Hart 2 Heart

Hello o o o . . .

Anyone out there? It seems I took a bit of a break from blogville. I kept thinking of so many things I wanted to write about, but then the longer I waited, the more I wondered where to start! Finally, I dedided to just. . . START!

To recap. . . my last post was all about my Spring Boutique. it was lots of fun as usual. It's always nice to be able to set up with out the constraints of a 10 x 10 tent, AND without loading the van to the brim!

Of course I always serve sangria and cookies (and some healthy bits). Can't do that at a street fair!

My neighbor Stephanie and I managed to get a really good garden going, in between our busy schedules.

Lots of basil. . .

Japanese eggplant. . .

'maters. . .

'taters. . .

a few sunflowers. . .

. . . among other things. It was fun to have big variety, if not a huge harvest of anything in particular.

And there is always enough to share with the tortoises.

O.k. I'm exhausted. This blog business takes time and energy! I think I'll leave you now and share more soon! I promise. Really. 

 

Spring is in the cookies!

I guess I've been pretty busy making cookies lately. Springtime brings bugs, baby showers, First Communions and flowers, not to mention birthday parties, which seem to occur all year. I'm going in several different directions these days, and it has my head spinning a bit. Fighting a head cold doesn't help, but you need not hear the details of that! Quick question, (if you're still reading, not just looking at the pictures) we've been experimenting with backgrounds for photos. Which do you prefer, the white background, or the dark/wood table background? Now, look at the pictures again and report back. I'm going to go make myself a hot toddy. 

Happy Monday!

How YOU doin?

Easter goodness all around

It has been a most wonderful Easter season around here. It started with two very fun cookie decorating classes. Which of course included a signature cocktail. I chose a Midori Sour, with a little festive garnish. I was quite excited to find green bunny 'peeps' to coordinate! Once my classes were done, I was on to Easter cookie orders, and there were a lot! I'm so grateful to my customers, friends, family and assistant elves who give me all the support I need to make it happen. It gets more fun all the time, and I wouldn't want to do anything else! Except maybe relax, celebrate the season, and take the night off. Happy Easter to all!

 

A lot of this, and a little of that.

Every day I think, "I should REALLY post on my blog". Then I get REALLY busy doing something else. Like making these super cute vintage pillowcase blouses. There are a bunch of them over in my ETSY shop.

Then I drove to Newport Beach and set up my little shop at the Lido Village Artisan Market. I'll be there again on April 7th, if you're in the neighborhood.

I made a few cookies. These were really fun. They were for a group of lady friends who were going on a trip to wine country, the Redwoods, the ocean, whale watching. 

And then there was St. Patrick's Day. I had more orders than usual this year, which was nice. I'm now making a gluten free version by special order. They taste very good! Different, but good.

And of course there was a little relaxing to do . . . at least for Lanky. . .

. . . and the kitties. I had more sewing to do, cookies to make, classes to teach. I promise to be back sooner to tell you more. For now, I'm in the thick of Easter cookie making! Oh, I love my life! Really! I'm not kidding. 

Let's make cookies!

One of the latest ventures in my cookie business has been teaching cookie decorating classes. For Valentine's Day, I hosted two classes at my home, and I have to say it was the highlight of my month! After the Friday night class of 12 filled up rapidly, I added a Saturday afternoon class. With the help of my dear girls, Haley, Monique and Cheryl, we prepared for two days, baking cookies, making royal icing and filling pastry bags. We added two leaves to my dining room table, decorated with lots of hearts, and prepared delicious raspberry mimosas. All of my students were so excited and eager to learn. The classes included former students from my days as a Jr. High music teacher, valued customers, mothers, daughters and granddaughters, old and new friends. It was so. much. fun. So much so, that we're going to do it again! I'll be having two more classes before Easter, March 15th and 16th. If you're interested in joining the fun, "Like" my Kelley Hart Custom Cookie page on Facebook for updates, or email me. In the mein time, I'll be thinking up a refreshing cocktail to serve!

 

 

 

Valentine cookie love to all!

Well, what can I say. I've had a very busy Valentine cookie season. I've so enjoyed talking to all of my customers and spreading some sweet cookie love. But now, I'm just a bit exhausted, so I'm going to take the night off, order a pizza, and eat some chocolate. xo to all.

