I am still alive……

So I know it has been forever since my last post, and a lot of things have happened in the last two weeks.

First of all yesterday was Vincent's birthday. I asked him what kind of cake he wanted and he told me to make him anything I wanted. So I took a few days and finally decided on this.

It is a A Chocolate Fudge Cake with White Chocolate Strawberry Ganache filling. the icing is Chocolate cream cheese with chocolate hazelnut and vanilla cream Italian pirouette bordering the cake. And finally on top cheese cake stuffed strawberries.

I thought about dipping the strawberries in chocolate, but I thought that it may be over kill. But I bet that cheesecake stuffed strawberries dipped in chocolate would be WONDERFUL.

Maybe I will make some later.

Anyways the cake was a big success and I am not lying when I say it was good, REALLY good.

So we have finally been able to get in to our apartment. FINALLY!

So far I really like it, it is super quiet and the neighborhood is really nice. I am enjoying being able to walk places since we in the downtown area. We have taking the dogs on quite a few walks so far. They seem to be enjoying apartment live again.

We have almost everything unpacked, tomorrow we are planning on buying a bookcase so that we can finish unpacking the office then hopefully we will be all settled in. This last move has been the most stressful move that we have had yet. And I am hoping that soon Vins and I will find our own little groove. But right now everything is so different. He is now in the hospital 60 (or more) hours a week. And I am looking for a job. In addition we are getting use to  a new city, a new home, and trying to adjust in this new life style.

So much has happen since I my last post that I could write a book.

• I packed 90% of the move truck on m own. It was hard work and i was really sore for about a week afterwards.
• I have made 638271739273 trips to the store to buy things that we need like toilet paper and shampoo.
• I was FINALLY able to get the internet turned on at home.
• We have a new couch and it is sweet!
• i have done 928374832918623647910928376 loads of laundry and our closets are way to small for all of our clothes. (No i do not have too many clothes)

I could tell you guys many more interesting things like that, but I spare you the details. I do want to say that now I am back!!!!

YAY!

And I am taking a few continuing education courses online so i do have a plan for the next few months on what to do. I am looking for a job also so if anyone sees anything that looks interesting let me know.

Till next time…..

Jaye

 

 

 

 

The views from our bedroom window on the fourth of July.

Birthday Girl

 

Here are the pictures that I promised of Lia and her birthday cake. I think that she really liked it and I received ALOT of comments from other people in the restaurant who thought that the cake was really pretty. It was kinda weird and I think that I need to practice taking positive comments. I stood stood there in shock that total strangers liked the cake and wanted to know who baked it.

Uhmm……me and my neighbor.

Oh and,  Lia was really surprised! We totally had her fooled. We went to the restaurant before Vins and I picked her up for dinner to drop off the cake. And no one mentioned anything about birthdays it was all hush-hush. We did have to tell the waitress that the cake in a foreign language is ours, and she totally knew which one we were talking about.

And since we were traveling the next day and the icing being cream cheese and all….I gave the extras to the staff. They were so happy to have left over cake!

It was a big success! And everyone in our section of the restaurant sang to Lia it was great there was a big table (10 guys) that belted out Happy Birthday it was so nice of everyone. We had great food, and hopefully Lia had a great birthday.

Oops! We did it again.....

WOW! for a person that did not touch a tub of butter cream for 7 months we have really torn it up these last few day. So Thursday was my schoonmoeder's birthday. And since I am now a master cake-a-raider, I wanted very much to make her a lovey cake.




It is a pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese filling and butter cream icing.

The vines are cream cheese, and the flowers are gum paste. I used pink er dust to color the middles, and a tiny drop of yellow icing for added detail. The actual color of the cake is cornflower blue.

This cake was really deceptively easy to make. I will openly admit that because I was in a minor time crunch that I ordered these flowers Monday morning online and they barely made it on time. But I do know how to make these flowers, but did not have the time or energy. So I ordered about 150 of them because I was unsure of how many I would need.

I must been smoking crack at the time because, I only used 35 of them. So now I have a box that is nearly full of the flowers. I gave the extras to Jessie. I have total confidence that she will put them to good use.

I am still VERY uncomfortable writing on the cake. But writing on a cake board covered with cellophane is reassurancing knowing that you can just wipe off any mistakes.

There was lots of wiping and re-piping. Jessie finally had to write out Hartelijk Gefeliciteerd for me since my hand is WAY too unsteady.

The border was a very simple bead made with a #12 tip. And a #3 tip was used for the vines.

To get the SUPER smooth iced look, I used a crusting butter cream. Then put it in the fridge for 20 minutes and "rolled" it smooth with a roller.

I am really proud of the way this cake turned out. I am wanting to make it again, except maybe next I will make all the flowers, and do the cake in fondant. But to me fondant is more work and lots more expensive. Sometimes it is hit and miss if people will like it. And in my opinion, butter cream is more......American?.....traditional?...... I am trying to find the right words, but normally people do not have fondant covered cakes for birthdays. They have butter cream, and this is what I wanted Lia to have - a nice traditional birthday cake made by Jessie and me.

TADA!!!!!

Pics with the Birthday to follow. I am currently using a public computer at the hotel, can't load the pics...YET.

Cake-anators

Last year my Neighbor Jessie and I took a few cake decorating classes here in Fairmont. Since that time I have made a few cakes here and there, but since I am physically unable to NOT EAT THE ICING! I have pretty much given it up, since I am trying to lose weight and all.




But Jessie still makes cake more often than me and sometimes we get together and do some major cake decorating damage to her kitchen. This week was one of those times. She needed to make a cake for a boy named Brandon; today is his first Communion.


Jessie designed this cake from his Communion invitation. (Sorry guys, I am not Catholic and I am not sure if you invite people to communion) Or maybe it is an announcement....but whatever you guys know what I mean. Here is the picture that was on the invitation/announcement.


Jessie researched how to get the stained glass look.



At first we attempted a frozen transfer, but since we are silly girls we totally forgot that things this high in sugar will NOT freeze. No matter how long you leave them in the freezer. So yesterday night we just free handed and traced it on the cake. We piped all the black lines on the cake, then filled the cake in with colored piping gel.




Afterwards we went to Applebee's and I had 2 Bahama mama's. I was in NO shape to pipe ANY wording on the cake so Jessie waited until this morning and finished it up with an awesome cake board, ruffle, and piping.


I think this cake is so pretty, and really Jessie did 99% of the work. She was the one who baked, and iced the cake. Then she figured out how to design and decorate the master piece known as cake. Really all I did was talk non-stop about myself and shake the table while she was trying to pipe ('cause I am so helpful like that)




So really people! If you are in the northern West Virginia region and are in need of cake, Jessie is your girl. And NO lie, her cakes are so good it is crazy. Last week she made a cake for her office, and brought the leftovers home for us to try. It was a cookie creme cake and it was so good that Vincent was wanting to invite her over the next day for dinner. He wanted to know if it would be rude to tell her to bring the cake, considering how we only had 2 ears of corn and 2 fish fillets. I thought that yes it would be rude to invite the neighbor over for dinner and not feed her, then eat her cake.

So next, he wanted to know if it was okay to go to her house with his own fork and plate and ask for a piece.

It was that good!