a holiday picture marathon...

a lot happened over our holiday break...we had a great time, & sucked up every little minute we could together...it seems like the break passes more & more quickly every year!

we got our first real snow of the year...& the first real snow since adopting Rocket...

sledding before it disappeared...

watching movies together, & passing out on the sofa...

a visit with Curt's parents on Christmas Eve Eve...

our annual Christmas Eve dinner with my dad's family...

hot cocoa & opening their Christmas Eve gift...

new PJs!

snug in their beds...time for the big guy to pay a visit...

we woke up to a light dusting, & the snow was still coming down...it was a pretty magical Christmas morning!

then the fun began!

we started a new tradition this year...usually, we leave the big meals for our other family get-togethers, & do something fun/easy on Christmas day at home...but this year we decided to go all out! the girls helped me make a ham, sweet potato casserole, cornbread stuffing, greens, rolls & a pumpkin pie! it was so much fun cooking together all day...& really special to sit down to our own fancy dinner on Christmas day!

of course, we did a lot of chilling & playing that day too...

& later, we took a family walk to work off our big dinner...u can see the snow was nearly gone by the end of the day...it was fun while it lasted tho
(also note - PJs all damn day! ~wink~)

the day after Christmas, we got to meet Corey's new little buddy - Marley!

he's SO cute (only 4mos old) & Corey is such a good puppy daddy! i was pretty impressed to see how well he looked after Marley...& of course Corinn couldn't leave him alone!

as if we hadn't celebrated enough...then came time for Christmas with my family...

& lastly, Gabby had a friend over for a sleepover before our holiday break ended...

i hope u guys had an awesome holiday break too...i can't believe a month has already flown by since then! is it really almost February?!?!

wordless Wednesday...he's bald again - AHHH!

weekend cakes...

first up was a 50th anniversary cake for a special couple...a very popular couple too - needing a 5 tiered cake to serve all their guests! ;0) it was alternating tiers of white & red velvet cake, all iced in buttercream & accented with buttercream scrollwork...the "ribbon" border is fondant, painted with edible gold dust...the flowers are artificial

next up were these mini doll cakes...the customer requested buttercream only (no fondant), so i obliged...they're little chocolate cakes, with a Princess Polly Pockets inserted...then iced in buttercream...there were 15 in all - one for each girl attending the party! :0)

last came this cake for 8yo Austin...he wanted a tank & a few soldiers on his cake...this is what i came up with

it was strawberry cake, iced in buttercream & accented with graham cracker "sand"

i made the tank out of rice krispy treats, decorated in fondant...the soldiers & sandbags are fondant too

thx for looking!

catch up cakes...

this past weekend, i created a Winter ONEderland cake for 1yo Jarren...

Jarren's mommy gets quite a few cakes from me each year...one of my busiest customers! (here's Jarren's baby shower cake from last winter) she decided on an adorable theme for Jarren's NYE 1st birthday celebration...& it was tons of fun creating this cake!

it was 2 topsy-turvy tiers (btw, my very 1st topsy-turvy cake ever...can u believe it?!) of almond flavored cake, all iced in buttercream...the igloo is rice krispie treats, covered in fondant...i made the snowflakes, snowmen & banners out of fondant...i used edible glitter flakes all over the cake, then used my new Christmas present from Curtis (an airbrush & compressor) to paint the whole thing in edible shimmer (pics never do justice to the glistening effect on cakes)

Amy was thrilled with how the cake turned out...& it matched the party decor perfectly!

i also created this simple girly cake this week...it was for a Facebook contest winner! fudge chip cake, iced in buttercream & decorated with fondant strips & a fondant tiara...there is also edible glitter on this cake, as well as tiny sugar diamonds

thx for looking!

behind!

sorry for my lack of posting lately...of course, we took some down time over the holidays...& now, we're playing catch up at work as well as at home...gotta get all those decorations down & all the new loot put away...i'm trying to get my inbox cleaned up (mostly cake related) & get pics uploaded so i can make some holiday posts...but u know how it goes!

thx for hanging in there...i plan to get back to this regularly scheduled program ASAP!