Cake Mania!

Sound the trumpets! Drum roll, please!
Today I am finally going to be sharing something creative with you!!
I have been waiting to write this post since the day I started conceiving all of my grand ideas!

When the subject of cakes came up for my grandparent's 50th Anniversary Celebration,
I eagerly volunteered for the job.
There were already a few Pinterest pins calling my name,
and this would be a funtastic opportunity to finally try some out.

These were my Pin-speration sources.

1. Gumdrop Roses  2. Wedding Picture Topper  3. Chocolate design toppers
4. Chocolate Heart  5. Sugar and Berries  6. Cake Banner 
7. Pineapple Flowers  8. Picture Pick Toppers  9. Strawberry Roses

 

Not to forget this awesome chocolate butterfly.

After one whole day of 'research' (I love Pinterest!), and one day of shopping for all
the necessities and ingredients, I was able to get to work!

I gave mom the task of making all the paper and picture decorations, like the anniversary banner,
wedding picture topper, and cake labels...which left me to man the kitchen.

Let me show you what I cooked up!

 #1 Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This was a two layer sheet cake with frosting in the middle, that I quickly
decorated with a '50 Years' flag, some pineapple flowers and a lacy chocolate heart.

The heart was made from melted almond bark that I piped onto parchment paper,
 then re-hardened in the fridge.
 I didn't trace a design for this one, I just did it by freehand.

#2 Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
Also a two layered, cream cheese frosted cake,
I decorated this one with my version of the wedding picture cake topper (made by mom!)
surrounded by pineapple flowers.
I was told later that those dried flowers tasted great!
 

#3 Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
Don't let the gluten free part scare you, this is the best chocolate cake I have ever had!
I'm dead serious. And I don't like chocolate cake.
Want to know a secret? We didn't tell people this was gluten free, and it was our most popular cake!
I used my go to chocolate butter cream recipe to frost this single layer cake,
then topped it with almond bark chocolate words and gumdrop roses!

These roses were awesome!

If you click the link in my collage above it will take you to this video tutorial!
They are so simple to make, yet add so much!
They don't show you how to make the leaves, but it didn't take much to figure those out.
Just roll out your green gumdrop as shown in the video, then cut out a leaf shape.
Voila!

#4 Gluten Free Three-Tiered Cake
Not as many tiers as my inspiration source,
but I liked the simple beauty of the exposed cake, fresh fruit and powdered sugar.

 

The strawberry rose bouquet was a nice touch, though it didn't turn out as good I would have hoped.
 I couldn't get the 'petals' to lay open like in the picture. But still, a nice topper.
 

#5 White Raspberry Cake
Three layered almond white cake, with almond butter cream frosting and raspberry preserve filling.
I only frosted the middle layers and the top cake for two reasons.
One, 'naked cakes' are in style, didn't you know?
And two, the frosting was a little stiff and I was running out of time.
Mostly....it was reason two.

To make this cake look fabulous,
we stuck a very long "Happy Anniversary" banner in the top!
I love the way it turned out! My mom did a great job!

  
#6 Coconut Cake
You guys.
This was my favorite cake!!
Just look at that! It is beautiful! And it tastes wonderful too!
I am dying to make another one of these, with a few little recipe changes.

This double layer coconut sheet cake was frosted with sour cream coconut frosting,
between the layers and all over the outside, sprinkled with toasted coconut
then adorned with almond bark butterflies!
I was so, so thrilled that I was actually able to make these!
I mean...look at them!

 And finally....

I made just over 70 Lemon Cupcakes!
This is one of our family recipes for rich lemon cake, topped with another family creation,
lemon frosting made by folding lemon pudding and Cool Whip together!

 

These little darlings were decorated with various almond bark chocolate designs,

and family picture sticks, combining two inspiration sources.

All of my cakes had to survive an hours trip before

reaching the location of our family reunion.

That means I only frosted the middle layers of my sheet cakes to hold them together, 

and the rest of the frosting, assembling and decorating had to take place on site.

We had a certain time frame between scheduled events that we were able 

to use the facilities...umm...kitchen (more like rollings tables, a sink and some counter space),

so that made things a little crunched.

But thankfully there was lots of family (thank you everyone!) to give a helping hand.

I'll admit it was a little hard at first to delegate some of the tasks 

to someone else, but I had no reason to worry, it all turned out great

and I was able to do the really important details myself.

If I look a little tired and frazzled, you know why.

