The second batch of 64th birthday cookies came out more pastel than the other recipe. Royal icing is great for gingerbread houses, but doesn't flood properly for cookies. Next time, I'll try the icing from last time with less milk to make it thicker.

Here's a comparison of flowers from the two batches.


Both butterflies:


And this time, the peace signs are not Mercedes logos. Hah.

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I swear it was sunny here just five minutes ago...

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The Liloias were invited to a 64th birthday party this weekend, complete with hippie themes and optional costumes. It seemed like as good a time as any to do some more cookie beta testing for the business I'm starting in May.


The icing was a bit too runny. Next time I have a different recipe in mind. This particular icing comes out very glossy. I'm going to try a stiffer, matte royal icing recipe next time. But the cookies come out buttery and delicious -- they're not just a canvas for the design!


The birthday girl's signature colors for the party are hot pink and orange -- hence the color scheme here. The only challenge I hit was that I couldn't for the life of me remember which two primary colors you blend to make orange. Blame it on the baby brain.

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Trevor had a few dollars burning a hole in his pocket at a craft fair last December and he picked up a small paper Christmas ornament done with some kind of origami. He was thrilled to add an ornament that he paid for to the tree. I was intrigued by the construction. Can you believe I went 35 years without ever seeing a German bell?

Of course I had to try it for myself. I found these video instructions online and it looked super-easy. It really was.

I tried it with a full 12x12 sheet of scrapbooking paper. As with origami, bigger is easier at first. But it's simple enough to try a smaller version. I think we'll be seeing a lot of German bells around here this year.

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Seven months old and impervious to cold. He's a true Vermonter, all right.

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