Mother's Day and our doughbabies in stores!!

This is probably our last blog post on this old blog so we're going to cover more than one topic!! I am sooooo excited to report some fun stuff coming up for Dough a Deer. I wanted to share in the excitement with you all because you're the reason we do it!!!

1. Our Doughbabies are now being sold on Fridays and Saturdays in old town Tustin at the Wedding Pantry! Click the link to get directions! They are a wedding shop with all kinds of amazing stuff for sale and Dough a Deer is one of them! Packs of 6 for $6 and packs of 12 for $11.50. A limited amount every weekend though so make sure to get them while they're there!!

2. We're participating in an amazing mass military wedding for 25 couples and their guests at the Hyatt Regency Resort and spa in collaboration with KEarth 101 radio station and various other vendors. Check out the details here.

3. Also in May we're going to be part of the annual Debut party put on by Lifetime weddings and events in Westminister. We're looking for ideas for our table (the sky is the limit) so if you have any awesome ideas about how our doughbabies should be displayed for hundreds to see please let us know!!


And everyone knows that Mother's day is coming up! What better way to say "I love you" to mom than some mini doughnuts! We can create any kind of package for your mom with any combination of items and everything will be shipped off straight to her door with arrival by Mother's day!! We can also include a personal note for free with any purchases over $25.

Please contact us before April 30th to order for Mother's day!

info@doughadeer.com

<3

Interview with D.Park Photography

I LOVE meeting new wedding vendors!!! I love even MORE meeting a husband and wife team! I met David and Drexelle Park at an event and I contacted them to inquire about business photos! I wanted to get a few shots done and I loved their style! They delivered and we came up with some cute stuff that really shows what Dough a Deer is!! I decided to pick their brains and it's time for you all to see what D. Park photography is all about!!!

1. How long have you been in business and why did you decide to start a photography business?

David's been shooting weddings since 2006. But we didn't officially open for business 'til July 2009.

David's had a passion for capturing moments and people and beauty for as long as I can remember. He's also always been the most romantic man I know. When he started photographing weddings, he fell in love with capturing love stories. To him, photographing weddings wasn't a job. It was a passion.

For me, I was finishing up my MBA and, though I was paving a path to success in my career, it was so unsatisfying. When I tried to figure out what I wanted to do, I realized my number one passion, the thing I would do even if I wasn't paid to do it, would be to celebrate marriage. I came from a divorced home where, to this day, my parents don't really speak. And, though I had never used an SLR in my life, David asked me to second shoot. With a camera in my hand, I fell in love with capturing and immortalizing love stories with beautiful imagery.

We opened up the business and, thanks to God, we were able do it full-time and come this far. We absolutely love it!

2. What is your favorite thing about being a photographer?

David: The amazing personal relationships we build with the people we photograph
Drexelle: Capturing tears, the deep welling up of emotions that come up on a wedding day

3. What is the most important thing for brides and grooms to know when choosing their wedding photographer?

Choose the one you LOVE, nothing less.

4. What is your favorite thing to photograph?

David: Beauty
Drexelle: A groom in tears when he first sees his bride

5. Do you believe in the expression, a picture is worth 1,000 words? If so, why?

If it is, it better have something darn good to say.

Take a look at some of the photos they shot for me! =]

Make sure to visit them online at D.Park Photography
and add them on facebook too!

Seasonal items: Pretzels and peanut clusters

I'd also like to formally introduce you to the seasonal items here at Dough a Deer! They aren't donuts but oh man they are YUMMY and they make their debut in our mother's day packs so it's time for you to meet them!!!!

Caramel pretzels:
My love for handmade caramel was born a couple weeks ago...I tried marshmallows and then I tried caramel and I wanted to put caramel on something salty and crunchy then why not cover it in chocolate, right? Kay, these are amazing...I ate a couple and I didn't regret it for even a second. =]. They come in white and milk chocolate and assorted sprinkles. We can color coordinate sprinkles to your event too =] $1.75 each...bulk discounts available!

