We met Bakerella!

How many of you have heard of Bakerella? Show of hands. Okay, how many of you have heard of, made, seen or been lucky enough to eat a cake pop? Well, the lovely lady that I first heard of them from was Bakerella.  She has a blog/website, I have link to it on my page, and it is just pure fun and happiness.  I started following her years ago and then saw her on Martha Stewart making cake pops.  I think it took me about 10 seconds to run to the kitchen and try them.  It is amazing how creative you can be with them and how much everyone loves them.  To learn more, see her website, buy her book, check out some of my past blogs...just do something because you need to be in the know!

My girls are obsessed with her and the site as well.  Not to mention cake pops.  I think they have consumed more than their fair share on any given occasion.  They came with me to Williams Sonoma to go to Bakerella's book signing.

Livi listening intently, trying to see through the barrage of Coach purses.

Aha, there she is and her book is right in front.  You think the cover is cute, wait until you open it up!

Bakerella started off with a little background info on herself and then she answered questions. I know this is weird to some people, but I do feel like I know her after reading her posts for so long.  We are really like, friends actually.  She may not be aware of that, but I think she feels it too.

She recently had to have a kidney transplant and her mom was the one who donated her kidney.  She is so approachable and kind. She is just like a cake pop. Sweet, adorable, unique, and fun.

Here I caught her beautiful smile on the way to the table to greet guests.  

When it came close to our turn, we got to meet Angie's (Bakerella) mother.  She was the most delightful, warm person.  I told her I was so happy that she and Angie were both well and what an amazing gift that was.  She was so humble and said that as long as her little girl was going to be okay, nothing else mattered and she would do anything to keep her healthy.  What a fantastic mom! She talked with my girls too and they showed her pictures of some of the pops we have done.

Getting our time with Bakerella.

When we sat down with Bakerella, her mom called over to her and told her to look at how good our pictures were. So cute of her! Bakerella told me (ahem, yes, me!), that I had great technique and then mentioned that one the pops I did, she had just done- we thought it was kismet. Well, I did anyway. Whatever kismet is.

Do you want to know the best part about all of this? The fact that my girls and I share a love for something and it provides us joyful time together.
I didn't have to beg them to go.
I didn't have to check my watch and make sure we weren't late to run to the next activity or pick someone up.
I didn't think about laundry, cleaning, or bills.
The girls didn't have to think about homework, schedules or school.
The girls didn't care if we looked like giggling school girls.
In the end, it was just the three of us having a fun day, sharing our time together.  That's what memories are made of.

I have become too aware of how quickly they are growing up.  So, I consider our Bakerella day a gift that I will always look back on and smile.  And I know they will too.

Let's get caught up

Only one more catch up post, I promise.  You may notice I am including more than just sweets now.  Well, my life has been a bit more balanced the latter half of this year.  Sweets, while wonderful in many respects, began to rule all things and all time in my life.  It was time to slow down and step back from things a bit, business wise.  The kids who were so supportive and patient with their sleep deprived, overworked, sugar crusted and well, cranky mom- deserved more.  When I told them I was pulling back on work, they all high fived each other and gave me huge hugs. Some people say there are "signs" in life that show us where to go and what is important.  Well, this was a huge sign that slapped me right in the face. Family has always been first for me and always will be.  However, I reserve the right to continue to create (and eat) sweets with the hope of maybe someday, entering back into the business side of it all.

I have no idea why I feel the need to put disclaimers or explain everything I do. 

Middle child thing maybe.

My birthday, blah blah blah. Highlight, no cake to make for myself! Izzy's ice cream did the trick. Ignore the size of my cone please.  My hubbie said it would make me sick to eat it all. Sad fact, he really doesn't know me after all these years.

Cute as a button cake. Even cuter cupcake pops went with it, too bad I didn't get a picture of those, huh?

