week 27: opening those eyes!

it's my last week of my second trimester!  oh my goodness, time is flying.  this week, nora belle is about the size of a head of cauliflower & weighs about two pounds.  she is learning to sleep for awhile at a time & then waking up to have a party in my belly.  you can even sometimes see her kicking!

a very wonderful thing happened for me in kansas city this week - i finally found a delicious americano.  excellent beans, a barista who knows what they are doing, & an appropriate amount of water.  i am a happy girl.  oddly correct, i knew you wouldn't disappoint.  i heart you.

& i made scones this week!  mmmmmm... maple pecan scones.  i heart you too.

{happy husband}

 {& a delicious mocktail & cocktail at remedy!

happy wife}

love love,

kjp.

week 19: my final week at urban.

week 19 meant my last week at my beloved baking job.  urban standard became my home away from home in birmy.  i started working there in only our second month in alabama, when i knew almost no one in the state.  over the years, blake & i met so many friends at the shop and felt much more at home.  after graduating from pastry school, i was enabled to create my dream job.  i could not be more grateful for the experience.

saying goodbyes are always hard.  saying goodbye to your dream job when 19 weeks pregnant - oh my goodness, so many tears!

over my last week, i made so many of my favorite treats, customers' favorite treats, & a few fancy things i had been wanting to try.  but my last day was purely selfish with my favorite espresso donuts, my favorite chocolate chip orange zest cookies, & my favorite spicy mexican chocolate cake bites. blakey & i even shared one a piece.  & they were delicious :)

with all of the goodbyes were also many hugs, so many kind words, two beautiful flower bouquets, fun photos of me baking, & more fun gifts.  helen even taught me how to make her amazing banana pudding!  y'all have to try it.  ask me.  i'll make it for you.

goodness gracious, y'all are the best.  four of the best years of my life with so much learning & experiencing & loving.  urban, you are so going to be missed.

love love,

kjp.

b is for bennett!

elyse & matt are having a baby boy!!  bennett david rogers is so loved by his family & this wonderful group of friends.  we cannot wait to meet you!

to celebrate this anticipated little boy, we threw a baby shower!  we enjoyed a blue theme with bleu cheese, apple, & caramelized red onion dip with blue corn chips, purple potato salad, moe's wings with bleu cheese dip, & blueberry cupcakes with honey cream cheese frosting.  we toasted with champagne & alcohol-free champagne with blueberries, blackberry mint water, & of course the father-to-be's favorite, miller lite.

it was an afternoon full of love, joy, laughs, & so much to celebrate.  congratulations, elyse & matt!  we are going to love that little baby boy of yours.

love love,

kjp.

happy & love to you!!

wishing much happiness & love to you on this february 14th!  i hope your day is filled with wonderful people & a delicious treat or two.

 {valentine's vanilla cupcakes}

 {conversation heart sugar cookies}

{hugs & kisses to you, sweet husband & valentine of mine}

love love,

kjp.

christmas baking treats!

{christmas ale donuts with a christmas ale glaze!}

christmas time is a wonderful time in the baking world!  gingerbread & peppermint & eggnog.  salted caramel & spicy chocolate & even christmas ale.  all sorts of comforting tastes & aromas, twisted in a new & fun way.  one more reason to love christmas!

 {glazed gingerbread donuts}

 {peppermint marshmallows,

the original puppy chow,

& salted caramel puppy chow}

my favorite new experiment of the season was making homemade marshmallows!  oh my goodness, it was so much fun.  it made a huge mess, turning from a liquid into this big, white, fluffy goo.  at one point, you think there is no way this is going to turn into a marshmallow.  & then a few hours later, marshmallows!  i made peppermint this time, but it would be so fun to experiment with all different flavors like rum or whiskey for adult beverages.  i think yes.

 {eggnog cheesecake with a graham cracker crust}

 {mexican chocolate cookies with spiced whipped cream}

{homemade flavored whipped cream might be my favorite food of all time.}

{& my winter cupcake - salted caramel!}

happy weekend, friends!

love love,

kjp.

happy 12 days til christmas!

{housemade girl scout samoa cookies!}

twelve days til christmas, friends!  i finally finished up our christmas shopping & christmas wrapping & christmas mailing today.  christmas cards are arriving daily & are now hung on ribbon for all to see.  & our advent calendar is happily counting down to christmas day.  it truly is a joyful season.

{housemade nutter butters!}

happy 12 days til christmas, friends.  wishing you joy & peace & a deep breath to remember the reason for christmas.

love love,

kjp.

a happy & tasty halloween.

{candy cane cupcakes!}

we hope you & yours had a most wonderful halloween filled with chocolate & candy & adorable kiddos in costumes.  that or a quiet evening at home like we thoroughly enjoyed :)

 {spiderweb chocolate cookies}

of course, i celebrated all week with a few fun halloween treats.  i just love getting to create adorable little treats with fun piping.  baking holiday fun!

