Jaime’s Wedding Cake Finale

I’m on a baking hiatus.  For an undetermined amount of time.  Or at least until my heart beat returns back to normal levels when all the sugar gets out of my system. 

I was so busy with baking and other things, that I feel I’ve been behind for days on posting/reading.  My google reader is making me somewhat anxious, but I’m slowly reading through- I try not to miss anything!

Anyways, let’s go back to Friday night, shall we?  Mon was a godsend.  After a nice little sweat session in the workout room (seriously, poor air circulation and rainy weather creates severe humidity/stankness in the gym.  No bueno.  I started the white cake and had it in the oven by the time Mon came over.  She had volunteered to help.  I don’t think she knew what she was getting herself into.  I pretty much put her in charge of the cake bites.  Their working name was “balls”, so you can imagine how many balls jokes flew around my apartment that night.  Yes, we’re both turning 13 in July, in case you’re wondering.  Oh balls…

After the bites were done, I continued on with my work on the last tier of the cake.  Mon started doing dishes.  And just so you think I’m not a dictator in the kitchen, I told her to stop with the dishes and just sit and talk to me while I finish up, but she insisted.  I turn around and keep working.  I turn again, and she has my entire stovetop disassembled and is scrubbing the drip pans.  “MON!  What are you doing?!?!”  She’s sort of OCD when it comes to cleaning.  And believe it or not, enjoys it.  I told her to stop.  And, I kid you not, she said “don’t you dare take this away from me!  I’m loving this!”  I’m considering letting her attack my bathroom soon…

I ran out of powdered sugar around 11:00.  This was fine. Because I had been able to dirty ice almost everything and all that was left was the final icing and starting to decorate.  No probs.  Mon and I had a sweet buzz going on from the sugar and wine.  I highly recommend it.  Another friend from the complex/workout room came over as well.  He put in his two cents as he watched us work.  I told him to stop being sassy.  He asked if “sassy” was my way of saying stop being an asshole.  I said yes it was. 

My epic mistake came with staying up until after 3:00 that night.  Another friend of mine stopped by after he had been out celebrating a birthday.  We caught up, but my issue with not being able to sleep in definitely let me know how bad of an idea this really was.

 Because I still had to run.  And I did.  It was a slightly miserable run.  I was tired and bogged down.  Diet really does effect exercise.  And when your diet sucks for a few days, so does your exercise routine.  Not a lie.  Four miles in the schedule.  I had wanted to do five.  My body and I compromised at 4.25.  Eh.

The rest of Saturday was filled with finishing all the baking, getting ready, transporting, and then enjoying the wedding reception.  And because all of ya’ll asked- let’s look at some pictures.Cake bites!  Don’t they look cute???  I even showed Monica how to drizzle my balls with chocolate.  Yeah… Amy is 13.At some point on Friday night.  I was freaking out and not sure how I was going to fit everything.  We were going to take stuff to Mon’s house when we discovered my crisper.  Uh… yeah, totally forgot about it.  Clearly I never use it.  So all my food is jammed into the crisper at the moment.A little boo boo.  Turns out buttercream works as glue, too.  Shhh…Slowly coming together…Buckle up, kids!  This was by far the most stressful part of the week.  Not kidding.  A shell rolled off the top of one of the cakes and I heard it drop and I almost had a heart attack.  Grandmas were flipping me off as I took my time in the slow lane.  Turns were heart stopping.  I think I aged five years on that drive…

But I made it.  And was able to have it almost completely set up before Jaime and Scott got to the restaurant.  All together now….I am done.  And they loved it!  It was a real accomplishment.  And I was happy to do it.  Because Jaime and Scott have been so wonderful to me since I’ve moved up.  They really took me in and make me feel like family.  I love them both dearly and am so happy for them! Congrats guys! 

The reception was great.  It was held at Vines on Clark, right across the street from Wrigley Field (it was an away weekend for the Cubs).  It was a gorgeous day, and the reception was held in an area in a private part of the restaurant with a patio. 

It was an appetizer reception with some of their favorites from the restaurant.  Toasted ravioli, coconut shrimp, and build-your-own-nachos.  The toasted ravioli kind of made me want to pass out and go to my happy place.  It was stuffed with pepperjack cheese- which I had never had, but wow.  Now I’m ready for food detox…

I didn’t partake too much in the drinking.  Mostly because I was driving.  I was offered a place to stay, but I really just wanted to go home later that night and sleep in my own bed and just crash for as long as possible. 

