Our new family member!

Welcome baby... " ? " !! We just "adopted" this little guy! He's a 12 week old Congo African Gray parrot. Not sure what to name this lil' one yet - not sure if it's a boy or a girl! We're off to the bird vet today for a check up and blood test (only way to officially "sex" bird"). So far on the short list is: Uno, Oakley, Echo, and Mojo. Those are our "generic" names. I like Lola if it's a girl, and Cisco if it's a boy! He's so cute, and we're having so much fun with him - very sweet bird! Here's a picture of Jake and "bird" (he LOVES edamame!)

A love story...

This is the most touching and beautiful love story ever!

I've watched it three times already, and cried every time!   Amazing.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiGKWoJi5qM

Shakin'!

"Did you feel that?!?!"   My husband called to ask me at 11:45.  

"Feel what?" 

"We just had an earthquake!!!"  

Welcome to California!  If you hadn't heard the news yet, California had an earthquake, it registered a 5.4 on the richter scale, centered in Chino Hills (about 30 miles east of downtown LA).  Apparently it was felt as far away as Las Vegas, and and far south as San Diego...   

I however, felt nothing!

Kind of glad...  but in a strange way...  kind of wanted too!  Mark called me from work, which is in Del Mar (close to the coast), and he said his office definitely rumbled!   Fortunately there were no reported injuries and no major damage.   5.4 is pretty big!   

It's definitely scary...  but I'm not afraid.   We dodged tornadoes (some too close for comfort!) in Texas and have seen first hand the damage they can cause.   California has earthquakes.   I don't think anyone - anywhere is safe from a natural disaster...   I'm fascinated by the sheer power and magnitude of these natural forces...  it makes me realize how small we are on this large planet on which we live.   A little shakin', I'm OK with...  As for "the big one" - hopefully I won't be around when that time comes!

Yup... It's a kitchen... and it's cake!!

My "kitchen cake" was published in ACD (American Cake Decorating magazine) this month!   This cake has undoubtedly been my most interesting cake request to date!  I love a challenge and when clients have a "vision" - I love it more when the finished product exceeds their expectations!

I did this cake for a guy who was surprising his wife with a kitchen remodel for her birthday... nice guy hu!?!  He wanted a complete replica of his current kitchen to present his wife, so she could demolish it!  (kind of harsh, but I get it!)   He was an engineer, so he was very specific how he wanted it to look - right down to the coloring on the kitchen counters (no pressure)!   He made the "stage" for the cake complete to scale...   complete with walls, and even made little ledges for me, to put the cake on where the cabinets were to hang and actual flooring from their kitchen, for the cake board.   It doesn't look like much cake, but all this was constructed out of 2 2x18 half sheet pans...  and not all of it was cake, I used styrofoam for some of the cabinets and refrigerator.  Everything was covered in fondant and all the details were made out of gumpaste and applied w/ royal icing.  

Well, he was blown away with the results and even sent me pictures of his wife demolishing the "kitchen cake"!   I don't think this kitchen looked all that bad - would love to see what the new kitchen is gonna look like!  

(Wonder what he's got planned for next year!?!)

Good cakes gone bad!

As you may think, I am not on vacation! ...OK, well sort of, but not really! Though it is "summer", and I have been hangin' at the beach, and haven't done a cake in 8 weeks! ... I've also been unpacking, organizing, and setting up our house! I don't how many trips to Lowe's and Home Depot I've made, but the girl at the paint counter recognized me this morning!

I still frequet my favorite cake sites and friends blogs, and while perusing on Cake Central (http://www.cakecentral.com/) last night, I came across the funniest blog and had to pass this on! It's a riot!

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

"When professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong!"

These are some of the saddest (and funniest) cakes I have ever seen! Spelling errors, horrible colors -you'd cry too if you picked up one of these babies for your special occassion (or wedding!) No cheap shots - these aren't "beginner" cakes or cakes your grandma made, these are what people actually paid for - from a bakery!

Just proves.... you get what you pay for!

(Good cakes aren't cheap - and cheap cakes aren't good!)

...or anything for that matter!

Happy 4th - from Huntington Beach!

We spent the weekend of the 4th up at Huntington Beach (a.k.a. Surf City USA)  It's about an hour North of us and Mark has a good friend there (Dave) who invited us up to to his condo (on the beach!) for the weekend.  Huntington goes ALL out for the 4th.  They start out the morning w/ a huge parade, they even shut down PCH for the event!  Houses are all decorated out, people lining the streets early with their chairs - very Americana - with a SoCal twist! 

I loved this pony picture, her "nails" are coordinating - and she's smiling!

When the parade is over, the hundreds - thousands! - hit the streets, the pier and the beach!  Bikes are the ONLY way to get around!

