As if one obsession isn't enough....

here's my most recent one..... Erik bought me the absolute BEST gift I've ever received in my life. Now, mind you, 40 years of gifts -- so this one has to be pretty spectacular for it to be my best one! For Christmas, Erik bought me a Vinyl Plotter. A HUGE laser point vinyl plotter. Time not spent on my Knot/Nest boards is spent on my vinyl plotter board. Yep, I'm an addict. Hello, my name is Lisa and I'm hooked on vinyl.

So far, in addition to making the sign prop for one of Britt's dance routines, I've made dozens of shirts and undies, and am making some other fun things daily. I'm going to make table runners for our wedding in Mexico with a subtle "cream" colored monogram on the white runner -- or do white on a cream runner. I'm making some vehicle window stickers (you know, like the stick figure or sports ones you see on so many cars), etc. I'm going to try my hand at wall words -- which was the reason for the machine in the first place. Britt's entire empty blue wall will be a HUGE word search that takes up the entire wall. Fun stuff....

Always looking for ideas....

Ahhhhh yes -- another obsession to focus on!

Say hello to my Sunday afternoon obsession:

I couldn't just stop with the shimmered shells. Something in me just wouldn't let it end there. So Erik was insanely sweet and bought me a half-dozen more candy molds featuring all kinds of shells, starfish, etc. And some extra shimmer dust. He's an enabler!! How on Earth could I let these raw supplies sit there in their unassuming packaging? They were made to be used, and I could feel them taunt me.

Saturday night I made a 6" round cake 3" high. I figured I would ice that and see how the shells/starfish looked on that one layer. Right. Like that would have been enough. I was sick most of the day Sunday, not even getting out of bed until like 3pm. But promptly at 4pm, I was rolling fondant on my granite island. What the hell was I thinking? I've never used fondant before. And it seemed like way too much for my tiny little 6" cake. :::light goes on inside my head at this point::: Hmmmm, let me invert a larger cake pan and put the 6" cake on top - and ice both of those with the rolled fondant. I'm a genius. It worked perfectly. Then the obsession continued.... Meticulously hand painting the additional 50 shells I made from white chocolate, shading each one time and time again until it was "perfect".... like anyone was ever going to say, "Lisa, you should have shaded the top 1/8 of that shell in an oyster color and the right 1/4 in a bronze." Regardless, some of them truly look real - so it was well worth the effort. But again, like I really need to point out, the obsession continued... Yep, shell by shell, strategically placed. Removed. Re-placed. Removed. And the ugly cycle continued for a good hour and change. Until every shell was shaded just right. And every perfectly shaded shell was nestled into position like it was meant to be. Ahhhhhhhh. It was time for bed.

Yeah, right. You ALL know me better than that! Off I went to the precinct to show Erik my incredible piece of art. Secretly crossing my fingers the entire way and refusing to put the heat on in the truck because of the fear that the icing would melt and the shells would slide off -- I drove carefully -- as if I had an unsecured puppy next to me. The looks on their faces was validation that my masterpiece truly was impressive. I know, I know.... don't quit my day job and think I can go work for Ace of Cakes... but this is the FIRST cake I've ever made of this magnitude and it rocks!! There were pictures taken by the police. Not for future evidence of tampering/poisoning.... but to show others who weren't around to witness. And nobody could believe the shells were edible. I finally took my prize home and then to work with me today. While everyone was asking when we could eat it, I was thinking how the hell can I cut this??

So this will become the inspiration for our At Home Reception cake. I'll ask Mom on Saturday if she can make a 3-tier one and I'll do the shells (of course I will....). Another item to cross off my to-do list!!

I just saved Erik $2900!!!!!

Well, maybe $2850... You see, there's this cake topper that I absolutely fell in love with. Seriously. To the point where I have obsessed about it. Everyone who knows me personally knows about my cake topper issue. The one I wanted was just under $3000. Yes THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS... but it was a piece of art... a sculpture replicating us down to the bulletproof vest under the suit, the crystals on my dress, and the flowers in my bouquet. Jay and Natalie thought they may be able to find a talented (but starving) college student to do it for maybe $500.... The ironic part of that entire debacle is that this particular cake topper would be too heavy for the cake... and would need to be set beside it.