Peanut clusters:
Again, my obsession with salty and sweet has gotten the best of me! You know what is fun though, these peanut clusters have tons of options :)
Choose from:
Simple: Peanuts and chocolate
S'mores: Peanuts, chocolate, marshmallows, graham crackers
Amazing: Peanuts, chocolate, bacon bits, pretzel bits
Yum: Peanuts, chocolate, caramel, krispies
Contact us if you'd like to try something custom--Prices vary


Thank you again for your continued support of us! We couldn't do it without you and we do it FOR you!!! =]

EASTER SPECIAL! =]

EASTER SPECIAL: cute Easter themed carton with handle filled with 1 dozen doughbabies and 8 doughmamas for $20 plus shipping! That is a savings of nearly $10! Just for Easter :) Great for kids, adults and hey...pretty much EVERYONE. Ships April 19th! Email to order: info@doughadeer.com. **not on etsy, can't use heartsy vouchers for this purchase***

Awesome contest coming up at Dough a Deer!

Are you getting married this year? Do you know someone that is? How about free Dough a Deer doughnuts at your reception? :)

If you're interested please email me with the following:
-You and your fiance/fiancee's name
-Date of wedding
-Location of wedding
-Guest count
- How did you meet? (this story will be going up in a blog entry...)
-Proposal story (will also be posted)
-Photo of you both together (does not need to be professional!)

The rules:
You MUST be getting married this year (june 1st - December 31st)
You must have a guest count of less than 150.

THAT'S IT!!!! Your friends and my fans will be voting...please email me before the 10th because the contest starts the 15th of April!! SPREAD THE WORD! =]

Nicole Anderson
www.doughadeer.com

Vendor Review--Melicious Mama cupcakes, cakes and cookies

Cupcakes...I used to make them and decorate them and sell them. I broke up with the cupcake for the doughnut but if ever there was a time to miss an ex, THIS IS IT.

I came into contact with Mel-icious about a week or so ago and I told her I would LOVE to review her products. Not only was she totally enthusiastic but she shipped out samples to me right away!

My sweet tooth was expecting a beautiful jar of red velvet (my favourite) but when I opened the box from her I was VERY pleasantly surprised! What drew me to her shop in the first place was her packaging and presentation and she did NOT disappoint!!!

The box was filled with more boxes ( i LOVE to unwrap things!) Black boxes with glittery ribbon and butterflies and amazingnesssss!!! Opening the boxes brought even MORE joy. The packaging was to DIE for. Tied around the cupcake in a jar was a plastic silver spoon and a little capsule filled with sprinkles!!!! WHATTTTTTTTTTT?! You don't even know!

Then I tasted...my friend helped me, thankfully but really, If she wasn't there I would have been alright. ;)

First was the small samples of the new flavors she was working on...Cookies and Cream and Chocolate milkshake. OH. MY. GOSH, what a dream. I wish I had a bigger sample, seriously!
Red Velvet and cosmic love (with pop rocks frosting) and vanilla love were just as amazing, if not MORE AMAZING. Just the sheer fact that I got to pour my own pop rocks or sprinkles on my cupcakes was fun in itself, but using the little plastic spoon to eat a cupcake was a first for me!

The cake was moist, the frosting not too sweet, not overpowering and not too much (which is a big pet peeve for me with cupcakes) made for an absolutely delicious dessert! And get this, since it's in a jar, you can seal it back up and eat it later...that is, if it lasts until later.

Then came the cookies...oh my lord, the cookies! She sent me 4 cookie monster cookies which literally had EVERYTHING that makes an amazing dessert in one cookie...an oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips, caramel chips, pecans, walnuts, pretzels and a caramel drizzle. Did i mention I was in heaven? Seriously, i would be happy if I never ate another cookie my entire life. I took a picture off the website because it went too fast to take a photo of. =]. Even my little buddy was in love with the cookies!

Overall score:
Presentation: A+
Taste: A+
Originality: A+

I WILL be going back and ordering from her and I will be recommending her and you should ALL go check her out at her etsy site...you will not regret it. Do you see all these words in CAPS? You know I am serious!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Meliciousmama

****if you would like Dough a Deer to review your product please contact us at info@doughadeer.com for more information! :) ***

Some fun display ideas!

