Cakes by Combs Blog

Woohoo! Brides Choice Awards again :)

2011-02-02T13:47:00.000-08:00

Cakes!

2010-07-01T05:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, first up white and chocolate cupcakes at Mission Hills Country Club. Iced in buttercream with fondant monograms...cool cupcake stand huh? I'm gonna make one! Close up of the monograms

Peacock themed wedding at Harrisonville Community Center. Feathers piped on and the borders hand painted in gold.

5 tiers iced in buttercream with fondant branches and flowers at Union Station Bistro.

4 tiers iced in buttercream with satin ribbon at Loose Mansion.

Power cat grooms cake! iced in buttercream

3 tiers iced in buttercream with black damaske stencil, fondant stripes brushed with pearl dust

4 tiers iced in buttercream with satin ribbon at Mission Theater

Go Chiefs!

5 tiers iced in buttercream with fondant drapes.

LOVE this grooms cake!

5 tiers iced in buttercream with satin ribbon at the Little Theater downtown.

4 tiered mad-hatter for a Bat Mitzfah and the Kansas City Zoo! Animal print theme!

Catching up

2010-05-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

Thought I oughta catch up on posting pics...more to come from this weekend! Woot, it's that time of year. :)

Ok, cupcake tower at Studio 2131. Three tier, iced in buttercream with satin ribbon at Bliss Plaza in Greenwood, MO.

Awwwww...first birthday for Little Miss Avery! Love it! Top lady bug was her smash cake :)

Iced in chocolate buttercream with custom made topper and paper/wooden flowers at Arts Incubator in downtown Kansas City

This couple was married in Jamaica. Iced in buttercream with fondant accents and white chocolate shells/

Three tiers iced in buttercream with satin ribbon and fresh flowers at Emaline Ballroom in Lee's Summit. Seen lots of purple this year, it must be the "in" color, eh?

Another Jaywawk grooms cake

Four tiers iced in buttercream with coarse sugar and satin ribbon at Studio 2131 again.

Three tiers iced in buttercream with fondant flowers at Arts Incubator

Yay, cupcake buffet! at Uptown Theatre, Broadway room. White cake with almond buttercream, chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream, red velvet with cream cheese, and strawberry cake with strawberry buttercream. :)

Another cupcake tree, this one is at Crowne Plaza in downtown KC...what a view!

16th birthday....all of the girl's interests, she was into everything!

A couple grooms cakes

Three tiers iced in buttercream with satin ribbon at Chapel Ridge in Lee's Summit...

More cupcakes at Sawyer Room in downtown Kansas City. Peanut butter with chocolate ganache, red velvet with cream cheese, german chocolate, butter cake with buttercream, and pumpkin spice with cream cheese. Yum!

Four tiers iced in buttercream at The Ritz Charles in Overland Park

Valentine's Day

2010-02-04T05:08:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to order a sweet for your sweet! Valentine's orders accepted until Monday, Feb. 8th!!!

Woot! 2010 Brides Choice Award!! :D

2010-01-19T14:09:00.000-08:00

Kansas City, MO – 01/19/2010 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Cakes by Combs has been selected to receive the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for wedding cakes!

The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.

Cakes by Combs is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

We are happy to announce that Cakes by Combs is among the very best wedding cake designer within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/cakes-by-combs-belton/ac10da13adffb1d1.html.

About WeddingWire, Inc. WeddingWire is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding vendors. WeddingWire enables engaged couples to search, compare and book over 100,000 reviewed wedding vendors nationwide, from wedding photographers to wedding cakes. WeddingWire also offers an online community and a suite of cutting-edge planning tools, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding vendors, WeddingWire provides free online management tools creating the only market opportunity that gives businesses control over their clients, reviews, leads and performance. In addition, WeddingWire has partnered with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (NYSE: MSO) to provide its network of local vendors and online wedding-planning tools in the Weddings section of www.MarthaStewartWeddings.com. For additional information, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

The Coolest cake stand ever!!!!

2010-01-01T16:07:00.001-08:00

This is a cake I did at the Arts Incubator in downtown Kansas City....really cool venue, even cooler cake stand! The brides dad cut this log for her cake stand to match her "twiggy" centerpieces! LOVE IT! The cake is iced in gold buttercream with white brushed embroidery, satin ribbon, and fresh flowers.

And for you, Mom...some pics of the kiddos!

2010-01-01T15:45:00.001-08:00

Dorian....glasses he won in the arcade at the bowling alley on Christmas night.

Molly Lou playing with her new DS that Santa brought...

Dorian...if you know Dorian, this picture describes his personality perfectly...

O...M...G....this is blackmail material for sure!

My little baker...so cute!

Woo Hoo, new game for her pink DS! My handsome boys on Christmas morning.

Look what Santa brought to Momma's little angel....(cuz Momma backed over her old scooter!) Molly and our GREAT friend Fred, Merry Christmas!

Whew...time to get on the ball.

2010-01-01T15:38:00.000-08:00

So, my laptop has been broken...so has my camera! I finally got the laptop fixed and bought a new camera so I can catch up on blogging!

Grooms cake for the hunter.... 5 tiers iced in buttercream with sheer ribbon at Bliss Plaza in Greenwood, MO.

And a 4 tier, iced in buttercream with coarse sugar and satin ribbon and fresh flowers at Living Waters Ministry in Kansas City, MO.

Halloween!

2009-11-02T05:45:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Halloween...and I REALLY love Halloween weddings! This wedding was at Bingham-Waggoner Estate in Independence. I love this place and it was all decorated up for Halloween!~
Grooms cake that the bride made...she did such an awesome job...little zombie teddy bear.

This wedding was in the grooms fathers loft in the historic Western Auto building....very cool place, very cool view!

I'm such a bad blogger....

2009-10-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

Let's see if I can't catch up...can't believe it's been 2 months, sigh.

Alright, let's see....This cake was at Boulevard Brewery downtown, iced in buttercream with fondant accents. All peanut butter cake with chocolate ganache filling, yum! This cake was iced in butter cream with a damask stencil and fresh floral....pumpkin spice cake!

A Halloween birthday party...

Nascar grooms cake....

AWWW, I love Hello Kitty! Iced in buttercream with fondant accents...

Computer grooms cake

and the cake that went with them, lemon berry marscapone...yowza

Union Pacific train engine

This is the birthday cake I made for my FAV tattoo guy, Joel. (PS-my next tat will be these swallows....I was hinting at something here!)

Cake I donated to the Raymore Pumpkin Auction....white cake, butterscotch cake, and chocolate cake.

Three tiers iced in buttercream with fondant accents at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Lee's Summit, MO

Three tiers iced in buttercream with fresh orchids at Emaline Ballroom in Lee's Summit

4 tiers iced in buttercream also at Emaline Ballroom

iced in buttercream at the Hyatt Regency with satin ribbon and fresh floral

Ok, I loved this wedding at Holy Spirit! This is the cake that the couple cut for pictures.

And they had these little bell jars telling their guests the flavor of cupcakes! So cute!

and here's their cupcake tree

Farm themed 1st birthday with fondant animals
Jeep Grooms cake to look like the grooms baby

Another example of my damask stencil...I sure do love this. This wedding was at Lee Andrew Interiors in Blue Springs

Love this candy-themed birthday cake

Iced in buttercream with satin ribbon at Loose Mansion

Alright, think I got most of the ones I missed....will have some super cool cakes to share with you after this Halloween weekend!

2009-10-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

ex. Check us out!

KC's Best Wedding Cake!

2009-10-09T07:33:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

I won Kansas City's A-List in the cake category! Thank you to all of my peeps who voted for me! You guys are the BEST!!!!!

http://kmbc.cityvoter.com/winners/best-of-kansas-city-s-a-list/4743/weddings/cakes?place=1

sigh...catching up

2009-08-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

Can't believe I haven't posted in a whole month! So, here is a mass upload, not gonna talk a lot tho, just getting the pics up. :) (delivered the cake below for my friend, Sherrie)

Congratulations miss Carrie McGee!

Centerpiece cakes

My new cupcake tat!

2009-08-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

So, last month we went to the lake with our good friends, the Jones', and while we were down there I got my new tattoo. She is fondly named "Cupcake Girl." Creative huh?

Here she is, a work in progress....outline finished, on to the color. Two and a half hours later, me and Joel (that artist) and the finished product...ta-da!

