The Cake Parlour

rando

These little bunnies came as part of the FANTASTIC swap package I got from my swap partner, Amy, in the vintage kitchen swap. Everything she sent me was perfect: a blue gingham apron, vintage cookbooks, gorgeous little embellished hand towels. I hope she has recieved mine...for some reason ours were taking a very long time to get to each other.

And these pictures, taken in the rosy glow of twilight...for Mary, and I guess anyone else who hasn't seen my new place. Maybe now they believe me when I say that it isn't that special! But there is lots of work to be done. Especially in the kitchen. Any ideas? Our last house was so easy because the architecture was so fun to work with...just slap some black paint on all the trim and instantly, it was interesting. Now I'm not sure what to do.

Hearts and Snow

So when I was little I had this My Little Ponies picture book of all the seasons...months, actually, and what I remember most brilliantly was February. There was a schoolhouse, and a billion hearts, and ponies, and, most importantly....snow.

I think that picture has always been lodged in my subconscious, of hearts and snow, and I think I kind of decided that February was when it snowed, although I never got to see it because I grew up on the southern coast of Alabama. That picture is so vivid in my mind this morning.

Snow isn't a big deal to most people, some people probably hate it, but to me it is pure magic. Especially right before the sun rises. I knew our neighborhood would be the most beautiful covered with a blanket of snow...Manley and I got up and walked around in it at dawn and it was just, all....Christmas card-y.

And so quiet. And I don't think Mr. Groundhog saw his shadow here...which is just fine by me.

P.S. I like these guys. They were very, very cold and had to snuggle together.

This little piggy's been TOO busy

Too busy to keep up with her friends, to do her own laundry, to call her mom. To write in her blog. Too busy with cake consultations, work, and promoting her business. Doesn't she look guilty?
Ok. I lied. It's ME that has been too busy lately. And I do feel guilty!

Also, besides all that, it was supposed to snow this morning! We were supposed to wake up, and there was supposed to be an inch of snow on the ground. Instead, sunlight is streaming through my windows, so I'm off to do something I've been wanting to do for a while....you'll see.

this table.

Um, can we just take a minute to admire the beauty of this candy-striped table from Anthropologie?

I mean...I got the catalogue yesterday and I haven't been able to stop looking at it. I woke up this morning thinking about it. It's driving me crazy. I think I just need some commiseration.

One room at a time...

Last night was one of those fabulous, lazy, eat-dinner-in-your-pajamas-in-front-of-the-TV night, starring the mother of all comfort foods, Ina Garten's Penne with Five Cheeses. And, ya'll, this dish is decadent. Even better the next day. I know, because I'm eating it for breakfast right now. And speaking of TV....this may be controversial, but...I love it! I love TV, and TV shows. And not just the Food Network, either. Ultimate Home Makeover, Desperate Housewives, Wheel of Fortune, the Today Show, The History Channel, even Saved by the Bell. I think that speaks volumes for my attention span, that I prefer shows to movies most of the time. I know it's supposed to be bad for you, and your kids, but I have a feeling my kids and I will be watching loads of TV. Oh, well. I painted my fireplace. I think it's kind of risky, what do you think? I love it though. The living room is finally almost done...all I have left to do is make the curtains, which I will do (hopefully) next week some time. There are a few things in the very near future that I'm getting really excited about. First of all, I got my swap group list for the Holiday Ornament Swap. I'm trying to narrow down a couple of ideas. To be honest, I'm kind of nervous about it, because I just don't make things very often, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Secondly, I figure we are settled in enough now for me to start some serious baking. Our kitchen is finally in somewhat of a working order, so next week I'm going to be baking massive batches of cupcakes in all my flavors and boxing them up with ribbon and business cards to take around town to various friends and businesses. Do you live in Nashville? Email me at Rebekka@Thecakeparlour.com and I would love to bring you some! Thirdly, I am really really excited about Thanksgiving this year.
It's Manley and my first Thanksgiving together (married), and we feel so blessed to be able to spend it with both our extended familys! I am very close to mine and it seems that we get together more and more rarely now that we've all kind of grown up, so I can't wait to spend Thanksgiving day with them at my parent's house. I will get to see this precious little pumpkin again, my one year old (second) cousin Princess Sophia. And then we get to spend the rest of the weekend with Manley's sweet and amazing family in south Alabama. So, very exciting indeed.

Internet!

...finally! We love our new house. I've been here two weeks now, and I'm already very attached to it. It's been rare that I've really felt attached to a house or apartment, and it feels really nice. It hasn't been remodeled in a long time, so I've been hard at work painting, replacing fixtures and fans, putting up drapes, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. And decorating. I wasn't completely excited about renting vs. owning...it kind of felt like a step backward in some ways...but now I am truly glad we are renting. Somehow, it makes decorating a lot more natural for me...there is a lot of liberty to be creative that I don't feel when I own a place and feel responsible for it. Maybe that's messed up, but I love it. I've wanted white walls with black trim for a long time, so I'm just doing it. (In my head it's very Parisian. It probably isn't at all, but see what I mean? I'm indulging my fantasy anyway). If I want to paint the breakfast room Martha Stewart's "cupcake", then, by golly, I will. About Martha Stewart Signature at Sherwin Williams, by the way, I love her colors. I don't know if I really love the colors (I think I do!) or if it has more to do with the names...I suspect a little of both. Oh, but the names. Having color in your house is so emotional and weird anyway, it just seems more appealing to have a room painted in "vintage kitchen" or "bakery box white" or "butternut".
The black I used for my trim is from her collection, it's called "lampblack." I love it...in thin coats you can see the greenish undertones and it makes me think of soot. It's gorgeous. Anyway, so I just can't wait to get my kitchen in order so I can start doing some cakes, for goodness sakes! It's been entirely too long ( a month maybe?) since I've done any baking....with the move....and everything....I am having the most intense cake baking withdrawels. But being here is nice, and we are really, really happy. When we were in Birmingham, I always had this though in the back of my head: If we could just move back to Nashville, everything will just seamlessly fall into place. And then, I would think: No way, Rebekka, that is incredibly naive. You know that life will be essentially the same wherever you live. Well, so far, I think I may have been right all along. We just feel better here. Strange? Maybe. But it's nice to finally feel settled :)