Vacation and the Idea House

We just got back from a ski vacation in Steamboat Springs. We got a great deal because we went right before high season. It was so nice to get away and not have any worries for a few days. Steamboat was beautiful, and I got to see my friend Hannah on the way there.

One night we went to a restaurant where we got to cook our own steaks. It was a lot of fun. Brian did a great job cooking our NY strips.

The picture above is terrible, and somewhere in the blur is a bear. We were standing by an outdoor fireplace, and this baby bear came walking down the steps. It was kind of sad though, because since the bears are all supposed to be hibernating, this guy might not have much of a chance to make it to spring. We were talking to one of the guys who works at the resort, and he said that the natural resources people might be able to trap it and find a den to place him with.

and here we are on the slopes. THe weather was beautiful.

I also got to go tour the Southern Living Idea home with the Elizabeths. This was my second time to go, but it was neat to see the Christmas decorations this time around. I need to find my pictures form the first time I went, because naturally, there were some great ideas!

Merry Christmas!!!

 I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I am enjoying my first white Christmas, and it has been a great day to be with family and friends! We started out the day watching Christmas Vacation. Then, it was on to the church to help serve meals. I have helped coordinate the Christmas day dinner for the last 3 years, and this was the biggest year yet, we served over 1300 meals to residents of Griffin today. I am so thankful for all my wonderful volunteers! Above is a cake I made for a co-worker to take to a family party, it was red velvet with chocolate ganache filling, and I made my first icing poinsettias.

Above is my table set up from Christmas Eve. Both sides of our families came over for chili after the service . I recently inherited a wiggle woggle from Brian's side of the family. His great- aunt had this made back in the 60s, and along with the piece I have the magazine article that describes how to use it (which I thought was pretty cool). A wiggle woggle is two curved pieces of wood with holes for the candles. I decorated mine with greenery, hydrangeas, fuji mums, button mums, carnations, and roses. I can't wait to use it at other times of the year! I also used the table cloth and napkins that my great-grandmother made to go with her dining room set (which I also inherited).

Ice Cream Smash Cake

 Here is a smash cake I did for a one year old photo shoot. I was told that there was an ice cream theme for, and the little girl's aunt had this super cute cake plate made. When I find out who did it, I will post details. So, I just recreated what was on the cake plate on the cake.

Cookies for Santa

 A while back, my friend Cindy, who is an amazing photographer, check her out here, asked me to do some goodies for her Santa pictures she is doing this weekend. She wanted cupcakes for the little girls to have cocoa and cupcakes with Mrs. Claus and a wrapped up sugar cookie for each child to take home.

Above is a cake I did for one of my co-workers at Grace. Her son and daughter in law have birthdays that are ten days apart. So, she gives them a joint birthday celebration.

Cyber Monday

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, and I can't believe we are now officially on to Christmas! I had a great week off, and I had one big project to work on, and it was a house out of cake. I have said before that I have not had much experience with making three dimensional objects out of cake, and I think that this one was good practice for me. The couple that now owns this house are the second generation of people that Brian and I have known to live in it. The new couple who owns the house wanted me to make this cake for their housewarming party. It was great to go and see how they had decorated and put their own touch on a house that I have always really liked.

 This pic is kind of old, it has taken me a few weeks to get it up here. Some of the CSRs and tellers at the bank got it for their branch manager.

And the winner is...

I had such a great time reading what everyone is thankful for. Sorry I took so long to post the results, the week before a break is always crazy. So, congrats, Shannon, let me know what you want as your prize!

Thankful!

I know I have so many things in life to be thankful for: a wonderful husband (how many men out there go to the grocery store at 2 am to buy flour and energy drinks when their wife is on a 24 hour baking spree?), a roof over my head, great friends and family, and my list can go on and on. I am also very thankful for all of my facebook and blog fans I have out there. I haven't reached my one year blogiversary, and yet I have already surpassed my goal of one project a week! and I couldn't have done it without YOU! So, in celebration of Thanksgiving, I am going to do another blog giveaway. The winner will receive their choice of 8 inch round cake, cupcakes or cookies. Out of towners can enter too, just pick something I can mail :) The deadline for entry will be midnight on November 15, 2010. Here are the ways you can enter:
1) Leave me a comment and tell me what you are thankful for this year
2) Become a follower of my blog and a fan on facebook
3) Post a link to my giveaway on your blog
I will enter your name into the drawing for each "type" of entry, so you can have up to three chances to win!
Make sure you comment on this post, and let me know that you are a follower/fan and if you posted on your blog about the giveaway, so i will know how many entries to give you!

