73 degrees and perfectly cool outside. Almost feels like fall despite being August. I’m going to curl up on the patio and work on some of my knits for fall tonight with a beer and enjoy this small break from the summer heat.
Little cakes for the little sister
I’ve had this bee in my bonnet lately over tiny cakes.
You see, I love cake like I love snow: It’s good for one day, and after that it needs to go away. Cake for a little celebration, whether it be a birthday or an anniversary or just as a special little treat, is fabulous. Cake the day after (or, as it happens around our house, for days and days and days) not so much. I just want my cake for the day and then I want it to go away. So, of course, I’ve been thinking a lot on baby cakes. Small little one-day affairs that are the perfect little treat, but don’t stick with you for longer than necessary. Bigger than a cupcake, but not so big as a regular-sized cake.
The universe and I were completely in sync today on this tiny cake thing. Out, I ventured, in search of something to bake tiny cakes in. And surprise! Tiny cake pans on clearance at Hobby Lobby! And, bonus, cute polka-dot plate – perfectly sized for a little cake – on the clearance shelf for $1!
I used what has become my favorite old-fashioned cake recipe and made a little 3-tier and decorated it special for my sister’s birthday (Just a silk flower stem, since my rose bushes aren’t doing so hot lately to put some pretty fresh flowers on, and a little decorative butterfly… I think, total, the stem and the butterfly cost me $5, but the butterflies were a pack of 6 so I have 5 left for future cakes). I didn’t have anything on hand to make frosting from scratch so I just used some plain frosting-in-a-can. Next time I’ll do Alicia’s Cloudburst Frosting, which is what I used on my own birthday cake last month and I definitely prefer it now to other frostings.
The tiny cake pans use so little batter, however, that I need to do a little math and figure out how to cut the recipe down. I think I only used about 1/2 cup or so of batter in each pan, and I had more than enough batter to make a single 8″ round cake AND I tried out one of my small glass Pyrex storage containers as a cake pan, too. So, essentially, I have 3 cakes out of one recipe. Which, now that I think about it, might not be such a huge deal – perhaps I should wrap the spares up well and freeze them for the next time I need a cake for a special occasion?
LF/MM: camping retreat
I really do need to plan a week-long camping trip one of these days. It always feels like we set up camp and then, in the blink of an eye, we’re tearing everything back down.
I opted, after much deliberation with myself, to take my phone with me. BUT! I shut it off immediately after I heard that my little furball was safetly at home with my niece and nephew for the weekend and didn’t turn it back on until we came home.
Instead of staring at my phone, checking my social media updates, etc I knit, read, and relaxed. I played card games with the boys and we watched the birds flutter around and we ate ridiculous amounts of delicious camp food. We even watched a movie Saturday night at the campground’s amphitheater (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island – not something I would have picked but hey, it was free and close by!). It was absolute bliss not being connected all the time.
Here’s what highlighted my weekend:
Friday:
A quiet haven in the woods // The teenager practicing his campfire skills // Card games instead of computers and phones // Delicious pizza sandwiches for dinner // A little bird watching at camp
Saturday:
Waking up to this never gets old // Being that person making bacon and coffee on the campfire for a change // Knitting and reading (why, yes, that is a Star Wars novel) // Taking a stroll through the woods // Foil packs for dinner
A weekend never feels like enough
In my humble opinion, all knitting should take place in the great outdoors by a nice campfire.
Big photo update tomorrow when I have more time to sift through the photos from the weekend.
Ushering in #28
Today I turned 28. I’m really not a fan of birthdays, but all-in-all so far today hasn’t been so bad. The niece and I have had quite the day so far. This morning I finished the icing for my birthday cake (I made Alicia’s go-to birthday cake recipe, though mine hasn’t turned out quite as pretty as her cakes always do), and then we got dressed and went to the fair to ride some rides and see some animals. After a very exhausting time going from this ride to that and fighting the ‘I wants’ we then hit the pool, where you can see I plopped myself on a lounger and read while I relaxed and soaked up some sun.
Overall, a nice way to usher in year 28. And now I feel like I need a nap, but there’s dinner to come up with and a house to clean before I have a little 4th of July shindig at the house (where there shall be more hanging out and swimming) tomorrow. And snacks to make for watching fireworks.
I think I’m going to need a vacation from my vacation. :-/
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