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!