2025 Goals Update

My BFF reminded me at our campfire on the 4th that I hadn’t done a goals update in a while. Here’s where I am at in the goals department.

Home Repairs Professionally Done -New back door and cut down all sumac in the hedgerow.

We got a new back door installed last week! So happy!

Kitty loves the full glass view!

We went from a 50+ year old door and aluminum screen door to a brand new solid fiberglass entry door with full glass storm. Although it’s darker in the entryway when the solid door is closed the light when the door is open and it’s just the full glass/screen door open …amazing! This winter when the snow and wind are beating on that back entry we will be nice and toasty inside I tell ya. Plus I feel more secure. Our home could have easily been compromised with just one good punch of the glass. I did keep the wooden door. Not sure what I am going to do with it yet but we’ll see.

Home Projects Done By Us – Paint everything in the kitchen and revamp some of said kitchen.

Well I bought the paint! That’s about it though. I have been too busy messing up the kitchen with all of these cakes.

Learn to Sew DONE!

I took another sewing class for pillows but it was a bit of a bust. I was stressed out before I got there and right before I reached the store I caught a train and it stopped right in the middle of the tracks so I had to go around and I got there 10 mins late…the zipper gave me issues and I didn’t like the teacher as much so I went home a little frustrated. It’s OK though, I experimented with stuff on my own and made another “bag” with no straps. I practiced quilting with some random fabric I had and made a liner and boxed the corners and did a decorative stitch around the top. I was very impressed with myself and my new found sewing skills! Now I keep all of my current cross-stitch supplies in it by my living room chair. Love it!

If you are local and would like more info on sewing classes, contact Sew Creative in Fairport. They offer a ton of great classes. Tell them I sent you!

Add my husband to all of our household bills and finally change my name to my new married name instead of my old married name (it’s only been 15 years lol) DONE!

All three have been changed and I feel much better.

Try 10 of my Granny’s recipes from her stash

Still haven’t done anything yet.

Go to three cultured events this year like a concert, play, musical, etc

So far, just one event done. An afternoon with Cary Elwes and watching the Princess Bride at UB

Wear all 18 dresses I have at least once this year

I wore a dress for Easter, a dress for a funeral, and a dress for Mother’s Day so far.

Three down 15 to go!

Get my mom and son moved into their new homes and re-arrange our own home now that the kid will be on his own

Done with the kid and mom move. Still have to finish getting a couple of couches out of our house and over to the kid’s house but we did start to re-arrange our house. My husband finally has his own closet! I’ll post photos when everything is more complete.

My mom’s new development

Everyone is settled in. It was hell moving the two of them and I had to go back to therapy for it but it’s done!

Try 10 recipes off the internet

Nothing more on this.

Do some continuing education for cake decorating technique for myself

Still working on this.

Pay off $10,000 in credit card debt

I want to do a post on this, this week. Lots has been going on behind the scenes with this goal.

Get that fruit garden installed this year that I wanted last year

Well I have the ground ready but I still haven’t gotten the plants yet.

Watch Masterclass

I canceled Masterclass. I didn’t want to pay the $100+ subscription fee again this year!

That’s it for now. I am just so happy to have that back door done! Yippee!

Until next update! -MM

Construction of a Sunshine Cake

I posted a photo of the sunshine cake I decorated for an order this Spring but I never posted about it’s construction.

I made this cake with a 12″ flower shaped cake pan. To feed the number of people needed, I did a double layer of this shape, and it was half chocolate and half white,

The filling between the layers was just the buttercream frosting

Here’s the cake frosted.

Piping the center circle, the right size is key for balancing the size of the petals. If I ever needed a sunny side up egg cake, this would be it! Lol!

Each petal was started at the very top and center of each rise and piped wider and wider until I reached the center circle.

Then I piped the smile of the sunshine and outlined each petal in black frosting. Then for an extra decorative element, I piped a few more lines for rays of sunshine.

This order was for a little one’s first birthday so a double layer 6″ baby smash cake went along with the big cake.

