Friday, May 25, 2012

Sad time at Bertie’s Bakery

So there comes a point in every household that you just have to do some gutting. Others would say “house purging” or simply “spring cleaning”. This occurrence has been happening around my house a lot lately. After a while, you run out of space. I could just make a massive pile of things and stack, squeeze, cram, and jam things into every nook and cranny like we are accustom to seeing on the newest reality TV shows about “hoarding”, but I personally believe in the less is more concept. If I were designing a house or cake studio of my own, minimalist would be worked into the style.

So why is this a sad time?

Because it was time for some of Bertie’s Bakery’s first cakes to go:IMG_5291

Don’t scream…IMG_5301

But the Award Winning Triathlon Cake had to go too. You know this cake STILL ranks in the top of all of my page views week after week! Over two years later you guys are still showing the love! Don’t worry, someday I’ll make a new and improved triathlon cake!

There’s more:IMG_5299

To this day, the tuxedo cake is still one of MY favorites! I am surprised there are not more “grooms cake” requests for it. I think it looks really classy on a side table next to a big elegant wedding cake. But that’s just me.IMG_5300

And yes. The triathlon cake went in the garbage sideways. The cake base was too big to fit otherwise. You could definitely say that the swimmers in the bottom left had corner are lucking out with a “down river” swim! Ha! (I know I am not funny).IMG_5302Realistically this isn’t “that” sad. The triathlon cake was ridiculously well documented by The Boss who photographed the bejesus out of it. It will not be forgotten among the the triathlon community nor by me at the bakery. The other cakes as well have all seen their time in the spotlight and are now fading, cracking, or simply collecting dust. It was time.

So again, you might ask, why is this “sad times at the Bakery” if I am so okay with the cleaning up and moving on process? Well, for me, putting the cake in the garbage was one thing. I said my good bye’s (no really, I talked to the cakes for a while… the Boss was both laughing at me and worried), the cakes understood, they new it was time.

But what I couldn’t handle, what really really wrenched my heart was when I came home in the evening after the garbage man had done his rounds and saw this:

TriathlonCakeTriathlonCake-2

It was a massacre. I was horrified. I had hand molded each and everyone of those swimmers. Their little hands, swim caps, and goggles. That was it. That was what made these “sad times”. Seeing my little guys smooshed into the driveway. That’s just no way to go.

I’m just hoping that the long weekend (here in Paris!) will be enough to take my mind off of them!

Au revoir!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Onesies Baby Shower Cookies

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It was a long weekend of piping and flooding cookies, all 52 of them! The cookies were for a good friend who was hosting the party. I tried to keep the onesies as “neutral” as possible since the parents didn’t yet know the gender of the baby.

And now, since I am super tired, I am simply going to save you from having to read any half sleepy ramblings and just post photos of the “bests of”. Enjoy!BabyShowerOnesies-12BabyShowerOnesies-13BabyShowerOnesies-14BabyShowerOnesies-15BabyShowerOnesies-16BabyShowerOnesies-17BabyShowerOnesies-20BabyShowerOnesies-21BabyShowerOnesies-22BabyShowerOnesies-23

These were the glamor shots. Now I have to pack them up and get them ready for transport! I have a super high tech carrying device that keeps the cookies safe.BabyShowerOnesies-18

Who knew Staples would even specialize in supplies for the cookie world!?

Thanks for taking a peek. See you on Friday!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Princess Barbie Birthday Cake

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In the past I have mentioned that I respond to “Call to Actions” with a non-profit organization called Icing Smiles. Icing Smiles is a group that coordinates professional (or skilled hobby) cake decorators with families with a chronically ill child. I explained a bit more about the organization here when I made my last cake for Icing Smiles. Unfortunately with the last cake the young boy had a lot of diet restrictions so the cake I made for him was not able to have fondant or food coloring. Even though the cake tasted great and the family loved it, I still felt bad that the cake wasn’t a super exciting and character-like cake. So this time when I received my call to action I knew I wanted to make it really special!

Princess Barbie, pink, and everything pretty were the words used by the mom to describe the style of cake her daughter would want. So I tried my best to get all kinds of “pretty” on the cake!

