My daughter and I love watching all the cooking and baking shows that we can find. We record them and watch when we can, talking about all the different cupcakes, designs, flavors, etc... Well, we decided that we needed to take cake decorating classes, and I love that she is old enough now that we can do fun stuff like this together. (She also loves scrapbooking with me! Yeah!)
We had our first of eight classes today. We made the cakes and frosting at home then brought them in for decorating. Assignment number one: a butterfly cake. Things I learned:
Making everything from scratch is the best.
Licking frosting from the mixer makes me feel like I'm five again.
Making a basic butterfly shape is easier then I thought. Just cut the 8" round in half!
Frosting a cake properly is a lot harder then I thought. There is definitely a technique to getting it to stick to your cake without your super yummy, moist cake falling apart. My daughter and I are assuming we will get better at this.
We learned to make our own gel, piping bags using parchment paper, and colored frosting. There were certain techniques we were being taught so our designs all looked fairly similar but that's okay.
Spending two hours with my daughter, laughing, talking and having a great time is priceless. Here is her finished cake.
And here is mine.
The tip we used for the edging was a #17. And we were both very excited to use a bit of edible glitter! We had a blast and I bet your local bake supply shop has classes too. We are learning at Kake Kreations in Canoga Park. I've gone here for a gazillion years to pick up baking supplies and I always stopped to watch the people in class - now that's us. I also love that you can take the classes whenever you want so if you need to skip a week or two it's no big deal. I'll post again after our next class and hopefully you'll see an improvement as we get better.
http://karenard.com/blog/2010/08/cake-decorating-101-1-of-8.html
Hi my name is Karen; I'm a snacker. (Do I hear you all saying "Hi Karen"?) I'm one of those eat-six-small-meals-over-the-course-of-the-day type people. I just don't have the appetite for big meals. And there's is just something about bit size food that I love. And cheese. I could eat cheese at every meal. As much as I try to be a vegetarian, I could never be vegan. A life without cheese is not something I want to ever experience.
So for this month's 'Thing's I Love' post, I bring you my new favorite culinary obsession: Chevre Goat Cheese (with herbs preferably) on Trader Joe's Pita Bite Crackers. I could eat the whole log in one sitting. (I'm so glad my metabolism hasn't completely gone to pot yet!)
What is your favorite snack?
I first met Brittany a few years back when my daughter started playing softball. She is also going to high school with my son and playing softball for the school. Brittany always has a warm smile and big hug for me - Just a sweetheart!
It turns out Brittany has recently gotten very ill and three weeks in, she is still in ICU but showing improvements and getting stronger. It also turns out that her parents do not have health insurance. After all the debates on health care going on in this country, here is a first-hand account of a hard-working family struggling to get their daughter the care she needs.
This is where you and I come in. I'm hoping to help rally the local community to make a difference for Brittany's family by coming out for a PHOTO FUNDRAISER. 100% of the proceeds will go toward Brittany's medical expenses.
Please join me by booking a ten-minute mini-photo session*. For $50 you will get a beautiful portrait and two retouched digital files. This might be a perfect time to get your holiday portrait taken; the headshot you've been meaning to get; or even a portrait of your new puppy! The studio will not have a deal THIS good for a long time!
When: Sunday, August 29
9am - 12pm
Where: Shadow Ranch Park in West Hills
I will be booking sessions every 15 minutes, so it is important that you call to book your time. If all the slots fill up, I will happily extend the time to help Brittany as much as possible.
Please call now, operators are standing by! (Okay, I couldn't resist that one!) Really though, come out with your family and make a difference.
*Please note that this is for one set-up and one look only.
A little artsy photo from the field...
http://karenard.com/blog/2010/08/photo-fundraiser.html
While I sit here on a quite Sunday editing photos, watching the World Cup, being with my family and other ADD activities that distract me, I thought I'd do an episode of 'What's in the Mix'. I started creating these last year, with the intention of doing it once a month so as to share my love of all things musical. The last one I did was over a year ago though!!!!!! I guess I've been busy.
Before I start though, here are my observations of the World Cup from a non-soccer/football watcher:
- I was hoping Spain would win because they never have and they deserved the win that just took place
- soccer players are really cute
- I love that they rip off their shirts after a goal
- macho, grown men aren't afraid to cry on national TV. That is sexy!
So here is part three of 'What's in the Mix', which is the next ten random songs that play on my iPod:
- "It's Been a While" by the Staind (I love Aaron Lewis' voice)
- "Tell Me" by Stevie Ray Vaughan (It's Stevie Ray... that says it all)
- "Los Angeles" by X (LA's local punk band... listened to this all through Jr. High and High School)
- "Lay Lady Lay" by Bob Dylan (classic Dylan... hey I named my son after him, what more do you want!)
- "Boogie Nights" by Heatwave (love me some disco)
- "The Power of Goodbye" by Madonna (listened to her Ray of Light CD a lot when it came out)
- "My Back Pages" by Bob Dylan (this is an awesome live version sung by Tom Petty, Neil Young, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Roger McGuinn and Dylan. I love the lyric ' "Rip down all hate", I screamed')
- "Baby Love" by Diana Ross and the Supremes (fun to sing in front of a mirror with my hair brush!)
- "Leave It" by Yes (this seemed so, I don't know, futuristic when it came out)
- "January Rain" by David Gray (another voice I could listen to for endless hours. And of course, great song writing)
I made an iTunes iMix of the songs, but for some reason iTunes isn't picking up the "My Back Pages" song. Anyone know how to fix that?
http://karenard.com/blog/2010/07/in-the-mix-pt-3-and-other-musings.html
(Okay, so this vacation doesn't fit my typical Day Trippin' post but I kinda like it so I'm keeping it here!)
Although I'm a California girl, born and raised, I had never made it to Yosemite National Park. And every time we thought of going we couldn't get a reservation. This time we made a reservation a year in advance to secure a tent cabin in Curry Village and last week our travel date finally arrived. To say the beauty of Yosemite Valley is breathtaking isn't giving the park justice. I'm so grateful that our forefathers had the vision to preserve such an amazing part of our country. We did quite a bit of hiking, river rafting and relaxing. I'm so glad I was able to share this beauty with my kids and create what I hope will be great memories for them.
On a side note, Happy Fourth of July. I plan on spending the day with the kiddos (the Firefighter is working today so local LA people, don't get crazy with those fireworks near the dry hillside shrubs!), baking chocolate chip cookies, going to see 'Grown-ups' (anyone see that yet?) and watching fireworks at a local park.
What are your plans? Leave a comment about what you plan to do today and one lucky winner will win a mini-social-network-headshot-session! (to be shot on location in Woodland Hills) And while you're here, please look around and vote on some of your favorite images. We need new photos at the top of the blog! Meanwhile, enjoy just a few of the hundreds of photos I took on our trip...
michelle murphy Says:
wow, these yosemite pics are great karen...they all look like postcards. glad you had a fun time. happy 4th to you and the family :)
http://karenard.com/blog/2010/07/day-trippinyosemiteand-a-contest-too.html
awesome job. i've thought about taking those classes for so long. the cake looks great. keep up the good work. who eats the cake?
(09.03.10 - 05:42 PM)The funny thing is neither of us like cake too much so we give them to people or I'll have the Firefighter bring them to work.
(09.03.10 - 06:06 PM)