Hungry Halloween

Our whole family is going to be food tonight!
Here's a sneak...

Weekend Weigh In 5

A little late but here is the weekend weigh in. Here's what you might have missed this week...

Jogging Again

Sushi Shoutout

Workouts for the Terrified

Low Cal Classic

So on to the goals...


LIVE AN ACTIVE LIFE 
This week in addition to starting Ease into 5K all over again, we also picked up some bikes. I'll blog about it at a later date but I'm sure somewhere there was an important note about bike seats that I missed...ouch!

EAT DELICIOUSLY
Oh we ate deliciously. We could have made much better choices this week. I'm not sure how badly this will effect my weekly goals since the battery on our scale went out this week and has yet to be replaced.

READ FOOD LABELS  
Yeah...about that....

NOT BLOW OUR RENT AT THE GROCERY STORE
We stayed under our two week at a time budget and even grabbed some extra treats. I bought the ingredients for that red velvet poke cake that's all over pinterest. I'll let you know how that goes.

Week 5 of Cajun in California...a giant leap for active living! Yay!

Shamelessly Jacked Kids Menu - Grilled Cheese

When I decided to start this blog I wanted it to be about how we are fitting in here in Cali but also how I cheat the system into eating what I want by making the things I love with better ingredients.

I hate to say this is a "recipe" because it's not. What it is really is a combination of low calorie ingredients that you can use for an easy lunch or dinner. Plus, I write about things that taste good and this certainly qualifies AND it's a dinner for two so win-win. 

Last time I was in San Diego I was there for work and flew in early. I was at a swanky hotel and starving so I made my way down to the hotel's restaurant to eat alone. Because I either have no fear or my shame button was turned off, I ordered the most bizarre lunch: a glass of wine and a grilled cheese sandwich.

Now before you judge me: it was grilled cheese month AND that's a real holiday I did not make up AND if you're eating alone you better do it like a boss and have a glass of wine. I don't care if you've just ordered off the kids menu.

The PTA meeting at the table next to me was in full judge mode and I can tell you I did not care one bit. That grilled cheese was DELICIOUS.

It was so good I went home and started ordering grilled cheese everywhere. I can tell you that in Baton Rouge one of my favorite grilled cheese sammys is from The Bread Box on Essen. It's called the "Grown Up Grilled Cheese" and it's like a heavenly cheese explosion. 


So a week or two ago I started to crave it again and just knew that I'd be tossing it a lot of calories between the cheese, butter, and bread. Add to this I also wanted tomato basil soup. I'm greedy like that!

If you want a low cal Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup option pick up these ingredients:

4 slices Sara Lee 45 calorie bread
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter (or less)
2 slices low calorie Pepper Jack
Campbell's Harvest Tomato with Basil 

(DO NOT get their tomato soup...you want this one! Trust me. It's delicious and I could have pretended it was homemade and Husband would have never known the difference!)

This will not, I repeat will not, taste as good as the grown up grilled cheese at The Breadbox. Lower those expectations...

Basically you make the grilled cheese sandwich the same way since the dawn of grilled cheese time and you heat the soup on the stove.

This makes two sandwiches and the soup has two servings (real servings, not pretend ones that food companies put on packaging that do not reflect what a normal person would eat. I'm talking to YOU Girl Scouts of America!)

With these options your grilled cheese AND soup will come out to be around 350 calories. That's absurdly low. And it's pretty filling. I mean I could eat another sandwich cause it is delicious, but I never have. 

I made it this week because I was sick and I couldn't bare the thought of cooking or eating chicken noodle soup. I have to say it was a winner!


If you have any other cheats to a lighter, delicious, easy meal - let me know!

XO,
Andrea

5 Scary Workout Visuals

Halloween is ONE WEEK AWAY. It is one of my most favorite holidays. Why? Because dressing up is awesome y'all! Also, I met Husband on Halloween so it's like Valentines Day for us weirdos...

As previously discussed in another post, I have irrational fears when it comes to workout machinery.

I am, however, a big believer in workout visualizations. While I can be quite content to listen to music or watch tv while in the gym, what really gets me motivated is visualizing that I'm somewhere else. Visualizations for me are usually being a part of a competition or being chased. Plain and simple.

My all time favorite workout visualization is that I am competing in a Real World/Road Rules Battle/Duel/Do any of those people have jobs outside of these competitions?

