Children's Literature Themed Baby Shower

To be fair, I'll tell you right upfront that I was on Pinterest almost every day for a week trying to find ideas. I really wanted every aspect of this shower to have literature thrown up on it. My friend Emily, whom I adore to bits, is an English major and she absolutely adores everything about children's literature. Plus we became fast friends over our love of books so it's only fitting that this is the shower I would give her.

Let's start with the Harry Potter themed diaper cake that was the one thing I knew I absolutely HAD to have at the shower.

I got the hat, scarf, booties, bibs and wand from Etsy. All different shops, all had to be on this cake. I found an image of the Hogwarts crest, printed that off to be in the front on the bottom tier. Also tucked in next to the hat is a platform 9 3/4 ticket. I've made diaper cakes before but this one is probably my absolute favorite.

One idea I found on Pinterest was to have literature quotes all over the party area in frames. I found a bunch of cute frames on clearance at Target that I was going to use for my office, but they worked here too.

Another book I pulled from was Alice in Wonderland. I mean, how could you not? I really want to do an Alice themed party sometime.. we'll have to cook something up. But for favors, I found mini bottles of water and put a really great Alice and Cheshire quote on them and made "drink me" tags. Also put Skittles in tulle circles (because Emily is not a chocolate fan) and made an "eat me" tag.

 So when you came in, you saw the diaper cake and the favors, along with some quotes, my Alice in Wonderland book, and the third book in the Harry Potter series opened up to the chapter "Flight of the Fat Lady" which was kind of funny because Emily is the smallest 7 month pregnant person I have ever seen.

I even stayed up the night before to make her lemon cupcakes with American butter cream frosting to go with my If You Give a Cat a Cupcake area. 

 And a few mini cupcakes for good measure.

Each table had a book in the middle with a few things. So this was The Little Engine That Could, but I also had a Knuffle Bunny, The Day the Crayons Quit, and Here We Go, Harry on tables. Instead of using table cloths, I use receiving blankets that the mom to be can take home.

 We didn't have a full lunch, but we had snack things.

 So we had meatballs (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs), popcorn (Popcorn Poems), pasta salad (Strega Nona), fruit tray with pickles (The Hungry Caterpillar), cheese/crackers (The Stinky Cheese Man & Other Fairly  Stupid Tales), and we had blue punch and put some rubber ducks in it for Ten Little Rubber Ducks.

 I had asked everyone to bring a book instead of a card, which is far more practical. People throw cards away, they love books for a long time. So then I found one of my very favorite quotes, "Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them" by Lemony Snicket. So clearly, that went on the gift table.

We had a "price is right" themed game where people had to guess the price on a few baby things. I made it with a Doctor Seuss theme to it.

Then I filled the table with our favorites, with some characters we had.

Oh yes, and then I had guests write either a piece of parenting advice for the parents to be or something funny for when they get peed on at 2 a.m. when they aren't fully awake., using the concept of Harold and the Purple Crayon. Also amazes me how many people haven't written that book. It's kind of great and it's a far better lesson than something like The Giving Tree. I fucking hate that book. At least with Harold, he figures life out for himself and takes life by the balls. Whereas in The Giving Tree, the character is incredibly selfish and dependent on everyone else. *end rant*

But you can see the fun urine fact I left her to get people started. She'll know who that came from without question.

We also measured her belly. Which was adorable because she is like the perfect pregnant person.

Overall it was a great party. I am so glad she let me give her a party, I'm so glad she's pregnant because YAY BABIES, and I'm so glad she's my friend. Emily is easily the most carefree, upbeat, positive person I have ever known and it just makes her amazing. She is going to be an amazing mom and I can't wait to snuggle her baby. I may or may not have already offered to spend an entire weekend letting them sleep so I could get my baby fix. Here's hoping that 48 hours of screaming, fussing, very needy infant will cure my uterus down.

Otherwise Matt is basically screwed. :)

Hello lovers. Let's talk about the time I peed my pants.

