cupcake toppers

I made these cupcake toppers for my friend's wedding last month. I hate not knowing the flavors of things... I mean, why choose the vanilla when you can have the crème brulée?

{photo by katelyn vonfeldt}

library kit

call me old fashioned, but I'm not up on giving kids giant plastic toys with batteries & scantily clad dolls as gifts. I feel like kids are growing up way too fast these days & it's so important to try to preserve their youth & innocence.

so instead of buying my seven-year-old niece a game for her ds or an app for her itouch, I bought her this adorable personal library kit. she opened it up on christmas morning & started adding sleeves to the books that I had bought her &  it made me really wish I had bought one for myself. such a fun gift for kids... & nerdy adults like myself.

chocolate crinkle cookies

a few nights ago, robert made a delicious dinner, so I felt the need to keep up the quality with a homemade desert. I've had this recipe forever, but probably haven't made them since college: chocolate crinkle cookies. they're a little crispy around the edges and oh-so-soft in the center. I made a batch & froze the rest for a later occasion... like tonight.

chocolate crinkle cookies

ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours (or freezer for 1 hour if you're like me & can't wait that long!)
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch balls (using a spoon helps). Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

the best birthday ever!

not to brag, but I have the best husband... ever. he made my birthday on thursday so very special.

it started out with homemade pancakes & raspberries for breakfast on the "today's my special day" plate (a long-standing tradition in my family. we kinda think birthday's are a big deal).

then I received beautiful yellow tulips at work.

he took me to a new restaurant called taverna for dinner which was absolutely delicious. there was cava waiting for us at the table (which we drank when we were in barcelona a few months back). we ordered some really good wine, a fabulous ricotta & fig compote appetizer and some pizzas. ah!

and if that wasn't enough, robert had my favorite cake from sheila's waiting for me at home for dessert. he calls me katie-bird as a nickname, so he had asked for the outline of a bird on the cake, which is pretty hilarious.

ok.. and here's the best part. robert made my gift. apparently for the past four months he had been collecting old wooden letters used for printing (some dating back as far as the 1800s!). he made this incredible collage with the letters, spelling out birthday (the "y" is on the way..), as well as my initials & a few other inside jokes. and even cooler- robert made the frame from salvaged cedar from the closet in our house that we tore out a few years ago!

it is absolutely beautiful & I cannot wait to hang it in our home.

and then we got to celebrate all over again the next night with my family. yea, I'm spoiled. this was one of the best birthday's I've ever had. I am so very blessed!!

surprise date night

look what I found waiting for me when I got home from dance last night... looking forward to birthday date night tomorrow with my sweet husband.

movie series... alfred hitchcock

robert and I thought it would be fun to do "theme" movie nights & watch some films in a series. for instance, films by the same director, or with the same actor. so we decided to start with hitchcock, the "master of suspense". so far we've watched the following (posters below). some of these films I had seen before, but most of them are new to me. so far, I think north by northwest is favorite.

what is your favorite hitchcock film?

happy birthday, kristin!

happy birthday to my longtime friend, kristin!

(I made this simple card for her with a sheet of cardstock & this adorable garland from michaels/martha stewart).