This is going to be the best week ever.

So many wonderful things are happening this week.

1. I'm guest posting on Frosting for a Cause on Wednesday!

2. I'm having Thanksgiving dinner with my baby sister. We've been in Germany for the past three years and this is the first Thanksgiving we will celebrate since 2006!

3. And the best thing is...... I will be telling you a secret. Shhhh....I'll be telling you tomorrow so keep it a secret...ha ha, Ok you don't have to keep it a secret. But, be sure to stop by so you won't be left out.

SECRETS.....I never was good at keeping secrets...or surprises for that matter. I just can't keep a secret. I mean look, that's a hard thing for a talkative kinda girl to do.

What am I going to talk about if I keep everything locked up inside? Then it's like I left you all out on the information and that's just not a fair thing and I'm all about being fair.

Then there's Christmas. Oh gosh I'm horrible. Especially if I buy the presents early. I buy the kids tons and tons of presents because I just can't wait till Christmas. They get things way early.

A present here, a present there. It's like the twelve days of Christmas around here.

Look.....I've got issues. They can't be helped.....really I've tried. I'll admit my weaknesses.

Now that my husband is home from Afghanistan I'm on present secret lock down. He's a stickler for keeping the rules. He actually makes us wait till Christmas morning.....can you believe that? So UNFAIR!

My Dad actually does Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. We have a huge party Christmas Eve and do presents and stuff. You would think my husband would okay this for us, but NOOOOO. Mr. Rule won't do presents with the kids on Christmas Eve....so we have to wait.

One day is an eternity in present time.

ETERNITY!

So to keep myself from going crazy thinking about an extra day of waiting to open presents, I'll eat cookies.

Sound good? I thought so.

These cookies are to die for! Yes die for. I seriously only gave everyone like two each and ate the rest myself. They were that good.

This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart's key-lime sablés recipe. I wanted Lemon, not lime. That was the only substitution.

Lemon Sablés

**Adapted from Martha Stewart's Key-lime Sablés

1 1/3 Cups flour

1/3 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar

1/4 tsp coarse salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces

1 1/2 tsp pure lemon extract

lemon curd

1) Mix together flour, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, and salt in bowl of mixer until well combined.

2) Add butter and mix until crumbs form. Add lemon extract and mix.

3) Place dough on plastic wrap and form a disk. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until very firm. At least 2 hrs.

To bake:

1) preheat your oven to 325˚. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2) On floured surface, roll out your dough to 1/4 inch thick (I found the 1/8" in Martha's direction too thin) Cut into squares using a 2 3/4" square fluted cutter. Use a 1" fluted cutter to cut the centers out of half the squares.

3) Place on baking sheet. Space about an inch apart. Bake until they just turn golden brown, about 17-20 minutes. (oven's vary so check them through oven window) Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

4) Spread 1tsp lemon curd on bottom of the full square cookies. Sprinkle powdered sugar on the top squares with the cut out windows. Place cut out cookie on top of the cookie with the lemon curd, making little sandwiches.

5) Refrigerate for about 30 minutes until they are firm. Serve.....and SHARE (I omitted this part)

My daughter has been asking me to make her some carrot cake cupcakes.....okay more like begging.

I just started decorating cookies maybe a month ago and honestly, I didn't feel like making cupcakes at all.

To prevent her from growing up and saying I wasn't mother of the year I just had to do them.....not that ten years from now she would even remember that I didn't make them. Just in case she did I figured I better get in that kitchen and make some cupcakes for her.

She's a very sweet, kind girl. She always helps others. BUT......boy, is she a BLONDE sometimes.

That girl keeps me laughing all the time.

Just a few days ago she came to me and asked me if I remembered a place from when she was a little girl. She described the place as a park that had a dinosaur footprint in the ground. I could only assume she was talking about our zoo, who had put in that new exhibit where the kids could dig for dinosaur bones and such. .....totally MAN made by the way.

I described the place to her the best way I could to see if we were on the same page with the location. Apparently we were NOT.

She said NO this was a real dinosaur footprint. I said Miss B, we have never seen a real dinosaur footprint in our life.....not EVER!

"What", she exclaimed.....I've been telling all my friends for the past two years about seeing dinosaur footprints. I couldn't help but LOL.....that's laugh out loud in teen talk.

She was so upset and all I could do was laugh. Apparently I was not funny either. I knew I had to make those cupcakes to make up for laughing at my daughter's mistake.....just in case ten years from now she does remember I didn't make them.

I had to be sure to get a few pictures for proof as well.

Now I know they aren't "fall" themed cupcakes, but it's what Miss B likes.

She loves lime green and her favorite flower is a daisy.

So in my heels, which are very cute I may add, I went to bake some cupcakes for my oldest daughter.

Miss B......if you're reading......thanks for always making me laugh.

To make Daisy cupcakes you'll need:

Cute babies in cupcake pj's

a box of your favorite carrot cake mix (or make it from scratch)

cream cheese frosting

white fondant to cut daisies

yellow fondant for flower centers

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature

2 8oz pkgs of cream cheese softened

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp pure vanilla

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Add powdered sugar a little at a time until well combined. Place in fridge and allow to get firm again. Right before you want to pipe your cupcakes take frosting out of refrigerator and whip it a bit in your mixer. Pipe on top of cooled cupcakes.

For more great cupcakes you should check out Kristan's blog,

Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

. She always has the cutest cupcakes.

~Throw on your heels and get to baking~

Baking in Heels