Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The Tale of Two Days

Picture this. Sitting under sails at a coffee shop with your BFF having breakfast while overlooking the beautiful Broadwater on the Gold Coast. The sun's shining (the first time in at least a week) and there's a gentle breeze. The coffee and the food is delicious and the conversation doesn't stop and is punctuated with laughter.

That was my morning yesterday. I'd promised my friend Natalie a full day in her first week of holidays and we picked a beauty. I left home at 6:30 am and arrived back almost 12 hours later and in all that time we didn't run out of things to talk about. We managed to squeeze a little Christmas shopping into the day as well and I crossed another two people off my list. Woohoo!!

And then today was back to reality. An early start with speed session - Kenyans again but this time I completed the session (even if I didn't quite reach my time goal on the last k) Home for breakfast, ironing and a few other fun chores (please note the heavy sarcasm). Then off to the shops for a quick coffee with my sister, more Christmas shopping (three more people ticked off). A drive out to the cake decorating supplies shop to by buttercream whitener. (who knew there was such a thing and titanium dioxide doesn't sound like something we should be eating) Back home to stay - a quick batch of brownies for the sister who owns the cafe and has a ridiculous amount of catering to do tomorrow. A long chat with a client who was dropping off fabric then the afternoon filled with cutting, drafting and sewing.

I mad a prototype of Lucy's wedding cupcake on the weekend to see how it would stand up to the humidity. A bit of googling had provided me with a useful tip - to add a small amount of cream of tartar to the buttercream to give it a bit more body. It worked! And I was really happy with the result.



Just imagine the icing white and the larger heart more tilted. I sent the picture to Lucy and waited for the response ... She liked it but she was wondering if the hearts weren't too much.

I must say I didn't react well. I've spent a LOT of money and LOTS of hours on this project and the hearts were her idea. BUT it is her wedding and she should have what she wants so even though I complained to my husband and my sister Julie, I didn't say anything to Lucy. Then I talked to another sister, Fiona (getting confused with all these sisters yet?) and she suggested I leave the problem with her and she would talk up the hearts and Lucy would change her mind. And sure enough that's exactly what happened. And I'm relieved that I haven't wasted all those $$ and hours.

11 comments:

  1. For what is worth I like the hearts.

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  2. Oooo, I hope Lucy isn't reading your blog :). I like the hearts, too...I know you've invested a lot in this, including emotion, so I hope a happy ground is found. The cupcake, though, it making me salivate!! :)

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  3. Sounds like a busy but (mostly) fun day. The cupcake is gorgeous!!!

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  4. still
    utterly
    amazed
    with
    you
    AND
    your
    talents.

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  5. Beautiful cupcake, Char! Enjoy your Christmas shopping :)

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  6. Oh you are such a creative soul! Heart or not I would be headfirst into that cake enjoying it.

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  7. I'm cracking up at one sister helping convince the other sister to see things your way - we do that in our family, too!
    I like the hearts a lot - your creativity is amazing!!

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  8. Those cupcakes are very pretty and look delicious too! I love the hearts and I'm sure your sister will enjoy them too. Good luck with them!

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  9. I also wondered if Lucy reads your blog?? I am assuming not! The cupcake looks fantastic!

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  10. I like the hearts, too!
    Your day with your friend reminds me of a good friend of mine in Brussels. When we do have a rare day to spend together, it seems like we never run out of things to talk about. Wonderful.

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  11. You are one very special person! Then you still throw in some marathon training and running between all you do, fantastic! For what it's worth, I like the cupcake with the hearts.

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Thanks for taking the time to comment. I love hearing from you.