Cookie Grams

 Above is a cake I did for a baby shower. Big thanks to my mom for tying the bow for me.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine's sister called to see if I made cookies. Every few months, their father's transmission shop sends out a plate of goodies to some of the other shops in the area. So, I did peanut butter, snickerdoodles, and heath chocolate chip. We then tied them up in cellophane, they attached a goody bag with candy pens, and business cards in it. I thought it was a neat idea!

Happy Halloween!

 

 Here are the results of the last two weeks of baking. Above is a chocolate cake with cream cheese icing that was for a friend's mom's birthday. And below is a Spongebob Squarepants cake I did for one of the parent's at Grace.

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 Above are some cupcakes I did for a baby shower.

 Safari themed cake for a kid at church's birthday party. The mom had the party at Noah's Ark

Above is the bat cake that I did for a friend's Halloween party.

Paisley Cake

Here is the latest wedding cake. It was alternating tiers of lemon and chocolate cake with raspberry filling, and a paisley design. I had a great time getting to know both the bride and her family throughout this process! Brian and I loaded up the cake and delivered it to Studio 51 in Forsyth, GA. It is an incredible venue. When it is not being used for parties, it is a stained glass gallery/ studio. If you are in the market for a venue in central Georgia, you can check them out here!

Tennessee Cake

This cake was for my Principal's son's 14th birthday. Obviously, he is a Tennessee fan!

A Charm(ing) Cake

I did this cake for a bridesmaid luncheon on Saturday. The bride's aunt, who was also hosting the party, sent me a copy of the luncheon invitation. I incorporated that design into the cake. The bride also wanted a charm cake, and so instead of letting the ribbons drape of the edge of the plate, I used them to make the sash for the dress. Then, I hid the charms under the fondant dress.

My poor neglected blog :(

 So, it has been a really long time since I have updated my blog. Life has gotten crazy, but I still have some projects to show! Above are some cookies I did to celebrate the birth of Carolina Grace Cordova. I am so excited for her parents and grandparents! I know it will be fun to watch this little one grow up.

Above is a birthday cake. It is strawberry cake, strawberry cream cheese icing with gumpaste daises.

Happy Houndstooth

I did the above cake for a friend's husband's birthday. I did the houndstooth design as an homage to the husband's favorite football coach, Bear Bryant.
It feels good to be posting again! things have been crazy, but good, the last few weeks! 

Matt and Kitty's wedding

This weekend, we traveled to St. Paul Minnesota for a wedding. This was my first trip up there, and we had a great time. St. Paul is a really beautiful city, and the wedding was just perfect. I also got to visit the Mall of America. I think overwhelming is the best way to describe that little experience. Here are some pictures!

Above is the church, House of Hope Presbyterian. It was beautiful inside and out, lots of stained glass, which I love. below is some of the stained glass. The church is on Summit Ave, which was lined with homes that rival the houses in Charleston (yes I said it!)

Next we went to the reception, which was just down the street in a beautiful old house.

One of the mantles with the bouquets.

In lieu of a wedding cake, they had dessert shooters. They were layers of genoise and mousse, and they were really yummy!

And there is the happy couple. Funny enough, the first time Kitty ever came to griffin with Matt was for our wedding!

This last shot was from the after party at Kitty's parents house. They had pizza, beer and games set up for all the wedding guests. I thought that lining the steps up to the house with the bridesmaid bouquets was a super cute way to decorate the front of the house.

Craft Night

Last night, mom and I did a craft night at church. We had a great time making these necklaces. I had pulled the idea out of a magazine a few years back, and I have always wanted to try making them. We are going to start doing this at First Pres every few months, I will post details for the next one!

Did I mention I made cupcakes?

Cherry Blossom Cake

This weekend, I did a cake and cookies for a wedding shower a friend of mine was throwing. The wedding shower was for her sister who is getting married in Mexico next month, which I know will be so much fun and beautiful on the beach :). I did a cherry blossom themed cake and sugar cookies for party favors.

Baby Shower Day

Today, I went to two baby showers. I have been working on my gifts for the past week, and now I can post my projects because everyone has seen their gifts!

For my friend Julie, I made two pillow case dresses in UGA and USC colors. Carolina's parents have two favorite teams, so I couldn't show any bias :) Mimi was a great help (again) and did the monogramming for me.

The next shower was for a friend that just had twins. Madelyn and Kendall's mom loves riding, so I picked out a bandanna pattern for their dresses. Last weekend, I had some of the girls from the youth group over to tie dye (we bought shirts in belize),and I used this as an opportunity to try some onesies. Here are some pictures of those.