Changing gears a little...

So, it has been a really long time since I've blogged! I've been getting multiple requests to start blogging again, and I have a really great reason.

photo by Charbonnet Photography

Penelope Ann

born 3/2/2011 at 1:41 pm

We love our Penny so much! Look for more posts soon!

Making a wedding cake, part 1

Recently I was asked to make a wedding cake for my friends, Chris and Beth (hey guys!). I hope they don't mind me writing about it here! I thought it might be interesting to other people to see just what goes into making a big, layered cake, and it might also turn out to be a great outlet for me to record what I learned to be a better baker in the future.

I went to get the ingredients last night, so the plan is to do all the baking tonight and tomorrow night, do the icing and initial setup Friday, and final assembly and decorations Saturday. It's going to be a hectic week!

The main thing I had to figure out before getting started was how to schedule the baking. I only have a few pans, so I'll need to reuse them. I first wrote down everything I needed to mix and bake:



Next, I wrote down each batch I would need to bake, and what pan would be needed. I moved the batches around until I came up with a schedule that would allow each cake to cool while a different pan was being used.

The main thing I have to figure out in the next two days is the cake board situation. I think some people make a base out of plywood, but I think that might be more than is needed here. I'm planning to transport the layers separately anyway, and just assemble on site a few hours before the reception, so I might just double layer the regular cardboard cake boards. It's going to be two very busy nights, but it will be fun, too!

Edit: I forgot when I wrote this that I will actually be doing a 9x9 middle layer of vanilla, not 8x8. So the schedule is a little different, but the concept is the same! The cake will be a 12-9-6 three tiered cake, for even proportions.

Little things

Now that we've been in our house for over half a year, I'm definitely starting to notice a few things that need a little improvement. While our budget doesn't allow for major renovations or anything, I can't wait to make a few tweaks here and there.

- Fixing the latch on our gate. We've gone as far as taking the old one off (not a big problem, as it was mostly broken), but we have the new one and haven't put it on yet. We may be investing in a drill soon; I think it will come in handy for more than just this project.

- Putting trash cans in every room of the house. This one is really minor, but I've noticed there are a couple of rooms where trash seems to accumulate because it doesn't have an immediate place to go.

- Hanging things on the wall. We have a couple of things, but our den and living room have pretty much nothing at all. Also related...

- Hanging some window treatments. We have nice blinds on all the windows, but I'd like something soft and modern to frame them up a little.

- Refinishing the kitchen cabinets. Our cabinets need repainting, and they have nickel bathroom drawer pulls as handles. I'd like to change those out.

- Gardening! I generally think of myself as having a black thumb, but we have a couple of really nice hydrangea bushes, with a lot of weeds growing around them. They would look so much nicer weeded and surrounded by fresh mulch!

We will have to do some major projects in the next few years (roof, possibly plumbing), but while we're still paying off other debts, I think it's a great time to tackle some of these other jobs.

Checking in

Well, it's been two and a half months since we got married, and I thought maybe it was time for an update. Plenty of things have changed in that time - the temperature is hitting 99 instead of a mild 70, the humidity is out in full force, my hydrangeas are in bloom, and the house is more organized. One thing I have noticed that hasn't changed is our relationship, for the most part. There are subtle changes, like the fact that we get to call each other husband and wife, and the fact that we are realizing that we come first to each other, instead of relying more on our own families. I do feel a lot more like Cory and I are really our own family.

Really, being married has so far been really fun, and nothing crazy! The wedding was a blast, and the honeymoon was relaxing and calm, as I hoped it would be. Really, I have thought here and there about picking the blog back up, but I'm not sure what to write about. I'd really like my blog to have a focus. I tend to have my hand in so many different projects, I'm wondering if anyone would have any interest in reading about them. Coming up in the future, I'll be making a wedding cake, and hopefully learning to use my sewing machine, as well as getting myself into a little gardening. Plus, I am always doing little things here or there. We'll see.

For now, I leave you with one of my favorite wedding pictures:

3. Last minute details

I'm still running around, trying to get a few last minute things done. Cory picked up his tux yesterday. I need to get him some black socks and me some pantyhose. I worked on signs for the bar and the guestbook today, and I still need to pack for the honeymoon and put together an emergency bridal kit (safety pins, band-aids, etc.). We are meeting our DJ tonight, but I am keeping the music a secret until after the wedding. I wrapped the gifts for our parents last night.

It's slowly starting to sink in that I am actually getting married this weekend!