If you watch Entourage (awesome show!) you'll appreciate this car!  Super clean '63 Lincoln Continental convertible, with suicide doors!  

It was a gorgeous day at the beach - a view from Huntington Pier (you can see Dave's condo!)

BBQs and parties going on all day...   that night, we were treated to a most amazing fireworks show off the pier.   What a great way to celebrate the 4th!   

Saturday morning, we had breakfast at Rudy's...   when your in HB for breakfast, they serve up the BEST cinnamon bun french toast!   Yeah, it's that good!

Had a great weekend! - Thanks Dave and Rose for the hospitality!   I think today, we'll relax at home by the pool (i.e., take nap!) and recover from the "fun" and the "sun"!    Happy 4th everyone!!

Pacific Beach

Well, Sunday's are turning out to be our "beach day"...  we've been checking out different beaches in the area, and today we went to Pacific Beach (or as the local's refer to as "PB"), just South of La Jolla.   It's a huge beach, lots of places to eat, shop and lots of nightlife (so we're told), a popular area for SD college students!  There's a long boardwalk that stretches all the way down to Mission Beach, and Mission Bay (just N. of San Diego), you can rent bikes, surfboards, pretty much anything you need - we'll definately bring our bikes back w/ us next time, that's the way to to get around (parking is definately a challenge!).   

Next weekend we're heading up to Huntington Beach (Surf City USA!) for the 4th of July.  A friend of ours who lives there, has invited us up for the festivities - apparently they shut down PCH (Pacific Coast Hwy) for a huge parade and a pier festival.  We love Huntington, great beach, excellent surfing, and great people watching!   Should be fun!

Love the smells...!

I know I'm in California, when I get here, and smell the smells! OK, not it's not exhaust, or smog! ...it's the fresh rosemary and sage, the honeysuckle and lavender, and the ocean... it's what I love most about it here. Here's a sample of what's in my yard!

The view from my bedroom... this is the best! On a clear day, you can see the ocean... and in 20 minutes I can be there!

California or Bust!!

Well we made it! It wasn't easy... but we made it! What a crazy month it's been it's been! We (yes, "we", not a moving company!) packed up our house, and moved everything with PODS!... Stayed at "granny and grampa's for 10 days! (4 adults, 2 kids, and a 120# dog, in a 2 bedroom house!)... Matt's graduation ceremony ("YEAH Matt!!"), drove 1/2 way across the country in two cars... Matt's Jeep breaks down just outside Midland (see "Monahan's" pictures!)... but WE MADE IT!! It's been awhile since I've had a chance to update my blog, we just got internet access, and phone lines, etc., etc., and am almost done getting the house in some type of order - I HATE MOVING!! Here's a few pictures from recent weeks....

We're so proud of you Matt!! (You look like "Mr. T"!) Congratulations - you did it!

Cooper, Zoe, Jake and Taylor, chillin' out at Granny's house! (Taylor, is that a smile?!?!)

Jake was a trooper, riding on the roof...! Gas... $3.97 a gallon (you don't want to know what we're paying here!)

Matt's Jeep broke down in Monahan's Texas... about 50 miles West of Odessa! Not much here but the sand dunes and a Jeep dealership! I swear they were an oassis in the dessert!

(That's Matt out there!)

They're pretty... but I prefer my sand with some water! No water here!

Hangin' up the apron....

A bittersweet cake weekend...  I did my last two weddings this weekend, for the summer!   Not a planned break, or vacation, or just bein' lazy...  My family is up for big changes!   My husband took a new job very recently, and it's relocating us to San Diego, California!   Being from Southern California, I was jumping with enthusiasm on this inside when we found out!    (...not jumping so much, when we started pricing homes!)   Thanks to Cake Carousel

 (www.cakecarousel.com) for helping me out with pending orders!  If you guys are wanting a referral, this is the place!   They do wonderful work, and their staff is great! 

So it is with great sadness that I leave all my loyal clients and friends!  This past year has been awesome!  I will most definately be starting up my business again, in the San Diego county area this fall, so please stay tuned to my blog this summer!!  I'll continue to post interesting cake tid-bits and new designs that I'll be practicing for my entry piece for the upcoming Oklahoma cake show - and taking some new classes as well!   Can't wait!   ...so keep checkin' back!

For my final cakes this weekend, I ended with the following beauties...

This 4 tiered cake, was designed for Kayna - she  wanted a brown cake w/ lilac colors, to match her wedding colors - I thought it came out beautiful - nice contrast!  (Love pastels w/ dark 

brown!)  Lemon and white cake, w/ raspberry filling, all iced in vanilla buttercream and

 covered w/ chocolate fondant.  (Fondant was definately for color and effect on this cake!)

