Birthday Party

Creating memories through baking and Birthday parties is one of my favorite things. On June 12th, our grandson, Jacob, aka Mr. Squishy, celebrated his 2nd Birthday and there was nothing that would have kept me from being there for the celebration. Honey Girl knew exactly what she wanted to do for the party...cake pops in primary colors with coordinating ribbon to match. The day I arrived in Ft. Wayne the cakes were baked and the next day, following a trip to the zoo, Mr. Squishy napped and we started dipping and decorating.

You can't run out..now can you?

We also made a little cake for the birthday boy.

My son-in-law's mother made the most delicious ice cream and we all dove in. Thank you Danita! It was such a treat and went perfectly with the cake pops.

Mr. Squishy's cousins all enjoyed the pops and we had a wonderful day visiting and enjoying the sunshine.

Jackson

Cora

Braelynn

Clark

Mr. Squishy and Honey Girl blowing out the candles

The table was decorated with a photo of Jake that was tken right after he was born and one from our trip to the zoo the day before the party. He's grown so fast.

Where did the past 2 years go?

Happy Birthday, Jacob.

July 4th

I love holidays and clients who trust and believe in me.

Two of my favorite customers placed orders this week and I set aside an entire day to bake and decorate. There was a lot to accomplish so I asked my dear friend, Ms. Vivi, if she would please lend a hand. As always, she said yes.

Ms. Vivi drove up in her new little red sports car and immediately got to work.
3 dozen cake pops is a lot of cake pops, no matter how you dip them.

She caught on very quick and is now an expert dipper and decorator.

Doesn't this frosting look yummy?

Wendy Jo and her darling daughter stopped by to pick up the pops, chocolate cupcakes and some sugar cookies.

We are so fortunate to live in a country where we can be who we want to be, do what we want to do, and live freely.

Thank you to all of our forefathers and mothers who fought for our freedom. I am eternally grateful for your sacrifice.

For a moment today, stop and remember.

Happy 4th of July

Thinking of you

Today I'm sad and thinking of a friend who fought cancer for over 3 years and on Saturday, surrounded by family and friends, passed on very peacefully.

We met during a retreat at our church in March, 2001, and our group of 30+ women bonded as, over the course of the next 6 months, we put together a retreat weekend for the next team. We shared our lives, we shared our hearts, we trusted one another with our real selves and we were forever changed.

Nine years have passed; several have relocated with husbands to cities far away. Some have moved just far enough that their lives have taken on another rhythm. We are, however, still bonded by our weekend.

When diagnosed, Sharon reached out via email and I immediately picked up the phone and we talked for over an hour, discussing her options and providing support to one another. For the past 3+ years we've spent time together going to the doctor, radiation treatments, gatherings with the other women, breakfast, coffee and more time on the phone. When she had surgery I visited and we talked; Sharon always remaining positive and looking beautiful through it all. Her faith in God's plan never wavering. Not once. I kept waiting for her to breakdown or to question or to be angry. Nope. It wasn't going to be.

Last Monday I took over cupcakes and cakeballs, knowing that her husband enjoyed carrot cake and hopeful that maybe she could eat some high calorie sweets. My way of saying what words couldn't. That I care. That I love her and that I knew things were changing.

As I was leaving Sharon joked that if I was going to bring chocolate chip cookies, her husband and sons wouldn't be allowed to have any... they would all belong to her and she wasn't going to share.

My flight to Ft. Wayne was Thursday morning, so I set aside time on Wednesday to bake chocolate chip cookies for Sharon, watching with extra care to make sure they were just right. I took the cookies over and, as I looked at my friend who had somehow gotten smaller than she was on Monday, I was very sad. "I'll come see you when I get back. I love you."

The news came via cell phone on Saturday morning as my daughter and I readied her home for my grandson's 2nd birthday. Life is complicated, yet simple. Joy mixed with great sadness. Pleasure is seeing a life grow and evolve and such sadness for what will never be.

Bringing a smile to someone through simple baked goods is what I try to do. With love and caring these delights are created and someone knows that they are loved.

