STILL HERE!

Wow, has it really been five months?  Sorry about that folks!  I guess the second half of the school year really kept me busy.  

Here's a quick update of what I've been up to since my last post...

Our school registrar is a HUGE fan of the Houston Texans!  Since it was her birthday and since the Texans were actually doing pretty good - they made the playoffs considering the back-up of the back-up quarterback had to step in - I made her some cookies.  She loved them!

Go Texans!

February was actually a busy month for cookies.  I made some cookies for a Tinkerbell themed
birthday party, a Zoo themed cookie bouquet and camouflage cookies for an Army themed birthday party.

It's Tink!

Zoo animals

camouflage cookies

Here in Houston, March is rodeo time so I tried my hand at making some western themed cookies.  Yee-haw!

stars, bandanas and cowhide

I also made some cookies for my friend Jessica's baby shower.  They were inspired by some cookies she found on Pinterest.  I wish I could give credit to the original designer but I can't find a link to that person!

S is for Sadie

In April, I took a short trip to Guam to spend Easter with my family and to celebrate my goddaughter's 3rd birthday.  Before I left, I made some cute little chickadee cookies for my niece Gabby and her friends.  

colorful Easter chicks

LOVE the white sandy beaches

Got a shot of this beautiful sunset the day before I left.

When I got back, I made some cookies for a construction themed birthday party.  Let me tell you...these were COM-PLI-CA-TED!!  Do you see how many colors I had to use?

trucks

Yup...that's TEN colors!

Last month, I made some hibiscus cookies and princess crowns for a retirement party.

orange hibiscus

princess crowns and initial cookies

Oh, and some soccer cookies too!

for Gavin the star soccer player

Well, there you have it folks!   I promise my next post won't be five months from now.  :)

Hope everyone is having a GREAT summer!

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

 MY PARING KNIVES

Everyone should own one of these!  I use my paring knives to hand cut cookies.  My very first paring knife was actually a Pampered Chef one but sadly it mysteriously disappeared.  I bought these at my neighborhood grocery store and they work just fine.  Just a tip...when you are hand cutting cookies, be sure the dough has chilled over night. 

I used a paring knife to hand cut these dinosaur cookies.

MY ROLLING PIN

I LOVE my rolling pin!!  My mom gave it to me when I moved out to the states 11 years ago.  It has little rings that I can attach to the ends.  The rings act as guides when I roll out my dough.  This is my secret to getting all my cookies the exact same thickness.  Well...I guess it isn't a secret anymore! 

Close-up of the rings that can be attached to the ends.

MY KITCHEN AID MIXER

I wish I had two (or three) of these wonderful machines!  

GINGERBREAD BOYS AND GIRLS

The day after I arrived on Guam for the holidays, I went right to work making gingerbread girls and boys for my niece Caroline's first birthday party.

Caroline was born on December 23rd so my sister decided to have a holiday themed birthday party.  Originally, she wanted it to be a Winter "One"-derland theme but that didn't seem to fit since we were on a tropical island.  Ha, ha!

I am not a big fan of gingerbread so I made sugar cookies instead.  I tinted the dough with some chocolate brown Americolor food gel.  It was hard to get each batch of dough the same shade of brown.  My mom and I were teasing that some of the gingerbread boys and girls laid out in the sun a little too long and others got just the right tan.  :)

The cookies were decorated to match the gingerbread boys and girls on the invitation, cupcake toppers and banner all made by my good friend Cynthia over at Cute C Things.  You really need to check out her blog and Facebook page - she does AWESOME work!

Gingerbread boys and girls

Birthday banner and cake surrounded by cupcakes and cookies.

Close - up of the cake.  I added the cookies to it.

Close - up of cupcakes

View from the hotel where the party was held.  Just had to throw this pic in!

  

AND WE'RE BACK!

Last month, I abruptly deleted my blog and ended up regretting my decision.  

So...here we are again.

Mariana's Munchies is back
and with a new look too!

Hope you all like it!