Sunday, May 30, 2010

5 Years ago...I said Yes

5 Years ago on May 29th... I said Yes when Ty asked me to marry him.

So on May 29th Ty surprised me with the lens I have been drooling over for months now!

When he handed it to me he said "Thanks for saying Yes"



It was amazing! We don't usually celebrate this day so this was a total surprise!

Actually, it's my parent's anniversary so Happy Anniversary Mama & Papa!

And Happy Engagement-iversary Ty! I can't believe we have almost been married for 5 years! Thanks for making me feel super special and for spoiling me with my new lens!!!

I love you!!!

Do you want to see the pictures I've taken with it so far?



Don't worry... I have lots more...


These were taken while Ty took his practice exam.


It only took him 6 hours!!


Actually it took him 8 hours but he took a 2 hour lunch and study break.


Oops... I think Ty is regretting buying me this lens...


That is the face of CFA misery! Poor Ty! Only ONE more week to go!! His test is on Saturday!! PLEASE PRAY FOR HIM!!! I know you will do great Ty! I am so proud of how hard you are studying!!

Wedding Mixer & Special thanks!

Well the Wedding Mixer was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who had a hand in making it happen! I could NOT have survived that week without everyone's help and prayers!

I've blogged about the Mixer on the TST site, but I wanted to show some of my helpers and give a special thanks to Marlene, Sarah, Richard, Ty, Jet and my Bible Babes!

Here's a picture of Marlene, Sarah & me at the event!

A big thanks also to Rose (from Ultimate Affaire) for the flowers! It would not have looked as good without them! If you know ANYONE that needs an Event Planner for their wedding, a florist or a decorator she is the one to call! (or email - I've linked it to her name)




Here's another shot with a better view of the table.

Thanks also to Veronica, my beautiful Bride-To-Be! I asked her to come and "Oooo and Awww" at my table so that others would hear how great our Cakeballs were and they would come over and place an order!

Here she is showing everyone how much she loves them!

Veronica I had to include this picture too! It was way too cute to leave off the blog!


I've got to give full credit to Sarah for the Purple flowers! Stay tuned for more of her amazing cakes to come! Who knows maybe you'll see a Sweet Sanders appear someday!


Table design credit goes to Marlene! Give her a few ideas that don't make sense and she will create a masterpiece out of it! If she wasn't there to help we would probably see Cakeballs on paper plates :-)


Look how much different it looks with the candlight and rose petals!


These are the same flowers I made for Stacy's baby-shower cake. I must admit I LOVE fondant!


Here's another picture of me holding a Lemon Cakeball.


AND for those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting Mocha Head you will be happy to know that yes he was a part of the event too. Thanks Ty for packing him along with all the Cakeballs!


Again, thanks to everyone for all of their help!

Sarah came over to help on her day off and ended up staying until midnight that night. Her hubby Richard joined us later and brought everyone dinner- Thanks Richard! He even brought Ty dinner for when he got home from singing at chruch and laughed when he tried to store it in the fridge because it was packed full of Cakeballs!

Sarah thanks also for rolling hundreds of Cakeballs, making a lot of my cakes and even dipping hundreds of the ones you rolled! I even owe Richard a thank you for rolling!! Thanks also Sarah for giving up your entire Saturday and being such a great spokesperson for The Sweet Touch! I was so tired that it was awesome how you interacted and networked with everyone at the event! Thank also for your encouragement and friendship!

Jet thanks for coming over every single night before the big wedding order! Thanks for making boxes with Ty and for solving the "Hanging Tag Dilema". Once I get pictures back from the wedding I will show you the tags that were printed by Ty & Jet and then hand cut by Jet.

Marlene thank you for rolling, for dipping, for researching, for discussing, and for keeping me sane through this entire process. Thanks to you and Tim for coming over at the last minute and helping me put all the cakeballs in their cups before Casino night and thank you Marlene for helping me with my Corporation license and my Business Plan (which everyone will see once we finish) and for coming to all my events!

