Our Bake Sale for Autism Speaks!

Well, after much planning and plotting, the big day finally arrived ... and I'm very happy to report it was a HUGE success!

Not only did everything go smoothly (thanks to lots of kind people, and many helpful hands) but - more importantly - we raised over seven hundred dollars in donations!

($770.42 to be exact - and every cent goes to Autism Speaks!)

My homeschool group mamas (and kids) worked so hard, and so well together, to pull off this Bake Sale. It was not only successful, but it was a whole lot of fun!

Would you like to see a few pictures?

:)

Here I am with Crackerjack Friday night, working on posters ...

Next year I will have a "poster-and-sign-making day" so that we get all the kids involved in this part of the process. Not that I didn't enjoy making that poster (I had all those new markers to work with, after all) but this is something better left to the kids.

Here are the two tabletop signs ...

So bright and early Saturday morning we were up baking ... and packing ... and some folks were dropping off goodies for transport. Bill and the older boys headed to soccer, Nana arrived to hang out with Earlybird, and I ran out to pick up balloons (and a big ole iced coffee) ... and then it was on to the store!

Now, funny story (and I can call it funny now because it all turned out ok), but when I arrived at Stop & Shop, I first went to the Customer Service to "check in." I was told to do this way back last month when I confirmed our bake sale plans (date, time, etc.) with the store manager.

So the young lady at the customer service desk calls up the manager ... and then said manager comes out to greet me ... only he tells me, with a polite smile, that "he does not remember the bake sale of which I am speaking."

(This was me --> o.O <-- freaking out.)

Thankfully though, after chatting with me for a few minutes (and my reminding him of our phone calls, the letter he surely had on file, and the permit I had in hand) he said "he thought he recalled our previous conversation" and that it was "fine" for us to set up our bake sale on that day.

Yikes!

(Note for next year: Get manager approval in writing *and* call a few days ahead to re-confirm!)

Anyhoo ... once my panic subsided, I headed over to the vestibule to meet up with my friends and get started on assembling our corner. We set up our two six-foot tables off to one side of the vestibule. 

We had blue tablecloths and balloons, assorted trays and baskets and little blue "place cards" for all the goodies. And by noon, we were ready to go!

The kids really enjoyed calling attention to our Sale ... 

I think those bright smiling faces brought in a LOT of donations!

Our signs ...

... and the sale tables, filled with all kinds of goodies:

We did this sale a little differently than a traditional bake sale. Instead of pricing our goodies, we just asked for donations and offered treats as our "thanks." All donations were welcome, because every little bit helps! So someone could decide how much to give and how much to take. And in almost every case people were so very generous - sometimes not even taking a treat!

As for treats, we had a really nice variety: loaf cakes, fruit breads, brownies, and cookies of all kinds ...

Rice krispy treats and cupcakes ...

... Italian biscotti ...

... chocolate peanut butter candies ...

... and adorable "cupcake cones!"

And about midway through our Sale we had a visit from Earlybird! After soccer, Bill (along with Bookworm and Crackerjack) picked up my mum and EB. They came over to see how the Bake Sale was going. :)

EB was a bit overwhelmed - it was a lot to take in, and this was not his usual Stop & Shop - but he was really excited to see us!

(After a while, Bill took Mum and the boys over to my brother's - where a construction project was underway - but he left Crackerjack behind to help me with the Sale.)

So two other little snafus to speak of ... the first was rather scary and the second was pretty funny (if not a little embarrassing).

Just about noontime, we were all standing about chatting and doing our bake sale thing, when all of a sudden alarms were sounding and the manager was running into the vestibule, shouting and chasing after this guy ... who, come to find out, was a THIEF!

Apparently he and his girlfriend "accomplice" (waiting for him in a getaway car) had some kind of scam going on, but apparently not a very slick one, because the manager figured out what was up. So the thief ran - but not before leading the manager on a chase (including a throwdown!) around the vestibule - right in front of us, and through crowds of shoppers including our own children holding those signs!

So yeah, that was a bit of a story. (Bonnie and Clyde got away, by the way.)

The other thing that happened, about a half an hour before the end of our sale ...

Some of our balloons got sucked up into the ceiling fan!

And ooh, it made such an awful racket ... and it just got worse ... very embarrassing ... so I had to go tell someone (apologize, really). The Stop & Shop people let it slide, lol - the had bigger fish to fry at the moment. (I figured since we put up with their robbery debacle, we could call it all even.)

So by 4 p.m. our Bake Sale was done, and we were packed up and ready to go. All in all, it was a fantastic experience! In fact, I've already started a "file" for next year ...

