Holy Cakes

I saw these cakes on a commercial for Cake Boss and I about freaked. I thought they were so cute. I wanted to show them to Jen since we're new cake decorating (mess making) buddies. I saw them again the other night on an episode that I DVRed so I paused it, rewound it, went forwards because I rewound too far, slow-moed until just the right second, paused it, and then took a picture.



That took about ten minutes longer than it should have. But I got that highly technical picture out of the deal so it was a success.

In Hindsight

It's done! Finally, done.

www.christinemcguigan.com

It's not even that the site took a lot of work, because it certainly didn't. I bought that website. I didn't make it. Which is sort of dumb since I currently design websites for a living. But hey, whatever.

It feels so good to cross that off my list. I feel like I'm moving forward and making real progress. I've said it before, but I can't believe I've found something to do with my life that makes me so happy. I've never had passion about my work before. I feel sort of lame for not recognizing this passion earlier. When I was graduating high school I wanted to go to an art college in Chicago and study photography. I obviously didn't end up doing it, but I really wish I would have now. Looking back on the situation, it would have made so much freaking sense. I was just too young and ambivalent to commit to something like that. I didn't know what I really wanted in life - duh, I was 17. I suppose that's why hindsight is such a bitch. It all makes sense eight years later but there's not a whole lot you can do about it.

Of course the counterargument to my wallowing "why didn't I follow my heart" complaint is that it took me getting married to really drive home the idea that this is what I needed to do with my life. I wouldn't have gotten married if I hadn't met Matt. I wouldn't have met Matt if I hadn't been designing websites. I wouldn't have been designing websites if I hadn't gone to school here in Omaha... and so on.

It all comes down to the theory that no matter which path you take, eventually you're going to make it to the point where all the paths intersect and you're going to end up where you're supposed to be.

Green Eyed Monster

I think it's maybe a little obvious that I'm a very visual person and I love looking at (and coveting) pretty things. I drool over Anthropologie, Dwell magazine and apartmenttherapy.com. When it comes down to it though, I know that material things to not have the ability to make me happy. (Cute, well dressed and in a constant state of domestic bliss? Yes. But happy? No.) The things that I am sincerely envious of and crave like a rabid monkey are mostly non-material.

An Impeccable Sense of Color
People who can grab five random paint swatches and create a cohesive color palette piss me off. I can match blues with blues and reds with reds, but throwing together shades of yellow, pink and green in a way that makes sense? I do not effectively possess that ability.

Chillin On Weekdays
I have lots of friends and family who do not work on at least one traditional workday a week. For instance, my husband had today off and spent the day relaxing at home and playing basketball. I wake up every Thursday and say in my head, "But I don't want to go to woooooooork! I want to stay hooooooome!" It makes me so jealous. I would love nothing more than to be sitting at home watching a movie in my pjs right now. Unfortunately, a lot of those people I mentioned earlier work on weekends. There is certainly no envy in that...

Effortless White Balance
How in the world do some people always, always, have perfectly white photos. White balance is one of those eternal mysteries of the universe for me. I'm constantly adjusting it and even when I think I'm close, I'm never spot on. Hopefully, this is something that will come easier to me as time goes by. If not, people better get used to their pictures having a yellow glow. Thank the heavens above for Photoshop.

Yes.

Revival Home and Garden

Yes, please. Yes to all of it. Thousands and thousands of dollars worth of yeses.

A Few of Last Weekend's Pics

Sarah's Senior Pictures

I'll post more after I get everything edited and send the disc off to her.

Tax Laws?

I'm starting this lovely Memorial Day by researching/begging for help with understanding tax laws. Apparently in Nebraska, you have to pay taxes monthly. I had my very first official paying client yesterday and it's got me hot and bothered about tax laws. (obviously by "first official paying client" I mean "first client who paid me in a check - with a paper trail - and not with equipment/coffee/museum admission/a fist full of cash")

I needed an EIN back in April to open some accounts with professional photography services. I didn't really think much of it until this morning when I made an invoice for my client and I got all hung up about whether or not I needed to include sales tax in it. I'm thinking the answer is probably yes. But maybe not?

Fondant - Round 1

Jen and my first attempt at fondant:





Not too bad. Right? It turned out cute. The shape is a little wacky. The layers didn't bake up as high as I thought they would, so the cake is a little bit dome shaped. It got sent to a daycare with Jen's sister. Word is that the daycare ladies really liked it and shock of all shocks, asked if we can do birthday cakes.

I'm seeing a business opportunity here... I mean, how much would you pay for that cake?

$40?

$80?

$3.99?