A few party pics...

We had Amara's birthday party on Saturday and it was a blast!  Here are just a few Instagram photos, more to come!

I made two cakes, a two tiered strawberry and vanilla for guests and gold leaf heart cake for Amara to "smash".  There wasn't a lot of smashing going on though, she didn't know what to do with it!  

I can't even believe she is one already.  She wanted to show Momma how grown up she was for her party and started walking last week!  She is sprouting four top teeth too... And just like that, she's a big girl:)

Almost time to make like a palm tree... and leave!

It’s about time I clear off the dust that I’ve allowed to accumulate on my blog and do a freakin’ post!  My wedding in Mexico is exactly 7 days away now and I have palm trees and tropical weather on the brain… I thought a fun cake inspired by Charlotte Olympia’s ridiculously awesome Meridith wedges was appropriate right now...

Now, this cake isn't one of my favorites.  I’ll be the first to admit, it doesn't exactly mirror the wedges in color or proportion, but I said I’d share the good and not-so-good of my baking endeavors with you so, here’s my little homage to C.O. and her tropically conceived Spring/Summer 2012 line.

The leaf portion is a key lime cake (I just added a few tablespoons of lime zest and and a half cup or so of fresh lime juice to my standard vanilla cake recipe) layered with a lemony icing (mixed equal parts lemon curd with a classic vanilla buttercream recipe).

The top layer is strawberry cake layered with strawberry frosting (it is that same classic vanilla buttercream mixed with frozen strawberries  thawed & pureed in a food processor, to taste). The key to this strawberry frosting is mixing the heck out of the butter before adding any other ingredients. The frosting will literally taste like strawberry ice cream. OMG.

By far, the best thing about this cake is the photos. I enlisted the aid and expertise of my dear friend and photo guru Rosa from Rosa Loves DC to take some pictures of these tropical tiers; she is a miracle worker, let me tell you.  I'm not as proud of this baby, but as I said, I'm letting it all hang out, cake wrecks and all.

The whole time I was baking/frosting/decorating this cake last weekend, I was on speaker phone with my sister coming up with/finalizing the design of my menu cards.  HINT: there are palm leaves on them.

And now, a poem for Rosa Loves DC:

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

You may love DC,

but Rosa,

I love you!

My Friday Night Bridal Shower

My little sister Ahdazsa (a.k.a. RC, Parse, Das) - who's not so little anymore - threw me a bridal shower on Friday night & it was such a blast. My older sister Aisha (a.k.a. Eesha, Peesha, Eesh) lives out in SoCal and couldn't make it but she sent over a box of goodies that she made, thanks Peesh!

Eesh is a behavioral psychologist who specializes in helping children with autism, she is amazing at it. It's heavy work so to chill she crafts all kinds of things and started an Etsy shop to house and sell her creations. It's pretty sweet to have such a talented and crafty sister, especially when we throw parties:) She made me a pretty ribbon to wear, sexy streamers and adorable diamond favor boxes filled with naughty things...

We face-timed for part of the shower so she made an appearance:)

I made a couple cakes, one was strawberry and the other was a double chocolate vegan cake...

The beautiful Rosa from Rosa Loves DC and the adorable Katalina from The YouFinder. Thank you for my sexy little gifts ladies:)

The always glamorous Sara from High Fashion 4 Less. I am in love with the beautiful Anthropologie corset set she gave me...

I'm so blessed that all my friends have incredible taste, I got amazing gifts... And a few risqué reads.

This is my beautiful friend Behnaz. I love her style, she is classic and vintage and conservative, all in the most lovely and unique way. I adore her gift. Wrapped inside a gorgeous box was a book called American Beauty which isa collection of 110 portraits of “women in her world”. I am excited to put this on the new coffee table I will be buying for our "marital home". Also inside were framed sketches of Christian Dior "intimates" and a vintage Christian Dior nightgown. Perfect:)

Then we went out on the town!

Thank you Parse, Christelle, Lily, Shawna, Caroline, Christine, Candace, Elizabeth, Jenny, Emily and everyone who celebrated this day with me! Wouldn't have been the same without you, I love you girls so much.

Next party: Wedding!!

Thank you Rosa and Sara for taking these beautiful pictures of the party! xoxo

Pretty Pink Peplum Cake (Jason Wu inspired)

No one who has her (or his) eye on this year's trends can miss the ruffled waist decor being seen all over the runways, red carpet and magazines. Peplum arrived in a big way this season and my favorite design of its kind is Jason Wu's pink and white belted number. If it were a cake, it would have alternating layers of strawberry and vanilla, which is just how I made it for The Bride's Guide on Martha Stewart Weddings.  More on the cake here!

The wonderful Sebastian Marin took the lovely photos, thanks so much Sebastian!

Wedding Chicks Wednesday

I've been absolutely devouring The Wedding Chicks website lately! They have amazing DIYs and free downloads for fun printables & custom monograms; it's one of the best wedding resources I've found, bar none. I thought I'd share this gorgeous Ombre Sugar Hearts tutorial by Erica O’Brien Cake Design and Brooke Allison Photography with you today...

Go to The Wedding Chicks DIY Ombre Sugar Hearts tutorial for step-by-step instructions and more pretty pics!