Almost an entire month ago Recently, we held a joint birthday party for my son & niece.  Usually, the kids' birthday shindigs are a big deal because we hold them in DC every time as a way to be able to reconnect with so many friends & fam (or friendmily) that we don't get to see regularly due to our military life.  AND...thanks to our amazing fam, we've pulled this not-so-tiny interstate but intracoast about 10 times now.

So, I'm usually the one who creates and is responsible for a majority of the menu...and like at home, it tends to be from scratch and healthy (or at least healthier).  The cakes are no exception.  I get the uber-insane idea of baking nonstop for 48 hours before these parties to ensure some delectable treats.  The cakes (with icing), from scratch, always include two flavors...let me clarify...two different cakes.

This year was easier...one cake for my son & one for my baby, oops, I mean niece.  Jaron's was chocolate with cookies & cream buttercream...the texture & color of the buttercream actually added a nice gravelly effect to the finished product.  Big Boy vascillated between chocolate chip, chocolate, and lemon raspberry for his cake flavors.  LUCKILY, I got to choose the lemon raspberry for Talia.  This was also my first foray into the wonderful world of fondant (which I DID NOT MAKE from scratch).  I bought these cute little posies for her cake and used yellow pearl luster dust to color it a pale yellow...except I also forgot to bring a soft brush with me and used my mom's old pastry brush resulting in some streaks here and there.

However, friends should not let friends fondant (yes, I made it into a verb) without doing a test cake first.  Also, friends let friends RESEARCH how to work with and drape fondant correctly before doing so on the DAY OF THE PARTY.  I apparently am not a fondant rockstar like my friend Melissa.

Otherwise, you'll have to take your first try and let your shame face the wall.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Loca

Yeah, I think I'm crazy. Well...that I've always known...but it seems that I always like to put more on my plate than I can handle...except for food, 'cause I can literally put a lot on my plate and handle that bad boy with no problem...thank you Li genes for big appetites and high metabolisms (except mine is definitely a lot more sluggish nowadays...lack of exercise doesn't help)!! ;o)

Take for instance, gearing up to move, Hubby's out to sea, Xmas is approaching...so, I decide to MAKE Xmas presents instead of doing my usual Amazon.com ordering (Amazon.com Prime...I LOVE YOU). Yeah...seriously? It started with these for our neices:

I was pretty proud of 'em since they were 100% handmade/designed/sewn...by someone who is now 100% not crafty. I used to be artsy when I was a kid, but that took a backseat as I grew older. Anyhoo...it was part of a kit I put together. THEN...I really liked it and wanted to do it for our other neice who is like a big sister to Kaia...and of course since they're like sisters, they have to have the same things...so then I had to make one for Kaia (poor thing is still waiting for hers since I ran out of trim for the apron). Jaida also got a halter that's like Kaia's sub halter. Of course, since I was doing an apron for the girls...I couldn't be gender-biased with the aprons and not make one for their brothers!! Boys gotta learn how to cook as much as girls! Equal opportunity is our motto. Also, I can't claim all the credit for the sub shirts...the kids painted them for their "siblings"...the Martinos!

This (Jaida's tank)...
...is modeled after these the kids made in the summer...

...and this (Kaia's dolphin tank that she waited on me for FOREVER to make):

Anyhoo...Jaron's birthday party is this weekend in DC. We're having it early so my neice (who's birth date is supposed to be in mid-May) does not crash the party early. I want her to ripen up as much as possible in my sister's uterus!!! ;o) LOVE YOU, TALIA!! I've made two cakes and going to make two batches of cupcake lollipops. Jenn Shih...you can thank me later. This girl can single handedly eat an entire batch of these lollipops...and I make over 50 per batch and these bad boys are not small. However...Jenn Shih is tiny and can pack 'em away like no other! ;o) I *heart* you, Jenn!

Here's a teaser of the lollipops...

So, as I waste my time in this wasteland called the internet...it's off to make these lollipops, bake two more cakes from SCRATCH...none of that boxed-mix crap), two batches of buttercream, two desserts, run errands, 5 loads of laundry (2 down, 3 to go), and PACK!!

Yet, it's so worth it. Doing things from the heart for people we love...family...it's worth it. I LOVE CELEBRATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!