We're back!!!

Just wanted to stop by and tell everyone that the UNPAID internship has been filled. ;)

(isn't it nice to have a job where you can work in your pjs?!)

My newest assistant, Olivia is a work in progress, but its great to have some company in the kitchen. Her strengths include being funny, an unmatched enthusiasm for dumping the ingredients into the bowl, she thinks I'm awesome and she's free (kind of).

Weaknesses we need to work on include, but are not limited to....spills a lot, wants to eat the inventory, gets upset when I put the batter into the oven and doesn't like the sound of the mixer (she is really gonna have to get over that one!)

My sidekick and I are busy in the kitchen after a nice break from baking. I hope you all had a fabulous holiday season. Stay tuned because we are cookin up some pretty cakes along with an adorable bird themed baby shower for my sweet friend Katie and her little peanut Emily.

Gotta get back to it before the intern gets into more trouble!!!

Happy baking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keeping busy....

Wow. I've been pretty light on the posting lately but these days are getting away from me!!! I'm normally pretty good about not letting myself get overhwelmed during this time of the year, but this Christmas is different. I feel like a crazy lady being pulled in every direction! ;)

I needed some therapy! So I got my girl and we rolled our sleeves up for some good ol' fashion fun in the kitchen. Gingerbread cookie time!!!! Its so refreshing to bake and decorate without the pressure...who cares what it looks like just as long as you're having fun doing it (and it tastes good)!!! :)

Here we are (me no makeup, hair pulled back, messy kitchen... you think I'm scared??) cutting out our cookies, getting them ready for the oven! Nothing makes my girl more excited than decorating cookies!

Wonder where she gets that from??? ;)

Concentration people. I started off the border and then handed it over to B. She did the classic mistake of putting the tip too close to the cookie....you don't want to drag it...I tried to teach her the proper way, but do you THINK she'd listen to me? NOPE! Instead she just said, "Here! You wanna do it?!" (we're going to have such a good time when she hits those teenage years aren't we!)

To which I said, no ma'am...this is your rodeo!!! Her vision/design was much different than mine so it worked out well!!! :) How awesome are these???? I know all you single ladies have your eye on that gingerbread man! He's taken ok. Get yer own man!

All you bakers, crafters, whatever'ers...you know that feeling of pride after you sit back and look at what YOU just created? All by yourself. Your two hands. Great feeling isn't it?

Prideful to sad after I told her she could only eat one. Happy Holidays y'all!!!!

I'll be back after a few hours of resting...got a cute dessert table to show off. :)

Back to School!!

The smell of school bus emissions, mystery meat from the cafeteria, and backpacks is in the air.

It can only mean one thing...its back to school time!!!

My sweet Bailey girl started Kindergarten in August and I'm just now adjusting to all my free time. :) Having her in school all day is definitely bittersweet. I miss my sweet girl and can't believe how long she is gone everyday, but its really nice having two hours of complete quiet time when my little Tasmanian devil (Olivia) naps.

Check out this picture of my BIG girl getting on the school bus to go away to college, I mean Kindergarten.

This was the second day of school. Don't even get me started on the first day of school. Lets just say it did not go as smoothly as the second...both of us were a mess...a complete mess and we have a great story for the scrapbook! But we learned that Kindergarten is not the end of the world and actually, we've both learned to love it. Bailey said she'd stay there longer everyday if she could!

Hey, wait a minute...should I take offense to that?!?!

And off she goes...

I decided to take the week off from cakes for Labor Day and I'm not quite sure what to do with myself and all the free time! Sooo, today I got to work creating a little back to school teacher gift for Bailey's wonderful teacher Mrs Phillips.

She expressed a need for disinfectant wipes so today Livie and I went shopping together while B was studying hard in Kindergarten and got this big jumbo pack of wipes.

Boooooring!!

I put Livie to bed for a nap and had nothing to do.