So to help get you in the mood to run like the wind (even on a treadmill if you are so brave) are some of my favorite "Scary As Heck" visualizations to scare the elastic out of your norts:

Ohhh...I'm already freaked out!

1. Being chased by Zombies.

(via zombie junky)

I know there is "an app for that." I also know people are totally into the Walking Dead. But I'd like to put it to you that the scariest of all zombies are those featured in the movies 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. WHY THE HELL CAN THOSE ZOMBIES SPRINT!?!? Isn't it a rule that they move slowly and drag their legs like mummies? No? Can we make it a rule? Imagine "the infected" chasing you and I'm sure you're heart rate will get right where you need it.

2. Saw Challenges

(via tvtropes)

These movies are dumb. We all know it. They are kind of like the "Crocs" of the horror genre. No one really understands why they are so successful yet you know like 20 people who have seen them all. What are we on like Saw 37? Anyway, pick a move you hate (go ahead and say planks cause only the crazies love those). Imagine that weird like clown is going to saw you in half if you don't hold those planks longer! You'll hold it. Why? Cause clowns are scary as heck. Fact.

3. Swimming for your LIFE!

(via fanpop)

I do have a fear of water I can't see the bottom of, so the odds of me swimming in any ocean are very low. Pools are where I like to pretend I can swim. Pools are also where I like to pretend that killer sharks are out to get me. Jaws is the go to, but what about Deep Blue Sea y'all? Spoiler alert: the shark ate Samuel L. Jackson. Sharks clearly have zero respect and thus should be feared...

4. Scary Spins

(via google images)

Y'all know there is only one truly terrifying bike moment in cinema: The Shining. Hop on that stationary bike and pedal yourself away from those two scary little girls. Need I say more?

5. Halloween Hiding Spots

(via cinema strikes back)

My favorite scary movie collection has to be Halloween. I even like Halloween H20 (maybe I shouldn't admit that). Michael Myers is the best villain. He doesn't say anything. You don't REALLY know what he looks like and he doesn't care who you are...ya dead! I like to imagine that I'm poor Jamie Lee Curtis (in her young and fabulously 70s days) hiding out in the closet. Hold those wall sits as long as you can without screaming bloody murder.



Hopefully this inspires you in your workouts. I love a good workout visualization and if you have a good one I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear it! That and I'd love to know what you're going to be for Halloween... TELL ME!

XO,
Andrea

Dreams of Sushi

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling miserable and I still managed to get my jog on. I don't know if that was a good idea or a bad one but mentally I felt better while physically I just wanted to curl up into a ball and watch Netflix which is EXACTLY what I did. 

Husband and I watched a documentary we'd been wanting to see for a while called Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

We both love sushi and initially I thought it would be just a documentary about one of the greatest sushi chefs in the world, Jiro Ono. 

It was so beautifully done. 

The visuals of beautiful works of sushi art set to brilliant music. 

I don't want to tell you the whole story because the simplicity of it is the best part. But I will tell you that people reserve 1 of 10 seats in his restaurant a month in advance...and that restaurant is in a subway station in Japan. Unreal.

At the end I had what I expected, a greater appreciation of the skill of sushi chefs. So much meticulous skill and care goes into sushi and if you enjoy trying new sushi restaurants you know it's true. 

I also got something I didn't expect. More than just an appreciation, I felt a great admiration for this man. He works hard. He expects nothing. He doesn't believe you should ever complain about your job. All he wants is to never stop trying to improve himself. And the best part is that he practices what he preaches. He's also 85 years old and terribly precious.

There's no spoiler alert but if you have netflix and you want to have an evening or afternoon of beautiful images set to classical music you should watch it. It's all subtitles but the message is so sweet you won't even care. 

While we're on the topic of sushi...

Last week Husband and I ventured to Little Tokyo for dinner at Kula Revolving Sushi. 

You may have seen restaurants like this in movies (like Jiro Dreams of Sushi) and it's as fun as it seems: your sushi is delivered to your table on a conveyer belt.

Also, how precious is Little Tokyo? 

After watching the artistry of Jiro, I don't know how I'll feel the next time we go to Kula but for the price and the taste it's worth the little drive into Little Tokyo and the little wait that is almost guaranteed. 

Most conveyer belt sushi places have a system. Certain color plates are certain prices and at the end a waiter tallies your used plates and you pay that amount.

Kula is great for the mathematically challenged because every plate is just $2. What. A. Steal.

