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Bug’s Seventeenth Birthday Vanilla Chocolate Matcha Raspberry Cake!
I made a cake like this for Bug last year and she loved it. Apparently, I didn’t blog about it. But Bug loved it so much that she special requested I make another one for her this year. So I did! Because that’s the kind of overworked and underpaid (but thankfully appreciated) haggard mom I am. So this year I’ll blog about it.
How did I make it? Well, I googled a vanilla cake. Found this one. I think we discovered this recipe for Joon’s baking party and it was reasonably easy to make. It involved a lot of mixing and timing…It’s a little backward from how I usually make cakes but it works. Do you know what doesn’t work? Expired baking powder. The recipe even says to check the expiration dates in the generous notes provided by the author but I read right over that like it wasn’t there. My baking soda expired in 2019. We stocked up for Joon’s bake-off party and I guess I never used it up. I thought I baked more than that.
The result of using expired baking powder was two very thin cakes. But I didn’t panic. I did what any experienced overworked underpaid haggard mother would do. I made another cake. Four very thin cakes make one just right cake!
Then I spread dark chocolate fudge frosting between each layer, smushed some fresh raspberries on top of the chocolate, and then stacked all the cakes on top of each other, and frosted the top. Not the sides! No, that would be too much. Just on the top of each layer. Then I decorated the top with more fresh raspberries and sprinkled it with matcha powder. That’s it!
And everybody loved it! Knowing Bug this will probably be the required cake until the end of time. Which is fine because I’m an underpaid, overworked haggard mother who is appreciated!
But you know what? My overworked underpaid luck is about to change. Big things are in my future. I can’t share yet but I will when I can. I’ve vvvvvvvvvvvery excited. That is if things work out. There’s still a chance they might not which is fine. I’ll just keep on keeping on!
Tah tah!
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Back Home Again
And just like that, I moved my office back home again. I know what you are thinking. You saw this coming a mile away…
It was an incredibly difficult decision that I went back and forth over for MONTHS. I hemmed and hawed every day. Some days I loved the separation of home and work and the blessed peace and quiet of the office, other days I missed my bright sunny room, the proximity to all my many boxes of craft supplies in Diagon Alley, all my happy sunny photoshoot spots, my plants, my animals…my family. I wish I could just keep both but then the expense. I can’t stand spending money on something I’m not using every day.
So I packed everything up in my car and two loads later everything was back at home.
It seems overwhelming, right? Not to me. Clutter like this is a joy to me. I LOVE organizing a new space. I see this as a challenge that I can conquer in a day. Bring it on! I sing. I know I should hire myself out to do this for others but nobody ever wants to really hire me. Plus there is a lot of psychology that has to go into sorting and when it comes to someone else it’s almost like doing hours and hours of therapy. I know this because I’ve spent my entire life doing this with my mom. My stuff: no sweat! Other people’s stuff… well, it depends on how attached you are. If you are ready to be ruthless then I am your girl. Call me.
It took some time but bit by bit I found a place for everything and everything found its place. Lots of envelopes got donated and my new toaster and printer found new homes.
I have to say I’m really happy with the new space. I’ve figured myself out: I just need change. Every six months I need to rearrange or up and move, get a new hobby or try a new work-out. I just crave change. It envigorates me and helps me feel like I’m making progress. I can’t stand feeling stuck. I’m sure there’s a lot more to unpack there mentally but for now I’m sticking with actual physical unpacking.
Besides the hot weather of this room (that is very sunny, bright, and unbearably hot in the summer) one of the things I was trying to escape when I moved to an outside office was how my homelife edged into my professional life. That is still going to be my biggest challenge. When I’m home I like to tinker. I like to clean, I like to garden and I like to make things. I love having a sewing room next to my office and a painting studio in between. I can slide my rolly chair from one project to the other with ease. It’s super fun but it’s also not so great for focusing on work projects. I can spend my whole day organizing the kitchen, baking bread, driving the kids around, and never touch a drop of work if I’m not careful.
My plants missed me. My garden has been terribly neglected, my kitchen too. The dogs are super happy to have a playmate back home again. I can get more walks in… it’s just going to be nice but also difficult.
We’ll just have to see. I did talk to the office manager and they will welcome me back anytime. We’ll see if I can make it till summer.