It feels like forever, doesn't it? I know I've kept you going with book reviews, but the days of me writing about life and lamenting about the latest home improvement projects feels far and few between. Things are busy for everyone and I'm right there with you, and I keep taking notes on things I should be blogging about. I'm hoping I can just get my shit together but folks it's hard. But let's start tonight and see if I can't make you laugh like old times.

So remember how last week I said I was going to a play called Spank that was a parody of the book Fifty Shades of Gray? And I was so super excited because I was going to go with Emily, who I really love and who I really miss, and I was just so excited to get the fuck out of the house? I didn't feel great Monday, Tuesday I was home with a fever, and then Wednesday I felt just fine. Great, actually. I thought for sure I would be good to go to this play which was in Minneapolis so that is about a two and half hour drive from me one way. It makes for a long night, but it's almost always worth it.

Anyways.

So I met her in Forest Lake and we drove into the city together and that drive... I all of a sudden felt off. But then I thought, well I haven't eaten today so obviously my blood sugar is tanking and I'll be fine after I eat. We got to Minneapolis and decided to eat at a place called Brother's Bar, which turned out to be nice and inexpensive and if I were feeling better I probably would have liked my food. I mean, I'll try it again, let's put it that way. I ordered a wrap and literally, as soon as I got it, I felt sick. Like going to lose my shit sick.

I went to the bathroom, and nothing. You know that feeling where you want to puke because you are convinced you'll feel so much better? And you wish you had paid more attention to the bulimia unit in school to learn  how they puke on command? Well that was me, and nothing happened.

We walked over to the venue for the play and Mill City Nights is a bizarre venue. Not only did none of the employees seem to have a clue what was going on, they had on suits and attire that made them look like they were pretend CIA folks who felt grossly important because of their shiny shoes and jackets. But they clearly had no clue.

And the play was alright. It was funny in spots but not really what I was thinking it was going to be? And the male lead was not the guy as advertised and honest to god- this guy looked like a mannequin. Not in a good way either, maybe it was just too much makeup to make him look chiseled on his face? I don't know. What I do know is that shortly before the half way mark I felt like I was going to vomit on the guy in front of me. And bless Emily- she said it was OK if we left and I hope it wasn't because I looked like I was going to vomit all over her. I would have really tried to turn the other way. Because that's what friends do.

So we leave, and I feel terrible for basically wasting our money, and I feel terrible like I'm going to throw up in my car, and it's just a total downer. I know I was a terrible date and I was probably far too quiet and it was only because I was trying really hard to not throw up.

So I drop her off at Forest Lake. I decide to drive to the gas station and get some gas, thinking I would be able to not stop in Hinckley, and get home faster.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA..... nope.

As soon as I got out of my car I knew it was coming. I knew it. I kind of ran into the store and into the bathroom where I promptly vomited enough to necessitate a courtesy flush. Not only that? But I peed my pants.

That's right people, this 31 year old, absolutely stone sober woman, peed her pants in public. Not just a little, but enough to make it clearly obvious that oh hey- remember that sprite and water you drank all night? Yeah, bladder don't care- it's coming out. Proof that all of the kegels in the world can't save you from urine.

The best part about this is that I still had to pump gas. And drive two hours home in urine soaked pants.

After that humiliating bit, I got back into the car, after finding a Target bag to sit on, and started driving. Only realizing that every few miles? I had to pull over and puke. And I don't know if you have ever puked on the side of the highway in the middle of the night but it's pretty fucking scary.

And I ended up stopping in Hinckley anyways to get some water and also to puke again. But that was disorienting because on the other side of this bakery is a night club. Keep in mind, this is a Wednesday, Hinckley is Bible beating farm country, and they are playing music you'd hear at a rave where you would be dancing with Molly. So I've got the "boom, boom, boom" bass thing, and I'm puking and all I can smell is baked goods and it wasn't good. I probably also scared the attendant because my makeup was smeared, I obviously smell like urine and vomit, and my pants are clearly stained.

I got back on the road and from all of the puking? I was exhausted. So exhausted that I started hallucinating animals on the road, and all of the fog was really screwing with me, and I slammed on my brakes for a barrel. Thank god almost nobody ever is on the road with me otherwise I would have totally looked like a drunk driver. I made it home just before 1 a.m. and seriously- I felt rough.

