Baby Harrison is almost here!

Life becomes so much more fun and exciting when your friends start having children... at least for me it did! Growing up, I was never really around babies. When Brian's sister had Jason, I was hooked. His contagious giggles and addiction to the word "what?" made me fall in love with children. Then our best friends Phil & Lauren had Raigain and Eric & Jennifer had Nolan. I just love all of these kids!

Phil & Lauren are having another baby... a little boy who is going to be named Harrison. He is going to be a lean, mean hunting machine! And if he is anything like him mom and dad, he is going to love CAKE! For Lauren's baby shower, I made a 2-layer Fluffy Lemon Cake with lemon curd filling and lemonade frosting. Delicious!

He's a Curious Little Monkey

I remember the night we had dinner with Eric & Jenn and they told us they were having a baby. I remember hearing the news while we were in Arkansas that Nolan was born. I remember the first time I held that sweet baby boy. Where does the time go?

Nolan's first birthday is already here. I know that he is such a blessing for our friends Eric & Jennifer. They threw him a special "Curious George" birthday party with their closest friends and family. I was so excited when Jenn told me the theme... I quickly began researching photos of that silly little monkey and the man with the yellow hat.


For Nolan, I made a special Banana Cake with banana pudding filling and homemade buttercream frosting. He had only eaten a few tastes of desserts in his first year, so this was his first real cake to dig into. I also made two Chocolate Chip Cookie Cakes for the grown ups.

At first, he wasn't sure... but once he warmed up to the idea of consuming massive quantities of sugar without mommy stopping him, he enjoyed himself! I can't wait to make his second birthday cake!

Blues Clues Birthday Girl

Brian has a silly nickname for me... he likes to poke fun at my small "cup size" by calling me "Boobs." When our best friends, Phil & Lauren had their beautiful baby girl we tried to come up with a nickname that she could use for me while growing up. We felt that "Boobs" would be a little inappropriate for a 2 year old to call me in the middle of Wal-Mart, so we decided on "Aunt TaTa."

To this day, I still laugh everytime I walk in the room and she runs at me yelling "TaTa! TaTa!" I wonder how old she will be when that stops...


For Raigan's Blues Clues birthday party, I made Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream frosting and blue doggie paws. I also made two Chocolate Chip Cookie Cakes decorated with "birthday Blue."

It amazes me how much I love her. I am having so much fun watching her grow up... I can't wait to bake her 3rd birthday cake, 4th birthday cake, 5th birthday cake...

Baptisms & Baby Showers

I feel so honored that people invite me into their lives for such special occasions. A friend of mine recently baptised her baby girl, Hannah. She asked if I would bake a cake and cupcakes for the affair. I made Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting and a Vanilla Butter Cake with Raspberry Filling.

I was also asked to bake for a Noah's Ark-themed baby shower. I made Chocolate Cupcakes and Cake with homemade buttercream frosting. I wasn't there to see the mom-to-be's reaction to the cakes, but I truly hope she loved them!

Blueberry Cupcake Recipe - Cooking Light Magazine

Every month I can't wait for my next issue of Cooking Light Magazine. I have subscribed for almost 4 years now and I love all of their recipes. I found this recipe and fell in love. Lemon and Blueberry is one of my all-time favorite combos. Just thought I would share...

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups + 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

10 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. baking soda

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk

1 tsp. lemon zest

1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Sift together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter and egg. Whisk in the buttermilk, milk and lemon zest. Add the buttermilk mixture to flour mixture in three additions, scraping the bowl after each. Fold the blueberries into the batter and pour into a lined cupcake tin. Bake for 25 minutes. Top with cream cheese frosting and fresh blueberries. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Join the Mickey Mouse Club!

Recently, a friend from work asked me to make cupcakes and a special cake for her daughter's Mickey Mouse themed birthday party. Her daughter, Jordan is just an adorable little thing, so I wanted to make some of my favorite recipes for her!

I made Banana Cupcakes with Fudge Frosting, Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting, and a Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Everything turned out delicious and I just loved the red & black color scheme. So cute!

Sugar is sweet and so are you...

Roses are red, violets are blue. I love cupcakes and so do you. Here are some fun cupcakes and cakes that I have made recently. Enjoy!

Fist, the spring daisy cupcakes were made for a local women's organization dinner party. They were Lemon Cupcakes with Lemonade frosting. I made little fondant daisies to top them off.

Next, I made Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes with Buttercream frosting. I made the frosting two-toned using half pink and half white, then I topped the cakes with colorful sprinkles!

I was so happy to make these treats for an adorable little girl named Brylee. They were Vanilla Cupcakes with Pink Lemonade Frosting. I molded white chocolate butterflies to top the little cakes and hand-tied bows for a girly finish.