Hello lovelies! I hope everyone is well!

A LOT has been going on lately and I wanted to show everyone some cute little ideas I threw together for display and presentation for fun!

1. With cute baby shower themes and late night snacks and brunches the day after your wedding there are so many fun possibilities for doughnuts! Here we put 3 of our chocolate chip cookie doughnut holes in a clear cello bag and tied them to the neck of a glass bottle. So simple and such a big statement!


2. Paper straws are popping up everywhere! What a cute alternative to a cake pop...just push your favourite paper straw into a doughnut hole and wala! Easy!


3. Take your favourite cupcake recipe and put a doughnut onto the top of the frosted cupcake! You can even use store bought cupcakes with this one too! So many different combinations and 2 treats in one =]

4. Take a shot glass and fill it with milk then put a cute toothpick through the doughnut and lay on top of the shot glass!


Enjoy...if you have any photos of how you used your dough a deer doughnuts we would love to see them!!

Have a great week!!

HAPPY EASTER GIVEAWAY!!!

THE LUCKY DUCK IS!!!!!

Lacey Hall!!! Please email me your shipping address! =] Congrats and thanks everyone for playing!!!

So who said that Easter is just for kids? :) Okay...so it's MAINLY for kids but why can't us adults get an AWESOME easter basket? Well guess what...we're giving one away!!! AN awesome giveaway that is fit for an adult who still wants to get something fun too =]

So what do you get? THAT'S THE BEST PART!!! OVER $115 value!!!

1. $10 gift certificate towards Dough a Deer doughnuts.

2. 1 dozen decorated sugar cookies or 1 dozen cake pops from Heavenly bites cake!


3. 2 Sets of pins from Off the Record


4. $15 gift certificate for Diffraction Fiber


5. A simply simplicious easter sampler box (15-20 samples) from The Sampler village

6. A dozen marshmallow pops or marshmallow donuts from Madyson's marshmallows


7. An adorable button bracelet from Scarves by Chanin


8. $30 gift certificate towards online products from The Paper Cupcake


So how do you win?

EASY!!!!

Just leave a comment here saying what you'll do with all these AWESOME prizes!!!

BUT if you want more chances to win you can click all the links above and add these awesome people on their FB fan page! =] that's an extra entry for each FB page you join! Don't forget to give yourself an extra entry below!!!

ALSO if you share on your FB or twitter or blog post the link here for another entry!!!

One winner will be randomly drawn on Monday March 21st!!

GOOD LUCK!!! HAPPY EASTER =]

***note...photos are examples, actual product may vary***

Greetings from England!

Cheerio, everyone! How are things?!

Leave it to me to work 24/7 no matter where I am but I have been brainstorming some flavor ideas and I wanted to see what you, the customers and the heart of Dough a Deer think!?

I am going to just list some flavors I have been thinking of and feel free to give your opinion! Whether you love the idea, hate the idea or have some flavor ideas you would love to see at Dough a Deer please let us know!

We're all about options, customer satisfaction and people pleasing so your opinion COUNTS TREMENDOUSLY!!!

<3 Love & Dough

1. Banana Caramel doughnut
2. Chocolate covered strawberry doughnut
3. Butterscotch drizzle doughnut
4. Peanut butter and jelly doughnut
5. White chocolate and blueberry doughnut
6. Lemon coconut doughnut
7. Vanilla chai spice doughnut
8. Orange spice doughnut
9. Cinnamon coconut doughnut

<3

Reviews!!!

So I've been lucky enough to get to try some yummy treats over the past week and I would like to share the amazing goodies with you but I can't! What I CAN do is tell you about them and make you want to buy some of your own...which won't be hard to do! :)

1. My first goodies came from the lovely Breeze at Madyson's Marshmallows!
As you know, I have a weakness for anything that looks like a doughnut...and doughnuts as well. When I came across these little beauties I HAD to try them! I contacted Breeze via her etsy page and she was so lovely to speak to and she sent some samples out right away! Then the box arrived and look what I saw when I opened it!She sent 3 flavors! Original, macadamia coconut and toffee crunch. O.M.G! I of course had to share with some other expert tasters (my family and friends) and each one got the same review...AMAZING!!!