My oldest started high school. Walked to the bus (for the first time) and off she went.  Every day I beg her to stop.  I don't want her to go to high school because then I will blink and she will be leaving for college.  Blink again and she will be moving away with her husband even further from me.  Nope not having it.
Yet she gets up every morning and off she goes. I really need to get a grip huh?

I had a request for a coconut cake from Magnolia bakery from a customer.  She and the recipient travel to NYC and always stop at Magnolia Bakery.  To surprise her friend, we decided to claim she made it.  The friend/recipient of the cake called me within a day to tell me she knew it was me :)

Boiling sugar to make candy.  I'm so strange, but I think this is sooo pretty.  No need to comment on that.  Those of us with a sugar addiction are very aware of our problem. Thank you.

Okay, that should do it.  Now on to a post about a super exciting day for me.  I met one of my blog idols! Bakerella!
I hope you all (again the three of you that may read this) are well and have either had or shared something sweet in your life.  All my best, mps

I'm back, did you miss me?

Well, I'm back anyway! It seems crazy to me that the last time I posted was in December, but apparently, it's true.  I intend on posting more often.  I realize that my absence did not truly affect any of you, but I just thought you'd like to know...I'm back! Anyway, where to start? Pictures always work, right?!
How about a year (well almost) in review~

First of all, we had a ton of snow!

A cousin combo birthday for my fave customers. A baseball player, dancer, soccer enthusiast all with piano playing in common. Viola- a cake for all!

Valentine's day, my favorite holiday.

Cupcakes aren't enough, right? V-Day needs cookies too.

A special bridal shower for a soon to be Wild hockey player wife.

Wondering who? Hint, his initials are PMB :)

A very sweet 16 for a fellow cheerleader. My daughter's fellow cheerleader, of course.  Although I was a cheerleader, it was a little while ago. Or like a century now. Something like that.
Isn't the colored sugar in the pops vases extra fun? Can't get too sweet for me.

By oldest turned 14 and wanted "chocolate, ooey, goodness".  So there.

Yes, it's April.  Yes, that's snow. Seriously people.

Traveled to see mom in NM.  Went to a Pow Wow.  Check that one off the list. 

My cutie pie nephew, Everett, visited. Such fun! He loves to sit with a blanket and our pooch loves to sit with him. Maybe they were watching Home Alone? 

My not-so-little-boy went on his first "guys" annual fishing trip to Hayward.
It was very hard to hold my breath all weekend. I let out a huge sigh of relief when he came home in one piece.
Letting go is an issue for me. Hard to tell probably.

Not snow this time, Spring had finally sprung. Yes, it was late May, but we take it any time it comes around here.

Made a confirmation cake for a lovely girl and beautiful dancer.

Bridal showers were raining down in June!

My helper is always on hand to try something new, especially when that has to do with two things. Dough and chocolate chips. She really works at it though! The other two, they get more involve on the tasting side of things. 

Livi's final product that day, or should I say evening~
(We tend to get carried away when we are in the kitchen together and there is dough and chocolate!)
Chocolate chip cookie dough-chocolate covered-sprinkle enhanced bites. Or as she calls them, MINE!
Can I just mention how much I love that she is 12 and still wears pjs with ice cream sundaes on them and a Disney robe she got from Santa like 5 years ago. 

One of my other cutie pie nephews came to visit in June. Yes, I only have cutie pie nephews. From age 19-1, all perfect! This one is Jasper or Jazzy Boo as we like to call him. I could eat him up every time I see him. 

My husband turned another year older, now he's really old!
Unfortunately for me, he is and will always be 10 months less old than me.

Livi, my purple girl, saw a pillow the she wanted me to copy in cake form for her birthday. Mission accomplished :)
 It tasted better than the pillow too.

Got to visit some dear old friends in Missouri and also fawn over the Biebs! I am probably a bigger fan than the girls. They think it's weird. 

My "Mini Baking Beauty" was at it again last summer.  She and her sister, were so excited for the release of the final HP movie . In honor of the series, she decorated 8 cupcakes, one symbolizing each movie. Creative girl, that one.
Oh yeah, feathers in the hair were big for the kids this summer.  Anyone else notice that?

