The Baker’s Daughter - Positively-Not-Shut

It’s about the time you see Interstate 65 through your positively-not-shut van hatch that you realize the plan is crazy.

Ill thought out.

Poorly conceived.

It’s the disturbing mix of imagination and the whoosh of passing traffic that confirms it all though.

I have a thing about Craigslist, I’m a little addicted, the rush of the negotiation, the high of the find. Sure, I could end up with a stalking psychopath who eventually kills me, but I could also get a chromed out toaster. Really, it could go either way. I try to keep it local but I almost always end up browsing the “view local results” which, might I point out are not local and should be listed as “potential road trip results”.

With My Hand to the Plow

Lately I have days that I work until 2-3 am. I hit the bed hardly able to walk (literally). These are usually days that either I have over-committed myself or something has happened that day that puts me way behind.

All of my married life I have had some sort of home industry going on. Cakes and catering for family and friends has been great. I’ve quilted, I’ve done in-home day care, established and directed a church kindergarten, cleaned houses, started this website, written e-books, produced videos… the list goes on. Different seasons of life allowed for different avenues. The main thing was I always wanted my kids with me.

Wedding Cakes and Family Business

Last weekend Olivia and I were vendors at a local bridal show. It was fun to meet so many brides and their family and friends. I also had a great time making connections with other vendors.

For this show we represented the place Olivia is chef at (while she works towards her dream). They contract me out for their cakes and out-of-house catering. This allows me an industrial kitchen when I need it (most cakes I can do from home) and the catering licence.

A Widow’s Wedding Cake

We doing some catering for the place Olivia is chef at. Last weekend Olivia and I catered a small wedding that was so sweet. The family was a joy to work with. The bride was a widow with three young children. It was beautiful to watch her with her new husband as she glowed… and I think he was as radiant as she was.

Her mother told me, “She never thought she’d love again.” This was one of those weddings you were glad you got to be a small part of.

Bling-Bling Wedding Cake

Here are a few pictures from the cakes I did this weekend.

This cake was stacked 5 high, each tier had 3 layers of strawberry cake with a strawberry cream cheese filling.

The edible glitter and rhinestone ribbon really made this cake shine!

The bows were made of fondant.

This cake served 200.

This Groom’s Cake had fishing lures on wire and real fish in the tank below.

The Work of Our Hands - A Two Wedding Weekend

One of our family income streams is catering.

It’s small scale.

The big money maker are the cakes,

but with that comes TONS of stress!

For the first time I took on two catering jobs on the same day.

I knew we could do it if I planned really carefully!

This was only because I have enough adult kids that really want to work it! For years my kids have been drug along to many catering jobs (usually with pay), their heart not always in it, but they had to do it none the less…because we are a family and this is what we do. But now after years (a life-time) of training, they are truly skilled and are willing to be a part, and they are making some decent money; that’s always a good motivator! And now to have a capable son-in-law we can do more. I was able to leave one adult (married) child at home with the young children. One adult child at one wedding, along with 2 hired teen-aged friends. And then Jeff, my very skilled son-in-law Josh, and myself worked the second wedding. We did 500 servings of food!

A Cottage Wedding…in the rain

Yesterday Olivia and I catered a wedding in a beautiful cottage.

The theme was rustic and cozy.

I wish I had had more time to take pictures of the cottage and it’s decorations.

But after getting lost in the mountains, while in a downpour of rain

we had just enough time to get everything set up!

It was a crazy, adventurous day, but at least we laughed our way through it.

Another Wedding

This past weekend we catered a rehearsal dinner and a wedding reception.

Friday was just me and Emma, she is the best tater peeler EVER!

The guest for the rehearsal dinner were served Italian baked chicken, creamed potatoes, green beans and yeast rolls.

They had a choice of pound cake with cherry sauce or cheesecake brownies for dessert.

Couldn’t have done it without Emma!!!

The Beauty of Ceremony and Key Lime Pie!

Last Saturday we witnessed a beautiful wedding ceremony!

It wasn’t the flowers, dresses and decorations that made the day so beautiful, it was the reason for two becoming one. In the act of worship and dedication two people made vows to God, to take their duty as His people to carry out His will. These two have joined together to do their Kingdom work knowing that their duty is to live here on earth in a way that makes Christ known. Marriage is not about them being satisfied and fulfilled through the other, that only comes from Christ.

A Southern Bridal Tea and Petit Fours

Emma and I attended a bridal tea last weekend. It was hosted in a beautiful house and it was full of beautiful ladies and girls of all ages. Everyone came together to celebrate the upcoming wedding of a sweet, young couple.

I was asked to make the cake or petit fours. I have tried many times to make petit fours and they are always a flop. I really wanted to learn to make these so I tried again. This time I achieved confectionery VICTORY!