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Showing posts with label Cake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cake. Show all posts

Handmade Gifts



So obviously Christmas is fast approaching in only 4 days! I can't believe it myself! All of my friend's debutante stuff has kept me from really thinking about Christmas. One of my other friends, Maeve, just had an 18th birthday though too! It was a really fun night because it was just girls, and I couldn't remember the last time that I went to a party like that. I was a little overdressed because I thought it was a little dressier than it was in actuality. The gift I gave her, however, I had left up to the last minute, which is not something that I typically do. She held her party on the night of the day of our last exam (if the prepositional phrases in that sentence weren't confusing enough) so I barely had time to shop.

I was blog surfing and came across a site that had an entry on gift baskets for the holidays. I kept looking through it and then it came to me: MAKE YOUR OWN GIFT BASKET! Boy, did I run with this idea. I headed off to Target without a real idea other than what my friend really likes: cooking, baking, pastels, dark chocolate, etc. I knew that there were a few things that I would need: a basket of some sort, clear cellophane to wrap it all in, bows and ribbons to secure the top, and then the plethora of gifts to go inside.

I began browsing through Target and the first thing that I came upon was their "1$" steals section. It's a fabulous area of racks of one dollar items like festive/seasonal items, dog collars, cookie cutters, plates, plastic utensils, coloring books, no-name brand art supplies and everything like that. I found these GREAT pink sparkly plastic plates and bought 4 as a set in that $1 section. I tied them up with a square knot of pink raffia and decided that they would be my first part of the basket. I then decided that I'd have a pink theme of baking and snacks, a combo many girl's would like! Then I proceeded to the baking section because I knew that I would be successful there. I found a fabulous silicone baking mold for flower cupcakes and then a shape that when arranged next to its mirror piece would form a basket. There were about 8 flower molds, probably 2 or 3 different models of flowers, and then the 2 basket shapes (pictured). This was my second basket purchase. I continued throughout the store and ended up buying Funfetti Cake mix, pink Funfetti frosting, sparkling pink lemonade, a princess crown, a princess wand (both from the "circo" children's line at Target), some great Bliss dark chocolate that has a pink foil wrapping, sprinkles, and pink nail polishes and then a pink basket. It was a great basket.

My next OOB (order of business) was to find that cellophane wrapping. I didn't find any in Target, so I headed down to the party supply store by my house. I still had a hard time finding it there on my own until I hit THE LAST AISLE in the entire store. I found this great clear wrapping with white polka dots on it that I had to have. With all my purchases, I headed back home to put my basket together. Our kitchen table became a tornado of pink metallic "grass", white paper Easter grass, pink ribbon and clear very static cling-y cellophane wrap.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the basket itself, but thanks to a friend who enjoys taking pictures and Facebook, I got a hold of a few pictures. The top picture at the beginning of today's entry, although not the most flattering, shows the backside of the basket and you can see the great cellophane wrap! Here is the birthday girl herself in her crown and with her wand:P.S. Deb Ball Night #1 was SERIOUSLY the most fun I've had in a really long time. We had a ton of fun, stayed up too late, and I can't wait until the presentation on Tuesday! I'll keep you updated!

P.S.S. I got deferred :( but it was about 99% to be expected, the early action is a little weird for the Nursing College. That 1% was like exactly what my mom said, "Just a little part of me thought 'What if you did get it? How cool would that be?'" So, I'm fine now, moved on, and shall be hearing in a few months! Future: Wildcat, Stag, Duke, Fighting Blue Hen, Gamecock, or Tiger writing for you right now!!!!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone! Happy big 1-8 Maeve!

xxKatie

Ace of Cakes

How many people watch "Ace of Cakes" from the Food Network? Well I do, and its one of my favorite shows since I love cakes and cupcakes and Duff Goldman, THE Ace of Cakes, is from Baltimore. His bakery is called "Charm City Cakes" and some of the most eclectic characters work for him. Today, at USC there's a cake decorating contest going on and Duff is the head judge. Well, I MET HIM!!!
(And I was wearing my FAVORITE Lilly sweater as an added benefit! I'm thinking its now good luck!)

He was checking out the cakes that the students were making. Some students were amateurs while some were seniors in the culinary school. One team was even a freshman and her sophomore RM!
Here he's checking out the design plans for this team's cake. Their cake was 4 tiers of BRIGHT colors that they were beginning to apply fondant designs to.

This group's cake was Chesapeake Bay themed, playing to a definite MD favorite. Right after I took this photo, they began painting the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Tonight is the final judging that Duff is doing and it starts at 8, but I have a floor meeting with our residence life coordinator. I think I may have to miss it, but thanks to some tactful stalking...I'd say Mission Accomplished.

xxKatie

Happy 91st Birthday to Me!

Today I had a birthday party for my 19th birthday! My official DOB is on Friday but I can't wait! Tonight just seemed to work better for people than on my real birthday, and I enjoy celebrating the real day with my little family, it's cozier and fun! We had such a fun day celebrating and chose a great local restaurant that seems to be extremely popular for birthdays. I owe a huge thank you to my parents since this dinner was a birthday present from them. I had such a great time and couldn't be more thankful for a great way to wrap up my Christmas break!!

I really ended up making my outfit decision at the last minute--and by last minute I mean I bought the shoes this morning, yikes! I got the dress yesterday also from Black Market White House (or whichever comes first in that title) for 50% off! Yes!! And the shoes I got are very NOT me, but they were super fun for a party and surprisingly comfy. Here's what I wore:




We all had a fabulous night catching up and eating wonderful Thai food. It was a great dinner before we all go back to school. I head back on Sunday from the North Pole, although I hear its just as cold in SC...oh no! I swear it was 75 degrees the day that I left and I got funny looks going through the airport in my wintery clothes. I'm thinking about hosting some kind of giveaway (maybe a set of my painted letters since they got such great reviews from everyone...?) for some event soon, I've never hosted a giveaway and I think it's just about time for me to do so! Just a thought for now...maybe a Valentine's giveaway? Or just a wintery-slump giveaway? Who knows, more details to come obviously.

Back to my birthday though. You're all probably wondering why my title is happy 91st, right? Well friends, it is not a typo. When the waiter brought out my cake (a fabbbbb 7 layer caramel cake, which coincidentally is very southern) they waitstaff put the number on wrong. The numbers were not only in reverse, but the 1 was also facing the wrong direction! My friend Caroline was snapping photos of that moment because I was almost crying I was laughing so hard, I'll have to post a few once she sends them to me, or post a link to her blog if she posts them. She got a fancy new camera for Christmas and had a great time being our photog!

I'll be sure to post soon with birthday greetings!!

xxKatie