Tiffany's 9th Birthday

Have you guys ever realize how fast time is going by??  I still cannot believe that it's the end of February already!!  It feels like I was just getting ready for Valentine's Day, and now, were just about two weeks over already!  I guess it really is true...as one grows older, time definitely flies a lot faster! I blink and a year goes by!  It's actually almost true with this event.  Tiffany, my little cousin, who lives in Canada, comes down with her brother and mother twice a year...for the past couple years now.  They usually come down during summer break and winter break.  Summer break happens to coordinate with Tiffany's birthday, so every single year, she gets to celebrate in sunny San Diego!  Last year, Tiffany was into dogs.  She wanted a puppy party and boy, did she get a puppy party!  Remember this post?  Yep, here's another year of birthdays!

This year, Tiffany wanted a water theme.  Under the sea...but without the princess!  This year, I also decided to give her a small treat: a small dessert table with the pretty linen and the yummy treats!  Definitely the whole nine yards in her eyes!  What do you think?

Everything was mostly under the sea themed.  I even found some cool light blue fish plates to hold the goodies!  What do you think about those cake pops?  I thought they were pretty awesome and had a lot of fun making them!  Notice on the cake, there are shells and starfish and sea critters?  I made the shells from white chocolate and the sea critters from fondant.

My late grandma and I.  Funny story about this day.  Grandma had a tendency to forget things and, really, she forgot quite a lot.  And really, had a different way of thinking.  So I had set up Tiffany's dessert table on the dining room table...with the beautiful green linen and everything.  I had to leave to pick something up, so only the kids, my auntie and Grandma was at home.  Half an hour into my trip, I received a frantic text from Tiffany saying that Grandma had pulled off the palm tree on the cake because she thought that there was dirt on the cake (it was actually brown sugar pretending to be sand!).  Grandma had also removed the linen (yes, completely removed the linen) from underneath all the goodies and all that breakable, expensive catering gear.  Now, mind you, Grandma has a strong grip, but let me tell you, that cake, and that cake stand, was extremely heavy.  Not to mention, she would have to remove the other plates of goodies, then the cake, and then the linen, and then move everything back!  Without breaking anything or dropping anything (especially that cake!).  I didn't think Grandma had it in her, but boy, she proved all of us wrong.  Now, why she did it?  Well, she thought we were going to get that pretty linen dirty!  Let me tell you...Tiffany was so upset!  I guess Grandma was really lucky nothing happened to that cake!

We had our traditional group pose after the festivities.  And on a whim, I told everyone to do funny faces.  Surprise, surprise...the fan bam actually did it!

Happy birthday Tiffany, my love!

Ana and Billy

It's Saturday morning, and there is nothing better than lounging on a comfy sofa, writing up a new blog post...before having to go to work on some cakes!  I love Saturday mornings, because I really get the chance to unwind, have a cup of uninterrupted coffee, and not rush to be anywhere.  So, here I am!  And what better time to write a new post!

Today is about Ana and Billy.  They actually got married some time last year..(I know, I've been slacking on the posts!)  Billy is one of my best friend's brother.  I made him a cake when he proposed to his now wife!  And when they decided to tie the knot, they gave me the honor of baking their wedding cake!  Ana loooooves, and I mean, loooooves Tiffany and anything Tiffany inspired.  Her wedding color scheme was that beautiful Tiffany blue and orange.  I ended up making a three tiered cake for the couple, plus a pair of macarons for each guests as the wedding favor.  And, of course, those macs were held in a sweet Tiffany blue box, tied with a crisp, white ribbon.  But first, a picture of me and my beautiful friend, Susan!

Aren't we just adorable?  The wedding was beautiful...held in this quaint hall that overlooked the ocean.  

So, that's the cake!  Ana had a picture of something similar to this cake.  I tried to stay true to her picture, but there were some slight variation.  I actually used an ink pad and stamp to stamp the design on the bottom tier.  Yes, I used black food coloring!  I was very hesitant because I've never done that before, use a stamp on a cake that is...and I really would not have time to fix the cake should I mess up.  And it turned out beautiful...that is, until the fondant started to sweat.  Which, I should have known...but chalk it up to another lesson learned and relearned.  Thank goodness the design didn't completely melt down the cake.  I think, overall, it was still a beautiful cake! Oh, and last minute, the bride ordered two more small cakes, in honor of Billy's father's birthday and her brother's birthday.  The theme?  Golf and cowboys!

I didn't have time to take nice individual pictures of these cakes.  It was so hectic that afternoon, with setting up the wedding cake and then attending the wedding and just plain wedding chaos (everyone felt it!) that there wasn't time to figure out where to put these cakes on display.  I hope they enjoyed their cakes!

Congrats again Ana and Billy!

A

Peggy and Ka

Happy new year blog world!  I know we're already two months into 2014 (and a few weeks into the Lunar new year)...but happy new year all the same!  I know it has also been a while since I last blogged.  I am actually pretty amazed at how much I have done since my last blog post.  So what I do is, I save a file full of blog pictures, hence, blog posts to write.  And as I was organizing all the photos, I realize that I have actually done quite a lot!  One thing that I am quite impressed about is starting this blog.  I now have a compilation of achievements I can scroll through.  Not to mention, I can see how I have improved in my cakes and sweets!

Anyways, this post is looooong overdue!  I had the pleasure of creating a dessert table for one of my sweet friend from high school!  We actually knew each other from middle school, but became friends in high school.  We then went our separate ways in college and, somehow, miraculously, picked back up!  Peggy now has this whole other life in the East coast, but decided to do her wedding (well, hers and Ka's...the fiancé now husband) in southern California.  Pasadena to be exact.  I went with Peggy to view the venues she picked out the few times she flew into California.  I was with her when she tried on the dress she eventually picked out for her wedding.  And I was definitely most honored when she asked me to do a dessert table for her wedding.  Eventually, the venue was set for the Ambassador Mansions in Pasadena.  And it couldn't have been a more beautiful, perfect wedding.  Everything was just absolutely stunning!  Check it out!

Before I post pictures of the sweets, let me just say that Peggy and I collaborated beautifully (except for that peanut butter incident, but let's just forget about that!)  This woman actually sent me a "brief" in email form (I believe a "brief" is some kind of super long list of wants and don't wants.  Well, I remember it as a "brief," but it could've been named something else).  And it was fantastic!  I love how organized and decisive Peggy was! Notes to future brides: caterers LOVE lists!

Blush, gold, and ivory...that was the color scheme for the day.  And I think it was pulled off very well in my dessert table!  Some yummies we had: cupcakes, cake pops, macarons, chocolate dipped pretzels, chocolate mousse, strawberry trifles, pizzelle cookies, peanut butter cookies (gluten free too!), and heart puff pastry with whipped cream.

I actually left during the dancing portion of the wedding to attend my cousin's birthday event.  And when I came back to break down the table, I was pleasantly surprised to see that just about everything on that table was gone!  I think there were 3 or 4 cupcakes left!

Anyways, congratulations Peggy and Ka!!  Thank you for letting me be a part of your special day!

XOXO