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!!!

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!!!!

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 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! 

Another Busy Week

We are definitely still in the midst of graduation season.  I did actually get to do some cookies this week, which I think we all know I love doing!  School colors were red, white, and blue, so that was a fun combination to work with!

And the finished platter of two dozen cookies:

I also had a graduation cake for two boys from different schools.  It can be difficult to incorporate different school colors, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

My granddaughter's 4th birthday was this past Wednesday as well.  This is the very first birthday we've been able to spend with the grandkids, as they used to live in Florida.  We're having her party today, but of course, Grandma had to at least bake her a little cake ON her birthday!  :)  Isn't she just too cute for words?!

Well, back to baking!  Tune in tomorrow...I am finishing up a 3D guitar cake for delivery tomorrow that I think is going to look amazing! 

Have a fantastic weekend!

Legos

I was shocked to realize that I haven't posted a picture of this cake yet!  I have to be honest...this one was really a challenge.  My customer sent me quite a few images of figures that her son had built out of Legos that she wanted incorporated onto the cake.  Her son also loves weapons, so I needed to include as many of those as possible.  As much as I absolutely LOVE it when a customer lets me run with a design, it can sometimes be a little stressful, only because I want to make sure I create something that they are truly going to love.  She seemed really happy with this one, so hopefully I pulled it off!  :)

My mom came down from Michigan a few weeks ago for a visit.  First time I've seen her since Thanksgiving, as her and her husband travel in their RV during the winter months.  (How cool would that be?!)  It's rare to have all of together in one place at the same time, so I just have to include this picture.  :)  From left to right:  my beautiful mother, who I inspire to be like as I age, my daughter Chelsey who is almost 19, me (age not open for discussion), and my daughter Tessa, who just turned 20.

We are so busy getting through the graduation season.  And next week Tuesday starts the annual Hilliard Farmer's Market!  I sure hope to see many of you there!!!!

All the Buzz....

So, my husband is a....well, we'll call him an interesting man!  :)  He loves to learn and he loves to farm, so throughout our marriage, we've had about every kind of animal imaginable.  Since we moved to Ohio and have a much smaller piece of property, having too many animals is no longer an option.  Or so I thought.

So meet our latest project.  These came home yesterday, and I will openly admit, I was terrified.

Arnie brought home two boxes like this, and each box contains...wait for it....10,000 bees!!!!  Holy crap!!!!  That's enough for two hives.  Each hive has to have a queen.  So here's your lucky day...you get to meet the queen....

So, the bees need to go from the box into the hive.  That sounded terrifying to me, but I was told that no, the bees would be calm and only want to stay by their queen.  Partially correct, but I was not prepared for how many were flying everywhere, how many were all over my husband, or how many would sting him.  (Four...but that's a fluke, according to him!)  So here he is dumping the bees into their hive.  Yes, the mound on top is a mound of bees (yuck) and no, I was NOT that close to him, I had to crop the picture!

I have to admit though, while they do scare me a little, bees are extremely interesting, so I am looking forward to seeing how all of this works out!  With the best of luck, we'll have some great honey by the end of the year!  :)

Oh, one more pic...my poor dog was soooo confused by the bees.  He kept snapping at them, and chasing them, so we finally had to banish poor Farley to the house!  :)  He looks so innocent here though...

Have a great weekend!!!!

Pretty in Pink...

I'm a little late in posting last weeks cakes.  I finally have my kitchen back, so I've been seriously enjoying cooking, and baking, and decorating it!  :)  I'm waiting on a couple of final items to come in, then I'll post pics.  It's so beautiful!!!!

This is my favorite cake from last week.  My customer was looking for a Barbie cake, which we can't do due to copyright issues.  So we went more with a princess theme.  Everything on the cake is edible...the crown and jewels are made out of white chocolate, and the pearls are white chocolate clay.  I really hope McKayla liked her cake!

I just love it when customers order cookies that match their cakes.  They are so much fun to do!  Below are the cookies and the cake to go with it....

And I have a bit of good news!  Anyone who has followed my blog has heard me talk about our grandchildren in Florida.  We go down for visits twice a year and I send them goodies at almost every holiday.  Well, the entire family has decided to relocate up here by us!!!!  So instead of seeing them twice a year, we'll get to be full time grandparents.  We're so absolutely thrilled!!!!  Below is a pic of me with the grandkids at the zoo during our last visit....aren't they just too cute for words?!  :)

Hope you all have a fantastic week!!!!

