Five on Friday

(Insert obligatory "It has been a long time since I blogged" reflection here.)

Hi everyone! I just found a moment of inspiration to participate in "Five on Friday" - enjoy!

1.) About one month ago, a goldendoodle who was in need of a new home was brought to our attention. We debated over it for a week, until Mr. Preppy Cookie took Millie to meet the pup. I didn't go as I knew I would get too emotionally attached and I trusted his judgement. Next thing I knew, I received the funniest "selfie" I have seen to date and just like that we had another doodle.

Meet Penny!

2.) I am SO NOT sick of the Geico "Hump Day" commercial. This has become a joke amongst coworkers to text back and forth on Wednesdays, and it has yet to not make me laugh out loud. (Sometimes being easily entertained is good thing.)

3.) Mr. PC is building a fence in our backyard...as in doing the ENTIRE thing himself picket by picket. Do you know anyone else who has done this? It's intense.  (I am not from a handy family...this is new to us.  We tend to call in the professionals when needed.)

4.) Speaking of home transformations, here is the latest update on our kitchen upgrade. I will write separate posts on our home updates if anyone is interested. It has come a long way in the past three months and we are thrilled.

5.) HOKIE FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE! As a school, we have made an agreement to ignore any Alabama football games, so the season REALLY starts tomorrow. ;) I cut a bouquet of my dad's orange zinnias to celebrate. Last year was the first season in FIFTEEN years that I missed a home game in Blacksburg. Here's hoping the does not repeat itself this year.

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend!

Five on Friday

For the first time I am going to participate in a blog link-up. Since I am fresh out of things to write about and have been slacking on posting cookies, this seemed like the perfect way to go!

1.) We went on vacation to the beach with friends last week. It was the first time I went to the beach for the 4th and hopefully won't be the last. It only adds to the celebration in my opinion! After ALL OF THE RAIN we have had so far this year, a few days in the sun left me feeling very grateful.

2.) As soon as we got home from the beach, I had to travel back out of town for work. Aside from a little Facetime with Mr. PC and a very confused goldendoodle, highlights of the trip included stops at two fine establishments we don't have at home...Sheetz and HOBBY LOBBY!

3.) When I came home from the second trip of the week, I was greeted by phase one of our kitchen update. We are embracing the "tuxedo" look as I now know it to be called. More updates to come over the weekend but so far so good!

4.) I have been on the hunt for a bar cart over the past few months. This past week I came across a winner on Craigs List and have already begun its transformation.

5.) Does anyone aside from me still love to collect cookbooks? I get this from my mom and between us we probably have more cookbooks than you'd care to believe. They finally have a home out of boxes thanks to our new kitchen cabinets now being able to hold the dishes that this hutch once held. Now to make the time to sit down and crack a couple of them open...

So in case you didn't already think I was among the more boring 30-somethings you "know" then this post must have only confirmed it. :) Oh well.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! A small sorority reunion is on the books for us and you know what that means:

Happy Friday!

Winner!

Congratulations Lindsay for winning the blog raffle of the 4th of July cookies!

Thank you all for participating and your incredibly kind words!

Celebration GIVEAWAY: 4th of July Cookies FOR YOU!

Last night I logged into my One Preppy Cookie Facebook account to find that I had crossed the 1,000 "Like" threshold. That blew my mind. I know it may not seem like much to many, but to think that over 1,000 people care enough to see my work meant a lot to me. One Preppy Cookie was started as a creative outlet and has grown into more than I could have imagined. It has introduced me to new friends and re-connected me with many people who I may have otherwise not crossed paths with regularly. It has been fun, challenging, gratifying and then some. It has taught me many lessons on running a small business and empowered me to know that anything is possible.

Many of you know that OPC is not my full-time career. It is a small family-run business that I tend to nearly every night and weekend. I make the cookies, my mom is the shipping packager and my husband is the Post Office delivery man. The three of us encompass the entire "operation." That is, aside from you all.

I want to wholeheartedly thank those of you who have followed me along on this journey and supported One Preppy Cookie. As a small token of my ongoing appreciation, I am giving away a baker's dozen of assorted 4th of July cookies.*

This is certainly not a plea for more orders (I will not be taking those for the foreseeable future as it is) but rather a HUGE THANK YOU for believing in One Preppy Cookie.

GOOD LUCK!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Cookie Smash Cake Take II - Alice in Wonderland

And so it begins...MONTHS of cookie photo catch up.  Recently a friend told me about the beauty of the iPhone Blogger app.  Hopefully that new-found convenience will assist me in maintaining this journal in favor of documenting my life on Instagram.

Two blog posts since Saturday = so far so good!

In the past six months since blogging regularly, countless orders of cookies have been made.  One Preppy Cookie has been a successful endeavor and though I am extremely grateful for that, I have had to tone it down in the order department.  Between working full time and life in general, the cookies have been a bit overwhelming.  I am a big believer in, "Do what you love" but also have to be realistic.  BALANCE is the current goal moving forward. 

Okay, back to today's post and starting to sort through months worth of undocumented hard work.  A friend who I have made cookies for several times in the past asked me to do Alice in Wonderland cookies along with a "smash cake" in the same theme.  This was only my second attempt at the cookie smash cake and I have to say I think they're cute.

(The more colorful the cookies, the more I love making them.)

Thank you Lauren!

TUTORIAL: How to Make French Fry Cookies

A few weeks ago Mr. Preppy Cookie and I were invited to a BBQ. Of course I did not want to go empty handed and thought through what to bring. It was a co-worker crowd but also kid-friendly so I decided to make a batch of "hamburger cupcakes." My mom and I brainstormed about a fun cookie compliment to the burgers and fries seemed like the obvious fit.

