Buried Treasure!

So the Pirate Party is over and the cupcakes were a success... they looked even cuter when set up with the little pirate bones! I did mention before that I was also asked to go ahead and do the photography for the party so the birthday boy's mom could go ahead and pay attention to the party without worrying about how many pictures she got and to be sure everything was caught on film. I got all the photos (almost 200!) cropped and onto a disk for my co-worker (the lucky mommy) and to her last Friday. She was SO excited and was in love with them! It made me very happy to see how happy she was. =) Hope you enjoy the photos!

Ahoy Mate!

The pirate party cupcakes were a success! They turned out so cute and with the setup at the venue, they were even better! I had a great time making them (aside from the burn I got on the oven door, sigh). I was also asked to take photos at the party for the birthday boy's mom. That made for a great time as well! I enjoy photography and hope to get into it a bit more soon. ;)

The party was amazing! The birthday boy had a pirate jumper, scattered pirate confetti, pirate colors, a ship's steering wheel, a present table, some pirate punch, and a bunch more! The best part for the birthday boy was the pirate who came with his parrots! This was an interesting show and everyone got to hold a parrot, including the birthday boy! Even though some of the parrots were bigger than his head, the pirate helped hold his arm so he could hold the big guys. It was so cute too, the birthday boy followed the pirate around everywhere he went and was talking about the birds. I told his mom it sounds like a pet bird might be in their future!

Arrrgh!

Time for some pirate cupcakes!! A friend of mine had told me about her son's birthday party a few weeks ago and I helped her out with a few ideas. I'd offered to take photos at the party to document his big '4', but the thought hadn't crossed my mind to offer my baking! Needless to say, she brought it up late last week, so it looks like I'll be baking some pirate cupcakes for the party this Sunday! I'm pretty excited since it's been a while since the last time I made something. This will be my biggest order yet at 45 cupcakes, but it should be loads of fun!

Good to be back

So there have been a few changes since I was last here posting... Biggest one is that we've moved! It's not far from our old place, but it's bigger and it's our own! Not to mention we LOVE it! <3


Anyhow, I've come across refashioning lately and am super duper interesting in trying it out. SO... I have to get my sewing machine out, change the needle, and get to finding some awesome fabrics or thrift clothes to change up. I'm really excited. That's not to say I won't be baking anymore... I love doing that too and will continue. Things have slowed a lot since I've been here and I hope to begin getting used to the new oven soon. =)

(S)Lacking....

I know I've been lacking on posts, photos, and creativity lately... sorry about that. I even have some pineapple cake I really want to make at home, but I haven't gotten around to it just yet. Work has been super busy and they just implemented mandatory overtime, so needless to say I haven't been home a whole bunch. I'd like to make the pineapple cake soon (well, into cupcakes, but still) and I was thinking about topping it off with a coconut frosting... how's that sound? =)

Strawberry Banana Cupcake

Since I still had some leftover banana cream frosting, I decided that I would try to top some lovely strawberry cupcakes with it. The end result was not that tasty, so I also made some strawberry cuppies with plain vanilla frosting. There was no issue with the flavors separately, but when put together the banana really took over and that's pretty much all I could taste. I think I'll leave the banana cream frosting to the chocolate cupcakes. However, since I made these ones just for fun I tried out a few of my other tips to see what I could do with them. Enjoy my random designs! haha ;)

Chocolate Banana Cupcakes

I was personally asked to make cupcakes for a co-worker's birthday last Friday. She said it didn't matter what they were so I started parusing and thinking. I came across a recipe for some banana cream frosting and couldn't pass it up. I checked with the birthday girl and asked if there was any fruit she didn't prefer. She said only orange was a no-go. So, I was off to make some chocolate banana cupcakes for her! They turned out amazingly awesome! They were so delicious! They went off with rave reviews here at work and I was so happy it all turned out to be tasty!

Made from scratch ~ soup & bread

I was talking to a co-worker the other day and she mentioned she makes Miso soup at home... now I love miso soup so I just knew I had to try it. It just so happens, a couple days later I found a recipe for homemade bread. So, Sunday night I made dinner from scratch. I chopped everything and put together the soup in my largest pot to cook on the stovetop. I made the dough for the bread in the morning and let it sit all day to rise. Come 6 o'clock on Sunday night everything was ready for cookin'! Dustin said it was delicious and I quite liked it myself. ;) 

No More Event Planning For Me...

