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!

Feliz Cumpleanos

Happy Birthday to my wonderful maternal grandfather...and by birthday, let's not leave out the most important part of that wish...

HAPPY 99th BIRTHDAY, GUNG-GUNG!!!

Gung-gung is what I call my grandfather in Chinese. Luis Li, Sr. is a man who was ophaned when he was still a single-digit age and raised by his older sisters. As a teenager, he immigrated to Mexico, then to Honduras, married my amazing grandmother (Lord, Lord, Lord is this woman amazing), raised NINE children, owned & ran a store in Honduras, immigrated w/the whole fam to Miami, and is just plain awesome. Now...take an orphan in China (at 6, I believe and raised by his older sisters until his teens) who moves to Mexico & Honduras...but factor in that he has to learn another language, starts business & family, takes care of a slew of extended family back in China, moves to the US, learns another language, and takes care of everyone still...and by everyone, I mean family here and abroad (distant relatives) financially.

He's just plain freakin' awesome. I'm so thankful for all that he's (and my grandma) given us. He's helped basically every single child buy their homes. He's helped fund the grandkids' college funds (although since I'm the oldest, only my sister and I have graduated college...with 5 more in college this year and several younger cousins). We're all pretty lucky to have the lives that we have now because of the hardwork and dedication of this man (and his wife).

He's lived an amazing life...just one year shy of a century...but what a crazy life it has been. In addition to what I already wrote, he's also spent loads of time in Hong Kong studying chefs there perfecting his cooking, suffered a debilitating stroke over a decade ago that left him paralyzed on the entire left side of his body and wheelchair-bound. That paralysis was something that killed his passion...cooking and taking long a$$ walks when he was annoyed with my grandmother. I can only feel for him as I watch him these days wheel himself over to the kitchen watching everyone cook and wonder what goes on in his mind. He's a very quiet man...verrrrrry quiet. Never complains and barely speaks. But yet, you know what he's thinking and definitely takes everything in. Even though this is a post about my grandfather, big, BIG props have to go to my grandmother (Po-po) for doing everything an 80-something year old should not be doing...ie. taking care of the house, my grandfather...doing things a nurse or person half her age should be doing...even with arthritic joints.

My grandparents have lots of things to teach my kids. I hope that they'll learn to be good people by learning directly and indirectly from their great-grandparents.

Oh, if you're wondering why I'm wishing him birthday wishes in Spanish...it's because girl ain't know a lick of Chinese (at least my maternal side of the family's dialect)! Booooooooooooo. So, the main way to communicate with him is in Spanish.

Happy Birthday, Gung-gung. Thank you for all you have done to make our lives better, easier, and richer. 99 never looked so good!!!

Photo of us I took in downtown Silver Spring, MD 2 years ago...nice granddaugther blinding her grandfather for a photo op! He looks great here, but younger in person!

Backed Up...

Alrighty...here it is...the couple of photos from Sub Ball:

And a close up of my make-up.

It's been years since my days at Sephora and I never really have a need to wear lots of make-up, if at all. Many days I go nekkid. Anyhoo...it was lots of fun playing around. I used NARS Duo Eye Shadow in Habanera on my eyes, along with a few individual Shu Uemura Flare Eyelashes - Black at the outer corners) although the falsies were more for volume than length), and topped off with Shu Uemura basic mascara. OOH...and I cannot, CANNOT forget that I primed my eyes with Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. Without it, my eye make-up would've lasted all of 2 hours instead of all night long. I've been using that primer for a few years now...and trust me, there's a good reason why this bad boy has a cult following. It's that good.

Sub ball was fun. I did my own hair and make-up and Mom babysat the kids. The food was ok. The dancing would've been better if my dress wasn't so damn dramtically long. All in all, it was a great evening with my favorite waiter...one of the few times in years (let's say 6 since Kaia turns 6 in September) that we've gotten to spend by ourselves.

Still, my waiter wasn't that great...I'm still waiting on my water refill. JUST KIDDING, Beb...LOVE YOU!!!

P.S. Liza...I'm still going to reply to your post from waaaay back!!!

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!!!!!!!!!!!!