{The Cake}

Ooh the cake! The bitter sweet (well very sweet actually) cake. My last cullinary collaboration creation with Candace has arrived *sniff *sniff*. It was fun, it was daunting, it was exciting, it was YUMMY!

I didn't even intend to help with the design of the cake. That is usually Candaces job, but just from looking at facebook & surfing my usual blogs "Cakes" seemed to be a theme that I coudln't excape. I saw many posts on cakes or pictures of cakes...beautiful cakes (shout out to TomKat Studios) and after a few forwards to Candace, her stamp of approval on the design & standing in the baking aisle at Safeway discussing cake mixes & fillings, the Relief Society Birthday Cake was born.



{Baked & Frosted} Candace baked all the cakes and we started to "Crumb Icing" or "Dirty Frost" the cakes. This is when you frost the cakes in butter cream to cover up all the crumbs before you put on the fondant.


{The Rolled Rosette Layer} After Tamra piped these lovelies on we put the layer into the freezer so the rosettes could withstand the dusting. I got to be the first duster. Using pearl powders I did yellow centers and saphairre blue rosettes. I think if I ever did a layer like this again I would either A) Leave it white. The pearl powders will highlight imperfections or B) Color the frostings.


{The Ruffle Layer} After covering the chocolate mint cake with a layer of yellow fondant. I started to cut strips and roll them out really thin. Then, using water as glue, attached the ribbon ruffling it as I went along. It took time. I started and Candace finished. This technique would be really cute for a Barbie cake I think.



{The Quilted Layer} After covering the French Vanilla layer in fondant* (normally fondant is made with glycerin and people don't like to eat it. Candace makes her fondant out of marshmellow, it's yummy, and as we found out needs to be made with high quality marshmellows or it will get crumbly). We used a clear ruler & a "quilting tool" of some sort - I don't remember what it's called exactly, but it makes the little "stitch" indents & then Tamra (the gal in the green) hand placed each pearl in each intersection. Tamra is awesome, if God promised me that if I had six kids and would look like her at the end of it I would take him up on it! And Candace, the look of contentment & joy, she mentioned that she really liked the fact that she got to direct and oversee this project - she did a TON of work (baking, fondant making and fondant re-making & making Brigs happy)



{The Flourish} We knew we were going to put an extra flourish on the cake. A ruffled flower, but I got an idea....Candace grabbed onto it and created it....and Tamara shared her crafty expertice to make it really work out!



{Attaching the Flourish}



{The Flourish} It is the Relief Society party after all!! Candace printed out the RS emblem and attached it to the center with pearls all around it. Ryan got a Gold Star when he saw a picture of this and said, "It really brings the cake together and makes it really cute" (he's been well trained after asking him to critique many a flourished project). Everyone couldn't believe that it was edible, but it was!



{The Cake}



{The Hotties that made it happen!} It was a really fun cake to create & make and it was really fun to work with Tamra & of course, my partner in crime, Candace....a lump forms in my throat when I think of what will happen in a few months. The minute I think about it I just scurry back into my cave of denial & there I will stay until Christmas or so...maybe longer. But the one thing I can say without too many tears is that I'm SO HAPPY the Camo Cake wasn't our last!! :)



Whodunnit?

I walked into the kitchen & I found this......

 Ryan was at work. I was in another room. Who would be capable of doing something like this?
 I took a closer look...

                                          Hmmm, a mystery....

My Big, Fat, CAMO Wedding (aka: Weddings Harney County Style!)

So one day Candace called to tell me about a new wedding cake order she has been given & if I would be willing to help her. I have dedicated many a post to our culinary feats and the fact that I Love being her baking apprentice. This cake, however, was very different from anything we had done before. The couple came in with their cake topper and a description of what they wanted the cake to be like: "James Bond meets Harney County" They want camo colored fondant...yeah I said CAMO, with edible branches & leaves and to top it off (no pun intended) with their Bride & Groom Bond cake topper. Well, we discussed, planned, did a practice run & shook our heads the entire time. For a cake it looks fine, for a gun convention it's fine, even for a grooms cake it's fine, but a WEDDING cake?!? Come on!

 Here is the finished product. The camo fondant, the falling chocolate leaves and the camo duct taped pillars (Candace told the bride that she would have to buy her own cake pillars to camo-duct tape because she wasn't going to do that with hers)

 Our tasteful wedding cake topper. If this was used on a James Bond themed cake I could see it, but......white ruffles and camo?

 If you are thinking this cake stood out like a sore thumb you are very, very, sadly, wrong. It went perfectly with the rest of the decor.....

 The buffett table. Yeah, that's an animals head hanging over the buffet table with hunting bows to add flair

 It keeps getting better! To stay with our theme of hunting party...I mean wedding reception we add some camo ballons, table runners and if that doesn't set the mood please note the "woodsy" backdrop. I should have taken pictures of the center pieces: Animal antlers with pine bows and sald & pepper shakers....

