Real life, crazy busy!

Hi there! Thought you might like to see what I've been up to over the past month. We've had a lot of happy family moments, beginning with the wedding of my nephew Ben and his new wife Megan at the end of September. It was an amazingly beautiful wedding at St. Peter's Church in Saratoga Springs, followed by a joyful reception at The Prime at Saratoga National Golf Course. The weather was perfect. My sister Anne, mother of the groom, was stunning! Ben's three brothers were all there for him. Three of my children were there with me, along with my grandsons Henry and Peter.  It was a wonderful celebration of family, bringing Megan into the fold!

Ben and Megan
photo by Elario Photography Inc. (He took amazing photos!)

We also celebrated, on October 19th, little Pete's 4th birthday. He wanted a Batman-themed cake this year (after years of Thomas and Friends cakes) and he got his wish. I was working very long days and nights the week of Pete's birthday, so I baked his cake the Friday morning before his Sunday birthday, and knowing I had to work all day Saturday for our museum gallery opening, I came home Friday night and frosted and decorated (in home-made fondant) the Batman cake from 11 pm to 5 am! I knew I had to keep going because I'd have NO energy after another long day of work! It came out better than I could ever have hoped, and here's the photo:

Pete's Batman Cake with my
home-made fondant!

Interspersed among these big celebrations are the everyday moments that make me smile. Here are a few photos of such moments:

Henry and Peter taking a stroll up the driveway.

Shower cake for my friend Colleen Barber Hursh.
Her baby is due any day now! Can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl!

Trick or treating at Skidmore College's Apartments this past Sunday. Such fun!
Henry & Peter are the Batman brothers! CLICK TO ENLARGE

Hunter Moon a few weeks ago - stopped the car to take this one!

That's all for now. I miss writing the blog and connecting with my readers. Can't wait to get back in the saddle!

So long for now and I'll be back soon!

All the best,

Jeannie

Boys and Cake to Celebrate!

This is a short-and-sweet post, kinda like the recipients of this past Saturday's cakes! The first, a Onesie Cake, was for Erin's soon-to-be-born baby boy. Her mom Nancy is a great and life-long friend of mine. We went to high school together. This will be Nancy's second grandchild, second grandson. Her son Jason has a cutie patootie little guy named Kenny with the biggest brown eyes I've ever seen!

A few words about the cake - Nancy sent a photo of her inspiration cake, a fondant-covered cake that looked like a baby's onesie. The inspiration cake had little nautical flags on the bib. Nancy asked for jungle animals. I'm not an expert at fondant-covered cakes, so I told Nancy I'd be happy to do it in buttercream with fondant decorations. The cake was a black-and-white marble cake, the marble made with two batches of a white cake recipe marbled with one recipe of dark chocolate fudge cake. I let the BIG cake cool overnight and carved its shape the next day. I made a sketch indicating just where I needed to cut away, and did just that. I crumb-coated the sides and top and allowed that to sit for a few hours to make sure the crumbs stayed contained, which is important when you're frosting raw, crust-free edges. I liberally frosted it in a pretty periwinkle blue, and smoothed out the surface with a paper towel (great trick!) and a fondant smoother. Then I started to make defined marks on the cake with a skewer and other gadgets (like a fondant wheel). I loaded up my pastry bag and added shell borders. The bib, jungle animals, and buttons were all shaped with fondant that I colored, molded, and even painted (with paste food coloring). I loved making this cake for Erin's new little bundle, and I am thrilled that it got such great reviews, not only for its appearance, but also for its flavor. Here is the Onesie cake:

The other cake I made for Saturday was for my great-nephew Carriag's 4th birthday party. Carraig's mom, Emily, told me Carraig really wanted a tuba cake. OK. A first, but who's to deny a 4-year old the cake of his dreams?  Not me! So, I looked up images of tubas all over the internet, got a bit of inspiration, and made this cake -- in true family fashion, chocolate on chocolate! -- as well as cupcakes for one of the cutest and sweetest little guys in the world! Here are Carraig's cupcakes and dream cake:

Hope you've enjoyed seeing these cakes as much as I enjoyed telling you about them!