Cupcake Decorating!

Some friends and I headed to Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company in Belltown one rainy Tuesday night before Halloween to learn some tips and tricks on how to frost cupcakes like a pro.  They said they are always hiring for part-time bakers and that they use the class to see budding talent.  Unfortunately not a single one of us were asked back to work at the shop, but we were all in an Italian buttercream coma and had a lot of fun!

The class started with a description of how to make the delicious Italian buttercream frosting that is signature for this specific cupcake company.  Armed with pastry bags and four cakes, we learned how to do four couple different frosting methods: dome (which turned into an adorable pumpkin for Halloween!), signature leaf pattern (which I decorated with red “bloody” bone sprinkles), multi colored frosting (which I decorated with spooky eyeball sprinkles) and tubing (which was used for an apple pie cupcake that had a pie crust bottom and apple pie filling)!

I have not yet used my new frosting techniques, but the skills I learned in this class are sure to bring my cupcake creations to an entirely new level.

A Fall Day at the Farm

Last year, my friend and I discovered this wonderful gem just outside the city limits of Issaquah called Fox Hollow Farm.  This family-owned farm opens up just in time for Halloween and has a wide range of different activities (with expansion of the facilities every year!).

This year we made it just in time to see the farm again and it was great to see how much more organized the parking and admission process was.  We got to see some mini horses (my favorite!...they were doing some great poses for the camera!), peacocks and Pygmy goats!

There were also lots of pumpkins (and I picked out the perfect one to take home!), train rides and we even spent some time at the Issaquah Creek.  I tested my rainboots to make sure they were waterproof!

It was great to see all the improvements they had made from the prior year!  There was a train that ran in a small area of the property and the most adorable signage out front.  I can’t wait to see what other changes they make for next year!

Oh! So Much Chocolate

This weekend, I learned all about the hard work that goes from taking a cacao bean to the chocolate that we consume.  I also had no idea how many different steps along the process there were if one wanted to produce different variations of chocolate.  For many chocolate makers (like Oh! Chocolate, where I took the class), they are not producing something to be consumed, but rather a small piece of art that showcases the best that nature has to offer through the cacao beans!

Before we got to the messy part of the evening, we tasted all different types of chocolate from the purest form with no added ingredients (top) to the most processed form which some critics don’t even consider to be actual chocolate (white chocolate). 

We were given a wide range of pretzels, marshmallows, Oreos, potato chips, graham crackers and fresh fruit (among other items) that we were welcomed to encase in chocolate.  After about a half hour of messy experimentation, I had more chocolate items than I could (or maybe should is more appropriate) consume in a week.

 

Of course the store also had lovely displays about and in their cases just in case the items we created didn’t look quite as amazing as their creations!

Rattlesnake Ridge!

It was a crisp fall day when I decided to go solo on a hike to Rattlesnake Ridge.  Like many other weekends, the trail had no shortage of people, but of course the views at the top were breath-taking and spectacular like always! 

Life (or at least turning 80) is a beach.

This year, my grandma turns 80 years old!  So to celebrate, our family took to the Washington coast to spend a couple nights in Ocean Shores and partake in some celebration, great company and beach fun.  Our hotel didn’t quite have beach access, but you could see the beach from the balcony and it was a quick walk through the bluffs to hit the water.

During a morning walk, I also saw that they were giving horseback rides on the beach (only $20!) so I obviously convinced my mom that it was a good idea to do so and our younger cousins joined in on the fun as well!  It was a great little weekend getaway!