vintage cake decorating

as you know, my parents are moving - and it's happening tomorrow

last evening, i stopped by their house to pick up some stuff my mom said she had in the attic that was mine.....things like my senior portraits & graduation cap/gown......some old sentimental stuff i had saved from high school.....some stuffed animals from when i was little.....even a black light grateful dead poster from waaaaay back ~lol~

but she also came across this....


it's some icing tips & couplers....and a cake decorating guide from Maid of Scandinavia (now known as Sweet Celebrations).....these were mom's way back in the day

the tips are of course the same - those don't change much.....they are made by Country Kitchen, which is still going strong today, even though Wilton has pretty much taken over the cake decorating gig

but the book is priceless! again, a lot of the things taught in the book are the same today - how to make basic borders & butter cream roses, how to stripe a bag, their suggested recipes for butter cream & royal icing, etc......but the pictures are too funny! there's not copyright date in the book, and i can't figure it out from my research online....but they have to be from the 70's

there were some cakes that would work today.....like this pretty one

or this classic seasonal one

but omg - are u ready for this one?
their doll cake is a riot!!!

whoo hoo - my boy won!!!

JOSHUA WON!!! i told you!!! :0)

it was so exciting! first the girls were eliminated, then it was down to my 2 guys! like i said before, neither has ever had any professional dance training - so it was a first for the show - and then i was sure that twitch would win cause he seems like more of a crowd pleaser, and i figured he'd get more votes.....but when they announced the winnner, i literally squealed! ~teehee~

they had a lot of past contestants on the finale show last night - some are now working with janet jackson & mariah carey as dancers.....a couple are professional choreographers now for broadway shows.....and one is even the judge on canada's version of so you think you can dance! it's amazing all the doors this show opens for the dancers - i'm sure both twitch and joshua will go really far! :0)

random & SYTYCD update

thx to my sis - my toes r pretty now! she gave me a gift certificate for a pedi for my bday....i just cashed it in yesterday - it had literally been YEARS since i had had a pedicure! thx kelly! :0)

please don't laugh at my teeny-tiny pinky toenails - it runs in the family ~lol~ and yes, my poor kids inherited it too! and my shoes rn't really too big for me - i had my feet propped up on my heels when i took this pic, so it pushed them forward....ok, enuff disclaimers about my ugly feet! ~lol~

here's a video i took of jaden practicing his moves last night.....he learned the arm motions last week & then the sensei started incorporating in the leg moves this week......the sensei is amazed at how fast jaden is picking everything up!

and did u watch the finals of so you think you can dance last night? twitch did an amazing job - made me wish that 2 people could win in the end....both boys have had no professional dance training & are doing sooooo stinkin' well! i'm still rooting for joshua tho.....and katee - she never lets me down!

it was cool last night, because all 4 dancers were paired up with each other at some point....so everyone had 3 partner dances & then their solo (the solos are choreographed by the dancers themselves, not by professional choreographers like the paired routines are)....then they also did a group dance together! - so, we got to see lots of routines last night!

i heard online that 2 of the finalists were dehydrated & were taken to the ER after rehearsals....but good call on the show not telling us who those 2 were - they might have scored some pity votes

the boys dancing together was cute:


but the group dance was THE BEST!


if u want to check out the other routines....here's links to:

the girls dancing together
katee & joshua (my fav 2 people!)
courtney & twitch - very cool routine
joshua & courtney - super fast jive
twitch & katee - so beautiful (& i love this song)!
katee's solo - another song i LOVE
joshua's solo - i hope he wins!
twitch's solo - this guys is soooo creative
courtney's solo

update on our house ordeal

i mentioned a little while back that we got some crazy news about the house we rent being auctioned off on the courthouse steps on my birthday.....well, someone just reminded me that i hadn't updated everyone on what actually happened

well, i found out 2 days before my birthday (from our downstairs neighbor, chris), that the landlord had gotten some sort of extension on the foreclosure.....and that chris was in the process of trying to get financing to buy the house himself.....chris had already been discussing the idea of buying the house with our landlord before all the foreclosure stuff happened - this just sped up the process, i guess

so, if the financing comes through for chris, his plan is to really fix up this old house.....it's 100+ years old & hasn't been remodeled/extensively worked on since the 80s.....we LOVE it for all the space it has & for the big backyard - but there are definitely some things we don't love...

