More Sugar Cookies…

As you can probably tell, I love to make sugar cookies ! 

 The theme of the party was pink, so I used two shades of pink to decorate the cookies.  The next day when the icing had hardened, I dusted them with a crystalized powder I found in the Bulk Barn (by Wilson) in order to give them a nice shimmer.  This makes them look more professional.  It’s hard to see the shimmer in these photos:

I decided to bag the cookies (using the same bags I used for my wedding). This way we could hand them out as little favours at the end of the party.

French Macaroons

These delicate little desserts are popular in bakeries around Paris. 

I made these with an almond flavouring however you can choose any kind of flavoring you like.  I made these for my cousin’s wedding shower.

 Recipe and instructions to come shortly!

DIY Bombonieres and Favours

Ever considered making your own bombonieres?  That’s what I did.  If you are a sweet sugar lover as myself, you  may want to consider making your own  bomboniere Sugar Cookies!  I think it’s a nice personal touch and allows you to give a more personalized gift to your wedding guests. 

Let’s be real, I am no expert when it comes to making these cute cutout cookies, but after practice and with the help of my mother, MOH (Maid of Honour), and bridesmaids, I was able to do 225 of these cookies. 

1. Recipe: Find a recipe that’s tried, tested and true.  I used the Joy of Baking cookie batter and royal icing recipe.  But recently I found another recipe that I like better from Sweetopia and now I use that one.

2. Packaging:  The packaging is very important because it will enhance your cookie and make it look more professional and elegant.  I used a clear cellophane bag with a coloured ribbon tied around it.  The ribbon matched the theme colours of my wedding (green with accents of fuchsia pink).  I found the bags at Wal-Mart, made by Wilson and are fairly inexpensive.  The clear bags are a really nice touch because they add colour to your table setting. The only other touch of colour I had on the table were my green topiary centerpieces (this is to come in another post!)  Another option which also works is packaging the cookis in clear boxes.  However I didn’t do this because I couldn’t find the exact box I was looking for, and they are typically more expensive.  Remember, I am a frugal fashionista 😉

3. Assign tasks.  Being the bride you need to organize who will do what and when.  One tip of advice: the cookies do not need to be completed in one day- it is a process.  If you plan it properly, you can actually do one task a day.  I made the batter 6 days before the wedding and baked them that night with the help of my fiance and sister).  The cookies were flooded with the pink 5 days in advance (with the help of my mom and sisters).  The fine details were done 4 days in advance (thanks to the help of my MOH who handwrit “CB” on every cookie).   I was fortunate to have someone to do the fine detailing who had a steady and consistent hand.  She did almost every cookie identically.  Finally, all of us girls bagged and tied ribbons 3 days before the wedding.

Paris, France

Paris in the fall!  Something I’ve always dreamed of doing, and here I was!  This was our last stop on our European journey.  It was our first day in Paris, and I had to see the Eiffel Tower!  So we walked, and walked some more, thinking that it would be a short journey there, but it was actually located at the other end of the city from where our apartment was (who knew).  Finally, I could see it!  We were almost there!  It was so exciting to finally see it! I had to get my first snap shot of it (show below!)

As we got closer and closer, I had to get more and more shots of this magnificent structure from every angle!  (don’t worry I won’t show you all of my pictures as it will probably bore you to  death).  But I do want to say, that the Eiffel is a lot bigger in real life than I expected it to be, and it felt so powerful to be right beside this gigantic framework!

 We ate lunch at the park beside the Eiffel Tower (we stopped at a bakery on our journey there and  grabbed a baguette and a drink).   This felt good.  I felt like we finally reached our destination.  This is what Paris is about, when you think Paris you think the Eiffel Tower (for me atleast). We spent the afternoon here, hanging out on a bench and watching the people and scenery.  It was the perfect day!  On our way back, our feet were aching and it was a chore to get back to the apartment.  That night and the next day our feet were still in pain, and I would say that it ruined the following day, as we both were unable to do anymore walking.  One tip of advice: get to know the subway system as soon as you get to Paris. It is too big to walk everywhere!  The subway system is a very simple system and it would have saved our feet from all of this agony!  However, to me, it was worth the walk to see the Eiffel Tower!

Bacharach, Germany

The town of Bacharach, Germany – has existed before the time of the Romans.  It’s name can be led back to the celtic settlement – Baccaracum. The first mention of this town was in the year 923.

This was our second destination in Germany (the first was Dusseldorf where our plane landed). We arrived in Bacharach by train, then made our way by foot with our luggage in hand (about 100 yards) to the heart of this adorable little town.

It is a very picturesque town with timber framed houses and cute little restaurants, patios, shops and a delicious bakery conveniently located right across the street from where we stayed at Pension Lettie’s.  We stayed for 2 nights, which I believe is more than enough time to see everything there is to see in this little town.

The first day we toured up to Castle Stahleck (shown in picture) which is now a hotel.  We enjoyed a piece of Apple Kuchen and a cup of coffee on the balcony of the castle which overlooked the beautiful view of the Rhine River.

We decided to explore the town further, travelling down an unknown road which led back into town.  Then we saw a path going into the vineyards and decided to take it!  This led us to  a tower (shown in the picture) which we climbed all the way up and enjoyed the view.  Afterwards, we trecked further up the vineyards until we reached a plateau.  From there we sat on a bench overlooking yet another beautiful view of the town and Rhine River.  We ended off our excursion by going back into town to the local grocery store, buying some meat and buns and had a picnic lunch beside the Rhine River, watching the freight boats and ferries go by.

From Bacharach we took a day trip to St. Goar which is just a train stop away.  St. Goar has a castle called,  Castle Burg Rheinfels, where you can actually go on a self guided tour.  I would highly recommend this tour as it was quite historically interesting!

More to come….