A Birthday, A Holy Day, Insane Days

First let me apologize for my absence. A lot has happened in the last week! So much that I was too tired to even think about writing anything. So sorry, but here's the scoop:

Niece's Birthday
My adorable niece turned 2 last Saturday, April 7th. She had a great day. My parents got her a little climber gym thingy for outside, and of course as soon as she saw my dad putting it together, she had to go outside NOW. That worked out for Aunt Bekah, who was busy making chocolate hazelnut cake bites. It was an arduous process that yielded delicious results. You bake a cake, let it cool, crumble it, mix in frosting (or in this case, Nutella) and whatever else (mini chocolate chips), roll them into little balls, cool them, dip them in melting chocolate and let it harden. From start to finish it took about 4 hours.

Her other gifts included a play vacuum that actually works, clothes, toys, and a pair of blue Converse that matched a pair I bought for myself:

Aren't we cute? She loved her shoes, I gave them to her as soon as I got home with them (bought both pairs that morning) and she was walking around hugging them, she even ate breakfast with them! Too funny.

Easter
Easter was nice and low-key. Here is a slice of LDS Easter goodness, 'He is Risen.' For dinner I made salmon, roasted veggies and tomato/cucumber salad. We're not huge fans of ham (as an entree) around here.

The Baking Extravaganza
Remember how I was asked to make the cake/cupcakes for the wedding of my bishop's youngest daughter? Well, the wedding was this past Friday. I prepared all week, getting last minute ingredients, tools and who knows what else! I worked Monday-Wednesday and took Thursday and Friday off. I think I was in AC Moore at least 3 or 4 times this week. By the number of coupons I had that were valid this week, I must've been there at least 3 or 4 times the week before as well.

I made one batch of fondant Monday, three on Wednesday and one more on Thursday. Thursday morning at about 8:30am, the mixing and baking began. My mom had invited 3 of her friends over to help, they were amazing! We finished at about 4pm with 156 "cupcakes" (they were really just cupcake sized mini square cakes) and four 8" round cakes, to be trimmed and layered later.

After cleaning up, I spent about a half hour sitting down, then returned to the kitchen to tackle the biggest/worst part of the whole project: THE FONDANT. I've never worked with fondant before, and promises of help from an old friend who is a pastry chef had my hopes held high, but as the hours ticked by with no confirmation of help, I knew I was on my own. Thankfully, a new friend had offered her services and was over just in time for the fondant-ing to start. The two hours immediately prior were spent figuring out how in the world I was going to trim a round cake to the size I needed...there was some trial and error and a bit of a meltdown which caused the members of my family to scatter and scurry out of the house to leave my to my own devices.

7:30pm, new friend arrives and we begin. She frosted (with the cream cheese frosting that was also made that morning) and I fondant-ed. We had a good rhythm going for about three hours, then she had to go because she had to be up at 5am. My dad had just gotten home from a meeting so he stepped in and took her place. Frost & fondant, frost & fondant, frost & fondant...it felt like it never ended. The hours ticked by slowly...midnight came and went, and between 1-2:30am there was nothing but silence. My poor father and I were so tired and ragged that we couldn't even speak. But at about 3am, the end was in sight! We perked right up and my mounting nausea finally went away. The last cake had fondant on it at about 4:45am Friday morning. We cleaned up, and I was asleep by 5:15am.

At the unholy hour of 9am, I rose from my bed like a zombie from the crypt. The cakes needed ribbon. My delirium was at an all-time high. Just as my mom and I were discussing how to proceed with the ribbon-ing, I received a phone call from yet another of my mom's friends, offering her services. She came armed with scissors (to cut the ribbon) and adorned the cakes with ribbon with my mom while I made a hard candy garnish that I never ended up using.

The original deadline for the cake was 2pm...my mom had it pushed back so we wouldn't lose our minds, but we would've actually come very close to being on time if we'd had to! I was going to try to squeeze a nap in, but that didn't happen. My dad and I delivered and set up the cakes around 5pm and were finished a little after 6.

Some of the cakes have a bluish tinge because at the end, I decided that rather than going back to the store to get more marshmallows & powdered sugar for another batch of fondant, that I would use the excess that had been trimmed from all of the other little cakes. There were cake crumbs in it, and since the cake is blue, the fondant is a little blue. It matched the wedding colors, so it worked out.

The Aftermath
The reception was lovely. The cake was a hit. When I got home around 10:30, I pretty much passed out cold.