So that was my Wednesday night.

I'll tell you about Thursday and Friday.... tomorrow.

That time when I was offered a mustache ride.

So this past weekend was a super fun weekend out with friends for their birthdays. I kind of get excited when my friends have birthdays because it's an excuse to go out AND I get to buy presents.

Three couples were all going to meet on Saturday at the Shout House in Minneapolis for dinner, drinks, and shenanigans. Obviously all three were had. It was supposed to be Matt and I, with Tammy and Chad (who we shared a hotel room with) and then we were all going to meet Emily and Cory. Good stuff. So on Thursday I was at work and our work study Amber pointed out that St. Louis Park (suburb of Minneapolis and subsequently where our hotel was) was pretty much ghetto. She then texted me a crime map that had a disturbing amount of dots. Fortunately for us, it ended up being in a really nice neighborhood near some pretty cool stuff and the hotel was nice.

Oh except for the fact the hallways smelled like the inside of a dumpster. But other than that, it was totally fine.

So here's a tip- if you are going to go to the Shout House I recommend that you get a reservation and then get there before 5. Because we were there around 4:15 and yeah- line already.

 I also recommend that you not even bother with food. It's typical bar food but your waitress isn't going to be very good and it'll take you almost 30 minutes to get your Coke. Not to mention the hour to get your chips and salsa. And then bring you your burger with no ketchup. And then not come back. And then, on top of it all, get everyone's bill wrong. BUT, the plus side is you'll walk out not paying for your husband's beers.

 But the best part, besides hanging out with some of my favorite people and singing along with the pianists and being some of the youngest people there, is that you will see pregnant people drinking beer!

Now some of you might be like, "Oh Sara- she clearly had a sandwich, that's why her belly is like that." And then I will say no, because when she turned a little more, clearly a 3-4 month old belly. I told Tammy I should start carrying around pamphlets on fetal alcohol syndrome or something.

Oh and then there was that awkward moment when a super huge guy with a porn mustache came over, in front of Matt, to tell me that he thinks I'm really hot and him and his friend Ben want to meet me. Of course, the rest of the people at the table crack up because hello- this not only happens all of the time, but this time Matt was RIGHT THERE. So I say that I didn't think my husband would appreciate if I did that, and he proceeds to tell me I'm really pretty, then says he's going to shake my husband's hand. So he does, and I'm standing there like, what the fuck, and he apparently tells Matt he's a really lucky guy and he should keep an eye out. Matt of course says nothing because he's deadpan on everything all of the time, and my friends crack up and keep teasing me about maybe taking a ride on the mustache. Because his friend also had a porno face thing going on and it wasn't working for either of them. But at least I can say I'm consistent when it comes to attracting the best the crowd has to offer.

Beans, Spit, and the Road.

Ah.. the third day of Chicago. Equally as gorgeous in weather which was too bad because it was of course, freezing as fucking hell at home. The good thing about it being so obscenely wonderful in Chicago was that it really felt like a vacation because it was such a change from home. But you want to see pictures!

On Sunday we walked from our hotel down to Millennium Park where daffodils and tulips were in bloom, and that was amazing. This is the outdoor amphitheatre and it's a piece of art itself. The arches are like sound barriers so surrounding buildings aren't bombarded with noise.

 And of course, we saw Cloud Gate otherwise known as The Bean.

 I had to take the obligatory dork in the bean picture.

 The bean from the other side is just pretty because you get the gorgeous skyline reflected into it.

 The group of us being equally dorky and waving at ourselves in the Bean.

 The park also has these two huge glass tiled columns. According to our trolley tour guide, over 100 Chicago residents agreed to have their faces used on the columns. Their faces fade in/out and they are expressive- the smile, blink, and pucker their lips into a kiss. When they pucker their lips, the fountain turns on and water shoots out of their mouth as if they are spitting on you. It's kind of disgusting but fun at the same time.

