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Archive for taste

celebrate . Double Digits

10

This sweet guy turned 10 at the beginning of the month! My heart is still quite in shock that my first-born is now in double digits, but I’m so very proud of the smart, funny, courageous young man my Little Drummer Boy is becoming.

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We celebrated the big 10 with a small “friend party” at a local gym, and decided on a “magic” theme. I had a great time painting and designing some invitations and trappings for my favorite client 🙂 so I thought I would share a peek at some of the preparations.

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We used a magic hat and wand in the watercolor invitations, so I decided to go with that theme for some of the snacks. We made pretzel stick magic wands and chocolate-covered marshmallows sitting on oreos to create top hats. For the party centerpiece, I built a “magic hat” cake, complete with a bunny appearing out of it — fun times with black gel icing! We made mustache and bunny iced cookies, and I also had fun decorating some sheet cakes as playing cards for the card trick effect.

Now, I’m not a baker or a cake decorator, or even a great food crafter. I don’t really consider myself “good” at that kind of thing,  but I had a couple of crazy ideas to go along with the magic theme, and I had a really great time fleshing them out for us to enjoy. As moms, I think sometimes we try to hold ourselves to a standard of perfection in our pinterest-crazed world. During our prep time, I found myself thinking, “this looks so home-made,” as if the less-than-perfect icing was somehow a negative thing. The smiles on my kids’ faces were a good reminder that it really is the effort — the act of loving through doing and making — that counts most toward making memories. Not how smooth the icing is! So, with that disclaimer, here are a couple of peeks at our magic creations…

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taste . Sweeteeth for my Sweet Tooth

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I bought these for the drawings. I’ll just get that little confession out there right away. I mean, it’s just chocolate bars, right? And I’m a little bit of a packaging nut, so my online purchase wasn’t that much of a stretch.

Holy Wow, was I wrong in the “just chocolate bars” department! I learned about Sweeteeth, the Charleston confectioner shop that made these goodies in an article on Southern chocolatiers in Garden & Gun magazine. Now, I AM a pretty avid chocolate lover, so I decided I would give myself the little assignment of taste-testing all the featured shops in the article (good idea, huh?). The illustrations on the Sweeteeth bars convinced the designer in me that these should be first on my list.

I ordered the Sweeteeth gift pack you saw above from their website, where I learned that chocolatier Johnny Battles prides himself on “hand crafted chocolatey goodness with a twist.” It’s the twist part that makes my “Holy Wow” an understatement. Here’s a glimpse at the chocolate and some of the surprising flavors that will definitely get your mouth watering…

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THE A’CHOCOLYPSE
Dark chocolate, plus candied ginger for a snap and chocolatey popping sugar! Yes, if you’re thinking “pop rocks” you’re right on track, only more sinful. I think this one is actually my favorite combination of flavors and fun in your mouth!

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SEA IS FOR CARAMEL
This one was the first to go — in one sitting, which is saying a lot considering how very decadent the whole package is. It’s dark chocolate filled with Sweeteeth caramel and dusted with sea salt. Great sweet + salty gooey-ness — and kind of rich!

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PB&C
“Two great tastes that taste great together” gets a jolt in this version, where the “C” equals chipotle peppers. Yes, you read that right. It’s such an unexpected flavor blended with the peanut butter, and gives the bar a really smokey, savory flavor with just a tiny bit of spicy bite. The perfect pairing with dark chocolate and another touch of sea salt.

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CINNAPSIS
This bar is almost like a whole dessert. It pairs dark milk chocolate with dried cinnamon apples and candied pecans. Sweet, fruity flavor layered with that velvety milk chocolate taste make for a very nice chewy + crunchy combination.

I have to say that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my Sweeteeth sample pack, and it’s gotten me through several harried days of design deadlines — another true test of great chocolate. If I’m ever in the Charleston area, I hope I can stop in to see what other wonderful-ness they might come up with for the day to day chocolate cravings!

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WHAT MADE IT INSPIRING:
The packaging — Seriously. I think I saw a duckbill platypus in there!
The service — My online ordering experience went off without a hitch. Since then, I’ve also ordered a gift pack shipped for a friend’s birthday, and the Sweeteeth team happily fulfilled my request for gift wrapping and a personal message attached. Nice!
The creativity — It’s great to see how the creative spirit comes in all sorts of flavors down South.
The chocolate — Do I need to repeat my Holy Wow?!

Thanks for sharing a taste with me!

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