$200!!!!!

Yep, that's the official word. Now if only people would pay that in real life......

Auction Cake

You know, it rare when a cake actually turns out the way I picture it in my brain. But it has happened. This cake is for a friends church that is having a dessert auction. As soon as she asked me to donate a cake, this is what instantly popped into my head. My friend Amelia (Cake Expectation on my blog list) had reminded me of my oreo version of Italian Meringue, so I knew I wanted to do that again. And she did a gorgeous polka dot chocolate wrap on one of her cakes that I wanted to try. I also wanted a taller cake piled with striped chocolate curls. Mission accomplished! The chocolate wrap is not perfect. It wasn't quite hard enough when I pulled off the clear vinyl (I am sooo impatient!) so its not as smooth as it should be, but otherwise it is what I saw in my brain!
I am excited to see how much it goes for. I've been told the desserts go for $30 to $800. I just hope it isn't the lowest one! I'll update when I find out.

Busy Family Life

Well, nothing is new here, we're just busy, busy, busy! I am starting Christmas projects. Early I know, but I have the tendency to over-do it, so I have to start now! For one project I got to play with decorative thread on my serger. I was nervous that I'd mess it up, but it went really well and looks great. I'd post a picture, but the recipient reads my blog, so I guess I better not. I also get to do a cake for an auction this week, so look for pictures of that coming up.

Oh, I do have a new niece today, little Emersyn (Emery for short). I watched her older brothers today and let me tell you, 5 boys five and under (4 are 3 and under) can make a mess! My house looks like a tornado ran through it! But its all good, they had fun together and thats all that matters. So I must go tidy up. In two days I am watching my neighbor's boys so she can have her baby! Its better if they have a "clean slate" to mess up, more fun for them that way! Right!? That and I don't want to step on train tracks and blocks all day.

Two Cakes

Well, here is the wedding cake to go with the roses...... It is white chocolate cake with white chocolate cream cheese frosting. The frosting was sooooo good! It tastes like cheese cake! I have made it a few times before, but have never added the optional lemon oil. Well I did this time, and wow, it made a great frosting spectacular! This cake has about 70 roses....I don't really like making roses, but it was fun doing a two tone rose and they turned out pretty good.
This next cake was for a good friend's 30th birthday. She is our choir director and we always have treats after choir, so I took this to surprise her. She and I are the same age, I turn the big 3-0 in January. She has been saying we should throw a party...but I don't really like parties in my honor.... So I thought it would be more fun to let everyone in choir know her age...ha ha!
Any way, it was chocolate cake with peanut butter Italian meringue filling and milk chocolate butter cream frosting. I must say that the milk chocolate frosting is pure heaven! Or pure evil, however you look at it.... It is so soft and silky and the fragrance.....oh man, it makes the whole house smell like chocolate....Only make this if you are planning on sharing, it is way to much temptation to have laying around the house!

I am going to share the recipe...It is found in Rose Levy Beranbaum's Cake Bible.....

16 oz milk chocolate, broken in small pieces
8 oz dark chocolate, broken in small pieces (I actually use chips of both chocolates, easier that way)
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

Melt chocolate in a double boiler, or very slowly in the microwave. Let cool until about room temperature. (I had to get a new microwave because a certain toddler cooked a piece of bread in mine...for 15 or so minutes....nice fire; it was rather exciting.... but anyway, it has a melt button and a soften button, it melts chocolate perfectly and even softens butter and cream cheese beautifully. Which is great since I am horrible at planning ahead and taking butter out of the fridge....) Beat the butter until creamy in mixer. Slowly add the melted chocolate until incorporated. Best if used immediately. You don't really want to refrigerate this one, it is kind of temperature sensitive......it hardens quickly in the fridge and then takes forever to soften again. Also, don't leave it the hot sun, it will melt!

Pretty roses

Here is a preview of the wedding cake I'm working on. Well, of the roses that are going on it anyway.

 

Catching up

I figured it was about time to catch up. We've been busy! We had the Twin Falls Temple Dedication, I made a baby quilt, hemmed five pairs of pants, Kiara and Kegan started school, Kiara danced at the fair, Kegan started soccer (which Paul is helping coach), hmmmm, what else. Oh, Zander is walking, and is finally getting his molars, Payton turned three, and turned into a little monster. (My kids have never done the "terrible twos," they always wait until they are three. Either they are slower than normal or the experts have it wrong!) Oh my goodness, the mischief that kid can get into! Nothing is safe! The fits he can throw! Okay, that's the quick version, below are more detailed stories!This is Kiara watching President Monson at the Cornerstone Ceremony. (She is the one leaning on the girl in the blue dress.) Her Grandma Arrington sang in the Cornerstone Choir, so she got to go with Grandpa Arrington to watch. It was an amazing weekend with the Prophet in town. I did not get to meet him, or see him, but I loved watching him on the video feeds to the Stake Center. I got a real sense of his love and the Savior's love of EVERY individual. I watched as he started to leave (the cultural celebration and some video from my cousin who did get to see him) and then would come back to talk to someone else, hug, or high five another child. He did it again and again. Some friends got to be in the temple one of the sessions with their older kids. He passed them and then stopped and came back to talk and shake hands. I just kept thinking of Christ in the Book of Mormon calling all the children to gather around him. I have always known and felt of Christ's love for us, but watching President Monson and knowing he is God's servant made that love all the more tangible. And then the actual Dedicatory Prayer. President Eyring said it in the session I attended. It was so beautiful and powerful. We are so blessed to have the House of the Lord five minutes away! A place to leave the chaos of the world behind and just be at peace for a few hours.

Speaking of chaos, here's ours!

This is the quilt I made for my niece Emery that will be arriving later this month. I love making girly things. And I love, love, love pink and green together.
Kegan on his first day of Kindergarten. He was a little nervous, but really did just great. There are two Kindergarten teachers, and despite knowing about 10 others going to K this year, NONE are in his class. Most are in the afternoon like he is though, so he sees them at recess. But he tells me a sob story every day that no one will be his friend and play with him. I think he is a little lonely, but kids ARE playing with him, because Kiara sees them!
Playing with toys the first day, while waiting for the bell to ring.
Okay so there is some commercial that showed a girl with outfits laying all over her bed, trying to decide what to wear on the first day. Well, Kiara was inspired. But she is Miss Organized and had Monday's through Thursday's outfits picked out, including underwear as you can see! She even picked which shoes and socks. Crazy girl!
First day of 3rd grade, and outfit number one! I think there may have been a mini baby boom in 2000 because while there are four classes of each grade, Kiara's grade has always had five. So they have to put one of the classes in a portable classroom. That's where she is this year. She thinks its cool because they have their own bathroom.

Then there are Payton and Zander. With Zander walking now, Payton is teaching him how to drive Mommy CRAZY! Zander climbed on my table and played tangle all the threads on mom's serger. Then Payton had to one-up him and lost the screw on my sewing machine that holds the needle in. GRRRR..... All this was discovered the night I needed to hem some temple pants for a friend of ours who was going to the temple the next morning. (It is a small temple, which means no rental clothes; everyone has to have their own.) It's lucky he was in bed when I discovered this mischief! I was able to borrow a machine to get his pants done, and then I found that a different screw fit in that place so I could hem some other pants for my brother-in-law the next day. And make a matching bumper pad to go with the above quilt. Now its time to start any Christmas projects if I decide to do them. I tell you time just flies around here. I also have a wedding cake this week, and a good friend is turning 30 this week so while I'm baking up a storm, I may as well do a cake for her too! So next post will be cake filled!