50th Wedding Anniversary!

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary to the Buckley's! The 50th Wedding Anniversary is known as the Golden Anniversary, so for their cupcakes, I made pink hearts with flower vines embossing that is filled in with gold luster dust. The cupcakes are red velvet and pumpkin cupcakes with buttercream frosting.

Here are a couple poems I found that I wanted to share with the lovely couple!

A Golden Couple Half a century ago, they say,
A wonderful marriage began that day.
Two beautiful people joined as one,
And worked together to make living fun. We celebrate now those fifty years;
We raise our glass and give three cheers:
To partners in life in both work and play,
It’s our pleasure to share your golden day. Happy 50th Anniversary! By Karl Fuchs

Fifty Years Fifty years is quite a while
For most good things to last;
But you’re still together and still in love;
You must share a wonderful past. We celebrate you this wonderful day,
And hope that your bond keeps on growing;
You’re a pair we should study and do what you say,
'Cause your secret is well worth the knowing! By Karl and Joanna Fuchs

Baby Announcement!

Did someone say baby???? My husband Khoa and I have been married for over 2 years, and the next step in our life together is of course, the wonderful gift of life, a baby! We have been so blessed and fortunate and most of all LUCKY to have the awesome life we have, so when I found out we were going to bring a little bundle of joy into our lives, I really wanted to tell Khoa the great news in a special and memorable way.

So I found out the great news late on a Sunday night while Khoa was out. So I didn't have much time to come up with an elaborate grand scheme so I had to make the most of what I have and so I decided to present Khoa the news with a message on some cupcakes! I had the cupcakes baked, but I still had to make the decorations and the frosting, and by then Khoa already got home. So he asked if there's anything he can help me with since it was getting late. So I asked him to cut out some fondant scalloped circles for me. I had baked a dozen cupcakes, but I asked him to cut out 18 circles haha. He didn't really think anything of it even though he knew I only baked a dozen cupcakes, and knowing he knows I have reasons for my requests, he just happily went to work no questions asked! So once he finished cutting the circles, he went to the living room and relaxed on the couch. I decided to write the words "Soon to be world's BEST dad!" on the cupcakes by hand since personal handwriting seem more personal to me (plus it's a lot faster than cutting out fondant letters). Things were going so great so far and all I had to do now was place the decorations on the cupcakes, plate them, stick them in the oven for him to find, and then show him the great news!

Too bad the rest of the story didn't go like that haha. Once I got the decorations on the cupcakes, Khoa decides to check up on me and see how I was doing with the cupcakes! So instantly I panic, and when I'm in panic mode, my common sense shuts down and havoc breaks loose!!! So Khoa was getting close and I didn't get to plate the cupcakes yet so in the spur of the moment I shoved him away from the kitchen! Immediately he was like "huh?? what the?" and continued to walk towards the kitchen, and so once again I shoved him away! He asked what's up and I could not formulate an articulate sentence. All I can say was "UUhhh...LUNA (our maltese doggie)...LUNA wants...to...THROW SOMETHING!" I immediately regretted my words...why would a dog throw something??? Luckily Khoa corrected me and asked "you want to throw something?" Relieved that it made more sense than my previous statement, I shouted YES!! Khoa looks are me very confused and puzzled, and decides to humor me and asks "Ok...what do you want to throw?" So now I panic once again, and spot Luna's toy rope on the floor of the living room, and I point to it! Khoa hesitantly walks over to the toy and picks it up, and hands it to me. Once again, I'm stuck, what am I going to do with this rope?!?!? haha. So I just toss it on the floor, and Khoa says "Satisfied?" haha.