After we got our caffeine fix we were able to check out of the hotel and get on the road. What a long fucking drive. It was long on the way there but the anticipation of a fun weekend makes it go by faster. We left Chicago right around 11am and I found myself having to stop several times along the way to wake myself up. I did get to stop at a Cracker Barrel and buy 8 more sugar suckers and you know I've eaten every one of them already. We stopped in Wisconsin Dells to do a little outlet shopping and I got my kids some outfits for summer at cheap prices so that was kind of great. By the time we got to Amy's apartment it was about 10:30 pm and we still had about two hours to drive to get us home.

I sat on my own bed in my own house at 12:34 am and I fell asleep with my clothes, shoes, jacket and keys in hand only to be promptly woken up at 5am by two overly eager kids. I was exhausted. I had work that day and I won't complain too much because Emily had to be there at 8 and I had to be in by 10. But still, I bet she wasn't up at 5am!

Green with envy.

OK, so I fell off the planet for a few more days. Spank me. In reality, I have a lot going on in my own little world and so I am having to carve out time for other things just to keep it all moving. With that, blogging may be sporadic but no less sassy. With that said, let's talk about Chicago, day two.

Right away when we came out of our hotel we saw a religious crazy. You know I love me some religious crazies because they are a good time and it makes me feel more secure in my own mental issues. The last St. Patrick's Day I was at in Chicago we had Scientologists with scary masks on, and so I was glad that Chicago didn't let me down this time.

 And the river was GREEN. Like bright ass green. Fun fact- the chemical they use to dye the river green is actually orange and it was only by accident that the river turned green. It was originally used so they could see if the water was leaking into surrounding infrastructure but since it's green- why not party? Also cool is that the tradition of dying the river is passed down through a Chicago family through multiple generations. I thought that was kind of awesome.

 So one of the first things we did was purchase our tickets for the 5:30 pm water taxi because Emily wanted to do it and I had never done it. The bonus is that it was fairly cheap at $29 a person because it was great. More on that in a bit. Then after buying those tickets we walked down to the Water Tower Place and bought our tickets for the trolley. Keep in mind at this point it's almost lunch time and nobody has eaten. This tour is typically two hours long if you don't hop on/off anywhere and it's a pretty substantial loop that you go on. The plan was to get to Navy Pier, get off and have lunch, look around and then get back onto the trolley.

 This didn't happen because guess what? There are a lot of fucking people in Chicago walking around half drunk on St. Patrick's Day.

 Three hours later, we get to Navy Pier. But not before I had to hold in vomit from having ridiculously low blood sugar, a migraine coming on and basically breaking out in cold sweat because I felt like I was either going to puke all over the trolley or pass out.

 (side note: tell me this isn't post card worthy??? I took that myself!)

Anyways. We get to Navy Pier and almost immediately, the smell of warm garbage (it was in the mid 80's and gorgeous outside) and fast food made my mouth feel tingly. We all had to pee by this point so we get into the bathroom and I puke. Obviously. Afterwards, I felt confident I could eat something. So I get into line with the girls to get food and just as I'm getting to the register, my mouth feels tingly again. You know that feeling- your mouth gets warm and tingly and saliva pools in there, yeah. So I ask Amy to get me a Pepsi and I run like a ninja to the bathroom. The line was ENORMOUS and no way was I going to make it. So I do what anyone would do.

I go to the men's room and puke in a urinal.

Thankfully, there were no guys in there and even if there were I don't know that I'd care because we had an emergency situation and I didn't want to puke in the family pavilion with the little girls who were doing Irish dances or whatever performing right there.

Afterwards, I was not eating lunch. I got my Garrett's popcorn (which was as delicious as the trolley person said it would be) and drank my Pepsi. After about an hour I started to feel OK, so we got on the trolley and headed back to the water taxi place.

 We snapped a picture before we got on the taxi.

 And I took some more of the river as the sun was almost ready to go down.

 And then we got on our little water taxi. Which was amazing and maybe the most relaxing thing we did. It was so nice to be on a boat, with cool people, learning about this awesome city, waving to the locals and having them wave back, and watch the sun set over Lake Michigan. Like, can you really end a great day any better?