In the end it all paid off.
Presentation was awesome, taste was wonderful, and Nana cried.
Everything was a hit.
I was asked by several people if I did this for a living,
and those that didn't ask, outright told me that I should make this a business!
It was so great to have such supportive feedback.

Now, I went back and forth about breaking this post down
into individual cakes and details, but I decided on covering it in one fell swoop.
There will be a post on making almond bark chocolate designs, with tips I discovered along the way,
but if you want more individualized details on anything else,
just let me know and I'll see what I can do!

To sum it up:

One week.
Six cakes.
13 layers.
70 cupcakes
Five different frostings.
One hurried hour of assembly.
An anniversary to remember.

50th Anniversary & Reunion

I had a busy Fourth of July, y'all!

Every July Fourth that falls around the weekend,

my dad's side of the family has a family reunion, with family that spans back three generations before me!

This was one of those years.

Here is the group picture of our immediate family, at least the ones that could make it.

Aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents!

Can you believe there are at least 20 still missing?!

Here is my pale lookin' self and the rest of my family.

This reunion was extra special because we were also celebrating my grandparent's 

50th Wedding Anniversary!!

See those two large,black and white photos in the corners?

That bombshell and suave movie star are my grandparents.

Sibling photobomb.

 They cut the cake and fed each other all over again.

"Give me a kiss," said Nana.

And he did.

*Smile*

I am so blessed by the example and marriage I have been lived through these

two amazing Christ servants.

Not too long ago, I heard Papa say over the phone to Nana when she

called with vehicle trouble and needed him to come get her...

"I'll always pick you up, babe."

He picked her up all those years ago,

and he ain't about to drop her now.

I had a great time making all the cakes and cupcakes for their celebration!

I'll give you more pictures and details, including Pinterest inspiration, in my next post!

You won't want to miss it!

A 'Dos' of Sunshine: Blog Awards!

Did you see what I did there, in the post title?

Since I was twice nominated for the Sunshine award it is a 'dos' of sunshine, no?! 

(snicker, it's funny and you know it.)

Anyway, moving on!

Yes!

I have been so blessed to be nominated for The Sunshine Award

by Reyna from A Peace of the Past AND McKenna from Cherishing My Role!

Thank you ladies! It was such a sweet surprise!

And I have to admit, I'm kinda sorta pretty tickled pink because this is the first blog award I've received!

Now for the questions from Reyna:

• Do you like to write with a pencil or a pen?

A pen.

As Anne would say,
"I have a scratchy pen 
and I can't write love-letters with a scratchy pen . . . or a sharp pen . . . or a stub pen. 
So you'll only get that kind of letter from me when I have exactly the right kind of pen."
Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery

The right pen is key...I'm especially fond of the dark, black gel-pen sort
The INC. Brand Pro X-Tank pens are my favorite!
(Total nerd moment, I know...)

 

• In which century were most of the books you read written?

Most of the books I read/have read are by modern authors,

such as Francine Rivers, Michael Phillips (not to be confused with the Olympic swimmer),

Janette Oke, Gilbert Morris etc. 

But I do LOVE C.S. Lewis' writings, as well as Shakespeare, Jane Austen,

old poetry and some of the other, singularly great classic pieces of literature,
as referenced in the proceeding question.

Jane Eyre is possibly one of my favorite 'old' books.

 

• What is one of your favorite Bible verses? I know hardly anyone has just a single favorite, so just pick one that comes to mind.

Actually, that one is easy!

My favorite verse(s) is

Isaiah 43:18-19

In fact, I have a second blog (which has been sadly abandoned as of late)

that gets it's namesake from those verses. 
 

• Do you sew, and if so (haha), what?

I do sew, and I just celebrated the one year anniversary

of (finally) learning how this past Valentine's Day!

I still feel so new to the world of sewing,

but I enjoy refashioning clothes the most, partly because

it is so practical and far less expensive than buying material.

But I enjoy a good 'scratch' project too and have tons

of clothing patterns (vintage!) that I want to make! 
 

• What are three of your favorite movies?

Three?! Just three?!

An all encompassing statement is that I love old movies!

That being said, if I had to pick only three favorites,

I would have to say.... 
 

