Braaaaaainssss

My dad's 60th birthday is tomorrow, and he and mom came to town for the weekend. Naturally, I had to make him a cake. 60 is kind of a big deal. But what sort of cake does one make for a man who has played so many roles, gone so many places, done so many things?

I went back to his career and passion. He practiced neurology for decades, and he loves brainy things, so I made a brain cake with an EEG background. 

He loved it. After we sang Happy Birthday, he meticulously performed brain surgery so we could all enjoy a piece. All that was missing was a nice Chianti, maybe some fava beans. 

Yum!

Happy Birthday, Dad!!! I love you!

Ellie's Frozen Birthday Cake

Ellie chose Frozen for her 7th birthday party theme, so I planned a 2-sided cake with the north mountain (and Anna climbing it) on one side and Elsa's icy palace on the other, complete with fondant characters and lots of sparkle. 

Then we saw "Frozen Fever," and all of that changed. She wanted the cake in that movie, and I thought it was actually a really great idea! I customized the cake to fit our needs and my abilities, and this is what I came up with. 

Close-up of the princesses. 

Hungry Olaf. 

View from above. I was really nervous about driving it to the party (first party we actually held outside of our home!).

But here it is! It survived the car ride!

The fondant princesses watched as the kids danced and played games and had an awesome time before cake time. 

After singing and cutting and eating, this was left.

The girls ate Anna and Elsa. 

Anthony got to bite on Olaf.

And the party was awesome! My birthday girl had a great time with her friends, and the venue was excellent. I highly recommend The Purple Box Theater for an unforgettable birthday party.

Pink petals

A dear friend's youngest daughter (whom we sometimes refer to as Anthony's girlfriend) just turned two, and unfortunately she wasn't able to have a big birthday celebration due to the passing of her godfather. My heart is heavy for my friend and her family, but there isn't much I can do beyond pray and listen. 

I suppose I could also make a cake for birthday girl. So I did. Just a tiny uncomplicated cake. 

I hope it is a little bright spot during these sad times. 

It's a chocolate chip cake with Italian meringue buttercream (I had never made it before... I like it!), and I had always wanted to try the petals-with-a-spoon technique. It's not perfect, but I think it turned out nice. 

Fun fact: I tried to match the colors to a hat I knitted for birthday girl back when she was a baby. In fact, I liked it so much, I made a hat just like it for my Katie. 

If you can, please say a prayer for the repose of the soul of Aaron, and may the Lord comfort his wife and sons as they grieve.