Monday, December 12, 2011

HELLO Again!

A great many things can be resolved with kindness, even more with laughter, but there are some things that just require cake :)
I have been extremely busy with a new project/adventure. But I find it very necessary to start making blog posts again. AND more of it. Stay tuned.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Monday, August 29, 2011

White Russian Cupcakes for a Bachelorette Party!

I made White Russian Cupcakes for my cousins bachelorette Party! (is that how you spell Bachelorette?!) Along with the large cupcakes I made tons of miniature ones. My cousin said "I don't want to do the silly Suck for a Buck or anything like that," .. so I made miniature cupcakes that we put in a big box and took downtown with us! They were a HUGE hit! Telling people at the bars that pretty little cupcakes have vodka and kahlua in them? Of course people went CRAZY! We made some GOOD cash!! I am brilliant! These turned out great. I dumped lots and lots of extra kahlua in. It was a fun night with the ladies! I think some friends and I should pretend every night is bachelorette night and sell cupcakes??!





Monday, August 8, 2011

A Pie gathering.

Blueberry and Blackberry Crumble Pie and a Blackberry/Lime Pie. I wanted to make a whipped topping or a meringue topping for the lime and berry pie but ran out of time. It would have really topped it off. Put a bit of a berry/chocolate, red wine in with the fruit. 

Friends and I gathered for some drinks and pie. I think we had too many drinks before the pie.. resulting in.. a big mess of pie. I think I learned I can definitely slice pie way better without a few drinks... Making it look way cleaner and more beautiful :)  My kitchen ended up with crumbs all over and a messy table! But I had a bit of berry pie experimenting.. Probably things to perfect. Not so sure about the lime cream layer, It could be a bit thicker I think. Either cooking it longer or adding a bit more gelatin or agar powder. or well, something to thicken it a bit more. 







Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Videos

I love Miranda July and her way of telling touching little stories. Her book "No one belongs here more than you" and her videos are great



And why have I loved videos from some random person for years? I want an adorable little girl and to make artsy videos to good tunes, teach her gymnastics and to make pretty cakes! That would be the life.





Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Raspberry Cheesecake Fun





Wild flower seed paper for tags! Be Happy. Enjoy the simple things :)  - Plant your simple piece of paper in dirt and watch it GROW! 

Pretty paper makes everyone feel good. So do cookies!


Saturday, June 11, 2011

the simple things. Simplifying my life

So I realize I need to do something really badly. I need to simplify my life.

Simplifying in order to be happier, save money, be more organized and to more greatly succeed in my passions.

I need to clean and get rid of clutter. I am a girl, sometimes thinking I want certain products such as Aveda hair products and Bioelements skin care.. and so on. So if I have certain products I know are trusted - I must continue to know my trusted products and not consume quantity items. I've been going through a few things in my house lately and realize I really need to have a rummage sale and get rid of things I do not need or use. I need to stick to quality things that I use and that are important. I could use a bit of extra cash, but also this would help me feel more comfortable in my environment. With less things to clutter, I could use my art room more accurately and know what is ME and what I should be doing.

In this cleaning process, I want to make sure I collect all of my recipes on pieces of paper that are floating around and put them ALL in my book. I also need a seperate notebook for notes, instead of my multiple moleskins. I need ONE good one, or maybe continue to have the one I always keep in my purse but make sure I have another that I continuosly jot things down in while I am browsing online and researching books etc. All of the baking notes and different findings, ideas, sketches that are put into one big tub need to each be put in their special place. Cake sketches all in the same sketchpad. Better organization will help me keep track of things I have learned and developed and will help me continue to do so. Stop with all the post its? MAYBE. they just end up everywhere and maybe aren't really followed real well.

A book I've been reading (slowly) called "the Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin goes through simple things that we can do to create a more calm life creating a more happier life. Simple things such as keeping things around your home picked up. Everything in your home should have a place where it belongs - no clutter. Why leave something thrown on the table, a shirt on the floor, shoes in the wrong place, when they simply have a place they can go. And it doesn't take much to put it them there. The book also talks about letting things go. Annoyed by your spouse or roommate for not doing things, or leaving a little dish dirty - figure out polite ways to tell them assertively or it probably REALLY is not something to lose sleep over. And do not always expect praise or appreciation. The books explains how "feeling right" is about living the life that's right for YOU - in occupation, location, marital status, your schedule/routine and so on. And you're beliefs about a certain schedule, morals, etc are what make you happy and who you are, others opinions on success and the way to live is theirs and does not apply to you. And it is okay for you to disagree with others ways of life or think they have a lack of motivation. Or it is okay to not be on a set schedule that many would find "normal" It is okay for you to want different things.