-the roof has some leaks here & there that have been patched over the years - it really just needs a new roof

-it needs a whole new electrical overhaul - my hubby is an electrician, so that comes in handy....but it really needs a LOT of work - not just a one man job....honestly, i've wondered if it's even safe.....we have it down to a science now - u can only plug so many things in, in certain areas of the house.....examples - the dishwasher & dryer can not be running at the same time - in the winter, you can only have so many space heaters running at one time in certain areas, so there's a constant rotation when it changes from daytime to bedtime - u can't run the vacuum if there's a space heater plugged in....why so many space heaters? that brings me to my next bullet

-it needs central heat/AC installed....currently, it has gas heat (old school hot water registers that really do work well) which costs a FORTUNE - even before gas prices shot up! and we have 2 window AC units right now....which really isn't enough for our huge apartment, but we deal (especially me with cakes - the kitchen is the hottest room in the house!).....the landlord did put in new windows right before we moved in, so that does help some

-the big front porch needs some serious work - the floor boards are coming up here & there, and you can tell there's something going on with the support underneath - it's kind of leaning & wavy? and one of the beams it loose.....the whole porch needs sanding/repainting/etc.

-our floors need to be refinished.....they're old beautiful wood floors, they just aren't finished - painted an ugly gray - yuck.....chris' downstairs apartment has had the floors done, so i know just how nice ours could look

i know, everyone is probably wondering if our house is ready to fall over! ~lol~ i swear, it's a sturdy old house....but it IS an old house, that needs some maintenance.....hopefully chris will get the house, make all the repairs he's talked about (including some beautification with new paint, siding & doors, etc.) & he won't hike our rent up too much (i understand he may need to, some)....he's already let us know that he's going to continue to keep it as a rental & we have a really good relationship, so i know he'll keep us as renters.....then we can just stay put until we are ready to buy on our own

we really do LOVE living here! it's a prime location - downtown, only a mile from our kids' school & daycare, the town park, a grocery store, etc.....it's got so much character, & it's got just the right amount of space for our big family!

say a prayer for us & our old, sweet house! ;0)

plus one...

i told u in my weekend cakes post on monday, that it was minus one.....well, here's the missing cake, titled "accident" ~lol~


tammy ordered this cake for her big sis, jennifer (tammy & jenn are aka "the cake sisters" in my world, because of the MANY cakes they get from me - and their cake requests are by far, the most unusual & fun ones that i get).....it's fudge chip cake, decorated in butter cream.....the car & mower are rice krispies, decorated in fondant.....i made the lady out of fondant too

ok, so the story goes....jennifer was leaving her mother's house & driving through her neighborhood, when "supposedly" a lady on a lawn mower came outta no where & jennifer hit her.....but of course, her family is constantly joking on her, claiming she jumps curbs & hits innocent ladies mowing their lawns! ~lol~ the lady hurt her knee in the accident, so that's why my fondant lady is laying on the ground, grabbing her knee ~oops~

i got word from jennifer this morning that she loved her cake - "the cake was just too funny!"

beautifying my cube...

gabby inspired me last night, when i came home with this...


there were a few lilies that had fallen over in our yard (or been knocked over by one of the neighborhood stray cats) & so daddy helped her trim them down....she went & got the cup herself & made the little name tag all on her own too (she made sure i knew that she did this all by herself!) - she's too stinkin' sweet!