I shrug since I don't know what else to do and I hope he would just sit back down on the couch. Of course, he does NOT do that, and walks towards the kitchen again, and I shout NO! I proceed to tell him that some of my cupcake decorations got ruined and messed up somehow and so he can't see it! Curiosity stirs inside him and so he replies "Oh no!! What happened??? Let me see!!" AHHH! NO!!! I then make up some bogus reasoning saying that I'll manage somehow and maybe I'll just turn up the oven super high and hope the decorations "bake dry" like in ceramics...I know that's not the terminology and there's no such thing as this method of fondant repair, but I know Khoa wouldn't know what I'm talking about but I was desperate! So he just looks at me very concerned, and so I asked him to walk Luna. FINALLY, something sensible came out of my mouth!!

Once he was out the door to walk our doggie, I quickly plated the cupcakes, and stuck them in the oven and set a timer while the oven heat remained OFF! When he got back inside, the timer finally went off a couple minutes later, and he gets up from the couch and heads over to the kitchen. I can see the curiosity in his eyes and he eagerly waits to see what on earth I just did and what I have been up to. So trying to keep a VERY straight face, I told him to check my cupcakes for me. So he goes to the oven, and opens the doors. He starts to read the message out loud "Soon to be...wait, who's this for?" and then looks up at me, at this point, tears are streaming down my face, and instantly he finally got it and says "WAIT, REALLY???? You mean...US??? NO WAY!!!" I nod my head and said yes with all these happy tears on my face, and he gives me a great big hug and we literally jump for joy for several minutes!

I know it wasn't the smoothest of smooth operations, but it definitely was memorable and special. We are so happy to announce that we will be having a baby, projected birth day to be on June 12, 2012 =). Loving life more than ever!

Bob the Builder Cookies!

Happy Birthday Markus!! These are Bob the Builder sugar cookies with royal icing piping for the decorations. I hope you had a very special birthday Markus with all your friends and family!

Humor Time!
A truckload of penguins breaks down on the freeway on a hot summer day.The truckdriver sees a blonde construction manager driving up in a company Suburban, so he asks the CM, "Is this car air conditioned?" The construction manager says, "Sure is". So the truckdriver says "I'll give you $100 to take these penguins to the zoo." Off goes the CM and the penguins. About three hours later, the CM comes back with the car-load of penguins all wearing 3-D glasses. The truckdriver looks at the penguins in disbelief and yells, "I gave you $100 to take those penguins to the zoo!!!" The CM replies, "I did. But we had money left over so we went to a movie, too."

Law & Subluxation

I made law and chiropractic cupcakes for my chiropractor to bring to a law firm! These are chocolate cupcakes with chocolate chips in them and buttercream on top! All the decorations are made of fondant. The chiropractic cupcakes are of a spine, special chiropractic pillows, and an xray! The law cupcake decorations are of the quality justice symbol of the scale, the book of law, and a gavel! I hope the folks at the law firm enjoys these sweet bites of justice in their tummies!

Law Humor:
Two lawyers walking through the woods spotted a vicious-looking bear. The first lawyer immediately opened his briefcase, pulled out a pair of sneakers and started putting them on. The second lawyer looked at him and said, "Are you crazy? You'll never be able to outrun that bear!" "I don't have to," the first lawyer replied. "I only have to outrun you."

Yasaman's Birthday Cupcakes!

Happy Birthday Yasaman!! My boss had the great idea to make cupcakes as the decorations for my Yasaman's birthday, so we have cupcakes on top of cupcakes!! These are french vanilla cupcakes with basic buttercream and all the cupcake decorations are made out of fondant. Some have sprinkles on them while others have more fondant accents on them. I hope you enjoyed your special unique cupcakes and enjoyed your special forever 21st birthday!!! =)

Now for some baking humor:
Why did the cupcake by Rogaine? He thought he was losing his sprinkles!
Why did the cookie go to the doctors? Because it was feeling crumby!
A baker stopped making donuts after he got tired of the hole thing.
Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.

Anna & Mike Engagment!!

