Beach balls, babies, and baking!

Of course I haven't written any sooner like I thought I would! But this month yet again, has been a busy one! I had my best friends baby shower, got to fit in a mini vaca, and of course baked some cakes!

My friend, Daniela, is having a baby boy!  I had the pleasure of throwing her a baby shower!  The theme was blue, green, and alligators and of course, very pinterest inspired! The party was to be simple because there was a lot of friends and family attending and games are not Daniela's favorite so we tried to keep those to a minimum as well but, we still wanted the guests to enjoy themselves.  There are so many trends going on in the party world now a days with pinterest being one of the major influences on these trends.  So for Daniela's baby shower something's we did was asked for a book instead of a card, did a diaper raffle (because a new mom to be can never have enough diapers) and also had the very trendy candy/dessert bar!  Oh yea, and I can't forget, we had to also celebrate Daniela's heritage and include a piñata for fun!  It was a great turn out and I was glad with how it all came together!  I can't wait to meet baby Harlen!

The Pinterest inspired decor!

Dessert bar! Candy included! 

Me and my bestie! 

Table center pieces

I rarely get two days off in a row and when I do I always contemplate getting out of this heat forsaken place.  Even though I am born and raised in AZ it is not my favorite state but nothing can take me too far away from my family and friends here.  But this week I had 2 days off and the beach was calling my name.  A couple girls from work helped plan a 2 day 3 night trip to San Diego and it was just the trip I needed!  We got to ride bikes, play on the beach, eat good food, and LEARN to SURF!  I have been wanting to learn to surf ever since I fell in love with the ocean and San Diego about my freshman year of high school.  I tried it once years ago and was very unsuccessful but this time, I was determined to at least stand up once!  One of my amazing employees took us 4 girls out and was a great coach and I think each of us at least got up once if not more!  So thankful to cross yet another thing off the bucket list this year!  Surfing...Check!  It is a great experience and I suggest if you love the beach and being active to try it out!  

The clan in San Diego! 

Me and my god daughter who lives in San Diego! 

Preparing to surf!

Our surf instructor, Jesse.

 And after my trip to the beach I was VERY inspired to make a birthday cake for Mr. Ethan who is turning 2 and having a beach bash!  I made his first birthday cake last year, which was a monster!  And this year was another challenge with making the beach ball.  I was a little intimidated at first, only because it was something new.  I purchased the Wilton sports ball kit for baking cakes and it made it so easy! 

The cakes turned out perfectly round and I started out by frosting the bottom half before assembling the whole ball and then placed it on the cake assembled the rest and finished frosting it with the star technique.  (AKA: each "star" is one dot of frosting...quite time consuming and hand cramping but the effect is cool and I was happy with the outcome!)  

The beach ball turned out great and I can't wait to try other sports balls or sorts.  I also had 2 other cakes to make which didn't have fondant and the customer was going more for taste which is nice to do those simple cakes from time to time.  I did a carrot cake and a chocolate espresso cake with raspberry and white chocolate filling and they both were frosted with a homemade cream cheese frosting (which my sister finished off the leftover bag that same night...so I assume it was tasty.)  The customer loved the cakes and like I said its nice to do something simple once and a while!  

The red was prob a little too harsh with the roses but it still looked good and according to the customers tasted great!

I have a few more cakes coming up that I can't wait to share about including a Frozen cake and a shabby chic rose cake!

Until then..Stay Classy Readers!


Sincerely,
Sarah :-)

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...?

Life has definitely been keeping me busy lately.  I feel that is the the beginning of each blog post but really, it is. As I have been trying not to bake too much in the 100+ degree weather I don't want to turn people down. I have had a few projects which I am happy with the turn out but not impressed with it. Of course, I am my own worst critic but it is hard to immerse  myself 100% with everything that is going on lately and I never want to give out a product that's less than 100%.  So as we enter a new month I have set some goals for myself that I think will help in my personal, financial, and social life. 

But isn't this blog about baking and creativity!? Yes so moving on..

I have been blessed to be employed at Pita Jungle Arrowhead for 6 years now! There have been ups and downs but I wouldn't trade it for anything! And mostly,  I am SO THANKFUL for the people I have met and the way they have impacted my life. So with that being said, I made a Pita Jungle happy 6 years cake using the logo . The flavor is chocolate with a graham cracker bottom and s'mores cheesecake center. (It was quite a hit! And a good treat after working a shift!)

Next was a cake for a family friend who has recently retired! I love when I'm able to have the creative freedom to do what I want for a cake.  The request was "something small, chocolate, retirement, and golf.." And this is what I came up with! The cake was my grandmas secret chocolate cake recipe which is to die for and I put a chocolate filling!  I was happy with the turn out of this cake!

It's a meee Mario! Ok so, look at this picture...

Now look at this.. I can admit I'm not perfect and Mario is in need of a facelift ASAP! I don't know what I did wrong but clearly I didn't do something right. Not to mention it wasn't easy trying to support the huge rice Krispy treat head of Mario on top of the small cake. Practice makes perfect so next time maybe a little more research before constructing. 

