Thursday, January 27, 2011

Heart Cake



This is a cake you can really put your heart into.

I wanted to do something cool for Valentine's Day like the 4th of July cake.

So I did a google search and found this cake from the blog I AM BAKER.
But I figured there must be a way to adapt it so the heart is on every slice, not just in the entire cake.

Wanna know how I did it?
Trust me, it's super easy.

What you need:
1. Three boxes of cake mix. Two white and one red velvet. (If you live in the Canada and can't find red velvet cake mix, just use a white cake mix and add a TON of red food coloring.) You also need any ingredients the cake mixes call for.
2. Three store-bought tubs of icing. Yes I said three.
3. 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans.
4. A metal heart-shaped cookie cutter. Plastic cookie cutters will NOT work.
Plus any other baking gadgets you like (i.e. cake leveler, bake-even strips, etc.)


Step 1. Make FOUR 8-inch or 9-inch round cakes. I used two boxes of white cake mix for this.

Step 2. When these cakes are cool, put them in the freezer for a few hours or overnight.

Step 3. Make a pan of red velvet cake. This does not need to be any shape or size.

Step 4. Use a fork to break up the red velvet cake. Add one tub of icing and mix it in. It should look like the picture above. Cover and put this mixture in the fridge for later.

Step 5. Layer your cakes on two plates with icing in the middle.

Tip: If you put saran wrap on the plates you can label one "top" and the other "bottom".

Step 6. Put a toothpick in the middle of one of the cakes. Put a second toothpick in the cake about a half-inch away from the edge. With floss or string, tie the toothpicks together. Hold the middle toothpick steady and drag the second one around the cake, making a circle indent all the way around. Using the same toothpicks, repeat this on the second cake.

Step 7. Draw a line with permanent marker in the center of your cookie cutter. Stick the cookie cutter right side up in the "bottom" cake so it barely covers the line. Using the circle indent as your guide, drag your cookie cutter around the cake until you complete your circle. (The shape will be much better if your cake is frozen at this point.) Remove the loose cake.

Step 8. For the "top" cake, turn your cookie cutter upside down and carve out cake the same way as in step 7. Remove the loose cake.

Your bottom cake should look like this.

Your top cake should look like this.
(I know, I know. They kinda look the same in these pictures, but trust me, they're different.)

Step 9. Crumble your red velvet mixture into the holes. Be delicate when putting it in at first. Once you have them filled, you can pat them down a little. Put your cake back in the fridge or freezer for at least 15 minutes to let the cake set. Your cakes should look identical at this point. This is why it's important to label each plate.

Step 10.
Ice the edge of the white cake and the middle part. Do not ice anything red!

Step 11. Flip the "top" cake onto the bottom cake. The easiest way to do this is just to use your hands.

Step 12. Use the rest of your icing to cover the entire cake. I like to make it look really plain so people will be EXTRA surprised when you cut into it.
Congratulations! You're done!!




When I gave my hubby a piece of cake, he said "Wow, this tastes really good."
Seriously?
Like I care how it tastes!!!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Purse Giveaway!

Remember when I blogged about my friend's LillyMae Bags?
Well she's made some improvements is letting me give a NEW one away to my lovely friends!


But first, let me tell you how much I LOVE them.

As much as I shudder to compare it to a fanny pack, it really is just as convenient, but ten-thousand times cuter. And unlike your 80's fanny pack, you can also wear the LillyMae Bag as a cross-body purse.

It's small and light so you barely know it's there, but it's big enough to hold your cards, money, and phone (or ipod).
Every purse has an adjustable strap and an eyelet for your headphones.

I know from my experience of having one for over a year, they are sooooo perfect for working out or traveling.

This is me and my LillyMae Bag in Mexico!
I had easy access to my money when the street children ran up to sell me "chiclets".

What to see what other memories I've made with my LillyMae Bag?
Me at a Mexican Walmart.

Me, my LillyMae Bag, and Viagra Man.

Me and my LillyMae Bag on Catalina Island.

Me trying to ride a bike on Catalina Island. I would have been doomed without my LillyMae Bag. Can you imagine trying to do that with a bulky purse? Not fun.

Sometimes I think the LillyMae Bag was invented just for amusement parks.
I took my first trip to Disneyland and California Adventure this year.
My LillyMae Bag was glued to my hip the entire time!


I'm sure you get the point by now.
LillyMae Bags ARE AWESOME!

So for the giveaway, all you have to do is visit the LillyMae Bag website and tell me in the comments section which purse you want me to give away between these two:

The Flower Bag?
or
The Butterfly Bling Bag?

The winning bag will be shipped to a random commenter.
(So make sure I know you or have your e-mail address to tell you if you won.)

And don't worry.
If you don't win, you can still get 15% off on the website with the coupon code "15001".

Good Luck!
Giveaway ends February 5th.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Family Photo Shoot


I've been meaning to post these pictures forever!
They're from our "family photo shoot" before Christmas.
All the pictures were taken by my sister-in-law Megan.
I wanted to post even the goofiest ones!

This is Tom gearing up for a "cheese-filled photo shoot".

My "candid" shot was not as attractive as I thought it would be.

It looks like Yoda is eating Tom's face.

Group hug!

Kissy Kissy!

Try to look natural Tom. Oh great. That's perfect.
Yoda was wearing the elf outfit Megan got him for Christmas. It had this adorable hood, but it kept covering his eyes.

We'll get the shot one of these days...

Doesn't Yoda look like he's having so much fun?!

More kisses from Yoda!

Both me and Yoda giving Tom some love!

I actually love this one, even with Tom's cheesy smile.

You think Yoda's getting tired?

This is definitely one of my favorites.

Yoda the elf.

This is the picture we ended up using for our Christmas Card.
(The post-Photoshop version.)

And here's our finished Christmas card!

New Shoes!

It doesn't take much to get me excited.
Like new shoes for instance!

When these came in the mail, I SQUEALED with joy!
I mean, come on, how often do people blog about new shoes?
It's the small things in life, right?


You know what makes this purchase even sweeter?
They were only $15, down from $80, with free shipping!!

This calls for a song!
This is one of my favs right now. I first heard it in Canada.
It's about new shoes!!


Monday, January 10, 2011

TWIN BABIES!!!

I just finished editing the most adorable pictures!
And I don't just think that because I took them.

Meet Oliver and Nicholas.
Nicholas is the one with the scratch on his nose.
It would have been easy to photoshop out, but then we wouldn't know who was who!

We almost got a smile in this one.


The shoot was a week before Christmas so they have on their adorable holiday PJs!
You can't go wrong with cute pictures on the bum!

This is their blessing outfit.
I snapped as many pictures as I could while they were both sleeping.
I knew it would be a small window of time.

Baby Booties!

Ready for your close up? This is Nicholas.

Oliver's close up.
He was a HAM for the camera!

Mom and baby Nicholas.

Mom and baby Oliver.

This is when we knew they were DONE!