Sugar Overload

I've been busy.  Busy with normal life, normal cooking and baking, and now the extra baking.  I've got a sad obsession with recipes and I find new ones constantly which gives me new things to bake which puts me in the kitchen more often.  I don't mind it though.  Baking is a passion of mine so spending the day doing just that is a-okay with me!  I've got a lot of pictures to post.  So sit back and enjoy sugar overload!

First is a simple Banana Pudding.  Thing is, it's the creamiest Banana Pudding I've ever had.  This one was given to a customer.  There was a little bit left that didn't fit in the bowl so Hubby and I gladly finished it off in a matter of minutes!

I've been making a lot of cheesecakes.  I had no ideas I'd be getting so many orders for them.  That's okay with me though.  I've actually really started to like making cheesecakes.  This one is a Snickers Cheesecake.  It's basically a New York Cheesecake with chopped up Snickers Bars.  Yum!

This is a basic New York Cheesecake...but it's fabulous...to die for!  If you just want a plain cheesecake, this is the way to go.

This was a new one for me.  Peanut Butter Cheesecake.  The customer I sold it to loved it and said it was the best cheesecake he's ever eaten.  I'll take his word for it.  I know it definitely smelled yummy!

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake.  Not only is it pretty, it's delicious too!  And this one was so fun to make.  I want to put swirls in all of my cheesecakes now.  :)

Chocolate Cheesecake with Caramel and Hot Fudge topping.  Hello?  How good is that?!?!

Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake.  I made this one for Father's Day this year as well.  The thing about this one is that you can adjust the coffee taste - which I love.  And the caramel topping is perfect!

These are Italian Cookies.  I took them to our church's 32nd Anniversary International Dinner this year.  They're a simple butter cookie topped with a yummy glaze and sprinkled with coconut or chocolate sprinkles.

Chocolate Wave Zucchini Bread.  Very yummy!  I love the mixture of the two.  Great combo!

I made these today.  Brown Sugar Glazed Pumpkin Cookies.  These are now my favorite pumpkin cookie.  The glaze really adds a lot!

I love fall and one of my favorite things about fall is the baking that it brings.  Nothing is better to me than pumpkin and spice aromas filling up your home! 

Our Greatest Blessing

This post is solely about my sweet two-and-a-half (oh my gosh!) year old.  He is growing so quickly and is becoming quite a little man.  He is our greatest blessing and we adore him! 

Fair warming - this post is loaded with pictures.  I've got a couple months worth of photos to catch up on though so you're lucky you're only getting this many!  :)

First we have some pictures from our flight back to Oklahoma from Indiana.  On our flight there he was very intent on helping me pull my luggage.  The problem with that was that it was too heavy for him.  While in Indiana I decided to find a little bag of his own to carry on the way home.  I found one on wheels (even better!) and I cannot tell you how much he loved it!  You could tell he felt like big stuff pulling his own suit case.

 

He also loved the plane ride.  He's been talking about it ever since!

Driving his car around the yard.  (Jorge took these pictures.)

Looking out the window at Bentley.

This one's a bit blurry but I love it!

We took JJ to his first football game recently.  A local high school team was playing so we decided to go watch for a while.  We got there about half time.  JJ was smitten!  He loved the sights and sounds that come with Friday night football!

He's watching the band here. 



This is what I get when I tell JJ to smile for a picture.  Not quite what I was looking for but still adorable!

This one just makes me laugh!

I love taking pictures from different angles and I love little feet.

This collage cracks me up.  You can just see the thoughts going through his mind.



Just one more of my beautiful boy.

Grandpa

I'd like to talk about my grandpa for a bit.  Last time I wrote, he had been given 24-48 hours to live and JJ and I were flying out the next day.  We actually flew out as planned but Grandpa held on a bit longer that we expected.  Grandpa went to heaven on September 21st and the funeral was on the 25th.  I have to say that his funeral was one of the least sad funerals I've ever been to.  There were some tears, of course, but we were so happy for Grandpa that we couldn't be too sad.  Grandpa's whole life was dedicated to his relationship with God and his deepest desire was to be with Him.  How could we grieve that?!?!  It was a sweet ceremony and a beautiful day outside.  Perfect to say good-bye to Grandpa's earthly body one last time. 

JJ at the church where the viewing and ceremony was held.

At the grave site.  The flowers were so beautiful and JJ was enjoying them so I had to get a couple pictures.

I especially love this one.

I love you, Grandpa!  So glad I get to see you again one day!

Taking Baking To Another Level

Well, I have some exciting news...I've decided to start a baking business!  It's something we've been talking about for quite awhile but never did anything about it.  Baking is a big part of my life and it's something that I'm going to do anyway so I may as well make a little money!  This has been the first week of business and so far I've sold 2 cheesecakes and a pie.  Not a bad start, I say!  One of the cheesecakes was sold to a lady who owns a tea room.  It looks like I will be supplying her with cheesecakes now.  What a great deal!  I'm excited to see where this new adventure will take me (other than the kitchen, of course!).  If you'd like to see my website click here.

And, of course, I can't have a post without pictures so here are a few of things I've made recently.

Apple & Spice Cookies.  This was a new recipe that I made just today.  It's a great fall recipe and I will definitely be making it again!

Pumpkin Spiced Latte.  I made this tonight as well.  It needs a bit of tweaking but has the potential to be so yummy!

Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake.  This cheesecake is amazing!  The only problem with selling these is that I don't get to eat them!  ha!

Pumpkin Blondies.  Another great one.  Took this to a surprise birthday party at our church this past Sunday night.  Very moist, very pumpkin-y, very perfect!

Zucchini Yogurt Multigrain Muffins.  A healthier alternative but still so good!  Was great with our morning coffee.

I do plan on posting about the business once in a while but feel free to check out my website or my business facebook page!