Kookie Krums

Trick or Treating at Kookies

We've had a fun morning already here at Kookie Krums!! The children from a local daycare dressed up in their costumes and came trick or treating to several of the merchants on Main Street.  They were all so precious, I love seeing all the costumes and their little made up faces. So so cute. We had Batman, and Superman, and Power Rangers, and Princesses, and Butterflies, and Bumblebees.  And their little voices saying "twick or tweat" just made me want to squeeze them!!  My daughter Hailey used to attend there, so she wanted to come with me so she could pass out candy to her friends and see her teachers. Well . . . she was all for it, dressed up in her costume (a princess of course) just bursting with excitement while we waited for them, and even when she saw - and heard - them coming down the street. Wouldn't you know it - they got here, she saw the first one, and ran and hid . . . with the candy bucket!! I thought we were going to have meltdown from all these little dressed up cutie pies. Fortunately, I was able to coax the candy bucket away from her, and even though she refused to come out to see her friends, they got their candy, and all was good.  Enjoy your Halloween today and tonight's excitement . . . we wish you a spooktacular day!

My Sweet Hailey Girl

My amazingly talented friend, Stacey Woods, took this photo of Hailey. What a fun day we had carting cookies all over downtown Dunedin and capturing just the right shots!  Several of these photos will soon be on display in the shop, and will be on my website. This is one of my favorites, and I just had to share it. Hailey had a blast showing off Mommy's cookies, and loved being in front of the camera!! I'll share some of the other photos in upcoming posts, they're all wonderful! And if you're looking for a fantastic photographer - Stacey Woods is your girl! I cannot say enough about the quality of her work, and the experience just makes a really fun day.

As Promised . . . Loose Cookies

Ok, as promised, here's what the boxes look like when you do the cookies loose in the boxes rather than in the bouquet. This is where you really get more cookies for your money. Of course, the bouquets always make the outstanding presentation, but if you're looking for more cookies, this is the way to go. The cookies are in a cellophane bag, then placed in the box you choose with tissue and shred. Then the whole thing is put into another cellophane bag, and tied up with a great bow. Another beautiful alternative . . .

Alternative to Flower Pots?? Of Course There Is . . .

Although we're known for our hand painted flower pots, did you know we have a lower cost option available for our cookie bouquets?? That's right, our paperboard boxes are about ten dollars less than the flower pots, and still look great. The boxes are also ideal for those people you know that prefer disposable containers. People in assisted living facilities, or who have already downsized their home, may not have a need for a flower pot that you can use anywhere to store anything. But you can still give a fabulous gift in a box that comes in so many different designs. We can also do the cookies loose in the boxes . . . I'll talk about that in a future post, because right now, I have fresh hot cookies to take out of the oven!!

Yes, I'm Bragging . . . I Won a Contest!

Ok, so I get very excited about contests. I never win. Ever. So when one of my very favorite blogs, Bring the Rain, announced a "funny kid story" contest, of course I told one of my best. And I WON!! Ten winners were chosen, and I was one of them! Please understand this is so exciting because I never win anything. Ok, other than scratch off lottery tickets, which is another obsession of mine, and I do pretty well at them. But contests?? Nope, never.  Because this story was worth a win to someone, I will share it with you. Hailey is now four, and is still one of the funniest kids I know (maybe I'm a little biased?!), but this happened a couple of years ago . . .

When my girl was about 2 1/2, my husband was out of town for work, and was gone for several weeks. I took Hailey with me to the FedEx office to ship a package, and of course there was a very long line. On the wall were posters of the FedEx men with their package in hand, displaying various slogans. As the line inched forward, my impatient daughter began wandering around. She walked up to one of the posters and said "Mommy, is that my daddy?" I just laughed like "isn't she the cutest thing?" and said "no darling, of course not." She walked up to EVERY poster in the place and asked the same question . . . and THEN . . . walked up to the scariest looking man in the line and said "Mommy, is HE my daddy?" Sheer embarassment was all that it was. I tried to explain (very loudly) that Daddy was out of town working but of course would be home soon, but I just know every person in the place thought I was a girl that got around and my poor child didn't even know her own father!!

My husband is out of town again as I type, and has been gone for about five weeks now. This time Hailey has resorted to telling anyone who will listen that she doesn't think her Daddy is ever coming home again. Time is such a hard thing for kids, isn't it?? For us too, but for them especially.  Anyway, hope you enjoyed that little story, and I will be doing the happy dance when I get my prize in the mail!!