Last but not least.. Well ok maybe least it's not one of my favorites. Ironman cake for a boy's birthday. Again, the head is made of rice Krispy treats and there was no facial sag this time! Thank god! And yes that is a real tap light! Which was actually pretty easy to construct into the cake. The cake did have a lot of structural support in it the customer still got to enjoy it! It was cool to do something different (adding the light to the cake) and having it turn out how I wanted. 

So although my baking creativity hasn't been flowing I still crave to be creative in other ways and I have kept up painting! I tried some acrylics and using Elmer's glue to try to make a cool design. Next time I think ill use a caulk or something thst doesn't dry clear so the pencil marks don't show. But, if your looking for a fun easy project here's a fun diy art project.

What you need: 

-a canvas for painting

-Elmer's glue or caulk or white puffy paint

- a design or idea 

-pencil

-acrylic or watercolor paint 

Draw,with the pencil, a design on to a canvas that can be outlined in the glue or caulk. 

Now trace the pencil outline with the glue or caulk. 

Now is where the patience comes in, you have to let it dry. Make sure it is COMPLETELY dry! And then using your paints add in the color and don't color outside the lines this time! 

And here's the end product! Clearly, not the most intricate picture but something simple, fun, and relaxing! A good gift or decor in your house! 

As July proceeds, one of my goals is to keep up on my postings so hopefully you will hear from me sooner!  So here's to July and doing things for me! 

"When things aren't adding up in your life... Start subtracting!" (A new motto for me to live by!) 

Sincerely, 

Sarah ;)

Two in One

On Thursday I had the pleasure of making dinner for my parents and their company!  My mom was going to get take out from Pita Jungle but I felt like whipping up a little something like they would usually do for their guests. 

 

The Menu

Appetizers: 
fresh cantaloupe, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, basil, balsamic reduction and oil on a toothpick! 

The balsamic reduction

Main Course:
 Citrus Seasoned Chicken: chicken in olive oil, thyme, orange and lemon juice, Italian seasoning, onion, rosemary, oregano, onion powder, salt, pepper, and garlic.

Before cooking

After cooking

Cold Orzo Greek Salad: Orzo, lemon juice, butter olive oil, artichokes, peppadews, tomatoes, salt and pepper, sautéed zucchini and summer squash, feta, and basil.

Skewer grilled sweet and russet potatoes: sweet potatoes cut into chunks seasoned with olive oil, paprika, salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chili powder.  russet potatoes cut in chunks seasoned with olive oil, garlic, basil, onion powder, and rosemary.  After being seasoned they were placed on skewers and grilled until soft.

Potatoes on the grill! 

Sweet potatoes all done!

Regular potatoes cooked to perfection!

Dessert:(Although this would normally be something spectacular I didn't have time to prepare for this...)

Homemade Baklava that I had made previously this week and decided to share! ;)

It all turned out great and our company LOVED it!  My Favorite was the Orzo pasta!  It is especially good because it is cold and can be made in advance and eaten again and again. So here's the recipe so you can enjoy it too!

Cold Orzo Greek Salad:
1 box orzo pasta
1 can quartered artichokes
2 cups cherry tomatoes (cut in 1/2)
2 cups peppadews cut into pieces
2 cups crumbled feta
1 zucchini
1 summer squash

1 lemon (squeezed for the juice)

1/4 cup olive oil 

Cook pasta and drain and put into a serving bowl. Cut zucchini and squash in half and then half circle slices and sautee them in a pan til lightly browned. Chop the rest of the veggies to smaller pieces and add to cooked orzo. Squeeze lemon into a seperate bowl and add salt, pepper, basil, and oil then wisk til blended. Add cooked zucchini and squash to orzo bowl along with the feta and top with the lemon dressing. Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate for about an hour and enjoy! 

Also this week I found an awesome new cake store! Sadly, on the east side but I picked up a few supplies for this weeks projects! 

Practice sprinkle cake for a babies 1st birthday on the 4th of July. The family is moving to Minnesota so I wanted to teach the mom to diy before they left! 

Cupcakes for a babyshower! The white pearls add a fancy touch! The cake was funfetti! And used a new recipe and it turned out well! 

Cake to go along with the cupcakes! For once someone didn't want fondant and I'm still perfecting my perfect smooth frosting skills. It wasn't my favorite cake I made but it turned out a lot like the picture she wanted so I wasn't mad.

T'was a fun cooking week! As much as I love baking I love cooking just as much! With summer and the hot weather some of the baking may be on hold and more cooking will be in order! (And of course crafting)! Stay tuned...

Sincerely,

Sarah :)

Offline!

Sorry blogging world I have been "offline"! It's been a busy few weeks filled with high emotions, some baking, a little crafting, and trying to get by. 

