Black and White Vintage Lace Cake

I have a folder on the computer named 'Cakes.'  In that folder are all the cakes I have done, the cakes I have upcoming, and also an additional folder called 'ideas.'  The 'ideas' folder is where I put all the pictures of cakes I come across that I want to try one day.  Cakes that I love.  This is one of the cakes that has been in my 'ideas' folder for a while:

I just love it.  I had an opportunity to do a version of it for my grandparents' 70th wedding anniversary.  It just wasn't black and white.

Well, last week my mom got a phone call from a family friend wanting a last minute cake for her daughter's 30th birthday.  I was there when she got the call, and when she hung up she said, "If I bake the cake, do you want to decorate it?"  That sounded like a plan to me.  I had already promised several people "no more cakes" after my little episode (until after the pregnancy, of course).  I don't think I mentioned it in that post, but I had done two cakes that weekend, and as much as I enjoyed doing them, they about did me in.  But I figured I could squeeze this one in with no trouble, especially since I wasn't having to bake it.

Mama told the lady that I would be decorating it and to go look at my facebook 'cakes' album to get an idea of what I do.  I know who the daughter is and used to see her at Fabiano's when Josh and I were regulars there.  I always admired her attire; she was very stylish in a vintage kind of way.  Since the lady didn't say how she wanted the cake decorated, I thought I'd keep that in mind when deciding on a design.  Well, she called back after having looked at my album and told Mama that "Katie is a little funky."  Mama told her what I had said about her being stylish in a vintage kind of way, and she said, "Exactly."  She also added that Katie likes black and white.

So my mind immediately went back to that cake.  It's got the vintage style lace, and the black and white version is just so gorgeous to me.

Now, I pride myself on being able to make a cake better than the picture that I'm given, but in this case I can't say that I've done that, by any means.  But I do love the way it came out, and she was very happy with it.

Shark Attack Cake

Our good friend Jordan texted Josh a couple weeks ago and asked if I had ever done a shark cake. His response was, "Not yet..."

His fiance's son Harrison loves sharks. But not regular ol' sharks; scary sharks. So I got busy planning my first shark cake. I was told the bloodier, the better.

Well, I didn't go crazy with blood, but I did decide to have a limb hanging out of his mouth.


This one was fun. I'm realizing that I enjoy the 'boy' cakes more than I do the 'girl' cakes. I hope that doesn't run anyone off - of course I enjoy doing all of them, but I've never been a real 'girly' girl, so the pinks and purples don't excite me. I guess I'd just rather make fake blood and shark teeth over ruffles and lace.  (That is bound to change here very soon....)   :)

Happy Birthday Harrison!

 

 

Sweet Snowman Cake

A couple weeks ago I did a birthday cake for my little cousin.  Her mom wanted a snowman themed cake, and I found this one online that I thought was sweet. 

So I got to recreating it, but with a more girly feel.  (I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I copied it so much, but that's about all my 9 month pregnant self can handle right now.  I look forward to the day that I can come up with these ideas myself.  But for now, I'll continue to rely on inspiration from others.)

Here's my girly version of it:

Are We There Yet?

When I was pregnant with Bennett, I felt better than I have in my whole life. The whole way through. I mean, I had sciatica and a tiny bit of indigestion at the VERY end, but other than that, I felt on top of the world. With Cannon, I felt great during that pregnancy too, but it wasn’t quite as easy as the first. I had a two and a half year old to run after, so what can you expect? But I was still so happy to be able to say that I never became one of those pregnant women begging for someone to “PLEASE GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME!!!”

This time…

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME ALREADY???

I feel guilty having that attitude, but for the past week, I have come very close to tears on several occasions just because I am so. darn. uncomfortable.