6/20/09

2009-06-22T07:31:00.000-07:00

As usual, I forgot to take pics of a few cakes but I managed to get the majority of them! First up, two tiered iced in buttercream with coarse sugar, satin ribbon, and fresh floral.
330 cupcakes: white, chocolate, strawberry, and pumpkin spice!

3 tiers iced in buttercream with satin ribbon at 2000 Grand....whata view!

Happy Fathers Day golf ball! :)

Whew, a tall one. 6 tiers iced in buttercream with satin ribbon and fresh floral at John Knox Pavillion in Lee's Summit, MO

2 tier, iced in buttercream, airbrushed blue with white chocolate buildings and stuff....

I love Smurfs!

My mini wedding cake to celebrate a 15 year anniversary (matches the original cake)

Fred...

2009-06-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

My good friend Fred brought me roses in a "Layer Cake" wine bottle!!!! So pretty....
and he caught me in the act of concentrating....can't help but stick my tongue out when I'm thinking :)

6/13/09

2009-06-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

Birthday cake for a past-brides momma, made to look like a postage stamp

Bday cakes for 2 sherriffs deputies

and a congrats for making the SWAT team...

Happy birthday volcano...

Three tiers, iced in buttercream with quilted pattern, purple edible pearls, satin ribbon and rhinestones.

4 tiers iced in buttercream at Faulkners Ranch in Raytown, MO.

3 tier wedding, iced in buttercream with buttercream vines painted with silver lustre dust to match the invitations at Loose Mansion in Kansas City, MO.

6/6/09

2009-06-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

5/30/09

2009-06-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

5/24/09

2009-05-24T17:26:00.000-07:00

Yay for cupcakes....and this cupcake tree I made with square plates and wine glasses. :)

5/23/09

2009-05-23T20:05:00.000-07:00

Well shoot, not sure why this pic won't turn the right direction.... anyways, did this BBQ grill cake for the staff at Hillcrest Elementary for their end of year BBQ. iced in buttercream with fondant dogs, burgers, and onions.

5-tier iced in buttercream with sage green swiss dots and fondant bow at The Sawyer Room in downtown KC.

A K.U. graduation
And a 3-tier cake, iced in buttercream with quilted impression, fresh floral topper (I love peonies!) and satin ribbon at Loch Lloyd Country Club.

5/16/09

2009-05-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

Woo, what a week! Gotta love it that somebody decided graduation should be the same time as wedding season, huh? First up, robot cupcakes for a baby shower. The parents weren't going to find out what the babies sex was so they called it the little robot! :) White cake and german chocolate cake iced in buttercream with fondant accents. Rock star cake for Aspen, "neopolitan" cake (white cake with strawberry and chocolate marble) iced in buttercream.

Bud Light bottle, white and chocolate cake iced in buttercream, then airbrushed, with fondant accents.

Belton graduation, white and chocolate cake with buttercream...

Chocolate cupcakes, raspberry filling, and chocolate buttercream....how can you go wrong, eh?

"Jay Doc" for KU graduation, peanut butter cake with chocolate ganache filling and buttercream icing...

Another belly cake to match the showers "King of the Jungle" theme, all white cake (except for the chocolate boobs for the daddy) covered in fondant...

Happy Birthday to Grandma EE, my favorite photog's momma... white cake with raspberry filling and buttercream icing.

Another Belton grad cake, football helmet iced in buttercream with hand painted pirate on fondant...

4 Tier, all white cake iced in buttercream then sprinkled with coarse sugar at Heritage Hall in Liberty, MO...

3-tiered white and chocolate cake iced in buttercream with satin ribbon and fresh Gerbera's at Harrisonville Community Center.
Much easier week next week....sigh. :)

YAY!

2009-05-12T08:04:00.001-07:00

Have I ever told you guys how much I LOOOOVE it when brides send me professional pics of my cake????? Well......I do, I love it a LOT! This is from a wedding in March 08, the groom just called to order a birthday cake and as an after-thought sent me these images. Thanks Justin!

Page's First Communion

2009-05-01T06:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Page's mom for sending me a pic of this cake...this is the one I forgot my camera for!

4/25/09

2009-04-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

No weddings this week but here is what I've been up to....

A Monster truck cake for 6-year old Jerome....
A Pair of Mommies for two baby showers...

A Bible for a First Communion...

And A Jonas Brothers cake for my friends boss. Not sure what the story is behind this but I assume there is one! :)

The best cake I did this weekend was for my friend Page's First Communion but like an idiot, I forgot my camera...so, someone email a pic of the cake???? Please....

4/18/09

2009-04-19T11:03:00.000-07:00

This week was crazy busy, I did tons of cakes (about 1200 servings, actually) and I forgot to take pics of almost ALL of them. I did however manage to snap a couple pics. First up a three tier hexagon, iced in buttercream with satin ribbon at Lee's Summit Elks Lodge...

Next a five-tier round, iced in buttercream with rhinestone border, fresh floral, and crystal cake jewelry

And for the groom, a "muscle arm" holding the grooms favorite kind of beer! :) covered in fondant with hand painted tattoo

Cake Wrecks

2009-04-14T05:16:00.001-07:00

Seriously guys, if you don't follow Cake Wrecks you've GOT to add it to your reader or bloglines or whatever you've got. Go here to see their post on Easter cakes....HI-larious! Here's a sample...it's Moses parting the Red Sea. Hehe!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

Dorian and Molly's Birthday Party

2009-04-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

So, everyone always expects these giant, elaborate cakes for my kids birthdays and honestly, they could care less and this time I just wasn't feelin' it. So...we made cupcakes. Actually, Luke and Molly made cupcakes. I found this picture on flickr.com a while back that I absolutely loved of a rainbow cupcake and so I thought we'd give them a try. :) This is Luke layering the different colors of batter into the liners.
And all of the yummy rainbow-ness baking in the oven.

The finished product on a disposable cupcake tree....not half as cool as when you bite into them and find......

THIS!!!! I love these, so cute!
Apparently the kids enjoyed them!

Dorian was excited too

Here's Ms. Molly playing in the pool at our gym with her pal, Madi.

What a ham!

Cousin Prestley coming down the slide backwards. It was all fine and dandy until he drug his face through the water backwards and got a snout full of chlorine, poor kid.

Some of Dorians friends playing in the pool.

3/28/09

2009-03-30T15:08:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! Weddings are back! First up, 4 tier hexagon iced in cream cheese with swirl impressions and satin ribbon and fresh roses...
Second up, 3 tier square iced in buttercream with piping to match the invites...

And a KC Chiefs grooms cake

See ya next week!

Catching up

2009-03-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

So, it seems like it's been forever since I posted a new blog, and I kind of have a back log of pics to post so here goes....

A Royals themed first birthday party...Let's Go Royals!

A welcome home party for soldiers at the Army Reserve Center... (buttercream with piping gel emblems)

A box of cigars (all buttercream)

This cakes whole purpose is to embarrass my sisters boss... iced in buttercream with fondant pasties!
Another belly cake decorated to match the shower's theme of polka dots and paisley

A first birthday with a frog theme...iced in buttercream with fondant frogs, flowers, and butterflies

And another first birthday with a cowboy theme, iced in buttercream with fondant bandanna, "1", and stars

2/21/09

2009-02-22T06:53:00.000-08:00

OK, only two cakes this week...a Jack-in-the-Box themed first birthday. Strawberry cake with buttercream and fondant "Jack."

And a birthday cake for my friend, Karen. When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted she said "Chocolate."

I said, "Do you want a filling?"

She said, "Chocolate."

I said, "What kind of icing?"

She said, "Chocolate."

Mission accomplished.

Stir-Fried Pork and Broccoli with Hoisin Sauce

2009-02-19T15:52:00.000-08:00

3/4 lb. boneless pork loin, trimmed and cut into 2 x 1/4" strips
2 T. dry sherry
1 T. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 T. cornstarch
3/4 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1 t. Asian (dark) sesame oil
2 c. broccoli florets
1 orange bell pepper, cut into strips
1 1/2 t. grated, peeled fresh ginger
1/4 c. orange juice
1/4 c. hoisin sauce
2 T. honey
2 c. hot cooked white rice

Toss together the pork, sherry, soy sauce, cornstarch, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl until coated evenly; set aside.

Heat the sesame oil in a nonstick wok or large deep nonstick skillet over high heat. When a drop of water sizzles in it, add the broccoli and bell pepper; stir fry for about 2 minutes. Add the pork and stir-fry until browned, about 3 minutes. Add the ginger and stir-fry about 1 minute. Add the orange juice, hoisin sauce, and honey; stir-fry until the pork is cooked through and the sauce thickens and bubbles, about 2 minutes longer. Serve with the hot cooked rice.

