a magical day

not only does the birthday girl love unicorns...

she also just got engaged!

sheet cake: devil's food with mint buttercream frosting and mini chips.
top shaped horse: mint chocolate chip cake.
unicorn horn: marshmallow fondant (wrapped around a chopsick!)

happy heart day!

dear readers,

did you think i stopped baking? fear not! i've been working away in my kitchen -- just not as much. for this valentine's day, in addition to making cupcakes (red velvets and devil's food minis)...

... i tried my hand at sugar cookie-making and decorating. here's my family's traditional sugar cookie icing (made with butter, powdered sugar, and milk):

And here's the meringue flooding technique that gorgeous cookie-decorators (whose blogs -- click here & here -- i've been perusing daily) use. it's a bit tricky and time consuming, and there is a HUGE learning curve. i will get there. can't wait to try my hand at shamrocks for st. patrick's day...