Still Recovering

Well, its a week later, and I am STILL recovering from this cold from hell!  I literally cannot remember the last time I was sick like this.  But I am definitely on the road to recovery, so I am going to concentrate on being grateful for that!

The upside to being down for a week with a cold...lots of time to read.  Since alot of you who follow my blog are bakers, you'll find this book interesting:

My Life from Scratch, by Gesine Bullock-Prado

If you haven't read this one, I strongly recommend it.  Gesine is actually Sandra Bullock's sister, although the book doesn't concentrate on that aspect hardly at all, other than it's an interesting fact.  As I read this, I found that I had alot in common with the author.  Gesine's mother was an opera singer born in Nurnberg, Germany.  My grandmother is from Stutguard (did I spell it wrong, mom?) Germany and has always truly loved opera.  Gesine seems to be a bit sarcastic and anti social, and let's face it, so am I.  :)  The book is extremely readable and informative at the same time.  Not to mention, it has some pretty good recipes scattered throughout as well.  I went to her blog and it looks like she has an actual cookbook coming out in April, which I will definitely purchase.

Oh, and I wanted to share this picture.  We had this taken of the grandkids in St. Augustine, at one of those old-time photo places.  Isn't it cute?!  Its one of the few pictures I have of them all looking at the camera and smiling at the same time!

On that note, I am going to crawl back onto my sofa with a book and resume my recovery!  :)

St. Augustine, Florida

We spent New Year's in St. Augustine, FL.  It is such a gorgeous town!  They still had lights up from Christmas, so it was just gorgeous in the evenings!

Normally, once we head to St. Augustine, it's kind of "our" vacation time.  But we did decide that since the grandkids are getting older, we'd bring them down just for the day, so they could enjoy a change of scenery as well.  While Arnie took the two older ones to a living history museum (more fun than it sounds!), Grace and I toured town in our rented stroller, charming everyone that went by.  (Okay, more Grace than me!)

We also made a stop to the new cake shop in town.  The name of the shop is "Sugared Bliss", which I love!  The owner was very nice, and her prices are way too reasonable!  $2.00 for a huge cookie.  I hope she raises her prices soon.  She makes THE best snickerdoodle Arnie or I have ever had.

I really love her decor, as well.  We visit alot of bakeries, cupcake shops, cake shops, etc in our travels, and I just don't care for the overly "cute" type of place.  Personally, I love the earth tones and simple elegance...a man would be comfortable sitting down to get a cup of coffee here without feeling like all of his testosterone is seeping out! 

We also passed by "Luli's" cupcake shop.  I did go in and get a cup of coffee but didn't get a cupcake.  I got one last time I was there and remember it as being pretty good.  But I'm trying to watch my calories a little, so I'm holding out for excellent!

Arnie and I are still trying to recover from our trip.  One thing you forget about when you don't have small children around anymore...germs!  Arnie and I are never sick...its an extremely rare thing.  We both came home sick as dogs.  All three grandkids had runny noses and coughs, and I think they aimed them in our direction every time.  :)

Tomorrow we'll do Chattanooga, TN...my very favorite place!  I seriously plan on living there someday!  :)

On to Jacksonville, FL

From Savannah, we headed down to Jacksonville, FL, to visit the grandkids, as that is the main reason for our trip!  We brought them down Christmas gifts...it was nice to be able to actually see them open them instead of mailing them down like we normally do!  The next day we picked them up and took them to one of our favorite places....the ZOO!!!!  I love the zoo!  :)

I promise I won't post a million pics of my ugly mug, but hey, I need one of me with the grandkids, right?  From left to right is Mercedes, Grace, Grandma, and Andy. 

This is my favorite picture of Grandpa and Grace:

A very rare photo of all of them looking at me and smiling at the same time!  It felt like a small miracle!

And my favorite thing about the zoo, other than the grandkids, is always the Larakeets!  They are the sweetest little birds, and I could just look at them all day with their gorgeous plummage!

Tomorrow I'll post St. Augustine, Florida.  What a gorgeous city!  And we stopped at two bakeries, so I have cute pictures of those to share as well!