Love of Lilacs

Dear new parents, you're going to miss this.

2014-09-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

Dear new Mom and Dad,

Congratulations!

I am writing this letter to let you know how this is a exciting time for you! So many first to come, first foods, first steps, first words. It is also a very exhausting time, sleepless nights, baby's first cold, stomach bug and so many other "events" to come. I am sure you keep hearing "oh it goes by so fast", I want to confirm with you that it does go by so fast. I remember the fall of 2005 our first son was born. It was such a exciting time, I was so nervous and excited to welcome this new member of our family. I can remember him being about 6 weeks old, nursing every 2 hours and sleeping less. I was standing in my kitchen and said to my husband "when will his parents come and get him". I was used to being a nanny and sending those little bundles back to mom and dad. Before long he was no longer nursing and sleeping 12 hours a night. 2 1/2 years later our second bundle of love came. He was loud and proud! We had even more sleepless nights due to his colic, and my severe PPD. I remember a conversation I had with my step dad, my hero, during this "awful" time of my life. He told me that it will pass and wanted me to listen to a song by Trace Adkins "You're gonna miss this" I remember listening to that song and laughing saying "YEA, NO, I will not miss this, I will not miss crying colic baby, a 2 1/2 yr old getting zero attention because I am going out of my mind. " Well truth be told 6 years later, I do miss it. I miss it a lot. I miss it to the point of tears. I miss my kids being home with me, our many adventures, our many first together, our naps, our cuddles, me kissing boo-boos, just them needing me and actually me needing them more.

So new parents, I am asking, no begging you to PLEASE, take a deep breath, Don't worry about the small stuff, the house will be clean again before you even realize. You will get caught up on the laundry, you will have time to shower and finally organize that closet that is messy, but for now take the time to sit on the floor with your baby, go for a walk. make these never ending days an adventure. Because I promise you you're going to miss this and you will never get this day back.

PVC solar cover holder

2014-07-01T12:20:00.001-07:00

We have a new pool and living in Michigan we need the solar cover. For those that have wondered if they really work, I can assure you solar covers do work. They work by raising the pool water tempature 1-2 degrees, which doesn't seem like much but what they really do is hold the tempature over night. The issue with an above ground pool is where to put the solar cover while swimming? With kids, dogs and wanting green grass, the ground is a horrible option so after some pinning and visit to a Home Depot. My husband came up with this idea.... "U" shaped pvc attached to pool legs.

It is 1 1/4" pvc, cut three pieces 1 foot, use two 90* elbows and two caps for each holder. Use pvc indoor/ outdoor cement and glue together. we used 4 holders for a 16' round pool. You will need clamps and zip ties to attach to legs of pool.

It has worked really well for us. I would love to hear if you used this idea and what the results were.

Lemonade Mouth Party

2012-04-03T07:39:00.000-07:00

My youngest requested a Disney’s lemonade Mouth Party. I was excited because he was stepping outside the box of Star Wars or Superhero’s, however unlike many other Disney movies or shows there is NO Lemonade Mouth party supplies in stores or online. So I had to get real creative!

Here is a copy of the invitee. PLEASE feel free to copy and use for yourself.

I got so many complements on this, everyone loved it and thought it was so creative!

I went a on hunt to find creative centerpieces and anything else Lemonade Mouth Colors.

I started at Garden Ridge and wasn’t disappointed. I bought pinwheels, terracotta pots, Styrofoam and yellow tissue paper.

I painted the pots a glossy fire engine red, printed Lemonade mouth logos, cut black guitars out and assembled the final product!

Every party I do adult party favors and child party favors. The children get a collection of random items in a bag and adults get some sort of food. Cookies, Suckers, one year I did Sanders fudge. This year it was cookies.

And the cake. I had high hopes for this cake. In my mind it was much grander and creative. I wanted a spiral piano but my spiral didn’t wrap all the way around and because I took my little old time decorating this cake, there was no time to remake or start over.

BE HEARD. BE PROUD. BE STRONG. and Make some noise!

Suave Keratin Treatment

2012-04-02T09:14:00.001-07:00

First let’s start with the disclaimer: I was NOT paid for this review, I was not provided products for this review, I paid with my own money. Even if I was paid or product was given to me, you’d still get a honest review. On the side of the box is a “is this product right for me” read it and make sure it is!

