Wilton

     As I was organizing my "cake cabinet", I was looking at all the stuff that I have acquired and I let slip a happy giggle. I've got to tell you how blessed I feel. Blessed for family, blessed for my God-given talents and blessed for the products that Wilton has put out there. If I didn't have these products, I don't think I'd be able to start off this cake business. If you're interested in making your own cakes let me show you a few of the items that have helped me get started.
First, the Wilton Deluxe Tip set. I use these tips for every single cake I make. When I first bought it, I didn't know what the heck I was doing so I took each individual tip and experimented with it. I was able to figure out what the tips are used for just by piping lines and stars. If you want an extra teaching tool you can always get the Wilton practice board. It's pretty self-explanatory, but it tells you what tip to use to make different piping lines, stars, drop flowers, and such. So, if you're going to start decorating your own cakes, I highly recommend buying a tip set.
Next, my favorite decorating tool is the Wilton fondant/gum-paste tool set. What a savor! I can't tell you how much I adore this set. When I was just starting out with fondant and gum-paste, I was only using my hands. I'm pretty decent at modeling fondant, but after I got the tool set, it was so much easier. There are a variety of ways you can use the tools and it's helped with my modeling so much.
My next favorite tool is the Wilton Easy Glide Fondant Smoother. Boy, that's a mouthful! Decorating cakes with fondant is so popular today. Fondant is that chewy sugar mold that you put on cakes to give them a smooth clean finish. Many cake decorators, including myself, have this tool. The fondant smoother makes it a lot easier to smooth your fondant on your cake. It has a round end and a flat end that are used for two different purposes. Both ends are able to get into the nooks and crannies of your cakes to smooth the fondant into place.
Of course, rolling fondant out on your table isn't going to cut it. There's a chance your fondant could get crumbs and such in it. To solve that, I use the Wilton Roll and Cut Mat. It's the best! It's so much easier to work with fondant and gum-paste on this mat. There are so many other Wilton products that I use and adore. I've run out of time for now but I will be writing more on the Wilton products I love and find so helpful. Until next time...










P.S. Here's a picture of the first cake I ever decorated:

First decorated cake

And here is one of my latest cakes:

Look how Wilton has helped my cakes!

Mothers...

     I just got off the phone with my mother and I promised her I'd be in bed by 10:30. How old am I again? Yes, I'm 25 but my dearest mother still likes to give me a bedtime. I only have 20 minutes to type this so I better hurry.

My mother: fashion victim of the 90s

     My mom is a one of a kind. Seriously. She's this incredibly strong woman who is so full of energy she'll knock you flat off your ass in seconds. She's tough and rough and cute and loves to snuggle. I have so many silly images of her, from long ago, tattooed in my head. Like this image for example: frilly, flower, pearly, curly...aaahhh. My mother is one beautiful lady, but lets face it, that dress would not look good on anyone. (No offense mom, if you're reading) Let's keep in mind folks that my mother was taken hostage by the 80s and 90s fashion style. It twas not her fault. I also have fond memories of watching my mother do her makeup. She was always good at it but it could become scary at moments. One day, long ago, my mother actually attached an eye last curler

Don't mess.

 to her eye and left it dangling there and chased me around the house. For what? I'm still not sure. But I laugh at the thought of that because I know I will be doing the same thing to my daughter to amuse myself. She's goofy and always in the mood to tickle me or my kids. My mom means the world to me. I know, I'm getting sentimental over here folks, but really, she's the best. Always so loving, always so forgiving, always so supportive, always so protective and always there for you. I couldn't be more proud of all the things MY mom has accomplished.

Oh hey! Did I mention she's a firefighter?

Until next time...

My momma

And for good measure, wasn't she the cutest lil' thing?

Getting down to business...

     What are your dreams? Your aspirations? When I was in high school I had my heart set on becoming a forensic pathologist. With many of the new crime drama shows out there, I'm sure you know what that means. My dream was to cut open dead people and figure out why they died. Yeah...not so much now. Maybe mother hood changed that in me. Maybe not. I still have a passion for forensic science but there are so many careers out there that I want to try. I think my list has grown to about, hmm, 92 dreamy careers I'd like to have in this lifetime.
     For starters, I would love to be a writer. But, I think this blog will be as far as I'll ever go with writing. I was good at it. I wish I could dream up of the next story that will be treasured by thousands of generations to come. Damn, J.K. Rowling for jumping me to the gun. I so wish I had thought up of Hogwarts. Cheers to her.
     Next on my dream career list would be an animal cop. Seriously. I have a huge passion for all creatures small and would love to take justice out on the idiots who hurt and commit such heinous crimes against animals.
     I would also love to become a ninja. I mean who wouldn't? Next, a school teacher, an artist, a singer, and the list could go on and on. I'm only 25, there's time right?
     But for right now, my passion is cake decorating. It's my fabulous creative outlet. And I'd like to turn my talents into a business. I have read so many success stories that I'm really motivated to start this cake business. I've never been to cake decorating school but I would die to go. Here are a few of my cakes I've made:

     Decorating is where I'm at in my life. I've got two great kids, a wonderful husband-to-be, and a HUGE passion for all things cake! Until next time...

