FINALLY.... I've updated my site AND got married!!!

Well, I really don't have an excuse for not updating my site for a year except that in just under a year, I've been on two episodes of Family Feud, planned a wedding, started a new job and finally got married!!!! 

It's probably been one of the most exciting times in my life but also one of the craziest! I've done so many cakes in between and have to admit, I've not been the best at taking pictures of them all. If you have a picture of a cake I've done for you that's not on the site, feel free to share!!!

First update- FAMILY FEUD!!!

My grandmother (a big Steve Harvey fan) begged me to send in an audition email. I sent in a video and we were picked to audition and then picked to be on the actual show!!! We were on two episodes and won the first episode!!!! I know it sounds cliche but it was such a bonding experience with my family and would have been totally worth it if we didn't end up coming home with any money!

Second Update- My Wedding Shower!

Yes, I made my own cake- the funny part is that I had NO IDEA that the cake was actually for me!! A friend of our family 'ordered' a cake for her daughter-in-law's 30th birthday. She gave me the creative freedom to design it however I wanted. The theme was shoes and she gave me a box that had the colors and the theme of what she was going for (see the centerpieces below). Well, I threw myself into the design and hand sculpted gumpaste shoes to go along the entire cake. I even delivered the cake...to my own shower!!! When I walked in, the cake was in separate tiers- 3 of them- because I had to drive from Boston to Worcester with it in my car. Needless to say, when they yelled "surprise" I nearly dropped the cake! Luckily  our family friend and Dana were in on it and helped me out! I'll never forget my mom and mother in law running up to help and them saying "someone grab the cake quick"! 

I had to assemble it in front of everyone- with shaky hands!!

 Love this picture of me and my sis ! Love her and all of her hard work she put in to making this day so amazing!!!

 Close up of the gumpaste shoes:

 A crowd looks on- no pressure! :)

A BIG "Thank You" goes out to all of the amazing ladies in my life who helped to make this day so spectacular!!! I love you all so much and hope you know how much your hard work over the last year and a half is appreciated!!! xoxoxooxo

Third Update- The Wedding!!!!!!

There are no words to describe what an amazing time I had with my family and friends on our day. I can't even possibly begin to describe all of the events that led up to our wedding day. 

There were a ton of do-it-yourself elements (more than I could ever list). Some of the major projects were- homemade cookies baked by my mom, aunt, grandmother and friends of our family for our Cookie Bar, ALL flowers done by my mother-in-law (which took over 24 hours- almost straight) and last but not least... MY CAKE- Yes, I was crazy enough to do my own but when Dana and I were looking for cake ideas there was no way I was going to be able to let someone else do it for me! I knew exactly what we wanted and just visualized this from day one. I also was able to surprise Dana (he admits it's the first time in 8 years I've ever truly surprised him) with a replica of his beloved Mustang. I wish I could post the video of him seeing it for the first time. If I can figure out how to, I definitely will! I had to make the cake a week before and sneak out of my house with all of my cake supplies so that my mother in law and I could decorate it at my bridesmaid's house!

Dana smiling next to his Mustang Groom's Cake:

 The house we stayed in for the week and where we had our reception on the grounds:

 Centerpieces & table numbers:

Maine shaped cookies we made for the guest bags. Some said "Maine" and some said "You Are Here" with an arrow pointing to a little heart where Bethel is:

 We had to make A LOT of them- here are a few that were drying:

 Close Ups of Dana's Mustang Groom's Cake:

 He has custom leather seats that are embroidered with a Mustang symbol and say "Red Devil":

 Side view that shows the exhaust, rims, and custom paint job:

 License plate, Ford symbol and lights:

 Interior close-up:

Here are some of the Carat Cakes Crew members who painstakingly took turns helping out and making my life SO much easier! I wish the pictures were better quality. I have to find a way to get these files in a better format but I wanted to show my appreciation :) 

Please note: There are so many others who helped that weekend that I would be here all night naming them. They know who they are and how much they mean to Dana & Me xoxoxoxoxo

*I know my mother and mother-in-law would be in these pictures helping out if there weren't a million other things to get done. Dianne worked on the flowers for hours and my mom was the best organizer and host I could have ever asked for.

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Cakes for those Big Kids in our Lives-

A gecko cake for my brother. The gecko was made to resemble his pet Leopard Gecko, Lloyd who is around 14 years old! It was a chocolate and peanut butter cake with chocolate ganache to give it a 'terrain' look. My brother, father and husband were the only ones in the family I've never made a cake for and in about 6 months, I ended up making them each one!!! Check out the wedding post to see the one I made for Dana :)

This grill cake was made for a friend's 30th Birthday:

 Everything is edible except the 'grill grates':

 Edible bag of 'charcoal':

 Close up of the edible charcoal:

 Close up of the 'fiery' grill:

 An espresso martini:

 Cake for a 30th birthday for someone who loves the beach and her cute pup:

 This was one of my favorite cakes to make. It was for a friend's surprise 30th birthday at a sushi restaurant. I wanted to create the look of a sushi dinner on a table with his American Bulldog, Buddy, popping his head out from under the table:

 Last but certainly not least for the 'adult cakes' is for one of my favorite guys in the whole world- MY DAD. I need to preface this cake by saying that there was a clip on our episode of Family Feud where my dad was had to answer "Name something you shouldn't do naked". Well, his first reaction was to say "Skydive". And then in another part of one of the shows, he mentions a tiara. So.... I made him a naked sky diver wearing a tiara. LOVE YOU & YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR, DAD!!!!