top projects of 2011

Saucy's previous post left her feeling a little bitter about 2011 so she decided to do her annual recap where she reminisces waxes enthusiasm about what she accomplished in the last calendar year.

These kinds of posts make her feel like she's accomplishing something.

Like baking. There wasn't enough baking this year, to be sure. Other than cupcakes. The Cheerios cranked out a few thousand cupcakes this year.

There were enough cupcakes baked to buy new uniforms, plan a couple of trips to competition, and even a few extras. More about that later. Right now it's all about the cupcakes.

Cupcakes with little candy breakfasts on top.

Incredible cupcake towers that defied not only gravity but the fit of Saucy's spanx as well.

Delightful sugary apple cupcakes.

Hamburger cupcakes with ice cream baked potato sidekicks.

Meringue-topped, fruity creations filled with creme fraiche.

Sometimes dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with toffee and salt.

And other times, cupcakes simply rolled in sugar and presented with love.

Indeed, the smell of cupcakes permeated the walls of the new kitchen (when the place wasn't under complete destruction of renovation).

Other than cupcakes, Saucy made plenty of different stuff. Like cheese biscuits.

Balls of cookie dough on a stick, dipped in chocolate. Sinful.

Halloween snack mix.

Saucy copied a Nothing Bundt Cake with her own version over the summer.

She also attempted to make her own marshmallow Peeps at Easter. They sort of worked. They were delicious but perhaps they look more like yellow penguins.

Saucy attempted and mastered French macarons this year, much to the delight of friends and family.

Loopy turned sixteen and celebrated at a not-very-extravagant party in February.

But let's face it, most of Saucy's baking (including the cupcakes) and everything else she blogged had more than something to do with The Cheerios. Saucy has undying affection for each of them and her devotion to the team can be seen when it takes over the blog.

She made them PopTarts on a stick before competition.

The week before the provincial championship, Saucy declared it "Green and Gold" week on the blog and didn't limit it to just cupcakes and floral arrangements. She made green button cookies and homemade fortune cookies for the team.

Saucy whipped up fancy korker bows for the girls to wear and even has enough ribbon leftover to make a new style for 2012.

In March the girls won silver medals at the championship. It was hard earned and pretty fabulous.

Actually.

They looked terrific in their new hairbows and uniforms, inspired by the comfort and breathability of yoga wear!

The week leading up to team windup was spent hand stitching a fuzzy personalized teddy bear for every single one of the twenty two girls.

And somehow, Saucy sometimes found time to feed her family.

Pulled pork sandwiches

Raspberry rockets

Sweet and easy jam

Homemade potato chips

Homemade baking sprinkles

Things got a little crafty around here but not nearly as crafty as Saucy would have liked.

Loopy dressed up for a comic kind of convention. Uncle Bug had to help her make the giant wrench because alas, Saucy was too busy.

At Halloween, Saucy helped the girls come up with costumes to be the Spice Girls.

Saucy dreamed up a little tiara craft.

She found time to do a very little bit of jewelry making, a very little bit. There are supplies scattered untouched on the desk even as she types this. She knows what she should be doing.

Saucy managed to take care of the yard. Kind of. She had problems with the pool over the summer and the chemicals got crazy out of balance, she spent three solid days clearing it up. 

She was just happy when autumn came and she could put out the dollar store decorations.

She hit Dollarama again for Christmas. Enjoy it. The urns will probably look like this until May.

Saucy and Veto put up with a crazy deck builder but they finally got rid of him and started to enjoy the outdoor kitchen. Later, they hired a not-crazy carpenter to fix it. It was just really enjoyable sitting out there gazing upon the green water.

Saucy spent some time with The Secret Weapon making etched zinc inlays for the concrete countertops, and they made one for Pepper's kitchen renovation as well.

The biggest, most time-consuming, non-Cheerio event of the year was the renovation of the kitchen. It went from this:

To this:

Finally, Saucy has a place for everything and everything is in its place. The Wall of Sprinkles must be considered the victory lap of 2011.

In all the chaos of renovation, Saucy decided more chaos would be an excellent idea so she took it upon herself to redecorate Loopy's bathroom:

... and to repaint the main floor, wallpapering and redecorating the powder room.

Saucy barely did any photo shoots this year of Loopy and her friends. She cannot imagine why, as Loopy has grown into a gorgeous creature right here, before our eyes.

With such a beautiful model, it is a shame not to be taking pictures of her every single day.

Some of The Cheerios spent time in front of Saucy's lens also. They are turning into beautiful, confident young women. 

Well, maybe 2011 wasn't as unproductive as Saucy originally thought. There were projects that didn't even make it to the blog when they were finished, it was that busy. She and Loopy still managed to work out at the gym three times a week, the dogs got fed, life rolled on.

Saucy doesn't ever make a resolution that she doesn't keep... but she can tell you this. She's hoping to update the blog with more regularity in 2012. She was a bit of a slacker in 2011.

Here's hoping.