Long story short, nothing is as they led us to believe. We've been told we're having pizza and we had a list of what items we had to order to pass out to the associates. =/  All in all, it just turned out to be a big waste of time and in the end I have pulled out from volunteering on these things. It's not at all how they said it would be and had turned into more of an obligation instead of a fun experience. Yes, I'm a little saddened by it but in the end the company is the same as it's always been...

New Order Fit For a Princess

I was asked about possibly coming up with ideas for a Snow White themed birthday party for a young lady. =) I still need to go searching and see what I can find... At first she wanted Snow White faces on all of the cupcakes, unfortunately I foresee that taking such a long time and so many supplies that I don't think they would be very affordable for a child's birthday party. I suggested we stay in the Snow White vein and try a theme, something from the movie. So she's going to look for ideas and so am I, then we'll get together and see what we find for what price. I'm excited!!

Event Planning?

So it seems that nothing was really thought out beforehand about these "events" we're supposed to be putting together. I've changed the proposal many times now and we've still not gotten approval... when this is supposed to take place on the 31st. I think at this point I've done all I can to expedite the process and see what can be done, but I've passed it up the chain here and will wait for them to let us know which way to go next. It might end up that nothing comes together and if that's the case I'll be sad. I've not only dedicated many hours to this, but all of the associates at our location deserve to be appreciated and that is what this was supposed to be about. Here's to crossing fingers that the best thing will happen!

Chocolatey Hearts

The other day when I made those monkey cupcakes, I made a full batch of mix so I had some left over after making the 15 that were ordered. I went ahead and cooked them up and decorated them a bit different to deliver to my "neighbors" at work (the cubies next to me). I thought it would be cute to do them with some piping, so I piped hearts on them... then some little swirlies... then added some edible pearls to make them prettier, haha. They were loved. =)  My neighbors really enjoyed them at 7 in the morning, lol. No matter the time... that's what I look forward to, my creations being enjoyed. =)

"Event" planner

I've been super busy this week working to help plan an associate appreciation event at work. Due to the short amount of time we had to put it together, I've been pretty scatterbrained. We put together quite the affair (mostly my ideas, if I may brag) and then were told upon submitting it for approval to disperse the funds, that most things we'd planned we're not allowed to do... Couldn't someone have told us this beforehand???!!!! Anyhow, we (I) changed plans and took some things out, put different ones in and it still sounded like a pretty good time. Then we were told we probably didn't have time to order all of the items. :sigh:  I did my best not to be defeated and yet again changed the plans. Now it's not so much a grand affair as it is just catering and presents/prizes... no more taco man, no more folkloricos, no more limbo, no more ring toss, no more relay, no more, no more. =(  BUT, we (I) still managed to find some (what we think are) awesome things to make goodie bags for all of the associates, we found a caterer who we could book on short notice, and we'll still have have a raffle and prizes. Not nearly what we'd planned nor as fun or team-building but nonetheless we were able to show appreciation for all of the people here and hopefully they feel loved by the company afterwards. =)

Monkeys, monkeys, everywhere!

I've finished the monkey cupcakes! I'm so happy with how they turned out. As usual, with my perfectionist ways I can think of things I could do differently next time to make them better. ;) But I love them for the little monkeys they are! Hope you like them too! =) 

Seafood Gumbo

I think my brain has been stuck on seafood recently... I was so inclined to make seafood gumbo for dinner last night that I looked all over the internet for bunches and bunches of recipes. I scanned through them all and found the common ingredients and went with that... with my own spin, of course. The one I made ended up containing okra, white onion, green bell pepper, tomato, chicken broth, shrimp, crab, turkey sausage, Zattarain's Gumbo base, and some Sriracha. I served it over some brown rice. It was DELICIOUS! Dustin and I both had seconds! lol The best part? The amount that I made allowed us a nice size first serving, a good size helping of seconds, and still enough left over for another dinner for us both and lunch for him one day. =0 Isn't that a ton?! It ended up costing more than we thought it would, but I accidently bought extra ingredients so that probably contributed to the higher price as well. So, was it worth making again? Yes. Will I soon? No. lol. Why not? you ask... Well, we both ate a lot! So I think we'll be sated for this food for some time. ;)

Ahh Ghosts!

