My First Wedding Cake

I am sooooooooooo ecstatic!
Congratulations to our friends JONN and VAL who have decided to set the date to get married this July!
For their beach wedding, I am honored to be able to bake their fabulous wedding cake for their special day.
I love to bake, and have only dreamed about being able to bake my first official wedding cake. 2010 is starting out great!
The design is picked; a three tier off center square cake that will feed 100-150 people. Covered in lush fondant and decorated with delicate floral patterns, the only thing left is to decide on a delicious center.
Over the next few weeks I will be testing, baking and creating combinations of chocolate cake and fillings. If your mouth has already started to water like mine, be sure to check back for updates to come! Hopefully if all works out I will be able to start my first round this week! Wish me luck!
and Cheers to the fabulous Couple!

Wacky Wednesday

When I clean. I really clean. I have to admit, I am not the best at the day to day cleaning routine. After I get off work, drive home in an hour's worth of traffic, only to stop at the gym for an hour then home to make dinner. he last thing I am thinking about is folding or putting away laundry, vacuuming and really anything that is remotely cleaning related. I would much rather plop my sore, sorry ass on the corner of the sectional and watch my one last episode of trash tv before hitting the hay. Does this sound like your day?

Kudos to those moms with kids....and more than one kid! I do not know where you get the energy to stay up late and take care of many others besides yourself. So today, my Saturday....I rose out of bed (after sleeping in from my exhausting week) and got to work. The sun was shining, and what better motivation to clean than the sun shining and the crisp air outside. I put on a strong pot of coffee and went to it!

I did have a slight ulterior motivation in that today I am receiving my grandmothers dining table along with a mattress and some other belongings from her recently sold condo.

Unfortunately still a renter, all our our furniture seems to be taking over our awkwardly laid out living space. And unfortunately for me, it seems to be furniture we cannot part with. The couch and the tv take up most of our open concept living room/dining room/kitchen. The table from my grandma I would like to keep for sentimental reason and that leaves not too much extra space to be had.

That said, today I re-arranged the whole room, much to the man of the house's dismay. But actually, I like it!

I now have a room that feels and looks much larger, and a kitchen table that is in a space I can actually use to eat at, use as a desk, and have to lay out all my crafting. Maybe now I can have a dinner party with a sit down (as in at the table and not around the coffee table on the floor!).

Maybe tomorrow I will tackle a delicious three course dinner with desert!

Now to just decide on what to make....

Faces in Places

My creative brain is always ticking and running. If I could only begin to tell you all some of the most amazing dreams I have. During the time I am awake however, I often see faces in many places. It has become a kind of game between myself and some friends. We all capture these faces we see in places. So today I will share two.

The first face we encountered while on a family walk down at Island View beach in Saanichton, Victoria BC. This berry winked at me as I walked past and couldn't help but stop to capture his quirkiness.

The second face smiled as I walked by in the backroom at work. This first aid kit was sure to make anyone feel better after having to dig around for a bandaid or other medical instrument. It reminds me of a happy content new born baby with his eyes squinting shut.

Hopefully these will make you smile! I will share more as I come across!
Happy Friday to Everyone!

Sunday Bliss....on Saturday!

Coffee and Baileys
D's Special Caesar's
Eggs Benny with a side of Organic Apples
Blankets, Pillows and Snuggles on the Couch
Out of Town Friends..in Town Visiting
minus
one movie not to be rented
"All About Steve"...should have been left on the shelf at the video store.

Maybe Sandra Bullock was doing the producers of Miss Congeniality a favor by starring in this movie, but make no mistake; she is not doing any of us a favor. This movie is one to pass up.
All in all, this is one Saturday to sit and enjoy!
And it's not even over yet!

Sparkling Beauty

I have a confession.

Maybe some of you already know.
Let me admit now that I have a deep passion, obsession, and adoration for all things that Sparkle!

The list of things that I love starts with Perrier Water, Gin and Soda
with Lime, Crystals, Chandeliers, MAC eyeshadow, Christmas Balls,
Raindrops,Shiny Silver Platters, Mirrors, and of course but is not
limited to Diamonds!

I am not sure when my obsession started, but I know that I feel like an ADHD child in a candy emporium anytime I come across an item that sparkles.
Things that are pretty bring joy, they bring a smile and they reflect light from one's smile upon seeing them.

My dream bathroom includes a silver platter for which to hold my pretty perfume containers, which reflect light against the antique framed mirror lit by the crystal chandelier hanging above the ceramic silver claw soaker tub. Now if this isn't a Pisces dream I'm not sure what is.

So, on a rainy, grey and gloomy Vancouver day...look around to see something Sparkling and smile. Maybe the light you reflect may brighten someone else's day.

New Years Resolutions all Jarred Up

BudgetExerciseCleanEatWriteSaveCreateSmileReadFun....are all words that make up just a few of my many New Year 2010 Resolutions. So today I tackled my fridge! Literally. Containers, and Jars and expired food seems to spill out of my fridge as I attempted to organize and sanitize. After pulling out every piece of plastic and glass and wiping and washing, I felt only like I had climbed a very small version of Mt. Everest. Which brought me to wondering what does one really need to keep in their fridge? I found I had eggs, milk, butter, cheese, vegetables all in good condition but i also found...



Condiments! You name it, we have it. Thai this, soy that, ketchup, BBQ, hot sauce galore. But really....does one fridge and two consumers really need all of these toppings? And how long do they really last for? I was acutally surprised that some of my salad dressings were expired. I think they should come in smaller containers. And some do....but they cost almost the same. So....maybe I will stick with oil and balsalmic vinegar, tried and true.

So, as one of my resolutions to cook more meals at home, good hearty, healthy meals what really do I need to keep in my fridge? I looked online but that was not much help! So any tips for being able to prepare meals at my fingertips the search is on for the fridge essentials of 2010 would be greatly appreciated.

Also for Christmas we recieved our very first slow cooker! Since I now commute further to work I am extremely excited to be able to cook a meal before I leave for work, and being able to make a healthy breakfast of steal cut oats the night before. I will keep posted the recipes and their outcomes of my new kitchen appliance.

Maybe my New Year's resolutions should be to try and use all the condiments in my fridge before they expire next year!

Cheers~