Second: I did lose what seemed like a large amount of hair while applying this product. However given that I was brushing my wet hair for almost 20 mins, I guess it could be normal. Another thought is I have heard a few people complain that it thinned their hair out and they lost hair with Keratin treatments. The product is designed to cut curl and frizz, therefore it leaves you with much smoother thinner hair. In my first round of Keratin treatment I was left with, what some might say thinner hair. I would say smoother, sleeker hair. I am not a professional Hair dresser but I do have 1300 hours of hair school under my belt so I do know a thing or two about hair! Why I did didn’t finish those last 200 hours is another blog post for a raining sad day!

To see before pictures, and for a full comparison of this product and the salon version please read my Salon version review. Smooth as Ice and Smooth as Ice part two

Here is my hair air dried, this picture was taken some time ago but I can assure you this is my normal hair the day I applied this product.

BTW- sorry about the over load of my fat face!

Here is a recent picture of my hair blow dried.

So I read the directions several times. I didn’t want to miss a thing or make a mistake, as much as I joke I’m going to shave my hair. It’s not really something I want! The entire process from start to finish took about an hour and a half. I do say it would have been much more enjoyable had I had a friend help me apply the product, but I was excited to try it and couldn’t wait for the extra set of hands.

After my hour and a half process this is what I looked like.

My hair was very smooth and straight. Part of the process is adding heat to your hair. You HAVE to blow dry and or flat iron it to seal in the keratin or you just wasted time and money.

Next you can’t wash or pull your hair back for 48-72 hours… This is not fun and the worst part for me.

Day one (24 hours after treatment)

My hair was still very straight and soft.

Day two (48 hours after treatment)

No picture, sorry I’m not a fan of pictures of myself!

Day three (about 64 hours after treatment, 3 nights of sleeping on hair)

Washing my hair…………

Air drying my hair……….

Results of air dried hair.

I have too say I was impressed. The results were very similar to the salon Keratin treatment. But….. YEP we have a but. It was short lived. It has been over a week and I find that my hair is stringy and not as soft as it was before this treatment. If I blow dry it it does stay straight though out the day and night, but again it feels not as soft, the other think is the treatment strips your color, so as of today I have multi tone hair, my roots are part black and grey, the rest is copper color. Which on some people that works, but for me I like my hair dark! I also found that my Jewish side curls haven’t gone anywhere. I still have them and this treatment did nothing for them or the kinks on my front hair line.

So my final results are LET THE PROFESSINALS in a salon do the real Keratin treatment. It last much longer and makes your hair as smooth as silk.

I am giving this product 3 out 5 Lilacs. I ranked it a little higher because the cost was only $50, for the Treatment, special shampoo, dry shampoo, conditioner and styling products.

We all know one and probably love one….

2012-03-19T13:03:00.001-07:00

You know what I am talking about, the “debbie downers” in our lives.

I was surprised to find out a friend is pregnant. She had about 30+ post of “Hey , congrats”, “WOW, that’s great” “you’ll be a great mom” and then enters debbie….. “Hey well I am getting a divorce” then and hour later she post “oh yea congrats”

REALLY! I MEAN REALLY!!!!!

I’d love to hear about the “debbie’s” or “donny’s” in your life.

Let's start over....

2012-02-29T06:40:00.003-08:00

Well as you can see, I have created a new look and new name for the blog. I have a lot of idea and I need to get them out of my head and into yours. ;-) So I decided to give the blog yet ANOTHER make-over and create a new facebook page, for the blog. I know, I know.... The last thing I need is something else to fuel my A.D.D. but I love to share, so enjoy this awesome, crazy, hot mess of a ride with me!!!

Cherry Chip Cookies

2012-01-25T13:18:00.001-08:00

Cherry Chips are making a come back, at least in this house they are.

I have this basic recipe, I have had it for sometime now and I wish I could credit who gave it to me because these are so YUMMY!. It’s hand written with no name and no credit, so if it belongs to you, let me know!

1 cup margarine

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon PURE vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sifted all- purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup cherry chips * in my neck of the woods, cherry chips are not easy to come by, the local bulk food store is the only place to find them other than online.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F

On medium speed mix margarine, sugar and vanilla until combined, it will have a curdled look. Add sifted flour and baking soda, mix until well combined. Stir in oats and then cherry chips.

drop tablespoon sized balls, I use this….

Bake for about 10 minutes. Enjoy warm or cold but always with a glass of milk!

Cleaning up is fun to do!

