Wilton Decorating Basics, Class 1

Well, today was the big day. First day of Wilton course 1, class 1!

Funny story before I begin, but apparently I have a little obsession with Wilton because as soon as I start typing "www" into my browser, Chrome is all like, OOH OOH! You're going to www.wilton.com again aren't you?! Here's the URL, all ready to go for you! You weren't going to some other website, were you? ...Thaaaat's right. I KNEW you were going to Wilton's website again!

I've been so excited for this class, today I felt like a kid starting the first day of school. I had my Wilton Decorator Preferred Decorating kit and my other necessities for the class all ready to go. I arrived early and laid out my kit, a notepad, pen, my icing, and some sugar cookies I made last night to decorate on. Some other girls came into the class, saw my keener set up and were like, "Whoa." I proudly told them about how I got my kit for $54 whereas no more than 15 feet from our classroom, Michaels was selling it for $129.99.

As the rest of the students came in, I was clearly going to be the keener of the class. I was the only one with a kit and I think probably the only one looking like a child on a sugar high. Hurry up get in here I want to start the class come on! Let's go let's go let's go! Fortunately, two people arrived later on with even bigger Wilton kits so alas, I didn't look so crazy.

Official lesson plan:

• How to Bake a Great Cake
• Buttercream Icing
• Using Decorating Bags and Couplers
• Icing the Cake
• Leveling and Torting the Cake
• Using the Star Tip

It was more or less just how to bake a cake, make the Wilton buttercream icing recipe, how to ice a cake, how to use a coupler and decorating bag, and 500 Wilton accessories you should buy because we say so. Wilton's stuff is a little pricey (more so in Canada and even worse at Michaels) but I will say they have some very innovative products. For example, the lid of my kit fits underneath the kit. The icing bag holder has little holes to hold flower nails. Clever little things where it's obvious they have put time into developing the products.

Our instructor gave us some great tips on how to improve boxed cake mix, how to fill a decorating bag without the icing ever actually touching the bag (seriously, watch the video, it's genius), and some other random tidbits. She did warn us she was teaching some things that weren't Wilton-approved but they were all the best tips!

I will say that after today, my Amazon wish list is going to get even longer. There are so many things I want to buy now, like the Tilt n Turn Ultra Cake Turntable and a bunch of other things.

We don't actually decorate a cake until next week, we just tried on our cookies tonight. Here are mine. I took the photo in my car because I was too embarrassed to photograph my lame cookies in front of everyone else, haha. They're not perfect as you'll see but as we all know, practice makes perfect.

Actual size.

If you're reading this and you want more specific information about what's covered in the class(es), please comment and let me know. This week was just a grab bag of basic information ("this is a decorating bag, this is a spatula") so I didn't want to write it all out.

And in case you want more information about Wilton classes or to find out where in your area they're held, check out Wilton's website. And no, I'm not getting paid to promo the hell out of Wilton, despite how my enthusiasm comes across.

Learning to Knit

Yesterday I went to my first hobby class, learning to knit. The course was from 3-5pm so that meant I got to leave work early, which is always nice.

Over the weekend when I was in Michigan, I picked up what I needed for the course: a ball of yarn, size 9 knitting needles, and a yarn needle. This cost me $8 at Jo Ann Fabrics so I was more than happy about that. Sometimes I feel guilty about buying pretty much everything in the USA but I figure I might as well help the economy of the country I'm planning on moving to in the future.

When I arrived at Michaels, I took a peek around to see what my Jo Ann purchases would have cost me there. I didn't have a lot of time but did see size 9 knitting needles for $12. Yikes! Mine were about $4.50!

As it turned out, I was the only person in the class which was great. I'm glad that Michaels doesn't require a minimum class size. I ended up getting one-on-one help for 2.5 hours (the instructor ran into overtime!). I learned to cast on two different ways, do a garter stitch, cast off, and seam two things together. I like seaming the best, it's easy.

I'm not sure yet how into knitting I'm going to get, but I would really like to knit afghans and mittens. I've already started my first project, a little blanket for my cat. She sleeps on my bed when I'm at work so I'm going to lay this blanket down and hopefully she'll sleep on it instead of getting fur on my nice duvet!

Here are some pictures!

Casting on.

My progress so far. About 5 or 6 rows.

I realized that knitting will be perfect for those long college football Saturdays I endure every weekend in Michigan. Instead of mindlessly browsing Reddit, I can actually make something. I look forward to it!

Tomorrow is my first cake decorating class and I'm so unbelievably excited! I ran into the instructor yesterday at Michaels and apparently it's going to be a full house.

