Bake Sale Time

Please order by Friday, February 7th 
so that I can have your treats to you by Valentine's Day.  

VALENTINE’S DAY: Baking With Purpose
Everyone needs a little love.
For me, love means a happy tummy.
I love to bake.  I love helping animals.
So how can you help? Well, it's simple...
you buy cookies, treats, or pies.
Together we can make a difference.

High-Maintenance Cookies (Specialty Cookies)
Just like people, some cookies are a little high-maintenance…
they take a bit longer to create perfection.
Therefore the price reflects the extra pizzazz that it takes.

-German Chocolate Cake-Frosting Center
-Red Velvet Cheesecake-Cheesecake Center
-Cream Cheese Sugar
-GF/Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk
-GF/Vegan Cowboy (Almond Butter)
                
High-Maintenance Cookies
can be ordered by
- Full Containers will be $15.00
- Half Containers will be $7.50

Classic Cookie Flavors

-Peanut Butter Chip
-Compost (Monster) Cookies
-Mexican Hot Chocolate 
-Oatmeal-Raisin 
-Soft Sugar Cookies 
-Lemon Crinkle 
-Ginger-Molasses 
-Snickerdoodles 
-Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie 
**Classic Cookies can be ordered by
- Full Containers will be $12.00
- Half Containers will be $6.00

PIES:        $12.00 each

-Apple
-Dutch Apple
-Pecan 
-Chocolate Cream

Cakes:    $15.00
6" 3 layer cakes...choose your cake and frosting.  
It's a little piece of heaven. 
Cake
-Chocolate 
-Red Velvet
-Vanilla

Frosting
-Vanilla Buttercream
-Chocolate Buttercream
-Cream Cheese

***Payment by cash, check, or credit card. How easy is that?!
If you would like to order, please email me at livesimplywithsparkle@gmail.com

 or Facebook message me.

Valentine's Day Bake Sale

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookie

Okay...Valentine's day is a month away,
but it's not too early to start thinking about it.
I sure am, but I'm thinking about cookies, treats and pies.
Simply, all the things to treat the people that you love, with something sweet.
A treat for them and new freedom for dogs.
Valentine's day is all about love and FFF dogs.
Together we can show them  that there is more to life,
 then living on a chain.

Baking With Purpose

German Chocolate Cookie

With each Bake Sale, I raise money for a charity that I love.

Everyone needs a little love.

For me, love means a happy tummy.

I love to bake.

I love helping animals.

And I know that you love to help too!

So how can you help?

Well, it's simple...you buy cookies, treats, or pies.

That's it!

Dark Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie (GF and Vegan)

COOKIES:
Because a cookie makes everything just a little better.

Speciality Cookies:

-German Chocolate Cake-Frosting Center

-Red Velvet Cheesecake-Cheesecake Center

-Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
-Cowboy Cookie (Gluten-Free and Vegan Only)
-Dark Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies (Gluten-Free and Vegan Only)

               

                    **Speciality Cookies can be ordered by

                         - Full Containers will be $15.00
                                  (16-20ish cookies depending on cookie size)

Classic Chocolate Chip

                         - Half Containers will be $7.50
                                  (8-10ish cookies, depending on cookie size)

Cookie Flavors available all year:

-Peanut Butter Chip

-Mexican Hot Chocolate Shortbread

-Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate 

-Soft Sugar Cookies 

-Lemon Shortbread

-Snickerdoodles 

-Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie 

               **Cookies can be ordered by

                    - Full Containers will be $12.00
                            (16-20ish cookies depending on cookie size)

                    - Half Containers will be $6.00
                            (8-10ish cookies, depending on cookie size)

                    Please specify if you want the vegan option.

COOKIE SANDWICHES:
My favorite cookies filled with either vanilla or chocolate buttercream.
I'm only making Chocolate Chip Cookie sandwiches for Valentine's Day.

**Cookies can be ordered by Full Containers only for $12.00  
(approx. 10 cookie sandwiches)

Dutch Apple Pie

PIES:        $12.00 each
-Apple
-Dutch Apple
-Chocolate Cream
-Marionberry












BREADS    $8 per loaf
Pumpkin Bread (regular or vegan)
Lemon Poppyseed Bread (regular or vegan)
Lemon-Blueberry Bread (regular or vegan)
Orange Cranberry Bread (regular or vegan)

***Payment by cash, check, or credit card. How easy is that?!
If you would like to order, please email me at 
livesimplywithsparkle@gmail.com and place your order.  
Remember, each order is made just for you, so a couple days is necessary to make each one special.
Thank you!