What we both love about Kula is that Husband eats all the crazy stuff while I just eat the moderately crazy stuff. We can both get exactly what we want and as much as we want and only that. They even have the "starter rolls." 

Sushi isn't always bad but and it isn't always healthy. 

You really have to pay attention to what you're ordering because a delicious roll filled with cream cheese isn't necessarily going to be a problem unless you find yourself eating roll after roll after roll. We usually run into the trap of eating more sushi than we are hungry for because we order too many rolls. It's a deadly trap.

Husband was very proud of his work...

This night we didn't go completely off the rails which is very easy for us to do at a sushi restaurant. 

Next time we have sushi I'll certainly be thinking about Jiro and how much effort it takes. 

Maybe I'll even chew a little slower and try to hear classical music in my head. 

If you watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi let me know what you think!

Workout Reboot: Ease into 5K

Last week and the subsequent weekend was amazing. One night in Vegas was just enough time to see my sister, bro-in-law, and friends. It was wonderful, exciting and glittery. We will definitely be going back.

Yet, as I return back to my efforts at a lifestyle change I can't help but feel...uninspired. And here comes a little dose of too much talk:

I need a workout REBOOT!

I don't know what will work. What I do know is that I'm not going to sit on this blog all day every day and pretend to the four of you that read this (hi mom!) that it's all sunshine and roses. I feel bored, like a little hamster on a treadmill. 

App Screen Shot (via Ease into 5k)

In the interest of honesty I think it's important to note that being surrounded in a city of health nuts doesn't a health nut make. 

SO...This morning I am restarting Ease into 5K, a workout I've attempted a few times and completed at least once. 

I wish I loved working out.

I wish I enjoyed changing my clothes into workout clothes.

I wish I enjoyed sweating.

I wish I personally understood what the hell Elle Woods was talking about in "Legally Blonde" about the euphoria of endorphins. 

But I don't. And maybe you don't either.

Just because you don't LOVE to workout doesn't mean you can't ever meet your personal fitness goals OR that you won't ever love working out. 

I stopped running because my 27 year old knees started to sound like they belonged to an old lady. 

But I can JOG into a 5K, can't I?

Of course. Who cares how fast I'm moving. All I care about is MOVING!

Easy Peasy Ease into 5K

I believe in Ease into 5K (the artist formerly known as Couch to 5K). I watched it turn many a friend into a LEGIT runner. Like signing up for 5Ks legit. 

If you don't know how it works then you've missed a big memo on interval training.

Ease into 5K is a program/app/way of life that takes people who have never run before and "eases" them into it with an 8 week program. You run 3x a week with a plan of run-walk-run-walk where each week the running time gets a little bit longer. 

It works. 

It doesn't matter what you think. 

If you are huffing and puffing one week while running for only 90 seconds you will still be able to make it a whole 8 minutes and then eventually 30.

So today I take the first step, again, out the door and down the road. Blasting Kanye, who I know writes all his songs in the gym, and hopefully beating the midday socal heat. Wish me luck. Reboot and restart is always, ALWAYS better than REGRETS.

Happy Monday!

Andrea

Weekend Weigh In 4

So we are currently in Vegas and heading home later today. I wasn't joking about the one night only. But I still have a recap from this week:

First, what you may have missed:

Bethenny's Booze & Butts

Building Plans for a Rainbow Masterpiece

The Horror of Treadmill Runners

Adorable Picture of Husband Eating a Burger

Star Wars Neighbors and Religious Experiences




The last one is my favorite. Onto the goals I set when I began this blog:

LIVE AN ACTIVE LIFE  
One thing I've started doing is tricking myself into thinking I'm living an active life. How am I doing this? By wearing workout clothes every second of the day. Seriously, on Wednesday I looked down and thought, "have I taken these tennis shoes off?" Maybe I'm on to something...

EAT DELICIOUSLY
Done and done. Had some great low calorie dinners this week but we also splurged and went to one of our favorites: a revolving sushi restaurant. I guess I'll get into Vegas food at a later date...


READ FOOD LABELS   
Did I mention I had icing for "brunch" this week? Oy...Some things should not be brought into the house. I question how I continue to meet my fitness goals with these grenades hidden everywhere. 'Tis a miracle!


NOT BLOW OUR RENT AT THE GROCERY STORE 
Jokes on you grocery store...we didn't have to go this week! Shout out to expert meal planning. :)

Week 4 of Cajun in California...let's hope what happens here stays here!

