Dear Blog, I've been missing you!

A week away from my manifesto and I have been missing it so...
I have a lot of random thoughts that I'll put in the other normal spot- go look! But, have some quick pictures to get up here.

FIRST, here is a little tease of my bestie's 30th birthday cake:



My camera is M.I.A. and it has the real deal pictures of this cake. Silly Rebel, where did you run off to??

This was a BIG cake. Bottom tier was chocolate banana cake and banana cake w/ a malted chocolate ganache. Middle tier was ALL yellow cake w/ chocolate frosting (Bestie's FAV), and top tier was chocolate and yellow cake with the chocolate frosting.
All covered in Swiss Buttercream frosting and fondant designs. The top decoration was wire with beads on the end.

I drew up the design on a 'break' from my class last week, and got giddy excited to make it. It took quite a bit longer than anticipated- I felt REALLY out of practice, I haven't done a cake in a while... wait... scratch that-I DID make a cake last Tuesday! Yipes, how did I forget!? I had the FAIL with frosting. oooh, more on that in a hot minute...

You know how some people remind you of a color? (lol, remember the move Baby Mama where Amy Poehler says your aura has a color? wow I love that movie). So, my bestie's color is yellow. I don't know why- I think or brighty, sunshine-y yellow when I imagine her 'aura'. So that's how the color theme came about- sunrise colors.

Now, back to the frosting fail. We had a brief spring warm up last week. We got to EIGHTY on Thursday, and starting Tuesday afternoon/evening the house started to warm up. I didn't think it was that warm, but as I was making the buttercream I noticed it wasn't setting up like it normally does. Something was AMISS! But I kept whipping it and slowly it cooperated. hmph... I didn't give it too much thought.
THEN I started to frost the cake (I don't have pictures of this cake EITHER, as it's on the pesky little missing Rebel)... the dirty frost went on ok... It was a chocolate cake which I don't like frosting because it's so messy. But, it seemed to be going ok, and I put it in the fridge to set up.
queue music as I take a break to go and pack for my class for the rest of the week...
I come back downstairs, take the cake out and start to do the second layer of frosting.
THE FROSTING WOULDN"T STICK TO THE CAKE. It became too warm, the house was too warm, it didn't want to cooperate. I freaked out. I thought I did something wrong w/ the frosting. I took a big spoonfull and tasted it. It seemed fine, what was going on?!

I feel bad admitting, I seriously gave up on this cake. We got in a fight, the cake won. I did what I could, but I was in a rush to get it delivered- no excuse, I realize. But it wasn't my best work and not until I was packing it up did it all dawn on me that the temperature in the house played a huge role in the cake fail.

I totally blocked that from my mind. weird.

OK, wait here is something good to end on until I get the Rebel back and can post pictures of the Bestie Birthday cake:




Libby, I <3 you!! Didn't she do a great job? She is the cutest pregnant person I have ever been around, she was so sweet and I can't wait to do more business with her. We are crafting up an evil genius plan to help promote each other, and frankly- the idea is SWEET. PLEASE, go check her out: Elizabeth K Photography and become her fan.

Happy 30th O.G!!!

I made a pretty kick butt cake today for my good ol' friend O.G. (Old Girl).
She turns 30 on Monday and her family was throwing her a 'surprise' birthday.
It was such a surprise that on... (blogger edit...)

... lol...
nope, NO pressure at all.
Now I know what it's like to have someone else's high expectations for the cake I'm making. I have been asking for cake direction for a while now and I GOT IT. and it scared me! Be careful what you wish for.
SO, I had to scrap all that I had thought I would do and come up with something entirely different. Here is what I came up with:







Start to finish the decorating took me about 4 1/2 hours. I SHOULD have started on it at least last night. But we didn't get home from YGG until about 10. I only had time to make some white fondant.

I worked at the bakery this a.m. and then came home, fed the kiddies, but them down for their naps and got to WORK. I had time constraints, I had a blank canvas and I had no time to lollygag.

I dyed the chocolate fondant black (took MUCH longer than I hoped), dyed the buttercream hot pink, frosted the cakes, stacked the cakes, had to figure out HOW to make zebra stripes, and then figure out if I could make a skull.

It worked!! I really like the cake- it's a little edgy for my 'closet edgy' friend, it's pink and black and fun. Like Foofa, but edgy. hahahahaha (clearly still have YGG on the brain).
Off to pick up my bestie and then off to party. She advised I wasn't allowed to be "tardy for the party", so off I go.