green spatula

I'm not good at plants. My husband and I have started an herb garden...several times. I forget to water them, or I over water them. I recently discovered that there is an easier way to bring plants into our home. Cake! While I don't have a green thumb, I do have a green spatula!

sweet marketing ideas

It's like your momma always said, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach". Who'da thunk the same principal would apply professionally as well? These mini cupcakes were ordered not only as a marketing tool, but also to gain access to the people who make decisions. Recent studies show that decision makers love cupcakes. lmao. I wish.

oh-la-la

WARNING, this post features edible undergarments...but not that kind....oh man.

When I was asked by a friend to do a cake for a bachelorette party, I'll be honest, I got a little nervous. This is a family blog! No worries, they didn't want anything too scandalous.

Graduation Marathon 2011

We had a graduation marathon this year! Marathon? Yes! Two of my siblings graduated on the same day in different cities....HOURS apart. Both of them graduating on the same day caused a little hang up on what design the cake should be. I went back and forth trying to decide if I should do each mascot, something symbolizing each area of study, or one big cake that captured something about each of them. I finally decided to go for something more generic "graduation day". We were going to be driving all over South Louisiana as it was, the last thing I needed was extra stress of super complicated cakes to tote along.

Graduations always bring back fun memories of former classes and classmates. And naturally, I pulled out college and high school yearbooks and had a few laughs. And then it hit me! All the notes in said yearbooks were the best part. "Have a great life" and the more personal full page notes in bright pink ink from the BFF were the epitome of graduation. What if you could do that same thing with a cake? YOU CAN, all thanks to food color markers. :)

april showers bring may flowers

It's been so long! And I know, I keep doing this. I either get so busy making cakes that I don't have time to tell you about them, or I get swamped with the "real job" or home projects that I don't have time to bake! No bueno. I need to work on this.

May is a month full of celebrations! (and I have so many cakes to show you!) But let's start with the most important...Mother's Day! My mom has always been my biggest fan. I was a cheerleader in high school and I'm pretty sure my mom was cheering for the cheerleaders louder than we were cheering for the actual team. Lately, her "cheering" comes in the form of comments to my posts. However, she is having issues posting comments lately, so each time I post something new she calls in her "comment" to make sure I know she has one.

Mom, you truly are the greatest! Thanks for being my best friend!

season for showers

We moved! But even more important is that I finally got the computer to upload cake pictures!

The season of showers is upon us! Noting says congratulations on your upcoming life change (be it babies or marriage) like bite sized portions of delicious foods arranged on fancy trays, creative juice concoctions served in a bowl with floating chunks of fruit and ice, groups of women playing make-a-fool-of-yourself games, and CAKE!

taco-in-law

So I have a new brother-in-law, and while you expect to eventually have in-laws, it's hard to imagine what it will be like. I grew up with some pretty awesome siblings; we were, are, and always will be pretty tight. It's hard to imagine adopting someone completely new into such a tight group. I'm not even kidding when I say that we have a billion "inside jokes". How would someone new feel about ALWAYS not getting our jokes? We randomly rattle off movie lines (sometimes unconsciously) and expect each other to know what movie we're referencing. How will someone new keep up? We have secret passwords that are necessary to ensure a conversation is confidential. How will someone new....nevermind, they're not supposed to know the passwords. But you get the point.

Turns out! Adding someone new to the family dynamic is the coolest thing ever! No, they don't get the jokes...but we get to relive their creation by explaining their origin! No, they don't know all our movies...but we don't mind watching them again! And if we ever need to have a sibling-to-sibling secret conversation...sha-bam, password protected.

So my new brother-in-law adds a lot more to our family than your normal brother-in-law...he's from another country! He has a whole bucket load of other country things to bring to the table. Good things: He's got good jokes, good foods, he and my sister will have the cutest kids, he speaks another language, the list goes on. Bad things: because he speaks another language he is somehow uncommonly good at MadGab...the "boys team" now has a secret weapon.

Random facts: He speaks spanish, but did not grow up in Mexico. And as it turns out, not all Spanish speeking countries are taco eating countries. As a small joke, we celebrated his birthday last week with a taco cake!

new look...new purpose

New Look!! If anyone can tell you, my mom can, new looks are my fav! My sisters and I rearranged our bedroom quite often. Often enough to have an ask-permission-before-you-move-ANYTHING rule.

Now the site has a new look!...and a new purpose! Not too long ago, I decided to start a blog. The purpose was to document and share my cake adventures and maybe make a few extra bucks along the way. October, November, December, January, February...I was having a blast! We did make a little extra cash...but my hesitancy to overly charge my friends and family ultimately kept the profits low. 

And now a change of heart. I have a job, my husband has a job, we live in a very small, very cheep apartment. Was this extra money really doing anything? My closet might answer yes...but I'm going to say no. I was really challenged to use my talents for something bigger than just a new blouse. So, I'm turning the blog into a glorified bake sale for the world...for the brokenhearted, the downtrodden, the orphans, the widows, and the needy. Beginning March 2011 donations will be made based on the month's cake profits to prayerfully considered individuals or organizations.

What can one cake do? You'd be surprised. Check out the new page to find out!

farewell frenzy

This week has been a week of good-byes. I left job A to start job B. I had a dream that we packed everything up and moved to a new apartment! And my friend Rachael is moving to Forth Worth to be a nurse...and hopefully soon a finace' (but don't tell the boyfriend I said that).

Rachael is an ex-roommate, bridesmaid in my wedding, and the recipient of my very first cake kind of friend, so I made a little something special for the "we're going to miss you" BBQ.

But you heard "my very first cake" and haven't been able to get that out of your head. So fine, I'll post a picture. This is Rachael's 2007 birthday cake...

Baby cakes and one tight space

Baking is an adventure. If this is news to you, please, stop here and start reading earlier posts. Making cakes are especially an adventure in my spatially challenged apartment, the 15 inch wide oven being ropes course #1. A typical project requires a furniture rearrange, a trip to the mini storage for the necessary tools, and a new rule...close the laptop.

The laptop lives on the dining table/Husband's desk. The table, while not far away, is not in the kitchen. While I can understand not bringing the laptop INTO the kitchen when cooking or baking anything, I was a little confused when this rule was first mentioned by my husband.

From husband, via text message: "new rule. close the laptop when baking."

Me: "what? LOL"

Husband: "long story. i droolled on the laptop. i wiped it off and blew on it and a CLOUD of flour flew out!!

Me: "you drooled on the laptop?! were you sleeping on the laptop?"

Husband: "no. like i said, long story."

This week, laptop closed and a safe distance from the kitchen, I made a baby shower cake for a friend!

1 2 3 honesty.

It's something a friend of mine used to do when she wanted a truthful answer to a particular question, sometimes serious, sometimes funny. Things like this tend to rub off, and before long, everyone you know does it. "1 2 3 honesty."

It goes like this...
Once you preface ANY question with "1 2 3 honesty" the recipient of the question has to not only answer honestly, but quickly. No thinking, just respond. Can't you see how much fun this is!!

1 2 3 honesty. Did you know that today is Abraham Lincoln's birthday?!
I did....and I might have gotten a little carried away. President cupcakes anyone?