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The baby gifts have been finished and sent and (for the most part) received. I think little boys are a little tricky to sew for. I can think of tons of things to sew for little girls, but boys are harder. Most of my friends have been having little boys lately so they all got bibs and little velcro bow ties. Here's a set that I managed to snap some pictures of before sending it off.
I used THIS tutorial from Cotton & Curls for the bow ties.
The bibs are a copycat version from CINO. My friend Melissa had given me a couple of these bibs when J was born, so I was able to use those as a template.
These bibs are the BEST for the following reasons.
1. They still fit J at 18 months
2. J can't take them off prematurely
3. They cover her shoulders. She always gets food up there somehow.
I also was inspired to do a little baking this weekend, thanks to the Martha Stewart cooking show while I was folding laundry. I wanted to make something involved, not just your everyday treat. So I opened my Pierre Herme cookbook (given to me by my Aunt Nancy, Thanks aunt Nancy!) and decided to make his version of Kouing Aman.
What is Kouing Aman you ask??? Well, let me enlighten you.
Imagine a croissant, layers of dough and butter and more dough and more butter. Now imagine that in between those layers you put a third layer of SUGAR! Then you bake them in little round pans, so they come out as individual servings of a caramelized, buttery, super pastry. That is is Kouing Aman.
Eating one of these is like riding a unicorn while it gallops across a rainbow into a magical castle made of chocolate where a muscular man named Hans is waiting to give you a free massage. If everyone had a Kouing Aman right now there would probably be world peace.
I had never heard of Kouing Aman, until my sister in law Kimberly, and her husband Devon took us to Les Madelinesin Salt Lake City. If you are in Utah, you should probably go there. Right now.
Here's how you make one of these bad boys:
First you make your dough, knead it until it's nice and smooth and stick that in the fridge. Don't forget to use a nice Fleur de Sel. To use regular table salt in this recipe is a sin, and the pastry gods will probably punish you.
Next whip about 1 lb of butter with a 1/4 cup of flour. This will help the butter stay malleable as it is resting the in the fridge.
Wrap your beautifully whipped butter with some plastic wrap and form it into a 6 x 6 inch square.
After both butter and dough have refrigerated for 20-30 minutes, remove from the fridge and roll your dough into a long rectangle, roughly 16" x 8 ". Place your butter on the dough and the fold over the edge so you make a little dough butter sandwich.
After your butter is nicely sealed in your dough, you roll out the dough into a long rectangle again. Fold into thirds, as you would a letter that you are putting into an envelope. Each of these folds is called a turn.
The next 3 or so hours will require you to roll your dough, do a turn, and then refrigerate to rest your dough until it is time to do another turn. Before each turn you distribute sugar all over your dough (see recipe below)
After 3 turns your dough is ready to be shaped. Simply cut into 2 inch squares and fold corners in. Grease your pan (I used muffin tins and they worked fine) and allow to rise for an hour and a half.
Bake at 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes or until they are golden, caramelized, and awesome. Remove from pan quickly and allow to cool.
These, like croissants, are best eaten the day they are made. That being said, I actually froze some of mine and plan to just stick them in the oven for a few minutes before I serve them.
For a full recipe go HERE. I think this recipe is a little more user friendly for the average at home baker then the one I used. If you decide to tackle these, know that they aren't easy but definitely worth it!
I used THIS tutorial from Cotton & Curls for the bow ties. 