I'm amazed...I really love it.

Is it just me or does everyone feel this way?

Sometimes I wonder if it's just me...

and I'm totally fine if I'm alone in this,

but I'm constantly amazed.

Joy

I hope that I never get to the point that I expect things,

because the feeling of amazement is enjoyable to me.

My eyes get a little misty...

My nose starts running a little...

                 (Yes, I'm one of those people that has a runny nose when they cry...

                   everything is connected that way in my head.)

My heart feels all mushy and HUGE...

and I struggle with my words.

Now those that know me well,

also know that I generally do not struggle with words.

I wordy.

Quite wordy.

So when I have a hard time getting words out it means one of two things...

I'm really happy, or I'm really mad.

In this case...

I'm really happy.

REALLY, REALLY HAPPY!

And you did this! 

Yes, you know who you are.
In fact, many of you keep telling me that your pants feel a little tighter.
People, I told you that the cookies can be frozen, but you just went ahead and ATE them!
I actually prefer that.  Nice job! It's makes the baker in my smile.
No, I don't smile because you feel fat...
I smile because it makes me happy to feed you sweets.
I really love it when you tell me something was delicious.
I love it when you talk about feeding it to your child
                  and how much they enjoyed each bite.
I love the pictures of happy faces shoving
                  chocolate cookies into their mouths.
I love it when you describe how you meant to
                  give it to your husband or wife,
                  but you ate it on the car ride home.
                  (Hehe...I really love that.)
I love when you describe how you and your
                  teenage son couldn't wait until after dinner,
                  so you grabbed two forks
                  and share a piece of cake. 
Each and every story makes me love baking even more,
                  and makes me love you more too.

Because when I bake I picture you.

I feel the love that you have for your family

and the love that you have...well...for me.

I really feel it...

and it amazes me.

Each and every time.

Even more, I'm amazed at how a little cookie, brownie, cupcake,

and scone can add up to a whole bunch of good

in the lives of animals in our community.

I'm thankful that I have found an organization in Fences for Fido 

that loves to help the special dogs that need our care. 

I've always felt that it's our job to care for each other...

human or animal. 

We are never alone when we have a friend on our side. 

For me, some days that friend is human,

but every day my dog is there. 

And that makes me a very lucky girl.

Audrey Hepburn

Beautifully stated Audrey...

Each time I hold a bake sale,

I can accomplish both of those things.

I help myself feel proud to be a part of a community dedicated to helping dogs,

and help others enjoy tasty treats while donating to this amazing cause.

It's definitely a win-win!

And I thank you from the bottom of my mushy, huge heart.

Now, to tempt your taste buds for future bake sales,

here are a few of my treat offerings.

Love to you! ~Lori

Happy "Freedom" Day

Now, Valentine's Day means a something a little different to me than it does to you.
(I'm pretty sure that most people don't have the same connections as I do. Yep.  Pretty darn sure.)

Yes, Valentine's is a day to celebrate the people that you love
and shower them with little sentiments of how much they mean to you.
It's a day that card manufactures
and chocolate company's boost their sales...
A day when bakeries (yumma!) open their doors
and supply their patrons with heart shaped confections...
The day that I have another glorious bake sale of new treats for Fences...
Kids hand out little notes of love and friendship to their classmates...
Parents dote on their kids with little notes of love...
All of these things are fabulous!
I love each and every one of those things, but to me "Freedom" day is all of that
and every other holiday wrapped up in a fabulous package.

You must be curious now...right?!
What could be better than all of that?!
Well...let me tell you!

For me, it is "Lori's Freedom Day.
Ahhh...beautiful, lovely, glorious freedom day.
The day that I was unchained from an unhealthy marriage.
It's the day that my shackles of pain and sadness were removed and I was FREE!
Unburdened...
Released...
Divorced finalized!

For some people, this type of day falling on a day
dedicated to love may seem horrible.
Stained.
Tainted.
Depressing.
Really, really sad.
But not to me.

Valentine's Day is a day of love.
It represents me, loving myself enough to get out of a bad situation.
Me, having amazing people who LOVE ME enough to hold me up, when I couldn't.
People ,supporting me every decision and helping me along the way.
It's me, having enough strength and courage to love me, and put me first.
To walk away and make my life, well, mine again.
If that's not a celebration of love, then what is?!
Though, I'm very confident that I definitely have the idea of love, just right.

