Charles Shultz is my hero!

Have you ever heard the song “College Kids” by Relient K?  If not, you should. 

http://youtu.be/qpodoBd9hOU

The more I listen to it, the more I think it’s the story of adulthood for Charlie Brown.  Granted he’s changed a bit, I don’t think he was that into Dave Matthews Band as a kid, but that doesn’t typically happen until you’re a moody teenager anyway. 

The little red haired girl he was always fawning over totally fits the “girlfriend at another school” bit.  Thinking she’s cute because of her naturally curly hair…  Psht!

Sorry.  I got a little carried away. 

But you see it right?  I mean, even the “party scene is kinda mean, I think it’s sick and twisted” line.  It’s almost as if you’re there watching Lucy steal the metaphorical football from him again.

Anywho, the reason behind today’s post is to show you the miniature Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty (who I’m not even going to start on because we all know full well she’s a couple cookies short of a box) I made out of candy clay and caramel.

For those of you wondering, they’re each about the size of a D battery… sorry, that’s all I had close by for quick comparison.  I know, I know: "good grief".

Have a sweet Thursday day everyone!

We Are Faaaa-mily!

Have you ever gone back and read your old diary entries?  Not those dissertation length blind date recaps you’re keeping to stave off future lonely nights of sitting at home thinking “well, maybe I was too harsh, I mean, so he wears whitey-tighties on the outside of his pants… it isn’t that bad.” 

By the way, if you're an adult who seriously thinks dating Captain Underpants is okay, it really is that bad.

 What I’m talking about are the “OMG, my parents are so dumb.  Who cares that I’m only 13?  I am so in love with him, I just know we are totally getting married!” or maybe the “She’s like, so disgusting, but she’s my best friend so like, I can’t tell her to her face".

Ugh.

I flipped through the pages of one of mine today.   All I could think, after the nausea of my pathetic youth subsided of course, was why on earth did my parents not leave me on the side of the road somewhere?  Honestly, kudos to them, because I was a piece of work.

That’s not to say that I’m totally free of oddities, but one of few luxuries granted in adulthood is that I now get to classify them as “quirks”.  So the fact that I have an abnormally large number of nightmares concerning pod-like public restrooms is not actually because I’m crazy, it’s simply one of my cute little quirks… either that or a symptom of watching too many murder mystery shows.

Anyways, in honor of my lovely parents keeping me, I decided to post this:

This was part of the birthday cake I made for my amazing dad.  

I found the picture of the two of us and decided to recreate it using only chocolate (the fact that I hadn't tried anything like that before = minor detail). 

Long story short, the picture on the left is my chocolate painted version - which, if I may say so myself, is pretty much the yummiest kind of painting you can do. :)

Have a Wonderfully Sweet Wednesday Everyone!

It's cheesy, but I like it!

Say what you will, but I'm a HUGE fan of horribly cheesy pick-up lines.

You know the ones I'm talking about, stuff like:

• Do you have a map?   I just keep getting lost in your eyes.
• I lost my phone number, can I have yours?
• Is there an airport nearby or is that just my heart taking off?
• Your eyes are like puddles of mud... and I'm stuck in 'em.

Pure awesome-ness right?  I mean, you have to give a person credit for either a.) coming up with the pick-up line themselves, or b.) spending the time to look one up.  

I say this with a bit of a caveat though.  The lines can't be nasty innuendos.  

When practicing l'art de les pick-up lines, you need to channel a nice Colby-Jack, not a smelly Limburger.

So... you're probably wondering what this has to do with today's post?  

Well at first glance, not a whole lot really, but with my 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon Phenom thought process, I can connect the two for ya.  Check it out:

From

1.  (Good) Pick-up lines to...

2.  Dating to...

3.  Proposals to...

4.  Marriage to...

5.  Wedding cakes to...

6.  Miniature wedding cakes!  

BAM!!!  You might wanna mark down this moment, 'cuz you just witnessed greatness!

Okay.  Here are the pictures of my first ever attempt at miniature wedding cakes.

Decorated with handmade candy clay stripes and flowers.

The pepper shaker is just to illustrate size.  I don't normally season my cakes with it.

Have a Nice & Cheesy Monday Everyone!

Britney Spears Moment

I've been putting off putting these pictures up because they're definitely not my best work and that drives me crazy!  HA!!  Get the post's title now?! :) 

Let me clear this up a bit.

I like to make my cakes as fresh as possible, which, for me, means I'm completely cake obsessed the day before they're due.  I have the cake(s) in what my mom says my Grandma used to call "kit form" and that day is spent from dawn til dusk baking, icing and piecing everything together.  This method has worked wonders for me. 

Unfortunately, I was dumb and mixed up the dates of when these were due so I ended up scrambling to make both cakes the same day... 

...the same day that I also had to teach a private lesson and a Decorating Basics course.

BUT, mistakes tend to be the best method of learning, so perhaps public humiliation is the best way for me to go. :)

This cake was for a bridal shower.  It was a 10" white cake with raspberry filling and buttercream icing.  The bottom border, cherry blossoms and stems were all handmade with candy clay.

