Rose Cake Delight

Cake #1 a.k.a. "Practice Cake"

The Roses here are a little bit more loosey goosey than my second cake, which is why I call this my practice cake.

Inside... layers could have been cut more evenly... probably could have squeezed in another stripe, but I'm a first-timer so ya can't really hold it against me ;)

 Cake #2 a.k.a. the "Do It Better Cake"

From the start, I warned my family that I was going for looks with this cake. Not taste. I mean, this was a project for me to learn how to skillfully create roses and create vertical layers... Luckily for everyone else, the cake really did and does taste awesome. Very moist and perfect with a scoop of ice cream. 

Quiet Book Success

    

This little guy was so cute with the finger puppets.
Slowly putting them on...slowly turning the pages.  Very cautious this one is!

I tried to turn the page, but she fussed when I did.
Guess she wanted to get a good look at it!

Cutie pie!

The kids were cute. Cubby went from talky talky to QUIET while exploring the different pages. London loved eating the Robot's bouncy arms. Ah, so fun to see that it works and it keeps them busy. Next time, I'll take all the letters/numbers/apples/etc... off their respective places so the kids understand that you CAN take them off and on and that they DO go somewhere specific. Anyway, there ya go!

Baby Girl

London

Aren't those boots adorable?!

Leila and London

This weekend, I spent the night to nanny this beautiful baby girl. Ma and Pa went on a little get-away and I played with Sweet L. We played dress up, practiced getting up on all fours (almost there), watched the HUGE hail storm, took lots of pictures and videos, and I loved every minute of it! Nothing has ever felt so natural :)

Hair is getting long. Took me forever to grow out my bangs and now I'm thinking maybe I want them again? Oh dear...

Rose Cake

Well, this was a bit frustrating, but I love the challenge of this project anyway. I baked 2 cakes. One chocolate and one vanilla. The first vanilla cake I made fell apart when I tried to take it out of the pan so.... I ran to the store before my 10:15 PM soccer game (!) and bought another box.

After soccer, I came home, made the vanilla cake...leveled it off and put it in the freezer next to the chocolate cake. 

Today, the above picture was the next step. Cutting out circles and mixing them together to create what you see. I was nervous. But it appears to be all OK. Crossing my fingers hoping it will be!

Next step is frosting those babies! Just another thing to be nervous about... Silly me, I didn't think it out that I would end up with TWO cakes (since I did two different flavors). What to do, what to do...

Style vs Comfort?

What did I tell you? A dream!

It's really no shock if I'm seen in fleece pajama pants, an oversized shirt (Max's), a sweatshirt (sometime's Max's..) and my beloved slipper socks when bedtime comes. I'm a dream to behold! Really. Well Mr. Max over here just laughs at me and calls me a grandma! You know what does it in for him? The slipper socks! I seriously don't think he can look at them without being turned off, haha.

Had to take this in a awkward position so you could SEE them.

I LOVE my slipper socks. They are so comfy and they keep my feet warm... it doesn't take much to make me cold either. Anyway, he thinks its just odd that I always go to bed covered from head to toe in clothing (Since I'm always throwing the covers off at least once during the night and I'm dying of thirst). Do slipper socks seem grandma-ish? I know they aren't the most stylish but who goes for style when you're married? It's all about comfort I tell ya! At least, when its cold and you're in for the day...

Playing a Role

I have done my best at playing little miss homemaker the past month and a half. You've got my bed frame project, quilt ladder project, quiet book and now finishing up a quilt I started a few months ago. Aside from "projects," I've become quite the little cook here in the Garrett/Getz home.

Foodnetwork.com is fantastic. I love watching the channel, and browsing their site. I've made a White Bean and Chicken soup (DELICIOUS).  I've made Baked Macaroni and Cheese. None of the boxed stuff. Fancy, schmancy.  For the record, I still love the boxed stuff... I also made a French Toast Casserole which my mom claims she will eat the entire bit of it.

Yeah, making homemade meals like these can be a bit pricey, especially if you don't already have a base of a variety of spices and fresh ingredients. On the offhand, I'm learning more about cooking. I learned what it means to temper an egg, I've learned that wearing goggles while chopping onions WORKS, and I'm making my OWN collection of spices and random other dry ingredients. I mean, we will move out one day, and it'd be nice to have some things to put in our kitchen cupboards ;)

There is one eatable project I'd like to try... The only reason I call it a project is because I need a special little tool to do it and it will take a steady hand:

Isn't it pretty?!

If you have any recipes you love, I'd LOVE for you to pass it on! Who knows how long this little streak of mine will last.

Tying Up Loose Ends

Going to get this:

Onto that:

After I do a bit more of this:

Quiet Book Cover

 I wasn't even planning on making the cover tonight. I actually got started from cleaning up my mess in the "sewing room." Ended up cutting out fabric squares, sewing, ironing, sewing again, and hammering in eyelets to get this beauty! I was either going to go Red or Green with the cover pages. I went with Green and I love it! Anyway, just one more thing to cross off my to-do list! Happy day.

Fireside Burgers

Max and I had our V date Tuesday night. We got a sweet deal on Double Take Deals ($10 for $20 worth of food) at Fireside Burgers, located right here in El Dorado Hills. Let me tell you...THEY WERE AMAZING. The burgers were probably the best we've had in a long time (once you go to in'n'out all the time, those burgers just don't feel as special anymore...). The fries were nice and crisp, just the way I like. I recommend going on the Double Take Deal site (just like Groupon) and getting the deal if you're around. So yummy and I can't wait to go again...seriously, it was that good.

Handsome man I got there!

21 pages.

Page 1

Button on the Flowers/Matching Colors

Pages 2-3

Match the Shapes + a Pocket to keep them safe

Weaving page!

Pages 4-5

Elastic Arms and Legs for the "Boing Effect"; Inspired by Evy

Rocket to the Moon!

Pages 6-7

Tie a Bow

Finger Puppets/Imaginary Play

Pages 8-9

Match the Numbers/Practice addition and subtraction!

Pages 10-11

Learn to Braid Hair

Draw or Write Your Heart's Desire!

Pages 12-13

Play Dress Up with Boy and Girl

Pages 14-15

Velcro ABC's that can be rearranged to spell words + a Pocket to keep them safe

 Pages 16-17

Snap on and off the Apples from the Apple Tree

Learn to Lace Up and Tie a Shoe!

 Pages 18-19

Puzzle Page with 3 puzzles of varying difficulty

 Pages 20-21

Take a Spin Around Town/Imaginary Play

Bus Stop! Open the Windows and Wheels to find out who's there! Had to do the Bus because of my dad :)

I am so happy this is over. I enjoyed it thoroughly, believe me. Every time I finished sewing a page, or sewing pages together and ironing them out, I was so pleased with myself. Just as it should be! haha. I tried to have a mix of feminine and masculine... I could end up with all boys, or all girls, but the ideal right now, would be to have a mixture of the two. With the Getz's, I'll probably end up with all boys...that's all they ever seem to have...

I still have a few things I'd like to do with the Quiet Book like:

1. add extra letters to the ABC page for a wider range of vocabulary to spell out
2. beautify the clothes for our boy and girl... I really rushed through those cut outs; 
3. find some nice pictures instead of the quick printouts for the Bus page; 
4. possibly redo the flower petals...I know I can make them better now that I have a better idea how to do that; 
5. and I need to find a child's shoelace for the Shoe page!

BUT, for now, I'm just going to worry about that later... AFTER I make the cover for the Quiet Book (I'll post pictures for that when I get to it).