I looked it over while I enjoyed my post-bake-sale breakfast.

:)

Well, folks ... I hope you enjoyed this (rather lengthy) look at our Bake Sale experience! I am so happy the day ran so smoothly - save for stray balloons and sneaky grocery thieves, lol. Most of all, I am thrilled we raised so much money for Autism Speaks, and I hope we might have raised some awareness as well.

Enjoy your Sunday evening, my friends ... thanks so much for stopping by ... I will see you all again sometime soon!

❤

Friday Goodies

Happy Weekend, my friends! I hope you all had a nice day.

I didn't have much time to work on a post today, but I still wanted to pop in tonight and show you all a few things if I could. First of all ... here's the first batch of Bake Sale goodies, all ready to go!

Aren't these cake pops pretty? My friend Amanda and her children made them and she delivered them to my house today since she can't be at the Sale itself tomorrow. I'm so excited! It's starting to feel real!

Alas, I'm a bit behind on my own baking, but so far I got the rainbow blondies done ...

... though I still have dulce de leche cereal bars to make as well as some strawberry muffins.

Can't you just smell these beauties?

I'm also working on the posters and signs ...

... and I'm so in love with my new pens!

I haven't had markers of my own in some time. And these are my favorite kind ... I had Pentel pens when I was a young girl and I'm thrlled they are still made the same way - right down to the size, style, packaging, font, etc!

And just because it's so pretty and colorful, here's a peek into a new little book I bought.

A charming "new" take on the beloved hymn, "All Creatures Great and Small." The illustrations are so sweet.

And here is, perhaps, my favorite "Friday Goodie" of all:

A glass of Barefoot Merlot, my favorite red wine. :)

Happy Weekend, indeed!

So I may be a bit scarce this weekend, due to tomorrow's Bake Sale, but I'll take LOTS of pictures and will return just as soon as I can to catch up with you all ...

But if I may - before I go - could I ask for your prayers and good thoughts on behalf of our Bake Sale tomorrow? I'm ridiculously a bit nervous because I've never done this before, and though everything seems to be coming together, I can use all the help I can get! If you remember, my homeschool mama friends have generously supported my wish to hold a Bake Sale for Autism Speaks. I have a great group of lovely women advising me, baking for me, and helping me at the table all day ... I'm blessed to have such support!

You know, I've always wanted to run a bake sale ... and of course, autism is an issue near and dear to our hearts. So I am doing this for our Earlybird, but in a way, I'm doing this for me too. It will be fun, certainly (and fulfill that lifelong "bake sale" dream of mine) but it will feel so good to raise money for this worthy, and very personal, cause. Because when we support those who are affected by autism, we support those who love them as well. :)

Thank you so much everyone - for your prayers, for your time, and as always, for your very kind attention.

Good Night and God Bless!

❤

Tuesday Tidbits

 Well, I had no fewer than three posts nearly finished in my drafts folder ... but no time today to finish even one of them! So instead, I'm just going to share a few happy things with you from my day.

:)

First I have the day's ME print:

 

(How I love my page-a-day calendar. I "visit" it every morning, and it always gives me something to smile at and/or think about.)

Now, today was quite warm so we had all our windows open. By midday, as the sun grew stronger and the heat cranked up, I noticed a very sweet smell wafting through the house ... but I could not be sure from where it came. I finally realized it was the just-blooming viburnum bush out front! (The birds simply love our viburnum.)

So I snipped a few blossoms to bring inside ....

So pretty! But unfortunately they had to go right back outside because they triggered my allergies! May I point out that sweet little "cabbage leaf" vase? It was made my my nana (my dad's mom) many, many years ago. :)

Next we have a long-time favorite book ... Earlybird never gets tired of reading this, and surprisingly, neither do I. I liked how the cover caught the sun:

(I think this might be a future post-prompt ...)

And then we had a visit from the UPS man! Oh, how I love the rumble of that truck and the little "beep-beep" when it pulls up out front. What the UPS man brought me today was a nice little package from Cafe Press ...

Inside I found two new autism-awareness shirts:

The shirt on the left says: "If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart!" And the shirt on the right says: "Loving an autistic child makes your heart grow larger." ❤

I also "splurged" on these lovely earrings ...

You can barely make out the print along the edge, but it reads: "I love my autistic son and he loves me, too!"

The shirts (one or the other) and the earrings I plan to wear to our "Bake Sale for Autism Speaks," WHICH by the way, is coming up this very Saturday! I'm so very excited! There's still lots to do to get ready, but it's all coming together quite nicely. In fact, we just picked up our "approved" food permit today.