...and Kristen's cake, alternating ribbons and scrolls, w/ a fresh floral topper.  (All squares this weekend!)  White almond sour cream cake w/ strawberry filling and chocolate fudge cake, w/ chocolate buttercream...  we did the grooms cake in carrot cake, so we snuck some chocolate in there for her!

 

So, that's it for now - I've packed up the mixers, pans, spatula's, tips and tools...  off to sunny California!  Just in time...  just saw the forcast for Dallas this week:  95,  96,  96, 96 !!   UGH!

..that, I won't miss!!   

Peace!

Count 'em - FIVE !

Five weddings this weekend - my record! ...and I don't intend on breakin' it any time soon! I don't know how I talked myself into this, my limit is usually 2, maybe 3 but 5?! They're all done, all delivered and all were beauties! ...no repeat designs - all new and different, and lots of color!

Ashley's three tiered butter yellow cake, w/ white scroll work and white gumpaste bow. Fresh flowers topped off this white almond cake with buttercream frosting.

Johanna's cake was a simple design (she was going for "flavor"!) wanting the cake to match her wedding invitations. White almond sour cream cake, and fresh strawberry cake, all iced in cream cheese icing. Love the cake topper! (...I think bride should be on top!) Cicelyanne wanted to incorporate her peacock feathers into her wedding cake, and we came up with this design. We opted w/ a fake base for her feather trim, so the feathers weren't actually on the cake itself. The feather topper was a cake topper she found on line - and

matched perfectly! Denise brought me a photo of a cake she had found, and absolutely loved (original designer unknown). We changed the bows to red, to match her colors. Amaretto cake with buttercream icing. Red roses were added to the top.

Lastly, my favorite (maybe because it's so big!) - Leian's cake was all fresh strawberry cake w/ cream cheese filling, and iced in buttercream. Sage green fondant ribbon wrapped each tier, and decorated w/ white scroll work. Fresh flowers added the finishing touch!

Congratulations to all the happy couples!

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Go green!

We're hearing a lot of that these days - "go green"! Get echo friendly, environmentally conscious, help our earth by using and wasting less and recycling more - I'm all about it!

I think it's our duty and responsibility to help ensure the wellness of our planet for our future, and our childrens future! Do your part and visit: http://www.worldwatch.org/ for 10 easy ways, to go green!

Speaking of going "green", here's my contribution this weekend, with a green cake for Courtney!

Her colors were pink and green - very popular and very spring-like! I love it! I unfortuntaely forgot to take a photo of the grooms cake, that I was dying to dig into! A large two tiered chocolate fudge cake, w/ raspberry filling and chocolate buttercream icing, chocolate ganache drizzles, and fresh raspberries mounded on the top! YUM! Courtney's cake, was a white almond sour cream cake, with cream cheese filling, and vanilla buttercream icing... grab a fork and a tall glass of cold milk! (champagne goes quite nicely too!)

Congratulations to Rosebud and Brent - and their princess castle wedding cake! Rosebud's cake (don't you love that name!) was a 4 tiered white almond sour cream cake, w/ vanilla buttercream. Fondant swags and staircase lead up to her castle cake topper!

...and congrat's to Adrienne and Hans tonight, they were married at Landon Winery here in downtown McKinney (very fun place!) I don't have a photo, but Adrienne wanted a simple cake for her reception. 3 tieres, 2 chocolate fudge, and one French vanilla - all w/ raspberry filling and iced in vanilla buttercream. Decorations were a simple black ribbon and bow around each of her tiers. (Unfortunately Allison didn't charge her camera last night, and no picture!)

Have a great week everybody!!

Jenna's Cake

Unless your living under a rock - you've heard Jenna Bush and her fiance were married this past Saturday, at "the ranch" in Crawford, Texas...    Of course, I was axiously awaiting to see the cake!! Though I've seen a picture of the cake - I can't find who did it...  (details are closely guarded!) Rumor is, it was the pastry chef from The White House.    Pretty cake, simple and elegant for their country wedding, decorated with white roses, and blue and yellow flowers.   Is it me, or is the top of the cake...   crooked?

...or if it's supposed to look this way?!    

What do you think??!

Congrat's to the happy couple!

Wedding Week on FoodTV

Set your digital recorders - it's wedding week on FoodTV - which means... wedding cakes!! There's a new surprise engagement cake challenge, a Bobby Flay wedding cake "throw down", history of wedding cakes, new Ace of Cakes, all kinds of great stuff! I know what I'll be watching! http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/tv/

You can also check out some really great cakes posted to the Ace of Cakes Cake Community: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_db/text/0,,FOOD_26996_67255,00.html