Hello, Dolly
Bringing up Baby
Letters to Juliet

...this was so hard....
and I'm not even sure those were the right three...
*heavy sigh*...oh well

Thanks Reyna!

~~~

And now for McKenna's questions

1. How long have you been blogging?
 I have technically been blogging for nearly two years
(at this blog), though I really only started to get into blogging seriously last spring!

 

2. Tea or Coffee?
Funny story.
I used to hate tea!
Try as I might I couldn't make myself down the stuff.
Then one winter about four years ago, I got sick, and a steaming cup of spearmint tea
just hit the spot, and I've enjoyed tea ever since!

Both have their place, I don't think I could choose.
But I probably enjoy coffee more. :)

 

3. What are your favorite historical eras?
1940-1950's! 
I do enjoy costumes and fashioned from other historical eras as well,
but I don't know much about them.


 

4. What fandoms do you associate yourself with  
(e.g.; Marvel, Doctor Who, LotR, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jane Austen, etc.)?
 I'm not really a part of any fandoms, but being in a household of brothers, I must admit I'm pretty interested in the Marvel franchise...and fairly taken with Tom Hiddleston, 
with Jeremy Renner a close second.

5. Do you play any instruments?
I took piano when I was really young, got back at it in my teens for three years, 
covering 4 levels, and then just stopped because my teacher moved away.
I still love the instrument, but I don't really play much anymore.
I also play the recorder and had fun figuring out Celtic music by ear! 

 

6. What is your favorite book of the Bible and why?
Probably Isaiah...I relate to so much of what he covers,
and the imagery, beauty and depth of book draw me in.
Romans would be second choice.

 

7. On a scale of 1-10, how do you feel about tweed?

(1 being "Disgusting", 10 being "Wish I lived in Yorkshire")
Probably a 3...meh.
I'd wear it was comfortable and I liked the style and color.
But I don't seek it out.

8. Do you enjoy traveling?
Is this a trick question?!
Yes!
I also love driving...road trip, baby!

 

9. What is your most treasured childhood memory?
It was close to mom's due date, she was expecting my
third brother. Dad sent me and my younger brothers
to stay with Nana and Papa for about a week to give mom some rest.
All of my cousins lived just minutes down the road, or a walk across the pasture,
from Nana and Papa, so we got together and played everyday.

One day,
Nana and Papa informed us they planned to take us all swimming at the lake the following day, we were all so excited! 

Low and behold, 
the next day it cold...and pouring rain.

We were devastated.
But my Nana was a most imaginative and ingenuitive grandmother,
who was a master at pretend.

She rigged up what has gone down in the history books of our family
as the best Beach Party ever!

We laid out blue blankets for the water,
yellow blankets for sand, blew up the beach toys, and put on our swim suits!

We turned up the heat, packed a picnic and had a blast!
Pillows became jet skis, and Papa turned the couch in a boat 
(none of these we actually had in real life, mind you!)
We even had a passenger fall overboard! :)

Every single one of us cousins (I had 6 at the time) remember this beach party!
 That is one of my best childhood memories!

 

10. What is your personal style and how does it reflect your personality?
My style, like my personality, is many faceted!
I love skirts and dresses in the summer,
but come winter time, there is just nothing like a pair of jeans,
a button up flannel and a warm bulky sweeter!

I like vintage and feminine styles, 
but I also lean towards long, flowing styles more like 70's, hippy clothes. 
I'm all over the place, really. :)

 

11. What is your all-time favorite item of clothing or outfit to wear?

Well, it definitely isn't the bra!

Probably a sweeter...I have two comfy ones I practically live in when it is cold.



There you have it!
Thanks, McKenna!
~~~~

And now, time for some rules and my nominees!

If you didn't read my little sleuthing story behind this award, you really ought to.

I'll wait.

Ready?

So, in light of all I learned while researching this award,
I'm going to reinstate the mission statement of The Sunshine Award
and adjust the rules to fit some of the earliest, and close to origin, posts I found.

The Sunshine Award is..

"For bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others

in the blogsphere." 

Those who bring a little sunshine into our day!

THE RULES:

• Thank and recognize the blogger(s) who nominated you (link back)
• Post the award on your blog
• Answer the questions given you by your Nominator.
•  Nominate 5-10 other bloggers (no tag backs) and let them know you nominated them
• Set 10 questions for your nominees to answer

The rules given me by my two nominators

also included an extra step: list 11 facts about yourself.

That is something that has been added through the passage of time,

and seemed a little redundant since you were already answering 10 questions;

therefore I altered the rules I'm attaching to my nominees.

