I had such a wonderful birthday this year! Cole surprised me with a full day of fun -- Madie let Cole borrow her car so we could drive out to the East Bay. We made a stop at Spun Sugar and Cole let me pick out a bunch of baking supplies as my gift. Jackpot! I carefully selected a few different kinds of sparkling sugars, a set of square cookie cutters, a pastry tip cleaning brush, cake boards, and a chocolate shaver/curler.
Then, we met up with Cole's parents at 900 Grayson and Vicki treated us to a delicious lunch.
We headed back to the city. I still wasn't sure what was going on. We were walking through Union Square and at the Macy's window (with puppies and kittens on display!) and we saw Madie, Vale, Lucy, and Oscar (who got taken out of school!) and don't think I've ever been more shocked and excited to see them before in my life. I don't know why, it was just very exciting.
It was so fun to just stroll around Union Square. It felt so Christmas-y.
Then we headed over to the Westin St. Francis...and I realized we were going to see the SUGAR CASTLE!
That's 740 pounds of edible castle. And I thought I made a lot of royal icing this Christmas...
We hung out by the tree in Union Square, saw some carolers, shoppers, ice skaters, while enjoying peppermint lattes. Mmm.
Lucy was extra cute in her winter outfit.
'Twas the Season in San Francisco.
We headed back home after a little shopping (Williams Sonoma) and got ready for dinner at Mark & Vale's house. Vale made Crab Enchilladas (incredible) and Cole made Birthday Cake! He picked out a boxed cake mix -- Confetti Cake, of course -- but wanted to make his own frosting. He used a recipe for a vanilla frosting, but added a hint of natural raspberry extract flavoring.
Cole torted and frosted the cake, then covered it flawlessly with some fondant I had left over from Isabella & Taylor's cake. He decided not to level the cake because he wanted to keep the dome shape. I thought that was a wise choice in the end. :) I helped a teeny bit by making the light green gum paste bow. I was amazed by how much Cole knew and how good he was at everything! Pretty beautiful, no?
Speaking of which...Vale, Madie, and Oscar set the table quite beautifully. I even got bunting!
The Crab Enchiladas were amazzzingly rich and delicious.
The cake was so delish and it was extra sweet that it was made and served by Cole!
What an amazing birthday. Thank you guys for making it so special!