I am trying not to do too much baking as the weather is getting immensely hotter! It's hard to keep things together and transport frosting and chocolate when it's a dry 109 degrees outside. I have had a a few projects these past few weeks.

 Whale tails for my niece and nephew's shamu themed birthday! Made of fondant of course! 

Shamu cupcake toppers! Made of chocolate cakepops! 

The final product. My sister made the cupcakes and frosting. 

Close up of shamu and the cupcake! They were a big hit at the party!

Purple sparkley Minnie Mouse cake pops for a bridal shower! Half were chocolate half were vanilla. Super cute and simple! 

Close up of the pops!

A few unfortunate events have also been occupying my time. One of my employees was diagnosed with cancer. Since finding out our Pita family has been coming together to make his fight a little easier. Not only did we make a great gift basket but the staff decided to work a night donating whatever tips they made to him. Leading to the days up to the event I made shirts, blasted social media with reminders, and tried to tell as many people as possible so we could get a good turn out! And that we did! We were able to raise over $5000 in one night it was AMAZING to say the least! It just shows what a community can do when they come together! 

My amazing, selfless, awesome staff who made the Phihhting for Phil night possible!

Shirts that the staff wore and then I made more for the family! 

An area to leave a note for Phillip to read in the hospital! 

The ever so cute Phillip! He WILL be a survivor!

Anyways sorry for being MIA I'm back online in the blogging world!

Thanks for listening! ;)

Sincerely,

Sarah

Black and white!

This week was not as busy as last week, thank god! I love business but sometimes with my full time job it gets a little hectic. All is had this week was graduation cupcakes, a birthday cake, and birthday bundt cakes. I didn't get many pictures this week but I got quite a few of the birthday cake. 

First two layers. The top layer is a champagne peach with peach champagne and fresh peach pieces. The flavor of the cake wasn't too peachy or didn't have a hint ofchampagne but it was a good flavor. The second layer was a confetti white cake.

The bottom layer was just classic chocolate! With a lot of piping detail! When I went to put the cake in the fridge I accidently put my hand in the side and messed it up a bit but it was fixable. 

The final outcome! So pretty and classic! Of course it's not perfect but practice makes perfection! 

Mind you this week I also did another run in between the baking! I wasn't as successful as the previous run because I haven't been running as much and the temperature was very different. This run wasn't as serious as the pat run and I had so much fun! I'll be participating in another color run very soon! 

Running with Emily!

So colorful! 

Throwing the color at each other! 

It was another great week with more successful baking projects! 

Sincerely,

Sarah :)

Mothers, microbes, and muffintops!

What a busy week! Between Mother's Day, baking, and my full time job the amount of sleep I got from Friday to Sunday was very minimal. 

For Mother's Day I wanted to send a sweet treat to all the motherly females in my life and I wanted to test the fragileness of the US post office. So I made Mother's Day sugar cookies inspired by none other than sweet Sugarbelle, of course! So I finally have my recipie down and I add a bit of citrus zest to put my own flair into them. 

You can see the specks of zest in the cookies! I think it makes them pretty even before the frosting! Speaking of frosting I have been doing it alllll wrong! I finally started using color flow instead of another recipie I was using and I think it turned out a lot better! 

Cookies with the base frosting on them

Once the frosting dried I added all the moms, aunts, grandma, and mom to be labels. Mind you from here I hand painted each label with gold food coloring. I guess I could have just colored my frosting gold but I like the way it turned out painting them. 

I added the flowers and edges on some of them. It was very time consuming but well worth the outcome. Everyone who saw them said they were too pretty to eat!

My favorite one! I painted the cookie gold with food coloring instead of the label and added the white border! This special one went to a VERY special mom (besides my mom). 

So for the women that live far away I made boxes and shipped them off! It was  a perfect small treat! And none of them broke! 

A pic from my cousin Sara once they made it to California in one piece! I'll be sending a lot more cookie grams! 

Here are some other cakes I made for Mother's Day!

Chocolate cake with roses!

Yellow rose cake pops

Mom lounging by the beach! 

Flower and strawberry bouquet! 

All the goods were loved by all the moms!

For my mom we made her brunch! Since my sister is trying to stay away from sugar I made a sugar free dessert with fruit that came out AMAZING! It was a watermelon cut to look like a cake iced with coconut whip cream and decorated with fruit! The whip cream was my favorite and the whole family said they preferred it over regular whip! 

Top view of the watermelon cake

After it was cut! 

Our Mother's Day spread! So yummy and Mom was very happy! 

The last project for this weekend was a graduation cake for my best friend who is graduating with her Masters degree from UofA! So proud of her! I made a cake of microbes and a surprise Gnome on the back because they are her favorite! 

Little graduating microbes! 

Surprise gnome! So cute! 

What a weekend! I pretty much crashed after everything was done on Sunday night! But I'm glad I got to make all those things for all the special moms out there!

Happy Mother's Day ladies! 

Sincerely,

Sarah :)