Upcoming Events

Apparently, I don't know how to "ease" back into my business, as I have taken on three events next month!  They are all Quartermanias, which are a lot of fun to vendor at.  I have tried marking up a calendar, alternating between baking and sewing...we'll see if I can follow it.

Below is the information about what a Quartermania is, as well as the dates.  Please let me know if you'd like to come and I will get tickets for you!  I will be introducing a couple of new items, and I will blog more about each event after it happens.  Contact me for the addresses and tickets!

QUARTERMANIA DATES:

 

Sunday, February 9th   Bristol, PA  (fundraising for the school softball team)

 

Friday, February 21st   Hamilton, NJ  (fundraising for Crockett Middle School)

 

Saturday, March 1st  New Egypt, NJ  (fundraising for Mid-Atlantic Bulldog Rescue)

What is a Quartermania Paddle Fundraiser? It's a cross between an auction and a home show! Local direct sales vendors, as well as local businesses will be auctioning off new items for only 1-4 quarters per bid! You can win items retailing up to $100 for mere quarters! If you like Bingo or Tricky Trays you will love QUARTERMANIA!

Tickets can be purchased in advance only for $5 each - you will receive 2 game paddles
Additional Paddles may be purchased... for $2.00 each
MUST BE 21 TO ATTEND.
50/50
***Don't Forget to Bring Your Quarters!!!!***

How It Works:
- Each item up for bid will be displayed for all guests to see.
- There will be a brief description, retail value and how many quarters you will need to bid. Guests that want to play will give their bid (quarters) and hold up their numbered paddle.
- When all bids are collected, the auctioneer will draw a numbered ball from the container. If the number on your paddle matches the number on the ball drawn, you've won that item! If a matching numbered paddle is not held up, the auctioneer will draw again, until we have a winner.
- Once we have a winner all balls will be placed back in the container and go to the next item to be auctioned.

Bullie Love

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, our Bullie (my little inspiration for my logo and business name) passed away in October.  She had an aggressive form of cancer called Hemangiosarcoma of the Spleen.  Thankfully, back in September I had listened to my Mommy intuition and taken her to the vet because she just seemed "off".  The vet did an x-ray and found blood in her abdomen and a tumor on her spleen, so they did emergency surgery.  We were all quite surprised when the tumor came back malignant.  Because it was an aggressive cancer and she was already stage 3, chemo wasn't really a smart option.  The vet oncologist gave her anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of months to live.  Really horrible news...especially since I was due to have my 4th Pea in a couple of weeks!

Long story short, Ozzie lived almost two months longer.  We were so happy to have that time with her, and I was relieved she waited for me to get home from the hospital.  And we were able to capture this...

We had our friend, and awesome photographer, Jen Davis, come over for a photo shoot so we could create our Christmas card early.

Our Vet and Vet techs were amazing through this whole situation....really, they've been amazing ever since we stepped foot (and paw) into the office!  So kind and caring...and Ozzie LOVED going to the Vet (what dog likes going to the Vet??!).  I can not say enough positive things about Foxmoor Animal Hospital. 

About a month a month ago, I received a letter in the mail from APAW (a local animal placement agency).  The told me that Dr. Fjerstad had made a contribution to the agency, in memory of our Bullie.  Well, that just started the waterworks again!  I was so touched that I had to do more than just a thank you note to them.  I expressed my thanks through cookies...

We are hoping to add another Bullie to our family sometime this year.  We'll see you soon Dr. Fjerstad!

Gingerbread Roll-Out Cookies

WARNING:  These cookies are SUPER-addicting. 

I wanted one other recipe to experiment with, and I came across Sugarbelle's Gingerbread cookie recipe.  Just by looking at it, I knew it would be a bit more time-consuming than the other roll-outs I had tried.  More ingredients and a longer chill time...BUT, for the love of gingerbread, I thought I'd give it a try.

It may take longer to make these babies, but there is more dough per batch!  I ended up using almost 6 cups of flour, vs. the 3 cups I use for one batch of sugar cookies.  I ended up making gingerbread men and women, as well as ornament shapes (of course, I forgot to take photos of those!).  I agree with Sugarbelle when she says that minimal royal icing decorating is best...keeps the gingerbread flavor dominant.  With the ornaments, I did a simple lace pattern.

As with the other flavored cookies, timing is key...especially for these guys.  My first two trays looked done, but when they started to cool, they caved and turned a dark brown.  Definitely undercooked.  I let my second set stay in until the edges "just" turned a little brown, and it was overcooked (I didn't mind because I like crunchy gingerbread).  I finally got it right with the third set...and they were so popular, I was asked to make another batch of them!

