Hi all-- I've let too much pile up to tell all in one post. I think for today I'll unload my recent horror story re: baking. Maybe then I'll "get over it". Last Friday was Caleb's little school's last big fundraiser for the year. A spaghetti feed and then a dessert auction afterward. The cheesecakes have been known to garner $350 bids. It's all for a good cause, dontchaknow. This year I thought I'd bring quite the spectacular dessert. EVEN THOUGH I've known for my whole adult life I really do suck when it comes to baking. This excuse and that excuse...bottom line is I just never got the baking thing going on. Well, I've got a new Cupcakes book with a recipe for white chocolate cupcakes. How can I go wrong? Two hours and lots of real ingredients like butter and eggs and milk and sugar white chocolate bits later I had 16 hard dry little...lumps is all I can call them, really. Of course they tasted good, you know; dunked in a cup of coffee, but people want them to look good as well. Cleaned up the whole mess, went to bed and slept it off. Woke up the next day with renewed vigor. This time I started with a box mix. Added white choc flavored syrup (like they add to coffee drinks) and chopped up bits of white chocolate. Made cream cheese frosting. Bought a white cardboard three tier cupcake display stand. Applied 24 glue dots all around the three layers. Attached decorative paper cupcake cups to the glue dots. Used a piping tool to frost the cupcakes (shoving said tool full of cream cheese frosting 8 times, because when full it only frosted three cupcakes, was a whole 'nother fiasco), artfully placed 1 white chocolate disc on top of each cupcake, sat the cupcakes in their outer jackets which were glued down and waiting on the display stand. Went to the dollar store to buy a roll of clear celophane and a couple of helium balloons which matched the cupcake papers. Enclosed the whole three tier stand in a celophane tent, clipped it off at the top with the balloons and curly ribbon. Voila! Wouldn't it just be the showpiece of the evening? Here's the part where I should admit I've recently read A New Earth, and I know all about the ego...I guess 50 years of being one way is kinda hard to just stop overnight. Okay. Melissa and her family pull up and honk. It's lightly raining. I teeter out to the car holding this thing, somehow get in the car, sit next to Caleb, ask him to hold the thing while I get out of the car (the school's one block away. I shoulda walked!) and somewhere while he's handing it back to me, my butt stuck out in the rain so I'd really like to hurry, all 24 cupcakes flop over and out of their outer 'jackets'. Some roll further than others. ARGH! Of course, I have to fix them before I take them in and anyone sees them, so there I am in the rain, shoving my hand in this little side slit of the celophane, trying to upright 24 cupcakes from all over the place, getting frosting up to my elbow, cursing up a storm. OH the confused looks I got when I presented this frosting smeared rain dripped mountain of a mess to the dessert table. I couldn't even stay and watch it be auctioned off. It was just too humiliating! Poor John. He arrived from work later and had no idea that all had gone on. Thought I had a black cloud over my head during dinner 'cause I was mad at him or something. Not until he heard me telling the story to our friend Bonnie over dinner last night did he finally 'get it'. LOL! I think next year we should just give them a check!
Well, I can't hardly stand to post without pics, so I'll share this of our sweet Caleb and Madison, who is now four months old and looking so much like her brother did.
I did a whole series of shots with them a couple days ago. Changed the quilt out a couple of times. Never once thought to move the IKEA cardboard boxes that are stored behind that chair, so whatever pics we choose to save and print will have to be tweaked with for twenty minutes in Photoshop. OH it is SO HARD being me sometimes I can't even tell you....
The kiddos look so adorable!! Where's the photo of the cupcakes? Jen, I love the way you just lay it out there - I'm no baker either, you and I can sit in the not-bakers corner together. I bet that cupcake stand was totally and utterly GORGEOUS when you set out from the house :)
Posted by: Sue McG | March 22, 2008 at 07:17 PM
You are soooo hard on yourself Jen, though I have been there, with most projects! That's what grace is all about! Brush it off and start with something new! I am sure the bidding went high after all!
Posted by: dawn | March 20, 2008 at 07:47 AM
Mmmm? What? Did someone say something about cupcakes? I was too busy looking at those cuties.
Posted by: Lotta | March 19, 2008 at 12:54 PM
Oh, Jen, that's a painful story. Ya know, the grocery store sells some nice cupcakes..... :) Those are two absolutely beautiful grandbabies!!
Cheryl
Posted by: Periwinkle Vintage | March 19, 2008 at 09:16 AM
OH it is SO HARD being me sometimes I can't even tell you....
..... LOL lol...
I'm still laughing...cuz I feel that way always........
The picture is precious boxes or no boxes! All I see is gorgeous children!
*Heidi*
Posted by: *Heidi* | March 18, 2008 at 09:08 PM
I'm so sorry about the cupcake nightmare. My heart breaks for you. It's SO much work for something crappy like that to happen. All in all, everything that matters is in that adorable picture above, so smile and know that you can handle anything as long as you've got them. You're ONE TALENTED quiltmaking mama though, definitely one of my quilting heroes. BIG HUG!
Posted by: Carla | March 18, 2008 at 07:35 PM
Seriously, Jen, must we be brilliant at everything? If we all baked like Martha Stewart, the bakeries would go out of business! My dad owned a bakery as did my grandfather. Thats right 2 bakeries in the family, and the only cake I can get right is the Angel food from the box...that my mother in law taught me to make. You are smart, creative, and an amazing quilter. You also take some terrific pictures (the kids are adorable). I give you five stars for trying so hard. Susan
Posted by: susans at black eyed susans kitchen | March 18, 2008 at 06:28 PM
OOOps. Forgot to mention how cute the kiddos look...GREAT PHOTO!!!
Posted by: Barbara | March 18, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Too funny...but I can just imaging how frustrating it would be to go to so much trouble only to have everything fall out of place in an instant. Grrrr. You just have to figure how to make edible glue for them next year!!
Posted by: Barbara | March 18, 2008 at 11:53 AM
P.S. Never mind. I can't take any more. I have just had to change my pants.
Posted by: Kathi D | March 18, 2008 at 11:17 AM
Dang! All I can say is, IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU CHECKED IN WITH US! Sheesh, we were worried sick. You don't call, you don't write . . .
Posted by: Kathi D | March 18, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Oh my, what an ordeal. You made me laugh though...sorry. ;-)
Posted by: Connie W | March 18, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Oh Jen, you crack me up. I love the bit with the IKEA boxes, that's so ME.
Posted by: pam | March 18, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Jen, I can't stop chuckling at your misery. That must have been soooo frustrating. It would have put me over the edge. How is that tattoo healing? Lots of vitamin E is the key. Keep yer head up. Baking is a toughy, you have to be so exact; I like being able to tweak things when I cook. I bet they tasted good though! Love Stacy
Posted by: Stacy A | March 18, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Ugh, I can relate. One year my friend and I were in charge of the school carnival food. I won't go into details but it just seems like no good deed goes unpunished sometimes. Truly your experience was painful. I say write a check and be done with it.
Posted by: nanette | March 18, 2008 at 10:36 AM