3-D Ruffled Ombre Dress Sugar Cookie
I have been watching General Hospital for 48 of the 50 years it has aired on ABC, my grandma and I would await for every new adventure each day at 2:00 pm CT. I skipped school on November 17th 1981 to watch Luke and Laura”s wedding, I actually missed a few more days leading up to the event. I cried in 1994 when Maxie Jones needed a heart transplant; her recipient being her cousin BJ and again in 1995 when Stone Cates died. I inadvertently turned Sydney, my daughter, into a GH fan in 2006 when Luke remarried Laura on their 25th wedding anniversary. This past week in half General Hospital...
Read MorePurple Passion Fondant High Heel Shoe
Shoes are the number one accessory; women brag about how many pairs of shoes they have in their closet. Mariah Carey had Mario Buatta design an elegant space with gold-leaf and bleached-wood floors for her stilettos. Although my husband has to share his closet with my left over shoes I do not have a special built room just for my shoes, I would not object to one! I admit I adore shoes, wearing them, looking at them, and shopping for them, so it only seems obvious that a shoe would be a popular cake topper. For the past few years fashion cakes have become popular. When I decided to write a...
Read More“In your Easter Bonnet with all The Frills Upon it”
I have had a love for Judy Garland since I was a little girl; my father introduced me to The Wizard of Oz when I was two. From that moment on, I watched every Judy Garland movie I could find. I still can recall the first time I saw Judy Garland and Fred Astaire dancing and singing to classics like “We’re a Couple Swells”, “Drum Crazy”, and of course “Easter Parade”. I introduced Sydney to Judy Garland and now we both share an admiration for her movies. Sydney thought it might be fun to dedicate a blog to the Easter Parade. She happened to be home...
Read MoreCherry Blossom Fortune Cupcakes
Sydney started noticing personalized fortune cookies and thought it might be fun if we created fondant fortune cookies with a gumpaste personalized message. I thought it would be perfect to add cherry blossoms gumpaste flowers with cherry blossom flavored cupcakes. As I have written prior, cherry blossoms are a major part of D.C. history. Sydney and I FaceTime and Skyped this post together, I must admit it was hilarious to watch us trying to figure the structure of the fortune cookie over the internet (D.F. was in tears from laughing). There were a few times Sydney became dizzy from my...
Read MoreSweet Strawberry Angel Food Cake
This past week Sydney and I did not have an opportunity to bake together; it was time to move her to George Washington University, her new home while she finishes her undergrad years. It seems strange to start a baking project alone in my kitchen, I find myself missing her idiosyncrasies that once made me crazy. As most of my readers know Sydney is more than my daughter, she is my best friend, business partner, and my inspiration! She continually surprises me with her hidden inner strength and resolve. I realize most mommy bloggers write about younger children, but we parents don’t...
Read MoreGift Box Cake Filled with Peace and Hope in 2013
As I write this special post I am in Washington D.C. dropping Sydney off to start her junior year at George Washington University. It seem apropos to be in our nation’s capital while I write a gift box cake post dedicated to a New Year filled with peace and hope. Sydney and I started the plans for the peace gift box cake the day after Christmas 2012. I was reminiscing with Sydney when it occurred to me how much violence has happened in her short life compared to my entire life; I wish I could erase all the awful events from our world, since that is impossible I thought I could pray that...
Read MoreA Baking Year in Review
Sydney and I are presently working on a very special post, but in the meantime we thought it might be fun to revisit 2012. We were blessed with an amazing friend who travels home, to Japan, twice a year, and generously brought us back a plethora of cherry blossom flavors. We spent an entire month using cherry blossom extract, sugars, and compounds in array of treats, by far the favorite was the Cherry Blossom Macarons. And Strawberry-Blossom Macarons. This summer Sydney turned 20 and wanted us to design Butterfly Orchids out of gumpaste for a tiered birthday cake. We spent a good 5 days...
Read MorePoinsettia Cake, A Peek into our Holiday Traditions
Poinsettias have become a staple during the holiday season, the plant is sold every year, and most homes have a few. It has become a family tradition to design a special cake that represents the season, last year we created a Buche de Nöel (Yule Log), I suggested we design another this year, but Sydney wanted something spectacular! Thinking of a spatular cake isn’t as easy as you think. As I was thumping the front of my head saying “think, think, think,” yes just like Winnie the Pooh, I glanced over to fireplace and saw…a poinsettia plant. Eureka! I had a dazzling...
Read MorePinktober, Ribbons of Hope
The month of October is dedicated to breast cancer awareness and most states, cities, and towns decorate the highways, buildings, and universities in calming pink ribbons, but breast cancer is the furthest thing from calming. We as a caring society need to do whatever it takes to assure the women in our lives have a mammography; one of my closest friends, AL, saved her own life by her persistence to have a mammography, at age 32, after finding a lump. I remember the day AL was given the horrifying news that her test was positive. (Medical tests are the only tests where positive is bad news)....
