Let Them Eat Cake (Or Smell The Roses)

Hola amigos! So if you haven't already read about my Madre's cakes, go back to 2012 to get a glimpse of what she has already accomplished as Ms Brouillette, the baker. This year she's really outdone herself (and we're only 7 months in!) My cousin asked her how long it took to make the Dexter cake...a whopping 12 hours! And I wonder who I get my perfectionist personality from...

For my 25th birthday, she made a bellydancing mermaid cake! I tried to save the fondant pieces but sadly the seashell bra melted off my (cake version) body on the drive home from the shore.

This year, I went back to the basics and requested my favorite childhood cake: chocolate with raspberry jelly and vanilla frosting. I didn't want my Mom to spend a million hours on a cake that I would devour in little under three minutes, but, she did it anyways. Check them out!

My baby cousin's birthday cake. His dog's name is DeeDee, he is Dexter. Get it?

My Mom's rendition of me as a belly-dancing mermaid.

Icing heaven

One of my most recent accomplishments (hopefully I don't jinx myself here) in Silver Spring has been my little balcony garden. My family started me off with a small petunia plant when they came up for my belly dance performance. Since then, my garden has grown to this beautiful oasis!

My roses have come back a second time already.

Pretty petunias

Soon after, I decided to explore a local nursery to buy a few plants to keep up my balcony rose bush tradition. I must admit I went a little crazy when I got to J.R. Wright's. I ended up buying 8 tomato plants, 16 assorted flower plants, 4 green pepper plants, and 4 herbs. I thought this would be easy breezy, a piece of cake. I thought I could plant all 8 tomato plants in the same container. I doubted the knowledgeable garden manager at Lowe's who told me that my plants would grow to be as tall as me and that I should more than likely buy the 5 ft wire cages. Yet, here I am, measuring my tomato plants against my height on a daily basis, waiting anxiously for those little buggers to turn red so I can eat them!

My first tomato is starting to get pretty plump!

A few new baby tomatoes!

First sweet bell pepper!

Tomato plant leaves swirling about in the sun.

They are definitely on their way to being taller than me.

I get so excited to go out to my very own balcony to cut a few branches of parsley for dinner, pick a few mint leaves for my tea, or just assess how everything continues to grow so quickly. I'm so glad I paid the extra money for an apartment with a (parking lot view) balcony (and tons of sunshine)! Do you have a little garden that you're proud of? Do you have any vegetables or herbs growing at your place? Feel free to share your green thumb love!

Off to smell the roses,

Petite Pamplemousse