It started Saturday. I woke up that morning cramping. Lying in bed, I told Josh that it felt like the sciatica pain I’ve been experiencing, except it was coming on in waves and it wasn’t due to a sudden move by me or the baby. I was just lying in bed, hurting every once in a while. Later that day, I was explaining the feeling to my mom. It hadn’t occurred to me before, but as the words were coming out of my mouth telling her, I realized what I was describing. Before I could say anything she said, “Marcie, do you think you could be having contractions?”

It was just strange to think that’s what it could be, because I was still two weeks from my scheduled c-section date and three weeks from my actual due date. With the other two pregnancies, I never once had a contraction before my due date. Bennett was born two days after his due date, and the day he was born was the first day I had ever experienced a contraction (and what an amazing experience that was - really). No Braxton Hicks before then, nothing. With Cannon, nothing. My c-section was scheduled a week before his due date, and I felt nothing at all leading up to that. So I just didn’t even consider that when I first felt the cramping the other morning. I’m still not 100% sure that’s what it was, just because it was only on one side, and it was in my back. Though I’ve heard plenty of people talk about ‘back labor.’

The contractions subsided that morning, but returned later in the day while Josh and I were out seeing a movie (thanks, Mama, for letting us have that little outing). I’m sure the people behind us in the theater loved watching me move from side to side the entire movie, trying to find a comfortable spot. They stopped again after the movie, only to return once more that evening while sitting on the couch. They never got more intense or more frequent; just the same uncomfortable cramping in my lower right back.

Sunday and Monday I didn’t feel them at all. Completely gone. But I was worn out. From doing nothing. I just sat around all day, unable to muster the energy to do a thing. While the boys were napping on Sunday, I sat down on the couch and just stared into space for a long time. I caught myself several times with my head back on the couch and my mouth wide open, asleep. I’m sure that was a lovely sight when Josh walked into the room to check on me. I had no TV on, no radio; just sitting in silence. It felt nice, just to rest. Until I tried to get up and walk, which proved quite difficult. The longer I sit in one position, the longer it takes me to ‘learn to walk’ again. I look like a 90 year old woman trying to get to her walker so she can go into the kitchen. It’s lovely.

Yesterday Cannon and I met my parents at Cracker Barrel for a delicious breakfast that I had been craving for a while (their pancakes are from heaven). After that, they took Cannon back home with them so I could return a few things from Christmas before having to get Bennett from Montessori. I first went to Bed Bath and Beyond. Thankfully, the ‘expectant mother’ spot was open right in front, so I took advantage of that (almost certainly for the last time :( ).

As I walked into the mall, with every painful step I debated turning right around and going back to my car. But Bed Bath and Beyond is right there, so I was able to make those returns before heading back to my parents'. Seeing the condition I was in, Mama and Daddy offered to get Bennett for me so I could just take Cannon home and lay him down for a nap. They kept Bennett until supper time, which was a huge help.

I napped while Cannon napped, and then pretty much assumed my position on the couch and stayed there until I fell asleep for the night. The cramping started back around 7:30 and lasted for about an hour. This time she was moving around quite a bit, making it painful. I got up to eat a bowl of cereal, but that was about all I did. Josh fixed the boys’ supper and put them to bed. I did read Bennett’s stories to him, but from the couch rather than upstairs like we usually do. I felt pretty useless, but didn’t feel too bad about it, because that’s what I obviously need right now.

I’m getting ready to call the doctor to inform them of my condition the last few days. Every time I go in they ask if I’ve had any contractions and how I’m feeling. And every time I say, “Nope, not the first one! And I never had any with my other two pregnancies, so…” And they say, “Okay, well there’s no reason to believe you would with this one either.” My last appointment was last Thursday, and boy, have things changed since then.

I'm not sure if they'll move my c-section up, put me on bed rest, or just say 'Hang in there!' We'll see...

(Oh, and I want to post the pictures of my last two cakes, but Blogger says I've reached my maximum for pictures. Boo. Guess I'm gonna have to pay them something if I want to put up any more. I'll figure something out soon.)

