land of the happy dance
Literally.  I’ve been doing a lot of happy dancing around here lately. For starters we are 3 weeks from moving into our new house (complete or not). *insert happy dance* It’s drywalled and we are waiting to for the painter to come in and prime and paint the ceilings so that the OTHER painter (me) can go in and paint the walls.  Then we are going to get flooring in and move in regardless of the rest of it being finished.  It just means we’re going to be doing a lot of eating out for a week or two Second.  I FINALLY did my

The Big Birthday Quandry
If you know me at all, you know I LOVE my birthday.  I mean I <3 HEART <3 my birthday!!!! It’s not that it’s about “ooh look at me, it’s all about me” as much as it’s about a really, really good reason to be with my peeps!  And who doesn’t like a good party?!  Last year was awesomely fun and I heard some calling for a repeat with the costume idea.  Let’s just call me a party planner/event coordinator that happens to have a birthday really close to a holiday where people dress up and like to party and so I can combine the two. (An

Take the Cake
I’ve been making my daughter’s cakes since their first birthdays.  I’ve discovered over the years that I LOVE making cakes.  Sorry, I LOVE decorating them. This year I decided to make the jump into fondant icing.  I’ve always wanted to create designer cakes and I realized that fondant is the way to go.  I was going to buy the Wilton premade fondant, but after reading a few different opinions about the ickiness of premade fondant I decided to try to make it myself. Thank the Lord for YouTube!!!  Hehe. It turned out wonderfully and I will now use fondant to ice my cakes.  It’s just so easy and beautiful! But before I discovere

another visit
I have butterflies in my stomach!  I’m so excited!  In one week from tomorrow I’m flying down to visit my Val!!! Almost 2 years ago (October ‘07) I made the historic journey (in my books) to Illinois to meet in person, someone I’d met through this humble blog.  It was one of the more exciting and memorable moments in my life.  She has been the kind of friend to me that one searches for and hopes to have in life.  I don’t know if everyone is so lucky or blessed as I have been to have found someone who is so similar in personality, so caring and compassionate in spirit, and such a bright sunshiney sp

Why I never pursued a career in baking
Did you know that there are just some days that you shouldn’t even walk into a kitchen?  Like today. I am quite a good cook/baker.  Except today.  Today I am a failure in the kitchen.  Today I should have been fired.  The challenge: make two trifles - one Skor and one strawberry for our neighbourhood barbeque. I can do this.  I’ve made a hundred trifles in my time.  I mean how can you possibly screw up a TRIFLE?? Well, for starters you can buy the wrong cake mix.  One of my trifles required a chocolate cake mix and one needed vanilla.  So what do I do?  I buy two vanilla.  For moi, baker extraordinaire…no problem.  Just make a cho