Shop Hours

I'm sure we're going to end up tweaking our hours after we've been open for awhile, but for now, they are as follows:

Tuesday through Thursday - 10am to 7pm
Friday and Saturday - 10am to 9pm
Closed Sunday and Monday

And a reminder, the new phone number is (614)523-2400.  The address is 20 South State Street, Suite H (behind Java Central), Uptown Westerville.

We'll have a variety of cupcakes, cookies, and mini cakes available daily for walk-in customers, as well as doing our custom orders.

If you haven't "liked" us on Facebook yet, that's the quickest way to get updates, specials, menus, etc.  Just follow the link:   http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Brendas-Cakes/188659154490650

We'd love to see you soon!!!

Our Westerville location is now OPEN!!!!

After 3 very long and exhausting months, we opened the shop in Uptown Westerville yesterday for Midnight Madness.  It was sooo much fun to be able to fill our bakery case and see so many wonderful people at the shop.  I had totally meant to post BEFORE we opened, but things have been so unbelievably crazy!

Now that we got Midnight Madness out of the way, we'll decide on some regular hours and post them very soon.  We will have cupcakes, cookies, and other treats available for walk-in customers, as well as continuing our special order cakes and cookies. 

Here's a few shots of the new shop.  It's located at 20 South State Street, Suite H (behind Java Central).  Our new phone number is 614-523-2400.  Website and email will remain the same.

Our new display case, filled with goodies for Midnight Madness...

A shot of our very wide-open kitchen...

And if you'd like to see more...well, stop in and pick up a cupcake.  Or two...we have rent to pay now!  :)  Also, if you haven't "liked" our Facebook page yet, that would be a great way to keep up with specials, daily menu, etc.

Hope to see you all real soon!

Fun Week

I had such a fun week this week.  I did a cake that I think is my new favorite!  Even the little smash cake was so much fun to do.  The base cake is our white almond sour cream with chocolate ganache filling.  The ladybug cake is our white almond sour cream with strawberry filling.  Two of my favorite combinations!  Have a wonderful 1st birthday, Evey!

And Julia is turning 13, so her mom ordered cupcakes to bring to the event.  I matched the stand to the cupcakes.

And a baptism cake for Samuel....

My mom was down for a visit a few weeks ago.  We came over to visit the Westerville shop, as she hadn't seen it yet.  Here is the prettiest picture of my mom with her great-granddaughter, Emma!

Have a great week!!!

We're now on Facebook!

I finally, finally broke down and made a Facebook page for the business.  So please, check it out and click on "Like".  We're looking a little sad with only our 50 Likes!  :)

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000526359424#!/pages/Brendas-Cakes/188659154490650

Lots of Cupcakes

We've been working on some new flavors, for when we eventually get the shop opened!  Let me know what you think!

First off, raspberry swirl cake with raspberry icing.

And Smores Cupcakes - we did this one with white cake with marshmallows and chunks of Hershey's chocolate baked into the batter.  Topped with marshmallow icing and graham cracker crumbs.  It was excellent, but I'm thinking we'll try a version with chocolate cake to compare.  We love taste testing!  :)

We also had an order for some wedding cupcakes.  Congratulations Amelia!!!

And of course, my favorite little cupcake got her newborn pictures back, so I have to throw a few of those in!  :)

Have a good one!!!!

Long time, no post!

I sincerely apologize for how behind I've gotten with updating the website and the blog!  This is a busy time of year with specialty cakes and wedding cakes, plus we're attempting to get the shop in Westerville opened by the end of October.  And of course, I have my beautiful new granddaughter, Emma, who requires lots of snuggle time with her grandma!  But I'll save my excuses and get onto the cakes!

This was a unique one for me.  Generally I make "cute" cakes, so to make something look more realistic and fierce was a challenge for me.  My wonderful daughter, Chelsey, helped alot with sculpting and painting various pieces on this one.  Everything on the entire cake is edible, including the dice and the figurine.

We also did an adorable "baby album" cake for this past weekend, with cupcakes to match.

And some Lego cupcakes....