Serves 4 (about 1 c. pork mixture and 1/2 c. rice)

calories- 313
Fat-6g
chol-54mg
sodium-453mg
carb-43g
fiber 3g
protein-22g
calcium-51mg

Pts- 6

My Valentine's Day....

2009-02-17T05:44:00.000-08:00

Steve actually sent me roses! They are beautiful!!! Thank you Steven, love you so much!

And check this out...I've seen these little purple flowers a bunch of times at weddings and stuff but who knew that they actually bloom again? Look at the the little white blooms in the middle of the purple! Cute!

Valentine's Day!

2009-02-16T10:19:00.000-08:00

Black Forest cake for the love of my life! I rarely make him cake, pitiful I know. (In case you don't know, Black Forest is chocolate cake with cherry filling and whipped icing)

MMMMMM, chocolate covered strawberries on top of white cake with strawberry filling ! lingerie tossed off to the side....

a Happy Birthday to a Husker fan

Happy Birthday to my husbands captains momma

A Valentine's Day wedding...heart shaped tiers with red buttercream roses.

And here is my dogwood cake for Kelli and Craig. All handmade fondant dogwood blooms.

Kelli's dogwoods

2009-02-12T05:27:00.000-08:00

If you guys are on my facebook, you know I spent several days last week making dogwoods for an upcoming wedding. I thought I would share the fruits of my labor with you! :) These are all made by hand for a cake this weekend, Valentine's Day so stay tuned for a pick of the finished product.

Too bad my camera stinks, I can't even take a close up to show you the detail....ugh. A real dogwood blossom has green in the center and pink on the tips of the petal but since there is no green in the wedding, I changed a thing or two... ;)

Mini-Meat Loaves

2009-02-12T05:16:00.000-08:00

So, I said I would post some healthy recipes and of course, I slacked off. I am so lazy that even when I make a good one, I won't walk downstairs to get the camera! :P
1 slice whole-wheat bread, torn into pieces
1 shallot, quartered
2 c. baby spinach (we used 2/3 box of frozen)
1 lb. ground skinless chicken
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
1/2 t. smoked paprika
1/2 t. black pepper
1/2 t. salt
6 T. ketchup

1. Preheat the oven to 450F. Lightly spray 1 (6 c.) muffin tin with nonstick spray.

2. Finely crumble the bread in a food processor. Transfer to a large bowl. With machine running, add the shallot through the feed tube and process until minced. Add the spinach and pulse until finely chopped. Add the bread crumbs, chicken, cheese, egg, paprika, salt, and pepper; pulse until blended.

3. Fill each prepared muffin tin with 1/2 c. of the chicken mixture. Bake until an instant read thermometer inserted into the middle of a mini-loaf reads 165F, about 30 minutes. Top each meatloaf with 1 T. ketchup.

serving size-one meatloaf
Cal-170
Fat- 7g
chol-88mg
sodium-528mg
carb--7g
fiber-1g
protein-20g
POINTS- 4

Bride's Choice Awards 09

2009-02-05T11:44:00.000-08:00

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced that Cakes by Combs has won the 2009 Bride’s Choice Awards™!

In its inaugural year, the Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and honors vendors from the WeddingWire Network that demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility. This year’s recipients represent the top three percent of WeddingWire’s vendor community, which includes over 100,000 wedding vendors from across the US. That means Cakes by Combs is one of the very best bakers.

Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the company, the Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds through surveys and reviews.

“We are excited to launch this annual award program to honor high-performing vendors based solely on the experiences of our WeddingWire community,” according to Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “This year’s recipients have set the bar high, exhibiting excellent service and expertise in the wedding industry.”

Cakes by Combs would like to thank our past clients for speaking on our behalf and helping us win the 2009 Bride’s Choice Award!

If you are a past bride and haven't yet rated our service, please visit http://www.weddingwire.com/ and leave us some feedback! Thanks!

2/1/09

2009-02-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

Littlest Pet Shop for a 10 year old... Notre DAme for my pal, Donald. If you know Donald, you will understand why he needed this cake....it's another one of those unhealthy obsessions, I think.

And little lamb for a baptism

My new babies!!!

2009-01-26T17:19:00.000-08:00

Sadly, Alycia from Something Borrowed Fine Rentals has decided to retire but I was able to purchase some of her beautiful cake plateaus before she did. I got this 14" square plateau...

And here it is with a leftover dummy cake from the bridal show...

This 14" tapered waist plateau...

and here it is with some dummies on it...

Got this 14" round scroll plateau...

and here it is with a dummy on it...

also got the 18" round scroll...

Aren't they so perty?!?!?

1/24/09

2009-01-26T17:16:00.000-08:00

Just a couple cakes this week...an "Under the Sea" baby shower and a Luau theme for a 16 year old

Cute cake topper!

2009-01-20T11:21:00.000-08:00

So, I was browsing through wedding-ish websites today (which I probably should have done more of when planning my OWN wedding) and look at this cute topper I found!
http://www.beau-coup.com/

1/17/09

2009-01-17T19:53:00.000-08:00

OK, first up...a birthday cake for a 13 year-old girl. All iced in buttercream with fondant accents. A fire helmet for a retirement...actually, there were two retirements but the cakes matched except for the numbers so I just snapped a pic of one. Iced in buttercream, covered with fondant.

And another prego belly cake...love the baby's name! (Luna) Not sure why it's upside down though!

Melissa's Black and White Wedding

2009-01-17T19:24:00.000-08:00

So, I usually just take pictures of my cakes and post them on here but today, I was blown away by my brides decorations. This reception was at Club 1000 downtown which is a beautiful venue already. Now, I see lots and lots of beautiful reception sites but I really loved the black and white theme from today. First off, four tiered cake iced in buttercream with coarse sugar, satin ribbon, and silver strands or pearls. I love how she used the black satin on the table and then trimmed with the lacy print!

Now, for her candy buffet, isn't it cute how her skirting is puffed up? I'm sure there is a name for this but puffy fits, right? So cute....

She had short and tall centerpieces, some twiggy, some flowery. Love how she added the black in there with the ornaments.

And this was unfinished, but part of her buffet. Not sure what was going on here but I still loved the set-up with the lacey type cloth over the black.

And finally, she used the paper lanterns which I always love...and look, there's my cake over yonder in the corner! :)

Bear Naked Fit

2009-01-17T07:08:00.000-08:00

Ahhhhhh....I am so in love. I was browsing the health food section at my local Hy-Vee the other day and found the Vanilla Almond Crunch....Holy Moses, it's the best stuff EVER! I will say though, that you should probably bag up single portions of this stuff rather than eat it out of the bag because it is so good, you will definitely not be able to stop when you're supposed to. MMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!

O...M...G...

2009-01-14T14:20:00.001-08:00

Seriously?!?! I would never make fun of someones wedding "style" but Holy Moses, you guys have got to see this.......here's a little preview just to get you interested:

http://tackyweddings.com/

Fun cakes!

2009-01-09T12:29:00.000-08:00

This cake was done for a guys 30th birthday but not know ing FOR SURE what the crowd would be like the customer opted to have something covering certain areas.....still cute though, huh? Iced in buttercream with a fondant bikini.

This cake was for a past brides husbands birthday. Kinda like my groom from last week with his Batman, this guy seems to have an unnatural obsession with Superman...or so says the wifey. :)

Crockpot Sour Cream Salsa Chicken

2009-01-08T05:28:00.000-08:00

This was good and easy. We almost always have the ingredients for this however, Steve and I decided that next time we will just nix the sour cream/cornstarch mixture and just eat the chicken. We paired this with brown rice and sauteed peppers and onions but wouldn't it be good if you just shredded the chicken and rolled it up in a lo-fat tortilla with lettuce and tomato?!?!
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 package reduced-sodium taco seasoning mix
1 cup salsa
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup light sour cream

Spray the crock pot with cooking spray. Add the chicken breasts. Sprinkle with Taco Seasoning. Top with salsa. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. When ready to serve, remove the chicken from the pot. Place about 2 Tablespoons cornstarch in a small amount of water. Stir well. Stir the cornstarch mixture into salsa sauce. Stir in 1/4 cup of sour cream.

