Whole Lotta Baking Going On

Every year around March I pick the theme for the next year's Holiday in the Pines  (more on this event in upcoming posts) theme and last year while sitting in chemo, I decided it was the year for Gingerbread!  I had seen a giant Gingerbread house once at the Hilton in Guadalajara, MX and again in 2005 when Billy was in Methodist hospital for an extended stay.  They had a darling playhouse size house in their lobby & I took photos thinking someday we could attempt one for HIP.  I spent a lot of time this year pondering this endeavor & ignited a flame in my co-worker who enlisted her Dad to build the structure.  It started out as a wooden "playhouse" that we covered with plastic and screen mesh.  Then we baked for TWO days...yep that's right,

two 4+ hour baking sessions with my favorite red-headed elf

in the Camp Allen kitchen. 

Next we adhered the oatmeal cookie "shingles" which looked adorable to us, but every man who walked by informed us that we put them on backwards...as if they were really put there to prevent a roof leak!

Then came the most tedious part, adhering our gingerbread "bricks" to the house with royal icing cement.  We were delirious by midnight and seriously doubting if we had gotten in over our heads.  It was at that moment when my dear assistant stopped and said, "Have I told you how happy I am that you don't have cancer?"  Sure put our anguish in perspective & reminded me to have fun.  The red-headed elf never doubted us for a minute -looked great to a 7 year old - cracks & all!

Hesitant to leave it for co-workers to see without an Under Construction sign across the front, we called it a night & went home.

Then came the FUN part, the part that I had imagined for over a year - DECORATING!!!  Lauren made vats of Royal Icing & our first goal was to cover as many cracks and mishaps with icing & candy.  Then we made a red door with my favorite detail on the house:  The RING POP crystal doorknob :) 

Made me smile every time I looked at it and I pointed it out to anyone who would look! (Three guesses who put that m&m bow on the wreath)

Then we let the red-headed elf add the final touch to the g-house:  dusting the roof with powdered sugar "snow."

Before Holiday in the Pines, we added a fence, snow, and trees along with a Santa Surveilance sign to prevent kiddos from sampling the candy. 

When all was said & done, we baked 84 lbs of gingerbread and made over 41 lbs of Royal Icing, but every time I walk by it & inhale the gingerbread smell, I feel very MERRY!!!

This was more than a gingerbread house for me, it gave me something to look forward to in March, during a very dreadful time of my year.