Emily and I were boat buddies and if it were not for her suggestion, we would not have been on that awesome water taxi!

After the water taxi we went to the Cheesecake Factory to get some food. Um, WORST SERVICE EVER. I've eaten at that location before and it was delicious, but this time it was bad. The food was bad, we had three different employees wait on us (kind of), we were there for what seemed like forever but was just under two hours because that's apparently how incompetent they were, and then Amy and Tammy got yelled at for having to pee because they were trying to close the bathroom down 45 minutes before the place closes. Um, rude. And THEN, the waitress (the last one we had) got kind attitude when we asked for her to split the bill up. Bitch, we're each paying with cards, don't give me an attitude. I was also pissy about my drink having no ice. Like, who gets fountain soda with no ice? The ice makes the drink. Everybody knows that. Assholes.

Anyways. It was a long walk back to the hotel, I was exhausted and knew I would have to be up early on Sunday so we can make the horrifically long drive back. I ended up getting no sleep at all either night, but overall it was worth it. Tomorrow I'll show you my Sunday pictures and wrap up my Chicago posts. :)

Mice, Moose, Yogi and Pizza. All related, I swear.

Yes! The moment you've been waiting for--- posts about my trip to Chicago. I have to break this up into a couple of posts because I have a lot of pictures to share and stories to tell. So let's start with Friday- day one.

We left Superior at like 6am (me, Tammy and Emily) and drove to Bloomington to pick up Amy. Then we headed towards Chicago and the weather was perfect. I'm talking mid 70's in MARCH. The drive was fairly uneventful until our lunch stop in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. There, you will find probably the most hick version of a Perkins restaurant ever. Outside you see the cheese store and creepy sign:

 A random orange moose. Not to mention the other moose who is missing half of his horn thingies.

 A large deer statue humping a faux log.

We had what I thought was the worst restaurant service (which was later trumped by the Cheesecake Factory, but more on that tomorrow) because our waitress was, I'm pretty sure at least, mentally handicapped. Which, good for Perkins. Really, good for them. But this girl was clearly not meant to be a waitress. Not only did our food take forever to get there, but lots of stuff was screwed up. Not to mention she never did help the table of four old people next to us the entire time we were there. The hostess and then the manager kind of half assed it for them. But the best part of this Perkins was their used book shelf you could buy books from. Now, if it wouldn't have been so blatantly rude of me to take pictures of these books I would have. The books all ranged from either super crazy religious, instructional manuals on how to be a good homemaker and other random shit, to the obscenely racist title called, Who'll Vote For Lincoln? with an African American boy on the cover. Um, yeah. Welcome to back country America, folks. Considering we're well above the Mason Dixon line, I was a bit surprised to see this.

Then a little further down the road we stopped at a Road Ranger gas station. Mostly because anything called Road Ranger instantly sounds like a fun time compared to BP. Not so fun? The $4.19/gallon of gas. Seriously, rape me with the pump shall we? Anyways. While pumping gas, we all laughed when Yogi rolled in.

 Because you just don't see that every day. FYI though? Even though Road Ranger has 64 ounce fountain soda for $.49- DON'T DO IT. It tastes like shit. Total shit. With bubbles. Kind of. Just pass it up.

Once we got to Chicago and settled into our hotel, we decided that we would take a quick walk around the area since it was still 79 degrees out at 6:30 at night, and we were on the search for Chicago pizza. We went to Giordano's because it was close and I had never eaten there before so I figured I'd try something new. (I know, I shock even myself sometimes.)

 The pizza was really good but the appetizers were kind of a joke. I should have taken pictures. So, skip the appetizers and hold out for the pizza. We got the classic stuffed crust pizza which was so damn good.

 Tammy and me kind of matchy matchy.

 Amy and Emily!

After pizza we decided to call it an early night because the next day was the big St. Patrick's Day celebration and the river was going to be green and we wanted to be super well rested and energized! I was exhausted from being up so early to get us to Chicago and so I really had hoped that I'd get all of this sleep. That did not happen.