2011-12-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

I have many post to catch you all up on, even my personal blog is lacking updates. Now that the busy Holiday season is over and my family is returning to their regular scheduled “programing” I can get back to the basic's of blogging.

For my first post of 2012, I bring you organized chaos!!!

A few year ago I converted a small linen closet into my cake closet. I have over the years, cleaned it and reorganized it but this time I went in, all or nothing.

Here is before. As you can see, it’s a mess <blushing>.

After a trip to Meijer, a few hours of scrubbing and reassigning drawers, I have a fresh start for the new year.

I even have room to add extra stuff and a perfect spot for my new circuit cake.

On the subject of organizing… I wanted to share with you all how I store my ever growing collection of cookie cutters.

I also have a master list I keep in the kitchen of all cutter and which box I can find them in, so when I head down stairs I know which box I need.

Each box has a season, holiday or theme. and then the box is labeled with each cutter inside.

Now the one problem that causes the most headache….

CAKE PANS. I have yet to have found a solution to this problem and I am open to all suggestions!

The liquor bottles are there I.C.E. (in case of emergency) and once a week we have “emergencies”

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Create a cookie cutter- Product review

2011-12-01T08:18:00.001-08:00

This post is long over due. For my son’s 6th birthday we hosted a bowling party for him and his friends. I ran into a little dilemma…I waited until 3 days before his event to make the cookies. I knew I was in need of a bowling pin cookie cutter and figured, I’d have no issue finding one at the local cake shop. WOW, was I wrong. We have about 5 “local” shops and no one carried a silly little bowling pin. And because I had to make about 5 dozen cookies, a cardboard temple was out of the question. So I was convinced to to purchase this, Make your own cookie cutter kit. I was a bit skeptical but the other choice was hand cutting 120 cookies.

So I gathered my supplies and read the directions over and over!

*I printed a bowling pin from the computer.

First step, seems simple enough. You use a piece of tread to trace image. This is your guide for cutting the metal. The metal can be cut with standard scissors.

Next using the tools on the left side of picture you shape the image. This did take some time but I wanted it perfect.

After you have the image shaped, I used clamps to make the sticky tape adhere with a tight grip. At this point you can allow it to sit for a few days or place in oven, I let it sit for a few hours then removed the clamp and placed in oven.

Once the cutter has cooled can start to cut the cookies.

I was very pleased with the results, and the simplicity of the project. I am curious to try again, the kit comes with plenty of extra metal and adhesive tape.

This product is HAPPY CAKE LADY APPROVED!

Bakin with the Boss

2011-11-19T07:25:00.001-08:00

Photo courtesy of Jeniece Pittitt for TLC

If you follow The Happy Cake Lady on Facebook, then you know that I was a winner from Kalamazoo, MI section of TLC's Who takes the Cake contest.

For the contest I had to upload a picture of a cake. The cake was then voted up or down and little old me WON "Best in City"!

So I called the babysitter, dog sitter and packed up the car and went on a little adventure with Mr Frankie G. (my husband) to Kalamazoo, MI

We had a wonderful evening and wonderful seats with VIP treatment.

Buddy's tour Buss. Our first stop on the adventure!

Watching Buddy create a cake is a little like watching a Rock star write a song! ;-)

A HUGE thank you to TLC for the contest, my husband, my parents and friends for bugging their friends to vote, my cake fans on FB for supporting my business and making my dreams come to reality and of course Buddy for going on Tour!

making progress...

2011-11-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

The new look of the blog is coming along, slow, but it's coming....

Leave some love and let me know what you think so far! <3

Pumpkin Puree

2011-10-27T22:13:00.001-07:00

Items you will need…

1 or more pie pumpkins (these are the small pumpkins)

spoon

large knife

baking pan

foil

water

optional- the help of your 3 1/2 yr old and his lovey named blueberry.

rinse off the pumpkins removing all dirt
remove stem and cut pumpkins in half
using a spoon remove the seeds and pulp

place on foil lined baking dish and fill the pumpkins with water, cover the pumpkins with foil
bake at 375 for 1 1/2 hours or until spoon slides into pumpkin with no force

Let cool, poor the water from pumpkins into a cup
With spoon scoop pumpkin away from skin. If cooked long enough the pumpkin should come right off of the skin

Place pumpkin into food processor and add a tablespoon of water at a time. Blend until the pumpkin is the same consistency as baby food.