The Cajun Trinity for the Geographically Challenged

Today we are on the road to Las Vegas for one night only (insert Beyonce and J.Hud from Dream Girls because it's that level of spectacular!)

My sister, Allison and her husband Joey are in Vegas right now with friends Traci and Dean.  She planned this trip before we moved and I have to believe in my heart that if she knew we'd be in L.A. by now she would have come here. Right sister? RIGHT?!!? Just kidding...



But let me take you back to a real nice story:

Monday I was taking Julia our dog out to the bark park in our building for a little mid-morning tinkle and ran into our newest neighbor as he moved into the building. He was carrying a very large, framed portrait of Princess Leia in her slave costume from Star Wars.

I accept that I am an awkward person and that said awkwardness usually appears right on my face. I can only imagine what my face looked like as I said good morning to this complete stranger with whom I now share a bedroom wall. If you don't know what she looks like let me give you an idea:

Princess Leia as she greeted me that morning. (via Fanpop.com)

Yeah. 

I'm certainly not judging his nerdiness. I live with a nerd and have nerd like tendencies myself and calling people "nerds" is one of my favorite endearing compliments you can get from me. HOWEVER, a scantily clad Carrie Fisher greeting you in the hallway on a Monday morning is a cat of a different breed. 

I went back to my apartment, laughed, tweeted about it and then realized that he's no more of a nerd than a woman who writes a blog about kitchen disasters and bacon shaped art in the gym. So props to you neighbor guy! Let's hope you aren't rebuilding the set of "The 40 Year Old Virgin" in there!



But onto today's mini mission at hand: recreating the Cajun holy trinity here in California.

For those of you who are unaware of how this works, there is a not-so-secret trio of ingredients that amplify ALMOST every great Cajun/Creole/Louisiana dish.

Onions, Celery and Bell Peppers

Living in Louisiana I was spoiled. Never once did I have to cut these myself. Never. I always just hopped down to the store and bought a plastic container with pre-cut, pre-measured trinity ready to roll.

Oh what a rude awakening California has been.

When I first got here I bought all three and chopped them myself. Every night. I put trinity mix in everything. I even throw it in with canned spaghetti sauce. It makes everything better (unless you don't like onions, celery OR bell peppers).

Finally I got sick of cutting every night and realized I could just pre-cut and freeze them in bulk and only have to worry about sobbing my eyes out over a dang onion once a month.

Even this was too complicated for a lazy bones like myself. I searched high and low to find frozen trinity mix and this is as close as I got:

Admittedly it is cheaper to chop the fresh vegetables yourself, but I hate chopping onions. Bell peppers and celery don't really bother me.

The trick is to measure out equal parts of all three chopped and then stir so when you get a scoop of your pre-made mix it's not all onions, etc. 

How beautiful is this? I love green food!

So there you go Louisiana ex-pats. An even lazier way to make the holy trinity. Shortest explanation but boy does it make everything better! Maybe I'll bring some to the new neighbor. After all he just rolled out his doormat. Guess what's on it? I'll give you a hint: it's dragons.

XO, Andrea

Guilt Free Burgers? WHERE ARE THEY!

About a month ago Husband and I went hiking in Calabasas and on the way home decided we were too tired and too proud of ourselves to go home and celebrate with a turkey sandwich. We stumbled into Topz Healthier Burger Grill and have been in love ever since. 


I love their turkey burger and aero fries and I'm confused as to why they seem to only have one location, in the San Fernando Valley. I feel like I'm doing something good instead of something bad when I eat there. AND I'M EATING A BURGER!

We are the epitome of uncool. Husband and I at Topz.

It begs the question, is there a such thing as guilt free restaurant food? 


Most people agree in the standards of subway or sandwich shops that promote their healthy menus, but what about the good stuff?


I try to make it a point to eat out at places that provide nutritional information either in their restaurant or on their website. The fact that Topz does this AND includes weight watchers points is really something special. 

I think more restaurants should adopt this policy. Will it stop someone from ordering their 17 point black angus burger? No. But I know for myself, I make better overall choices when it comes to ordering at restaurants and it doesn't stop me from eating out. What stops me from eating out is NOT knowing what is in the food I'm ordering. So marinate on that restauranteurs of the word!

Are there any restaurants that you love that don't provide nutritional information? Would it change how often you'd go there if they did?

Just a little food for thought on this Wednesday. Oh and photographs of delicious burgers. You can't beat that! 

