HE is the Champion!

Last week as March Madness came to a close (in April) Joey awarded the Boyce/Biron Mad to the Max trophy to Nate. For the past two years, Joey's mom, Jackie, has had the winning picks and beat EVERYONE, so we were all looking to snatch that trophy away from her!
Joey came in a close second and, surprisingly, out of the twelve of us, I was third. Those darn bonus points really made a difference this year. It looks like taking less than three minutes to complete the bracket and doing absolutely no research was a good strategy for me. Next year I'm aiming for two minutes and more oblivion to basketball and maybe I'll be the champion. Max loves being on our mantle. I think he wants to stay.

'Hoppy' Easter!

Easter might not be the most festive holiday, but I'm now convinced it's definitely the cutest! Bunnies and baby chicks and colored eggs...it practically screams cute. Just when I thought I had finished Easter's sweet treats, I put my beloved Kitchenaid to work one more time and came out with these:


Cute, right? Just like the rest of Easter. It was definitely more time consuming than the cupcakes, but, actually, pretty relaxing. I'm no pro. In fact I've never made bunnies before, but maybe if I really do lose my job I'll take up cookie decorating. Not quite as lucrative, but creative and fun for sure!

So now that I've got all of the 'Hallmark' parts of Easter taken care of, tomorrow we'll focus on the real reason to celebrate this day. I think we'll start with a message by Jeffrey R. Holland.

HAPPY EASTER!

* And, of course, if you want the recipe for my new favorite sugar cookies go HERE. *

Just a little more Easter...

Have I mentioned before that my family is packed full of holiday traditions? I honestly can't remember an Easter when I haven't made these. Even in college I called my mom and had her talk me through making frosting. (Because I didn't know you could buy frosting!) They're fun to assemble, especially with friends or kids, but I was on my own this year because Nate's out of town. And, they're also a great memory each year of one way we got ready for Easter in my younger years. Oh, and they're really fun treats to deliver to friends! Thanks Mom, for being so creative all those years ago! This is one tradition that will definitely keep going.

(oh, and you can get the exact instructions, not that it's super complicated or anything, HERE.)

In the spirit of Easter...

As a kid I LOVED Cadbury Creme Eggs. It probably had something to do with the novelty of them only coming around once a year, but that, combined with the chocolate shell and sugary creme filling was all it took. My sister and I used to wait for the first Cadbury commercial of the season. You remember the rabbit that would sound like a chicken and then lay the eggs, right?

When we were much younger my sister even convinced me to try them frozen. Pretty good, at least from what I remember, and not so messy. I don't know when the last time was that I ate a creme egg, because it's just sugar overload for me. But I do have great admiration for my friend Julie who can still eat one (or maybe two) and loves it as much as I did when I was seven.

I'm sure those folks at Cadbury never imagined their eggs would be used for this purpose. Pretty ingenious and, I guess if you're not going to EAT those creme eggs, they may as well be put to some other creative use! Whether it's Cadburys, Peeps or Sweet Tart Jelly Beans (a new favorite of mine!) may your days approaching Easter be filled with sweetness!


Oh, and Julie, here's a new way to eat those Cadburys, if you're interested!