Hobby or business?

When I was growing up, my mom used to make us homemade birthday cakes.

Nothing overly elaborate, like some of the birthday cakes you might see today, but she still baked each of us a birthday cake and decorated it with love.  (I wish I had pictures here, they were great cakes, and plus, I was a cute kid! ha!)

When we were young, it was always a shaped cake pan decorated to the accompanying pattern. My siblings and I had birthday cakes ranging from Rainbow Brite, Bugs Bunny, clowns, baseball gloves, bubblegum machines, etc. I've even inherited some of the pans that my mom saved over the years!

As the years went on, the cakes became less elaborate, and the joke now is that mom doesn't even take the cake out of the pan. Just bake a standard 9"x13" cake, leave it in the pan, and frost the top!

　

I had decided after I had my first child, that I too, would make my kids' birthday cakes each year. 3 years in, and I've stuck to my promise.

Check it out for yourself (and please excuse the poor pictures...I need a new camera!

　

{T's first birthday cake & smash cake}

{T's 2nd birthday cake, Elmo of course!}

{T's 3rd birthday cake}

{T (3) & JB's (1st) birthday cake}

{JB's 1st birthday smash cake + mini cupcakes}



{dessert table at joint party}



　

　

As you can see, the cakes aren't overly elaborate, but I love knowing that I did it myself. Each year for Christmas, I ask for some new "tool" to help me along with my baking skills. I am totally all self-taught, although I've toyed with the idea of taking some decorating classes.

Baking has become more of my "thing" and now I'm usually the one that volunteers to make the dessert for various family and friend functions.  I've always dreamed of starting my own business and baking delicious treats, but honestly, don't have the guts to put myself out there like that.

Yesterday was my sister-in-law's last bridal shower before her big day (coming up in less than a month!!) and I had the responsibility for the cake. Of course I wouldn't being buying a decorated cake from the store, and I took her color theme and ran with it. Her wedding colors are cornflower blue and yellow, so of course that needed to be the cupcake and cake colors as well.

My father-in-law's side of the family is quite large (he's one of 12 children) and almost all remain local. I needed to be able to feed approximately 50 women for the shower :)

I made a very small cake, and tried a new "rose" technique I had seen but hadn't had reason to try.  I thought it turned out OK for my first trial. 

Next up were the cupcakes.  I made some mini cupcakes, as well as some traditional sized cupcakes, and did a combination of the yellow and blue icing.  "Rose" swirls, of course (her wedding flowers are roses, too!).

Sorry for the terrible lighting in the next few pictures, but the "cake area" at the party was on a kitchen counter that didn't have any natural light and was a little dark.  You'll get the idea!



{the bride's new last name starts with an "N" if you couldn't guess!}



As I was unloading the cupcakes and making my "cake display" more than a few people asked if this was a new business of mine or just a hobby.  At first I answered that it was mostly a hobby...but that I wouldn't mind if it turned into a business!  I had always day dreamed about doing something like this as a business, but could it really be a reality?!  Who knows.

At the end of the party, I offered my cake baking services for the next bridal shower (only a little over a month away....remember when I said it's a large family?  That means LOTS of bridal/baby showers!!). 

I also volunteered to make cupcakes for the bachelorette party "pre-party" this weekend.

Today, I daydreamed a little more seriously about making my dream a reality.  But on a small scale.  As in, starting with word of mouth among friends and family and seeing where it takes me.  Who knows, right?

Maybe this won't actually go any farther than just being the one who always makes dessert for family functions. 

I guess you never know for sure unless you really put yourself out there and actually take a chance.

Meet my best friend

Do you all love your crock pot as much as I do? (ok, I think the technical term is slow-cooker because crock pot is a brand name, but you know what I mean)

It is seriously one of my best friends. Let me explain:

5:00pm is by far one of the most hectic times of our day during the work week. It's when we're getting home from work, picking up the kids, feeding the dog and letting her outside, and trying to get a (somewhat) wholesome meal on the table so that we can all eat together as a family before it gets cold. And all of that must happen in a span of about 15 minutes.

I've picked up a few tricks to try and combat the craziness, but there's only so much you can do.

Into my best friend, the slow cooker.

Dinner is already made for me, and all I have to do is lift the lid and dish some deliciousness onto the kids plates to let it cool off for a minute before it's served.

Talk about awesome.

One of the other things I love about the slow cooker is that it is basically effortless. Dump a bunch of ingredients into a big pot and turn it on. Really. It's that simple. I'm always experimenting with new "recipes" if you can even call them that. I rarely measure ingredients and many times will just add in random items that I have on hand or left-over.

Here's my latest creation (before being cooked):

　

　

I know you can't see all of the ingredients in this picture, and I'm a bad blogger by not taking step by step instructions. But I know you're smart and I bet you can figure it out from my super simple instructions:

What you'll need:

2-3 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts

8oz cream cheese, softened (I use fat free; use your preference)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes, juices included (Get creative here...I used diced tomatoes with green chilies; you can use any variation you wish!)

1/2 small onion, chopped

Add any spices you enjoy (I always add garlic, because I'm a garlic lover)

　

Layer ingredients into the slow cooker in the order listed above. Turn slow cooker on low and let it cook for a few hours (until chicken is cooked through).

**Here's the thing, since I cook mine while I'm at work for 8-10 hours, I really have no idea how long it takes until it's done. I know mine is slightly over cooked, but that's the awesome thing about slow cookers...it's pretty difficult to ruin the meal!)

I served mine with rice, all mixed together :) I had made the rice the night before (after the kids went to bed) so that took about 1 minute or so to heat up the microwave :)

You can eat it as is, like a casserole type dish, or we actually then put the entire mixture (with rice) served on soft taco shells with lettuce, cheese, and avocado (I'm sure my husband added hot sauce; he always adds hot sauce).

We don't have a name for it other than Crockpot Mexican Chicken Mix...if you come up with something better/more creative, feel free to share in the comments below :)

　

　

Jeans Day!

Yay Friday!

Who doesn't love Friday?

For me, it is the end of the work week, and I get to look forward to 2 blissful days with my family (Alright, not always blissful, but I do always prefer being with my family than being at work).

Another great thing about Friday?

I get to wear jeans to work.

　

Why is this so exciting, you might ask?

　

Well, it means that's one less pair of dress pants needed in my weekly rotation (Ok, this really means I don't have to wear the same pair for the third time that week).

If you get the joy of wearing jeans on Fridays, you probably also notice that everyone seems a little more relaxed. Wearing jeans some how lowers people's stress level. It's like magic!

Wearing jeans to work is like a soft intro to the weekend, instead of being hit hard at 5:00. I love it!

I wonder.... if I could wear jeans to work on Monday, would I embrace the start of the work week with a little more enthusiasm?