29 September 2010

Why do we do birthday cakes????

Jessie of CakeSpy explores the history of something many of us love...birthday cake! Have you ever wondered about the traditions behind them? 


Read on...

16 September 2010

Time to get my Mums!

I love it when the air turns cooler and you  need to carry around a sweatshirt...just in case.  This weekend, I hope to clean up my yard of all the summer flowers that didn't make it through the heat, and replace them with some fall splendor. Mums!

Home Depot Garden Club

I got my email newsletter today from theHome Depot Garden Club!  It has a great Buy 2 Get One Free Mums coupon!! I love Fall and Mums. It's such a cozy and beautiful time of year.
Home Depot buy 2 get 1 free mums coupon
If you haven’t signed up to receive this great coupons, head over and do so here. You won't be sorry =o)

Let me know how you welcome Autumn
into your home.....

15 September 2010

Home is family....

Pennsylvania was a blast! I never go back without walking a ways down memory lane. ..

This trip, one of my steps was to make NEW memories. My parents sold our childhood house and moved to a different neighborhood. This is the place I drove to (had to set my GPS!) as I went home this time. The first time to let myself into a new door, first time to sleep in a new room, the first meals around the SAME table in a NEW dining room. But ya know what I found out? Home is family. Yes, I missed the familiarity of the streets and the doorways and the backyard....but it's all still just walls and windows and floors. What makes it home is the people. So here's to making many new memories with my same ole' group of loved ones <3

The occasion for this visit... a wedding! Another of my dear sisters married her beloved on September 11th. I got to take part in her 1950's bridal shower her creative high school friends threw for her....


I also got to bake more than 300 cupcakes at my Grandma's house. It was a treasured time of memory-making in the kitchen, sharing tips and words and icing. (Grandpa got his fair share of 'extra cake' as well.)




I DO have to take a moment to brag on my hubby. He made all the chocolate lovebird favors for the wedding....and everyone RAVED about them!






And finally, the honor of standing beside Leah as she recited her vows. The best moments, however, were those waiting back in the nursery as we attended to details and waited for THE moment. She was a stunning bride and I don't think she could have smiled any bigger =o)






My hubby was also in the wedding, standing alongside Jon....and the fun thing was, he got to escort his own daughter down the aisle. How precious!




For all of you curious about the baking I did...here are a few snapshots...

They had love birds on their chocolate fudge cake with ivory vanilla buttercream.



Here is a selection of Lemon cupcakes w/ raspberry buttercream, red velvet w/ cream cheese, and chocolate fudge w/ vanilla buttercream. Hard to choose?


And we even catered to our gluten conscious friends.....let everyone eat {cup}cake!

Congratulations to Leah and Jon!!!!!







07 September 2010

I-90, we meet again...

This weekend I packed up our Vibe and headed towards Erie, PA. It's the week of my younger sister's
(Leah) wedding and I was able to take the week off to be 'back home' to help her with all the details. Oh, and to work on her wedding cake!

My solo drive was just beautiful...blue sky, lovely clouds and perfect weather....only issue was the AC  cut out for a good 20 minutes after I went over a bump. Trying my best at hitting the console like 'the Fonze' warranted no good...so I waited to go over another good bump. That did it...AC back on (yes, must remember to have that looked at). I was carrying precious cargo that is very heat-sensitive, so that sent me into a minor panic. But all is well...the chocolates my hubby had worked so hard on (for wedding favors) arrived in prime condition. Whew!

It has been a great time getting acquainted with my parents new house, making memories, and visiting with my grandparents as I cook/bake in their kitchen. Running errands with Leah was a good time and def. included a Tim Horton's stop for a Mocha (mmmm). But I look forward to the rest of my family joining me on Thursday...then the festivities begin!

As for now, I'm hammering out the kinks of printing these cupcake picks and about to get ready for her 1950's themed shower. Bring on the red lipstick!