Birthday reveal.

I can't tell you how excited I am to make crafty crafts for people. I've never been one that could make anything, so as my housewifery skills expand, it makes me endlessly happy to share goodies with those I love. And now I can reveal some long-in-the-works projects. Remember when Lisa and I went cherry picking? My plan going into that day was to make boozy cherries for Rachel's birthday (I'd gotten the inspiration from my "ancient techniques" preservation book I had a the time). Since I didn't even have to pit these babies, this was a super easy project. Just some canning jars, a few cups of sugar, a few cups of brandy, and some handfuls of cherries.

A few days in the sun, a good shake, then another month in the sun. (I had to hide them behind planters during my bday bbq! hehe!) Then inside to "settle" in a cool dry place for a while. And now they are good for a year. I forgot to take an after pic (duh!), but they look a little scary -- they soak up all the booze and shrivel, so they aren't the beautiful red cherries they were in the beginning. BUT I promise I made a tester jar and I ate one first and I didn't die of botulism (so you're good to go, Rachel). These guys are good in drinks, on ice cream, or just to snack on (although they are SUPER boozy).

What goes with cherries? Why, chocolate, of course! I've had this plan a-brewin for a while, too -- chocolate red wine cupcakes with mascarpone frosting. Sights of yummy:

"Where are my treats?!"

I didn't want to take any chances, so I followed the recipe as-is (although I did substitute half a stick of butter for some applesauce). Excluding the grapes on top. That just seemed weird. (Oh, and I didn't figure Rachel wanted two dozen cupcakes, so I halved the recipe).

I like to call them my classy cupcakes. They are very chocolatey but not ooegy gooey -- see? Adult-like! The frosting was interestingly tasty, too, with the mascarpone, which I don't think I've ever had before. Once they were ready to go, I planned a surprise visit and hopped into Rachel's cube. :)

For Kristal, I decided to whip up some knitted goodies. On occasion I'm lucky enough to share a coffee/walking lunch with Kristal, so I know she loves her hot beverages. When I found a pattern for a "coffee corset" a few months ago, I knew I had to make it for her.

This is my first finished project on straight needles and only my second project with cotton. I made a hat(s) out of cotton this summer and I hated knitting with it. I'm glad I did this because I discovered cotton can be perfectly lovely. And when I saw this yarn, it just screamed Kristal to me.

I decided to knit up "the idiot's dishcloth" for her, too, with the matching leftover yarn. This was a super fun project (both were, actually). It was so nerdily exciting for me to see the square (square-ish) start to appear. I kept going "Ohh! Look, Brad!" And he'd nod and say "mmhmm." It looked VERY strange when I finished, but luckily blocking it fixed the shape somewhat. It mostly looks like a square now.

I was able to gift Kristal her goodies early, and she already put them to good use!

Hope both the ladies had/have lovely birthdays!