Expect me to be lazy for the majority of the day.  I earned it.  :p

Quick Statements

I’m exhausted. I baked for a majority of the day on Thursday.  It was nuts.  Either way, this is going to be somewhat short and sweet. No pun intended…

Thanks for the great comments yesterday.  I’m pretty sure we went with the fill-in option of having a bug fly into your eye as the worst way to encounter bugs on a run.  It sucks.

The day off was nice.  I did get in a walk on the trail.  I knew it was my rest day, but it’s not like it was strenuous. 

I still have a lot of baking to do after work today.  An entire white triple-layered cake.  And then all the icing.  And then finishing the cake bites that came from the cake that will also be served at the wedding.  Holy crap I’m gonna be busy. 

What did I get done?  Two chocolate triple-layered cakes are layered and ready for final icing.  Scotcheroos (a favorite I make that was specially requested for) are done.  And all the cake leftover from the chocolate cakes are rolled and ready for dipping to turn into cake bites.  The “sand” is made.  The cakestand, flowers, and sea shells are ready.  Whew…

Because I was baking tasting all day, I totally ruined my dinner.  I didn’t have any.  This sucks.  Because I had seriously good planned eats.

I did, however, have this baby while doing some icing work:I used it as a way to cut the sweetness of everything I had been eating.  And since beer and icing don’t mix, it kept me from sticking my finger into the bowl for awhile.  It worked.

As I was lounging in sugar coma, I did decide to watch Grey’s Anatomy.  Best. Decision. Ever.  Anyone else catch it?  I’m pretty sure it made up for the entire season of suckiness.  Way to pull out the big guns, Greys.  Literally.

I had a fun google search term yesterday that someone used to get to  my blog.  “Fish think but too slowly, second city.”  Um… ok.

Although I’m crazy busy, I still have cross training to do tonight.  And am looking forward to it. :)  I need to sweat it out!

Just so you know I did actually eat something healthy yesterday, here was my lunch!Southwestern theme of course.  Because I love it.  Wish I had pulled out the salsa.  Didn’t cross my mind.  Surprising…

Happy Friday!

Love me some chowder!!!

Yes I do.

A twenty-something girl with low finances, such as myself, will never pass up a free meal.  Except for respectfully declining a dinner date with the random creeper, ex-boyfriend, or guy who dresses up like Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story, I say yes to food.  Always.

Yesterday, the cafeteria in our building through a little luncheon focus group for a couple people from each company in the building.  Of course I sacrificed myself as one of the three to go.  I went in it telling my friend that I hope they serve some of their awesome cookies they always sell.  Dessert better happen- or heads will roll.

We got something extremely unexpected- a somewhat fancy catered lunch!  They made everything look so nice.  Which confused me- because I really thought they were supposed to get our opinion on things they were serving.  So I was expecting a panini or club sandwich.  Not a “spinning salad” with shalots and shrimp.  Or the kick-ass stir fry.  And the chowder… oooohhhhh the chowder.It was a turkey chowder topped with bacon and corn and a balsamic reduction.  This was to blame for my afternoon coma.

Either way, we were all curious as to what dessert would be.  I was still hoping for a cookie.    So you have no idea how disappointed I was when they brought out this huge plate with a pastry puff topped with ice cream and FRUIT.  And a chocolate covered strawberry on the side.

Gag me.  I’m just not a fan of fruit.  And it has no place in my dessert.  Sadness.  I sadly declined the plate- and yeah, the waiter couldn’t figure out why in the world I would do that.  They did bring me a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I was ok with that- but it was no cookie! 

Beggers can’t be choosers.  I’ll stop whining now.  And I had a little peanut butter and chocolate chips for dessert after dinner.  So whatever.  I guess it’s ok.  Heads didn’t roll.

The sun never came out (contrary to the forecast), but I went on the trail anyways.  It was during this run I realized how much more I enjoy mid-morning runs or early evening runs (when I work the earlier shifts).  Not hitting the trail until almost 7:00 is rough.  I’m planning on making the switch to morning runs before it gets super hot- but that may happen sooner than later.  When is your preferred time of day for running?  I love getting out around 9:30 or 10:00- so I love it on the weekends.  Not so much possible during the week…  

The first half mile was an argument and struggle with the legs.  I even wondered if I should just stop and turn around. And then I actually yawned a few times during the run.  What???  I blame the chowda’.  But I kept going- 3.1 miles at an 8:24 pace.  So even though it was a rough start, it’s still a slow improvement.  Long way to go, though.  If I want to win this bet, I really need to plan a few speed workouts.  As much as I despise them.  They’re the one thing that does not make me enjoy running.  But I expect no less than to kick my friend’s ass.  Losing is not an option.