Finally, I made this Pink Lemonade birthday cake for my friend Lena. I used white chocolate to create the circle in the middle and piped her name with the pink lemonade frosting.

Strawberries & shortcake... what's not to love?

When I was growing up, I had Strawberry Shortcake wallpaper. She was my favorite character in whole world. Call me crazy, but I used to think I looked like her! Short... freckles... you get the picture. I guess it goes without saying that I was more than happy to make this cake for a 5th birthday party.

The actual cake is Strawberry (it's only fitting) and the frosting is cream cheese. I was shopping at Michael's Craft store one day and came accross this adorable little candle... which is now sitting atop the cake. I can't wait to create more fun cakes like this one!

Here comes baby J!

I am so excited because one of my college roomates is having a baby boy! She is such a sweet person and I know she is going to be an amazing mom. For her baby shower, I made Martha Stewart's Coconut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting. I topped them with sweetened flaked coconut and piped little blue "Js" on top for Baby Joyner.

I had so much fun hanging out with my favorite girls at the baby shower. I miss seeing them everyday! Cant wait for more bridal showers, baby showers and weddings in the near future!

Greatest Combination on Earth

Peanut butter and chocolate. This is my ultimate, hands-down, favorite flavor combination known to mankind. Okay, so maybe I am getting a little dramatic... but if I am ever stranded on a deserted island and had to choose three things to take with me, I would want peanut butter, chocolate and milk.

I made these yummy Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting for the ladies at my office and the breakroom looked like a swarm of bees on a honeycomb. They went crazy for these little cakes! And I completely understand why.

Showers for a new baby girl

I was so excited when I got the call about Lena's baby shower... and then even more excited when I got the call about her next baby shower a few weeks later! She is having a baby girl, and I have always loved decorating girly cakes.

For the first shower, I made this Vanilla Cake with Raspberry Filling and decorated it with a basketweave design and rockinghorse drawing. I also made Pink Lemonade Cupcakes and Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting. Yumm!

For her next baby shower, I made a two-tier Fresh Strawberry Cake decorated in pink and brown. The cake was topped with a baby carriage drawing and the date of the shower. Also, check out those adorable cupcake favor boxes that the hostess found! We filled the favor boxes with Banana Cupcakes topped with Cream Cheese frosting or Chocolate Fudge Frosting.

Spring Fling

I love the first days of Spring... everything is so crisp and fresh, the colors are bright and cheery, and the urge to bake gets even stronger! To welcome Spring, I made this little Dragonfly Vanilla Cake with Buttercream Frosting.

Spring is also a great season for showers... lingerie showers, in fact! For my college friend, Lauren, I made this Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake with a margarita theme to go along with her "fiesta" Lingerie Shower. Everyone loved the cake and I had so much fun catching up with the girls! Congrats Lauren & Scott!

Gimmie S'more

My friend Lauren and I share one major thing in common... our LOVE for chocolate! We have spent many weekends and nights together feasting on sweets while our men were off hunting, fishing, or just being weird together. You see, Phil and Brian are best friends... that leaves plenty of quality time for me and Lauren!

For her 28th birthday, I made Lauren these AMAZING S'mores cupcakes... Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting topped with Hershey's Bars and Graham Crackers. I can't think of anything more delicious!

Cookies-n-Cream Madness

I had a chocolate cake for almost every birthday party while growing up... it's what I always requested and it's what I still prefer! For my friend Kerra's 30th birthday, I made her this special Chocolate Cake with Fudge Frosting and Cookies-n-Cream Filling. WOW! The filling was so delicious... but then again, I am an OREO addict so I may be partial.


Look at that delicious filling! Yumm!

Birthday Ninja Turtle

My brother is a crazy, funny, outgoing guy. When we were kids, we used to pretend to be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (I always wanted to be Leonardo but my brother made me be Splinter.) and we'd run around the house until it drove mom nuts.

On my big bro's 27th birthday, I made him this Ninja Turtle Homemade Funfetti Cake with Buttercream frosting. He almost fell on the floor laughing when he saw it.

Happy First Birthday!

One year. So much can happen in a year. In this past year, I have watched a little baby grow into a big girl... walking, talking, laughing and playing with my cell phone. I was so excited when I found out our best friends, Phil & Lauren were having a girl... but I had no idea just how much I would fall in love with her.

I know that I will be making Raigan's birthday cakes for... well, every birthday she ever has! I was escited to make her first birthday cake using one of my favorite recipes, Fresh Banana Cake. For the adults at the party, I brought Chocolate and Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting and a Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake.

That precious little thing ate more cake than a grown man in a hot dog eating contest. It was so much fun to watch! LOVE IT!