Makayla's First Birthday

Valentines Day?

Happy Valentines Day all!

To me today wasn't about enjoying a nice night out with my hubby...oh no, it was about preparing for Ayla's birthday! And I loved every minute of it :)

This post was really just an excuse to share my pic of Ayla's birthday cake that I just finished :)



And here are some recent pics of Makayla:

Me: "Ayla, No! Don't hit the cat...."
Ayla points at the cat and gives me the look to which I know she is trying to figure out if it's worth ignoring me...

Ayla hits the cat

and laughs, giving that evil "I did something bad" look.

I'm still dreaming

Well, I can't get that bakery out of my mind. I called my mom the other night for the number to the bakery and have been staring at it for a few days. Today I finally decided to make the call. I mean it couldn't hurt to check it out... right?! I talked to the bakery owner, who seems really nice, and I am going down to take a look at it and talk to him some more Thursday morning. I'm trying so hard not to get too excited about it, because it's still a long shot. A LOT of things would have to go right for this to be a possibility, but who knows! Maybe my luck is changing and this will work out. Ahhhh dreams. I will update after I meet with the guy Thursday morning!

Sweet Dreams...

Cake is so much more than a dessert to me. It's the centerpiece at a wedding, the sweet finish after a good meal, the expression of a celebration. Cake is an edible piece of artwork. I spend hours researching new recipes, techniques, products, and ideas. Cake is more than dessert, it's my passion.

I have an opportunity that would bring me so close to my dream of opening my own cake shop I have done nothing but dream of cake these last few nights. There is a little bakery that closed down and is available to rent out. The rent is reasonable, and it's completely furnished with equipment and a store front. My mother spoke to the owner to find out how much he was asking for rent, and he wants to meet with me to show me the bakery. Unfortunately after thinking it over, I know that it is not something I can afford right now. Even though I am confident that I would be successful, realistically I can not expect to make a profit in the first year or two until I could get my reputation established... which would be ok, but with a small child in the house, I have no money to invest in this... and it's killing me! To be so close to my dream, and have to turn around and walk away... it sucks! I guess it's just not the right time, but it's hard to turn away especially because opportunities such as these do not come up on a regular basis.

Well, if nothing else, this experience has led me to come up with my cake shop name when I do finally open one up... Sweet Dreams Cakery, which for now will remain my dream.

Go Steelers

I made this cake today for a superbowl party tomorrow. I LOVE the way this came out! The football is cake covered in homemade chocolate fondant. It was a little challenging, but i did it!!

Oh yeah-GO STEELERS!

Another Littlest Pet Shop Cake

This is another LPS cake I made last night. The figures and accents are all done in fondant. The cake is yellow cake filled and iced in buttercream. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out :)

Sick again

Ayla is sick....again! She finally got over the last cold she had, and barely a week later she's sick. Ugh. I know it's all about building up immunities right now, but I am so tired of cleaning up puke and trying to comfort a very grumpy little girl. I think once she starts feeling better I am going to take a night off and get out of this house! I'm going crazy here!

Other than that things are going pretty well. I've picked up more hours at work, which leaves me less time to do everything else, but at least the pay check is a bit bigger.

I'm starting to plan Ayla's first birthday! We are keeping it small since we are limited on funds, but it should be nice. I can't believe my baby is almost a year old already. Time really flies by. She is looking more and more like a little girl and less like a baby every day. She is standing by herself now and I think she will be taking her first steps very soon.

2 days after Ayla's birthday, she and I are flying out to Michigan to meet up with some friends of mine I met through CHERUBS. I am soooo excited to see them again, I can't wait! I've been counting down for weeks now. It's going to be interesting flying alone with Ayla. I hate flying alone to start with, and I know having a baby will make it harder, but it is going to be so worth it!

Well, thats about it for now. Life has been pretty boring since I am pretty much stuck in the house besides work until Ayla gets better. I can't wait for Spring!

Here are some recent pics of Ayla: