Cake Balls

LOVE the internet. In my cake baking escapades, I ALWAYS have crumbs left when leveling cakes. I never knew what to do with them.... Felt like such a waste to throw them away, and of course I can't eat them all because then I would gain an unimaginable amount of weight...... This baby shower cake gave me LOTS of crumbs as it was a 2 layer 6" cake on top of a 2 layer 10" cake.

So what to do, what to do......

Well in playing around on cake central I found information on Cake Balls.....yes, that is right, Cake Balls. There were several different ideas on them, mixing the cake crumbs with canned icing and then dipping in melted chocolate; mixing the crumbs with homemade peanut butter icing and dipping in chocolate; and even mixing the crumbs with sweetened condensed milk and then dipping in chocolate. YUM OH!

I am thinking after rolling the balls and freezing them, I could use a thinned cookie icing to pour over them to make about any color that I want.

The great thing is that the cake balls can be frozen and covered at a ltater date, so I will keep you posted once I get a chance to make them.

Until next time....

K

Ready for anything....

Took day off work and starting the day with errands to be ready to head to the country for week with Mom and Dad. Mom is still not talking to me. Not talking is a misnomer since she can't express her thoughts in words. All she can say is YEP YEP... over and over which is fine and half the time we can figure out what she is saying. When we can't she starts yelling. So whatever made her mad a few days ago may be a blessing in disguise as she started the week YELLING on the phone or hanging up. NOW, she just won't get on the phone.

That should make for an interesting day tomorrow huh???? Luckily the ENTIRE family will be there.... both of us kids, 6 grandkids and 2 great grandkids along with my brother's wife. Lots of other people to deflect any anger off of before it reaches me. :o)

So I will include some creative shopping in between errands...maybe just looking at some fun home goods stuff at Kohl's or Target on the way to my REAL items on my list. I also haven't hit Crate and Barrel online for a couple weeks so maybe that is in order to ease the stress.

Time to go off and running.

Until next time....

K

Taken aback......

I started this blog to put some of the creative things I want to do, try to do, and sometimes ACTUALLY do in print and maybe even post a pic once in a while.

This past week has brought a lot of pain and heartache and the creative juices just ain't a flowing.

My father was diagnosed with cancer 2 weeks ago and it turns out I will be a big part in the caretaking for my dad as well as my mom who had a stroke 10 years ago. That stroke left her unable to talk so right now they are both angry and lashing out at everyone around them. Even tho I am two hours away right now, they still yell at me and are blaming me for a lot of what goes on.

I must tell you that my faith is getting me thru this but it it TOUGH... and it has only just begun.

My father has been getting radiation for a tumor in the bone in his hip and today they brought up chemo for the large mass in his lung. Surgery is not an option I guess so will talk to oncologist next week when I am at their house and taking dad to treatments.

So, this may end up being my online journal, my confidant, my friend in order to get thru the next few months.

Who knows, living off and on in the country this next little while may just result in some great country flea market finds..... you just never know where treasures may be uncovered. :o)

Until next time....make it a GREAT day.

K

HGTV Green Home

WOW, I am in LOVE with the 2010 HGTV Green Home....don't get me wrong, I liked the 2010 Dream Home, but this one is SO me. I love the colors, I love the style, I love the furniture..... I could go on and on...

And yes, I am entering every day. I know it is like a one in a bazillion shot, but someone has to win.....and it could be me. OH YES, and that really cool GMC Terrain is part of the prize.

OK, I think the master bedroom is my second fave room in the house. I want EVERY bit of it and could even live with the red bed. I seriously cannot tell the exact colors on the walls and floors as the Sherwin Williams paints they used are in shades of blues, but they appear to have a hint of purple so it makes it even MORE interesting.

So now to my absolute favorite room. I can see myself sitting in this Tower Room. It is so inviting and the 360 degree view is AMAZING....

And since it is within an hour of Boston and also Cape Cod, I KNOW I would be happy living here... Well it may be hard leaving the kids and grand kids, so honestly, when it is mine, it will be my vacation home.

Until next time....make it a GREAT day!!

K

Some good news....

Well, a long search on the internet did come up with some fun colors in outdoor furniture. Unfortunately everything was WAY outta my price range..... so next stop making my own cushions for the cheap little k-mart set I have now.. GGGRRRRR I will do some JoAnn shopping to look at outdoor fabric, but if that doesn't net EXACTLY what I am looking for, I will hit my fave little shop (and I happen to work their on occasion) Feather Your Nest. There is such a GREAT selection of fun bright colored fabric, that I would be willing to make cushions I have to bring in every night. It would be worth it to get what I really want... I will keep you posted.

Looking Past the Boring Colors in Outdoor Furniture

Have you looked at Patio Furniture lately????? wicker, steel, wood anything???? I am in the market for either a nice comfy chair and ottoman or even a set of two.....something to use when I want to chill on my condo patio and read the night away.

So in my hunt, there were very few exciting pieces to choose from. Oh, taupe, putty or BORING beige are in great supply. I mean, seriously??? It is fine if that is the color of the hard surfaces of the pieces, but the cushions need some color.... REALLY. Give me some blue, or red or green or even yellow .... PLEASE.
Now, if I wanted replacement cushions, I can find those in some awesome colors or patterns but when looking for new....it appears that I better be happy with non-color upholstered cushions.

Don't get me wrong... I love putty or beige, and taupe is a fave of mine as a starting point for indoor rooms. There are so many other ways to add color in you interior spaces like artwork, accessories, rugs, pillows....need I go on? LIGHTBULB moment.... Think of other ways to add color outdoors...

So then I thought, OK, I will buy a comfy piece (ignoring the color) and then add a cool outdoor rug to spice up the space... HMMMMM nothing but boring on that front too.... so now I am off to look on the internet and hope that maybe Crate and Barrel will be my friend and offer me some exciting choices. Then I will be able to take off my rose colored glasses which at this point is the ONLY thing making me see color on my patio.

So until next time, make it a GREAT day.

K

Where it all started.....

I received a degree in interior design from West Virginia University many, many moons ago, in a year too far in the past to mention. As a single mom of two young teens, I found that I needed a guaranteed income and unfortunately moved away from the creativity of the design field to the stability of the corporate world. Those teens are now 23 and 25, and I am still in the corporate world. There are also 2 very special grandchildren and 2 very active dogs as part of my family. It is now time for me to get back some of that creativity that has only been used in card making, scrapbooking, and cake decorating for the last ten years. And time to use it to decorate my own condo along the way.