Here’s a closer look at the details:

This was my first time using edible paper and edible ink! I was very pleased with the quality from my new cake printer!PrincessBarbie-2

This was also my first attempt at making a tiara. Personally, I loved it! Very girly. It wasn’t supposed to super detailed or realistic looking in attempt to keep it looking really playful.PrincessBarbie-4

I love ribbon roses!PrincessBarbie-6PrincessBarbie-10PrincessBarbie-11

I like to finish off the back of the cake with buttons. I think it gives it more playfulness.PrincessBarbie-14PrincessBarbie-15

The cake was a white cake with chocolate buttercream, just as the birthday girl requested! And by now I’m sure the cake is all gone!

If you would like more information on the awesome non-profit organization Icing Smiles, or you would like to find out how you could get involved or give support, you can go directly to their website. I think that their mission is wonderful and would love to help keep it going strong!

Hope you had a great weekend!

Monday, May 14, 2012

Bertie Travels Through Paris!

I have to say, I am a lucky gal! The Boss had work this past weekend in Paris and I was beyond excited to be able to travel along with him! Having never been to Paris before, I had many “to-do’s” on my list! And since I am still pretty excited about my trip and I tend to talk a lot when excited, I’ll try to keep the post to pictures and quick comments about what was happening in each picture!

There are lots of photos, so enjoy! (Oh, all of my pictures were taken using Instagram)

1) First there was the whole airplane thing! “All Aboard!”

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2) We flew through the night and arrived just in time for breakfast!IMG_2722

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(Yes, you read correctly… this was breakfast!)

3) The next day we took the “Velib” (an absolutely amazing bike system through out Paris) to explore town! Needless to say, we had a blast! IMG_2723

4) I don’t think it takes a whole lot of creative thinking to figure out the first stop on my list would have been!IMG_2627IMG_2630

5) Soon after the excitement of the Eiffel Tower, we both found ourselves thinking of the other French delicacies. Macaroons were not hard to find!IMG_2719

Chocolates were also a popular accompaniment!IMG_2632

6) It was at this point, our “Tour de Paris” would have to take recess as The Boss had work to do!IMG_2639

7) The next morning started out with some exercise! We knew we had some eating to do, and we figured would should start the day with a calorie deficit! IMG_2724

8) Soon after, we found THE MOST AMAZING crepes I have ever eaten! Breakfast for day 2 was a massive success! IMG_2650

9) With breakfast under our belts it was back on the bikes for further exploration!IMG_2726

 

10) Look what we found:

Notre DameIMG_2705

Street PerformersIMG_2692

My New Favorite BikeIMG_2725

The best apron I have ever seen!IMG_2721

An impromptu concert on the lawn of the Eiffel TowerIMG_2694

And my new favorite gelato!IMG_2728

Finally it was time to get back on the bikes and find dinner. It was getting cooler out and the sun was finally starting to set. Which by the way, the sun doesn’t set here until 9:00- 9:30! This meant we had been out and about all day and according the Boss’s pedometer thing we had walked over 9 miles!! Who knows how far we biked!IMG_2727

Hopefully you enjoyed my tale of travels through Paris. I have more than enjoyed my stay!

Au revoir!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Triathlon Cookies

Triathlon Cookies-10

In this household my bakery goes hand in hand with my involvement in triathlon and running. At first that might sound strange, but before you wonder for too long about how in the world does triathlon connect with baked goods, I’ll tell you. For the majority of us triathletes (yes, even us injured ones) we love our food! And rightfully so. After enduring brick workouts, long rides, and tempo runs where athletes have to follow very strict nutrition plans to have successful workouts, we deserve a little reward at the end of the day! It is this “reward” that often comes in the form of sweets! … well for me anyways.

Earlier in my bakery days I created a triathlon cake that showed off my love for designing triathlon themed goods. Now I’m back at it again, only this time you can ship these these triathlon goods!

Triathlon Cookies-2Triathlon Cookies-3Triathlon Cookies-4Triathlon Cookies-5Triathlon Cookies-6

Can you say “Triathlon Nom”??Triathlon Cookies-7

These particular cookies were ordered by a super supportive wife who used this gift/ design as a way to say Happy Birthday to her husband while also taking the opportunity to honor all of the hard work and dedication he has shown in his preparations for his first M-dot 70.3! A great idea if I may say so myself!

On that note, good luck to everyone who is reading and has a big race, long run, or training ride this weekend. Remember, there is always cookies at the end, so just keep going!

 
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