Per Serving: 170 Calories; 2g Fat; 28g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 70mg Cholesterol; 403mg Sodium.
Servings: 4
Points: 3 per serving

Good resources for healthy eating

2009-01-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

This website has tons of Weight Watcher recipes posted and the points are all figured for you so all you have to do is cook it and eat it!
http://recipecircus.com/recipes/Mom2two31064/

This website allows you to track your food intake. Experts always say to write down everything you put into your mouth and you will think twice before splurging on something you don't need. This is an online food journal that will track your calories, fat, carbs, etc. There is a free version but it doesn't total the numbers at the bottom but you can pay less than $40 for a whole year and then it will total up all your intake and also will let you add your own food to the database.
http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/calorie_counter.asp

If you have a blog reader or a bloglines, add this blog to your feeds. This blog has healthy, cost-friendly recipes...and other random stuff too!
http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/

And I think, this is my new favorite blog to follow. "Daily writings on fitness, diet, and health"
http://www.starling-fitness.com/

FRED!!!!!

2009-01-05T05:03:00.000-08:00

Look what he's doing to my poor cake! *gasp*

BBQ Chicken Pizza

2009-01-04T10:37:00.000-08:00

This is probably one of my all-time favorite Weight Watcher recipes. We do this one quite often, and it's easy too! Bonus! Pair this with a nice green salad an voila, dinners done.

3 (4-oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

2/3 c. spicy BBQ sauce, divided

1 (16-oz) Italian-cheese flavored pizza crust

1/3 c. slivered red onion

2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

1 c. (4 oz.) pre-shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

(we also like to add sliced bell peppers to our pizza)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Place chicken on an ungreased baking sheet; spoon 1/3 c. BBQ sauce over chicken. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until chicken is done. Cool; chop and set aside.

3. Spread remaining BBQ sauce on pizza crust, leaving a 1" border. Top crust evenly with chicken and remaining ingredients.

4. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until cheese melts. Cut into 8 slices. (serving size 1 slice)

points-6

calories-267

protein-19.3g

fat 5.8g

carb 32.7g

fiber .6g

There is a slight trick to make this easier...we cook chicken breasts and whole wheat pasta ahead of time so we can easily grab something healthy rather than something easy that may not be as good for us. So, for this recipe we can just grab a couple chicken breasts, chop 'em up and throw the pizza together...anything to make things easier is alright in my book. :)

1/3/09

2009-01-04T10:26:00.000-08:00

Yay, my first weddings of the year. This cake was at Harrisonville Community Center. Three tiers iced smooth in buttercream with satin ribbon and a piped buttercream monogram. And the Batman grooms cake. The bride told me that the groom had an unhealthy obsession with Batman...hehe, we all have our vices I suppose!
This wedding was at Bliss Plaza in Greenwood, MO. Five tiers iced in buttercream with buttercream dots and satin ribbon, topped with truffles from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company...yum!

January Two...no, I don't plan on posting daily

2009-01-02T18:27:00.000-08:00

The Food Network website is doing 30 days of healthy recipes!

"Start 2009 with 30 days of resolution-friendly recipes from Ellie Kreiger. Try healthy classics like Saucy Salmon, or made-over favorites like Chicken Parmesan."

January One-Weight Loss here we come

2009-01-01T11:52:00.000-08:00

Well, it's the first of the year again and it's that time again. Time to start trying to watch what we eat, get to the gym, and take better care of ourselves. Last year, I started posting some good lo-fat recipes but somehow got side-tracked and quit. I am going to try again. Sometimes we eat recipes from Weight Watchers Cookbooks and sometimes we make stuff up but usually we eat pretty healthy around here. This year, Steve and his sister, Shannon, have decided to try and do a body building/fitness show so the pressure to eat right is really on now. Not only for him but me also. I can't have some super buff hotty for a hubs and be a chunky monkey right? Right. So, today I had a craving for chili and thought I'd just make it a bit healthier than normal. Ground beef always seems to pose a problem, even when you use the really lean stuff so I substituted steak for the hamburger and threw in some extra veggies (ALWAYS a good idea!)

Sam's New Years Chili

1 Lg. Can Chili beans

2 cans dark red kidney beans

1 lg. green pepper, chopped

1 lg. red bell pepper, chopped

1 lg. onion, chopped

8 oz. steak, cooked and chopped (this sounds like a lot but we have a protein hound in the house)

3 cloves crushed garlic

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 c. bloody Mary mix

1 T. Tabasco sauce

1 c. water

Throw it all in the Crock Pot and let simmer for a bit....you'll know when it's done (that would be when you can't take smelling the delicious aroma a single second longer and have to dig in....oh, and when everything is hot.)

I found this cool website that lets you enter ingredients from recipes and it figures the nutritional values too....it's very cool! Here are the values for this chili-

Nutrition Facts
8 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 287.3
Total Fat 2.7 g
Saturated Fat 1.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.5 g
Cholesterol 16.2 mg
Sodium 1,039.9 mg
Potassium 536.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 44.8 g
Dietary Fiber 15.1 g
Sugars 1.6 g
Protein 19.9 g
Vitamin A 14.8 %
Vitamin B-12 13.4 %
Vitamin B-6 15.6 %
Vitamin C 65.9 %
Vitamin D 0.0 %
Vitamin E 2.8 %
Calcium 6.3 %
Copper 12.4 %
Folate 19.3 %
Iron 22.2 %
Magnesium 12.3 %
Manganese 19.9 %
Niacin 10.7 %
Pantothenic Acid 4.4 %
Phosphorus 20.0 %
Riboflavin 11.6 %
Selenium 11.1 %
Thiamin 13.0 %
Zinc 11.0 %
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

The Christmas Blessing by Donna VanLiere

2008-12-31T15:27:00.000-08:00

I know it's after Christmas but I said I would let you know how the sequel the Christmas Shoes was. This is a great book, even if it is after Christmas.

In the story the little boy from the first book, who bought the shoes for his dying mother, is grown up and going to school to be a doctor. While doing his internship he meets a girl and eventually falls in love. The girl he loves gets very ill and needs a transplant...she gets sicker and sicker but no transplant is available and just when she's about to die, the Christmas miracle happens, a transplant is found! The greatest part is where the transplant comes from but I won't tell you, just in case you wanted to read the book. :) It's a tear jerker just like the first book but it's still good. You know the feeling, when it feels like someone reaches into your chest and squeezes your heart? That's what this book did to me. Hope ya like it!

12/27/08

2008-12-31T15:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, back to present...kind of. This cake I did for a past bride for a baby shower...not hers though, dang it. I did tell her one time that she couldn't have a baby unless she came back from Atlanta for her shower so I could do the cake. :) Leslie, make it soon k? This cake was at the Hawthorne House in Parkville. Coarse sugar the chocolate accents and fresh flowers by Drew at Blue Bouquet. And if you need a better pic of this cake, you can check out the blog of the coolest photographers under the sun...the Solars. (Man, did this girl have good taste in vendors or what?!?!?) :) And look, the bride and groom toasted with Coke and Diet Coke...love it, so cute!

Winter Fun!

2008-12-31T14:47:00.000-08:00

Sheesh...where did this kid come from?!?! He must get his genes from his dads side.....

And she must get hers from mine :)

Rock and Roll, Daddio!

Molly trying to make a snowman but the snow was too dry...she settled for a "'snow pile" instead. Luke getting ready to sled the hill at the gym...

Dorian...ready to shred some snow.....or something

I can't seeeeee you!

My little princess putting on ornaments...awwwww :)

What's so funny? Stud....

Sometime in December....

2008-12-31T14:38:00.000-08:00

I'm so behind on this blog....sigh, I can't even remember the date of these cakes but oh well, I'm still gonna share 'em!
This cake was for a firefighters son that turned 7...obviously And this cake was for a lady turning 60 and having her birthday party at the Gem Theatre. The daughter ordered the cake and she and I both looked for toppers in the KC area and couldn't find a J (of course, we waited to long to order one online...duh) so I made this one! I just cut out the J from fondant and used the new stuff...edible glitter! LOVE IT!!! The cake was hexagon with coarse sugar and satin ribbon with fresh flowers.

Whew...got more catching up to do!

The Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere

2008-12-20T10:19:00.000-08:00

And what better way to get you in the holiday spirit than a Christmas book, right? Well, maybe go for The Night Before Christmas or something like that if you want to feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This book was a short read and well written but I felt like my heart was breaking while I read it. You've heard the song about the little boy who wants to buy his momma pretty shoes because she's gonna meet Jesus tonight...this is the story the song is about (actually was written about the song but whatever.) The book introduces us to the characters and then at the end, it tells how the mom talks to her son about how she's going to die....it's very sad. All I could think of was how sad I would be if I were that mom and knew that I was going to be leaving my family behind. :( I will be posting the sequel to this book soon, The Christmas Blessing. See ya soon!