Such a sweet themed cake! What do you all think? -MM

SAL-Girl in Lavendar Field 3

I definitely needed a break from stitching the gray. So I started a bit of purple and green and now her arms are taking shape!

Here’s where I was last update:

And here I am now.

With the 95 degree temps making it our way I might just spend my spare time stitching in the air conditioning!

Thank you, Avis, for organizing this Stitch-a-Long. Please visit the other blogs to see what other fabulous stitchy projects they are stitching. We are all working on different pieces!

AvisClaireChristinaKathyMargaret,  

SunnyMeganDeborahSharonDaisyCathie

LindaMaryMargaretCindyHelen

SAL-Girl in Lavendar Field 2

I am absolutely in love with stitching this project, and I have made a ton of progress!

Here I was last update

And here I am now.

I am all the way to the bottom of the chart and will be stitching up and side to side now.

Thank you, Avis, for organizing this Stitch-a-Long. Please visit the other blogs to see what other fabulous stitchy projects they are stitching. We are all working on different pieces!

AvisClaireChristinaKathyMargaret,  

SunnyMeganDeborahSharonDaisyCathie

LindaMaryMargaretCindyHelen

SAL-Girl in Lavendar Field 1

I put down the Heirloom Bride ornaments for now and have been working on a new project.

Girl in Lavendar Field is a design by Hanna Levchuk, who I found from Claire.

I have already made a large dent in stitching her in the last three weeks!

Here is a timeline of photos of my progress.

The skirt of her dress takes up almost the entire bottom half, so there is a ton more to stitch there. I was trying to stitch one 10×10 square at a time, but I messed up a couple of times and had to rip out, so I decided to stick with my normal style of stitching.

It’s Mother’s Day here in the US, so I am off to spend it with my son and Mama. Also, my condolences to Claire and her family. The sudden loss of her husband has been devastating for her.

Thank you, Avis, for organizing this Stitch-a-Long. Please visit the other blogs to see what other fabulous stitchy projects they are stitching.

AvisClaireChristinaKathyMargaret,  

SunnyMeganDeborahSharonDaisyCathie

LindaMaryMargaretCindyHelen

SAL-Heirloom Bride’s Tree Ornaments – 8 of 12

Happy Easter!! What a beautiful day it’s going to be here in Western NY!

It’s been three weeks since our last check-in and I have a happy dance for ornament #8!

Here is where I left off on #8:

And here it is completed:

I also fully completed it, sewing the strap and back on it. I think I may have overstuffed it, though, lol. It’s a bit fat.

I am going to take a break from the ornaments because they are more holiday-ish from here on out, and I’ll work on them this fall.

I have another project I want to work on that I am very excited to get into. More on that next update!

Thank you, Avis, for organizing this Stitch-a-Long. Please visit the other blogs to see what other fabulous stitchy projects they are stitching.

See you in three weeks!

-MM

AvisClaireChristinaKathyMargaret,  

SunnyMeganDeborahSharonDaisyCathie

LindaMaryMargaretCindyHelen

SAL-Heirloom Bride’s Tree Ornaments – 7 and 8 of 12

The 7th ornament gave me a run for my money this time. I realized halfway through stitching that I was off a couple of stitches and had to rip it all out! That was painful. But I quickly got back on track and finished it this week.

Here is where I left off on #7:

And here it is completed:

I also began stitching #8. Here is where I am on this one:

I hope to get #6 and #7 sewn and completely finished by next update. Hey, any excuse to use my sewing machine right?

Thank you, Avis, for organizing this Stitch-a-Long.

See you in three weeks!

-MM

AvisClaireChristinaKathyMargaret,  

SunnyMeganDeborahSharonDaisyCathie

LindaMaryMargaretCindyHelen

2025 Goals Weeks 7-10 of 52

It’s been almost a month since my last update and I don’t think I have accomplished much because I was sick for over two weeks and I have been so busy with St. Joseph’s bread and cake orders. Let’s see how far I have come since last update.

Home Repairs Professionally Done

New back door and cut down all sumac in the hedgerow.

Nothing more on this goal

Home Projects Done By Us

Paint everything in the kitchen and revamp some of said kitchen.