Sure there's the laundry, dishwasher to be unloaded and then reloaded, laundry, bed still isn't made, laundry, Charlie (the dog) needs a bath, laundry, weeds to be pulled, laundry, workout, dinner isn't made, laundry...(I guess the list is long if you write it all down), but I was bored and "had nothing to do" so I decorated the wipes container. ;)

(Don't be like me. This is an excellent example of having your priorities a little mixed up)

With just one piece of scrapbook paper and a cute little wooden monkey (50 cents at Hobby Lobby) I created something sooo much more fun for Mrs Phillips! I mean, if you're gonna have to clean up after 22 Kindergarten monkeys you may as well do it in style! :)

Added a little note....This is such a cute easy way to brighten up (and clean up) your teacher's day! :)

Little update...

When Bailey came home from school I showed her the "present" I made for Mrs Phillips. She was very very excited, but clearly stated that she had two teachers and we had to make one for Mrs Willbanks (the assistant teacher) as well. ;)

She's right.....and again, since I have nothing else to do except dilly dally (and had all the supplies to make another one), I made another one.

Hope everyone has a fun, happy and successful school year.

LEARN LOTS KIDS! The future of the WORLD depends on you!!! :)

(no pressure)

Cakewrecks don't you dare!!!

Before I even start, no...I did not make my own birthday cake. This year someone very special to me made my cake. I'll give you a hint...he is goofy, handsome, acts like a kid but isn't a kid, pours me coffee in the morning and doesn't complain about the fact that he never gets gourmet dinners at home.

My husband...

My sweet husband made me a birthday cake this year.

Isn't it great! lol

Thats ME! Lookin' quite HAWT sitting on top of my 30th birthday chocolate goodness!
The apron is the detail that just kills me! I love it! :)

He told me his plans a few weeks ago and I just said "yeah yeah, I'll believe it when I see it!"

Next thing I know he is breaking out the boxed cake mix and getting started.

From the kitchen I hear him yell,

"Does it absolutely need oil b/c I can't find any."

UGH! Men!

Yes Bri guy, if it says it on the box, you need it.

I come to check on him after I give the kids a bath. The cake is in the mixer. I ask, "How long has it been mixing?"

"I dunno, 15 minutes?"

Oh Brian, you don't mix it for 15 minutes! You're gonna kill the cake!!!

From that point on I realized he needed supervision or this would really turn out bad!

So I pulled up a chair and watched it all go down. Taking pics along the way. :)

Here he is working on ME! A little gumpaste baker. I honestly cannot believe how good it came out. Of course I was over his shoulder saying "No! You can't do it like that, you gotta do it like this!" ;)

I'm the backseat baker. The next morning it was time to ice the cake. This is what really threw him for a loop.
Bailey decided she needed to supervise as well, she was backseat baker #2, saying "I think you need to listen to mommy...thats not how mommy usually does it". hehehe, I love that little girl! ;)

The cake kept falling apart on him (carved cakes are not easy to ice!). I did have to jump in a few times before he took a huge chunk out of the 3. Everytime I tried to help Bailey would say, "Get back mommy, you can't make your own birthday cake!!!"

A sip of beer should help....

Google the word "pride", this image will pop up.

ONE PROUD HUSBAND

We went out to dinner that night to celebrate two things.

My birthday.

And Brian's first cake.

My BIG break!!!

Its been a very busy couple of weeks for me around here! Parties, a trip to Disney, lots of sweet treats, cakes and even instructing cooking classes.



Thats right, cooking classes! :) I'm so excited to share my experience with y'all!!!

This past week I taught my first cake class. :) :) It was at a local gathering for a number of very influential people in the community (14 to be exact) who are considering baking as a future career path...I was a little nervous as this was my first real gig teaching an audience how to decorate a cake, but it all went over pretty well. Turns out they loved me! And I even think I may have swayed a few to join the "Keep calm and bake on" career path!!!

Take a look!!