Now if only the forecast would stay nice, and the pollen would just go away! No sinus problems for a month and now I've got a runny nose. Yuck!

4. Money dance

Have any of you heard of a money dance? It's a wedding tradition popular in Louisiana and in some cultures. Basically, the bride and groom go up on the dance floor, and men line up to dance with the bride while women line up to dance with the groom. Each person gets a few moments with the bride or groom and gives him or her some money, to wish the couple well and start off their marriage.

It's a nice way to get to spend some time with people during the reception, and I have been to weddings in Louisiana where they did this dance, but I'm really torn about it. My family hasn't ever heard of it, and I'm guessing they aren't the only ones. I don't want anyone to think we're being greedy by having a money dance, and I don't want anyone else to feel like we're bucking tradition by not having one.

Have you ever been to a wedding that had a money dance? What are your thoughts? I'd love some input on this one!

5. Winding down

I know we're getting close to the end, because my to-do list items are getting smaller and smaller. Huge items like "book the honeymoon" are gone, and replaced with littler things like "print out directions for the honeymoon."

In fact, we don't have any big things left except to meet with the DJ later this week to finalize the music. My list for today was "print directions to honeymoon place, buy mascara, and print pictures for parent gifts" and I'm almost done.

I intentionally left the first half of this week open so I wouldn't have much to do, and I could feel free to get all the little things done. I've even paid all of the bills we have due up until we return from the honeymoon! It's a great feeling.

6. A great wedding present.

My boss gave me the day off on Thursday because of the wedding! Thanks, boss!

That makes a week and a half off for wedding-related festivities and the honeymoon. I know I'm going to enjoy it!

7. The last stand

Or, my last big bash as a single lady! I actually don't have any pictures from the day at all, but to me that's okay because we were having too much fun to stop and document it.

I started the day at 9:30 at Gould's Spa, where my ladies had gotten me the bridal package! It included a massage, facial, body polish, lunch, and a mani/pedi. Awesome. I felt so wonderful when I left there. Then, we stopped by my sister's to spend time with her sweet baby, after which we met everyone for dinner at Macaroni Grill.

Dinner was sooo good. I had the grilled pork chops and mushroom risotto (I love risotto), and two peach bellinis. We finished it off with tiramisu, one of my favorite desserts! From there, we hit up Fox & Hound for drinks, including shots and a bottle of champagne compliments of my awesome friends. At the end of the night, we headed back to my house where I sat and hung out with a couple of my girls, talking and sharing stories. It was a great end to a fabulous night!

I can definitely say I'm ready to be married, but I hope I get many more wonderful nights with these girls, for sure!

8. Woo, party!

We finally got the liquor situation resolved. We are serving Cosmopolitans, as well as Jack Daniel's. So we'll have my favorite drink, and Cory's (Jack and Coke, actually). I'm really excited about this, because it saves us half the money we'd spend on an open bar, but we still got enough liquor for everyone who might not want beer or wine. I think it's going to be great.

We're working on the music for the ceremony/reception stuff, so hopefully I'll be able to write about that soon. Tomorrow is my Memphis bachelorette party. It should be an awesome weekend!

9. We're on the 10-day forecast!

It will be interesting to see if this holds up. I fully expect it to change a million times before the actual day.

10. Finished with the decorations!

We have everything ready to go to bring to the wedding! Guestbook, decorations to hang, and even a box for people to put cards in at the reception. It looks like a stack of presents, and it says "cards" with our monogram below it. It turned out really cute. Now, all we have left to do is get ready for the honeymoon, decide on the music, and get the liquor situation straightened out.

Here's our card box, which I think took less than ten dollars to make:

11. Informal poll

Trying to narrow down the liquor situation. Please comment if you can!

1. How long do you usually stay at a wedding reception (number of hours)?

2. How many drinks would you have while hanging out at a party for about four hours?

3. What are you most likely to drink: wine, beer, vodka, whiskey, none of the above, or a combination?

12. What's in a name?

I always knew that when I got married, I would change my name. People who know me pretty well know that I'm not close at all to my father (parents are divorced), and I just don't have much attachment to my last name. When I was little, I always wanted a normal last name (mine's a word, but not very common as a surname), and I figured being married would be my chance to have that.

Well, those of you that know Cory know his last name's not common at all! But, it's still a change, and I'm really looking forward to having that symbol of my new identity. A lot of women drop their middle names and add their new last name, so their name goes First Maiden Last, but I'm actually really attached to my middle name, so I'm keeping it.