I realize I've been lacking on the photo front lately. I keep meaning to attach pictures and then I forget, lol. Sorry! I put up a photo today of some ghost cupcakes I made for a co-worker's birthday in October. They were fun to make... even if I didn't buy enough at first and had to send Dustin to the store to get more... which I didn't end up using, lol. Long story... haha. I liked the way these turned out and they were pretty simple, so they were fairly quick to put together. I also got compliments on the flavor since it was so light and airy! I'd like to make them again, but am trying to figure out what other white figure I could make besides ghosts, lol. I can't really serve ghost cupcakes in Spring! ...or can I? ;)
PS - My younger brother's first care package from Dustin and I is officially on its way as of 12:15pm today!

Ceviche

I've managed to make ceviche twice in the last week. It was so yummy the first time and disappeared so quickly between just Dustin and I that I wanted to make more. The first time was Friday and I was in the mood for seafood... the second time was last night and we just couldn't decide what we wanted for dinner. We had to stop by the grocery store to drop off a RedBox movie we'd rented the day before. I'd been wanting some mustard pretzels so I decided to get some regular old plain ones and just dip them in honey mustard at home for a temporary fix (until I can get around to making my own). Since we were there, we thought we'd pick up something for dinner and couldn't decide. So I suggested ceviche and he was completely on board! lol
I'm so up for baking soon, so I'd like to figure out something to pawn off on my co-workers while also expanding my baking portfolio. ;)  If you have any suggestions, share them here and I'll do my best to see about making it. =)

Pretzels

I have been scouring the internet looking for a crunchy honey mustard pretzel recipe and for the life of me can't find one. I found one for a plain crunchy pretzel and a TON for a plain soft pretzel. After much consideration I've decided I just have to try making some soft pretzels, lol. The recipe I found yields 6 soft pretzels (doesn't say the size), so I'm thinking I'll make each one different. Maybe a plain one, one with butter/salt, a honey mustard one, etc. I'm pretty excited to see how they turn out and of course will post a pic on here once I get around to making them! ;)
I'm also looking forward to making those monkey cupcakes for next week! They're due for delivery next Wednesday, so Tuesday night should be a great time.

Jumbalaya

I realize I usually write about desserts... mainly cupcakes, but I feel the need to share about the dinner I made the other night. I decided it had been too long since we'd been to Yard House where I had my first meeting with an amazing jumbalaya. So I picked up some rice, turkey sausage, and seasonings at the store and set about making some jumbalaya. It was SO delicious! We both had seconds and I had to ask Dustin to please leave a little bit for leftovers, lol. I had the rest yesterday for part of my dinner and it was still good reheated! I was happy with my little jumbalaya! Come to think of it, I really should have taken a picture to share here, but it didn't even occur to me. :sigh: 
Anywho... I'd like to make something interesting soon and just might be making deviled eggs tonight. Now deviled eggs might sound random, but apparently a co-worker of mine thinks that hers are better so she's challenged me to bring in mine on a day she's bringing some... which happens to be tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll be up to it after work, but the opportunity is there, lol.

Honey Nut Cocoa Krispy Treats

I happened to stumble upon another blog about cupcakes yesterday (Cupcake Project). I liked the pictures, lol, so I ran through the blog and read around. While there, I found a recipe for what she called 'Honey Nutella Rice Krispie Treats'... She used honey and Nutella instead of the typical butter and marshmallows. I was immediately in love with this idea and decided I had to try it for myself... with a few tweaks, of course. So I set out to make some honey nut krispy treats. 

The Ingredients:
4 heaping Tbsp of creamy peanut butter
1/2C of honey
4C of Cocoa Krispies

The Directions:
1. Put peanut butter and honey in a microwave safe bowl.
2. Put the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, take it out and stir.
3. Put it in for another 30 seconds.
4. Stir to mix. The honey and peanut butter should meld together nicely.
5. Add your rice crispies 1C at a time.
6. Pour into a greased (or non-stick) 8x8 pan and pack down.
7. Put in the fridge for at least an hour or more.
8. Enjoy!

Dustin and I shared a square last night after about an hour and half in the fridge (more like I ate and Dustin tasted). I thought they were very yummy! Definitely an awesome alternative to the regular old, tried and true Rice Krispy Treats. =) 

Chocolate Cake

I had an inkling for a chocolate cake with funfetti frosting on Thursday night so I went to the store and bought the ingredients. Then I realized I wouldn't be able to make a nice, pretty layer cake if I used the funfetti frosting. I considered swapping it out for a non-lumpy one (lol), but decided that was the frosting that would *make* the cake. So I couldn't bring myself to change it. I also gave it a once over in my head to make it a 2-layer cake and put fresh sliced bananas in the middle, but decided against that too. In the end, I made a simple 9x13 chocolate cake with funfetti frosting. I had once slice (and so did Dustin), then took it to work for my co-workers on Friday. I managed to have people come to me for all but 4 slices, so I put them in the kitchen with a sign on them, went back 5 minutes later, and they were gone. So now, it'll be on to my next cake idea or craving, haha.
I have found that I am very interested in the possibility of doing photography, so I worked on that a bit this weekend. I think I have an eye for it, but would feel much better if I had an actual photographer look at the photos I took and critique them. I don't personally know any photographers, so that part will have to wait. In the mean time, I will keep practicing and perhaps I will get better on my own. =)

Monkeys!