Intensity by Dean Koontz

2008-12-20T10:13:00.000-08:00

AS you all know, I am a book worm and will read anything but I really like to read scary books (which is kinda stupid because I WON'T watch scary movies!) Anyways, I finished this book the other day and thought I let ya know that it was great! The whole book is basically about this psychology student (who is pretty darn dumb) trying to escape from this homicidal maniac (who is pretty darn smart.) Her escape is long and drawn out, and very detailed. She makes it away from his house in his motor home with his captive, a teen-age girl, and you gotta know they will meet up with the killer for the fight scene....well, seriously the fight lasted one whole page. That's it! I thought after all of the events leading up to the fight it would be this crazy, wild fight but no, she just killed the killer and everyone lived happily ever after. Well, kind of, anyways...it was still a good book, full of suspense (and while reading it I kept thinking what an idiot! The girl was asking to be captured...duh!)

12/6/08

2008-12-08T13:50:00.000-08:00

Did this cupcake Christmas tree for my pal Gregg, it didn't turn out as cute as in my head but then again, things rarely do. Then to make matters worse, Gregg picks it up and says, "Oh....I thought it would be flat." Well, that woulda made things easier!

I did this little onesie for a Christening a couple weeks ago but forgot to post a pic...

Another maternity cake...so cute!

This snowflake cake was for a Sweet 16 birthday party. My camera didn't pick up the glitter very well but the amazing Heather Cole says she'll send better pics! Can't wait!
This was for a wedding at St Andrews Golf Course in Overland Park, KS. Buttercream iced with satin ribbon and fresh flowers.

and a fire helmet grooms cake.

And I just HAD to share this! I bought these adorable measuring spoons for my Aunt Dorothy because she is famous for not giving measurements. "OH you know, a pinch of salt, a dash of cinnamon..." It kills me! (Aunt Dorothy, if you watch my blog exit this page now! don't want to ruin your present!)

Corn Cake

2008-12-01T06:11:00.001-08:00

This is probably not healthy but I made it for Thanksgiving at the fire station AND the in-laws and everybody loved it (especially Steve!)

1 can whole-kernel corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
2 boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix
sm. sour cream (4 oz.?)
8 oz. cream cheese
butter

Mix all ingredients together except butter, pour into 9x13 baking dish and dot with butter. Bake at 375 until done in the center (check it like you would cornbread.)

The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn

2008-11-27T07:27:00.000-08:00

Fred, my friend from the gym, is seriously the nicest guy you could ever meet. He has a hobby of growing roses and gives them away to anyone and everyone just to brighten their day...never expects anything in return, just does it to be nice. Fred asked me to read this book so I could understand why he does this.

The Fred Factor is about a mailman that goes above and beyond what his job description says he should do. He makes sure that his "customers" are happy and get the very best service that he can provide. That's it...it's all about giving your all in all that you do. If we could all do this, this world we live in would be a nicer place. If you would like to read something motivational...try this. :)

Creating Myself by Mia Tyler

2008-11-27T07:21:00.000-08:00

Alright, well it's been a while since I read a REALLY good book but this one...yea, it was a good 'un! This book is about the life of Mia Tyler, legendary rocker Steven Tylers daughter. The book tells how even though she had a famous dad, a beautiful groupie mom and basically all the money she could ever want...life can still suck. After almost committing suicide she has a new view on life and tells us to look for the positives in everything and not dwell on the negative. Good book, you should go pick it up!

Decker's Wedding

2008-11-23T10:18:00.001-08:00

Here is the firefighter families that were left at the end of the night...

Sweet little Emma enjoying a cuppy cake!
And another....I think she had like 4 cupcakes :)

"Ok, this how it is...you do what my husband tells you to and then you get a good performance review..."

And here's the boss dancing with his wife...finally.

Aw...Brian and Jess

Steven, is that a drunken stupor look on your face? I was trying to get a pic of Goldie in the background but I couldn't catch her!

Jeanne's gonna kill me!

Me doing the Chicken Dance with Emma.

Emma dancing with her momma.

Emma dancing with her daddy....she's a little dancin' fool!

Poor Decker...he probably feels violated.

This picture is really not all that interesting....oh wait...MRS. SMITH!!!! Shame!

Weiner! Why do you look so petrified?

Butt out Steven

Tim doing a keg stand...he kicked the crap outta Mark!
Weiner did one...
Brian did one...

Mark did one...

And even Jess did one...

Luke's Birthday

2008-11-19T06:01:00.000-08:00

Well....I said there wouldn't be any cake pics from last week because I had lost my camera...but my sister-in-law snapped this pic of my sons birthday cake and emailed it over. He wanted a mountain with army climbing up the side fighting and a plane dropping bombs from the top with flames and craters in the mountain side....uhhhh, whatever. He got the mountain, the guys, and the plane...no bombs, flames or craters.....sounds like a fair trade to me?!?!

Here's Molly Lou waiting for a piece of cake...little doll baby. :)

And here's my handsome husband and his hot sister....they've got some good genes on that side of the family!

Hope's Highway by Dorothy Garlock

2008-11-19T05:50:00.000-08:00

Hope's Highway was a pretty quick read. The story reminds me a whole lot of The Grapes of Wrath due to the fact that the entire book is set on the road to California. Several families from Missouri who own ice businesses (this is when people still used ice boxes for fridges) decide to head to California and start there businesses fresh there. Unlike today, the trip takes weeks and there is plenty of drama along the way. It is kinda neat to read about what life was like in other times.

Murder on the Menu by Miranda Bliss

2008-11-17T10:39:00.000-08:00

This is a really cute book. It reminds me of the Stephanie Plumb books (One for the Money, Two for the Show, etc) which if you haven't read you should definitely do. Anyways, Miranda Bliss has a funny personality that comes through in her writing...she's sarcastic and I love it. This book is about two best friends who work in a restaurant, find another friend dead, and then try to figure out what happened to her when the police won't. Good read, just takes a day or two! Oh yea, no cake pics this week because I lost my camera....duh.

11/8/08

2008-11-08T18:19:00.000-08:00

Pretty busy week around here....once again, I forgot to take pics of a couple cakes but here is what I did get. A Noah's Ark baby shower cake....white cake with chocolate ganache.

A strawberry princess crown...I did baby Chamberlain's baby shower cake last year. :)

Ms. Page's rockstar cupcakes...

This cake has to be for the luckiest teenager ever...tonight was her Sweet 16 birthday party at the Hyatt...they had a Vegas theme complete with gaming tables, a limo, yummy dinner, virgin martinis and this lovely cake!

This couple was actually married in Florida and had their reception at home here in KC. All white cake with buttercream icing and white chocolate seashells.

Three tiers all iced in buttercream with chocolate piping at Deer Creek Golf Club in Overland Park, KS.

This Swiss dot cake with fresh hydrangeas was at the Carriage Club in Mission Hills.

Bonfire Party!

2008-11-08T17:36:00.001-08:00

Sorry, I'm a little late uploading these but take what you want and if you want to print any just email me and i can send them to you as an attachment. :) My camera really stinks and the pictures are foggy because...well, because of the fog. Seriously, we had to go 10 miles and hour all the way home from Pleasant Hill.

Crazy lights...not sure what happened there

Looks like flaming jell-o shots!

we had to kinda watch out for the blue ones...they were a little stiff

Nice hood....

"Alright fuggers. Who wants a blue one?"

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T07:05:00.000-07:00

First up....this is the cake I did for the pumpkin auction this year. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!This is the pumpkin my daughter picked out at the pumpkin patch....I couldn't bring myself to carve it.

Here is my daughter the cookie with her cousin the milk :) Everybody LOVED these costumes!

Here they are with my son the soldier in action.

and my other son the devil...if you know him, you know this is a totally appropriate costume for him!

Molly got tired and crabby by the time we walked around the block so she chilled on the porch and handed out candy. She was a bit picky about who got what...we had a line of trick or treaters all the way down the stairs to the driveway....maybe she has OCD or something?
My sister and I also chilled on the porch and enjoyed some frosty beverages. So, check this out...at HyVee, you can build your own 6-pack. I had been wanting to try some pumpkin beer and what better day to do it than on Halloween. Only one out of six was worth the effort of going to the store and getting it. There was no name brand on it but the label was plain black with an orange jack-o-lantern on it...the others....ew.