so this morning, i decided to cut some down to bring into the office.....we have a ton growing & they smell soooo good - the car was permeating with their fragrance by the time i got to work! several visitors have stopped by to take a sniff ;0)


*ps - u see that cute card that darlene got me for my bday? she's so funny!

weekend recap...

i had my nephew thursday eve while we waited for jaden at his jiu-jitsu training.....bryan & the girls played on the side strip of grass - duck-duck-goose, simon says, rip leaves off the bush ~lol~ they were good kids

(taken with my cell)

my cheesers....i'm mostly posting these pics to show u the naked lilies that surprised us this year (they're also my new header pic)....in researching them today, i found out they're also called surprise lilies....and i know why....our neighbor & i have been trying to figure out where these came from....there used to b lots of leaves growing there - no blooms....almost like tulip leaves - it turns out the leaves of these lilies come up, then die....then weeks later, the flowers emerge on their own....too cool! weirdest part is, i don't remember these from last year - obviously, they were planted loooong before we lived there (we've been her 3+ years & the house sat vacant for years before us) - glad they're still making an appearance! :0)

aren't they gorgeous? they smell great too!


the prettiest lilies of all....look at them accessorizing! my BFF, misty, sent them some necklaces along with my bday present & that started the ball rolling....next thing i know, the girls are wanting to change out their earrings (they literally have had the same "safe" hoops in for 2+ years), pulling out bracelets & rings, etc.....too fun!

jaden said "ma, let me take ur picture".....so this is my "before" shot - badly needing my hair did ;0)

and "after" :0) i'm a brunette again - much better!
and look at those rolling WVa hills - not me, the mountains! ~lol~

i hung out with jaden in his tent friday night.....he invited me in to "watch the spaceships" fly overhead....i spotted a flying dragon too ;0)

saturday, we hit our fav park....i love shots of the kids running/riding away.....where are that kids' shoes?! ~lol~

cutest monkey, i've ever seen!

corinn made a friend - and taught her to ride her scooter

and invited her fishing - while she played with the worms :0)

gabby's such a daredevil!

we stayed until dark

and had to check out the water before leaving

on sunday, we spotted this beautiful butterfly on our way into church

after church, we headed over to nana's house to play.....only one more week before the big move, so we wanted to help out with clearing some more of those yummy veggies out of their garden ;0)

look at those brown eyes! (and now sporting mama's dangly earrings! ~lol~)

helping nana pick corn

and shuck it

mmmmm - can't get any better than this!
we had the shucked corn for dinner that night - mmmmm, good!
she also gave us some more cucumbers, squash & peppers that she had already picked....i can't wait to have a garden of our own one day!

gabby always enjoys walking nana's dog, buddy

and he loves the attention.....she's so good at scratching ;0)

jaden & one of his dragons (this one is Basilik) just swang & hung out

then we headed over to my sister's....someone gave them a trampoline & the kids could not wait to try it out!

once home, there were earthworms to find (for our turtle, socks).....well, the girls looked for worms, while jaden dug to china ~lol~ seriously - that's what he says he's doing

after that, came baths, dinner and bedtime for 3 WORN OUT kiddos!

hope u had a great weekend too! :0)

weekend cakes... (minus one)

first off, let me say....i MUST sit down and read up on my new camera...it's taking great shots outdoors, but something must be off with the settings - the pics are super bright & my colors look almost neon sometimes

anyway, first up was this cake - strawberry base tier & chocolate top tier, to serve 100+ for Erick's deployment party....fondant flag & ribbons

i don't personally know Erick, but my thoughts and prayers are with him (and all of our troops) as he heads overseas to defend our country!

my 3rd or 4th attempt at Grave Digger (i lost count a long time ago)....of course, the best so far, in my opinion....yellow base cake, iced in chocolate butter cream....rice krispie truck, covered in dark chocolate fondant & hand painted....the little cars are not edible

and a veggie garden for my hair stylist's mom....here's a good example of the issue with my camera - i swear i didn't use neon green for this cake! grrrr

white cake, iced chocolate butter cream....cookie dirt & fondant veggies (tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, turnips & cabbage)....gum paste picket fence

there's one more cake that i'm not posting quite yet.....tomorrow is a certain reader's birthday ;0) and i'm quite sure her cake is a surprise from her sister......i'll post the pic once i've gotten word that she's received her cake.....happy birthday jennifer (a day early!)