Mini Presents Cakes

My good friend Miranda ordered these cakes for her in-law's Christmas party in Charleston.  She wanted 3 miniature, square cakes to look like presents.  One red, one sage green, and one tiffany-ish blue, each with a cream bow. 

One was Italian cream, one carrot, and one chocolate with peppermint icing.  She had originally said chocolate on chocolate, but I called her and told her I had some of the white chocolate peppermint cream cheese icing leftover from the wedding cake I had just done and did she want to try it?  She said, "Yum.  Sounds good!"

 

Flowers and Branches Wedding Cake

About a year ago, I was contacted on facebook by a girl who had gotten my name from her sister.  Her sister knows Josh and his sister from their hometown, and had seen some pictures of my cakes on my blog, which she found through Lauren's blog.  

Well, after corresponding with Hallee over the last year, we finally pinned down her preferences and I had the pleasure of making her wedding cake this past December.  She wanted a square, off-centered, cake with buttercream icing, branches, and deep purple flowers.  Here's what I gave her:

This was a devil's food cake with a white chocolate peppermint cream cheese icing and, if I don't say so myself, it was tasty. 

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Last night Josh and I hired a babysitter for the first time.  We wanted to go see a movie and have dinner, just the two of us.  Well, the movie didn't wind up happening, because the show times just didn't work with our dinner and babysitter arrangements.  So, dinner it was.

We went to Gabe's Downtown in Villa Rica.  Between it being one of Josh's accounts for work, us knowing a few of the employees, and this being where lots of our acquaintances in the community come to have dinner, it was a very enjoyable outing.  It just feels good to go into a restaurant and have the bartender yell out (over a crowd of people at the bar), "Josh! Marcie!"  And then, while Josh and I enjoyed our drinks at the bar while waiting for a table (for Josh, a Manhattan - for me, water with lemon), to have a couple of the servers and then the owner's wife come over and chat with us for a little bit.

While we enjoyed our (delicious) meal, our server sat with us for a while, and then our other friend came over and did the same.  Our meal wound up being completely comped, so when we got up to leave, we went into the kitchen to thank Gabe, the owner. 

On our way out we spotted some acquaintances of ours from when each of us was on a committee for the city.  We stood at the bar for another 15 minutes talking to them.

It just feels so good to get out and socialize.  Josh is used to this - this is what he does for his job.  He goes out to restaurants and socializes with the bartenders, servers, owners, and while doing that, probably runs into people he knows and chats with them too.  But for me... I haven't done that in - oh, let's see, Bennett turned four in December - about four years.

Josh and I used to go up to Fabiano's all the time to hang out, eat dinner, play trivia, or just sit at the bar and split a pitcher of beer.  We'd talk to the bartender (this is how we met our good friend, Dustin), the servers, and our friends and neighbors who would be in there too, doing the same thing.  Then we'd walk back home, often with a couple people joining us.

I remember there was this one neighbor of ours that we always saw out.  The husband.  We'd always spend some time talking with him, and we'd ask how his wife was.  We hardly ever saw her out.  Every once in a while she'd be with him, but it was very rare.  They had a small child.  I remember wondering why she was never hanging out with him, with or without the baby.  I thought she must have just been a little anti-social or something.

Oh my gosh.  Do I ever understand it now.  Because I am her.  I have been for four years.  Josh still goes out every once in a while, either with my brothers, or a friend that's in town or something.  And I'm never there with him.  Ever.  I'm always at home, taking care of our brood.  Which is totally fine with me - I'm not that interested in hanging at the bar anymore, you know?  And I would guess that our neighbor felt the same way back when I was labeling her "anti-social."

But anyway, last night reminded me of how good it feels to go into a place and have everyone know you and greet you so warmly.  You feel like part of the community, and I haven't felt like a part of the community in a while.  My own choice, but still.  It was a nice reminder that they're still out there when I'm ready to participate again.