Spring Showers

Today was another beautiful crisp sunny day. All this sun is making me want to plan a spring party! This time last year I was planning for Kelly's bridal shower.

It wouldn't be a shower without gifts:)

The cake, made by The Danville Bakery, was the inspiration for the event design:

Oh and her too! (I made this Senior Year of High School, 3D Art... she is a barbie inside an upside down clay pot with a mirror mosaic)

My favorite thing to do on the weekends is wog (walk/jog) to the Danville Bakery and just look at all of their creations and dream of one day becoming an Ace of Cakes (also a fav show of mine:))!

I have the party planning itch... I need to come up with an excuse for the next theme party:)

Wish and Relax

There is a song that I constantly find myself singing in my head, "wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'..." I think I sing that jingle when my thoughts wander about finding a job, an apartment and all of the wishes that I have for my life and others around me. So naturally, when I found the word "wish" made of wood at Michael's crafts (see above picture) I NEEDED to spend the $.75 on it:) I sanded the edges to add my personal shabby chic touch to it!

Wish. I wish I could make a perfect donut cake. Below is attempt number two:

I think I am going to take a break from donut cakes;)

Relax. (also found at Michael's for $.75) I need to relax about finding a new career.... It will happen!

Sewing relaxes me. The best part about sewing is giving my aprons away as gifts. It makes me happy that others can enjoy what I spend time making.

I made this one for Amy

This one is for another friend as a "Thank You" (she hasn't received it yet)

Without even realizing it until I wrote this blog, I have learned from these two pieces of wood... I've learned to keep dreaming and wishing of all the excitement ahead and to stay relaxed and do the things I love because I believe good things come to those who bake cakes and sew aprons:) right?

Stay tuned...This is fabric for my next project. Maybe this one will have a pocket;)

Love,

Katie

Cakes & Plates

I think what I enjoy most about baking is the display!! I sure wish I could make a kick ass cake to go on a fabulous cake plate. For my sister's bridal shower I must have searched high and low for the perfect cake plate. I had to find one that was big enough, but wasn't too tall and was pretty enough to use again for future entertaining. I picked one from Sur la Table, but I wish I would have had one of these:

A family friend of mine, Erin McGlynn, makes these... the most fabulous cake plates I have EVER seen. The best part is the blue floral cake plates are my Dutch Great-Grandmother's formal dishes. Erin turned these dutch dishes into beautiful heirloom cake plates! Not sure which one to choose... my mom says I have to share with our other family members:)

Erin includes a personalized tag on each of her designs

Love,

Katie

What NOT to do

Much to my dismay, my perfect job is NOT baking cakes! It may be sewing aprons, and it might be home decor, but I can for sure rule out cake decorating!!! Enjoy the pictures, they are good for a few laughs:)

Picture of my 2nd attempt at baking a cake... I got the idea from Williams-Sonoma to make a donut cake. I think I will try one more time, hopefully third times the charm:) Maybe it just needed better sprinkles!

The best letter of the alphabet! I went to Michael's and bought a boring letter "K" and ended up with a masterpiece! haha. this will eventually be hung in my new apartment:)

For all the cooking I have been doing I sewed an apron complete with pleats and buttons! I made my Aunt Marge one for Christmas.

Stay tuned for more jobs that I can rule out!

Have a great weekend!

Love,

Katie

Katie's Latest Adventures

If you thought my adventures were over, think again! They have only just begun:)

I am now beginning the ADVENTURES OF BEING HOME!

After being back from Australia for exactly 30 days I am proud to say my resume is updated and ready to be sent out! The fun begins with the job hunt. Now my days consist of searching for the PERFECT job. What is the perfect job? Maybe it's sales, maybe it's marketing.... ?!?!?!?!?

In my temporary retirement I have had some time to search for what truly makes me happy. And when I am not daydreaming of the perfect job or the perfect apartment (don't get me wrong my parents are cool, but I need some twenty-somethings), I have taken up cooking, baking and sewing! Who knew that sewing an apron was so fun:)

My inspiration comes from my friend Amy, check out her AMAZING blog here for crafty tips and inspiring thoughts http://amycrowle.blogspot.com/ . Amy has so many fabulous ideas and I hope that her perfect job would be to open a Bakery/Boutique:) I would buy ALL of her creations including the cakes and cupcakes she makes for events!

It is my goal to keep up with my craftiness when I come out of retirement. I hope that I will be able to share my hobbies the way that Amy has!

So from here on out you will get an update on the Life of a Gibbs Girl and my adventure out of retirement!!

NZ Picture Time!

Here are the New Zealand pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Candles in the Christchurch Cathedral

Beginning of the 7 hour bus ride from Christchurch to Queenstown...

Akaroa, New Zealand

Cable Car in Christchurch

The view from the town of Akaroa

The view from Akaroa at about 10 PM... It stays sooo light out this time of year!!

Canyoning in Queenstown

Repelling in a canyon

Relaxing after an 8 meter jump into the stream in the canyon!



We survived canyoning in NZ!

The Queenstown Gondola ride to the Luge

Luging in Queenstown (I look like Wario from Super Mario Brothers)

The view from the Luge course

The view from the Queenstown Onseen Hot Pools

okay off to bed... big day of surfing tomorrow and then heading back to california home:)

Love,

Katie

The Final Countdown

Just a quick post... Tomorrow is our last full day in Australia! I am really going to miss my Aussie life that Molly and I have created here.

Don't worry, I will bring back ALL the slang I've learned over the past 4 weeks!

I will post pictures of our travels tomorrow night (including the pictures of the Blue Mountains and feeding a kangaroo!!!) to conclude the Australian Adventure of a Gibbs Girl. I am sure there will be another adventure to blog about soon:)

Nighty Night!

Love,
Katie