*i'll give u this hint - ur cake is probably the craziest request i've gotten yet! but u already knew that, huh? u guys r a trip! :0)

down to the final 6...

i already told u about my obsession with So You Think You Can Dance

did u see Twitch's mambo last night?! u go 'head with ur bad self Twitch! tight pants & all! ~lol~


and omg - i think i've definitely decided on Joshua! i still adore Twitch, but Joshua & Katee were paired together again last night & the routine was AMAZING! they have such great chemistry!


tonight is the results show, where they'll get rid of 1 girl & 1 guy, leaving just the top 4....i did try calling in to vote a few times last night, but it just stayed busy....and i don't have the time or energy to sit & try over & over again.....so i'm just crossing my fingers that my picks stay in the game!

*dance side note - for your entertainment* check out Robert Muraine from auditions - the most amazing robot style dancer ever!

a question for u & a goodnight routine

i was wondering, what do u do with all the wonderful arts & crafts that your children make?


i want my kids to b proud of their creations & we display them all - whether it b on the fridge, or a shelf, or in their room, or wherever they think it will look best (lately, curtis & i have found surprise art hanging on our bedroom wall - a gift from the kids, who r sooo excited to watch our reactions when we find it)......but of course, we can't keep everything forever!

once their art has had it's 15 minutes of fame (usually when more art is created and is looking for a display spot), i've moved those really special/sweet/meaningful projects to a box (or 2, or 3 - i'm not fessing up to anything) up in our attic.....and i've managed to secretly pitch the other things......and when i say secretly, i mean bury at the bottom of the trash can or tie up the bag to take outside - stealth, i'm telling u! ~lol~ and i've succeeded thus far in keeping this hidden from my rugrats

but i don't want to hide the fact that i'm throwing away their art forever......and i certainly don't want to blatantly tell them i'm throwing away their crafts (i've actually suggested we throw old drawings and such away & u'd think i'd suggested throwing away our pet turtle - total dismay at the thought!)......they're ok with the whole concept regarding their toys - for a while we've practiced the rule of "when a new toy comes into the house, an old one goes out" (trash, salvation army, yard sale, hand-me-down to other kids, whatever)......but no such luck with their craft & art projects - i guess when it's something that they've created, it's different - and i don't blame them!

sooooo, what do u do? or how do u get ur child to agree to/understand that not everything can b kept forever? or, do u secretly get rid of it too?

----------------------------------

and i wanted to share with u the "sweet" way that jaden & i tell each other goodnight each day......as u know, this child is all about routine.......so there are certain things we have to do each night - and in a specific order

first is baths, teeth, pj's, book(s), etc....the normal stuff.....then after praying with the girls & telling them goodnight (they must go first - according to jaden, he has to go last - and then dad follows along behind me to say his goodnights to everyone too)....i come into jaden's room......we pray first, then 2 kisses (one on the cheek & one on the lips) & a hug, and we tell each other "i love u"......then, i turn on his night light & the sound machine (ugh, i don't know how he sleeps with that annoying cricket chirping)......then i turn out the lights & stand at his doorway......then, together we say....

"good night,
sleep tight,
don't let the bed bugs bite,
or crawl in ur ear, and lay eggs in ur brain!"