Today is my last day of work before a much needed (and desired) mental health day!  Well- don’t think I won’t be busy.  It’s been strategically placed.  I will be baking like a crazy mad woman for Jaime’s wedding reception that is this weekend.  Yep.  I’ll be making three cakes that look like this.  I predict it will be a project that spans through tomorrow all the way to Saturday morning.  Whew!  But whatevs… I love baking.  And getting to sleep in, of course.  And I might even get to catch some daytime drama!  Any Days of Our Lives fans out there?  Or soap opera fans in general?  Only me??? 

This morning I tried “mocha oats” again.  Last time I was unimpressed.  This time?Vince wasn’t really a fan either.  This time, I used actual brewed coffee instead of the instant coffee.  It was an improvement.  Less bitter for sure.  But it’s just not a taste I’m a fan of.  Although the coconut and chocolate that I added helped.  Just not enough.

This also means I made coffee this morning instead of my usual green tea.  Expect me to be wired for the next few hours.  This may or may not be a bad thing for productivity.

Oh and remember the Healthy Living Summit registration is tonight.  I’ve kept thinking about it and am ALMOST positive I’ll be in front of my laptop when registration happens- crossing my fingers that I’ll be able to get a ticket…

Happy Hump Day!

I can’t stick to a schedule.

My cousin called while I was at work yesterday.  Her and another cousin of mine that lives downtown are meeting up for lunch today.  But her and her friend’s sleeping arrangements were disturbed last minute, so she called looking for shelter for one night.  And I was more than happy to oblige.  Quite frankly, I like being able to show off my new furniture. 

I told them they must have known I was baking.  While they hung out, we put on the Blackhawks game and I went to town in the kitchen.  I shaved off the tops of the cake to make it flat.  And saved it for later for some cake truffles that I “borrowed” from Bakerella.  Then made the fillings for the cake- marshmallow buttercream and chocolate ganache.

The marshmallow buttercream is like crack.  It’s addicting and will most likely make your teeth rot. Like I said- crack. And I can’t get enough.  Let’s all say it together- CRACK.  I am a firm believer marshmallow fluff was given to us from above- it’s like pieces of clouds from heaven all bottled up for us mere mortals to be teased with.  Did I mention I have issues with sugar…?Then the layering of the cakes happened.  This was not pretty and I seriously started to get nervous that the cake was going to turn out like poo.  But after I evened out the sides and promised myself it’d be ok after a layer of buttercream, I trudged on.

Until my handmixer called it quits.  Seriously- you can’t handle soft butter?  Don’t be such a girly mixer!!!  This was actually before my cousin and her friend showed up, so I threw on a jacket and ran out to Walmart to invest in a new Black and Decker.  Yeah, I was at Walmart at 9:00 on a Friday night.  Jealous?  You should be.  Who’s got a sassy-pants new mixer?  THIS GIRL.

I got home and then started working again.  I was finished with the dirty icing (it’s a real term- I didn’t make it up!) and had it ready for the next layer by the time they showed up.  I actually liked that they missed the earlier stages- my practice cake was looking ROUGH.

But it turned out ok!

TA-DA!  The “sand” is just graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar mixed together.  I’ve got a few more things I’m wanting to do for the final product, but hopefully the destination wedding/beach concept goes over well!  Jaime reads this blog, so let her know what you think… and be honest!  I still have two weeks to change it up a little…

Anyhoo, the three of us gossiped and chatted away all night and then figured we should call it quits and go to bed- the family gossip will definitely be continued at lunch today when Niki joins in on the fun.  Don’t want her to miss TOO much, right?

Oh and today I am working out.  Because of my little random change in plans, I didn’t last night.  I probably could of, but wanted to at least spend some time talking to Joanne and catching up- and not concentrating on the cake the entire time.  Totally worth it.  But I am working out today.  Like as in as soon as I get off of this computer.  My cousin and her friend are currently off running and I am heading out to do some weights and hit the elliptical for some serious WORK.  Like… right…. NOW.

Later!  Have a good weekend!