Here we are...sisters up to no good!

and oh yea, when the kids went to bed....momma went out. Bow chicka wow wow!

Whispers by Dean Koontz

2008-10-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

FINALLY...a book that isn't predictable! I admit that the beginning of the book was a little lacking in action but it certainly picked up speed as I read. I just finished this while my daughter was playing at McDonalds and my heart was racing! It was funny cuz my leg was crossed and I was just shaking my foot like I had ADHD or something. Good book. If you are into scary stuff, this is the book for you. A little sick and twisted but ....well, it makes for a good story. Also, if you are into psychology or psychiatry...you'll like it.

3 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

2008-10-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

I haven't tried this but it sure sounds great! 3 MINUTES!!!!!

3 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

1 Coffee Mug
4 tablespoons flour(that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

Some nuts (optional)
Small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well . Add the egg and mix thoroughly.Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again.Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to share!)

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

My NFL debut

2008-10-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

I talked about my Tennessee Titans cake in last weekends post but look here, the mommy was nice enough to send me a pic of them with my cake! :) This is Jennifer and Daniel Loper with their baby cake at Bentons Chop House. Thanks Jennifer and congratulations!

The Runaway Mistress

2008-10-22T15:37:00.000-07:00

Just your garden variety mystery. Pretty predictable but entertaining. This beautiful girl grows up poor, has a chance to get a really rich, old boyfriend, takes the chance, gets used to the lifestyle, hooks up with a mob-type guy, catches him kill his wife, runs away.....you'll have to read it to see how it ends! :)

10/25/08

2008-10-19T09:12:00.001-07:00

I told you guys this was a crazy week! I even forgot to take a pic of two of my birthday cakes....to start off with we have a picture that for whatever reason will not upload in the right direction....oh well, it's an Iowa Hawkeye grooms cake, peanut butter with chocolate ganache iced in buttercream with fondant accents.
A Led Zeppelin grooms cake to represent the grooms favorite t-shirt, marble cake with buttercream icing. I chose to omit the genitalia since the reception was at the church! Oh, and you shoulda seen the pastors face when he saw the cake....he said "Maybe you could place the cross over here by the demon." **shrinking into a corner**
An Arkansas Razorback grooms cake also peanut butter with chocolate ganache

A baby shower with a classic Pooh theme..mommy chose this Tigger cake. White cake with buttercream icing and fondant Tigger.

For the last volleyball game of the year, Lady Pirates thought they should recognize the outgoing seniors.
This cute little caterpillar cake was for a little boy having a bug themed birthday party.
A traditional wedding cake for an older couple (not old...just not 20ish like most couples I bake for) Three tiers, all white cake with buttercream and buttercream roses.

Four tiers iced in buttercream. White cake, strawberry cake, lemon cake and chocolate cake adorned with satin ribbon and fresh flowers from Beco Flowers. This reception was also at Deer Creek Golf Club in Overland Park, KS.
This cake was at Heritage Center in Olathe, KS. Four tiers, alternating shapes, all iced in buttercream in chocolate scrollwork. We decided the cake was busy enough that we didn't need a topper.
Three tiers iced in buttercream with fondant balls.

Three tiers iced in champagne buttercream with chocolate accents at Mission Hills Country Club

And I saved the most exciting for last. Yea, yea, I know the cake's really not all that special but the story is. See, this lady called last week and said, "I am calling from Tennessee and we are going to be in Kansas City this weekend and would like to announce to our families at dinner that we are pregnant." Well, turns out they were going to be in town because her husband plays for the Tennessee Titans! So, I did a onesie shaped cake decorated like the daddy's jersey and added baby blocks.....schweet huh? White cake with strawberry mousse filling, iced in buttercream with fondant accents.

PS- I have to confess that I'm really not a football fan....I love my baseball. So, when I got off the phone with the mommy, I was telling Steve that "her husband plays for the Titan's or something?" and Steve pops up off the couch and gets all excited. "Are you freakin' kidding me?" he says...."That's an NFL team!" Ok, then I got excited...sorry, didn't know! :)

10/11/08

2008-10-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late posting this but this past week has been CRAZY! (me likey!)

This cake was at Deer Creek Golf Club in Overland Park. Three tiers stacked, offset with buttercream icing and monogram topper.
Grooms cake was Pitt State Gorillas. Peanut butter cake with chocolate ganache...yum!
Cupcake tree at the brides church in Leawood. All white cake with whipped icing and fresh strawberries and blueberries
Another cupcake tree at Starkers on the Plaza. Cupcakes were red velvet with cream cheese and pumpkin with cream cheese. I think at first the bride may have been shy to ask, but they wanted me to use the grooms deceased grandpas pumpkin cupcake recipe. Of course, I didn't mind and let me tell ya, the recipe was GREAT! Flowers by Jennifer Techau.
And just for kicks, thought I'd let you know what 3 year olds do for fun when your back is turned. Just before pre-school pictures and our family pics with the great Solars...Molly manages to chop every single bang off her head. Great.........

I've been tagged!

2008-10-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

5 Joys
1. that first cup of coffee in the morning
2. listening to my kids giggle when they're supposed to be going to bed
3. snuggling with my husband
4. spending time with family
5. a good book, a fuzzy blanket, and a fire on a cold day (coffee is nice here too)

5 Fears
1. drowning
2. losing one of my kids
3. losing my husband
4. the dark
5. the drain at the bottom of the pool

5 Obsessions
1. checking email
2. checking myspace
3. checking bloglines
4. food network
5. turning all the canned goods so the labels face out

5 Surprising Facts
1. my nickname is Frog
2. I was voted "class rebel" my senior year
3. My first job at Big Boy Burgers (grease pit from hell)
4. I am in love with Derek Jeter and Dr. House
5. I used to be a Hooters girl ....before I had kids 100 years ago

Hmmm....who to tag??
1. Heather Cole at Heather Cole Photography
2. Jamie at My Empire of Dirt
3. Josh at Josh Solar Photography
4. Lina at My Life is Yummy
5. Kay at The Wonky Quilter

Cute cake toppers

2008-10-15T06:25:00.001-07:00

Custom made cake tops to match the bride and groom! Visit their website here!

Cupcake Clippie!

2008-10-15T06:19:00.000-07:00

And while we are on the subject of DYI...look at this cute hair clip they posted on All Things Cupcake.
For instructions on how to make this cute little thing, go visit this Girly Things....it's free!

Awwwww!!!!

2008-10-15T06:14:00.001-07:00

I want one! Too bad, I'm already half-way done with Molly's costume...she's going to be a giant chocolate chip cookie (will post pics when I'm done.) I tried desperately to get one of her brothers to be a carton of milk but of course that would be dorky..;)

Anyways, isn't this the cutest costume ever? Maybe next year she'll want to be a cupcake.

10/4/08

2008-10-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

It seems like everyone knows someone that has battled cancer...I felt honored to do this sheet cake for a Susan G Koman Breast Cancer Golf Tournament

Yet another Jayhawk cake. This was a bit of a different situation, the bride had already hired a cake lady but decided to have me do the grooms cake. Whatev...I'm cool like that!
Did this Spongebob cake for a 5 year olds birthday. Now Molly wants one for her birthday!
Crown Royal grooms cake
and a mad hatter style cake for a 16 year olds birthday

9/27/08

2008-10-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the weekend for the crazy polka-dot cakes. This cake was done to match the hat box it sits on. Bride decorated Lee Andrew Interiors using brocade patterns. The brides mom is that super talented Jan Simonelli of Photo Momentos...check out her and her husbands work on their blog.
This one was a mad-hatter style using the couples orange and green colors. Butter cake with chocolate ganache and chocolate cake with bavarian cream filling.
This was a little cupcake tree I did for a small bridal show in Grandview at The View

Just for fun

2008-09-25T05:36:00.001-07:00

I got this from the Cake Spy Blog, thought it looked fun!

Recently, a website called Very Good Taste started something of an internet fire with a list called "The Omnivore's Hundred", which listed 100 foods which "every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life." We liked the idea, and inspired by the vegan variation on Hannah Kaminsky's site, we thought--why not make our own Sweet 100!? Like the original, our list includes "fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food"--but in our universe, it's all sweet! (In case any of them are foreign to you, links to pictures and recipes are included; also, for any vegans, feel free to go through the list assuming it's a vegan counterpart). How many have you tried? If you'd like, feel free to follow the same guidelines:

1) Copy this list into your site, including the instructions!