Anna's Cinderella Cupcakes!Mike's Angel's Baseball Cupcakes!Anna & Mike's Engagement Cake!Congratulations to Anna and Mike on their wonderful engagement!! I was honored when Di Anh asked me to make her cupcakes and a cake for their special engagement celebration! She wanted Cinderella theme cupcakes for Anna, and Angel's baseball theme for Mike. She wanted a heart shape cake with lavendar roses around the cake. All these are red velvet with whipped cream cheese frosting and the cake is filled with whipped cream cheese frosting with fresh raspberries and blueberries inside as well. All the flowers on the cake were piped on with basic buttercream accented with edible pearls. The letters along with all the other cupcake decorations are made of fondant. The Cinderella tiara is piped out with royal icing and metallic pearls. Special thanks goes out to my friend Roger for taking the time to come over and make those awesome baseball theme decorations, what an artist he is! Also, thanks to my husband Khoa for rolling out the fondant for me to cover the heart shaped cake! Rolling out a big piece of fondant is really tiring work so he really helped me out a lot! =) Once again, I want to with Anna and Mike a happy engagement!!! I'm so happy for the two of you and may your love inspire others! I can't wait for the wedding in two years! CONGRATS!!!

Happy 6th Birthday Roxana!

Happy 6th Birthday Roxana! Roxana is having a big princess party and the theme is Tangled, with one of her favorite Disney Princesses, Rapunzel! I made all the letters, Rapunzel's braided golden hair, her pet chameleon Pascal, and the sun symbol flower all out of fondant. I use frosting to pipe on the sun symbol flower itself. I made Rapunzel's tiara by piping royal icing on parchment paper, then letting it dry on the paper towel cardboard roll so that it hardens in that curved shape. I also put on metallic pearls and painted it gold for that extra glamour and bling that every princess needs! This was a huge order of 120 cupcakes, that just shows you how loved Roxana is!! I hope you enjoy your cupcakes and your birthday party and celebration Roxana, and I hope all your wishes come true!

Introducing, our very first signature Sweet Dreams Cupcakes thanks to my wonderful husband who design engineered and produced the fondant impression stamp to make this happen!!! =)

Rose Macarons, Ispahan and Hello Kitty!

Rose macarons, my favorite!! I'm so happy that these came out great, if I do say so myself! The shells came out without a hitch! And then I I started making the rose filling and boy that was a challenge. After searching countless supermarkets of all kind, I finally found rose water (a very KEY ingredient to Rose Macarons) at the Indian supermarket (thanks chi hai!) called Garden Patch in Irvine! I mistakenly bought Rose Syrup and that is NOT the same...and ruined a batch of filling because of that. Alas though, I got my rose water, and I cannot be more excited!
This batch of macarons was for fun, but also to see if my last batch of macarons wasn't just a fluke and so I wanted to see if I truly can get the knack of baking macarons! So to my excitement, these came out great! I decide to take this to the next level and make some Hello Kitty macarons for my cousin Bao (Chi Tu) since she loves Hello Kitty! These were unfortunately not my creative idea, but I'm glad I can be inspired by the many talented people out there to make these for my loved ones! I also made an Ispahan for her as well! It's pretty much a giant macaron stuffed with raspberries and a lychee in the middle! Usually they put a rose petal on top for garnish, but I do not have any so I use a raspberry! This is my absolute favorite dessert of all time so I'm so happy I'm able to make a pretty decent Ispahan! =)
Also, taking my adventures to ANOTHER level, I decided to try my hand at shipping these bad boys...to Virginia! I wanted to surprise my cousin Van (Chi Ba) with some homemade macarons to satisfy some of her sweet tooth cravings, and to learn what's the best way to ship these delicate treats. It's all about trial and error, so Chi Ba please let me know how it goes! I had a lot of fun finding the right box and thinking of ways to nicely package it all up for her! Enjoy Chi Ba!!

So, I learned a whole bunch with this second successful batch of macarons, it's always a great feeling when I get to accomplish things like this and be able to share it with my lovely family and friends!