So along with decluttering and simplifying to know what is most important, what the necessities are - I want to simplify things in all aspects. Focus on what is important. Focus on what keeps me going. Stop worrying so much and analyzing every little thing. Stop wondering so much - why is this like this or why did so and so?..  STOP. It is merely a waist of time and energy. It is good to think sometimes and process things to know what you believe in, but sometimes it is just too much and you tend to assume things and make yourself paranoid (and sometimes it just gets you into trouble and it makes you unhappy). Know what you believe in and what you disagree with, know what you do not understand, but do not over analyze. Simplify. You can not control other peoples actions and you, nor I, will ever make sense of why people do the things they do, but we CAN be the best we can be and worry about our own actions instead of others.

What in life makes us happy? What makes us breath, tick.. what makes us want to get up every morning? What do we NEED? SIMPLIFY. My goal - Well I've been telling myself what keeps me going for awhile, but I am going to try to better simplify and put what is most important to me on the top of my list and focus. What do I need?  My passions, creativity, succeeding, work, family, food, water, bread, exercise, health. Pomegranate Vitamin Water, art supplies, ingredients, pans, liners. sleep.  Do I need to wonder what's going on at the bar, why that boy acted like that, why someone didn't call, why so and so did something a certain way or didn't do something? Don't worry about it. Do what makes you happy and worry about your actions. Is there something that really brings stress - a situation, a task, a person?  Get rid of it. Simplify and don't surround yourself with things that make you extremely stressed or unhappy. Do I need 3 bottles of hairspray that I dont use? Do I need to have so many food items stocked up that I never even use? Or buy new chap stick when I have others laying around I don't like? no. Get rid of clutter and only buy trusted things that I use. Saving money will obviously help me be what I want to be and stress me less, but de-cluttering will also improve my happiness by just feeling more organized. Having a clean space and not feeling crowded would just bring simplicity and calm. It would help one feel fresh, bright, clean. And if things are all in their place, with not TOO many things, it would help one stay focused - and obviously know where to find what when they need it (hey that would cause less stress too!)

Don't think I am a filthy person though! I am actually a pretty clean freak already. But I just feel like I have way too many things I don't need and things just pile up. Simplifying and sticking to the bare essentials will gives us a cleaner, more focused, simpler life :) Also, along with simplifying other areas of life, someone a few months ago said to me after my continuous complaining (however I was going through a lot of life changes and very hard times), but they said, "you have a lot to complain about and you have good reasons to complain - but all of these issues/things you do not like, are things you can fix." So - if we do not like something, we FIX IT! Simplify everything. It is really that simple.

http://happyherbivore.com/2011/06/minimalist-kitchen/  This also got me thinking more and reminded me of the Happiness Project. I am right along with you!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Cupcakes and Boxes

This was me having fun while watching Kings Speech on a Saturday night. Experimenting making a box because it seemed like the thing to do. Ended up a bit too fancy and I spent too much time for whatever it was for! But I think I've thought of a way to simplify the same version/style of box, making it smaller and less work - then I could make a bunch and put a single cupcake in them for sharing! 
I had some idea in my head that this was a cool box design and had a tag idea to go with it.. but, what cupcakes would really come in that fancy of a box. It ended up a bit too much in the end. What fancy cupcakes fit inside a fancy box?! Super moist Carrot Cupcakes. MmmmMm.








Saturday, June 4, 2011

Food Photography

This makes me smile and I could watch it over and over.




Lovely Things.

Cupcake Bath Fizzes! and some groovy little notebooks!

Baked Donuts - Chocolate with Raspberry Frosting







Saturday, May 14, 2011

Don't Kill the Birthday Girl - Tales from an Allergic Life

There are so many people out there suffering from food allergies. And there are many others out there that are allergic to peanuts, eggs, mangos, etc. etc... There are other's who's list goes on. There are others trying to find ways to live fuller, healthier and happy lives. This book looks interesting and here is a nice little media clip..
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m2H3WM4LM48U1N/ref=ent_fb_link

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Tuesday, May 3, 2011




The trouble of battling creativity with relationships. Artists are often very selfish and to accomplish everything and stay focused, its sometimes important to not be distracted. So it seems a challenge.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Party Time.
Gluten Free Ginger Cheesecake

Gluten Free Berry, Poppy Streusel


Raspberry Cream Cheese Cake

simple things.