Read MoreSydney’s 20th Birthday, We Need a Special Cake
I will warn you ahead of time, this will be a heartfelt article, if you want to jump to the cake recipe/instructions please feel free. Sydney, my miracle child after ten miscarriages, turned twenty. I know every parent claims time passes quickly, but her twenty years snuck up upon me. I remember deciding I would treasure ever moment with her; I not only cried when she went to kindergarten, but I neurotically remained at St Mary’s the entire day. I was becoming a fixture on the stairs to the point Sister Susan offered me a volunteer job at the school. Everyone, all the other parents, my...
Read MoreDaisies for a Baby Shower
Piping daisies for years has been my nemesis, this past weekend I was asked to create royal icing daisies decorations for cupcakes, for a baby shower. I must admit I thought of trying to talk the expectant mother into another royal icing flower or fondant daisies. I was explaining the situation to Sydney, as I was justifying changing the flower Sydney called me out. She not only was disappointed with my attitude, but convinced me I had the ability to pipe daisies. The cupcakes and royal icing were sitting on the counter ready to be decorated. The petal tips, bags, and icing nails were all...
Read MoreSummertime Cherry Blossom Cake
A friend of mine, Andie shared with us that her parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past memorial day and she asked Sydney and I if we could design an elegant cake for their party. I have known Andie’s parents more than half my life; I was touched and honored to oblige. Andie did inform us her parents original wedding cake was a yellow cake with buttercream frosting and thought it would be sentimental if the anniversary cake could be similar. Since the beautiful cherry blossom flower is known for it’s rich history and symbolizes endearment Sydney thought...
Read MoreAttention Chefs, Bakeries, Bloggers and All Foodies, We Need to Semper Fi
This morning I was reading my e-mails, just like every morning, when I came across an e-mail from Stuart McFaul, from California, whom I do not know. I read his e-mail and was touched; he was reaching out to help the owner of B. Hall Gourmet Whoopie Pies in D.C. Beryl Hall. He politely asked me if I would bring some attention to Beryl’s Plithe. Paying it forward as he referred to his request, while reading Beryl’s biography and ambition I couldn’t refuse, she is an amazing woman. Beryl has taken a 180 degree turn in career choices, she was not always the passionate...
Read MoreThe Miracle of Nature, a Recipe for Life
Anytime I feel melancholy or stressed I pull a few photographs from our past. When Sydney was three years of age during a cold January day; I allowed her to play “hooky” from Montessori. We had a day of Colorado nature; we started at the Butterfly Pavilion, next stop was the Denver Zoo, we ended our fabulous day with lunch and a hike outside of Breckenridge. The memory of that amazing day always brings a smile to my face. The Butterfly Pavilion exhibits 5 areas, including four indoor exhibit halls, gardens and nature trail outdoors. Filled with thousands of alluring...
Read MoreA Final Farewell; To a Dear Friend
For 43 years of my 46 year life I have been a faithful fan of One Life To Live; yes, the soap opera. If you are not familiar with the daytime show it debuted in july 1968; All My Children, in 1970, was a spin of One Life To Live. As I mentioned I was three when I began to watch OLTL, my grandmother would take care of me during the week days and she was inthralled with OLTL. We would have our lunch and sit down to see who did what to whom, was Vicky herself, or Nicky. There were actual times when my life paralleled the show (with out the heighten drama). I think it is obvious an...
Read MoreGrowth, Change, and The “Sweetness” of Life
As the New Year’s Eve Night approaches I find myself reflecting on the past 12 months and realizing even through the toughest times there was joy. I’ve written only one line and my phone started ringing..It was my 98 year old grandma wishing me and my family a Happy New Year. What a wonderful blessing to have my grandma still with us and willing to share her rich history; she watched the stock market on the 3rd of September reach a record high only to come crashing down on Thursday the 24th of October with a decline of 21%. She helped her family during the toughest times in the...
Read MoreA Real Life Fairy Tale: Marriage
A long time ago in a land not so far away, about 25 years to be exact, a young woman was in a bikini contest. Normally the young woman would have left the establishment once the contests ended, but it happened to a friend’s birthday, so she stayed to celebrate both the birthday and the fact she had won the contest that night. A young man, who had observed the contest, approached the woman and asked her to dance. She replied “no thank you;” the man repeatedly asked, four more times. Finally, he decided “no” was the wrong answer, grabbed the woman’s hand and...
Read MoreThe Sweet and Savory Sides of Life
In between the hustle and bustle of the holiday season it is sometimes hard to step back and take a breath. Remember what this time of year is really for: hope and bringing hope to others. Sydney and I try to seek the crustiest person of our day and make them smile; even if it is a smirky smile. I promise you if you inspire one person with kindness not only will you feel uplifted, but they will feel inspired to seek out a needy soul too. I am not being corny nor am I claiming my life is perfect, but if you choose to uplift yourself and others (especially in these trying times) life will...
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