I've got a new order! She pretty much said that it didn't matter to her what I made so I came up with some monkey cupcakes. I showed them to her and she thought they were adorable and perfect for her son's class at school. This will be an order for about mid-March, so in the mean time I just might make some random cakes to share with my co-workers, neighbors, and/or family members, lol. I bought a tub of funfetti frosting the other day because it's my favorite and I was going to use it to frost a chocolate cake... but then this feeling overcame me that I really wanted to do another layer cake and I can't really make a pretty cake with funfetti frosting... can I? So I'm not quite sure yet. I'd also like to do a fruit filling mainly to see how it turns out. I'd also like to make filled cupcakes, which I haven't gotten around to just yet. Needless to say, I've got ideas floating around in my head of things I'd like to try so hopefully I can do one of these projects this weekend!

Tuesday...

Usually Tuesdays are all the same; the day after Monday in the new work week. This week is a little different considering that yesterday was a National Holiday so most people we know were off work, so today is the start of the work week. In addition to that, my younger brother went back to base yesterday. Very soon he's set to deploy to Afghanistan for 12 months (with a leave somewhere in the middle, hopefully). We did get to have lunch with him yesterday and hung out with him at the airport before his plane left, so that was nice... but I miss him already.

Happy Birthday Ruby!

Today is the birthday party for my boss' niece Ruby. I took the cake in to work yesterday for pickup and everyone wanted to see it, lol. I think it turned out very well for my first cake (aside from the massive belly cake I did before). Everyone who saw it couldn't stop saying how cute they thought it was and it made me proud to be able to say I made it. This cake has definitely given me the confidence to know that I can not only make cute and great tasting cupcakes, but I can do cakes as well. I do love baking and decorating cupcakes, not to mention the easy clean-up once served. However, I found out Thursday night that I really enjoyed decorating this cake more. It was like a blank canvas with the frosting on before I started piping. So as I added, I felt like an artist, taking great care with each little flower I put on it. Then to get halfway around the cake and really see it coming together was such a great feeling. Before this cake, I also thought that I couldn't write on cakes, but (if I do say so myself) the 'Happy Birthday' turned out fabulous! As did Ruby's name on the side.
I did receive another cupcake order for a different co-worker's son's class in mid-March. It'd be nice to get another cake order soon, but I'm just happy to be getting orders so I definitely won't complain. On to a relaxing three-day weekend! ;)

Stacking

I managed to get all of the cake baked and stacked last night AND I got the bottom layer of frosting on it. I'm so happy with how much I got done last night because it just gives me more time to do the piping tonight. I'm also going to be making a crown out of candy melts to be placed on top of the top tier of the cake and I'm pretty excited about that. =) I was surprised by how quickly things went once I started stacking and I learned that two springform pans the same size is super awesome! Since I can then cook both cakes at the same time.
There's a volunteer bake sale this Friday at work (oh wow, that's tomorrow!) that I was considering participating in... but since I have this order due tomorrow, I definitely don't want to rush this. I decided I'd rather take my time on the cake and the piping/decorations for it instead of making some other goodies to be sold at work. I would like to make something interesting or exciting soon though! I'm thinking perhaps some apple cupcakes? ;)

Ants!

I managed to dig up this photo of the 'Ants on a Picnic' cupcakes I made last fourth of July. The photo isn't the best and is sort of red (because of CVS... thank you very much) but it gives the idea of what they looked like. =)  I thought they would be fairly simple, but the legs were really something else! haha.
Last night I bought everything necessary to make the cake for my order due Friday and I can't wait to get started! I even cleared space on the kitchen counter this morning before I left for work so that I could just go home and get straight to work. I'd like to cook up the cakes tonight and perhaps stack what I can... so we'll see how far I can get.