I am not the first one to make french fry cookies but thought it would be fun to share my version.  They are EASY and equally intriguing to the party guests as the cupcakes themselves.  Add a side of red buttercream frosting "ketchup" and you could skip the burgers entirely.  Enjoy!

What you will need:

-Batch of your favorite sugar cookie dough
-Coarse sugar sprinkles
-Small amount of water
-Baking sheet
-Pizza cutter
-French fry container to display cookies in

First roll out your dough.

Take the pizza cutter and trim the ends from the dough.

Then cut the section into smaller squares. (Precision is NOT the key here...french fries are not perfectly shaped nor should these cookies be.)

Add the imperfect squares to your cookie sheet (I always line mine with parchment paper.)  Take a mister or clean finger and brush the tops of each cookie with a small glaze of water.

Coat each cookie with coarse sugar sprinkles prior to baking.

Bake the cookies according to your recipe.  (Hint: I always put my cookie sheets directly into the freezer for about 10 minutes prior to baking them.  This helps cut-out cookies hold their shape.)

Once they are out of the oven, take your pizza cutter and cut each square into small strips while the cookies are still hot.  Keep trimming them down until you have the french fry shape you are going for.

To me, packaging means a lot.  I will drive a longer distance and even pay a little more money to purchase items in shops that I know will nicely package the gifts I am buying.  Don't let that mindset leave you when it comes to fun food presentations.

I went to McDonald's and asked to purchase 6 mini fries, hold the fries.  This caused quite the stir at my Mickey D's and resulted in a long flurry of embarrassing activity until they agreed to just give them to me.  (Side note:  I used to LOVE McDonald's....and am also a vegetarian.  I have ordered a #2 with no meat for many years and this request for 6 mini fry containers caused more commotion than ordering a hamburger with no meat.  Hopefully your McD's will be more understanding of the need to display cookies in a creative manner.)

That's it...enjoy!

My friend told me that the morning after the party, her son found a stray cookie fry on the floor of their car...and ate it!  Now that's a compliment. :)

6.5 Years of Dedication

Today is a big day in our house. My husband is graduating with his MBA after three years in night school while working full-time. Not only that but he also received a certification last summer that he had been working on for over five years. So today marks the end of over a six and a half year journey toward his goals.

6.5 years ago we were in our twenties. We were engaged with no idea what was ahead. Very few of our friends had children. W was till President. No one had ever heard of Twilight.

Life has changed.

So in celebration of Mr. Preppy Cookie's accomplishment, I am inviting you on a trip down our memory lane highlighting events in our life that have taken place since he started this adventure.

Celebrated our wedding on the best day of my life to date.

Stood at the side of many friends on their own special days.

Enjoyed wonderful times with friends. Traveled, tailgated, remained passionate about our teams.

Found one of our favorite places on earth and returned three times.

2009 was the year of the baby.  SO many of our friends welcomed family additions.  Some of our friends' families have doubled or even tripled  since Mr. Preppy Cookie began his endeavors.

2009 was also the year that he came to me saying he wanted to pursue his dream of going to grad school.

While others moved on in different ways, we set off down our own path.

Held a friend’s baby in the NICU.

Learned the art of attending weddings and events alone.  Played the role of "third wheel" more than a time or two.

Watched one of my best friend’s daughter go from second grader to teenager.

Cried with another best friend over the loss of her daughter…and celebrated their miracle.

Turned 30...and then some.

Had a little too much fun at my 10 year high school reunion.  Received the invitation to the 15^th reunion.

Survived the Blizzard of 2010, the earthquake of 2011 and several hurricanes of both the meteorological and real-life varieties (not to mention the alcoholic variety we enjoyed during our 2012 New Orleans Sugar Bowl trip.)

Welcomed Millie into our lives.  Snuggled with her in "the big chair" on many nights home alone.  Celebrated her birthday four times.

Lost one of my closest family members.  Mourned the loss of friends’ loved ones.  

Spent time with family.  Ate dinner nearly ever Sunday at my parents' house.

Decorated seven Christmas trees.

Honeymooned in the Caribbean. Had one of the best nights of our life watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle while drinking a beer we bought out of a random man's backpack.  Rode an overnight train from Germany to Venice.  Partook in a gondola ride down the Grand Canal. Hiked the trails of Cinque Terre. Wandered the streets of Rome. Went skiing out west.

Walked on the Great Wall.  Biked through Shanghai.  Visited family and friends living in Thailand.  Learned that my husband had passed the third and FINAL portion of the CFA on the beaches of Koh Samui. 

Celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary in Hong Kong.

Watched my brother get married.

Gained family members. 

Held my goddaughter as she was baptized.

Attended nearly as many children’s birthday parties as we did weddings.

Moved into our first home together, packed it up and purchased another one.

Friendships evolved. Many grew, few failed.

Other high and low points include:

• Fell victim to the economy, lost a job. Everything eventually worked out as it should have.
• Started a small BUSINESS.
• Gained and lost 30 pounds...twice.
• Made it halfway through our frivolous goal of cheering on our teams at every BCS bowl.
• Received unconditional support from family and friends.

 It has not always been smooth sailing but the good far outweighed the bad.

There is no one I would have rather cheered on these past 6.5 years. 

CONGRATULATIONS Mr. PC! I love you.  I am immensely proud of you. Thank you for your dedication to our future.

Now let's celebrate. :)

Cheers to the Class of 2013!