Rest easy in the arms of Jesus, my dear friend. You are loved. You will be missed.

Sharon K. Duncan

High School Graduation

This sweet girl, Maggie McClew, has been a part of my life since I met her parents in 1997 and this past weekend she graduated from high school. In August she heads West to Lubbock and will be attending Texas Tech University. Maggie and her sister, Kaitlyn, mean so much to me that when Mr. Man and I married nearly 5 years ago they were part of our wedding.

Awww... aren't they sweet?
So, when her mom was planning Maggie's graduation party I jumped at the chance to provide dessert for the big celebration. And, of course, cake pops just had to have a place on the table.

The colors at Texas Tech are red, black and white so this was going to be fun!

Baking the cake wasn't nearly as intimidating as decorating the cake; I'm still learning but thought I'd make a go at it anyway.

Months ago I found and ordered a 3 dimensional Texas Tech logo cake pan.

Knowing that I would need a pretty big cake to feed all of the attendees, I went to Cake Carousel and purchased a 1/2 sheet cake pan. The bottom of the cake is made from 3 recipes of Mom's Chocolate Cake and the top layer is 3 recipes of vanilla cake.

I practiced baking a cake in the logo pan, but was disappointed with the results. Then, inspired by another baker, I decided to use Rice Krispy Treats to fill the pan.

This would also allow me to decorate the majority of the logo with tinted buttercream frosting and the easily transfer the logo from parchment paper to the top of the cake.

The most difficult aspect of the entire endeavor was tinting the frosting which took quite

a bit of Wilton gel.

I learned a lot along the way, like when tinting frosting black, begin with chocolate frosting. Next time I'm going straight for the dark chocolate frosting in the can and then will add black tint. Making the frosting a day or two ahead of time and then allowing it to sit in the fridge is also one of the tricks of the trade. The colors will deepen as time goes by.

It took a couple of days to make the cake, but it was worth every single minute when I walked into the McClew home, holding the cake. Mom, Michele, took one look at it and her eyes welled up with tears; that meant so much to me.

CONGRATULATIONS, MAGGIE!

You have grown into a beautiful young woman and we are so excited for you!

Cake Pops

Recently I've had many requests for cake balls and have taken the opportunity to be creative in the presentation.

A girlfriend ordered cake pops to celebrate a mutual friend's new baby boy;

congratulations, Misty!

This arrangement was for a charity event to raise money for orphans in Uganda.

Below is a closer look at the arrangement for Misty.

This is one of the first arrangements I did.

Another girlfriend needed parting gifts for the attendees at a baby shower. We thought individually wrapped cake pops would be nice and they were a big hit.

My grandson, Jake, with is very first cake pop. He loved it!

I have more to make for graduation parties and Memorial Day celebrations! Have you tried cake pops yet?

Goofy Boys and Dinosaurs

This adorable goofball is my nephew and he is turning 7 on May 17th.

At my sister's request I'm sending sugar cookies for him to take to school. I'll use the sugar cookie recipe that has been posted on this site.

Select the colors you want to use - I went with more traditional 'boy' colors like brown, copper, red and green, and using Royal Icing outlined the shapes. Allow the outline to 'set' and then thin it by adding water, 1/2 tsp. at a time, until the consistency is smooth and not too runny.

Spoon the thinned down icing into a disposable pastry bag, snip the end and 'fill in' the outline.

While the icing is still moist, sprinkle colored sanding sugar all over. For the copper colored icing I used white sanding sugar and with the brown icing I opted for "Sugar In The Raw" which has more of a brown tint to it.

Allow the cookies to dry overnight and then for party favors put them in individual bags and tie with a small piece of twine.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN!

So I've been baking sugar cookies lately and playing around with

both Royal Icing and sprinkles, one my favorite past-times.

One of my friends suggested making a cookie bouquet and the thought had

crossed my mind but quickly left.
So last week I had extra cookie dough after completing a customer order so I made this for
as a birthday surprise for a friend.

Queen of Hearts...

Didn't think it was too shabby for my first attempt at a cookie bouquet.