Cake

I officially had a new order placed today... well sort of yesterday afternoon, but "official" today. I'll be doing a two-tier cake, each with two layers. I'm really excited because my new tips came in the mail yesterday!! Piping, here I come! I ordered the 'Wilton Master 56 Piece Tip Set' and was so excited to get it that it's already open and I've looked through them to see what the frosting should look like once piped! I got a few supplies at the cake store today and now it'll be baking week to get this cake baked, stacked, and decorated for delivery Friday. I'll definitely take some pics and post them!

Party Success

So, the weekend is over and the parties have come and gone.
My sister's party for my niece was on Saturday and it was good. We went to the park and the kids all got to play on the playground near the tables.
The Deployment party thrown by my husband and I was a success!... I think. ;) Everyone who said they were coming showed up, we had enough food for everyone, and I didn't get bored... so I think that means it was ok. =) We all got to meet my younger brother's girlfriend's parents and they were SO nice. We all really liked them. We surprised my brother with a pinata of an ARMY guy and the nieces and he had a good time smacking away at it with a bat! lol  We themed the entire party red, white, and blue so as to stay with the patriotic theme, but not make it so ARMY-esque. We did red, white, and blue tablecloths, silverware, streamers, balloons, everything! We even offered the guests to wear red, white, and/or blue. We also had mini American flags around the picnic area in the ground. All my brother requested for the cupcake flavoring was that they have strawberry something about them, so I chose to make Strawberry Margarita cupcakes [(pictured above) - with alcohol in the cake mix and the frosting] and some chocolate cupcakes with blue vanilla frosting. My brother liked the strawberry cupcakes so much, he took home all the leftovers. haha  All of the leftover chocolate cupcakes went to a group of younger kids playing basketball nearby (so as not to waste good food! ;) )
Today, coming off the busy-ness of the weekend is a bit ehh. I need some relaxing time tonight. =)

Red Photos?

I'm happy that I got a chance to upload the hippo cupcakes yesterday to add to my photo repertoire. ;) I have some sad news on the photo front though... We took our film to the local CVS and had it developed. Almost every picture came out with a tint of red... why? I'm not sure, but it pretty much ruined all of the photos. We also got the photos put on disc so we could upload them onto the computer and those versions are all tinted red as well, sigh. Oh well, on to the better camera we have now I suppose. =/  However, this does mean the only photos I have of the 'Ants on a Picnic' cupcakes I made last Independence Day are all reddish in hue. After seeing those, I'm SO glad we got a new camera on Black Friday last year. There were only a few pictures that didn't turn red and those are the still shots I took while we were at the San Diego Zoo last year. It was my first experiment taking still shots of the animals and foliage/flowers and they turned out beautiful! Eventually I might like to get a DSLR to master photography with. I've always thought it'd be really fun to take photos as a side job for portraits, weddings, engagements, etc.

Hippo Cupcakes!

Here's the hippo cupcakes I made last Monday night for my co-worker's daughter's class at school. Her birthday was coming so she got to bring in a dessert for the class to celebrate. I'd made these before and my co-worker had taken hers home to show her daughter and husband... her daughter fell in love. <3 So this was the order - 24 hippo cupcakes for her daughter's classmates. I had a good time making these... I think more so because hippos are my favorite animals. lol.
Today's Wednesday and with that comes the realization that we're halfway through the week already... so we have only a couple of days left to get last minute things done for the parties this weekend. My niece turns SIX on Friday so they're having cake for her on Saturday. Then, of course, the Deployment Party on Sunday. We have already bought everything for that so it'll just be the set-up when we get there Sunday.

Busy Weekend...

We were so busy this weekend, I didn't get a chance to get online... We got a new bed on Saturday and got it put together (and the house cleaned) when we got it home. It is great! We got a California king since he's so tall and now we can share covers in peace. =)  Sunday was of course Super Bowl XLV so we were snacking and watching football most of the day. We did get in a trip to get new curtains for the window in our room and it's starting to come together with our new furniture.
I got the report on the Hello Kitty cupcakes this morning and my co-worker said her daughter was excited. Then the other kids saw them and were exclaiming "Hello Kitty!" She said everyone knew who it was and she got a few compliments on how cute they were, so that's good news in my book. She hasn't gotten around to getting the photos developed, but assured me that she'll let me know when she puts them on her facebook so I can check them out.
No new snackies made, as the lemon cupcakes lasted all weekend and we had way too many leftovers so I junked them. I've got plans to get some new decorating tools soon so I'm looking forward to that. We also have my younger brother's deployment party scheduled for this Sunday and I've got some desserts going on there! This should be a quick week looking forward to him coming home on Friday!! I'm hoping to be posting some pics of the hippo cupcakes soon, so stay tuned! ;)

Hello Kitty!