This was for a spa themed bachelorette party.  It was an 8" chocolate cake with chocolate fudge filling and buttercream icing.  The girls, champagne and the candles were all handmade with caramel and candy clay.

Oy vey.  (I'm so sorry Staci.)

Okay, I posted them.  Time to move on.

Have a Good One Everybody!

M-I-C-....

Can I just start out by saying how AWESOME X-Men First Class was??!

Sorry, the hubbub and I went to see it last night at the drive-in and I can't help feeling like the little girl in Despicable Me.  You know the one I'm talking about, the "IT'S SO FLUFFY!!!" girl.  

It's like that,... 

...except with X-Men...  

...maybe this was not the best way to describe it...  

...aw-kward...

Anywhoozy, my post today doesn't have anything to do with that.

I actually just wanted to share a cute little cake I made late last week for a five year old's birthday. :)

He wanted a heart-shaped chocolate cake, with green icing and it needed to be decked out in Mickey Mouse gear.

Consider it done kiddo!

I went a little crazy with the Mickey theme, but I prefer to think of it as one of those pictures where you have to see if you can find them all. :)  Did you find the Mickey head hedges along the bottom, the Mickey head gate entrance, the Mickey head stones leading the the clubhouse, the Mickey pants and hand hot air ballon?

Okay, so I know I didn't make this one 100% edible, but Disney copyrights don't play well with others, so I decided to avoid jail time and just buy the characters.  Other than that, everything is edible.  I used candy clay, a bit of royal icing and buttercream. 

Have a Super Sweet Monday Everyone!

and maybe check out X-Men if ya get the chance... just saying...

'Tis the Season...

BA  BANA  BA  BAA-BAAAA ::inhale:: BA  BANA  BA  BAAAAA  ::inhale::

Okay, I'll spare you the rest.  That was, obviously, not a crazed sheep, but rather my beautiful version of "Pomp and Circumstance" - better known as the seemingly never ending graduation tune.

Ahh, graduation time.  The season for yahoos, whipper snappers and porch monkeys to be out roaming the streets at all hours of the day and night.  At least for the next two-ish months or so...  

Cherish it kids, cuz it ain't gonna last forever.  Eventually you'll have to get a job and... work.  

Yuck.

Anywho, my post today focuses on one of our future leaders, a bright and talented young person who is one step closer to starting her very own "daily grind".  

I was asked to make her graduation cake for this evening and given this plate for inspiration:

 

The order was for a white 12"x18" sheet cake with white buttercream icing and colorful flowers.  It needed to say "Congratulations Erin" and "Class of 2011".  

The rest was up to me.

Now, some graduation cakes, especially sheet cakes, tend to fall into your typical "Walmart style" cake trap with the roses and flowers in the corner (no offense to Walmart, I'm just not a huge fan of that look)...

So, I decided to make this...

I kept it shabby-chic simple (try saying that 3 times fast) and just used candy clay and buttercream.  As always, everything was made by hand - no flower cutters, no fancy templates, nothing.  Just my hands, corn starch, a rolling pin, some piping tips and a knife.  

After making 101 flowers, I'm kinda rethinking my everything by hand business concept. :)

And in case you're wondering, I didn't freak out at any time with this cake either.  Woot Woot!!!  2 in a row!!!

 Happy Graduation and Friday Everyone!

Have a Wonderful and Safe Holiday Weekend!

It's ALIVE!!!

Just call me Dr. Frankenstein cuz I have harnessed the power of...

YEAST!!!

This may not seem like such a big deal to some of you, BUT, when your house is the same temperature as an iceberg, working with yeast is, well, put it this way, if you could get it to do anything it'd be a miracle.

Honestly, with a chilly temperature house it won't dissolve in warm water like it's supposed to, it won't rise like it's supposed to, and surprise, it won't bake like it's supposed to.  Not that I've ever had any of those issues before...  My kitchen experiences are all like Disney films: singing animals, dancing appliances, happily ever afters, you know, the normal stuff.

Anywho, back to task at hand.  I harnessed the power of yeast to make outrageously yummy Cinnamon-Raisin Soft Pretzels.  

 Oh my gosh, I know right. :)

Unfortunately, I can't take credit for this scrumptious concoction, I just happened upon it in my "Winning Recipes from Taste of Home" cookbook.

Here's the amazing recipe of Ms. Susie King in case your interested:

1 pkg active dry yeast

1-1/2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups cake flour

2 to 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup raisins

2 tablespoons baking soda

2 cups hot water (120-130 degrees)

3 tablespoons butter, melted

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Stir in brown sugar and salt.  Add cake flour; stir well.  Stir in enough all-purpose flour to form a soft dough.  Stir in raisins.

Turn onto floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until dough has risen slightly, about 30 minutes.

Punch dough down; divide into 14 balls.  Roll each ball into a 15-in. rope.

In a bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.  Dip each rope into baking soda mixture; drain on paper towels.  Form into pretzel shapes and place on grease baking sheets.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.  Brush pretzels with butter, then dip in cinnamon-sugar.  Serve warm.  Yield: 14 pretzels.

Have a G-Golly Wonderful Day Everyone!