Yesterday I made more cake bites using the excess cake from trimming the round cakes. I mixed the cake with leftover cream cheese frosting and then dipped them in melted white chocolate. They were tasty.

It's back to work tomorrow. I finally feel sane enough to join the real world.

Next up on my list of projects: church Memorial Day picnic. After that I'm clear until September, where I've been commissioned to figure out a "Cowgirl" themed cake for my best friends 1-year old.

That's about it for me. Back to reality tomorrow. For once, I'm happy to return to it!

Just Another Panicked Monday

For once, that's a good thing.

I am now the proud owner of 4 brand new, shiny, SQUARE cupcake pans. I was going to bake something as soon as I got home with them, but then realized that I had no frosting, and I wasn't in the mood to make it. So no baking this evening. Anyway, my tendency to panic is the reason I was able to purchase the pans. Over dinner my dad and I were discussing the logistics of the reception for which I am baking. I remembered that Target had the pans I needed and all of a sudden I had this terrible sinking feeling that if I didn't go NOW they would be out of stock. So after dinner we headed to Target and sure enough, there were only 4 left, and they were on sale! And I have my panic to thank. Weird.

I'll admit it. I looked like a shapeless hag today. I worked Job #1 in pajamas and was very, very tempted to do the same for Job #2. Instead I stayed in the black t-shirt I slept in, threw on the denim maxi I wore Saturday, my yellow hoodie, some sloppy kohl eyeliner and the Batman chucks. It was bad. When it became evident that I'd have to go out for dinner, I swapped the hoodie for a better-fitting sweater and actually put some makeup on. I guess it was a slight improvement, but let's be real, who am I gonna impress at the Chinese buffet?

It's been 4 days since my 90 days were up. My attorney is waiting on his attorney. That makes me nervous, but I'm trying not to let it really affect me. He would want and expect me to be upset, it's just the kind of passive aggressive mental manipulation he excels at. So, I'm not upset. I'm just living my life a day at a time. Any more than that and I think I'd collapse under the pressure of just being alive.

Yes, just one day at a time. Monday is almost over...what will Tuesday bring?

I Can't Wait For My Nap

If anyone were to come within earshot of my house right now, they would think that someone was being murdered.

In reality, it is the gleeful screams of my wonderful niece. Gotta love her.

I don't have anything insightful or profound to say tonight. It was a regular day. I cleaned something (kitchen cabinets), I cooked something (Thai noodle, shrimp and veggie stir fry), and later I wiped baby spit off my hands (because silly niece wanted to hold my hands...her hands were wet and gooey).

I will say that I have a full dance card this weekend though. I have dinner plans both tomorrow and Saturday night, awww yeah. Could it be? I'm starting to have a social life? Eh, doubtful. Saturday morning I'm going to make the first test batch of cupcakes for the bishop's daughter's wedding. Sunday I have to teach a class in church, so sometime between now and then I'll have to prepare for it.

After it's all over, I shall nap. The countdown to Sunday afternoon begins.

Oh, and this is what I wore today:

I'm really looking forward to my Sunday nap. I sleep better on Sunday afternoons than I ever do at night. I can guarantee I'll be up anywhere between 1-3 times tonight. Sometimes I don't know why I even bother.

Approximately 64 hours til naptime and counting...

Here Comes the Cupcake?

I've been asked to make the cake/cupcakes for a wedding. After some thought, some prayer and a panic attack (in that order), I said yes. Surprisingly, I'm not so panicked about it anymore; in fact, I'm rather peaceful about my decision. I'm excited to be given the opportunity to 1) provide a service for someone and 2) branch out and try new things! Not to mention the fact that I love weddings and all things wedding planning related. So, I have my newest obsession. Wedding cupcake designs. Yay!

This little baker wore orange tights today. Short of feeling a little like an Oompa Loompa, I was fairly happy with what I was wearing.

You can't tell, but my eyeshadow stayed on all day! It's the little things in life that make me happy.

Anyway, if that dress looks a bit familiar, it's because I happen to have it in teal & green. Scroll down, I wore it Tuesday.

This has been the week of colorful tights...Tuesday was green, yesterday was pink, today orange. Monday was kickboxing day so I wore leggings under my skirt instead of tights. What color should I wear tomorrow? Purple? Yellow? Blue? Stay tuned!

I'd go to bed, but...

1) I never did tell you what I wore today.
2) I have to research the best places to find men's suits. More on that in a moment.