I usually bake pies, cake and bars using fresh pumpkin and I usually make the puree the day before and keep in air tight container in fridge overnight.

This was a 2 pound pumpkin and it yielded, just over a cup of puree.

Happy Fall Baking!

Blog Update~!

2011-10-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

Please be patient with me, the blog is going to get a make over and I'm sure you'll love the new user friendly look!

Happy Baking!

Reynolds Product Review

2011-09-30T18:56:00.001-07:00

Hey there Happy Cake Lady Fans!!!!

I have a product review for you. I was shopping in my local Target and came across Reynolds® Baked for You™ baking cups.

They claim, they stay bright, meaning the color of the cups don’t fade with baking. Like these did.

They also claim that you can place the cups right on a cookie sheet with no need for a muffin pan. But will they bake even? Now if you have ever tried this with standard baking cups, you know this doesn’t work, the cups spread out and you get a triangle looking cupcake.

So I whipped up some batter of cherry chip cake and put these to the test. I made sure to over fill the cups just a little to see if that would make a difference. Notice they are placed on a cookie sheet, not in a muffin pan.

Bake at 350 and…..

Here they are fresh out of oven…. Most cups came out round and perfect, I did have a few that were not perfectly round.

and for the true test…. Did they keep their color?

They sure did! Just as bright as they were before they baked in oven!

I would MOST defiantly use these again, but I would stick with my muffin pans. I bake for a living and can’t risk any of my cupcakes being not perfectly round!

Jello Dirt Cups

2011-09-25T09:13:00.001-07:00

Hi all, it has been a while since I posted a tip, trick or idea. September is my busiest month for cakes, so I have slacked in the sharing department and I’m sorry for that!

Well today I’m sharing a FUN and creative alternative to cupcake or cookies and KIDS go crazy for them Dirt Cups. I followed the recipe from Kraft Foods.

My son’s kindergarten class LOVED them and I think your child would too!

What you need…

1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding

2 cups cold milk

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

15 OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 1-1/4 cups), divided

10 worm-shaped chewy fruit snacks

make it

BEAT pudding mix and milk in large bowl with whisk 2 min. Let stand 5 min. Stir in COOL WHIP and 1/2 cup cookie crumbs.

SPOON into 10 (6- to 7-oz.) paper or plastic cups; top with remaining cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour. Top with fruit snacks just before serving.

****I made 30 cups, I used 3 packages of jello, 1 1/2 tub of cool whip and 3 packages of gummy worms and 1 pack of oreo cookies.

I would say 1 of above recipe makes about 10, 1/2 cup dirt cups.

Scrapbooking software give away from Along Came Ellie

2011-09-12T11:11:00.001-07:00

I used to love to digital scrapbook! But I found that photoshop was too much work. I have searched for others and found them but they always seem to lack a few key items. I’ve heard great reviews about this software from My Memories, but have yet to try it….

Well Along Came Ellie the blog is giving away copy of the software!!!! I’d love to win! So I’m sharing this with you!

Enter to win….. Along Came Ellie

and the winner is........

2011-08-09T08:07:00.001-07:00

Congrats to Michelle , please send me a email, with your full name, and address and I'll mail you the Yearbook!

Check back soon. I'll have another Wilton giveaway!!!!

Wilton Give Away!

2011-07-12T18:06:00.001-07:00

In honor of the new 2012 Wilton Yearbook being released, I am giving away a Wilton 2011 yearbook. (Click the picture to view details)

Wilton is one of my favorite cake decorating companies, they offer idea’s recipes, products, classes and so much more for the cake decorator.

To learn more about the Wilton Brand, please visit www.wilton.com

BAKERS TIP: I keep all my yearbooks and once the year is over, I break the book up into categories and place in protective sheets, I have many Wilton yearbooks organized in large binders and at anytime I can pull the correct binder and view ALL of Wilton’s ideas in one book, verse looking through many magazines!

How do I win?

Please post a comment below, and answer this question.

When deciding on purchasing a cake, I consider this factor…

A: It’s most important how a cake looks to me.

B: It’s most important how a cake taste to me.

C: Both, it’s important how a cake looks and taste to me

D: It all comes down to the cost for me

RULES: Winner will be selected at random and posted on this blog and The Happy Cake Lady’s Face book page. The winner will have 24 hours to respond via email with name, address and phone and prize will be mailed to him/her. Face book Fan’s will get an extra entry, so be sure to leave a extra comment, letting me know your a Face book fan! GOOD LUCK!!!

