The story of the Princess Cakes and the Princesses who ate them

Avery and Presley and I looked at a few ideas for princess birthday cakes and it turned out they both loved the idea of a cake AND cookies! Who'd of guessed?  We found the cake on the Family Fun website and when I read through the recipe and the comments people had made about it, I felt I could tackle the job. I knew it would take a lot of time because I was doing two, and I wanted them to turn out!  Several days before, I made some of the cookies to see how they would work. I used pre-made refrigerated cookie dough and I did have a tiny heart cookie cutter to use, but the rest I had to cut out with a knife. Before they went in the oven, I brushed them with egg-white and sprinkled pink or purple sugar on them. It took a couple hours, and they turned out okay so I even froze some to use for the actual cakes.

A few days before their birthday, I finished the rest of the cookies and baked the two, two layer cakes - one was a white almond flavor and the other chocolate, and put them in the freezer.  A day before, I made the pink and purple frosting and put it in the fridge.  So, the night before their birthday I put the cakes together and frosted them and then decorated the cookies:

I wanted them to be completely finished when the girls woke up in the morning, but it was almost midnight and I didn't want to be a tired grouch on their birthday, so I left them like this.  I decided to finish the frosting in between the cookies and at the bottom of the cake the next morning.  At least they got to see them put together though...It took much more time and patience than I thought it would to squeeze the frosting out of the bag (my first experience ever doing frosting like that) and add the details to the cookies (I used pink and purple Skittles and pink and purple gummy lifesavers dipped in the colored sugar). 

My neighbor and friend Tiffany, whom I borrowed a lot of tools and knowledge from during the whole process ended up doing the final touches the next day.  It only took her a few minutes because she is much more handy with the frosting bag than me!  And...

TA-DA!  They were done!  The girls were in love with them and had to have chairs and stools pushed up to the counter all day just to look.  They were so patient all day long until dinnertime when people arrived for the pizza party.

I should've had Aaron take a picture of all our guests.  We had quite a houseful!  They were both so darling as everyone sang to them and they blew out candles.

Avery's cake was the purple, chocolate one and Presley's the pink, white one.  Of course, all the kids insisted on a piece of cake and a cookie, so it didn't take long for the cakes to not resemble crowns anymore.  It was okay though, cause it tasted SOOOOO good!  By the way, if anyone needs a delicious chocolate cake or white almond cake recipe, I've got them! Oh, and I've got an amazing butter-cream frosting recipe too. 

After giving some away and putting a few last pieces in the fridge so the girls could try each other's cake the next day, here's what I was left with.  Wow!  It was definitely an enormous project, but well worth it.  I love to make my girls smile, and they sure did a lot of it on their birthday!

Happy 4th Birthday!

Oh, how I'll miss my little Italian family!

It was so fun to see Liliana change and grow a little every day I was there...



In fact, she was even playing with Pete's cars by the time I was ready to go!



I know Pete can't wait until that day really comes!

The most EXTRAORDINARY piece of lasagna I've ever had and will ever have:



Megan's neighbors down the hill invited us over for dinner. Mirella and her husband are farmers; they work every single day in the fields. Mirella is probably Megan's closest neighbor friend. She gives them fresh produce all the time and Megan gives her a happy little honk every time she drives by her house, even if she's not around! They are very genuine, kind people and they love their guests to eat. She kept bringing out more and more and more food - mamma mia!

Traveling Italian style

So, this is how you travel here with an infant...



Just kidding - It's not THAT bad!



Megan, Liliana and I took a Sunday stroll through a fun part of Pescara, complete with window shopping and gelato (peach and coconut!)

Beach babies!

Liliana took her first nap on the beach while Pete enjoyed the sand. Megan and I took both kiddos to the beach near their house in Pescara. Lugging the umbrella, bags, and babies was a little tricky - it was definitely an activity for two moms and not one. I'm so glad I got to put my feet in the Adriatic Sea!

Lazy pool day

At the end of the week Pasquale decided to skip work one morning and go with us to a pool at a bed and breakfast close to their house in San Silvestro. There was a beautiful view of Pescara from where we were. Besides one other family from London, we were the only ones there. Pete wore his arm floaties and swam with his dad, and of course brought his cars to play with in the water. It was the most relaxing time I've spent at a swimming pool for as long as I can remember!