A perfect day off in the Kitchen!

I knew I would absolutely love this cart the moment I spied

it at the antiques faire in Liberty a couple of months ago!

But I had no idea it would be quite this fabulous!

It functioned exactly like I imagined! Not only will it hold sheets of my

iced cookies while they dry, it's sturdy enough to hold my mixer too!

This little commercial pan cart is exactly what I needed! It's like I just added

another whole work station to my kitchen. And, it's on wheels too! This pan

cart functioned beautiful today while I mixed up batch after batch of Bridget's

sugar cookie recipe! Why am I busy cranking out decorated sugar cookies again?

And, why are they elephant cookies? Radical Conservative

Republican? Why, yes, I am... But it's not what you think!

So I'll tell you!

You see, my dear friend Monica is having a baby. and she asked me if I would

make cookies for her baby shower planned for July 9th. Of course, I said Yes! So

Monica sent me her ideas, and a cookie cutter too! Now, you know me... I tend to

say Yes to my friends pretty fast, and this time was no different. So today, instead

of working on my tan by the pool on my day off, I'm in the kitchen working on

cookies. Why so early? Well, because I said Yes before I checked my calendar!

Had I checked my calendar first, I would have remembered that we're in

Charleston at Middleton Place and kayaking the week before Monica's shower!  

We are scheduled for our first Twilight paddle

near Folly Beach, and I cannot wait!

So, sweet Monica will have her baby shower cookies and we'll have our kayaking

vacation! It'll just take a little extra planning and work, but in the end it'll be

so worth it to know that Monica and her guests will be enjoying my cookies

while we're relaxing at the beach! So today I baked up Monica's elephants

and put them in the freezer where they will keep perfectly fresh until I'm

ready to decorate and ship them to Texas! And, while I had the mixer out...   

I banged out some long overdue Thank you cookies too! You see, while the Ranger

was deployed earlier this year he lost his retainer... Since he's been out of braces

for almost six years I didn't think a duplicate of the original set could be made.

But we have an incredible orthodontist! So when I phoned Dr. Rickabaugh,

on a Saturday no less, he told me not to worry... Then Dr. Rickabaugh went

to the extraordinary effort to retrieve Ranger's old models from storage,

had his lab put a rush on a new set, and then, he only charged us the lab fee!    

So for that, Dr. Rickabaugh and his team deserve much more than cookies! And, I'm

happy to finally get the opportunity to use these fantastic copper cookie cutters

from CopperGifts.com! I've had them for almost a year... I ordered them after

someone at work told me her sister worked in a dental office and that she wanted

to order some tooth and toothbrush cookies... When that didn't happen, I put

the cutters away. And, do let me tell you... I've known the difference between

crappy cookie cutters and truly great, heirloom-quality cookie cutters like

these crafted right here in America by CopperGifts.com but today I was

reminded again what an amazing difference it makes! Although the cutter

Monica sent is cute, I had to work a lot harder at making my cuts, and I

had to do a lot of trimming and molding to straighten up the lines! 

  But with CopperGifts.com cutters, you get straight and even

cuts all the way through the dough on the first try and Every time!

 Which is exactly the result I'm always looking for!

 I've never not wanted to break a tooth more in my life!

It wasn't all work in the kitchen today! I did manage to get outside a little bit...

I watched this goofy squirrel carry the bagel I tossed out the

window across the yard. The bagel weighed more than he does!

So he kept stopping to nibble to lighten his load! 

I wandered around the veg garden a little too...

And, I found that someone had been busy digging this morning!

Which means there's probably something waiting for me back in the kitchen! 

And... I see that I'm right!

Red onions and Yukon Gold potatoes right out of the dirt...

And, I know just how to put them to use for dinner later!

But right now... Someone just came into my kitchen, and he was none

to pleased to hear that the cookies he's been sniffing all morning weren't

for him. Truthfully, it didn't even occur to me to make a few extra for

him... So I better get busy and whip up some brownies. Because at

this point, only Guittard chocolate brownies will save me!

Besides, I also have to convince him that I didn't use Christmas paper to wrap

his Father's Day gift! I mean, he loves to garden. And, those are trees... Right? 

Let's just hope my brownies are enough to distract him!

Hey! This could work!

Now if you'll excuse me... I am going to join that rather large,

Bing-kitty lump you see underneath my duvet for a little nap!

I am soooo Loving my sheet pan cart, so I'm Linking up to Tidy Mom's Lovin' It post!