Sneak Peak

2011-06-06T19:30:00.001-07:00

Here is a little sneak peak of what’s to come this week. These are gum paste circles, with hand painted by me, batman villains using edible food color!

I’ll have another sneak peak tomorrow! It’s a FUN week of cakes!

Round Cake Cutting Guide

2011-05-13T14:20:00.001-07:00

I am often looking for different ways to create simple boring sheet cakes and when the the design allows it, I like to make round cakes. I think that it adds a different dimension to the simple sheet cake. However, the most common question is “How will I cut that cake to get the right number of servings?” Well, Wilton.com has a wonderful guide to cutting round cakes. So, next time you order a cake think outside of that rectangle and into the circle!

These little treats

2011-05-08T17:12:00.001-07:00

I was searching my books and discovered this book I forgot I had. The Original Gourmet Doggie Treat Cook Book and with a new dog who is learning to behave with treats, I got to the kitchen and baked!

The Basic Bone Recipe is very simple….(this recipe was found online)

4 cups Flour ( I used Whole Wheat)

1 cup Oatmeal (regular or quick cooking)

1/3 cup of oil (or meat drippings)

4 Bouillon cubes

1 1/2 cups of hot water

dissolve the bouillon in the water. Then mix all ingredients. Roll 1/2 thick and cut with a dog themed cookie cutter. Bake at 300 for 25 minutes.

Then I made Peanut Butter Biscuits and Cheese Sticks both recipes can be found in The Original Gourmet Doggie Treat Cook Book.

Each Recipe made about 2 dozen dog treats, so I bagged them up and a few furry friends will get them!

WELCOME!

2011-05-02T19:19:00.001-07:00

For months now I have been telling myself and you, that I would start a blog. TA-DA! I will include pictures, recipes, dessert idea’s, product reviews and so much more for your tummy to enjoy. This is also a GREAT place for my past and current students to ask questions and look for idea’s!

My website will still focus on the business of cakes, this blog will focus on creating the perfect desserts and FB will do a little of both!

I hope to soon have a few sponsors and have some discounts and maybe a few free gifts for my followers, I will also from time to time offer FREE CAKES from the The Happy Cake Lady! (If you have a product or service you think my fans would like contact me today!

Yours in decorating-

Jaclyn

As smooth as ice: part 2

2010-10-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

If you missed Part 1

Remember my hair air dried before:

Air dried after the treatment:

Can you believe it??? I can’t, I wish you could feel how soft and smooth it is. I normally can only get my hair this soft after I blow dry with a round brush, flat iron and product.

Here it is styled: A you can see it still has “jersey” body but is so soft, I only used the round brush for my bangs, the rest was used using a regular brush.

I LOVE Melissa Lobaito!!!

As smooth as ice….

2010-10-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

This week I treated myself to a 3 hour pampering session with Melissa Lobaito. After several years of wanting different hair, I decided to try the Keratin Complex Smoothing Treatment. Could I really have different hair?

The process took about about 3 hours, she shampooed my hair, dried it, applied the Keratin, let it sit for about a half hour, then dried it again. Then Melissa used a flat iron to activate the treatment. I left with the most amazing silky smooth hair. But…. Did it work and how much difference would there be if any?

A few things to consider… You can’t wash or get your hair wet for 72 FULL hours. If you sweat or get it wet, you MUST dry it and flat iron it, immediately. No pins, clips, ponytails or hats. The hair must remain flat for the 72 hours. After the 72 hours is up, you can return to using your normal products, clips pins and hats. Another thing is you need to use “special” sodium chloride and sulfate free shampoo and conditioner.

Here are pictures over the 3 day “process”.

PLEASE NOTE: I normally have oily hair, so it was no surprise to me that my unwashed hair was greasy.

Before Treatment:

This is my hair air dried.

This is my hair styled. My hair is soft and smooth but I used a huge round brush and flat iron to remove and ringlets.

Right after treatment: It was so soft, smooth and silky. No ‘fly away” hairs. I was shocked to see my hair this perfect!

24 hours later: It was still soft, I did flat iron it in the morning, I sweat while sleeping. But it still looks and feels amazing.

48 hours later:

Bacon anyone, lol! It’s not wet it’s greasy, ewwww. A price to pay for beauty.

72 hours: Losing it’s beauty and oily but it' still was very soft.

Shower time…… I’ll update results later.