GP Christmas in July in DeForest. We all have a very hard time lightening up.
A highlight of the year, every year.  Has been since I was a kid.  The group keeps growing!
My parents and my Aunt and Uncle (in the center) started this years ago.
God love 'em.

A 70th birthday for a german chocolate cake lover, with a wife who likes something lighter. 

Part two coming up next. Didn't want this to be the world's longest post.  Oops.

Woodbury Magazine found me :)

The current issue of Woodbury Magazine did a feature article on holiday sweet treats.  I am proud to announce that they included Lucky C's Sweets! The article directed people to this blog as opposed to my website. luckycsweets.com
The website is a work in progress so, it isn't quite where we want it, but it does have some info and pictures. However, if anyone is looking to contact me, please email me at michps@comcast.net and I will be happy to pass along my info and email or call you back.  I am still taking orders for Christmas, but my schedule is filling up fast, so get your orders in because I really hate to say no to sweets, err, I mean orders :)

Unfortunately, the magazine did not get any pictures taken to put in the article. So, here are a couple samples. Also, the picture to the right is my custom sugar cookie place card/gift tags.  You can get them in hint-o-lemon sugar cookie or chocolate-espresso sugar cookie.

Chocolate espresso holiday sugar cookies- available by the dozen, special order

Sample of hint-o-lemon custom decorated sugar cookies- available by the dozen, special order

Traditional sugar cookies- available by the dozen, special order

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread- available at Kowalski's

Cranberry Pecan Pumpkin Bread- available at Kowalski's

Lovely, Lovely Lemon Bread- available by special order

Delicious and light, Lime Chiffon Cake- available by special order

Fantastic (and not so light) Romen Chocolate Cake- available by special order

Holiday cupcake bites- assorted flavors (red velvet is amazing!)- available by the dozen, special order

Cupcake pops! Same thing, just on a stick.

Cupcakes, cupcake bites and mini cookie discs

Many people love to do an assortment which makes for a beautiful display for your entertaining and also a great gift.  We are happy to help any way we can.  As I always say, we look forward to making your event (or your Saturday) a little sweeter!

Happy holidays everyone!

HospiceCare teddy bear donation, a success

Our family decided to make a donation to the HospiceCare center this Thanksgiving and we asked our family and friends for help.  

Our family, plus Nana Buffy, cousin John and bff Julia at HospiceCare with all of the bears.

Here is the email we sent out~

As many of you know, my dear father-in-law, Jim Stevens, passed away last December 27th.  He died after fighting tongue cancer so valiantly for 18 months.  Jim went through many struggles and when we found out that the cancer was winning the battle, we reached out to HospiceCare in Madison, WI, where Jim and his wife, Buffy lived.  HospiceCare could not have been more kind and caring.  Last year, on Christmas Eve, we received a call from family telling us that it was time for Jim to go into HospiceCare.   Chris and I tried to keep our heads up and thanks to a special Santa visit, we made it through the evening and put the kids to bed.  We were up most of the night packing up for a trip we wished we would not have to make.  In the morning, the kids barely had breakfast and we had to whisk off to Madison.  As you may remember, it was a blizzard out and the roads were miserable.  It was probably the longest 4 hours we can remember.  Constant phone calls from family telling us to get there fast and looking at our kids eyes, constantly filled with tears.

Well, we made it to the HospiceCare center in Madison and were lucky enough to spend Jim's last few days by his side.  The staff was there to laugh with us, cry with us and constantly keep us informed.  Oddly, we felt very at home and knew Jim was comfortable and very well cared for.  One thing my kids noticed was all the stuffed bears that adorned the HospiceCare center.  It brought a little cheer and sweetness to an area that could have been very daunting and frightening.  Before Jim passed away, one of the nurses took my sister-in-law, Sue, and I walking around the center.  She told us to pick out bears for each one of our children.  As we looked there seemed to be ones that just spoke to us and seemed perfect for each individual child. We took them back in to Jim's room. The nurse had Jim kiss each bear and then handed them back to us.  A very short time later, Jim passed away.  The children were all at a friend's home.  It was so hard to tell the kids that their grandpa had died, but it was somewhat eased by being able to give them each a bear.  We had something tangible to give them that was truly special and it was from their Grandpa. It helped so much in the days ahead for each of them to have that bear to hang on to.  They have slept with them every night since.

