Talkin' about a Beach Wedding Cake

Today I met with a lovely mother-of-the-groom to discuss the beach-themed cupcake wedding cake I'm making for her son and his wife.  The party is in July, a local celebration for a wedding that already took place far away from home.  Cindy (the M.O.G.) was referred to me by our mutual friend Chris, for whom I've baked a number of important family cakes in the past, including individual pineapple upside down cakes for her son's rehearsal dinner a few years ago.  Those were really pretty cakes!

Cindy and I met at Uncommon Grounds in Saratoga, over my lunch hour.  We hadn't met previously, but she recognized me from having seen my blog profile picture, and I was probably the only person carrying a box of cupcakes!  For her sampling, I made Paula Deen's red velvet cupcakes (recipe posted a few weeks back).  Last night, when I thought my baking for the weekend was behind me, I remembered that I had promised my son-in-law Bill scones for his coworkers, as his way to greet them and a new week on a Monday morning.  So, I whipped together a dozen-and-a-half chocolate chip walnut scones (which were so well-received that Bill got requests for the recipe!), and later realized I needed to provide a sample for M.O.G. Cindy today.  I'd gone through two 10-lb. bags of King Arthur flour in a week (!) and there was barely two cups of flour left.  It could be done -- I took Paul Deen's recipe and halved it, coming up with almost a dozen red velvet cup cakes.  This morning, before work, I made about a quarter of Paula's corresponding recipe for cream cheese frosting, and took the iced cupcakes with me to work. 

Paula's recipe!

I really enjoyed meeting Cindy and talking about the way the cupcakes will be decorated -- with fondant sand dollars, sea shells, and little teddy graham sun bathers lolling on fruit-stripe gum towels.  She wants the cupcake display to be lively, colorful, and fun-loving.  It will be, I promise.  Can't wait to see how it comes out.  I'll keep you posted - there's about a month to go before this cake makes its debut!In the meantime, there's always time to enjoy my buddies!

Hank (l., with haircut) and Pete (r. with cuteness!)

Friday Eve, Red Velvet Cupcakes, and Friends

Thursday ranks among my favorite days of the week.  By the time Thursday arrives, the weekend seems close enough that I can relax and bit and begin to enjoy a more casual mindset.  Thursday, as Friday Eve (or "Thriday" as my sister Anne refers to it), becomes the day of happy anticipation for the expected freedom from the hectic pace of the work week.  Thursday may have wonderful merits all its own, but I see it as the big assist thrown to Friday, to help usher in a well-deserved break with unstructured time.  Of course, I never seem to find unstructured time, because I manage to structure the heck out of the 48-plus hours that commence as I walk out of my office on a Friday afternoon.  I'm working on that...

This Thursday was particularly nice.  My boss agreed to give me Friday afternoon off, thus getting my weekend off to a head start.  This afternoon, one of our lovely student assistants, Dara, shared red velvet cupcakes she baked for a little birthday celebration we had for her co-worker Logan.  I LOVE to enjoy other peoples' baking, and these cupcakes were outta sight!  Dara made Paula Deen's recipe for red velvet cake, and topped them with cream cheese frosting.  They were beautiful and equally delicious!  I had one and told myself it was standing in for the yogurt and protein bar that are usually my afternoon snack! 

Dara's Red Velvet Cupcake!

After work, I met six friends at Jacob and Anthony's in Saratoga Springs.  We ordered drinks and shared appetizers (pictured below), and wished our friend Mary Cogan a happy belated birthday.  Our young server Marcus was terrific and enjoyed overhearing (I think he enjoyed it) the banter, at times silly and at times serious, between a bunch of 50+-somethings making sense of our worlds.

And to top it all off...

Mary's complimentary dessert
at Jacob & Anthony's!