Challenged!

In case you haven't heard, Jelly Belly is having a cupcake contest. And being just a LITTLE competitive, I had to give it a try. Most of you may have waltzed right by the display in your local Safeway but it may as well have had neon lights and horns when I saw it touting a lovely prize for a jelly bean themed cupcake. This is my first entry but I hope to have many more. It is one of the few contests that allows multiple entries. Hooray! So much for visions of sugar plums. They've all been replaced by dreams of beautiful, colorful, shiny jelly beans. And a $10K check. Like the big checks on Food Network's challenges. Go ahead. Submit your entry here. Good luck! Hope you don't pre-spend all of the prize money on jelly beans!

And here's my entry into Seattle Times Newspaper's Peeps Contest. I've got the bug! Only one entry allowed in this one so this is it. Grand prize is a $500 gift certificate to a local drug store. How much hair color would that buy . . . ? There are lots of creative PEEPle out there so this doesn't stand a chance but it was fun playing along. Take a look if you'd like. Go to Seattle Times Peep's Contest and select "view entries." Anyone want a tub of somewhat fresh Peeps?

Pi Day

I ran away to see my friend last week and played some serious Barbies. Two cakes. And we got to play with a real fondant sheeter (sigh . . .) in an actual bakery. Our friends at The Cake Mamas in Glendora, California conspired with me to surprise our unsuspecting victim, my dear friend Joan, with a birthday cake. She was told that it was for the ex-mayor and that we had complete freedom in the design. Little did she know that she was decorating her own birthday cake! I almost had to give away the surprise the night before since she was so worried that it be something fabulous and over the top. It's 10:30 pm and she's coloring in sketches of the design. Hadn't thought about the potential stress on her but it was hard not to giggle when she kept telling me asking me why I wasn't showing any concern along with her. Sorry for the potential heart attack friend. Hope you have a very Happy Birthday! The ex-mayor actually stopped in for an order after we'd unveiled the surprise by writing her name on the cake. An added bonus. Thanks Janelle & Fabiola and crew for your extreme generosity and patience! And for all of the wonderful cupcakes. The Green Eggs and Ham was my favorite. Yum!

It was so lovely to get away and catch up. Beautiful sunshine, flowers, and friends. What more could one ask for? Well, actually, now we'd both like a sheeter. Thank you very much. Didn't even know what we were missing.

March 14th was Pi Day and to celebrate, my son asked if I'd make some mini pies for his math class and their finals. Unable to leave well enough alone, I also made some square cupcakes in protest. What event isn't protested these days? Thirty tiny pies: blackberry, caramel apple, cherry (and mixed berry which failed to make the photo shoot) plus 40 chocolate cupcakes filled with Swiss Meringue Buttercream and topped with red Sixlets for cherries and fondant for pie crust. Had to laugh when I passed some real protesters (teachers) on the corner turning into the campus! The instructor told the class they could eat while taking the exam. Hope that she'll error in favor of Pi for any smudges over illegible answers!!!

 

Have a great week!

The Beginning

Once upon a pedestal, in a kingdom far, far from spotless, there lived a Fairly Odd Mother. Her children had long since left the shoe and the old woman now was left with so many cupcake wrappers and baking implements that she didn’t know what to do. Temporarily.

Many, many, many years earlier, she lived with six wicked (not really wicked, just feisty) brothers and an all-grown-up sister who was too busy to come to her rescue. Not a pettiskirt to be found in the land. (Gasp!) She longed to play make believe and Barbies and mud pies drive-in but she spent most of her youth being tormented by and tormenting her brothers in return.

One day, her kind step mother who worked at a bakery all day making bread came home and asked if she would like to ride the bakery float in a REAL kid sized bakery costume! To which she replied, "Of course!" And so she rode in the parade with her hiney on the crepe paper and her heart in the clouds. This was perhaps the first incident leading up to this blog. And many potential therapy sessions for her grown children and patient husband.



 

She grew up (well, maybe - okay, sort of) to love all things tiny as well as tea cups, cupcakes, chocolate, ice cream, bubble gum, paper dolls, dress up, make believe, fairies, the magic twinkle of lightning bugs, setting a fancy table and planning or throwing a themed event. In no particular order. And not all inclusive. All of which leads to the temporary insanity you are about to witness within. Hope you'll enjoy the diversion!