A Fateful Day...

I know the title of my blog is delightful adventures in heels but I still felt the need to blog about this even though is not very delightful.

Let me first start off by remembering that fateful day August 21, 1983. I was only a year and a half back then but I remember my mom listening carefully to the radio for news about Ninoy. I really couldnt understand what was happening but even then I had a feeling that that day was an important day. The following days and months after that was a whirlwind with my mom taking me along to rallies and such but my memories of those days were not as clear as that of August 21st 1983. That day we lost a great man. That day we lost Ninoy Aquino.

Fast forward 29 years later, the Filipino people once again are on edge - waiting for news on the whereabouts of DILG Sec. Jesse Robredo, whose plane crashed last Saturday afternoon near Masbate. For days many have been praying that somehow, by miracle, Sec. Robredo is out there alive and safe. Many have praised him to be a good boss, father, and husand and an honest government official - a rarity in our country, which is why many were saddened to hear of his loss.

This morning, at around 9am, it was finally reported that he was found still inside the plane around 180 feet underwater. Although the Filipinos have lost such a great man in him, we finally are thankful for the closure of being able to find him and bring him to rest. Rest in peace Sec. Jesse Robredo, may the Lord welcome you in heaven with his angels.

Goodbye Ninoy! Goodbye Sec. Robredo! They say the good are always taken from us too soon. You both are proof of that.

Blast from the Past

It's been almost 14 years since I graduated from Assumption, though the memories are still fresh like they happened yesterday. Today is the feast of the Assumption and I'm happy to know that most of my schoolmates still remember this day.

Back then we would celebrate the day by having a loooong recess - instead of a 20 minute break we were given an hour to an hour and a half recess! To us students back then, it was like we won the grand prize. Now as adults, we celebrate the day by reliving childhood memories of our alma mater. Here's a photo of my class that was posted on facebook today. I'm sure as the day progresses, I will be seeing more photos from my AA days!

Manila Ocean Park

It was a lazy Monday. The sky was cloudy and it looks like it was about to drizzle. My husband and I decided to take our son to Manila Ocean Park, and my mom also decided to tag along. She would take any opportunity to spend time with her grandson.

We arrived around 4pm, just in time for the sea lion show. When we went there I wasnt really hopeful with the park as a whole, having visited sea world, I know it wouldnt compare. But it was the only park we could take my son to that was worth taking a look at, so we went. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the sea lion show -- not bad at all. My son really enjoyed himself and I was totally pleased. The 500 pesos per head fee was totally worth it.

Isn't this little guy just adorable?

The entrance fee for that day was 500 pesos and it included the sea lion show, the jellyfish display, and the oceanarium. We spent almost 3 hours going around and after all that walking my son was pooped out. Good thing we brought his stroller.

All in all it was a good day. We didnt realize that it would be that fun but it was!

Cake Display - Despicable Me Minion

In my previous blog I shared my experience making the Despicable Me Minion cake for my son's first birthday. It was such a great fun experience and I want to share some pictures of how it finally looked on the big day together with the cupcakes which I also made.

Note: Many Thanks to Erwin Buecamino for these wonderful photos.

 

*This photo was taken with my iPhone camera

A Real Cake Covered in Fondant

I had some extra fondant leftover from the minion project and decided to try and make a real cake covered fondant this time. I thought of making a chocolate cake with a light buttercream frosting. This cake was to be served to my family, specifically my cousins, who sad to say are mostly diabetic. So I made sure to make the cake with minimal amounts of sugar... however for the fondant itself... I could not adjust the amount of sugar I put in as this will affect it texture and consistency. Nevertheless, the cake turned out great. With the exception of the fondant, it was very light and sweet in just the right amount I wanted.

I would definitely make this cake again.

Cross-section of the cake.

My First Try In Making A Fondant Covered Dummy Cake

As the title of this blog suggests, this is my first try on such a project. I've baked and cooked before but I have never handled fondant. I have never made a dummy cake out of styrofoam. In summation, this is my first attempt to do both.

For my son's first birthday, my husband and I to stick with a budget by deciding to go with homemade cupcakes instead of the usual store bought cakes and pastries. Since we still had our cupcake stand from our wedding, this is what we will use for our cupcake display. For Christmas, I tested several cupcake batters and decided to go with a butter cake flavor. I will discuss that specific adventure on a separate blog.

Our theme for his first birthday party was "Despicable Me" and the main character we chose to play a starring role in the party were the Minions. My first thought was to try and make small minions to top each cupcake. They were pretty easy to do, however I felt that I didn't have enough time to make over 100 of these little guys... I decided to recruit the "practice minions" I made to Christmas duty. They ended up being toppers for my nephews Christmas cupcakes... Another adventure to be discussed in the future.

In the end I decided to tackle the task of making one huge minion cake. And when I was huge... IT WAS HUGE! For my very first time working with fondant, I definitely worked with a lot of it. I wasn't the prettiest nor the smoothest fondant, and I was hoping no one would really notice. Instead of going for the real cake, I decided on making it a dummy one since we would have the cupcakes. Also, I made this about a week before the event and I wasn't sure if the cake underneath would still be good to eat after that time.... plus the fondant was pretty thick (again this was my first time working with fondant)

Below are the pictures of the whole project from start to finish. The party is yet to take place in a few days so I'll post pictures of the whole display --- Dummy Cake Minion together with all the cupcakes.

NOTE: I have to thank my mom for allowing me to do this project using her kitchen and her trusty old microwave. Yes, I promise to get my microwave fixed Mom.

The styrofoam core being being together and formed...

Day 1: Covering the styro with yellow fondant and placing the black band to cover where the two separate fondant sections meet.

DAY 2: Placing the goggles. Glad I took the time to put in some

I used some parchment paper to measure how much of the blue fondant I would need for the front of the minion's jumper.

I did the same thing for the pocket and just went free hand with the letter M.

The real minions have G for Gru but since my son's name starts with an M....

For the stitching on the pockets, I just used a tong with edged teeth.

TADA!!! All done!

I know it's not the best looking minion cake out there

but this project was definitely a labor of love.

I also have to say that I had lots of fun making this dummy cake.

Looking forward to having a chance to practice

making more of these in the future....

Hmmm... maybe for hubby's birthday...?