Thesis Cakes

Whoa, June 2016 was a really big month for me. First of all, it was the first time that Aaron and I traveled with Ansel. I was in Utah for work, and Aaron and Ansel met me out there to go to Capital Reef and Bryce Canyon national parks.

Have you traveled with a baby? Aaron and I naively thought it would be no big deal. We bought a pack-and-play. What could go wrong? Let’s just say that we ate nearly all of our dinners on hotel bathroom floors (while our hotel room itself was pitch-black and full of white noise machine sounds to keep the baby asleep). I never knew how much I could enjoy pad thai take-out while sitting on white tiled floor talking in whisper-voice with my husband while he sat next to a toilet and wolfed down pangang curry.

And what do you do when you need to wash a baby and there is no tub? You try to fit said baby in the sink, which is hilariously way too small. Ansel took it all in stride.

Second of all, I got ordained! By the Universal Life Church! Okay, so let’s be real – it took me a good minute to get ordained, but STILL. I’m super excited because in a couple of weeks I’m going to officiate the wedding of my brother-in-law, Andy, and his amazing fiance, Cat!

They had a friends-focused bride-groom shower a couple of weeks ago in Ypsilanti, Michigan and I made them this cake (which was intended to be a portrait of them).

It was a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting from this awesome cookbook by a bakery out of Savannah, The Back in the Day Bakery. I think the cake turned out well overall, but I have to say I’m proudest of the rendition of Cat’s hand. I mean, hands are hard to draw whatever the medium!

June 2016 was also a big deal for Andy because he turned the big 4-0! So, for his birthday, I made a Carrot Carcassonne cake. Have you played Carcassonne?! It’s like Settlers of Catan meets medieval Sim City.

I know that this post is already getting too nerdy for a lot of people, so I hesitate taking it up a nerd-notch here, but we have this inside joke about receiving a cloister piece during a Carcassonne game. Let’s just say that it’s a pretty big deal and has the potential to get a lot of points.

So “May you always receive cloisters,” is basically along the lines of, “May the wind always be at your back,” or, in Settlers of Catan style, “May you have all of the bricks and ore you can dream of.”

Are my nerds still here?

With that, I hope you all have a wonderful Fourth of July! I’m grateful for a lot of things about the U.S., but one of my favorite things about this country is our commitment to preserving land through our national park system. Leaving you with two images: first, “Thor’s Hammer” from Bryce Canyon National Park, second, Ansel Thor who is eight months old today!

Let freedom ring, buddy!