OK, OK...So the class was for a bunch of four and five year olds, but an audience is an audience, right?!!?! ;)

And they were a great one!! They listened well, were very behaved and seemed REALLY interested in what I was doing. (And I'm almost certain it had nothing to do with the fact that they were being bribed with ice cream cone cupcakes) Actually, now that I think about it....hmmmm?

Anyway, it was career day at Bailey's school and Mrs Tiffany asked if any parents would like to come in and demonstrate what they do in their jobs. OF COURSE!! I love to see my baby at school with all her sweet friends so I was all over this opportunity.

I brought in my bags of supplies and taught the kiddos how to make an ice cream themed cake. :)

My husband has been teasing me all day about the teeny tiny table I was sitting at!! LOL I look about as goofy as they come! :)

Aren't they SO cute looking on!? You gotta love preschoolers!!!!!

Once I was at a stopping point with my cake it was time to get the kids decorating! They were each given an unfrosted cupcake baked in an ice cream cone, icing, sprinkles, and a fondant cherry to top off their cupcake. They all did great and showed off their superior decorating skills! (alittle intimidating for me in fact...stay in school kids, I don't want the competition!)

My little Bailey girl hard at work...

Take a look at this one...step aside DC Cupcakes...Griffin's in the HOUSE!!

The kids were asked to come to school dressed up as what they want to be when they grow up. Guess what my Bailey wants to be?!!?!?!!?
I'm so proud that my sweet girl wants to be just like me!


And WOW. She's gonna sell a lot of cakes with that face.

Get those kids in the kitchen y'all!!!

EEK!!! Lookie what I just saw!!!!

My husband just forwarded this to me. April 23 is the big day for my appearance on Paula's Best Dishes!! For a while I've been in denial that this is really happening, but I guess its official! April 23 is the big day!!

Click on the picture to see the show description!!!!

Little Livie is turning 2!

Tomorrow is my little Olivia's 2nd birthday. I cannot believe my little baby is turning TWO!!!!! I just have to say a few things about this little girl...

Born on St Patricks Day, Livie is our little leprechaun. Mischievous and clever. She is perpetual motion, always on the hunt for trouble. My husband calls her a "hot mess" because she is always...well...a mess! She licks the bottom of her shoes, she rubs food in her hair and she loves to dig in the dirt and then eat it. She is a mess.

She loves her sister. Examining Bailey's every move then trying to mimic, she wants to be just like her. Smart as a whip, she will figure out a way to get what she wants!!

She is very silly and very goofy. Mean as a snake, but so sweet at the same time. She is a chatterbox, literally wakes up singing her ABC's and goes to bed singing her ABC's. Every night before I put her to bed she takes my face in her hands and says "Love you sweet sweet mommy". She makes my heart ache I love her so much.

Tomorrow we will be celebrating her first 2 years with many fun activities. On the itinerary is a morning Gymboree Play class, lunch at the park with some friends, a nice little nap, dinner at McDonalds (her favorite "restaurant") and then cake back home with mom, dad, sister, nana, papa and gigi (her great grandmother). I cannot wait for our fun filled day celebrating my little girl!!

And if you're still reading (after my long love note to Liv) check out her cake for tomorrow. I almost didn't make a cake for her b/c I have so much going on with planning for her party this weekend, but after some thought I knew I couldn't let that happen. ;) I made her a little 6 inch round representing her love (emphasis on love) for ice cream and ALL things sweet!!!!
I love you Livie Bivie!!!!!

How do you do this w/ two kids??

That's the question I always get..."How do you find the time to do all these cakes w/ two children!?!" My response is always, "I don't know!!!" (and I honestly don't know! lol) But somehow it all gets done...I'll admit there are definitely times when I'm icing a cake with a baby on my hip while the other little rascal is off coloring on the walls or hanging from the chandelier, but somehow it all gets done. That said, since summer has started (meaning no preschool for Bailey and Olivia has now decided to drop her morning nap) I find myself really thinking HOW am I going to get these cakes done without losing my sanity??