 {satsuma orange cake}

{caramel apple cheesecake with a graham cracker crust}

malcolm was fantastic mr fox for halloween!  he was absolutely the cutest little fox man dressed in a tie in the universe.  he helped hand out the candy & taught all of the boys & girls to say "trick-or-treat" before getting candy.  smart & polite little man.

{that smile!  i swoon.}

love love,

kjp.

apple pie, y'all.

making pie is super scary.  the crust has to be flaky & buttery yet firm.  the inside has to be soft & fully cooked but not overdone.  & you just have one shot.  good luck.  hope all that time & effort works out for you.

a couple weeks ago, i had the opportunity to make four bourbon apple pies for a private event at urban.  the lady planning the event was a graduate of a pretty prestigious culinary school, so i was a bit nervous.  a couple days early, i actually did a practice run of the apple pie, which i almost never do.  it turned out so well!  i even had some extra pie crust & apple filling, so i made adorable little muffin-sized apple pies for us to try & sold the big pie by the slice.

for the day-of pies, i brought in my tiny leaf cutters & decorated the edge of the pie with little leaves.  it was pretty darn cute in an appropriately ironic way.  {read: hipster}  i'm not going to lie or be humble here:  i am proud of these pies.

luckily for me, my fantastic manager was also proud of me for working so darn hard on them that he bought me the best thank you gift ever - a bottle of rombauer chardonnay!  i will bake just about anything for a bottle of rombauer.  keep that in mind :)

happy friday, friends!

love love,

kjp.

fall weather is here!

{my pumpkin cupcake with spiced maple cream cheese frosting}

oh my goodness, it is beautiful outside!  it is a little bit chilly {low 60s in the morning & low 70s in the afternoon... i am so not prepared for winter.}, a little bit breezy, & a little bit cloudy.  isn't it a fabulous change from the hot, hot summer?  it makes me oh so happy.

this gorgeous weather is supposed to continue into the weekend, so we are going to celebrate with a big batch of soup, lots of football, & a night in with tanky.

ps i know most of these photos are HORRIBLE.  the beautiful first one is by the fancy photographer who takes pictures for urban's website.  the rest are from my very very kind manager's phone, which he is allowing me to borrow while my iphone is dead & until my new iphone arrives.  hopefully tomorrow!  then the photos will not be amazing but at least they wont be blurry.

{apple fritter donuts}

happy friday, friends!

love love,

kjp.

thankful thursday - farewell mg.

one of the most lovely persons i have ever been so lucky to know is leaving urban tomorrow.  marygrace is our amazing bread baker & my fabulous baking assistant.  she is a true joy, full of light, laughter, depth, & wisdom.  it's truly been an honor to work next to her in our bright little urban baking world.

marygrace - i wish you the absolute best on your next adventure!  excited to see you grow, my friend.

i am thankful for you.

&, friends, i hope you can think of something today for which you are thankful.

love love,
kjp.

brightening a day with flour & sugar.

one of our customers at urban that has been a regular since i began over three years ago has been in a bad mood lately.  he's usually a cheerful fellow, always saying hello & inquiring about our lives.  but lately he's seemed down, sad, not himself.

this fella happens to very much like my blueberry muffins with blueberry jam on top.  he has inquired about exactly how i make them, make the jam, make the crispy topping.  he frequently asks if i am going to make them on any given day.  he is very kind about these muffins.

so yesterday morning, i decided to whip up some muffins as quickly as i could, in hopes they would be out of the oven before he came in for his cappuccino.  luckily, he was sitting down with a newspaper when they were finally done.  i took one to his table, fresh out of the oven, & asked if he would like a muffin.

shocked, he looked up at me & said yes, he would like that very much.  i set it down, warned him it was quite hot, & walked away.

when i came back out front a bit later to put out the rest of the muffins to sell, he walked up to me & with tears in his eyes said "you have no idea how much i needed that this morning.  not the muffin, but the gesture.  thank you.  thank you so much.  thank you."

sometimes all it takes is a little flour & sugar.

i am so thankful for that experience.

i hope your days get much better, robert.

& i hope your weekend is absolutely wonderful, friends.

love love,
kjp.

happy fall, y'all.

the first week of fall has brought lots of delicious flavors to my baking kitchen.  i am going all out with the cinnamon & ginger & apples.  yummm.  it makes me so happy.

 {out with the beautiful summer peach cupcakes...}

 {in with my all-time favorite pumpkin spice cupcake with spiced maple cream cheese frosting!}

{orange bars with a ginger bread crust}

 {espresso chocolate chip cookies}

{pear cream cheese crisp}

happy friday, friends.

love love,

kjp.