We've also been doing some experimenting with new cupcake flavors for the shop, but I'll save those for another post!  And of course, I can't go without giving everyone an Emma update!  My adorable granddaughter is doing fantastic!  She's up to 6lbs, 9ozs, and we are so proud of our big girl!  She is SUCH a joy to have around!!!!!

Have a great week!!!!!

Last Farmers Market

Yesterday was our last farmers market of the season.  :(  We had gorgeous weather and a fantastic turn out.  Thank you sooo much to everyone who came out faithfully every week, especially in the heat we've had this summer.  It was a wonderful season!

And since it was our last one, we thought we should try out some new recipes.  Our favorite was this one...white cake with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups baked into the batter, buttercream icing, chocolate drizzle, and more crushed Reese's on top.  Can you say yum?!

We also did some cute princess cupcakes last week.  The crowns on top are molded out of white chocolate.  Two treats in one!  :)

And the cake to match:

And, we are finally on Facebook!  Once the shop is open, we'll be able to update it daily with our cupcake selections of the day.  Until then, we'll keep posting cake pictures and "in progress" shots of the shop.  Here's the link:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Brendas-Cakes/188659154490650

And because I'm a new grandma, and just can't possibly resist any opportunity to show off my granddaughter, here's a recent picture of her.  She's up to 4 lbs, 14oz!  We're looking forward to her hitting the 5 lb mark!  :)

Have a great week!!!

It's my birthday!

And I have to brag...I am getting the most incredible gift anybody could've given me.  My granddaughter, Emma, is coming home today!!!!  After three weeks in the hospital, my sweet girl is finally being sprung!  :)  She was born six weeks early and weighed 3 lbs, 14 oz.  Three weeks later, she's up to 4lbs, 8 oz, and is doing great!   Happy Birthday to me!!!!  :)

In the meantime, we are still plugging away at getting the shop in Westerville opened.  We ran into some unexpected snags with the city code, but are working through them one by one.  After quite a struggle, we have the display case in, and our refrigerator and freezer were delivered as well.  FAR from done, but here's a peek....

At this point, we're hoping to be open in six weeks or so.  Patience is a virtue, right?!  That is NOT one of my gifts, but we're hanging in there.  :)

And finally...some cakes!!!

See, I told you I actually had real work this weekend!  :)  Between visiting my sweet grandbaby Emma, working on cakes, and working on this shop, this has been one heck of a week.  Productive though...the shop floor is finally done, which means we can start moving in equipment, etc, while we await the many required inspections.  My hubby is there as I type, putting the trim back up, so I'll take pictures next time I'm out.  It's looking good!

I had so much fun making this cake.  For some reason, modeled monkeys have always been a little difficult for me.  They never seem to look just quite right. So I was very happy when this one turned out exactly as I had hoped!  Thank you for the order Tiffany...I'll see you in October!

Another fun order for Rachel, for her daughter's 7th birthday.  Rachel really trusted me as far as design goes, so I hope she likes it! 

And an order for a great customer, Liz.  Liz actually just finished up the work on my new logo, business card, and label.  Wait until you see them!  It all looks amazing!!!!

And an order for the Clark family, who will be very happy when I open the shop, as they drive from the Westerville area to get their cakes now! 

And that's it!  I'm off to drag my daughter out of the hospital for a good meal and to snuggle with my grandbaby for awhile!  Hopefully I'll have some updates on the shop to share by Monday.  Have a great weekend!!!

It's About Time!

So, I FINALLY got to hold my grandbaby!!!  I've been waiting patiently - okay, semi patiently - for permission to hold her.  I totally understand that they have to put Emma's needs first.  But of course, I've been aching to hold that sweet little girl.  So I finally got my chance last night!  Emma and I got to spend 20 minutes cuddled together, while I talked non-stop about anything and everything.  She seemed to like the sound of my voice (I don't know why the rest of my family doesn't feel the same way!), and spent the entire time looking at me and making the most adorable little faces.  :)

And I suppose, since this is still my cake blog (I think), I may post a picture of some cookies we did recently!  :)  We mailed 9 dozen of these to Georgia.  The trucks were made to look like the party invitations.

And I would share more pictures, but between working on the new shop, vacation, and a new grandbaby, I haven't been doing a whole lot of paying work!  :)  I am super busy this week though, so I swear I will actually have something cake related to share. 