Obviously we believe in the power of these bears and the Dori Bear project at HospiceCare in Madison, WI. 

The Dori Bear namesake is given to all teddy bears donated to HospiceCare in honor of HospiceCare patient Doris Klubertanz, who died June 1, 1994. While alive, Doris Klubertanz was surrounded by teddy bears. She believed in their power to bring warmth, love and a smile. Because she found them to be such a comfort, she left a gift to HospiceCare to establish the Dori Bear project.

Chris and I, along with our children would like to make a donation of bears to the Dori Bear project this year.  We travel to Madison every Thanksgiving and we thought this year we would spend part of Thanksgiving volunteering at HospiceCare.  One way was to bring them bears to help many other families who are dealing with the same difficult time we went through last year.  So, we are asking you for help to increase our efforts.  

And here's how it went~

We again braved the crazy weather down to Madison last Wednesday.  We had all of the bears packed gently in our car and took them over to their new (temporary) home at HospiceCare Center. Chris' mom, Buffy and his nephew, John, as well as our family friend, Julia, helped us to share the joy with the staff.  The kids felt so good to give back a little something to the community that helped their grandpa in his last days.  It was definitely a bit difficult to go back there and the tears came easily for us.  My little guy, Cam, wanted to go and walk down the hall to Grandpa's old room, #42.  We were amazed that he remembered the room number as well as the painting outside the door of his room.  We talked about how we sat for a bit in the family room one day and laughed at silly stories we were sharing with everyone.  It was one of those moments we needed to lighten such a heavy load we were all carrying.  During our visit this year as we walked the halls, the kids talked with some of the patients and it was evident that they made their day.  The smiles on the face of people in pain, was so amazing and we knew we did a good thing by not just sharing our donation, but sharing ourselves.  As we walked by the family room, we noticed it was empty but had a sign on the door.  It read, " reserved for the family of room #42".  We felt that was a sign that Jim was telling us he was with us :) 

As we come up on the one year marker of Jim's death, we seem to have an array of emotions.  To name a few ~ blessed, grateful, lucky, thankful and sad.  

We are very blessed to be able to help others that helped us. 

We are grateful for our strength and faith that has guided us through the tough times. 

We are lucky for having such loving, generous friends and family.

We are thankful that Jim's suffering has ended and he is at peace.

We are sad that we will not be able to share any more special moments with a very dear man.

Come to our Holiday Boutique! One stop shopping!

A group of talented business women from our area are hosting a holiday boutique.  Come shop and take home some gifts and goodies, plus you can place orders to help your holidays become a bit less stressful.  Angelina's Kitchen will be there to help you with your holiday meals, appetizers or just planning for extra meals with company in town.  I will have many of my sweets available too.  Everyone needs a beautiful lime chiffon cake with mint and cranberries on their holiday table, right? How about some gorgeous lemon or chocolate espresso sugar cookies.  Or buy the sugar cookie dough and frosting and make your own at home with the kids.  Cupcake bites-a-plenty to taste and order from.  How about some delicious cranberry pecan pumpkin bread to take have at your Thanksgiving feast?  

Okay, that's about all the sales pitch I have left in me :) But seriously, it is a great way to support local businesses and get some holiday shopping and planning done.  Hope to see you there! 

Also, watch for my new website! My very talented cousin, Brigitte, has created a beautiful site for me and I can't wait to share it with all of you.  Again, I am talking to the two of you who read this.

Have a sweet holiday!