I don't know if I'll be able to wait until next Christmas to make these...

Chocolate Roll-Out Cookies

My next experiment was with Chocolate roll-out cookies.  I decided to try Lila Loa's recipe because of all the great reviews (and she's another one of my favorite bloggers).  They were awesome!!!

The recipe was simple and I could roll them out right away!  No need to chill (although it is an option).  I kept it simple and did circle cut-outs with this dough, but it has the same consistency as the sugar cookies, so you could use any cookie cutter. 

They were soooo tasty!  The only thing I had trouble with was timing.  Because the cookies are dark, it's hard to tell when they're done.  I lucked out on this batch because they came out perfect!  I have a feeling I'll be making a lot more of these!!

Chocolate Chip Roll-Out Cookies

After experimenting with those fun Cookie Pops, I decided to experiment with different cookie flavors.  I needed to find some recipes that would be fairly easy to prepare without too many different ingredients (my four Peas don't let me linger too long in the kitchen these days). 

I started out by visiting one of my favorite bloggers, Sweet Sugarbelle, to see if she had any recipe ideas.  I was really excited to see a few fun flavors!  The question would be, are they easy and quick to prepare??

The first flavor I tried...Chocolate Chip:

These were good!!  The dough was fairly quick to whip up, but the "chill for 30 minutes" threw me off a bit.  I'm used to rolling out and stamping my dough immediately.  I also think this dough will work best with medium shape cutters that don't have small angles...for example, I would probably stick with basic shapes (circle, square, oval, etc), instead of intricate cutters (some animals, leaves, etc).  This is because of the chocolate chips.  You need to press the cutters down pretty hard to cut through the dough, and small areas will probably break off easily from the chocolate chips.  Also, I will cook them for a bit longer next time...they were just shy of being undercooked, and I think another minute or two would have helped.  I will definitely be making these again!!!

Cookie Pops

From the beginning, I always told myself that I would never try cookie pops.  I was terrified of them!  How would the sticks be strong enough to hold up an icing covered cookie?!  When I saw Sweet Sugarbelle's post about making cookie pops, she made it look so easy that I went against my fears.

 

 

Sugarbelle suggested making the cookie a bit thicker, which I did.  My cookies are normally 1/4" thick, but for these made them 3/8" thick.  I was lazy, and really didn't feel like going to the craft store to hunt for the cute swirly sticks...but then I remembered that I had a bunch left over from my oldest Pea's birthday party a couple of years ago!  I found them and shoved those suckers in the unbaked cookies (about half way).

 

They came out of the oven perfectly...the stick didn't show on the back and nothing happened to the stick (I was a little nervous about putting the stick in the oven).  I let them cool and sit for 8 hours before I even touched them!

 

I decorated them and followed Sugarbelle's last step, which was inserting one of those white lollipop sticks (I used them when I made chocolate lollipops) into the decorative swirly stick and adding a bead of white icing at the bottom to prevent it from slipping out.  Worked like a charm!

 

 

I was really surprised how sturdy they turned out.  I think I've finally gotten over my fears of making the pops...now my next concern is presentation.  What are some ways these cookie pops can be displayed?  I would love to hear your ideas!!

Happy 2014!

Happy New Year everyone!  Boy, what a roller coaster 2013 was.  In one month I went from "Three Peas and a Dog", to "Four Peas and no Dog"...  In October, we were blessed with our fourth "Pea"...

and were devastated by the passing of our Bullie...

 

 

Our Bulldog, Ozzie, was diagnosed with Hermangiosarcoma back in September.  We found out after she had emergency surgery on her abdomen.  The tumor had been sent out to the lab and came back positive for the aggressive cancer.  There is currently no cure for this disease, and we were fortunate enough to enjoy another month and a half with her.  I was just so thankful she didn't pass away while I was delivering Pea #4...she waited until I came home.

 

 

Little Miss Sloane, our 4th and final Pea, was born on October 4th.  She's really been a wonderful baby, and the other Peas are completely in love with her.  I was so nervous about adding another Pea to our family, since we were already outnumbered...but she fits right in! 

 

So, now that the New Year has started, I have also started getting back into the swing of things.  Cookie baking has commenced, and I have also made a promise to myself to keep up with my blogging.  Over the winter break, I started experimenting with some new cookie flavors and ideas.  My next post will cover those yummy cookies!

 

On a side note, I will be keeping my "Three Peas and a Dog" name for a bit (we plan on adding a furry friend to our family later on in the year), but I will eventually change it to add in that fourth addition.