Meet Emma Ann

Sooo...life never does turn out like you expect.  My hubby and I left last Thursday on vacation.  We were going down to North Carolina to attend an ICES convention (cake convention...yes, they have them!).  I planned on posting all sorts of fantastic vacation pictures when we got back.  But, like I said, life doesn't turn out how you expect.

Friday morning, my daughter Tessa, decided to go into premature labor.  You can imagine my shock and dismay when I realized I was going to miss the entire thing!  I was 8 hours away, and there was no way I was going to make it there.  Luckily, my mom and my daughter were with Tessa, so she had a great support system with her.  And the fantastic medical team at Southview Hospital actually let my mom keep her cell phone on during the entire operation, so I got to hear the entire thing, including little Emma Ann's first cries!

So, instead of vacation pictures, you get something much, much better....baby pictures!!!!!  :)

Emma Ann was born on Friday, August 5th.  She weighs in at 3 pounds, 14 ounces.  She's a little one, but she is a little fighter.  She's breathing on her own, she's digesting her mom's milk, and we're so hoping we'll be able to bring her home in a couple of weeks. 

So, on to Emma Ann!  As a new grandma, you just have to know I'm going to post a ton of pictures!!!!!  This is my very favorite picture of her.  She's so adorable with her little eyes open.  And you have to catch it quick, since the girl really does like her sleep!

After she was born, they did have her on oxygen for a little while.  Although she didn't need it, she was breathing on her own, it was just a precaution.  Now she just has a little IV to help her with fluids and vitamins.

And I love, love, love her little chicken legs.  (Although we'll be much happier when they're big, chunky, baby legs, since then she'll be able to come home!!!)

And once I FINALLY got to the hospital, we were able to go into the nursery and watch Tessa hold her baby for the very first time.  What an amazing experience! 

And here's me, my beautiful daughter Tessa (who looks incredible 48 hours after a C Section!!!) and our adorable Baby Emma!!!!

This is one of those times, where I am just so overcome with how proud I am of my entire family.  My mother was with Tessa every step of the way.  She filled in when I couldn't be there, and she's the only person I could've trusted my baby to.  My daughter Chelsey was also with Tessa the entire time.  She recorded every second, she provided Tessa with anything she could possibly need after the surgery, and was such a huge help to her sister.  My wonderful husband, who didn't mind one single bit that we left behind our paid-for vacation to get home, and was just as anxious as me to be with our new granddaughter.  And Tessa - who is so incredibly strong and is going to be such a wonderful mother.  Emma is one lucky little girl! 

And More Progress.....

I'm a little late in posting these.  I went back in Monday and put in another nine hour day of painting.  It's far from done, but at least there is color on the walls!  (I know...it looks a little like mint chocolate chip ice cream at the moment, but I do have a plan!)

The floors seem to be giving us more trouble than anything.  We found cement underneath the carpet, which is actually great, but the carpet was glued to the cement, so we need to remove all the adhesive.  That job definitely falls into Arnie's department, as it involves nasty chemicals and I tend to be a clumsy gal!  :)

I thought it might be nice if I actually posted a cake picture or two as well.  Just in case you thought I forgot how to do that!  :)  Cake and cookies for one of my best customers, Beth....

And last but certainly not least, my customer Amy sent me this photo.  I did cupcakes for her a couple of weeks ago, and she always comes up with the greatest ways to display them.  She made this adorable cake stand to put them on.  Isn't it great?!

Okay, well, for me its back to work.  I have paperwork to file and walls to paint.  :) 

A Good Days Work!

So, I haven't posted any pictures of the inside of the building yet, and that's definitely for a reason!  This is what we started with at 8 o'clock this morning:

Obviously, one of the first things we wanted to get rid of was the paint!  So, after 9 hours and LOTS of primer (we can now strongly recommend Valspar brand from Lowes!), we have primer on everything and no more carpet.  Now the fun will begin tomorrow, when I can start painting our final colors!

I have a feeling we're in for some loooong days of labor!  But I'm so excited to get going!  It's hard to believe that we only signed the lease two days ago!!!!