For the most part my caking schedule is 5:30am-7am before the girls wake up and then 8:30pm to as long as it takes... Needless to say after working on my cakes and chasing around 2 little ones in between, I'm a tired girl.

Luckily for me I've got B signed up for 2 weeks of vacation bible school in the month of June so I should be OK for this month, but July is crazy busy w/ 2 kids, beach trips, lake trips, MY 29th BIRTHDAY! and pool time. Sooooo, I have made the executive decision to pamper myself and...

TAKE THE MONTH OF JULY OFF!!! :)

I'll still be updating my blog w/ cakes (I have to make some cakes, I can't help myself), parties and other creative stuff so there will still be some action on here. But for the most part I'm going to be enjoying my birthday month with some freedom from caking! :)

So there is my announcement...
July I'm off
...returning full force to my cakes in August. :)

My little apprentice...

Ask and you shall receive!! I always say I need help in the kitchen so I guess I found it! My new apprenice...

Hard at work....


She's so proud!!!!!!! (check out the bed head on this girl!!!)


The Masterpiece...I mean really, its in her genes!!!!



During her nap I did a little tweaking and ended up w/ something like this....



My advice to Bailey, and/or anyone out there looking to get into caking...practice practice PRACTICE!!!! :)

This is what stressed looks like...

Its been a long and stressful week!!! Luckily its a slow cake week for me, but I've got some other things going on that are just putting me in a FUNK!! I'm weaning my little Olivia from nursing and its proving to be much more difficult than I anticipated. For one, she doesn't love the bottle so there have been a lot of challenges w/ getting her to finish just 5 ounces. But I have to say whats even harder is MY feelings towards saying goodbye to nursing!! I thought I'd be so relieved and excited (which part of me is), but I'm also very sad that its all coming to an end. She is my baby, but she is almost 11 months old and its TIME. But its hard letting go. This is just one step closer to 18 and leaving for college...really, thats really how I feel. I'm crazy, I know.

Can you imagine the break down I'm going to have when I watch Bailey walk onto the school bus for kindergarden in 2011!? **tearing up already**

Anyway, there it is. The center of my stress.

Ahhhh, to vent. That felt nice.

Moving on...Last night was our turn to host small group at our house and whoever hosts always has a dessert and coffee to munch on for everyone. Well, I was planning on making a cake since, like I said, its a slow cake week for me. But after a very emotional day (for Livie and myself) I didn't have the energy or creative mind to come up with anything so here is what I served.

I think it was the perfect dessert to capture my mood. :) And what a great and supportive group of friends I have who gobbled it up all while working to cheer me up!



"I'm Tired!! Here's your CAKE!!"

What an experience!!!!

What an opportunity!!!! Lots of thanks to Jamie and Brooke for getting me a spot on the PAULA DEEN SHOW!!! EEK!! How exciting!!! This past Tuesday I was given the privilege of being a guest on Paula Deen's cooking show, Paula's Best Dishes. We made a cake together from start to finish. She is soooooo fun, sweet and very welcoming. My knees were knocking I was so nervous, but as soon as I got up there with her I was completely at ease.

Thanks Paula and crew for such a cool experience!!!!!

Here are a zillion million pictures....


Getting my hair done before the show...lol









Cooking w/ Paula...






The whole family came along!! lol

Here are pics of the cake I made for display on the show... (if you can't tell it was a Spring/Easter themed show)

I took about a million pictures of MY cake in PAULA'S kitchen!!!! WOW!! How cool! :)



I also made sugar Cookies covered w/ Marshmallow Fondant to go w/ the cake...

What a cool experience for an amateur cake decorator!! I've only been doing this for about 7 months and I'm so lucky to have been given the opportunity to show Paula how I do my cakes! Thanks again to everyone and anyone who made this possible!!!