Unplanned Rest

I had planned to go to the trail again after work last night.  But by the time 6:00 rolled around, I was beaten down from exhaustion and the weather was looking anything but promising.  Home it was.  “I’ll just do some shred and elliptical,” I thought, “that will be fine”.

But I had to stop by the grocery store first.  I have a baking adventure (that I’ll explain in a little) that I needed stuff for.  Me and my five or six things stood in line for 15 minutes.  Behind the coupon queen herself.  Now I do coupons, but this woman took it to a whole other level.  And debated prices of various items.  Which meant checking back to the weekly ads and such.  Just my luck.  I surrendered.  No workout tonight.  There’s absolutely no energy left to burn…

So I came home and did work in the kitchen.  First, my dinner.  I didn’t really celebrate Cinco de Mayo yesterday, but that doesn’t mean I never get a craving for Mexican!  Quite the opposite, so your guess is as good as mine why I didn’t have it last night.  So I did a day late. Sorta.  Black beans, corn, a little shredded cheese, and some avocado on the side:My quesadilla hung out in the oven a little longer than it should of and got stuck to the bottom of the pan.  It was a quesadilla wreck, but it was a beautiful wreck, nonetheless.  Kinda like me. 

And now the baking story…

Turns out I’m good at baking.  Like… really good.  Good enough for my friend Jaime to ask me to bake her wedding cake for the reception they’re having for friends and family (that didn’t go to the destination wedding two weeks ago).  So yeah… I’m baking a wedding cake.  My usual thing is cupcakes, but that’s ok- I’m flexible.    The reception is in a couple weeks.  So this weekend I’m doing a test run on one of the layers.  And getting a general idea of what the idea in my head will look like in real life.

Last night was the actual baking of the cake. What, that doesn’t look delicious enough yet?  Just wait… They’re now waiting to be filled and wrapped in sugar and butter and all the glory that is buttercream frosting.  I will most likely be doing this with wine.  Because that’s how I roll.

Since the cake is still a work-in-progress, here’s a little sweetness I used to get me through the day:Oatmeal with coconut, White Chocolate Wonderful, and a little Cinnamon Pecan Special K (on the underneath).  All to go with my TJ’s green tea.  We discussed the sweetness of the WCW earlier this week, and it was just kind of “eh” in my breakfast.  Peeps were right- too sweet for oatmeal.  Oh well.  Now I know.

I’m hoping tonight after work I’ll be feeling much better!  It’s rainy, so I’m not planning the trail tonight, but probably a little Shred and Elliptical action.  I’m cool with that. 

Enjoy your Friday!

Impromptu Trip to the Zoo

Yea for Sunday Funday!    The sun was shining and the weather was the best it had been all weekend!  So when I picked up my lovely Ashlee, I said, “instead of going back to my place, do you want to go do something?”  She said sure.  Where did we go?

Lincoln Park Zoo!The animals were having a lazy Sunday, too.  Almost all of them.  Sleeping… Except the bears.  I was really excited to see the bears!  Although I felt kind of sorry for one of the sun bears we saw.  The sign said she had some sort of surgery done on her jaw/mouth area and as a result, her tongue constantly hangs out.  That’s gotta be awful.  Poor thing was just walking around with her tongue dragging along… grossness. 

My favorite exhibits are those that include large and scary for some reason… I like the gorillas, lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!).  Not a lie.  Favorite exhibits anyone? After we were done walking around the zoo for a while, we were a bit hungry.  Ashlee had already hit up quite a few good spots over the weekend, but hadn’t done Chicago hot dogs yet.  So I took her to Chicago Dog House!  (thanks for the suggestions guys- and I’ve been there before and loved it!)

Obviously Ashlee’s very excited as well!  She got the Mayor Daley.  And we split this basket of awesomeness:I got the T-frank:The avocado and bacon were what sold me.  Clearly.  I’m not a huge hot dog person, but every once in awhile, they’re delish! 

Such a good day!  We got back to my house and I cleaned up to go to Jaime’s shower- cupcakes in hand!  Check out the prize I got for knowing Jaime and Scott better than everyone else:Coffee!!!!  Score…  I’ll be using it soon.  Like this morning.  Like right now. We’ve got another day of Chicago tourism…  I took the day off of work to spend time with Ashlee (and the mental health break never hurts).  Not sure our plan of action, but I believe we have settled on finding a fun breakfast spot before hoofing it around the city again (which will really take it out of you!). 

Have a good Monday!