Part two tomorrow.

Rochester Girls Weekend

So this weekend I spent with some of my favorite friends on a girls weekend in Rochester, Minnesota. I've been there once to basically connect with Amy before our Milwaukee trip but basically didn't know anything about the area other than that's where Mayo Clinic is.

Our main adjective was to celebrate Amy's birthday but we figured we would throw in a touristy trolley ride and a comedy show in the mix. Basically- it was a jam packed but very fun weekend.

Me, Tammy and Emily left way early on Saturday morning so that we would have a really full day in Rochester considering that is about a four hour drive from us. We obviously stopped in Hinckley for drinks and snacks, but on our way out we saw this beast:

I am very sad I did not get a picture of the rapist van with a tricycle strapped to the top for you though because that really was a special sight.

Then obviously we had to stop to pee. Mostly Tammy because the one thing about her that I love and it cracks me up, is that she must have the world's smallest bladder. She did really great though, so I think our mini road trips together are conditioning her bladder. Anyways. We stopped in Cannon Falls but the first thing we saw was this grocery store. So we pull over and start walking through the store. Obviously, we couldn't find the restroom so we asked and was told to go through double doors that looked like the back room. And it actually was. But the bathroom smelled SO bad. Pretty much the equivalent to a dirty adult diaper. Times ten. It was also pretty filthy, but they have these dispensers:

 Conveniently, they were all empty and looked like they have been for quite some time. So here's where the bathroom was- this is just one side view because employees came and I felt like a spy.

 Once we got to Rochester we headed over to a hotel to get onto the trolley that does a tour of the city and talks about the history of Mayo Clinic. For $15 it was a damn good deal because I learned a lot of stuff. Most of which I'm not going to tell you about for the sake of time, but if you are in Rochester you should do that tour. Plus our trolley had a bell. It was kind of bad ass.

For dinner we met up with a couple of Amy's local friends at McGoon's, which is next door to the Goonies comedy club. The food was hella expensive for what it was and wasn't that great BUT... our server? Her name is J-Wow. She was absolutely terrible and I know we all left a shitty tip. Try to come back at least once to refill drinks. Especially when you only have 3 tables. Get your shit together honey.

 So here is a picture of me and the girls. I look kind of tall here but I wasn't wearing heels. So that was weird.

 Since we had time to kill we decided to head for drinks at O'Dooley's which is basically up the street. Very cool restaurant/bar that feels very "city" to me. The only down side was the hostesses. There were three of them, all very wonky looking. By that I mean they are size 0, fake baked tan, giant boobs and the most unfortunate hair extensions. See the blondie below.

 She was the better of the three. I think they are waiting for employment at Hooters or something. But O'Dooley's was fun and we got to meet more of Amy's friends that live there, both of which were named Amy. Which kind of was nice because then you don't have that awkward moment where you forget someones name. But they were really great and I enjoyed talking with them over drinks. The down side to O'Dooley's was that my one Pepsi? Was $6.50. Um, what the fuck? The nice thing about Duluth/Superior is that if you say you are the designated driver, your soda is free. Apparently not the case in Rochester, so bring cash, DD's.

After O'Dooley's we headed to another bar I can't remember the name of for a quick drink before heading back to Goonie's for the late night comedy show.

The comedy show? God I hope Amy got the opening woman on film because she was really horrible. She was an older woman- easily 60's, possibly even in her 70's who at one point lamented about Spanx. Then, just when you think that was done, she start pulling a pair of Spanx out of her pants and you are promptly grossed out. Honestly, I didn't think either of the two comedians after her were funny either. There were people laughing but I think this is one of those things that is awesome when you're drunk? I don't know. The downside of being that person that doesn't drink is that I don't always think things are as funny as my friends who have a beer or two do. But I really enjoyed hanging out with everyone and having the side convo's, because those alone were hysterical.

