Cake #2-- Drop Swirl Flowers

There's a story behind this cake, but I'll spare everyone the details. I'd like to think that the end product turned out pretty okay.

There are two secrets I've learned to make the frosting smooth.

1. After you've cleaned of the spreader/knife get it a little wet.

2. After you're done getting it as smooth as you can with the knife, wait until there is a "crust" of frosting then pat it down with parchment paper on the top and sides.

I think I'm going to practice writing and add the girls' names... They'll think that they're pretty special! :)

Valentine's Day Tea Party for Four Cute Girls

I had fun preparing for a little Valentine's day party for the girls and two of their friends who are also sisters.

I was so happy with the result- a cute, simple, inexspensive V-day tea party for four. We made the decorations, used plates and cups we already had. I picked up doilies 2 for a dollar and the sucker bouquets (Tinkerbell) I found on a 90% off clearence sale at Walgreens. We served pb&j, blueberries, and heart shaped brownies courtesy of our friends. I also made up some tea sandwiches for Becky and I.

My favorite, super easy tea sandwich was red pepper jelly and goat cheese. Yum. I love goat cheese. If I could only find a way to eat in in sushi I'd have the perfect meal. :)Here is proof that my house and girls can actually be clean at the same time ;0) It's hard to see but I made the mobile... I cut out about 35 hearts used spray adheasive to adhere them to ribon and attached to a dowel. It was pretty cute and just cost a few dollars. Here are the girls enjoying their time together. One last group hug before saying goodbye.

I'm obsessed with cakes!

I told Dave that it's like a dream come true that I'm taking this class. Every free moment I get I'm looking at cakes online. I've also traced circles on drawing paper and came up with layouts/designs/color schemes for cakes.

My love of cake must have rubbed off on the girls. Today they had their well check appointments and when the doc asked K what her favorite food was she replied, "cake!"

So far my interest has only been in decorating, but I'm sure with time I'll be concered with the actual cake and want to make the homemade kind.

For lesson #3, I had the AWESOME idea of baking cakes in tin cans. You know like pouring batter into soup cans and then baking. I want to do mini cakes for class so this seemed logical. I haven't found much info on it online because I suppose you can buy special cake pans for mini cakes. But I'm more of the "I can get the same result by being more creative (cheaper)." So coming soon you will find my "bake cakes in a can" keyword rich blog post.

In my search of amzing cakes I came across this cute food site: www.epicute.com. I will be looking here often for cute food ideas!

Great Love

There is nothing more in this world that I love more than my family. So precious.

Cake

Being I love food and being creative with food, I enrolled in a Wilton Method cake decorating class. I'm such a dork, but I've always wanted to learn how. I'm loving all aspects of the class. I love the teaching method, the people, and how it lets me be creative and thoughtful. I'm also happy that I will be able to make cakes for the people I love and be able to make them a little more special than Walmart.

Below is my first attempt at stars. We had various design options to choose from. I opted to use one of my cookie-cutters so I wouldn't need to mix so many different colors of frosting ;o)

I'm having fun thinking of what I want to do next week. There are so many options!!

The only complatint I have about making a cake every week is who i going to eat them all?!

Rice Krispie Kisses

Today we made Rice Krispie Kisses. The trick here is to line the funnel with wax paper so you can wrap the "kiss" in wax paper inside the foil (so it doesn't stick to the foil). Also, spray a spatula with cooking spray before you pack the mix in the funnel.

Fashion Show Project Runway Style

I have a confession to make. I love Project Runway. I DVR all the episodes and Kayleigh and I watch them when Zoe is napping.

Today, Kayleigh came to me with the blue curtains exclaiming that she bought this wondfer fabric and was so excited to get started designing. I couldn't help but smile and play along. My role was audience, judge, and reporter. Kayleigh was the designer and Zoe the model.

While Zoe was working on her model figure eating a toaster strudel (Yes mom, sometimes i give them bad food.) Kayleigh was busy decorating the curtains for the big show. I (as in the judge and mom) was impressed that she used flower clips as decorations and tied back the curtains with ribbon all by herself.

Let's start the show:

Here Zoe in look #1. Evening wear fit for a Beauty. As you can see the designer is close by to direct poses and show her where to walk.

Last but not least look #2 was another evening gown. The judge admired the care the designer used to sew on the sequins. This design received the biggest applause from the audience.

Here is a picture of the designer and model after the show. Both happy they won first place which was a pasta or meatloaf lunch- their choice!
This was actually very fun for me. In between costume changes I sat in the hallway browsing through a magazine. I like activities where everyone wins! :)

Sick Day

I knew Kayleigh would wake up sick this morning, so I was prepared for special treats, movies and crafts.

The girls take after their Mom with their love of chocolate and nutella. Zoe was overJOYed to have a spoonfull after her Milk Chocolate Instant Breakfast :)

The girls watched Kung Fu Panda at least twice today and ate popcorn both of wich happened in our bedroom. Definitely a special treat!

For the craft of the day we dipped marbles in paint and rolled them around in cake pans.

As you can see Kayleigh is not feeling too hot...