When you return from a vacation does it always take you awhile to acclimate again? I spent last weekend in Berkeley and Lake Tahoe with all my men and it was gorgeous! Did I even take one photo? No! I can’t believe it but it proves how much I drank in the moment without a thought about getting a shot to post on Instagram or Facebook. In my zen state-of-mind I kind of forgot Easter is nearly here too! Instead… [Read More]
The great thing about making cake decorations with fondant is making extra for cupcakes. In this case, I made a St. Patrick’s Day checkerboard cake a few days ago so I made additional fondant decorations for a batch of cupcakes. Let’s start with making the cupcakes. In baking the checkerboard cake, I had some left over green and white batter so when I was ready to bake the cupcakes a few days later, I was able to use it and… [Read More]
For weeks I’ve been daydreaming about creating a St. Patrick’s Day cake with bright, vivid colors and dimensional decorations. Of course, rainbows, shamrocks and Leprechaun’s gold had to be included in the decorating theme of the cake. And like any dreamer that follows the rainbow’s end, guests will find a surprise inside the cake! I received some really nice emails from readers (thank you!) who enjoyed reading my thought process as I began this St. Patrick’s Day design that… [Read More]
Happy March! I’ve been busy making decorations out of fondant that will adorn a St. Patrick’s Day cake I’m envisioning. I say “envisioning” because I have ideas of certain decorating elements and then I have to figure out how I’m going to make them. This is why I love the creative challenge of decorating cakes, cupcakes and cookies and seeing if I can make those ideas come to fruition. I always ask myself, “Can I figure out a way to… [Read More]
This past weekend I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon baking for the families at The Ronald McDonald House in Orange, CA. The organization supports families in residence whose children who are in treatment at affiliated Children’s Hospitals. The day was coordinated through my sorority’s alumnae group, Tri-Delta. It was “Delta Love” day and a day to give to others. I’m very proud of my sorority’s commitment to giving. To date, Tri-Delta has raised more than $30 million dollars… [Read More]
There’s nothing like waking up on a lazy Sunday morning to find out that it’s National Margarita Day! How this glorious event almost slipped by me is unimaginable since margaritas are my go-to cocktail when I’m not certain how an establishment makes a perfectly pink pomtini. Thank you to my ever diligent husband for bringing this to my attention whether there be ulterior motives involved or he’s just looking forward to cocktail time tonight while I tune into the Oscars. … [Read More]
Growing up, I was always aware of the Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year, as it’s becoming more commonly called it seems. Both my brother and I were born in the heart of Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles and my mother would recollect that when my brother was born fireworks were going off. Since his birthday is on Valentine’s Day there’s a good chance that this coincided with the Chinese New Year. No fireworks for me when I arrived… [Read More]
Wishing everyone a fun Valentine’s Day today. What will I do when my pink week is over? I’ve loved it all – the color combinations, the sprinkles, the hearts and flowers… …sending little Valentine gifts out to baking buddies and thinking of them while I tied the ribbon on the packages. Today isn’t just Valentine’s Day but my big brother’s birthday as well. I always enjoyed the spill-over effect of this growing up as it made Valentine’s Day a little… [Read More]
As a Wilton brand Ambassador, I’m most fortunate to be able to try new products and create projects with existing ones. For Valentine’s Day, I was sent Wilton’s Decorator’s Icings in pouches accompanied with sprinkles. Remembering when my guys were little and to my room-mom days, I would have gladly welcomed the ease of ready made tinted icings since decorating cupcakes for the class party was usually done late the night before. One thing you can do to save time… [Read More]
Welcome to Pink Martinis and Pearls re-design! Today I’m celebrating because I’m very excited to share with you what I’ve been working on for months! As you can tell we’ve had a tech facelift and it feels so good! A little microtechno-brasion here and a nip and tuck there and Voila! Let me give you a quick tour. You’ll see a menu bar full of organization. Take a spin and look around. There’s categories for Decorated Cookies and drop down… [Read More]
