Touch Down!!

 I will be the first to say that I don't know the first thing about football. My husband patiently explains the rules to me, and tells me what's going on in the game, and updates me with "why the guys stopped running that time" every time I ask. Nonetheless, I know that there are large groups of people who congregate around this sport, following it, wearing their team's jersey and invest whole days to watching one game at a time. It would seem only natural then, that someone who was well into football would prefer their birthday cake to reflect that; from grass and yard lines, right down to an actual football, these are the perfect decorations for a foot ball fan! Such was the case for these cupcakes, and the birthday boy who received them. Although I was just excited to use my grass tip to pipe grass, and pasta press to cut fondant, the context was lost on me due to my established lack of knowledge of football. But knowing that these details matter to someone else- that I get. And gives me enough inspiration to try to get it right!

 

 

 

Delicious Dinosaurs

Sometimes you just need a batch of cupcakes to feed some boys who are at your house having a play date. I love entertaining, but in this case it was my husband who was hosting his friends so I was off the hook. But I can't have people in my house without feeding them a little something, so I sneakily baked a batch of mini cupcakes, and took the opportunity to try out my latest addition to my sprinkle collection; the brightly coloured dinosaurs! (I couldn't resist!)

So love these pre-historic sprinkles!

 This is an Apatosaurus doing back-stroke....(the orange guy in the center).

This is a day-dreaming Triceratops.

 

And this is a mountain-climbing Tyrannosaurus Rex!

Treats for Warmer Days

Whether it was just that I was done with red and green chocolate for another year, or was craving a different type of sprinkle, but I felt these little treats were just the thing for a January day. I feel I'm looking forward to Summer days with campfires, roasting marshmallows and eating your body weight in s'mores. I am aware, however that these days are still a ways away, so perhaps these are just my little positive thoughts to warmer days.

 

 

 

I had fun using my marshmallow-flavoured chocolate, which together with the dark chocolate layer, was sandwiched between sprinklings of graham cracker crumbs!

 

Beautiful Snow-Ladies

 

Just before Christmas, I treated myself to a little Spa treatment. I used to work with these girls, so I'm always happy to see them again, and I also enjoy feeding them sweet treats especially at Christmas when they are working so hard, smiling all the time, listening to Christmas music on repeat. In the past I've brought them cookies, and rocky road, or peanut butter cups, but this time I wanted something seasonal but specially made for them. Therefore, I adapted my traditional snowmen, for Hermes scarf-wearing Snow Ladies. With a bit of lipstick and mascara, these snow-peeps are sure to make an impression!

 

 

 

Retirement Celebrations

This cake feels like a home-grown cake. My friend who asked me to make the cake has been my friend as long as I can remember, and the event the cake is for involves a daycare I've known my whole life. I never went there myself, but I know plenty who did and I really think that adds a personal element you wont always be able to manufacture when baking and decorating a cake.

I loved the simplicity of the design, and the meaning behind their logo. I'm a firm believer that it's the little details that matter most, so I hope the Lady of Honour feels well loved as she starts her "new life".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Latimoose!!!

There is an explanation behind the title of the post. Part-time, I'm taking a massage therapy course and my beloved husband has been helping me study. Unfortunately his knowledge of anatomy is rusty to non-existent, so often I'm translating as we go. This particular gem was chiselled from the time when while doing origin and insertion points of certain muscles, he came to a road block when trying to read Latissimus dorsi, and through his own internal translator, "Latimooses" was coined.

This got me thinking that this would the perfect nerdy Christmas card from a massotherapist: "Merry Latimoose!" But this year, I thought I'm not going to rush to make the cards, so instead I'll decorate a cake with it. We had an end-of-year pot luck in class and I brought a chocolate cake. Adorned with a festive design and wishing everyone a Merry Latimoose with icing, and light bulb and snowflake sprinkles.

 

A Merry Latimoose to you all.....

The Season of the Bake Sale

The quintessential event of the holidays, and one of the best ways to gather a group of people in support of a common cause, the bake sale has taken place in many a school, church, and community event in order to raise money while feeding the masses. My Mother has donated hundred of cookies and squares for these bake sales along the years, and I have had to help her move countless tins and plates of the bake goodies from the kitchen, to the car, to the table- heavily laden with sweet treats.

Donating baked goods to a bake sale is a particularly adult thing to do in my mind, and as I am becoming more and more of an adult, I felt very right donating a few cupcakes to a friend's bake sale she was organising for her daughter's school. They always say, you help where you can by doing what you can, and I can bake therefore this is how I can help.

 

 

 

 

I made a raffle prize for the sale as well. I put together a bouquet of cake pops in a festive mug, hopefully someone had a good treat!