 I wanted to get a picture of me and Candace with the cake so I asked one of the reception attendies to take a picture. It should have given me warning that when the woman was "looking at me", but really her eyes were cockeyed, that this wasn't the person to hand the camera to. Oh well, now I have my souviener picture entitled "Why a Cockeyed Person Shouldn't be Handed a Camera"

One of the aunts at the reception asked me what I thought about the decor and how I reacted when they said camo. The nicest thing I could come up with was, "Now that I see the cake in it's element it really brings the reception theme together"

After running out of the church hall, trying to supress my laughter I wished that I had taken a good picture of the chocolate leaves that I made for the cake (that was my job). It really was alot of fun. Here are a few that were left over and they are as yummy as they look. Oh! Did I tell you that the groom & groomsmen had camo ties & vests on? Ohh and that the bride had a white camo wedding dress? (I'm kidding about that, but after the pictures you believed me right?)

On a sad note: Candace will be moving at the begining of the summer *sniff* sniff* Honestly I'm in deinal over the whole thing, but on a Happy Note: this horrid cake is not the last cake we will be making together - we have the RS Party ....it's going to be beautiful...just you wait!

My Valentine

My Valentine's gift came last night! I was really excited. Little did I know that this mid-sized regular-looking package contained...

 The Pioneer Woman Cooks!! I love PW, P-Dub, Ree - anyway she's called I'll take her! I couldn't wait to look inside and start planning future PW dinner menu's...

 Wait a minute!! Is that? ...Could it be?... No Way!

The Pioneer Woman knows my NAME!!! A SIGNED copy of her cookbook! I'm thrilled, extatic, over the moon and I still (hours after the fact) keep looking at that front page to make sure it's really there:

"Love to Michelle, Ree D :)"

Thank you Ryan for giving me such a great gift (weeks earlier he asked me, "doesn't she have all of her recipies online?") and thank you Nan for taking time out to have Ree sign this for me.
A bit of background story. Nan contacted me earlier to say that PW was doing a book signing in SLC on the 10th. I nonchalantly told Ryan about it and he bought the cookbook, sent it to Nan & arranged for her to send it back signed and everything! Sooooo worth the wait....
PW Cinnamon rolls anyone?
If you want to read Nan' story of meeting Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, check out our blog She Said for pics & q&a at her book signing in SLC.

Aaaah Love..

Valentines was really fun! Sunday night my friends and I had a BLAST making naughty cookies for our hubbies! I found the idea on How Does She?

 This was my set. A big heart for the top and a tiny one for the bottom!

 Check out the tramp stamp on the cookie my friend Emily made!! I found out (we all did) she has quite the sassy personality! When she admitted that she would be up for making homemade lingerie (did ya hear me Paco, we need a tutorial) I knew she was a kindred spirit!

We all had too much fun! At the end we had a Victoria Secret Cookie fashion show and then promised to report back on how well they went over. I packaged my pretties in a hot pink box with a valentine that told Ryan not to open it until he was in the break room for lunch with the other two husbands that were also recieving cookies. He told me that they added some "fun" to his day!

Brigham got his first Valentine from a girl (other than his mommy) on Valentines Day! Sweet little Emery Johnson came by with a little pink fortune cookie and some chocolates. Like a girl she tried to give her Valentine a kiss and like a boy Brigham spurned her advances by pushing her away .

After playing a little hard-to-get he finally let Emery give him a hug....so sweet!

Ryan wasn't feeling too good that night (I think he's getting the lovely cold that is going around!) so we ordered Mexican take-out and had a picnic in the front room and watched all the Valentine's episodes of the office and Jim & Pam's wedding (because it's all romantical) I was so proud of myself this year because I thought - ahead of time - about the perfect gift for Ryan and it came in the mail in time for me to wrap it up ( a nice new pair of kahaki Dockers...can you think of all the fun gift tag quotes that can go with that one?!). My gift didn't come on time, but it's okay, I'm content to wait - excited actually - I love surprises!!
So while we wait I'll leave you with a Valentine that one of my friends shared last year, but it's truely timeless. It's naughty and I chuckle when I see it (those who easily offend should just look away now...)

Happy Valentines!

There is so much to love:
Ryan
Brigham
Ryan & Brigham together
Brigham's cheeks
Sleeping through the night
Family Naps
Wonderful Friends
Netflix Instant
A husband that can cook dinner
Brigham's Eyes when he smiles his BIG smile
Long, hot, showers
Packages in the mail
My Beehives
The millions of sounds that Brigham makes
A phone call from a friend or family member
A really good joke
Giveaways
Reading
Cuddling
...have I mentioned Brigham?

Starting out the New Year with some New Stuff!

About a month ago we caught the "re-do" bug or maybe it was the "replace" bug? Either way Ryan has been working on the house in a big way! First we said good bye to our bathroom "tile". Don't be fooled. It's pretty much laminate that we learned is usually used in camper trailers and not in homes (having to deal with the previous owners "home improvement" decisions this didn't surprise us in the least bit. You might be shocked and I wouldn't blame you...I could tell you stories man....stories) Anywho....good bye laminate tile! You were easy to clean, but ya just couldn't handle the water like ya ought to!

Hello clean, white, easy-to-clean, excellen-chaulking-job-Ryan, mold-free, brand-new and inexpensive NEW bathtub surround!! Happy to have you!

Our next endovor was New Carpet!! Oh my what a difference it truley makes to have new carpet. We look like a new home!!

Old, dirty and worn. As you can see there is a lovely pattern that marks where all the traffic has been - and hasn't been!

Hello beautiful NEW carpet. Brigham likes you. I like you and Ryan likes you too!!

BIG thank you to my Handy-man husband Ryan. He did it all!! Along with some good help from our friends the Allens - we really couldn't have put in the new carpet without you!!