After the comedy we parted ways with everyone and got Amy home and headed to our hotel. The next day Emily, Tammy and I ended up going to IKEA and the Mall of America, but Amy had to pack for her big move to the Cities. But the highlight of that? Is that I found my sweater for the Ugly Sweater Christmas Party we're having in December. Oh, yes. We're doing it and we've got some kind of awesome plans in place. I just need to get more people on board because I think the more people we have dressed in hideous attire, the more fun it will be.

But it was a long weekend in a good way. You know it was successful when you can say, "God- is tomorrow Monday" because it feels like Friday was forever ago. We got home kind of late on Sunday but it was totally worth it. I am completely thankful that I have such great friends I love spending time with, and thankful for such an awesome husband who tells me to go do something fun. I don't think I could have gotten a better combination.

Domestic Bitch-- cake class graduate?

Oh yes. I have TWO weeks of cake decorating class to catch you up on and I hope you have a firm hold on your panties so I don't blow them off with my awesome.

First up was last week. We had to bring six cupcakes to decorate and then we were going to practice a shit ton of flowers, shells and leaves. These star flowers are ridiculously easy and I kind of rocked the twisty thing...whatever that is supposed to be.

 We then moved onto the pom pom flowers. Which I fucking hate and I will never do them in real life. Ever. You know why? Because they are hard and they hate me.

 I was super excited to do a shaggy mum because I was kind of feeling confident in my badassness at that point. Obviously you'll notice that was short lived because this mum is kind of dead.

 I didn't take pictures of my shells (which were HORRIBLE. I can't even speak to the awfulness that was my shell border) or my leaves (which I absolutely rocked and I am confident I can decorate a cake fully in leaves and it would be amazing). But then I decorated my cupcakes. And played with some other tips I had. And dammit if I didn't try another shaggy mum but that looked terrible too.

 Then this week it was our last week of the first session and we were supposed to decorate a full cake. Folks- I stayed up much later than I should have on Wednesday baking my cake and frosting it. But let me tell you- that for a girl who couldn't get her cakes out of the mother fucking pans to save her life four weeks ago? These bitches popped right out and were perfect. So if nothing else, I've spent $140 (course fee and stuff) to learn how to do that. Well worth it. But then my other issue? Frosting a cake so I don't get the crumbs everywhere. I am terrible at this but I was DETERMINED not to show up to class like an idiot holding a crumb covered cake. I was not going to be that girl. So I made myself my buttercream frosting (and I ate all of the extra. Which was probably the equivalent of three meals in fat/calorie content). But then I went onto YouTube and watched 15 videos on how to not kill your cake. Then I found this video:



It's changed my life. I cannot speak highly enough of the offset spatula. My undying love for the offset spatula can't be matched. It just can't. So after doing the "crumb layer" (look! I'm using lingo) and popping it into the fridge for 30 minutes, I frosted that cake. And woke Matt up to take my picture at approximately 11pm at night. He wasn't as impressed as he should have been.

So then this week was our last class. We were going to learn... ribbon roses and writing on cakes. Folks? I was the ribbon rose QUEEN in class. Not only did I have an awesome base for my rose but I owned those ribbon rose thingies. And? I was able to get them off my flower nail onto my cake without disaster. 

 I also can write on a cake like a pro. I had absolutely no problems doing that. So then I started decorating my cake.

 Emily and I graduated! Here is us with our finished cakes AND our certificates. You'll notice my cake caddy on the chair behind me. Um, yeah. We bought a caddy. But now I wish I had the super duper deluxe caddy like the lady behind me had. *sigh* But my caddy is still kind of kick ass, so there.

I am signed up for the next session which is mostly doing different flowers and we start next Thursday. I am totally loving these classes. I love that I have Emily who likes to take things like this just for fun because I would do it on my own, but having someone there I know to joke around with makes it 100 times more fun.

I will post about my other projects I've been doing... another day. I'm kind of tired folks. I took both kids to Boo at the Zoo today (which was a madhouse with hundreds of people and that is not an exaggeration) all by myself. Have you ever taken a six and three year old to a place giving out candy with hundreds of people swarming around all by yourself? No? Well let me just enlighten you- it's really difficult and exhausting. But I got a few cute pictures and I'll share those soon with yall.