The marshmallow/chocolate combination is one to be smitten with! I actually hid the original ones so no one else could have any hahah! They are so creamy and scrumptious that I am pretty sure I could eat a couple pounds of it. lol. They are handmade and hand dipped in small batches so you can rest assured that they are fresh! Her flavor combinations are spot on! Her shop has some other AMAZING stuff that I can't wait to try! Heart shaped marshmallows, s'mores bar, and OMG marshmallow chip fluffs. Seriously, my mouth is watering!


You HAVE to go visit her and try some of her goodies!!
-Etsy
-Website


2. Cake pops from Dreamin N Details
Okay...so I LOVE cake pops and I cannot make them myself for the life of me for some reason...so I have to rely on yummy shops to make them for my belly :)

Cineca is so lovely and she sent me 3 flavors...s'mores (you know how I love it) Devils food (everyone's favourite) and blueberry (a flavor i've never seen before in a cake pop!) The s'mores is heavenly like I expected it to be! The devils food was so creamy and delicious I kinda...ate all 3 myself. I'm not much of a berry fan so I gave one to my room mate to try and by the time I turned around to ask her what it tasted like it was gone. Then she asked for the other two. lol. She is pretty picky to so I take that to be a good sign :)She sent me a little note :)
Check out her facebook and become a fan and see what is happening over at her blog!!

Facebook
Blog

3. Lollipops from The Sweetest Affair
This is one of the most unique things I have seen in the party world!! Lollipop flowers!! At the sweetest affair they have some of the yummiest lollipop flavors I have ever tasted then they wrap them with handmade paper flowers! A true labor of love and beauty!

They sent me one of each of their flavors such as: Banana split, blueberry, peach mango, cherry, pina colada and more...the flavors were perfect and where I didn't get to see a flower in person the photos speak for themselves.
Go check out their website for their beautiful photos and to try some of their yummy lollipops!!!
Website


Make sure you go and leave them all some love!! They are all amazing and you'll definitely want to try every one of their goodies!!!

What is coming in March at Dough a Deer!!!!!

I've got some REALLY awesome stuff coming up in March for Dough a Deer and I thought i'd let you guys know what what you can look forward to! :)

Lots of stuff I am realllllyyy excited about and can't wait to have photos for all of you to see!!!

1. New packaging!! YES, we're going to pump up the packaging!!! It is still in the works and I am looking at a few Eco friendly options! I am excited to be able to offer gift packaging too in March!

2. Blog revamp! I'm talking buttons, backgrounds, advertising spots and the works!! :) It'll be like my second website :)

3. New doughnut flavors!

4. Savory doughnut options!!

5. The introduction of Dough daddies...Designer doughnuts!!!

So there you have it, if you loved us before you're going to love us even more next month!!! We can't thank you all enough for the support and friendship!!! You guys all ROCK and we do this all for you!!!! :)

<3 Love and Dough,

Nicole

GIVEAWAY!!!! Beautiful handmade scarf from Scarves by Chanin

Okay...so I live in California and it hardly ever gets cold enough to wear a scarf. But I LOVE these scarves SO MUCH that I own one...that's right, I own one. My house is wood flooring and it gets really cold in here so I will wear it inside. AND a lot of English people will be jealous when I wear it in England next month!!!

These scarves are amazing...they are handmade and truly one of a kind! Chanin uses vintage buttons from the 1920's to the 1960's and when you buy one of her scarves, rest assured you will have the ONLY one like yours!!! Not only that, but they button around you so they stay put and it's SO CUTE! yayayay!!!

So what can you win?

I'm talking about a fantastic scarf in a beautiful army green color with old military buttons. This scarf was made inspired by her brother, Ian who is currently serving in the Army!!! This is a scarf you want if you support our troops (which everyone should :) and a fabulous accessory for your winter and spring outfits!----$60.00 value!!!


