LIMONCELLO!!!

I love Limoncello! I love it so much that I have attempted to make it myself. I know that this blog is intended for Occasionally Sweet items that we all like to look at, but I am so excited about this that I just had to blog about it.

We have a Myer Lemon Tree in our backyard and I ventured out there to salvage what was left of the lemons. To my surprise and delight, the tree was still FULL of luscious lemons! I filled up my bag full of 30 lemons and took them inside. It was there that I washed, zested, and juiced these lemons! WHEW!

The zest was used with 2 bottles of 80 proof vodka in a giant pickle jar! I was advised to use a vanilla bean as well to give it that *magic touch*. My mother is currently filling 3 ice cube trays with the lemon juice (we have tons of leftover juice) to put in drinks for a fun summer-time twist to our drinks on a hot day!

You might be wondering what I did with the rest of the lemons? I try to use all parts of things that I use so that I do not waste. I am currently GOING GREEN, so I threw the extra parts of the lemon into our compost pile that my handy brother built in the backyard! (Fun side note: we recently used the rich soil from our compost pile to promote the growth of our lovely flowers when we essentially re-landscaped the front yard!) Mom is very proud of her little garden, so I have included a picture of it for her :D This area used to be covered in big ugly bushes with huge invasive roots! Good job Mom!
Anyways, the big jar of lemon zest and booze will have to sit around in the dark for a few months until I get to add SUGAR (yes, i love sugar) in the form of a simple syrup. Then it gets to sit again for a few more weeks. Then it will get bottled and gifted to friends and family for special events! I am so excited to try the finished product!

It is the BEST in champagne. I discovered this with the recommendation from my trusty neighbors at my college graduation party! It was a GOOD TIME!

More to come on this topic when it is done!

On A Side Note:

Side Note #1) I did these the other day for a bridal shower.
Vanilla cupcakes with raspberry filling and of course, a little bit of "flair" (sp?)
Side Note #2) I plucked the mint leaves from our very own mint bush!

Side Note #3) I was asked to make 4 dozen cupcakes for a "Miche" purse party. The frosting came out amazing, if I do say so myself. It was something of a mix between buttercream and whipped cream! It was so light and fluffy! I will never make frosting another way again in my life!


Cupcakes really do make the world go 'round.

Welcoming A Wee Little Tyke

A little baby named Jada was welcomed into the world recently. Her family threw her a huge party complete with catered food, caramel apples, and a cake by yours truly. The design was inspired by a precious little pink hat belonging to Jada as well as Apricot Blossoms, the traditional Chinese celebratory flower of this kind of party. Here is the finished product.

I am happy with the finished product and I believe the proud parents were too!
Welcome Baby Jada!

Teacher's Pet

My favorite teacher commissioned me to do her husband's 60th Birthday cake. I was honored. He wouldn't allow her to throw him a party for the big day, but she still wanted to surprise him with a cake. You see, they love their German Shepherds and that is what she asked for. She wanted two German Shepherds on the cake to represent their two babies (dogs). I was so pumped to make this cake! As I made the bones for the "60" I was cracking up. They were so dang cute that I couldn't get over it!

Then I began to make the dogs. To begin, I used a brownish base color for the whole dog and then later added the black parts. Before I got to the black parts, my mom walks past me and it went a little something like this:

Mom: "oh you are making Kangaroos!! How cute!" :D
Me: "No, Mother, they are dogs" >:#
Mom: "Oh. HAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAH!"

Thanks Mom.

But once she saw the finished product, she was impressed!




















To top it all off, my fabulous teacher (ex teacher now...I graduated!) loved it so much and ordered some mini cupcakes for a party she is having today! It couldn't have gone better!

I guess you could say I'm the ultimate teacher's pet. ;D

Mother's Day

I realize that I am quite late in posting stuff from Mother's Day.
There was not a whole lot of business going on other than a batch of cupcakes.

I think they look "Motherly."

P.S. Happy Birthday Trent!

Twee!

Twee ~ adj; slang term for so cute you want to puke

My neighbors own this super cute store in the Tower District called "Twee." It is a boutique/gallery and is open for Art Hop on the first Thursday of every month. Art Hop is open from 5-8pm and galleries are open to the public for free. Most galleries have some sort of goodies available to all the people that come browsing though, hopping from gallery to gallery. The best neighbors to walk this earth are allowing me to serve out some samples of my cake to help me get my business going! Here is what I have created for Twee!



If it weren't already obvious from some posted pictures of my cakes on my website and here, I like making bees. They are just so precious! And they make me happy :D


On a side note:
I made this little beauties last week for my good friend's birthday. :D

Who doesn't like cupcakes?

Wednesday, my boss' wife called me about 2 dozen cupcakes for Friday. I was so pumped! Cupcakes just make me happy! She asked for a dozen chocolate and a dozen of whatever I felt like whipping up. EVEN BETTER! I love coming up with new ideas and something different, but seeing as this was not exactly the time to start experimenting, I settled on making lemon for the second dozen. As I was mixing the batter, I decided to pull one over on my mixer and add orange juice and zest instead of lemon. Oh man! They looked so good and made the kitchen smell wonderful! I busted these out on my lunch break and after work, I made the chocolate beauties. Devil's Food with, according to a co-worker of mine, a "weird chocolate awesome" in the center.

They were a hit!

But then again, how could they not be? Who doesn't like cupcakes?