How precious is Husband? You don't have to say I know ;) 


XO, Andrea

A Tale of Two Treadmills

This story could happen in any town. In fact, if you're a gym novice you've probably encountered this. I'm not going to label this as a horror story but my internal monologue was just that dramatic when it happened.

It all happened a couple days ago in our building's gym.

Husband and I showed up and after a little go on the elliptical machine I decided to hop on the treadmill. Here's something you need to know:

I am terrified of running on the treadmill.

I can get it up to 3.5 mph before I feel like I'm going to miss a step and fly into the stationary bikes behind me. My goal is to learn how to run on a treadmill which is apparently the easiest thing to do because everyone in our gym seems to be able to do it. 

Joyful treadmill runners. WTH? (allposters.com)

Treadmill running happens on the regular so it wasn't a big surprise. What DID happen was this...

I hop on the treadmill and see the machine next to me is covered in stuff. So much stuff that one might think the person using the machine is living there. This person had arm and leg weights, a water bottle, an iPod with headphones, towels, and etc small items I couldn't see. This individual was nowhere to be found.

I start going my usual 3.5 mph on a slight incline and I'm watching tv when all of the sudden, GYM BRUNETTE BARBIE comes strolling out of the sauna and gets on the machine next to me.

WHAT. THE. HECK. 

Not only did her outfit look perfect like she was dressed by the editors of Shape Magazine there was not a hair out of place. She just got out of the sauna barely sweating with perfect makeup. She looked like she was in her mid-to-late 40s but had definitely had work done on her face and maracas. I can't fault her for that because who in this town hasn't had work done? That's like pointing out she had arms. But more importantly, WHO IS THIS ALIEN?

I looked down at my ensemble.

I was wearing one of four pairs of yoga pants I own and one of Husband's oversized shirts. My hair had the just electrocuted and thrown in a rubber band look and no, I was not wearing any makeup and I was not "glistening."

To make matters worse, this older lady dressed to perfection puts on the arm and leg weights and starts RUNNING on the treadmill at a ridiculous incline.

If someone had taken a picture of that moment it would have been the most amazingly hilarious compare and contrast picture of all times.

The point of this whole post is that somewhere between the feelings I had of utter confusion and total embarrassment I realized something: 

This lady works hard.

Maybe she could run on the treadmill the day she started at the gym. Maybe she wears a wig and that's why her hair is so perfect. Maybe she is just naturally athletic and this is second nature to her. But she is working at it. I don't think I could ever be where that woman is, but I got up and walked down the hall to the gym after going through the effort of picking the perfect oversized t-shirt out of Husband's drawer. Truth be told, when she started sprinting uphill next to me I felt a little braver and I pushed the button and went up to 3.6 mph.

Maybe one day I will run on the treadmill. I mean I guess it should be on a goal list somewhere. 

That and "never sweating."  How did she do that?!!?!

Karate Kids! A karate themed rainbow cake

This is going to be a semi-long and moderately detailed post on how to make a less involved rainbow cake with a karate theme. Specific enough?

Last Sunday two of my nieces earned their black belts in karate. They worked so very hard, so we wanted to help with the celebration. Admittedly my knowledge of martial arts comes directly from the movie 3 Ninjas. I feel no shame about this. 

Since I knew this would be a big project, I enlisted their younger sister as my baker's assistant and we set out to make an over-the-top, black belt worthy cake. 

Originally I thought it would be a good idea to learn how to use fondant effectively, but then I changed my mind. It seemed really, really involved and the last thing I wanted was to be making an already complicated cake any more complicated. So I found an already complicated cake and made it easier. That's how I like to handle things.

Also just ignore all of the nutritional information for this cake. It's horrible. It's reaaaaaaaaly bad. What can I say, it's cake! But just so you know this was a TALL cake and it took a 3-4 days to eat by 10 people. I think that makes me feel better and you should feel better about that too. Ignorance is bliss and also apparently thousands of calories.

I'm not going to do like the other recipes because it's more of a "building project" than a recipe. 

But the materials I used were: 

Two boxes of white cake mix + eggs and oil

3.5 cans of vanilla frosting

Crisco

Random Sprinkles

Odense Marzipan almond candy dough

Food coloring

Icing pens for decoration

Black licorice

Wilton food coloring spray

Non-food Equiptment

Two 9 in. round baking pans

Karate shaped cookie cutters

Rolling pin

Mixer

A RIDICULOUS amount of mixing bowls

Parchment Paper

And then I will explain the "phases" of this "building project." Sorry I'm in love with quotation marks today.