But then I found this cake....
And being the insanely out of control control-freak that I so knowingly am, I figured that would be perfect... AND I CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THE SHELLS BY MYSELF. What's that you say?? No, I don't need another DIY project to handle before the wedding. Yes, I know that I have to painstakingly cut hundreds of pieces of woven rattan paper for my wedding ensemble. And you're right, I have to finish my menus, place cards, centerpieces, etc. But how can I just show this cake to my baker and assume it'll be what I want? Nope... I CAN'T!! So I will order a plain cake and bring the shells with me. The shells I decorate. The ones I love.

And so began the quest for edible shells. No, I didn't really want decaying starfish on my cake. That may make it taste a bit "off". :) So I experimented with chocolate and made some white chocolate shells, and found some larger shells made out of fondant. LOVE THEM! Britt and I spent an hour tonight making them "pretty".... The picture below shows the "before" (plain white fondant) and the "after". Please be kind and keep in mind this was my very first attempt at dusting fondant. I'm quite pleased with the product - and will work on my technique.

What do you think???

For a whopping $150, I'll have the molds, fondant, shimmer dust, etc. I'll have to experiment with some shades of blues/browns/grays and play around some more. But you get the idea, right?

A Sad Update...

If you've read my blog from the beginning, I posted about a sweet little baby named Jack -- who was a very ill triplet. I checked his mom's blog daily seeking even little bits of good news. Today's post left me sobbing. Jack died early this afternoon. For those of you who may have followed his too short life thru the link in my blog, please continue to pray for his family. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain they are feeling..... Rest peacefully, sweet Jack.

The Real Countdown Begins...

In 220 days, the Summer Olympics in China begin. No, wait. While that is true, that's not really what this post is about. But on the news this morning, that's what we heard first.... "220 days until 8-8-08". I guess it's a good thing we didn't choose to get married in China - or we'd have one hell of a time trying to find hotels!!

So now with our wedding taking place THIS year, there's a lot that I need to get a handle on. Time to start making the wedding invitations (because I'm enough of a control freak that I'd rather make them myself than have them turn out anything less than what I envision), finalizing flights for Hawaii and Mexico, getting Britt's passport and reminding Erik to get them for his kids, etc. There's a lot to do, but the end result is priceless....

All last week, we'd been throwing around suggestions of what to do for New Year's Eve. Jason was heading into Manhattan with Natalie - and it probably wouldn't have been too cool if his mom tagged along. We thought about Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods, some local restaurants, etc. Nothing hit us just right (well, that's probably because the cover charges were $300 per couple and that's freaking insane) - so we decided to take full advantage of the fact that we had a sitter for his kids, and Britt was at her dad's. That left us all alone in our "McMansion". And we had a blast!!! We picked our own menu, went to the butcher and the supermarket, and threw our very first intimate New Year's Eve celebration. Just the two of us. Let me back track a minute.... I had no idea that prime rib costs as much as a tank full of gas for my Expedition. Jeez.... $78 for uncooked meet. Insanity. But hey, why not?? Here's the recap:

Erik showed up at around 8pm (ummm, later than he should have been, but.....) - with Quarterback Crunch ice cream. Who could be mad at his lateness after bringing that?? I had the dining room alit with votives... all over. It was soooo pretty. On our plates, I had noisemakers. You know, after all, it is an event to celebrate! We headed into the kitchen and started the prime rib. That gave us an hour and a half to make our appetizer and dessert. Appetizer was mini phyllo shells with shredded chicken and monterey jack & cheddar cheeses --topped with fresh tomatoes. Yummy. Crunchy. Dessert took quite awhile. Erik had found a recipe for Kaluha Mousse. It was quite tedious to make, but we had so much fun doing it together, that it was well worth the effort. That was finished at 9pm and would be ready by midnight. So we ate.... and ate.... and then drank..... Flying Gorillas. Chocolate ice cream, fresh bananas, creme de cacao, and banana schnappes. Unfreakingbelievable. You NEVER taste the liquor. Ohhhh - word to the wise - if you use 99 Bananas, use ONLY a dash - or you'll be wasted. Glad we asked the guy at the liquor store. We then proceeded to play Wii Carnival Games... totally addicting!!! At the stroke of midnight, we toasted with champagne punch (haha - I had to sneak sherbet in somewhere)... It was the greatest night -- spent alone together, making plans, talking about hopes and dreams, and looking forward to the most spectacular year for us!