However, 

I just so happened to recently share 11 facts about myself in this little post...

so I still completed that step for my nominators. :)

My Sunshine Award Nominees

1. Jen from Diary of a MadMama

2. Stephanie from The Enchanting Rose

3. Kristina at The Eccentric Owl

4. Delvalina at Falling in Love With Jesus

5. Magda at House of Estrela

6. Carissa at Carissa Knits

And for these last two (I couldn't quite come up with 10!), I'm bending the rules a little.

These two ladies don't have blogs, but they are faithful and encouraging readers who

always leave nice comments to cheer up my day!

They certainly bring some Sunshine into my blogworld.

7. jenny-o

&

8. marilyn

Thank you ladies! 

You always bring a smile a to my face.

Questions for the Nominees

1. What are some of your 'accomplishements'

(in the Jane Austen sense of the word: i.e. sewing, crocheting, drawing, instrument, singing...)

2. Where do you get your inspiration (sewing, crafting, outfits etc.) OTHER than Pinterest?

3. Name one new thing you want to make/try this year.

4. Given the choice of anyone in the world (presently living),

whom would you want as a diner guest?

5.  What are some things that make you really happy?

6. Favorite book series?

7. Favorite book made movie.

8. Pet Peeves?

9. If you could visit any country in the world, where would you go?

10. When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?

Would you still choose that?

Thanks for the nominations,
and I look forward to hearing back from all of you!

Top 5 of 2013 Inspirations

I know this post is a bit tardy,
but it was such a great idea to share what inspired me last year,
that I just had to bend the rules and bit and share this post.
 

Inspirations

5. My dear friend, Allyson

I hope she doesn't mind me gushing about her on my blog,
but I couldn't exclude her from my list of what inspired me this past year.
We are kindred spirits, her and I, so honestly,
I have a happiness gauge that is directly related to how she is doing!
This year she made a big step in pursuing a dream, and honestly, a God-given talent.
She leaves me speechless at times, with the pure beauty emanating from her person,
and that beauty comes through all of most when we are functioning in what we do best.
It made my heart so happy, and has inspired me to try and the do the same...
ever pursuing God's best.
I love you Ally!

4. Kristina from Eccentric Owl

I found Kristina's blog while working my way through The Thriftaholics Directory.
There she was, number 191...yes, actually, I checked out all previous 190 listings...it is a long list...I'm still working my way through it when I have time.



At first it was her vintage charm and cute outfits that caught my eye,
but I've come to value her quirky and darling posts,
with her relatable ramblings more than anything else.
She has a beautiful heart and a much needed honestly to her words that I so appreciate.
She is real, funny, sweet and just weeks away from having her first baby!
Who wouldn't want to be friends with a person like that?
And then there is the fact that she can pull off colored tights splendidly...and I hate tights,
so I live vicariously through her. :)



3. The Renegade Seamstress & The Refashionista
I know, I know, these are two separate blogs, shouldn't they have their own number?
Yes and no.
If you do your math you will see that I would more than five points,
and that just won't do, but I couldn't possibly leave either of them out.

 Besides, these ladies took an equal share towards inspiring me to enter the world of refashioning!
They were the two very first blogs I found when looking for a way to refashion some
bulky sweaters left over from my northern wardrobe.
Exactly a year ago, I found and started following their blogs,
and have been a faithful reader ever since.

Furthermore, it was my supreme honor to be selected by Beth (aka Renegade Seamstress)
to participate in her second installment of Refashion Runway!
She was kind of like, oh you know, a hero...
so that most certainly made my year!
 

2. Kristi Yamaguchi

"Why should a dream have some part of it that was so scary?
Why would I have to do something I feared in pursuing something I loved?"
 -Kristi Yamaguchi-


I used to have a fear of sewing,
but it was this very quote from Kristi, childhood hero and my absolute favorite female figure skater
(I have a Christmas ornament of her, for Pete's sake!),
that lit the fuse to my explosive year of sewing.
She really played a pivotal role in the outcome of my year
and continues to inspire me.
You can read all about it in this post.

Now, one of the most recent sources of inspiration for me,
which I know will carry into the new year, has been..

