Shhhh, don't tell!

Since I know Aaron never, ever reads my blog, I can share a little secret.

I've got plans. Big plans.

It's a long ways off, but if I can do this, it will be so awesome!

The plan: Aaron is in the middle of law school/business school applications right now and I got to thinking. We're going to need a serious vacation once he's done with all this. So, I'm starting my little savings right now so that after he graduates, I can surprise him with plane tickets and a week or so away with me! My goal is to save some money every month, $50 minimum. I'm thinking an Alaskan cruise - the only kind of cruise we're interested in. He could use the free time by then, I know.

So no blabbing to him. This is going to be awesome!

Cake Results

Here it is, in all it's glory. Devil's Food Cake with a caramel sauce and chocolate ganache between the layers. Used the extra cake layer to make cake crumbs that I then toasted to coat the outside of the cake with. As I was about to build the cake, Aaron suggested I sprinkle Heath Bar bits on top of the ganache.

The results: good, very rich, but the Heath bar bits were a smidgen over the top. Drink a large glass of milk with this one. I do like the caramel layer though. Makes the cake more than just chocolate.

Pancake Heaven

We love love love pancakes around here. Breakfast, dinner, whatever. Just plain ones - although I wish they'd let me be a smidge more adventurous and make my favorites - blueberry cornmeal! But I digress.

Last year, I discovered some Christmas pancake molds at Williams-Sonoma. A snowman, Santa and a reindeer. So much fun and the start of a new tradition. We got some hearts at Valentine's Day but haven't expanded the collection until now.

Jungle Pancakes - Lion, Monkey and Elephant

Halloween Pancakes - they just might have to endure pumpkin ones this time!

Bugs - no bumblebee though. Why on earth would a snail be a better idea than a bee? Crazy! I'm petitioning them to make some transportation ones - airplane, rocket ship and train. We'll see how far I get. If I end up with a train one, I know which one I'll be making for Will and James. All. The. Time.

We do enjoy the filled pancakes as well. Another post, another day. Mmmmm. Raspberry filled pancakes with Nutella sauce. For breakfast! Life can be wonderful at times.

Hold Me Accountable

I spent a whole evening cruising through this blog. I love the quilts - got me all excited about making quilts. But I came away with more than that. I realized that this woman is so passionate about quilting and does it all the time. I mean All. The. Time. She makes upwards of 30 or so a year (I think I have that right). She chronicles her failures and challenges, but she has gotten better because she practices. Constantly. And fabric is expensive. Well, more expensive than cake ingredients.

So I officially have no more excuses. I WILL make this cake this week. I have everything I need to make it. There's nothing stopping me (well, four kids, but they won't exactly stop me from making a cake). Aaron takes the LSAT on Saturday morning, so that's reason enough to celebrate.

Miette is my inspiration. Love this cake. Tartine makes one just like it, but without the ribbon. Now, the ribbon is just me. This will be a devil's food cake with chocolate ganache. It might not be perfect, but I'm practicing again. It will still taste awesome.

I *Heart* Halloween

Fall is here - okay, not officially, but as far as I'm concerned, once we switch to September, fall is here. There have already been football games (so glad my Huskies finally won something!), I've heard the marching band rehearsing, school has started for the kids, I've bought pencils and now I'm getting excited for Halloween.

We've got the costumes figured out - we still have to make them, but they are at least figured out. We're going to do these goody bags for Laurel's school party, but we'll fill them with fun little toys from Oriental Trading Co. instead of candy.
And then there are all the decorating ideas from Martha Stewart:

And the Halloween treats, most from Country Living - I can't decide which one I like the best!

We'll be super busy this year - we're doing Henry's blessing on November 1st, so Aaron's parents will be in town as well as mine. We'll also be celebrating "the birthdays" as they are coming to be known - Laurel, Will and James. And Mark, Aaron's stepfather too! This will be one crazy weekend come the end of October! Which is why I've got Halloween and birthdays on the brain already. Never too early to start thinking about.

Fearless Me

Things I'm afraid of:

• Failure - oh, most definitely!
• New ventures

Why am I admitting this? Because I'm daring myself to try something new, come January. I'd try sooner, but I'd like to adjust to all the other new things in my life before I move on to something else. Besides, I'm great at planning things! And I'll need to plan this.

The best way to achieve international stardom is to spend 10,000 hours honing your skills, says the new book by Malcolm Gladwell. The greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, musicians and scientists emerge only after spending at least three hours a day for a decade mastering their chosen field.

I don't necessarily want to achieve international stardom as a baker, but I do want to be exceptionally successful. Exceptional enough that I can have my little bakery and have loyal customers and love what I'm doing. So I need to start spending time with my cake pans and mixer. Three hours a day. That's a lot of baking. Well, I don't have to spend three hours every day baking, but three hours devoted to my field.

So, here's my little plan. I live in family housing. Lots of families. Which means lots of birthdays. I'd like to offer to bake cakes for anyone who wants them. Just for practice. I'd just print up a calendar and let people sign up for their cake day - and write in their favorite kind of cake. I want people to say that it's the best they've ever had. I'd stick with seasonal ingredients as best I can. I won't do character cakes for kids - that's not something I'm interested in doing in the future. I don't even do it for my own kids! I want to do cakes like Miette and Vanilla Bake Shop.

So, crazy idea? Good idea? I'll move on to other things, but for now, this is what I want to perfect. I can make decent cakes. I want to make spectacular cakes consistently, without thinking about it.

Isn't She Gorgeous?

My guardian angel/aunt sent me this absolutely, positively gorgeous slow cooker. It's my early Christmas present and I'm SO grateful. Made this hormonal pregnant girl tear up. With almost 4 children, anything to make dinner easier is a blessing. And this is SUCH a blessing. I'm so glad we live in Seattle with overcast weather even in August. Now I get to play with it and try out recipes. What is so spectacular about this one is that you can take out the cast aluminum insert and brown your meat on the stovetop before you add the liquid and other ingredients. Better flavor!

Aunt Annette, you are invited over for Boeuf Bourgignonne and fresh bread!