Fondant

A few weeks ago, I decided that the next cake I would make would be made with fondant (note: read the word “fondant” with a snotty French accent). Since my brother Eli’s birthday was set to be celebrated at my house, I decided he would get my first fondant cake. To me, fondant looked very difficult and I was super scared of messing it up so I decided to make a test cake one week earlier.

I had so much fun making that cake and I was pleased with the result. As it turns out, the fondant wasn’t that difficult to handle! I made butter cream icing for the very first time and it even tasted good! My cake testers liked it and one of them (my mother) liked it enough to order one for a birthday party she was hosting last Saturday. Yikes! I now had TWO fondant cakes to make in 2 days!

Cake number one was for of Emily and Jonathan’s Birthday, and they enjoy fishing, so I made a vanilla “Fish” cake with vanilla butter cream:



For my brother’s birthday cake, I wanted to make something really original. He plays soccer every week and his soccer team is number one in their division so I figured a soccer theme was a good start. I wanted to make a replica of his soccer jersey on the cake. But how would I get a clear picture of his jersey? My wonderful sister-in-law came through! She had to dig in the dirty (and stinky) laundry basket to take a web-cam pic of the still sweaty and wet soccer jersey... Sneaky.

The team is called FC Doré. The logo is golden (doré in French) and portrays a pike (also a doré in French) with a moustache (like the one my brother has!). I know what you are thinking... don’t ask. Here’s my masterpiece:

As always, Emma had fun and enjoyed her baby pool. Actually, everybody enjoyed her baby pools! J



Photo Class ... Part 2

Last February, when I bought my SLR camera, I took my first “mommy-and-me” photo class (see previous post “First Photo Class” and “First Photo Shoot”). The same photography school was giving a follow-up class this summer, at the park, where you learn how to take better photos outside, working with the natural light. The schedule didn’t work with Emma’s napping time so my mother and I are taking it as a private class. The first class was Friday; we met with the teacher, Marie-Claude, at the nearby Angrignon Park. The first class is always more technical, you need to understand the basics before practicing your newly acquired knowledge. Emma was an angel! We had a big Mexican blanket spread under a tree, gave her some Cheerios and she was super nice and quiet.

My weakness is how to use the focal ratio (aperture) correctly. I usually leave the aperture on automatic, using the “S” or “P” mode (which is like semi-manual) and only playing around with shutter speeds and ISO. She had to explain it to me 4 times before I really got it. I took a few practice shots during the class but when I came home and looked at them on my computer, they weren’t as good as I thought they would be.

 

This morning, Emma was playing outside on the deck so I practice some more and I’m finally getting somewhere.

Can’t wait to next week! We will be strolling around the park, learning how to use the natural lighting outside. It’ll be a busy week: a lot of cake making, photo taking and baby-pool swimming... all week long!

Love Story

Last Saturday we attended the wedding of my uncle Normand and my aunt Claire. She will turn 60 years old this fall and he will turn 50. They have one daughter and two handsome grand-children. They finally tied the knot after 20 years of being together. Now that is what I call a love story! The calculation is quite simple: (60-50)+(1)+(2) x (20) = lots of love <3

It was a very small and intimate affair. They chose a beautiful historical church facing the St.Lawrence River. The location is beautiful and very peaceful.

Emma couldn’t come to the ceremony, because it was during her nap time but she did make an appearance between the ceremony and the dinner. Enough time to show off her cuteness and eat some pretzels.

Before leaving for the ceremony I asked my father to take a few photos of Emma and me. Here are the 1960’s versions of us:

Bernard was the appointed photographer for the day and he did a great job of taking pictures of everybody.