MIA, again and lots of fun stuff

I just can't seem to find the time energy to write more often.  Now, I have so much to update and I can't think of it all. 

We are getting ready for our upcoming San Francisco trip.  I am really excited to see the city because everyone who has ever been loves it there.  While I am excited for it, I am also dreading it because of the 5+ hour plane ride and what it is going to do to Weston's schedule.  He has been doing so well lately with sleeping through the night and I'm afraid that the time difference, schedule change, and travel are all going to mess with that.

Hopefully it's not too bad.  Wish us luck!

I have also been deep in the throes of planning.  Don't make fun of me but I'm already planning Weston's first birthday party(ies).  While I'm sad to realize how fast time is going, I'm so excited to see what lies ahead.  I love it when he learns new things like when he discovered just how much fun it was to clap...and clap...and clap...you get the idea.  I love it all though.  I think I'm throwing myself into the planning so that I don't have to think too much about him actually turning one.

Back to the party; we are doing a Sock Monkey theme.  Weston loves them so that is what we decided on.  I have spent a lot of time on Etsy finding the perfect items for his party and one year pictures.  So far I have purchased these:

I also bought a party hat that matches the diaper cover and tie but I won't have a picture until I actually get it.  I can't wait to get all of this stuff!

This is my inspiration board:

Another thing I bought was some mini red heal socks so I can try my hand at making miniature sock monkeys for any kids that come to the party(ies).

In addition to the Etsy finds, I started looking into his smash cake.  I want to do a photography session with a nice looking smash cake.  At first, I was all set to buy a cake from a bakery but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it might be better if I just make it.  That way, I can control what goes into it and it won't cost an arm and a leg (well maybe my arm but more on that later).

So today I decided that I needed to do a trial run to see if I could even work with fondant.  We went all over the place collecting things for me to make the cake when I finally thought to try Michaels.  If you are ever in need of fondant or other baking supplies, check there.

Because Weston is not ready to have all of that sugar, I was making the cake for myself and Mike and then to take to my mom's group.  I decided to make the cake following this recipe and this one for the icing to help cut the calories somewhat.

Let me tell you...fondant is very time consuming!  I loved it though.  Here are a few tips and things I learned along the way.

• If you don't like spending time on baking, pay someone to make it
• Buy the pre-colored fondant...TRUST me
• Have a plan before you purchase anything
• Plan to spend the majority of the day on the cake
• Have a Magic Eraser on hand for cleanup
• Watch videos on working with fondant

If I can think of anything else, I'll add them later.

So, after purchasing all of the things I needed to make the cake (this included a fondant smoother, a rotating cake stand, an angled spatula, and fondant cutters) I got to it.  The cake and icing were super easy.  Once that was all ready, I started rolling the fondant out.  This is what I was talking about when I said it may cost an arm...that was tough!  I got the cake covered in a layer of fondant and then started working on the design.  I couldn't find a brown fondant so I bought the powder to color the white fondant.  It took the better part of an hour to mix the color in and I never did get it to the shade I was going for.  This is why I say to buy the pre-colored stuff.

After about 6 hours of working on the thing, I'm finally done!  I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out considering it was my first time working with fondant.

Finished product

There are a few things that I plan to change for the big day.  I am going to use red frosting along the bottom of the cake instead of the brown fondant that I used tonight (this was a pain to do and unnecessary).  I am also going to use white fondant in place of the blue and I'm ether going to try to find a dark brown pre-colored fondant or use a pre-colored black fondant.  Other than that, I hope to make it a little cleaner looking.

I'm exhausted now so hopefully I'll do another update soon.  Let me know what you think of the cake!  Be honest.