We've gotten our first couple of cards addressed to us as a married couple, and it's pretty neat. I've tried to practice my new signature a couple of times, but it still feels too weird. I'm going to keep trying, though! It's much harder to get my hand to scrawl something different than to think of myself as a married woman. You write the same thing over and over for 26 years; it's the name I wrote when I learned how to write. I guess just like anything, it will get easier over time.

13. The Bochelor

Okay, so we're not talking about Conan O'Brien's The Bochelor. It's more like Bachelor Party. Cory went away this weekend for his bachelor party in Louisiana. Lucky guy gets two weekends in a row of bachelor parties!

Meanwhile, I spent the weekend hanging out with my girlfriends and doing housework. I got to see I Love You, Man (which was awesome), and attend a friend's shower and bachelorette party. It was kind of fun going through that with the new perspective of having just recently been to my own showers and bachelorette party. I will say that I have a new appreciation for RSVPs, and will always try to come to someone else's shower if I possibly can! It meant so much to me to see the people that made it to mine.

With less than two weeks to go, the next laid-back weekend I will probably have will be as a married woman. Here we go!

14. Two weeks

Two weeks.

Two weeks until I put on that white (well, ivory) dress.

Two weeks may be a long time if you're in The Money Pit, but for those of us not in Hollywood, it's not very long at all! It's amazing to me that when he first put that ring on my finger, it was 35 weeks before the wedding, which we hadn't even planned yet.

In 14 days I will marry a man who makes me laugh, challenges me intellectually, understands me, empathizes with me, and loves me, heart and soul, wrinkles and all. We will be our own new family, with our own identity. That part is worth so much more than all the flowers and food and music.

I can't wait.

15. Something...

Old, new, borrowed, blue, right? Technically, there's also supposed to be "a sixpence in your shoe," but I'll have enough shoe comfort problems that I'll probably avoid that.

I have had several people ask me if I'm going to do this ritual, and what I'll do for it, and the answers are "yes," and this:

Old: My freshwater pearl necklace my uncle gave to me for my 8th grade graduation.
New: My wedding dress! My mom got married in jeans, so that wasn't an option.
Borrowed: My mom's pearl earrings (because she has real ones, and I don't).
Blue: My garter has a tiny blue bow on the inside, meant as a "something blue."

It's a pretty neat feeling to know that I'm going to be a small part of an old tradition that many brides before me have done. A little bit of history carried with me for a little bit of luck.

16. With these rings...

... well, you know.

17. Final payment - done!

Well, we went down to the ballroom and made our final payment there. It's a great feeling to have almost everything paid off! The only major unpaid item on our list is just the DJ. Here are some of the details we finalized:

- We're going to have three kinds of wine and three kinds of beer. For the wine, merlot, chardonnay, and white zinfandel, and for beer, Budweiser, Bud Light, and Miller Lite. I think that should hit the perfect range of everyone's taste (at least of the people that I know have a preference!).
- We will have the cocktail area blocked off before the ceremony. Everyone will enter into the main ballroom for the wedding, then go to the lounge for cocktails while they change over the room (15 minutes, I think). Then the ballroom will be opened up and people can hit the buffet or the dance floor.
- Also, for you Memphis fans, if they are playing during the reception, there is a TV on the wall behind the bar, so we will ask them to put the game on. In return though, try not to check the score during the ceremony if you can help it - it's going to be short!
- There is free parking for ballroom guests. Either lot behind the building (or if you're in front of the building, they are behind or to the right) are free to use.
- The menu! We're having chicken tenders, mini hamburgers, Swedish meatballs, a fruit and cheese display, a veggie tray, crab stuffed and Italian spinach stuffed mushrooms, and assorted pastries (which we are told includes chocolate covered strawberries). And cake, of course!

We also finalized the layout of everything. I think it will be awesome! It's nice to have such a big piece of the puzzle in place.

18. Wedding brain

Scatterbrained.

That's the only word I can think of to describe how I've been feeling the past couple of days. I've been having trouble concentrating at work, and it seems like every hour or two I get interrupted by something for the wedding. Sometimes it's a phone call; sometimes it's an email or even just my thoughts. I have a mental checklist that grows and retracts as I suddenly remember something or forget something else.

We're 18 days away from the wedding. I'm trying to enjoy the time we have before the big day, but sometimes it's hard to stop and look at the big picture when all the details are screaming out at me.