So on this VERY important day of love,
remember that loving yourself and taking care of you,
is the best gift of love that you can give and receive.
Really, it is.
Trust me.
I've worked a long time to figure that out.

And while you're sharing the love,
make sure the amazing people that are your support system feel the love too.
If you're not sure what to give,
I suggest a big hug,
and a big cookie!

 

 

 

 

 

From me to you,

Happy Freedom Day

             and

Happy Valentine's Day!

"Have a Heart for Chained Dogs Week"

February 7-February 14th is "Have a Heart for Chained Dogs"

from Dogs Deserve Better Organization.

How could the week of Valentine's Day get better than treats and helping unchain dogs?

It couldn't get any better than THAT in my world!

 

I'm bringing that idea right here in Portland with my

"Love of Dogs Valentine's Day Bake Sale."

With every cookie, scone, and pie,

a link on a chain drops away and brings a dog closer to freedom...

...with the help of my friends at Fences for Fido, of course!

Fences for Fido

 

SO...what will be baked to fill the hearts and tummies of two and four legged friends?

~Valentine’s Day Bake Sale~

Everyone needs a little love on this day!
I love to bake.
I love my friends and family.
I love helping animals.
They love to eat AND support my love of animals!

I’m mixing up a variety of treats for a Bake Sale on
February 12th and February 13th.

Perfect timing to purchase treats to eat or share with others
…or BOTH!
Of course, all of the money goes directly to Fences for Fido.
That's 100% folks!

Want to order cookies or treats, but don't work with me?
Sure, no problem!

Cookies:

-Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
-Cream Tea Wafers
-Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies
-Chocolate “Red” Chip Cookies
-Snickerdoodles

-"Love in the Tummy" Cookie Mix

        (I'm making several small batches of other cookies for my school bake sale...

           ...this is a mix of the above and additional cookies)

Treats:

 

-Red Velvet Brownies

-Mom's Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting...made by my momma, the baking master!
-Scones (Red Velvet, Chocolate Chip, Lemon, Blueberry, Buttermilk or a Mix)
- Personal Mini-Pies (Apple, Cherry, Peach, or Chocolate Cream)

**Cookies can be ordered by
- Full Containers will be $10.00
(16-20ish cookies depending on cookie size)

- Half Containers will be $5.00

**Scones can be ordered for $10.00
     (8-10ish large scones, depending how many I can fit in the container!)
**Mini-Pies $3.00 each

**Cinnamon Rolls- 2 for $3.00

Orders will be ready by February 11th...just in time for Valentine's day! Though I'm pretty sure everything will be done for the orders by Sunday night. We can set up a meeting point!

No pressure...

but let me know if you have questions

or if you want to order any goodies.

               Oodles of Love,

Lori :0)

Red Velvet, and Cheesecake, oh my!

Ah, Valentine's Day...

The day of love...

...which just gives me an excuse to try out new recipes,
(with my fabulous niece, Jorden)

And look for ones that would help me raise
more money for something that I love.
Pups, Dogs, or Fidos...
no matter what you call them, I love 'em!


Plus, I can make people happy through my baking.
People love red velvet, especially for Valentine's Day.
People love cheesecake.
Plus, cookies are my favorite, FAVORITE desserts...
and other people love cookies too.
So, what could be better than Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookie? 
Not much...
These are fabulous!

Chewy cookie, with a slight crunch and a creamy cheesecake center...so delicious.
I highly recommend it!
If you would like the recipe,
please head over to Two Peas and Their Pod.
To entice you a little bit more,
here is a look at my cookie making adventure...
with a few tips and tricks to help you along the way.

Lovely little globs of cheesecake.  It's really important to keep

putting the plate back into the freezer so that they are easy to handle.

Jorden and I tried a couple different ways to put these together, but here's what we found.  The best method we found was to make discs and sandwich the cheesecake in the middle.

Step One: Make two discs.                                                 Step 2: Place a glob in the middle.

Step 3: Place the second disc on top.                                  Step 4: Pinch the edges closed.

     TADA! This is how it should look going onto the cookie sheet.

 Murphy LOVES his Jorden. 

 He hung out here, basically the entire time.

His persistence worked in the end...

...she loved on him while the cookies were in the oven.

 Even without the white chocolate drizzle, these cookies are beautiful!

Jorden was an expert drizzler!

 PERFECTION!

These cookies are definitely more time-consuming than others to make,

but I think that they are so delicious that they're worth the extra time.

 

This is just one of the cookies that I will be making for my

Valentine's Day Bake Sale benefiting Fences for Fido.