1. Tom Hiddleston

 

“We all have two lives. 
The second one starts when we realize that we only have one”  

-Tom Hiddleston-

 Like millions of other women the world over,
I have to admit I'm quite star struck with Mr. Hiddleston.
Aside from being a great actor,
I'm captivated by his classic Hollywood charm, gentlemanly conduct,
deep intense personality, and the way he speaks...honestly, have you listened to this man?
His sentence structure and vocabulary has me swooning...no one talks that beautifully
in this modern era, and it comes from a cultivated, refined place in a person.
And, sop my puddled self off the floor, he can dance.
*sigh*
All that aside,
much of what he utters is poetically quote worthy,
 the above quote being one that has been reverberating in my head since first I read it.
I think this year marks the beginning of my second life.
Or at any rate, at least the awakening of it.

So really, I discovered that words are what inspire me most.

I have always been drawn to them, and my heart speaks best and deepest when

flowing through ink and pen...or keys and screens, as it were.

I'm not much for resolutions,
but I have determined this year to indulge more in words...
not just any words, mind you,
but strong words...
deep words...
rich words.


Words are such a beautifully powerful tool of expression,
yet we use the same few hundred over and over,
and those which we do use often aren't the clearest or most expressive.

It is my aim to read more classic literature and poems
this year-- something I have always enjoyed, but
stopped doing once out of school.
I always feel much smarter and richer for having read
Shakespeare, C.S. Lewis, or a well crafted poem.

If I could only do one thing great,
I believe I would choose to be a master of words.
An all encompassing medium with can reach out and touch people everywhere.
They can be the the steely sword delivering the fatal blow to an army of lies
or a healing balm which brings life to fractured, shriveled souls.

Yes,
I think I shall aim to be a master of words.

What about you?
I would love to know what inspired you this past year,
and what is propelling you into the new one. 

Looking Back: September

September...

where have you gone?!

My goodness...in all honesty, I can't believe we are already done with this month!

Since being chosen to participate in the second season of Refashion Runway,

I have been busy, busy, busy sewing and planning, and posting! Oh my!

The time has just flown by.

 

Looking back,

it has been a good, full, roller-coaster of a month!

 

Speaking of rides...

here are some funny shots from my first Refashion Runway project, the plaid dress.

These pictures didn't make the first cut,

but I thought I would share them with you now.

 

 

 

 

Just for fun, I was told to pose with our Gator while we were

out in the woods taking pictures.

 

 

 

Yeah...I could sell this...

 

 

 

I kind of love these next few pictures....

we were driving through the bumpy field path,

and were coming up, rather quickly, on a large terrace (big bump!)

and my brother wasn't slowing down!

While steering with one hand, he held the camera in the other,

and just started snapping away...he wasn't even aiming!

 



 

*See the bump*

 



 

*Assess the bump*

 



*Fear the bump*

 



 

*Brace for the bump*

 

*Scream*

 

 

Don't worry we survived.

And actually, we were still in tact enough to take this pretty cool shot right afterwards.

 

 



 

Big Texas Skies.

Or, pretend you are on an African safari...

both work.

 

 

 

September was also the month of my birthday.

Sorry, we didn't take any pictures.

But here are a few lovely things....

 

 

 

 

This is the pattern on a new scarf I got!

I love the ethnic print on it and the colors!

It looks very fall to me, which has me excited.

 

And then...

 

 

 

 

...my new cast iron tea pot!

I love this little dear!

Seriously, the colors, the weight,

the fact that it is cast iron and will probably outlive me...awesome!

I bought this beautiful item at World Market, one of my favorite stores!

I'm registered with them, and apparently, they give you a spending gift card for your birthday!

How wonderful is that?!

So, this is what I chose to get.

 

Sadly, I have already had a rather painful lesson in using her.

 

Steam burns.

Bad.

Like, really, really bad!

 

I was being lazy and didn't grab a pot holder to hold my

tea pot lid on, and decided to pour my piping hot water anyway.

Bad, bad idea.

The lid slipped, releasing an angry, billowing cloud of blistering steam...

right...on...my...fingers.

 

I couldn't just drop the kettle, because, it is after all heavy cast iron and full of boiling water!

So I had to endure the brutal elapse of time it took to purposely set it down.

It was really only a few seconds, but it felt like forever.

So yeah...that is how I got some nasty second degree burns on my right-hand pinky and ring finger.

Seriously, I felt a little bit like a witch, they were all blistered up and nasty looking on my birthday

(which was last Saturday, by the by).

Thankfully, they have now progressed to the really itchy, dark red, hard crusty skin stage.
TMI, I know, sorry.

 

And there you have it, my September in review!

How was your September?

What special sort of things happened in your life?