Halloween Cut-Out Cookies

Adorable. Treats. No Tricks. Delicious. Yep, that's what you'll be saying too about these fabulous cut-out cookies. My very talented designer, Jennifer, has created & designed these AMAZING Halloween  cookies. Available to order by the dozen, these cookies are made from our popular sugar cookie dough, so you already know how much you'll love them!! We are working on designs for all occasions, so keep checking back as I keep you up to date on all the latest! Because they are all custom designed, you'll need to order a week ahead of when you need them. The Halloween cookies can be ready sooner than a week, since we're getting so close to the date. And when you need the out of the ordinary, special cookies for your event, no need to look anywhere else! As always, we make it easy to find just what you're looking for.

Customizing Your Gift

There are so many different ways to make your gifts unique and special.  Let's talk about our hand painted flower pots. Our artist, Margie, does an amazing job and has about eighty different designs for you to choose from. She will, on request, paint a custom design for you. We do this for corporate logos (such as the BankAtlantic flower pot in a recent post), parties, etc.  However . . . if you want to avoid the extra charge of a custom design - why not just get creative with a design we already have?? Now I know many of you already take advantage of the free customizing when adding a baby's name and birthdate to the baby pots. But let me show you another way that one customer got creative. She had a sweet 16 to celebrate with someone, and took our already designed Happy Birthday Cupcake pot to start. Then, instead of having Happy Birthday painted on the pot, as is the standard, she had the artist paint "Happy Sweet 16" instead. Voila - a custom design, no extra cost. As long as you're using a design we already have, there is no extra charge for this. So get creative - and customize your gifts in your own special way! Just remember we'll need a few extra days for these kinds of things, so you can't be a last minute shopper!!

Dunedin's Halloween Events

Just wanted to share the schedule of Halloween events going on in Dunedin. Dunedin always does a fantastic job when they put on an event. If you can make it to any of these, you will have a fabulous time!

This weekend - OKTOBERFEST, Highlander Park, October 10-12

The festival features three days and nights of music, dancing and live entertainment, a whole slew of carnival games and contests, 25 rides, and a big Ferris wheel. Lynn Wargo, president of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, said the Oktoberfest is organized and operated by Williams Entertainment for the city and is "quite a production." "It's a fun event outside under those beautiful trees at the park," she said. The festival "has something for all ages." For some, the best part of the merriment is the traditional Oktoberfest fare and beer. German-style food includes bratwurst, sauerbraten marinated beef, sauerkraut, potato salad, red cabbage and desserts such as apple strudel and Black Forest cherry-chocolate cake. Beer choices feature Warsteiner pilsner, a pale lager; Dunkel, a dark lager; and the sweet, brown Oktoberfest beer brewed in the spring and served in the fall. Read the full article at Tampabay.com.

October Films in Pioneer Park - Friday, October 17th, War of the Worlds (1953)

Bring your own chairs, blankets, food & drink and enjoy an old movie in the park!

Downtown Celebrates Halloween - Friday, October 24th - The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Playing in Pioneer Park. Halloween exhibit at Dunedin Historical Society & Museum will be open from 5-8pm. See the winners in the downtown Halloween Lamp Post Decorating Contest, and trick or treat the downtown merchants from 5-8pm.

Halloween Happenings - Highlander Park, October 25, 5:30 pm - 10:00 pm 

A safe, fun filled Halloween event for the entire family!  Costume contests, haunted house & haunted hayride (for those over 8 years old, and not for me!!), moonwalk, inflatable slide, pumpkin carving, carnival games, boo in the zoo, crafts, pony & train rides, and more!  Only $.50 per ticket, you can't beath this!! Tickets for hayride & haunted house are $3 each.

KU Logo Cookies

     

Our friends from Kansas are of course devoted KU fans, and since I am originally from Kansas, I am a transplanted fan as well. Recently KU played USF, and our friends flew in so we could all go to the game. It was a great game, by the way, and the Bulls did defeat the Jayhawks. (I have to put that in there since I am a Florida girl now, and have been longer than I was a Kansas girl, so I did have split loyalties here!)  Anyway, I digress . . . KU fans enjoyed a pre-game party in the alumni lounge, and yours truly made some KU logo cookies for the event. They were a hot item, let me tell you. We started with a bag full and within seconds had barely the empty bag to hold on to! So I had to share . . . a shot of the cookies, and a great picture of some devoted fans enjoying their cookies.