Stress and my kids

     Today I'd like to talk about stress. I had one heck of a stressful day. I'm a mom who chooses to stay home with my four year old and two year old. I don't like to complain much about the work or the stress being a stay-at-home mom is but, today, I'm going to make an exception. MY KIDS DROVE ME NUTS TODAY. There I said it. I'm not ashamed of that at all. My wonderful four year old daughter is FULL of energy and likes to be running around constantly. My two year old son is a mama's boy and loves to be played with...all the time. Man, do I love my kids but sometimes I want to lock myself in the bathroom and just stay there. haha. When things are getting to be too much, (i.e. sibling fights, spilled messes, whining, and so on) there are two things I like to do to calm myself down and regroup. First thing I do, is grab my mp3 player and turn the volume right on up. ::sigh:: Music certainly can change my mood and it's a damn good thing. The other thing I do to calm down is go on over to ScaryMommy's blog and read her entries. ScaryMommy is such a fabulous writer and mother. She writes about every day motherhood and she's real about it. It always lifts my spirits to know I'm not the only mother out there who goes crazy every now and then. So you should go to her site and read. And enjoy. And maybe even laugh your ass off. She also has this ingenious thing called Confessions. You can find it on her blog. Confessions is a totally anonymous gig where you can type up a confession and have people 'like', 'hug', or 'omg, me too' your confessions. I have already confessed a bunch and have gotten many hugs from total strangers and it feels awesome. So, go ahead and confess anything you want. You may even get a hug out of it.
     Being a mom is one tough gig but it has it's rewards. You mothers out there know what I'm talking about. Those moments where your kiddos randomly come up and tell you how much they love you. Moments when you are so proud of them, you think your heart might explode. They are little treasures and I feel so blessed to have my monkeys....even if they drive me bananas.

Mother's day, 2 years ago.

My reason for being...

So, I'm inviting you into my little piece of heaven. I'd like to first introduce you to the man of my dreams: Adam

Adam and I dancing the night away.

I could seriously go on and use every cheesy, lovey adjective in the thesaurus to describe how wonderful he is, but I'll spare you. I first met Adam in 2004 when I was a freshman in college. I was 18 and he was 21. I remember the very first morning I met him. I remember my roommate talking me into joining crew. So to amuse her, I woke up a 4:30 in the morning for practice. We walked down to the lake, which was covered by fog, and then I saw him. He was wearing a green sweatshirt and some black workout pants. I asked my roommate who he was and then that was it. I fell in love with him right there by the lake. We started dating and everything was cloud 9 bliss! Five years later, we were engaged to be married and were pregnant with our first child.

Isabella Pauline

Bella at her 5th birthday party.

 The pregnancy was a rough one but the end result was so worth all of the morning sickness and swollen ankles. I give you: Isabella. She weighed 5 lbs 15 oz. She was a tiny little ball of love. I was overwhelmed when I had her. I had no idea I was capable of loving something so small so much. She's got the most wonderful and outgoing personality. Even from when she was just a baby. Here is my baby now:
It's so cliche to say this, but it's utterly amazing how fast they grow up. Bella is my little girly princess now. She loves me to death and I feel so blessed to have that love.
Two years after my little princess was born, we had a prince (no I did not give birth to Prince)haha.

Peter

Here's my little man now: God's greatest gift to me. These are the loves of my life. You will very often hear me talking about them. I'm sure it won't all be lovey-dovey-gooey-mushy stuff, cause let's face it, motherhood is not always glamorous. But I will keep you informed of my every day life. Until next time...

Oh! And here's me again:

Where to Begin?

Hello to the world. Let me start by saying, I am a blog virgin. Yes, yes I am. I'm 25 years old and have never started a blog and I'm very excited to do this. I've heard from many people what a blessing blogs can be. Honestly I was scarred to start one. I mean, who really would be interested in my every day life? But the more blogs I read online, the more I'm inspired to share my story. And believe me, my story is worth hearing.
I'd like to start off by saying I had a wonderful childhood, full of laughter and love. 








Out of respect for one of my family members, I had to delete some of the material I talked about. Sorry for this. But believe me, I have plenty to talk about!








I have a lot to tell you about. I hope someone listens...
My story continues tomorrow, and hopefully my blog will blossom. Love to you all. Until next time...