Happy 30th!

So on the 9th day of Christmas, I turned 30, and with all the festivities of the previous month, it was pretty hard to find people to celebrate the big day. Luckily, Ryan and Ben were around for an impromptu evening of homemade pizza (with rosemary, tomato, onion, zucchini, basil, and fresh mozzarella) and cake courtesy of Ryan, who made an amazing chocolate cake with raspberry filling, marzipan, and chocolate ganache.

But since it was a pretty quiet event, we decided to have a second birthday gathering at Julie and Quinn's house, where the twins always make a party just a little more festive, with their joyful smiles and silly dances. Unfortunately, by the time we had a chance to make the cake, they were already asleep, but they were there in spirit--lending their own birthday candles to the big event!

To honor the new decade, Eric said he would make me a cake, but we needed some supplies. Here's Elle delivering the new frosting needle (it's like a needle that takes the place of a pastry bag--very cool!)


Here is Eric with the crew spearheading the cake effort (and yes, Elle is wearing Aidan's Christmas present--she liked it so much that she just insisted!)!

Eric frosting the two-tiered masterpiece with a Swiss buttercream recipe courtesy of Martha. Three words: Best. Buttercream. Ever. (Except maybe for Sylvia's, but that doesn't count!) We also learned all about buttercream in the process of choosing this recipe--did you know there are four kinds of buttercream? Swiss, Italian, French, and American!

Blowing out the candles--shhhh! The wishes are secret!