I trust you've all had a great week so far. I have! It's been very busy but I feel productive and that always feels good. I'll admit though I do need some much needed rest and I don't see much in sight. Oh well, se la vi!
I need to ask everyone's opinion on what color to paint my laundry room. I decided not to go with an orange but I might need to add a green. I also want to stencil a large flower in a random pattern...something like this...
or
Here are a few pictures of the laundry room so you kind of know the space I'm working with.
...with the "new" washer and dryer we got blessed with from a friend when out washer went out!
I'm in the entry. Yes, I will be putting a new floor as well! Don't know what they were thinking!...
"Let's do fake cobblestone tiles! In linoleum!" "Oooo, yeah."
The shelves that you see above the washer and dryer go across the whole length of the wall. Guess I could've moved my clothes so you could see it better. There is a shower behind the wall with the paint so the space in the back is pretty much it. As a matter of fact...oh lookie here I even have a nice little diagram for you! ;-)
So for all of you designers out there I need YOUR help! I need to maximize this space, keeping it functional and fun! This is my project for the next few weeks or so... in between baking...maybe after vacation...and that starts getting closer to a month so... we'll just put a limit of 2 months just to be safe! Although I should be able to finish in a weekend or two once I get organized. Then I'll tackle the powder room! rambling.
Next! I finished a cake today that was for some good friends. I was not completely pleased with the outcome. They asked about it last week and usually I ask for 2 weeks notice but since this was for an adoption celebration and I had made their other son's birthday cake I felt a need to do this cake. Sigh...here's the cake.
I know, I know! The Top is leaning...bad. Let me explain a bit please because I know my work is better than this. The bottom is vanilla, the top is carrot cake. All covered in cream cheese icing. The vanilla cake was no problem. It actually came out very nice. A few bumps but overall nice. The carrot cake was a new recipe (first mistake on a last minute cake). I disclosed this to them and asked if they would be my tasters. They agreed so I went ahead with baking it.
I did not have a 6" square pan so I baked it in a 12" square pan (second mistake with a new recipe and last minute order). I had done this before with the wedding cake so I knew it could be done. I baked both cakes on Monday. I placed my baking "nails" in the batter like normal to help the middle cook. If not you'd get a mushy middle and well done sides because the pan is so large. Well the cake was more dense than I thought and I placed my nails a bit too far apart. Yep, a mushy middle but I couldn't tell until I cut into it to get it ready to ice yesterday. Aahhhhk! I start to panic. I knew that a cake like this would need time to "settle" or firm up before it could be stacked or else I run the risk of...you guessed it, leaning or falling apart or settling after it's iced which causes bumps in the layers.
There was nothing I could do but bake another. So this morning I race to the grocery store to get a few more ingredients. I still had to take the boys to school and my superman hubby was kind enough to get them ready. When I return from dropping them off I begin baking and praying that I get it done in time and it bakes properly. I decided to place the nails closer and add a couple more for insurance and it turned out beautifully!
Now the tricky part. To get it cooled down quickly without drying it out, stacked, iced and decorated by 5 o'clock! I did the best I could with the amount of time I had but it just didn't work. The cake kept sliding and wiggling. I couldn't keep the darn thing straight! I needed to trim a couple of the sides but it was still too soft and the one I tried started to tear the cake so I left it. Oh well, live and learn!
The couple was very gracious and said it looked great but I assumed they were being nice. Here's a picture I took before they picked it up. The poor thing.
"Now for something completely different!" PRODUCE! Okay, so maybe that's not completely different being as it's still food but...whatever. I saw a post on FB that had a link talking about an organic produce co-op called RawfullyOrganic. It's a non-profit that allows members to purchase shares of certified organic produce. I've never really been a must eat organic person but I've been intrigued with some of the findings on regular produce. All the pesticides. chemicals and what not that are used. I'd rather not put that stuff in my body,or my children's and if there's an alternative available, without having to go bankrupt, then I'm game! I signed up Monday and will receive my first share on Thursday! The great news is I don't have to drive to Houston to get it because they provide a neighborhood porch pick-up just around the corner! I'll let you know what I get, how I use it and what the quality is like. I'm excited!
Do you have any new project endeavors, last minute baking faux pas or a healthy choice you've made that makes you feel better? Please feel free to share, I'd love to hear it. :-)
As always, leave a comment, God bless and thanks for stopping by!