Things I've Made

One of my favourite things to do is to bake goodies! I have a huge sweet tooth which I can never seem to satisfy. I've never been much of a cook (working on it) but I have always loved to make desserts.

I'd like to start sharing some of the things I make, whether it be a dessert or not. For me when it comes to cooking, the work has to be worth the pay off. I am not one for recipes with a million ingredients. I like my recipes simple. I buy cookbooks that promise a single digit number of ingredients "or less." I Google "easy" before the name of the recipe I want. Any recipe I write about will be easy to follow, with easy-to-find, low-cost ingredients. I am also not a photographer and take my food photos with my iPhone camera. This will not be some fancy-dancy cooking blog, there are plenty of those already (and thank god). I'd say this ain't your mother's cooking blog, but yeah, it probably will be. I'm into simple comfort food, not gourmet and exotic dishes. I aim to make things easy enough to be incorporated into a regular rotation.

Now that we have that out of the way, here's a sampling of some of things I've made recently!

Peanut butter rice krispie footballs, chocolate football cake, University of Michigan cookies

Bacon cheddar deviled eggs...they had been sitting out for awhile at this point so they got kind of melty

Bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit muffin things

Peanut butter truffles and Oreo truffles (Anthony's Valentine's gift)

S'mores cookies

Chocolate-covered gingers (my mom's birthday gift, her favourite)

Leah Maria's Tijuana Lager (Vienna lager made with my Mr. Beer kit)

Basic cupcakes (first time doing a swirl top, why didn't I do this earlier?!)

Family tradition, "chocolate log" AKA old school icebox cake.

Peanut butter pretzel sandwiches, dipped in chocolate (a lot of work but so worth it)

I've made lots of other stuff but I don't always take photos. Out of all these things, I get bugged the most to make the pretzels and the Oreo truffles again. Last year I gave out the Oreo truffles as a Christmas present and I plan to do that again. I'm planning to make everyone a goody basket of Christmas treats. I'm looking forward to it!

New Direction

As I mentioned in my last post, I have a new plan for my blog and my main motivation is the hobby classes I'm taking this fall.

Starting next week, I'm enrolled in the following classes:

1. Learn to Knit. This is a one-day class offered by Michael's. I've semi-learned to knit in the past but it never stuck. I'm looking forward to it. I'm not sure how much time I'll end up devoting to knitting since I have so many other things going on, but I'd at least like to try and make a scarf.

2. Wilton Method of Cake Decorating, class 1. This is a 4-week (4 classes) class, also offered by Michael's. I'm most looking forward to this as I love making cakes. I've been looking at pictures and videos of the cakes students complete in this class and I've been blown away. No way I ever thought I'd ever be able to make those fancy icing roses. I'm so very excited for this class. Prepare for lots of entries about it!

3. Beginner Quilting. This is a 5-week (5 classes) class offered by a local store called The Quilt Shoppe. I've been wanting to learn to quilt for a few years now and my eagerness (read: jealousy) was kicked into high gear when I saw a quilt my coworker's wife had sewn.

4. Beginner Sewing. This is an 8-week (8 classes) class being put on by Fabricland. This will overlap with the quilting a little bit (mostly the classes learning about the sewing machine) so I'm sure that will be helpful.

Since I'm taking all these classes, I knew I'd want to write about them and take photos of what I'm working on. I'd also like to remember what I've learned and since I'm doing so much this fall, writing will hopefully help me absorb what I'm learning.

Throw curling (and maybe hockey but I'm not hopeful) into all of this and you have my fall/winter so far! Assuming all goes well, I want to sign up for succeeding classes for Wilton and sewing. Just call me Martha Stewart, apparently!

My big goal for all of this is to become a little more domesticated. I'd like to be able to have the skills to make nice things on my own. I want to be the go-to person for kick-ass cakes; I want to be able to mend my own clothes if need be; and I want to be able to create beautiful quilts that I can give as gifts. 

A friend of mine joked that my fall sounds makes me sound like a typical Canadian grandma. That's okay by me!

Back in the Saddle

Well, I'm back apparently! Due to (a lack of) popular demand, I decided to start blogging again. I've missed it this past 14 months.

My big motivation to restart my blog is that this fall, I'm taking several hobby classes and I know I'm going to want to take photos and write about what I'm making. Jaime's learning skills!

First, a little catch up. Chances are if you're reading this, you already know me. But if not, this is what I've been up to...

-I'm still living with my dad in Sarnia, still working at the same place. I was supposed to be transferred to Windsor this spring but it was put on hold until next year. This is actually fine by me, but I'm just hoping they still want to/can hire me next year. It's been a big source of stress for me not knowing what's around the corner.

