Phew! Its been a while....

I have been extremely busy since February!  Here is a list of what I've been up to:

• Becoming an Aunt in Feb :) 
• Getting engaged in July
• Wedding planning, which is extremely time consuming and difficult..and of course fun!
• Graduating from my dietetic internship in Novemeber
• Anxiously awaiting a perfect first time job to fall into my lap, ha!  (really job hunting all day every day)!

Here are some pictures of cupcakes and cakes that I have made since my last posts! :) 
 

My next project is to make Christmas Cupcakes for my Fiance's Christmas Potluck on December 18th! CANT WAIT :)
Pictures to be posted soon!

Birthday!

Last night (2/6) was Superbowl Sunday and the day that my family and I celebrated the 21st birthday of Jeremy & Jessica, my twin brother and sister!

I had the opportunity to make a cake, and with the leftovers, I made some valentines day cupcakes!  I definitely learned a crucial lesson in decorating this cake -- DONT EVER use store bought frosting!  Always, ALWAYS make your own!  I had both, a little of my own and a little store bought!  I tried to decorate and make the shells around the cake with the store bought frosting, however it was too thick and runny, and dripped down the sides of the cake!  I was pretty upset and frustrated yesterday, but today I realize, that hey, we live and we learn! :)   The upside, was that it TASTED FANTASTIC and the family was all together to enjoy it! :)  

And the cupcakes turned out beautifully!  So far, I am WAY better at cupcakes, but am getting a little bit better with the cakes every time!  Pictures are below...

Let the learning continue :) 

Tara

Cupcakes!

I have begun to realize that cupcakes are TOO fun for comfort!  I find myself daydreaming during work and play about all of the different cupcakes I could make for different occasions!  I have only had some experience with cupcakes, but plan to get more in the near future! 


My Boyfriend (Aaron) is REALLY close to becoming an uncle, and I cant wait to make all kinds of goodies for the new baby (AVA!)  This past weekend I took part in throwing a baby shower for hopefully my soon to be Niece! ;)  I was able to make a beautiful cupcake tower for the shower and it turned out GREAT! With the help of my wonderful boyfriend who built the tower himself!


Pictures will be posted as soon as the mom and dad to be get the pictures up!  I was really proud of these cupcakes and the tower :)  The practice is starting to help! Success!!!!!!

a little bit of practice... makes a BIG difference!

ok, I admit it has been a while since my last post! I am still new to all of this AND was a little busy!

I graduated from WMU on December 18, 2010 with my degree in Dietetics!  My family and I couldn't be more proud. It has been a long road to getting that degree!

Speaking of graduation and baking, I was fortunate enough to make my OWN graduation party cake :)AND since my graduation party was on the same day as my little sisters 8th Birthday, I definitely couldn't leave her out!

A few things I learned while making this cake: (ughh) :)

1.) While tripling a recipe, make sure you also TRIPLE the amount of eggs (1st mistake). I had to take all of the batter out of the prepared pans, combine, add 6 more eggs, re-beat, and then pour back into the cake pans! whew!

2.) Since I had made a marble cake with white and purple in the first batch, but had to remix all of the batter, I had no other choice then to make the entire purple! (which turned out pretty actually)!

3.) Make sure to spread the batter out EVENLY before baking, otherwise it will be lopsided, and will NOT be easy to fix! (as seen below)!

4.) The endless hours of watching tutorials on youtube.com only helped in a very small way when it came to evening out my buttercream!

5.) Don't have an audience while decorating! It was about midnight the night before the party and everyone seemed to be interested in what I was doing in the kitchen! Including my boyfriend Aaron, My sisters Brianna (8) & Jessica (20), my brother Dylan (9), and my Mom (I wont disclose your age Mom, don't worry)!. Everyone began to pick apart all of the small imperfections in the cake until I had to make them all leave!

6.) Be happy with your creation! We got it to the party in great condition and everyone truly enjoyed that I had made it and that it tasted good!

7.) And finally, that I need more practice, A LOT more practice!

Ok, without further ado, here she is!

I should mention also that since my little brother Dylan and boyfriend where in the kitchen with my afterwards with the extra materials, they too made a cake! :)  

Next, Christmas Cupcakes and cookies :)

Money, Money, Money!

So as I stated in the first post, I plan to make my first cake tomorrow!!! However, This may have to wait until Friday since I do have an exam to study for!  School gets in the way of everything!!  I AM doing my grocery shopping though and man....its not cheap!!!   There is a lot of stuff to buy when it comes to ingredients, but it should go a long way!  ...hopefully : )

Until Tomorrow, or Friday...

Tara

Today is the day!

For the past three years I have been telling myself that I needed a hobby, something that I would enjoy doing that could take my mind off of work and school!  I am a 5th year senior at Western Michigan University where I am majoring in Nutrition/Dietetics.  I have a passion for cooking and baking, and love fashion! I also like to think that I am somewhat of a creative being!  

Baking + Fashion = CAKE DECORATING!  How did I not come up with this idea sooner? 

To my own disbelief, it took me years to come up with, but I have finally found something that I am passionate and beyond excited to begin, and thought that I would write about my journey to becoming the most fabulous cake decorator around!  (For real!)

My journey began about a year ago when I began watching endless hours of Cake Boss on TLC, followed by Top Chef just desserts, and many other shows on BRAVO!  I realized my passion for the art, and bought my first book just this past Saturday October 30th, 2010 entitled "The Essential Cake Decorating Guide" published by Thunder Bay Press in 2001.  I have looked through it extensively and am extremely excited to begin! 

I also took a trip to Hobby Lobby today (November 2, 2010) and spent entirely way too much money on the beginning equipment!!  (and some other things of course..ha ha)

I plan to make my first cake this Thursday!  Stay tuned for pictures and the run down of my experiences to come!

With Love,

Tara

Side note:  (Julie and Julie is one of the best movies ever made, and probably my biggest inspiration for beginning this blog!! )