Thanks to my Bible Babes Rachel, Stacy, Kenzie, Lysken, Kelly and Veronica (even Marley)! Thanks for rolling balls while we talk about our wonderful God! Rachel thanks for baking my cakes a few weeks back so I could catch up on schoolwork and take a test and Marley thanks for licking the bowl!

Thanks also to my parents, sister and all of you for the much-needed prayers! Thanks also to Erica and Kimberly for being so patient and encouraging!

And finally, thanks to my wonderful husband. Ty thank you for putting up with ZERO food in the fridge, me working through the night, and all my crazy stress. Thank you for staying up late with me to help make boxes, roll balls, cut ribbon and all the millions of things you do around the house even after you've had a long day at work followed by a 4 hour study session. I don't know what I would do without you!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Julie Moment #125

I am working on my first wedding. My first wedding Expo. I have investors emailing me. Brides. Wedding planners. Orders coming in. Money coming in. More money going out. Friends lending a hand. No time to email back. More supplies to buy. And I'm behind schedule.

I feel like Julie.


I believe in what I'm doing. I'm just tired and need to get through this week.

I'd appreciate any prayers that you'd like to send.

Any at all.

Monday, May 17, 2010

My Love Tank Spilleth over!

I woke up this morning to find breakfast ready for me. Not just ready but a beautiful plate of sliced fruit ready to go in my Breakfast Parfait (my new favorite thing to eat!). I had to blog about this because my husband has been so wonderful lately that I had to brag about him.



What a great way to start the day!



Last week I asked him to pick up the display cases I had pre-ordered from Swoozies on his way home from work (this is one of my top favorite stores to go to and many of you probably know they are closing all of them :-( I was SO sad when Kimberly called me to break the news! I did manage to buy some great Display cases for my Cakeballs though) ANYWAY, Ty came home with the goods, but he also stocked up my To Do List and sticky note collection! I LOVE stationary so so much! It was SUCH a treat & great surprise!



Ok if that is not enough a few weeks ago a box also came in the mail from my MOST FAVORITE store (this may come as a big shock to most of you, but it is no longer Banana Republic!) Nope. The box was from Anthropologie and inside a new shirt!! AND I LOVED IT! He did so good!



Now I just need the sun to come out so I can wear it!

The best part of all this is that all of these little treats have been "Just Cause" gifts. It may seem silly but these little things have brightened up my day so much that I had to share! Thanks Ty for making me feel special and letting me know you've been thinking about me in the midst of all your studies!

We've had a stressful past few months and on June 6th we will finally get to relax! It is going to be a GREAT day! No school and no CFA studying! I'll be able to handle my 1,000 Cakeball orders without losing (all of ) my sanity!! (and friends) So again, thank you Ty for making my day and being so wonderful!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

LA's BEST - Casino NIght

Casino Night has come and gone.
This picture was provided by BenGibbsPhotography

Did I just hear someone clap, sigh and say "Thank goodness"?!

I enlisted all my friends & hubby to help with the 900 cakeballs I made for the event. It also fell the weekend of Mother's Day and Stacy's baby shower so I was busy busy making Cakeballs.

Good thing this blog is private because it is also the reason I forgot to take a test online and submit a research paper. I may have convinced my teacher today to at least count the research paper! Although after my speech against the new Healthcare Reform she (Ms. Highly Opinionated Teacher that apparently is very much FOR the reform) may change her mind. Ah well. I tried!

Anyway, back to what I was blogging about! Casino Night was May 7th in Marina del Ray (called The Marina for you new "locals" - Marlene taught us some new lingo that night) and on the rooftop of the hotel overlooking the marina. It was beautiful and after texting Marlene "SOS Come over quickly" and getting to the event on time rather than early we pulled it together and I must say made quite an impression!