-Anthony and I are still together and going strong. We went to Seattle earlier this year with some of his friends and it was fun. Our 3rd anniversary is coming up which is just bonkers. I can't believe how fast time is flying but I guess it means I'm having fun!


Seattle Pike Place Market

-In July, I went back to Iqaluit for 2 weeks. It was very surreal at first but once the weirdness wore off, I realized the place hadn't changed at all. I had been missing Nunavut pretty hard before my trip but now that I've been back, I feel much more settled in Ontario. I feel more appreciative now of the things I have access to down here. When I first moved back, I was mostly appreciative of cheap groceries and 24-hour businesses. Now I'm appreciative of access to cheap everything in Michigan and Chipotle. Yes, Chipotle, but really, any giant burrito will do. Gotta have my burritos now. I blame Anthony for my crippling addiction.


One of the highlights of my Iqaluit trip, The Snack!

-I've also been to Toronto several times since you last heard from me. Most recently, my best friend, Tori, and I went to the Canadian National Exhibition. I recently had a matricectomy so I was a little miserable until I bought some Teva sandals. Despite my only having 9 toenails, we had a blast. I even got to buy Tori her first ever deep-fried Oreos. She probably wishes she never let me force her to try them. If you've ever had them, you know what I'm talking about. Those suckers are addictive.


The CNE

So that's about all. In my next entries, I'll focus more on the future of this blog, which I'm excited about and hopefully you are too!

Monthly Update

It's quarter to 12 (midnight) on a work night. What better time to blog, right?

1. It's been far too long without a vehicle lesson for me. I feel the eerie silence before a storm. I did forget to write about the time when I was filling up with gas in Ann Arbor before driving home. I had been reading my car's owner's manual and it said that when filling the tank, you can let the nozzle click off twice before needing to stop. So I was happily pouring liquid gold into my car (sorry, I mean gas) and it clicked off. I, so responsibly having read the manual and knowing I could keep going, gripped the nozzle again. All of a sudden, gas started leaking out the bottom of the car. That's when I discovered there's a trap door in gas tanks to prevent them from over-filling. I wasn't happy seeing like 75 cents of gas on the cement and not you know, in my gas tank.

Other than that, the Fiesta's been smooth sailing.


2. I have joined the legions of people who jog outside. I started about 2 weeks ago and I absolutely love it. I've been running on a treadmill since 2007. In 2009 I got really good, but fell off the wagon in 2010. Now that I'm back at it, I find it depressing constantly comparing my runs to 2009. Outside, I don't care. I'm distracted and there's a breeze and I can't just get off the treadmill and stop, I at least have to walk home. My knees also don't hurt as much (which isn't how it's supposed to work) and I can actually keep a faster pace than I can on a treadmill. I'm glad something exciting came along to my running, because I was starting to give up and assume I'll never get back to where I used to be in 2009. Ten minute miles seem like a lifetime ago.


3. This summer has been insanely busy. I've been to 2 weddings already (including one in Hawaii!) and have 2 more to go. I've decided that "open bar" is the best phrase in the English language.

Aside from weddings, last weekend I drove to Ottawa for Canada Day and to visit an old friend. I don't see this friend very often; the second-last time we hung out was December 2009. After 2 bottles of wine, we decided we wanted tattoos. Nothing in Ottawa was open at the time but we vowed to get those tattoos. A year and a half later, we finally got them.

This weekend I drove to Toronto for another friend's birthday. I told myself in Nunavut that whenever I moved down south, I would start wearing cuter shoes and clothes. I've succeeded, but it comes at a price. The price of blisters on my toes. As someone who wore sneakers and loafers until the age of 24, this is all new to me. I bought a pair of like 6 inch wedges today. I feel like I am officially a woman.

4. Everything else is going very well. The car (as I mentioned), the job, the boyfriend, the personal training. I've been playing road hockey this summer too, though my hectic schedule seems to always get in the way. I have discovered I quite enjoy hockey and that I want to continue with ice hockey in the winter. It's about time, I probably win the award for Oldest Canadian to Pick Up a Hockey Stick for the First Time.

5. Oh yes, Hawaii. Amazing. Spectacular. Relaxing. Fragrant. What I loved about Hawaii the most is how happy everyone is. Runner-up is how great everything smells. It literally is paradise.

Blah

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I've been busy brooding over the future of this blog. I've been leaning toward just ending it and starting a Tumblr instead. But then I remember all the nice comments people have left and I feel guilty. Honestly, I just don't have a lot to say these days. There's only so many posts I can make about things going well. For the sake of my own privacy, I'd rather not write more personal entries.

I guess I have some thinking to do. And to rub it in, just 'cause I can, next week I may or may not be thinking about my blog as I sip pina coladas on the shore of Maui. Just sayin'.