Nope nada.

Learn to Sew DONE!

Although I have learned to sew I am continuing to learn if you know what I mean. I have sewn five ornaments so far and a cute little bunny but with my time constraints as of late that’s all I have finished. I am signed up for a pillow making class on April 8th so I will report back on that. Any class I can take on sewing I will!

If you are local and would like more info on sewing classes, contact Sew Creative in Fairport. They offer a ton of great classes. Tell them I sent you!

Read all of the books I got from the Literary Bookclub

This is a subscription based service that sends you a box every quarter.

I am going to scrap this goal for this year. I am just not interested in reading these books right now.

Add my husband to all of our household bills and finally change my name to my new married name instead of my old married name (it’s only been 15 years lol)

I am going to call the Water Authority today to get this last bill updated and then I will be done!

Try 10 of my granny’s recipes from her stash

I need to get going on this one for sure!

Go to three cultured events this year like a concert, play, musical, etc

Last weekend, for my birthday, we went to see Cary Elwes from the Princess Bride at the University of Buffalo’s performing arts center and had a blast! I upgraded our tickets and added the Meet and Greet, so we actually got to see Cary and get our picture taken with him! We have never done anything like this before and thoroughly enjoyed it. After the Meet and Greet, we waited for about an hour and then saw the movie on the big screen sitting in the fourth row. They were excellent seats, and after the movie, Cary came on stage with a moderator and talked with us about some funny things that happened on the set and answered a few audience questions. It was a memorable experience, and I highly recommend this type of event to anyone.

Wear all 18 dresses I have at least once this year

I thought of wearing a dress to the Princess Bride event but it was forecasted to be a crummy day so I opted for pants.

Get my mom and son moved into their new homes and re-arrange our own home now that the kid will be on his own

It’s happening! My mom signed her lease and got the keys and we have been moving stuff in! All the big stuff (couches, tables, etc) were moved yesterday. My son is very eager to move into her house so pray for a speedy transition!

Try 10 recipes off the internet

I have barely cooked much in weeks!

Do some continuing education for cake decorating technique for myself

Still working on this.

Pay off $10,000 in credit card debt

Oof it’s been a rough couple of weeks in the credit card dept. We have had to fix a lot of issues with the Hubs truck so some got paid in cash and some had to go on the credit card. I hope to pay what we charged with our tax return but right now we have made no progress on this one.

Get that fruit garden installed this year that I wanted last year

Nothing on this goal yet

Watch Masterclass

I have been watching a Masterclass on brain health and truly am awed by it. Everyone needs to watch this class. We are putting way too much stress on our brains and in-turn our overall health. I am working to lessen my stress (which is very hard). The consequences of my stress levels are already showing up on my daily life. Not good!

That’s it for now. Have you ever done a Meet and Greet?

Until next update! -MM

Cakes 3/10-3/23

After the last few weeks and allll the cakes and orders I have had maybe I should do a weekly cake post? Why not right? Here are some of my cakes/cupcakes from the last 2 weeks.

My favorite cake this time was the retirement cake. I didn’t get a good shot of it, and the one pic I did get of it does not do it justice at all. The cake was a double layer half sheet, which is a huge cake, and I had an 8″ double layer clock cake with it that I didn’t get a shot of.

The one that gave me the most issue was the Jack Skellington cake. Let’s just say my best friend rushed right over when I said I had a cake emergency and she talked me off the ledge! Thanks Jenn!!

That’s it for now! -MM

This Weekend’s Cakes

I just want to start off by saying I don’t usually do this many cakes in a weekend but there were so many events that I got called for that I ended up do five and two of those were new customers!

My favorite is definitely the Wizard of Oz cake. I have been doing the school’s musical cakes for a couple of years now and it’s always fun! My husband and I went to see the musical on Friday night and not only was the show outstanding, I was also inspired by one of the backdrops which I used for the cake design.

It was a busy weekend and I am glad everyone loved their cakes. The kitchen is cleaned up and I am now planning for this weekend’s cakes. 🙂 -MM

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