What's the sweetest way to end a lovely series? With dessert, of course.

Sheri has baked up a classic treat that she's honed to perfection - cupcake cones! I've never made these, and it's been on my mom-to-do list for a while. And I wouldn't want anyone but Sheri to give me the complete scoop (pun intended) on how to make these work - and look so good!

I loved this note of wisdom and encouragement from Sheri's post today:

It’s all about working together to create something special, and if {using a mix} is going to help you get there, then go for it. Sometimes you just want to cut right to the fun part, and especially with young children or kids who are not enthusiastic cooks, a mix is just the ticket.

The Mini Cooks series has been such fun to create together with Joy and Sheri. These ladies have such talent and creativity! They not only inspire me, but they naturally push me to be better.

And the best part of the whole experience for me was that my family came along for the ride! We made meals and snacks together and tried new flavors and dishes. If Spring Break is coming up, consider pinning the series and take some time to enjoy cooking together!

A fun surprise is in store for tomorrow. Pars Caeli turns TWO, and I have a present...

See you for the party - pajamas and slippers are encouraged. :)

xoxo, MJ

New to “Mini Cooks”? You can catch up here:

MJ’s “Recipe for Success”
Joy’s “Egg in a Basket”
Sheri’s “Granola Bars”
MJ’s “Vegan Smoothie”
Joy’s “Enchilada Lasagna“

It's my pleasure to be over at Not Merely Living where the endearing Mere is away at Alt San Francisco and showing Pars Caeli a little bit of love. I always enjoy these kind of interviews about blogging because going through the Q & A process helps me think about new angles, and I always discover new ideas for posts and features.

Hop on over to see what kind of questions Mere threw my way. One that I wasn't expecting was my go to meal. Images of bundt cakes, fudgy brownies, and 3 different varieties of cookies sprung to mind. I started to type up a recipe before I realized - wait, these aren't actually meals (oops) (even though I might consume them as such).

Nevertheless I realized that I hadn't yet shared with you dears one of my favorite cookie recipes. This concoction was passed along to me from a friend's friend's mother. I had to give her proper credit. Thank you, Mrs. Herman. It's the perfect for friends and family wanting or needing to stay away from flour. Warning: these are incredibly peanut buttery, be prepared with a large beverage!

Have a wonderful weekend, friends. We have a lot of fresh blueberries that we picked that now need to be made into blueberry crisp and blueberry cobbler so I'll be baking this weekend and enjoying the heat poolside.

Wishing you a particularly bright weekend. Tag those celebrations of the ordinary with #celebratethenormal and we'll see you here next Tuesday!!

xoxo, MJ

The boxes of valentines have been purchased and the myriad of heart pictures, stamping, cards, and cut outs have begun around our house.

I've been a romantic nearly my whole life, decorating my little girl room with piles of pink and red construction paper heart chains. As I grew older and my romance fell upon beaus, I'd create oodles of cupid-speared hearts written in curlicues and glitter and write out love poetry to adorn my walls and windows.

These days my adorations fall upon 3 little people and a great guy, and I find myself drawn to the simple, daily ways to say I love you always and forever (and I support every effort to fill the house with heart-shaped everythings).

We've been having a ton of snow around here lately, and everyone, save me, loves to be out in the snow and in the sled so I have galiantly taken on the role of Hot Chocolate Barista. My people claim that I am THE best hot chocolate maker. Ever. I'm not sharing my secret recipe, but I am sharing something to make Valentine hot cocoa, coffee, or tea extra sweet.

I've had this container of bamboo forks ever since I hosted a Hunger Games bookclub party with friends, and I've been awaiting Cupid's prompting to use them.

Here's what you need to make some for the lovelies in your life:

 + Brownie mix (and necessary ingredients)

 + Heart mold baking tray

 + Bamboo forks (I dyed mine red for the holiday with food coloring. Just squirt the food coloring right onto the skewer and spread.)

 + Notes/String for special messages

These are basically brownie bites so make the brownies more on the cake than fudge side. Bake the bites a little less than half the total time for a full sheet of brownies. Keep an eye on them as these times vary.

Once the brownies are cool, carefully spear Cupid's arrow through the middle and wipe the end clean. Add special notes with string or twine or leave them as is for a yummy addition to any hot drink.

Happy Valentine's, dear friends. Who's ready to cut up some paper doilies with me?

xoxo, MJ