The saga continues. . .

On this most wonderful Inauguration Day, and Martin Luther King Day, I thought I'd FINALLY get back to my blog and share my adventures back east. . .  

i arrived at the home of my childhood friend in Silver Spring, Maryland, just in time to celebrate New Year's Eve. On the 2nd, Karen took me down to the mall to see the White House. I was SOOO sad to see that they had already taken down the Christmas decorations. A security guard heard me whining and explained that they had just taken them down early in the morning. Too early in my opinion! Fortunately, the National Christmas tree was still aglow.

On the 3rd, Karen and I took the bus up to Brooklyn. I am in love with this city! I adore the row houses, the restaurants, the whole scene.

We stayed in the Park Slope neighborhood, and within a few blocks you could eat almost any ethnic food you desired. We had great Middle Eastern, Italian and Columbian food, where we started with avocado fries! They were surprisingly delicious!

The main purpose of my trip was to play with the Pittsburgh Collective again. As usual it was beyond fabulous! We played at the ShapeShifter Lab. The sax section was awesome!

When my time in Brooklyn was sadly over, we hopped on the subway, back to Manhattan, and took the bus back to Maryland.

Though I had my new cape from Anthropologie, a wooly hat from a handmade shop in Brooklyn, and crocheted wrist warmers, I can't remember being so cold! And that's coming from a girl who grew up in Wyoming. Maybe my pipe dream of living in Brooklyn isn't all that realistic. So back to So. Cal. I came, where we had record low temps for a couple weeks (and New York got up into the 60s!). Whatever! We're now back to our comfortable 70 degree winter weather. I do love it here! Now that I got all that off my chest, I promise to move on and keep up with my blogging a little better. 

 

The holidays begin!

I am a little overwhelmed, a little tired, but oh so happy. I had to take time away from my never ending cookie orders to share the wonderful things that have been going on in my world. Thanks to my mom and dad, we were able to fly to Nebraska to meet up with a whole flock of the Iowa Harts for a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend. My cousin Allen, his wife Jill, and kids Isaac and Kate were the MOST generous hosts. They not only housed the three of us, but my parents and brother who drove over from Wyoming, as well. The weather was perfect and we spent all of Wednesday making pies! Kate pictured above, turned out to be an amazing baker. She promises to come to LA to be my assistant one day.

The pies and the company and the mountains of food were all delicious. Can you tell that I really bonded with my young cousin? The skirt I brought her fit perfectly. . . such a cute and sweet young lady.

We literally drove over the river and through the woods to Villisca, Iowa, where my grandparents lived, and my dad grew up. I have such fond memories of visiting them on the farm, and eating the marvelous pies made by my Grandma Hart; obviously the root of my pie obsession. 

A highlight of the trip was a very fruitful jaunt to the best antique flea market that I've EVER seen! I found lots of beautiful linens and table cloths (to be revealed at a later date), as well as a plethora of cookie cutters that just had to come home with me. My favorites are the little ones at the bottom of the photo, which are exactly like the ones I used as a kid, making cookies with my parents. I've been wanting to find those again, and hadn't even thought to look at a flea market, but THERE THEY WERE, thanks to my eagle eyed cousins!

After the most wonderful, and relaxing vacation, it was time for my traveling companions and I to return to reality, L.A., work. . . 

Lanky was very pleased to see us. Evidently he got a little dehydrated at the kennel.

Summer's Bounty

It has been a great summer for my garden, and my favorite food in the world? Garden fresh tomatoes! Followed closely by fresh picked corn. Thankfully, my dear neighbor Stephanie has taken on much of the garden chores. She doesn't have a garden spot in her yard, so we decided to have a little garden coop! It's been HOT, unusually hot here lately, so we've needed a little extra refreshment. My beverage of choice? Cucumber Mojitos! We have a crazy wild bush of mint in the garden, and I finally found a good use for it. Now I just need a lime tree--that's a plan for phase two of the garden restoration (in my dreams). Hope you are enjoying the last lazy days of summer. Need a little tasty hydration? Here is a great recipe for the Mojitos. Cheers!