It's a Small World After All

*phew* It was a busy weekend for me but a fun one... Hope everyone enjoyed their weekends~ I had a plan of attack but a couple surprises came up along the way by the way of an unexpected houseguest and an invitation to a housewarming dinner... Sunday was D-day; little princess's birthday party~ I had all my ingredients ready & I was trying to figure out the most time-efficient way to bake everything up so I wasn't a slave to the kitchen for the day.

In the midst of baking the mini treats for little princess I managed to also bake an Apple Butter Cake for an unexpected housewarming party invitation as well. (I know, I'm crazy...) I wasn't really paying attention the recipe so it didn't really phase me that the recipe called for a whole pound of butter (hello Paula Deen!) and eight eggs. It worked out well b/c I ended up splitting the batter between a bundt pan & a loaf pan. Sorry, no picture of the cake but I can tell you that it was rich, buttery, dense but delicate crumb, and not overly sweet - it was a big hit!

Now back to little princess's party... I managed to finish everything DOWN TO THE WIRE. See, I have this thing about punctuality. I am never late. I don't like to be late. I don't believe in being late. (My sister is ALWAYS LATE and I could kill her for it...) On the rare occasions that I am late it's either due to circumstances beyond my control or at least in one instance SHEER FORGETFULNESS. But I digress, I packed up the goodies & prayed that I didn't have a bumpy drive so the desserts could get to the party in one piece...

Let me tell you, mama put on quite the party... The decorations were so cute without the venue being overloaded with decorations... The food was quite yummy as well. Little princess and her friends had a grand old time... The It's a Small World theme was carried seamlessly throughout all the details: the goodie bag treats (candy/snacks from all over the world), the decorations, the invitations, the signage, mama even made picture "postcards" of little princess throughout her life (like the postcards you see at the beginning and end of the ride)... I was nervous about the desserts - one batch of the cheesecake custard wasn't cooperating, a few of the raspberries decided to roll off despite the white chocolate glue, I kept bumping the frosting on the mini cupcakes, the cookies turned out softer than what I wanted... And then I stepped back - I was being too critical of myself (which I always tend to do when I need to bake something to present to other people)... The desserts were getting rave reviews... *big sigh of relief*

I enjoyed meeting everyone in mama's family~ It was good to meet some people in person that I felt like I had already met through the wonders of Facebook. It was even my first time meeting little princess & I was super nervous that she wouldn't be too receptive towards me but I did manage to spend some quality time with her. I colored with her, I played ball with her, I shielded her from a bee (she was curious, I was paranoid she'd get stung, or that I'd get stung - NOT good considering my allergy), & I walked with her holding her little hand so I could grab a tissue to wipe her runny nose.

Thanks again mama for the opportunity to make the yummies to celebrate little princess!

the little princess (her giggle is TOO CUTE)

mama sent me a couple shots of the dessert table - those are my cookies, my raspberry-topped cheesecakes, and in the bottom corner my vanilla cupcakes

the complete table... I actually whipped out my piping bag to frost the cupcakes, the party venue has a rose garden so I tried to kinda mimic that in the frosting for the cupcakes. Details, it's all about the details...

(borrowed this from mama's blog) That's me setting up the desserts while the proud papa looks on, eyeing the cookies & mama's friend snaps a couple photos (there were cameras galore during the party!)

So I used to be afraid of catering desserts for events but now I know I can do it... Maybe not a multi-tier wedding cake but other stuff is doable. *flexing pastry-making muscles* Let's do it! =)