2) Bold all of the sweets you've eaten!

3) Cross out any of them that you'd never ever eat.

4) Optional: Post a comment here linking to your results.

1. Red Velvet Cake
2. Princess Torte
3. Whoopie Pie
4. Apple Pie topped or baked with sharp cheddar
5. Beignet
6. Baklava
7. Black and White Cookies
8. Seven Layer Bar (also know as the Magic Bar or Hello Dolly bars)
9. Fried Fruit Pie (sometimes called hand pies)
10. Kringle
11. Just fried hot doughnut
12. Scone with clotted cream
13. Betty, Grunt, Slump, Buckle, or Pandowdy
14. Halvah
15. Macarons (not to be mistaken for macaroons)
16. Banana pudding with nilla wafers
17. Bubble Tea (with tapioca pearls)
18. Dixie Cup
19. Rice Krispie Treats
20. Alfajores
21. Blondies
22. Croquembouche
23. Girl Scout Cookies
24. Moon Cake
25. Candy Apple
26. Baked Alaska
27. Brooklyn Egg Cream
28. Nanaimo bar
29. Baba au rhum
30. King Cake
31. Sachertorte
32. Pavlova
33. Tres Leches Cake
34. Trifle
35. Shoo Fly Pie
36. Key Lime Pie (made with real key limes)
37. Panna Cotta
38. New York Cheesecake
39. Napoleon/mille-fueille
40. Russian Tea Cakes/Mexican wedding cake
41. Anzac Biscuits
42. Pizzelle
43. Kolache
44. Buckeyes
45. Malasadas
46. Moon Pie
47. Dutch Baby
48. Boston Cream Pie
49. Homemade Choclate Chip Cookies
50. Pralines
51. Gooey Butter Cake
52. Rusks
53. Daifuku
54. Green tea cake ro cookies
55. Cupcakes from a cupcake shop
56. Creme Brulee
57. Some sort of deep fried fair food (twinkie, candybar, cupcake)
58. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting
59. Jelly Roll
60. Pop Tarts
61. Charlotte Russe
62. An "upside down" desser (Pineapple upside down cake or Tarte Tatin)
63. Hummingbird cake
64. Jello-O from a mold
65. Black Forest Cake
66. Mock Apple Pie (Ritz Cracker Pie)
67. Kulfi
68. Linzer torte
69. Churro
70. Stollen
71. Angel Food Cake
72. Mincemeat pie
73. Concha
74. Opera Cake
75. Sfogliatelle/Lobster tail
76. Pain au chocolat
77. A piece of Gingerbread House
78. Cassata
79. Cannoli
80. Rainbow Cookies
81. Religieuse
82. Petits fours
83. Chocolate Souffle
84. Bienenstich (Bee Sting Cake)
85. Rugelach
86. Hamenstashen
87. Homemade Marshmallows
88. Rigo Janci
89. Pie or cake made with candy bar flavors (Snickers Pie, Reeses pie, etc)
90. Divinity
91. Coke or Cola cake
92. Gateau Basque
93. S'Mores
94. Figgy Pudding
95. Bananas Foster or other flaming dessert
96. Joe Froggers
97. Sables
98. Millionaire's SHortbread
99. Animal Crackers
100. Basbousa

Dream Series by Nora Roberts

2008-09-23T06:56:00.000-07:00

I'm on the third book in this series but thought I'd go ahead and let you hear about it. This is a good series...unless you're lonely and in need of some lovin'. Three sisters (just like the Born in series) find love and the drama that goes along with it. I have to say that I do love Nora Roberts and these books are great reads to pass the time but they are not books that I would tell someone, "You've got to read this book!" Anyways, entertaining even if a little predictable.

9/20/08

2008-09-23T06:40:00.000-07:00

Well, this pic is a heck of a way to start a blog post, huh? Did this cake for a guys 40th birthday...there was another cake that was modeled after human anatomy but would be inappropriate to post without having some sort of disclaimer! Chocolate cake iced in buttercream with fondant thong.
This was a grooms cake baby grand made from cheesecake with chocolate fondant
$ tier buttercream iced cake at Stonehaus Winery in Lee's Summit. This cake is nothing spectacular but what I learned while delivering it is...you can go to the winery and park your butt at the bar and have free wine tasting! That is some useful knowledge. (I also plan on going to Vino 100 in Martin City for a few sips too!)
And I thought this one was cute...maybe I can get my daughter to want a Strawberry Shortcake cake....yea right, it's always Spongebob or something. :(
No, nobody died. This for my friend Jamie's (love you so much James! *squeeze*) birthday...no, she didn't turn 40 (32 actually) she just likes dark things. Weird!

Caramel Apple Pie

2008-09-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

So....my dad has an apple tree in his yard that has so many fruit that the poor branches are breaking off! I gladly helped myself to a bag of apples thinking I would make a pie. Well, I probably picked about a bushel of apples and it really only takes 5 or 6 to make a pie. SO, being the over-achiever I am, I thought I would scout out some Caramel Apple Pie recipes and see which one was best. I tried three recipes, had my parents and the hubs' parents over and we took a vote. The count was pretty even but one recipe had a slight lead so here you go...we think this is the BEST Caramel Apple Pie!

Caramel Apple Pie

1 recipe pastry for a 9" double crust DEEP DISH pie

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. butter, melted

1/3 c. all-purpose flour

5 cups thinly sliced apples

2/3 c. white sugar

3 T. all-purpose flour

2 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. lemon juice

20 caramels, halved

(they actually make little caramel pieces, that's what I used)

2 T. milk

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

2. To make taffy: in a small bowl combine brown sugar, melted butter, and 1/3 c. flour. Mix well and set aside.

3. To make apple filling: Place apples in a large bowl. Add white sugar, 3 T. flour, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Toss until all ingredients are mixed well and apples are thoroughly coated.

4. Spoon half of apple filling into pastry-lined deep-dish pan. Top with half of caramels and half of taffy mixture. Repeat process with remaining apple filling, caramels, and taffy mixture. Place top pastry over fillings and seal well (this is very important-if edges aren't sealed, caramel will leak out all over). Cut steam vents and brush top crust with milk or light cream (I actually prefer a beaten egg white).

5. Cover pie with foil and place on baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking 25 additional minutes. Serve warm with some yumm-o vanilla bean ice cream! :)

And, you wanna hear something sad after all of this? Most husbands would thank their wife for making such a lovely dessert, right? Mine says, "Honey, you have to quit cooking like this. We're over 30 now and we need to be careful about what we eat?" WHAT?!?!? Ugh.....

9/13/08

2008-09-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

I actually had 5 weddings this weekend but was in such a hurry I only snapped a couple of pics. This cake was for my friends Ashley and Rob's wedding. 5 tiers iced in buttercream with red buttercream accents and red satin ribbon. (I love this scroll Ashley picked out!) :)
This was Rob's fire helmet grooms cake.
Did this cupcake "buffet" at Hawthorne House in Parkville, MO. I love how the mother of the bride arranged the trays to display the cupcake. They had white cake with almond buttercream, chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream, chocolate cake filled with raspberry and topped with chocolate fudge icing, and red velvet with cream cheese icing. Yum!

The Amber Room by Steve Berry

2008-09-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

I just finished The Amber Room by Steve Berry. This is a fiction mystery which I LOVE. The story is about a room that Prussians had crafted out of amber pieces....imagine, an entire room pieced together from beautiful golden amber! The story is that during WWII countries (namely Germany under Hitlers regime) were stealing precious works of art from each other and hiding them away. This is a sort of war crime (I think) and when the war was over, the art should have been returned to it's rightful owner(which of course, was an argument in itself)....well, the Amber Room disappeared. Treasure hunters have been searching for this room for decades trying to find their fortune. This is a great book, very thrilling and to make it even better...the Amber Room is real. After I finished the book I went to the Internet to look for info....I have posted a picture of the replicated amber room below, the original is still missing. You can also view this video clip from ABC on the subject. I think this is fascinating! http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4215553
Isn't this just beautiful? I'm sure it would be hard to keep your jaw off the floor in a place like this. :)

2008-09-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

So, I had a bride who wanted to do cupcakes with whipped icing and fresh fruit so I made this cute little sample cake. I turn my back for one second.....
and guess who's in the whipped icing and fresh fruit! Sheesh, nothings sacred around here!
Texas Longhorns grooms cake

Coarse sugar crystals on buttercream. This reception was at the Cadillac Room downtown...this is now one of my favorite venues...very cool!
A western themed wedding...buttercream iced with fondant accents.
How cool is this ribbon? This bride had a great thing goin' with this brocade throughout her decorations. This reception was at Boulevard Brewery (also a VERY cool place to throw a partay!)
Simple swiss dots with a giant satin bow and fresh poseys! :)
And this is the sweetest thing...see, I always make cakes for everybody else and no one ever makes me a cake. Well, my lovely step-mom gave it a go and this is the cake I got for my birthday! I love it so much but I love how she thought of me and put forth so much effort to do this even more! Love you Wanda Jean!