Enough with our mushy stuff.... Have a safe, happy and healthy 2008!!!

Our First Christmas Photo Together

Top to bottom, left to right:
Conor (10)
Erik, Jason (20)
Ashley (13), Andrew (12), me
Britt (11)
Duncan, Lindsey (16)

We're minus 1.... Hershey (the bunny) was tired from round 1 of photos and the better "human" pic was this one -- so Hershey misses out. Perhaps I'll Photoshop her in when I have time. Duncan had antlers on for round 1, but the poor dog was miserable, so we let him lose them.

I love pics when everyone coordinates or matches. It just looks cleaner. For our wedding, we're having them in khakis with blue shirts. Probably more coordinating than matching. We'll see.

Ahhhh, our tree. It's breathtaking in person -- pictures don't do it justice! My son Jason (to the right of the ladder) is 6' 3" -- so you can see how large the tree really is. The ladder is a nice touch -- Erik and Jason wrapped red velvet ribbon around it to make it look like a candy cane.

Thought I'd share our family photo with you all.... Happy Holidays!

Ahhhhh, another merry Christmas over....

Who in their right mind shops for 4 months to avoid the insane Christmas rush in the stores and then spends two hours Christmas Eve shopping? Ummmm, that would be me. Kicking myself in my own ass year after year -- and I've already said at least three times since yesterday that I'm going to buy all of my stocking stuffers throughout the year so I don't do this again next year. We'll see.

So the tree was surrounded with gifts - and 9 stockings. Each child had a gift in their stocking wrapped with a certain paper. That way we didn't have to worry about tags, about them making a mess hunting for their presents, etc. And when they opened a gift, they threw the paper out before getting the next gift to open. Sounds like the military, doesn't it? You try running a home with two adults, six children, a nanny, a bunny, and a dog. Strict as possible while still having fun.

It was a bit difficult for Britt (11). She's so used to being the "only child" since Jason's at college -- and lets just say that she's been maybe just a little spoiled at Christmas. She has her own computer/printer in her room, cellphone, iPod, etc. But it's so much easier buying for 1 (Jason always wanted money/gift cards) than for 5 (and Jason still wants money). So after she opened about 10 presents, she had this look on her face and was wondering where the rest of the gifts were. She didn't say it in a selfish tone - she is used to a different Christmas. And after my explanation that we now have an enormous home, new built-in pool, going to Mexico in August, and 4 more kids to buy for, she understood. Then we broke out the family gifts.... Guitar Hero 3 for Wii and a Ping Pong Table. They were all unbelievably excited. And that Guitar Hero 3 is the best invention known to man. Seriously - they were angels. No fighting over it. Playful competition. Ping Pong was the same. So we both breathed a collective sigh of relief. Ahhh - everyone is content. Life is good.

Kamila, our nanny from Poland, also spent the day with us. That warmed my heart, since many of her fellow nannies didn't spend the day with their host families. We've now "Americanized her", as she put it -- because for one of her gifts, I bought her this adorable green suede Coach purse. We'll miss her when she returns to Poland in May! She and Jason are plotting to take over NYC on Christmas Eve. Ummmmm, how funny that Jason asked his friend (who is hooking them up thru the police dept. for Times Square) if his nanny can come. She thought he meant "grandma". hahahah.... no... his NANNY. She laughed about it too - and when I told her she's not allowed to hang out with him because he'll corrupt her, her response was "I will watch him for you." :)

Did I mention Erik got me tickets to see Little Mermaid on Broadway?? I'm soooooo excited!! You've got to pucker your lips, like this. You've got to bat your eyes, like this. January 9th will be an awesome day in NYC -- and maybe we'll head over to Serendipity 3 (now that the mouse infestation is taken care of....) or Rosie O"Grady's for mousse.

The day was spent at our new home with our families. I enjoy having them over for the holidays -- it's less stressful for me to do it at my house than to have to pack them up and bring them somewhere that isn't kid-friendly. Besides, who else can fit everyone comfortably all on one floor -- and actually, all in one room? Nobody else.

So now that Christmas has come and gone, it's back to work. Because at lunch today when I went shopping for holiday decorations for next year, I realized I dipped into my overdraft. Uh oh... no more shopping until payday tomorrow.

2008 will be such an incredible year for us!! 226 days until we are married on the beautiful white sandy beaches of Cancun.