Now here's something I'm having fun filling in ...

A big lavender binder with rainbow dividers. Lots of activities, ideas and project plans for each month of the year ... :)

And a new magnet for my fridge with a thought-provoking quote:

(How important it is to remember this.)

And then there was this little fella ...

My sweet kitties never fail to make me smile! I can remember buying this cat bed - it was the first thing we bought once we were sure we were getting our cats. We thought they'd both fit inside quite nicely ... but they've grown so big, nowadays it's just one cat at a time!

Now, I didn't take a picture of my lunch, but it made me pretty happy. I used up some nearly expired wheat pizza dough and made all of us homemade pizzas. (Bill's the pizza man in this house, but I knew the dough just wouldn't last.) On my own personal pan pizza I had some pesto sauce, shredded mozzarella, sliced olives and diced chicken. Delish!

Well, I'm sure there were other happy things that happened today, but that's what's at the top of my list. (Or at least, the top of my brain.) I hope you all had some happy moments, too - and if you'd care to share them, I'd love to listen! Please leave a comment below. :)

For now though, I wish you all a pleasant evening, and leave you with a promise to visit again soon ...

Good night and God bless!

❤

Morning Meeting

Blessings to you all on this fine Holy Thursday! I hope you've all had a nice day. :)

I wanted to share a picture of the refreshments I served at my "bake sale meeting" this morning. Nothing fancy at all, but still simple and sweet. From left to right, I had homemade corn muffins and frosted pumpkin bread (it was supposed to be carrot bread but EB had opinions on that, lol) ... Trader Joe thumbprints and orange-cranberry scones. There was also a plate of decorated shortbread cookies as well as a bowl of clementines (just to make it all a tad healthier!) and finally, a decanter of pink, springy punch. (In case you haven't noticed, I simply adore punch.)

The meeting went so well ... some dear friends joined me today, and while our kids ran around inside and out, enjoying the fine April weather, we moms enjoyed cups of hot tea and great conversation. I am so grateful to these kind ladies for all their help with this project - the advice, the support, the participation - I am confident it will all come together beautifully.

:)

I am also grateful to Bill, who took the day off so he could "handle" the kids and let us moms talk. (As in, finish sentences. :)) He was a real trooper, and I could not have focused as well as I did if it were not for his help. 

***

Well, a quiet evening is now upon us ... supper's been had, and the sunset is filling the house with its soft golden light ... how I love this time of day! And now that my meeting is behind me - and all that spring cleaning - I feel I can slow down, catch my breath, and "adjust my lens," if you will ... just in time for the final days before Easter ... the most beautiful time of the year.

❤

My friends, I wish you all a happy evening ... I'll see you again very soon!

Late Wednesday Hello

Well good evening my friends, how have you been?

I'm doing fine here ... happy to be at the end of my third and final day of spring cleaning! I guess you know you've put in a really good, long day of cleaning when all your muscles hurt by suppertime! (It's either that or you're woefully out of shape ... and/or just getting old. Lol.)

So I didn't have much time to post today ... but my mind was spinning away as I worked. Because as it happens, I'm hosting a "planning" meeting here tomorrow morning for my bake sale volunteers (and I'm very happy to report there are many of them). And thanks to your thoughtful suggestions I have lots of inspiration and practical information to go on. I've already secured our sale date and location, and checked things out with the local health dept. Our bake sale will take place later this month ... and of course, there will be more details to come. :)

Well, I need to get supper started so I'm going to head out, but I wanted to check in "real quick" and say hi. :)

Have a good night, everyone!

❤

Bake Sale Advice?

Good morning, everyone! I hope your Friday's off to a good start. :)

My question for you today:

Do any of you have experience with running a bake sale? And if so, do you have any advice to share with someone (namely, me) who is organzing a bake sale for the very first time?

Because here's the deal ... I volunteered to organize a bake sale for my homeschool support group this Spring, with our proceeds going to autism awareness. I'm shooting for a date in April as April is Autism Awareness Month.

Now, you all know I love to bake ... but I don't have much experience with a public bake sale. (I've hosted "goodie" tables at homeschool events, but nothing on this scale.) I know I need to line up help - and several people have very kindly offered their help - but I need to figure out how I need help. To that end, I'm working on a checklist of things to consider and do before the sale day itself. And of course, I'm trying to project what the sale day will in fact be like ... right now we're in "negotiations" with a local supermarket to use their vestibule as our bake sale location. As for my next step? I'm not sure!

So, any and all advice would be most appreciated ... and thank you in advance for your time and thoughts.

:)

Have a great day, everyone ... I'll check back in later today.

❤