OMG! I'm in love!

2008-08-29T11:47:00.000-07:00

Holy Moses...I'm addicted. I went to the store to buy eggs (cuz I'm ALWAYS out) and look what I found! You guys have got to try these...PS-this has inspired me to come up with a new filling...S'Mores obviously. I'm thinking chocolate bavarian cream with tiny marshmallows (like in cocoa OR maybe a layer or swirl of marshmallow fluff?) and graham cracker pieces? We'll have to see how the grahams hold up in the bav. cream though....I'll let you know how it goes!

As an afterthought...what if I broke up the grahams, covered them in melted chocolate then tossed in with marshmallow fluff? that would fix the soggy cracker problem...I've got work to do! Catch ya later!

"Born In" Series

2008-08-26T07:54:00.000-07:00

I LOVE NORA ROBERTS. I just finished the Born In Series, where three Irish sisters, Brianah, Shannon, and Margaret Mary Concannon, share their stories with us. Set in the peaceful countryside of West County Ireland, you can't help but see the green pastures and hear the characters awesome Irish lilt (and crave a nice tall Guiness!) Yes, these are love stories, which I usually don't care much for, but these are really good books and two of the sisters have serious attitudes which I DO care for! :)

8/23/08

2008-08-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this week...a birthday cake for a 40 year old...guess what his wife bought him??? Yep, a banjo. :)
Another birthday cake....I've forgotten what school this mascot was for...Michigan State maybe???
A birthday for a little guy... Happy Birthday Owen. His theme was planes, trains, and automobiles. Remember that movie?
Three tier, buttercream iced cake in black and white at the Arrowhead Yacht Club in Lake Winnebago. The florist wasn't there yet but the cake was topped with fresh red roses and calla lillies.
This four tier, buttercream iced cake was combed and then had silk orchids placed. This reception was at the Deer Creek Golf Club in Overland Park, KS.

White Oleander

2008-08-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

I found this book at a garage sale for $.25 so of course I bought it. (I'm such a sucker for books!) This books tells about a young girl whose mother goes to prison, how she is put through the foster care system and all of her trouble in between including being shot by one foster mother, molested by a mothers boyfriend, used as a built-in babysitter, starved, and beaten. This book reminds us how lucky we had it as children, having a permanent home, food on the table, and loving parents.

Our American King by David Lozell Martin

2008-08-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

I am a bookworm...plain and simple. I will read anything I can get my hands on....I've even read a biography on pigeons once. When I go to the library, I just pick up a stack of books that spark my interest and come home to plow through them. Last trip to the library, I picked up "Our American King."

This book is VERY interesting. Of course, it is fiction but it reminds us of what we as Americans take for granted. My husband has been saying that our government is really screwing up and is going to make us into a 3rd-world country (depressing news, I know) so reading this book after hearing him say things like that is especially creepy. Anyways, in the book, the government fails, the rich and higher-ups hoard all of the necessary resources and leave the rest of the country to starve. It's like the common people have been sent back a few hundred years and have to live like their ancestors with no running water, electricity, grocery stores, etc. Give it a read, it will make you glad for the conveniences that we have!

Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead

2008-08-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we had planned on going to the water park for the day but since it was so cool, we opted for Deanna Rose instead. If you have kids, and haven't been there, go. It's fun AND free.

So, when I went to wake up the kids, Luke had decided to use the cat as a sleep mask...:)

This is Molly Lou telling the black goat to get off of the brown one...not nice!!!
Luke's whopper...catch of the day, eh? You can pay $3 and get a little tin bucket of worms and the kids can fish with cane poles in the little lake.

Molly and Meme gave it a whirl too (but Meme didn't even put a worm on her hook)
They have these tiny little goats that you can pay $1 for a bottle and feed. They liked to eat my clothes and hair instead.
Dorian got them to work on his bottle but it was like fighting off a mob really.
Molly Lou sitting at a desk in the one-room schoolhouse...she drew a very nice Plankton for the teacher on her chalkboard.
If you know my mom, you won't be surprised that she sat on the ORANGE bench in the butterfly garden....she has O.C.D. I think...anything yellow or orange is automatically her favorite. (P.S.-we didn't see any butterflies in the butterfly garden but as soon as we walked out....guess what we saw? A butterfly bush....and guess what was on the butterfly bush? I wonder why they didn't plant that inside the butterfly garden???)

Three flowers, three kids...it's a given that I would want my kids in them right? As you can see, the older they get (and the more manly) the less excited they are to be posing as poseys.

Then at bedtime, Molly and I had a little fun with our ponytails. If one pony is good, why not add a few more?

And more.....

And more...until it finally falls over! :)

Thanks for peeping our Fun Day...see ya soon!

Chicken Enchiladas

2008-08-11T06:59:00.001-07:00

This is my version of healthy enchiladas. As I said about the lasagna, I just took a regular recipe and changed some of the ingredients to make it better for us...can't really tell you how many calories or grams of fat it has but I can tell you that it's less than the original! :)
8 Lo-Carb tortillas
3 lg chicken breasts
mushrooms
green pepper
onion
cilantro
shredded cheddar
green chile enchilada sauce

Saute chicken with a bit of water instead of any type of fat. Remove from pan and chop. Saute veggies with a bit of water then return chicken to pan. Add about 3/4 c. enchilada sauce and spoon into warm tortillas. Top with about 1 t. of cheddar (I know, it's not much but we're trying to be good here, right?) Roll up and place in sprayed (Pam) 9x13 pan. Top with green sauce and bake until heated through! Yumm-O!

8/9/08

2008-08-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I combined this weekend with last because I only had one wedding last week. This is 4 tier square with buttercream and coarse sugar crystals, satin ribbon, and fresh floral.
Obviously, a luau themed wedding...four tiers iced in buttercream with satin ribbon
This is the wedding from last week, 5 tiers iced in buttercream and then sprayed with pink pearl then wrapped in satin ribbon. The giant mirror made for a pretty cool pic I think. Mom asked if I could actually make a cake that was inverted like that....ummmm, don't think I'll try, I will leave that type of work up to people like Duff! :)
Hey, did you know that the super-duper Solars had their baby? I made this cake for Lia's welcome home party....you know their kids are gonna have like the BEST baby albums of any kid on the planet!

Made this grooms cake to look like the General Lee. The bride asked if I could make it going up a hill or something since the real General Lee was always jumping something

Hannah Montana guitar and cupcakes iced in buttercream with fondant stars
Love this! My friend Kim actually made this cake with my help. She was so excited at the party, telling everyone "I made the cake!" and no one believed her! :(

Kinda HEALTHY Lasagna

2008-07-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

So, originally I started this blog to share a few cake pics and a LOT of healthy recipes that I come across....I seem to have gotten side-tracked. It has been eons since I have posted a healthy recipe and I would say the reason behind this is....well, I haven't really made many healthy meals. With the rush of wedding season and vacation following closely behind, we have fallen off of the "fitness" wagon. HOWEVER, I'm back on.

The other night, the hubs and I were looking through Weight Watchers cookbooks in search of yummy recipes to shop for. We kept returning to the same old stuff. Steve went to the computer for inspiration and found a recipe for lasagna that was supposedly healthy...not true. BUT, at the end of recipe we were given a little kernel of knowledge....make any recipe you want, just substitute healthier items for the ones you shouldn't eat! Wow, what an idea!

So we made this lasagna with whole wheat noodles, chicken rather than hamburger, fat-free cottage cheese instead of ricotta, skim mozarella, lo-sodium marinara, and tons of veggies (zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, and tomatoes.) This turns out to be a little watery thanks to all those vegetables but man, oh man, it was sho nuf good! :)

{Yea, I know...my photography leaves a LOT to be desired}

Frosting shots!!!

2008-07-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

So check out this blog I found. Apparently there is a new trend in some bakeries!

(See...I try to keep up with the times)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/food/372683_denn30.html