I have a few blogs that I try to read every day. I justify using my time in such a manner because of their humor, great home decorating ideas, or perfect recipes.
One of my favorites is Lindsey at Better After. In addition to being downright hilarious in her commentary, she shows off the completed projects of her loyal fans.
Wanna know something cool? She just featured ME!
HOLY SMOKES!
Check it out here. Then pinch me. This is just cool beyond words!
Thanks, Lindsey!
Evan turned two. Can you believe it?! We were invited to a family get-together to celebrate the momentous occasion. I can never pass up some time with this little guy. Evan is definitely my favorite local nephew.
Does it matter that he is presently my only local nephew? I like to keep things balanced and fair.
We arrived a little early to help T’liese prep some delicious taco salad. She fed an army with five heads of lettuce! It was so delicious. Evan has the chip stains around his mouth to prove it.
After visiting with family not seen for a while, it was time to get to the main event.
Evan sat on his daddy’s lap to open his presents. He got some fun cards, lots of new books, and a few new movies to enjoy with cousins when they come over.
It was so much fun to watch his face light up over every little thing. I don’t think he understood that the celebration was just for him, but he was enjoying the attention anyway.
Soon it was time to swap laps to sit on mama while daddy got his big present. When they are at the Science Center in downtown Phoenix, Evan plays with the play kitchens the entire time. So T’liese and Joe found him an awesome, masculine kitchen to enjoy.
Apparently, he plays with it all the time. Do we have a future chef on our hands?
With lots of help from cousins, Evan got to play with his new kitchen for a few minutes while the adults got to my real main event…cake and ice cream.
T’liese made The Pioneer Woman’s Chocolate Sheet Cake and had a few different flavors of ice cream to top it off. She also chopped up some candy bars for a sundae bar. It was delicious, and the kids certainly approved as well.
Heck, I approved, too!
After the kids were sufficiently hyped up from a great night, it was time to send them all home. I got to stay a few extra minutes to wrestle with Evan.
Have I mentioned how cute this little guy is? I love spending time with him and miss him when I go too long in between visits.
Happy Second Birthday, Evan!
It’s been a whirlwind of a year so far. A few weeks ago, I was asked by a friend at church to help make some cupcakes for a wedding. Since we weren’t 100% sure that I would be home from work during the event, which was on a Friday, we asked a third churchy friend to join in on the fun.
And that’s exactly what we had…fun.
So much fun, in fact, that we want to do it again. It helped that several people during the wedding asked for our contact information so they could hire us for their event. I honestly wasn’t expecting so much interest, though our cupcakes are pretty awesome.
Thus, we are starting a cupcake catering business.
In case you didn’t know this about me, I have wanted to start a baking company on the side for a very long time. We were even shopping for a mother-in-law suite that could be gutted for a commercial kitchen during our house hunt. After a few roadblocks, we decided to wait on pursuing my dream of having a part-time baking business.
Hubby calls it his “Retirement Plan.”
Not only did we have interest from others during our first gig this past Friday, but we have had several of them actually call for booking their wedding! In fact, we are making Lemon Squeeze Cupcakes and Key Lime Cupcakes this Saturday for another wedding…a gal we met at our first catering event last Friday evening.
To say I’m excited is just a little understatement. I can’t sleep at night because I am thinking of all the various aspects that can help this business be really wonderful.
The best thing? My partners have the same goals. Every time I’ve tried to make money from a hobby that I love, it has ruined the hobby for me. For example, I made jewelry in high school until it just wasn’t fun any more.
Though it was a concern that I would stop liking baking (snort), we all three decided that our main objective is to have fun. It will be an enjoyable creative outlet for each of us. If we happen to make a little spending money on the side, so be it.
I don’t think we will be sleeping in a bed full of Benjamin's or swimming in a pool of gold any time soon. But it will be really fun to see how this thing grows.
Since we already have several more bookings in the works, and each event will give us even more exposure, the whole process might be a little too much fun for the next several months!
We are creating a website right now. Hubby has helped with the financial side by creating a spreadsheet to track our expenses and income. And it gives us extra girl time in the kitchen! How fun! Our spouses have all been super supportive and are just as excited as us for this to get going.
Just yesterday, we created a Key Lime Cupcake for our upcoming wedding this Saturday. I then took it to our client’s house for a tasting. She liked them so much that she ordered more. I think we’re on the right track.
I just wanted to let you know how busy yet happy we’ve been lately. There have been changes in every avenue of my life in the past few months, and I am loving each and every single change.
And if you are in the Phoenix area and need some yummy cupcakes, I know just the right group of gals who can help you out!