So how do you win!?

EASY!

1. Go to the Scarves by Chanin etsy page and come back and leave a comment saying which color you would like to see or which scarf you love best!

2. Go become a fan on Scarves by Chanin's facebook fan page! Make sure to say hello!!!

3. Post this giveaway on your blog/facebook/twitter or all of the above! Let us know the link here :)

This giveaway ends on Friday so tell everyone you can!!!

:)

YAY!

The Year of the DOUGHNUT continues!

So I realized 2 things today...

1. I didn't really EXPLAIN what the year of the doughnut means in detail.

2. There actually IS a reason that I eat, sleep and breathe doughnuts!

I don't eat as many as you think...really. lol. I mainly maintain a high level of quality control and because I am still small, I CAN DO THIS! But you know what? I don't know how I would feel if I didn't get to interact with every single client I have!!!

ANYWAYSSSSSSSSS

This year is all about the doughnut. ALL ABOUT IT! I still love cupcakes and cake pops and I have TOTAL respect for everyone that makes them and makes a living off of making them but I am going to do EVERYTHING I can to ensure that baked doughnuts make their way into thousands of peoples bellies!! Yum yum yum!

So my first step? I need a mascot. AND I need a tagline. Like "we doughnut tell a lie". LOL. See why I don't make up my own? :)

So I thought maybe it would be fun to do a little competition...A mascot and tag line competition. I know, some people think I do too many competitions but I like to do fun stuff and get my awesome friends involved and well, you guys rock more than I do. SO THERE!

I have so many awesome friends who can do design stuff (that I have no clue about) and they are good at what they do and quick too so I thought what better way to show off you guys and what you can do!?

So here are the deets:

1. It needs to have pink SOMEWHERE. Sprinkles or no sprinkles, that is totally up to you. ;)

2. It should be able to be used for elegant events like weddings too.

3. The tagline should be short and sweet. :)

The rules:

1. Pink!

2. Each lovely contender can submit up to 3 different designs/taglines.


There are 2 rounds of this competition:

Round 1: You submit to me and I choose my top 3-5 (before Sunday, January 23rd.)
Round 2: I post the top choices here on my blog and my friends and fans will vote on them!

The winner gets:

- 5 dozen doughnuts in March
- 5 dozen doughnuts in September (you can switch the months if you need)

$100 value

PLUS
-Your design will get a write up on my blog with all your information.
-Your design will be on my blog, my website, my etsy, my twitter, paper goods and promotional items.

And maybe some other fun stuff I decide to throw in along the way! :)


So Round ONE starts NOW and ends next Sunday, the 23rd!!

Please email all round one submissions to info@doughadeer.com

I can't wait!!!! :)

The year of the doughnut begins!!!

I used to not be so positive about everything but I realized it's way more wonderful of a feeling to be positive about stuff.

Make this YOUR year...take January 1st, 2011 as a clean slate and write out whatever you want. It's YOUR slate! This year is going to be the year of the doughnut for me. What is it going to be for you?

Before I started this business I had never worked so hard on anything in my entire life. NOTHING. I always did everything just as it needed to be done. Now, I see what needs to be done and I do triple that. Why? Because I am not going to get anywhere if I don't push myself and push my business. I'm not going to be original forever so I need to get my logo imprinted on as many minds as I can before there is competition. I will be THE original doughnut favors BUT will I always be the one EVERYONE who needs doughnuts goes to? No! Is that okay? YES!

I'm not trying to make millions, I am trying to be me and put smiles on people's faces! I am trying to love what I do...and I DO! Do you?

So I am starting this year right with a bunch of inspiration quotes that have helped me...and they'll help you! And every time I read them it's like my heart is pumping it's fist (if it had one) in the air and yelling "YEAHHHHHHHHHHH, let's do it!!!" No, i'm not talking about the jersey fist pump!

So here they are, enjoy and enjoy your year of the ________________!!!!

"A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him. "

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

"Success is falling nine times and getting up ten."