PHASE ONE: Planning

PHASE TWO: Caaaaaake

PHASE THREE: Decorating

PHASE FOUR: What is phase four?

PHASE ONE: Planning
FIRST I knew I wanted to do a cake with all the belt colors inside. I found this cake online and read the instructions and watched a video of her on Martha Stewart. 

Then I thought, "that seems like a lot of work to make a cake and icing from scratch." It's really not that much more work but I didn't feel like doing it. So there. 

Then I picked up my niece who told me that I and the internet are both morons. There are EIGHT belt colors not six. Thankfully she takes karate too and was able to be the brains behind the operation.

We knew we were doing a rainbow cake and would use the ninjabread men cookie cutters I found over the summer at Target to put the girls on the top of the cake. We would make a black belt for the cake around the bottom made out of black licorice that we knew no one would ever want to eat. 

PHASE TWO: Caaaaaake

We mixed the ingredients for the first box of cake and then separated it evenly into four small mixing bowls. It doesn't seem like a lot because it's not. Don't be alarmed. 

The layers of cake ready to be fully frosted.

I only had two round pans so we did each layer 2 at a time. I put crisco on EVERY pan every time so the cakes popped right out. I highly suggest this.

We baked them at 350 and my oven took about 12 minutes but we checked every few minutes on the first batch to make sure they would come out okay.

When two cakes were done we moved them to a cooling area and let the pans cool down before we cleaned, re-greased and started another batch. While the cakes and pans cooled we cleaned out bowls and started mixing the second box of cake. Definitely a two lady job!

We started with the bottom colors so once they were cooled we could just start layering and frosting. 

Layers Baked Together

White (no color added) & Orange

Yellow & Green

Blue & Brown (One drop of red, yellow and blue until desired shade)

Red & Black (we used black food coloring)

We used about 2/3 a cup of frosting between each layer of cake but use as much as you need.

When we were done we put a thin layer of icing around the cake and put it in the refrigerator for about an hour while we ate lunch. When it was done cooling we put the final layer which was really complicated and looked a hot mess. But more on that later...

PHASE THREE: Decorating

While I iced the cakes, my niece decorated the karate girls for the top of the cake.

 

Niece #3 decorating her almond flavored mini-sisters!

We used almond flavored marzipan because I didn't want to play with fondant and we only need a little bit anyway. Also, it was on the same aisle at the store and was less money. Of course it was the winner. 

Basically you break off a piece, roll it with a rolling pin in between two pieces of parchment paper and then use cookie cutters for your desired design.

It was so easy I can't believe I've never heard of it before. I'll definitely be using it in the future.

We used white and black icing pens for the design and used some extra flower shaped sprinkles I had to put in their hair so you could tell it they had ponytails etc. Then we just wrote what we had room for with the same icing pens. Pretty easy!

Then came the hard part. As you'll see we couldn't get the icing consistency right to be smooth (I guess that's what I get for not making it from scratch. Whatever!) 

Since it looked ridiculous we went to my baking box to find a solution. Our solution was to use spray food coloring by Wilton to color the sides of the cake and hopefully camouflage the imperfections. Since gradient is sooooo cool I just lightly sprayed, just like spray paint, while I turned the cake. As I kept turning I moved downward until the bottom of the cake was really red and the top of the side was just a light pinky-red color. It worked like a charm.

Then we surrounded the cake with its very own black belt made of disgusting black licorice which no one ate. :)

The finished product!

We stored the cake overnight in the fridge because my cake cover wouldn't fit over it. It was too tall! 

PHASE FOUR: What is phase four?

Then final phase of this very long post is the celebration!

Was the cake perfect? no. 

I strongly believe that anyone else who attempts this will make it a MILLION times better and way more attractive and I hope you send me pictures. 

When we were layering I thought, "what dull colors." Even Husband thought that the colors looked bland. When we cut into it the colors were so vibrant I almost shed a tear of relief! It was BEAUTIFULLY colorful!

Karate Kids!

Did the girls love it? Absolutely. 

Especially because their little sister helped make them a tasty treat to celebrate a huge accomplishment. While eating this cake they were already brainstorming what they'll make for her black belt test next year. So sweet!

I'm not saying my nieces have inspired me to take up karate, but I could totally go for a kickboxing class. How's that for gymspiration? These are strong, athletic little girls and they are now officially the most dangerous people I am related too. You go girls!

XO, Andrea