Hey Baby!

Spring must be the season of pregnancies! In the past two months, I have had the pleasure of doing three different, personalized specialty baby shower cakes. Each cake was designed around a specific theme to match the baby shower. 

The "dino" cake below was based off of the baby bedding that will decorate the newborns room.

  

I think the next cake is one of my favorites I've done so far. It was Pooh themed and I was so pleased at how well it came out. I think I like Eeyore the best!

 

I love doing character cakes because I not only enjoy making the characters but I like seeing how close I can come to the original. But, I also love doing classy, beautiful ones like the one below. This baby belly cake (with matching cupcakes) was based off of a zebra and pink (and pregnant!) theme.

Congrats to the three soon to be moms!

life is short

eat dessert first

Happy 25th Anniversary

Congratulations to the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools who celebrated their 25th anniversary last year. I was born and raised in Lee County and am a product of the Lee County Public School System. So, when the lovely Sheryl Ferrie at Pink Tangerine suggested I be a part of their anniversary dinner, I was very excited! Since 1986 the mission of the Foundation has been to enhance the quality of public education in Lee County by increasing community involvement in, and support for, Lee County Public Schools. Twenty-five years ago a diverse group of local business and community leaders created the Foundation. These concerned individuals realized that the cornerstone of an economically strong community was a quality public education system. The schools I went to had such an impact on me, I thought it was a great opportunity to give back.

Above is one of the 330 cupcakes I was fortunate to donate to the 25th anniversary dinner that was held December 1st. A HUGE thank you to my grandma Connie who spent her day baking with me and my favorite professor, Chef Sean Lucas, both of which I could never have done this.
Janelle Beaber, Director of Marketing and Development for The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools had this to say...
"Thank you so much for your help on our 25th anniversary event. You are so very talented, and we truly appreciated your support of our Foundation! I hope we can work together in the future."

life is short

eat dessert first

Give Me S'more!

As I've mentioned before, my grandma Connie has always been the baker for all my family members birthdays. Since I started my business though, I've picked up on that tradition. Normally, she would have made my and (since I share my birthday with my sister every year) my sister Candice's cake. But this year Candice made a special request for one of my popular cupcake flavors, S'mores! This delicious treat is made with, yes, just as you were thinking, all the components that make up a traditional s'more - graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallow! The bottom of the cupcake is a layer of graham cracker crust, filled with chocolate cake AND a chocolate kiss inside. I then top the cupcake with a homemade marshmallow fluff that gets toasted to perfection and drizzled with more chocolate. Making my own birthday cake (or cupcakes in this case) isn't so bad when it's something that taste this good!

Yeah, I don't mind saying it...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

 

life is short

eat dessert first

Wedding Showers

Congrats to two special couples who got married this year! First was Sara and Bryce Mueller who tied the knot on May 21st. Sara's lovely bridesmaids planned a classy Kentucky Derby themed bridal shower filled with lovely sun dresses and big floppy hats!

Below is a photo of the cake I made to match that theme. I was so disappointed I couldn't attend the shower but was glad I could contribute in a small way. Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Mueller on their wedding and the start of their family!

Next to get hitched was Justin and Hannah Mezzell. They said "I do" on August 20th in Boca Raton, Florida. Justin's mom, Alma, who lives in Fort Myers hosted a lovely shower for Hannah so that Alma's friends could share in this special time too. The shower played off of the wedding colors which were pink/peach and grey/silver so I baked the cupcakes in a silver liner. The flavors were chocolate cupcakes with a peanut butter filling and a peanut butter buttercream and a yellow cake with a strawberry buttercream. For the decorations I made pink and peach fondant roses and hearts.

I had to make sure to travel safely with this precious cargo. Cupcakes were strapped in and they were not going anywhere!

 life is short

eat dessert first

"Bob Wehadababyitsaboy"

Congratulations to Shane and Helen Kingery (or as we like to call them, "Shelen") on their soon to be bundle of joy! "Shelen" are expecting baby boy Kingery on August 24th. They recently had their maternity pictures taken by Ashley Nicole Photography in downtown Fort Myers. Here is one of their pics...

...which was the inspiration behind the cake I did for Helen's baby shower. Take a look...

 life is short

eat dessert first

A Year Already?

Happy one year anniversary to Kaitlyn and Joshua Smith! I can't believe it's been one year already! Not only did I get to make their wedding cake, but I also made cupcakes for Kaitlyns bridal shower. Her theme/colors were royal blue and yellow sunflowers. So naturally, I made the cupcakes to look like little sunflowers with little lady bugs.

Josh and Kaitlyns wedding cake was a vanilla cake with a raspberry buttercream on two layers and chocolate buttercream on the other two.

Mr. and Mrs. made sure to show their appreciation to their guests by personally serving the cake to each person!

life is short

eat dessert first

The Big 5-0!

Can you believe it? This year my mom turned the big 5-0! What better way to celebrate then to throw a surprise party for her, right? Well let me tell you something, I don't think I've ever done anything so hard in my life. Trying to hide something from that lady is like trying to sneeze with your eyes open...pretty much impossible. A big applause to my sister Amber for planning most of it! And as much as my mom hates surprises...deep down, she loved it. 

If you know anything about my mom, you know why her "theme" was pink, pink, and more pink. 

Happy Birthday Mom!

life is short

eat dessert first