Everyone helped make these Cakeballs and honestly I cannot thank you all enough! My Bible Babes were such a blessing during our Bible Study the Saturday before the event. They helped roll the balls after Rachel and Sarah made the cakes. Sarah and Marlene took turns coming by to learn to dip the Cakeballs in chocolate later that week and I must say did a VERY impressive job. Marlene would like everyone to know that you should never order White Cakeballs because the Vanilla coating is no fun to use! ha!

Then in a panic Marlene and her husband Tim had to rush over an hour before the event to help me transfer the remaining Cakeballs into their little Cakeball cups - I had miscalculated how long this would take and Ty had spent over an hour doing it while I got ready. Through trial and lots of errors I am learning A LOT!

Here are a few pictures of Marlene and I behind the Cakeball table!


Marlene thank you for coming with me to Casino Night. I could NOT have done it without you! Thank you also for the beautiful flowers you bought me for the table! Your sister is so talented and you are SO thoughtful! I love you to bits! Here's Marlene and the beautiful flower arrangement! Also the Casino dishes, stand, and Casino vase were all hers! I REALLY don't know how I would have done it without her!


Thanks also to my wonderful hubby! Ty you are amazing! Thank you for putting up with my stress & still helping me at the last minute when it got pretty hectic. Thanks also for coming and helping at the event! It meant a lot to me that you rushed from church over to help out!

My final thanks goes out to Cassandra & Blake! Without you I would not have even been invited to be a part of LA's BEST Casino Night! Cassandra you are an amazing person for allowing me to be a part of this great event! Thanks for everything you've done!

Picture provided by BenGibbsPhotography

Here's the link to the blog I wrote on The Sweet Touch blog.

Thanks to everyone that had a hand in this night. Whether through prayers, support or actual hands on Cakeballing I can't thank you all enough. God has TRULY blessed me by putting each and every one of you in my life! From the bottom of my heart - Thank you.

Now... on to the next event.

Friday, May 14, 2010

A little Bird's Baby Shower Cake

I am in no way a Cake Decorating expert but my friend Sarah is!


So together we ventured into decorating a cake for our friend Stacy's Baby Shower! Sarah made a lemon cake filled with a melt in your mouth lemon-curd filling. Oh it was heavenly!

The bottom was decorated in white fondant and the top layer was decorated in yellow.


I made the Daisies out of fondant beforehand.


And stored them in an egg crate to help them dry with a flower-like shape (thanks to a Dallas bakery that gave me the idea - Panini cakes http://www.paninicakes.com/ In case you need a wedding cake in the Dallas area I highly recommend them!) I did not ask to go to the restroom in order to check out their kitchen. I would NEVER do something like that. Ok fine. Yes I did.


As you can see Sarah did most of the work as I photographed her talents and sampled the non-P90X approved icing!


I shared my secret (Betty Crocker) buttercream icing recipe and on the day of the shower we finished putting the cake together and piping the icing around each layer.


By the way - yes I wear an apron now every single day. This one is Sarah's but it's only a matter of time before more pictures of me pop up - probably all in aprons ha!

I assume you want to see the cake now?! Ok here it is:


(By the way I should be studying and not blogging right now- oops)

Here is the Head Chef with her little Sous chef in training with the pretty cake:


AND here is the HOT MAMA (Stacy) holding her Baby Evelyn's cake.


Here's proof that I was the helper for most of the cake decorating process:



See who is holding the knife?! AND who is handing out slices...


Well while I'm showing you cakes...here's the Diaper Cake I made for the shower along with the Birdie Cakeballs - No shower is complete without Cakeballs! (Not anymore anyway!)


Thank goodness Sarah's lemon cake and the lemon cakeballs were there otherwise I would've been tempted to eat the baby food in the diaper cake game we played. (Not really I just wanted to include this picture because I think it is funny)


I'm such a nerd!


If that wasn't enough proof - here's a picture of all the girls to prove it! Yes I am the oddball!


Stacy I hope you loved your shower! We had such a blast putting it all together for you and getting lots of presents for your little Baby bird! We can't wait to meet you little Evelyn Grace!