Hello Kitty cupcakes were delivered this afternoon! They were loved. =) I <3 it when people enjoy the food that I make and even more enjoyed this week of treats! As for the Hello Kitty cupcakes that went out today, I am hoping to see photos of her daughter's face when she sees them tomorrow for her Hello Kitty themed skating birthday party!

I finally caved in to my lemon craze as of late and made some lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting tonight. I went to a different grocery store than normal and compromised on my cake mix purchase. Let's just say that I won't do that again as the texture of the cake was just a little bit off to pique my curiousity about it and decide I will never use this other brand of cake mix again. Although, it has brought to light how important it is going to become for me to create my own cake mixes from scratch. I'll be looking forward to having more space to keep the supplies to undertake this new endeavor, but I'm afraid that might not be for a little while. So in the mean time I will stick to my trusty cake mix and not stray for a better price again. I'm also not sure what to do with these extra cupcakes... I might wrap them up and save them for Monday to take to work, but on the other hand I don't know if I want to share this batch. My husband says it tastes good to him... so I might just be pickier. ;) lol
I'm also feeling particularly happy this evening because I went to my local Lifestream and gave blood today. The last time I went, my iron was too low for their standards to give so I had to wait and come back. It's silly to think that I can't explain how happy I was when my blood sank to the bottom of that small blue bottle of liquid. After I was done donating, I got my arm wrapped in a lime green and white bandage with a small pink and green bow, haha. Then off to eat some chips and drink some water and I was all through. =) 

Lemon on the Brain

I am so pleased with the hit that was the Oreo Truffle at work yesterday! People were gushing about them and when I went around a second time at work with the leftovers from the first pass, not one person said 'no thank you', lol. I told them I wouldn't be hurt if they did, but still no one... so I'm thinking they were good. ;) For some reason I've got lemon stuck in my head today and really feel the need to eat something lemon - dessert of course! I was very tempted to buy a box of Lemonades Girl Scout Cookies from a co-worker, but I convinced myself it wouldn't be as good as a homemade lemon cupcake with cream cheese frosting and now this idea has rooted itself in my brain. I would die to be able to make them tonight, but with my next order due tomorrow morning I will find myself drawing kitty faces on cupcakes tonight for that. I'm actually excited to be working on the Hello Kitty cupcakes tonight as my next endeavor and can't wait to post a pic of how they turn out! Perhaps I can pop some lemon cupcakes in the oven while I decorate? We shall see, haha.

Oreo Truffles!

After sitting at work all day thinking about these things yesterday, I convinced the hubby to stop by the grocery store on the way home from work to pick up the necessary supplies. I got all that I could remember (forgot the wax paper, but it's ok I used foil instead) then went home to start the project! The beginning wasn't difficult until I realized I didn't have a rolling pin, so I started crunching cookies with the bottom of a cup, lol. Later I found the meat mallet and things went much quicker. I made a mess, but what fun is baking if you don't? In the end, they look a little messy - which means I need to use a different kind of chocolate next time. So far, I've passed them to some co-workers and everyone loves them! (I told them they could be honest ;) ) Wonder what will strike my fancy next?

Maiden Post

After all this thought having gone into ideas of what creations to bake, I thought maybe I should start writing them down somewhere and perhaps share my trials and fun! This may be my first time blogging, but not my first time baking. I started making cakes for co-worker's birthdays and got to the point where I was being asked to make them every time. I had to retire from my birthday cake post and move on to new ventures. Since then I made one more cake and decided I should start having fun with my baking! My next adventure was cupcakes. I made some hippo cupcakes for a work potluck and they were quite the hit. Next I made some 'Ants on a Picnic' cupcakes for a July 4th party and again.. a hit! I'd found my creative outlet! I hadn't made anything in a while when a friend's due date was coming soon. I planned a surprise shower for her at our work for which I made a 'Belly' cake. That was my greatest venture thus far and that day I proved to myself I really could do it. Since then, my mind has been working to find new things to create and ways to celebrate. I also got my very first order! Then another! (from the same person, but who has to know?) I made two dozen hippo cupcakes - delivered today... and will be making two dozen Hello Kitty cupcakes to be delivered this Friday. I'm very excited!