I began this morning disheveled and grumpy because I accidentally slept in (after having been up past 2am making cupcakes). Job #1 said to go ahead, get ready, I'd feel better. It made sense, so I followed the counsel of my wise employer/father. An hour and a half later I arrive at work, coiffed and ready to go, only to find that my dad had just left and I had nothing to do. So I went downstairs to assess the damage on the cupcakes and do some dishes. I don't think I get paid to wash dishes.

Anyway, I ended up wearing a ruffled button down shirt (black with a tiny purple/red/mauve flower print) belted over a black pencil skirt with purple tights and black sling backs. Ta da!

I look a tad disproportionate, but it may be just how I'm standing. It's hard coming up with poses I look decent in. It's hard taking pictures of myself, period.

Speaking of pictures, the double fudge cupcakes came out great. The addition of ganache on top probably makes them triple fudge, but I'm trying not to think about it.

My dad said they may be the best chocolate cupcakes he's had in his entire life. Right. But that brings me to the second reason why I'm not in bed: suit research.

My dad needs suits. It's been determined that he is between sizes at the moment, which is a little unfortunate, because he has no plans to go up to the next size or go down to the smaller size. So now my job is to find stores that carry this odd number. A suit expedition for my dad is like me shopping for hosiery. It takes forever. He's weird sizes, I'm picky about my color, believe me, the two aren't so different.

And so I bid thee good night. I'm off to learn about men's pants and where I can get them in odd sizes.

---

I think he should hire a tailor.

A stocking mishap and a cupcake catastrophe

Upon getting up from my desk at Job #1 yesterday (approximately 12:00), I noticed that my thigh high stockings were slipping. By the time I got to Job #2 (about 1:00), no matter what I did, they just fell right down about my knees. I then spent the next 4 hours trying not to move from my desk. By the time I got home (about 5:15), I gave up. There was yelling, ripping off of stockings, and you might as well throw in gnashing of teeth for good measure.

I'm upset for two reasons. First, they were my last pair (that I was willing to wear outside). Second, now I have to venture out into the cruel world of brown girl stocking shopping. Because I'm kind of a strange brown, I am incredibly picky about my shade of stockings. Too light = ridiculous, too dark = obvious. And so I spend an inordinate amount of time mulling over things like "hint of color," "sandy beige" and the ever changing "nude."  One can assume it's not my shade of nude, it never is. I once got really excited about a pair from Target, and actually fooled myself into thinking "my goodness they've done it, they've created the perfect color for everyone!" Too much money and a disappointing Sunday later, they are now shoved in the back of the drawer, never to see the light of day again. The only reason I'm happy about this new development? I've lost weight. But that brings its own set of issues, because it puts me in that in-between size for almost every brand imaginable. Some size charts don't even have my height/weight combination on there. At least I know that if I get this brand of thigh high again to get a smaller size, but I think until I even out a bit on the scale, I'll stick to pantyhose.

Now you know entirely too much about me and stockings. On to cupcakes.

This evening I am attending the bridal shower of a friend I've known almost my entire life. I volunteered to make cupcakes, some chocolate and some vanilla. After getting home from work and tearing off my rogue stockings, I made a list, went to the store, returned and started on the chocolate cupcakes. I chose a recipe that I thought sounded really good. Basic enough, but there were promises of yummy, fluffy deliciousness.

They failed. Not only did they fail, but I failed to remember that I had tried this particular recipe once before, and they failed that time too. I've never seen anything like it (with the exception of the last time I did this). They went from fluffy to flat to indented to imploded to oily brick in a matter of minutes. 1 box of chocolate cake mix and about 20 cupcake liners gone. Back to the store. Another chocolate cake mix and a bag of chocolate chips and I had everything I needed to make double fudge cupcakes. Except liners.

At this point I must have looked like a madwoman. My hair was tied back with an industrial twist tie, I'd already been out twice with bare legs in rainy January weather, I had one rain boot on and one off upon discovering that I didn't have enough liners (I had 5), and I was standing in the kitchen being all stressed out and gesturing wildly. Enter my father, who, though he looks confused at the scene that he just walked in on, kindly offered to drive me back to the store. Liners purchased, cupcakes made, all is well. They will be drizzed with chocolate ganache later.

The vanilla came out great. I'll be topping them with homemade buttercream frosting (dyed purple) today, right before the shower.

I'm a little cupcake-ed out.