Bride/Baker Communication 101
Most brides think that bringing in a photo of their dream wedding cake will help clarify for their bakers what it is that they want and expect on their big day.
[shaking head] Those sweet, silly girls.
In reality, these photos are more like "guidelines." A springboard, if you will, from which the baker may or may not spring - and then into heretofore unheard-of realms of artistic "expression."
Perhaps some examples will help.
Bride Laurie S. asked for this cake, only in ivory and with blue flowers instead of white:
(Photo & cake by Martha Stewart)
Instead, she got this:
"It's boxy, and it's blue and white. What more do you want?"
Kirstie also wanted a cascading floral design, like this:
Which her baker recreated pretty well, except for one key detail:
They used real flowers instead of sugar ones.
Once the petals shriveled, Kirstie's cake design became less "cascading flowers" and more "attacking butterflies." Which isn't horrible, I suppose, but it is kind of hard to resist the urge to flap your arms and shoo them off.
(Note: The silver thing is their topper, which the baker laid flat instead of standing up. Or maybe the butterflies just knocked it over. :D)
Sharon L. wanted this gorgeous topsy-turvy design:
(Made by Lisa's Creative Cakes - and I totally want one.)
...only in 3 tiers and using her colors of fuchsia, orange, and lime.
Her baker's interpretation?
Remember that springboard I mentioned? Well, some are a LOT springier than others.
And finally, this bride wanted her seashell-themed cake to rise to new heights:
Instead, she got one that was apparently dropped from great heights:
Think it was served with a pancake dinner?
[snicker]
*****
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LEVOIT Air Purifier, True HEPA
I've tried so many air purifiers over the years, and this Levoit is hands-down the best I've found. It comes in black or white, is the size of a small waste basket, has an invisible control display, and is wonderfully quiet even on Medium. It also has the easiest, most satisfying filter to clean: just flip it over, twist off the bottom, and lift out the big drum. We have cats and an old house, so every two weeks I use a dust buster to vacuum a good quarter inch of dust off that drum filter, and ermigersh, SO SATISFYING.
Unlike big tower purifiers these are easy to tuck into small spaces. If you have dust allergies I highly recommend one for your bedroom! That's what we started with, and now I've added two more in our living room and back game room.
