make some alterations to the usual recipe that I see on the web. It always seems like when I want to do something we don't have the stuff to do it. I had the cinnamon. In fact I cleaned the apartment out  of it. Then instead of applesauce I had to use butter. I'm pretty sure it would have been a little easier with the applesauce, but it worked out just fine. I baked it for a little bit, but for the most part I let it air dry. I used glitter glue, glitter and lots of mod podge. It made a wonderful addition to the rest of her gifts!