~lmao~ sweet, huh?

i swear, he started this - he picked it up from the movie The Ant Bully.....and we've done it every night, for the last year or so.....and, we have to do a hand motion with the last part - it's like a finger wiggle thing - as if bugs were crawling around in ur brain ~lol~

gosh, i love that boy! ;0)

my birthday cake

here is this year's creation...

i think the focus for the girls this year, was more on using my cutters, rather than modeling/sculpting

jaden, on the other hand, sculpted only blue "dragons" - duh! ~lol~

i think my favorite piece on the cake is corinn's "rose" (don't u dare tell them i said i had a favorite!)

if u look at the 1st pic on this post - it's pink, on the top, in the back - that's my creative girl!

gabby made lots of "lollipops" using the cutters & she couldn't wait to eat one, after i blew out my candles....she also made the yellow "duck" in the front - too cute :0)

they let me come in and take pics after first getting started, then i was banned from the kitchen until they were finished ;0)

curtis complained that the fondant was too soft & wouldn't hold shape very well....i told him that his big, strong, warm (& sexy ~teehee~) hands must have warmed it up and softened it some when he was kneading up the colors that the kids requested....then the kiddos roll, squish, roll again, cut, oops i messed up, squish & roll again....next time i'll have to remember and make them a stiff batch of fondant to begin with ;0)

regardless, i think it's BEA-U-TI-FUL!
♥ thank u my loves! ♥

it's my birthday!

it's just another day really - but i have to say, i've gotten more attention this year than most

my sister was the first to call & sing to me this morning - well if you want to call it that....it was more of a rock/scream/hardcore type song ~lol~ but i loved it! :0) it's a contest in our family to see who can b the first to call the birthday boy/girl....my sis was psyched that she beat my mom today! ~lol~ my sis-in-law & dad called too - dad always sings "daddy's girl" to me (an old Red Sovine song)....my brother IM'd me ~lol~

last night, i asked curtis to not worry with making me breakfast in bed or anything like that this morning.....1, because he has to get up & leave early for work......and 2, because i just can't eat that early - i have to get up and get moving first.....i also asked him not to wake the kids to sing to me, etc cause last night was my first real night's sleep in 4 nights - i got a whole 7 1/2 hours!!!! and because i'm waking up as he's heading off to work & there's a half hour or so in between there that i shower & get ready while the kids are still snoozing - and i need that!

when i did wake the kids up, they stretched & yawned & tried to hide under the covers as usual....but after about 30 seconds, corinn gasped and sweetly said "happy birthday mama".....i almost lost it - how did her lil 4 year old self remember?! how is it that she's thoughtful enough to think of her mama's birthday first thing after waking up?! she's definitely a keeper! ;0)

and then of course the other 2 were reminded by corinn & they all sweetly sang to me in their PJ's - that has been the absolute BEST part of my birthday!

Darlene, my partner in crime at work, got me a card & balloon and brought in donut holes for breakfast - yum! and our support team at work took me out to lunch at O'Charley's (my fav!).....and i've gotten tons of e-cards & myspace birthday comments.....and birthday wishes from fellow bloggers ;0)

i got my present last week - cake will be tonight.....jaden had jiu-jitsu training last evening & it's hell week at work for curtis (actually 2 weeks - this and next) - he's working 10 hour days while they change out all the bedroom furniture in the condos.....even tho he's the electrician on their maintenance team, he's also the biggest/strongest/hardest working guy there - so he always gets used as a work horse.....so he didn't have time to sit down with the kids last evening to decorate my cake in order to have it ready for today......the girls & i baked it last evening & when i told them what it was for, they literally squealed with excitement! they LOVE modeling with fondant and get so excited to make me a surprise.....gabby made me pinky-swear that i would go away while they work on it tonight, so that i couldn't see what she was making - too cute! :0)

here's their creation from last year - my very favorite cake ever!


i can't wait to see what they come up with this year! :0)

it's definitely not about how many phone calls or birthday wishes i get.....or the presents or cake.....but it really does feel nice to be appreciated & loved & to be treated special for a day

i thank God for another year - for all 29 years!
i'm so blessed!!!
and thankful for my unbelievable family & friends!