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	<title>Celebration Generation &#187; Interesting</title>
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		<title>Hop Flavored Beer Lollipops Recipe &#8211; LolliHOPS!</title>
		<link>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/09/07/hop-flavored-beer-lollipops-recipe-lollihops/</link>
		<comments>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/09/07/hop-flavored-beer-lollipops-recipe-lollihops/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Sep 2010 01:32:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Adults Only! (Boozy)]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/?p=589</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This morning, I took a pretty nasty fall. If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I&#8217;ve been dealing with a particularly stubborn hip injury. Long story short, I spent the day first in extreme pain, then high as a kite on Codeine.
Why am I telling you this? Well, it had a big part [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This morning, I took a pretty nasty fall. If you follow me on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/Celebr8nGenr8n" target="_new">Twitter</a>, you know that I&#8217;ve been dealing with a particularly stubborn hip injury. Long story short, I spent the day first in extreme pain, then high as a kite on Codeine.
<p>Why am I telling you this? Well, it had a big part in inspiring today&#8217;s recipe!  They say &#8220;In Vino veritas&#8221; (In wine, truth). Yeah, well&#8230; In Codeine, Inspiration!
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<p>As you may or may not know, my <a href="http://www.mporterphotography.com" target="_new">husband</a> has been enthusiastically enjoying his newest hobby, homebrewing. He got right into it this year, going so far as to grow his own hops! He loves his beer like he loves his chocolate &#8211; bitter as all hell, with intense flavor. I decided to use his home grown hops to flavor chocolate. Check out our blog tomorrow or Thursday for our Hop Truffles recipe!
<p>By the time he got home from work, I had started making a second idea that sort of mutated off the idea of Hop truffles. You see, our Jalapeno Beer Brittle is proving to be an insanely popular recipe from our recently released cookbook, &#8220;<a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/Publishing/TheSpiritedBaker.html" target="_new">The Spirited Baker: Intoxicating Desserts &#038; Potent Potables</a>&#8220;. What if I bastardized that recipe, added hops to flavor it even more, and made lollipops out of it? LolliHOPS!!
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<td valign="Top"><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Lollihops.jpg" alt="Hop Flavored Beer Lollipops recipe - LolliHOPS!">
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<p>Well, I made, I saw, I conquered &#8211; and my husband is a very, very happy man!  These were incredibly easy to make, anyone can make them at home!
<p><b>Hop Flavored Beer Lollipops recipe &#8211; LolliHOPS!</b>
<p>Small amount of butter<br />
1/2 cup beer of choice (We used an IPA)<br />
6 dried hop cones (we used Centennial)*<br />
1 cup white sugar<br />
1/2 cup light corn syrup<br />
Lollipop sticks
<p>Use butter to generously grease the back of 1 or 2 baking sheets, set aside.
<p>Heat beer to a light simmer. Break up hop cones into leaves, add to warm beer. Remove from heat, allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
<p>Strain beer into a measuring glass, measuring only 1/3 cup. (The 1/2 cup measurement is to allow for some evaporation / hop leaf absorption). In a heavy saucepan (2 quart), mix together sugar, corn syrup, and strained 1/3 cup of beer.
<p>Bring to boil over medium-high heat, then attach candy thermometer to saucepan. Stir often until temperature reaches 300 degrees F (150 degrees Celcius). KEEP A VERY CLOSE EYE ON IT after about 280 degrees, as the temp has a tendancy to race up at that point. If you turn your back, you could burn it!
<p>At 300 degrees, remove the pan from heat. Allow to cool &#038; thicken slightly, stirring constantly &#8211; about 1 minute.
<p>Working quickly, drop small amounts of the hot sugar mixture onto the greased baking sheets &#8211; about 1-3 tsp(s) per, depending on the desired size of your lollihops. Lay a lollipop stick into each circle, so that the tip is near the center of the lollipop, and flat against the surface. (ie, you want it parallel to the baking sheet, not perpendicular to it!). Carefully give each stick a bit of a twirl, so that the candy coats around the stick to hold it in place.
<p>Cool completely, carefully remove from baking sheets. Wrap with plastic, waxed paper, parchment paper, or whatever. Enjoy!
<p><i>* Hops can vary wildly in size and flavor. Be sure to taste as you go &#8211; you may not want to use the whole 10 minute steeping time. If you don&#8217;t have access to whole dried hope cones, you can use 1/4 tsp &#8211; 1/2 tsp of hop pellets! It doesn&#8217;t take much, so your next batch of homebrew won&#8217;t miss it!</i></p>
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		<title>Shot Tectonics &#8211; The Science of Layered Shooters</title>
		<link>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/09/06/shot-tectonics-the-science-of-layered-shooters/</link>
		<comments>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/09/06/shot-tectonics-the-science-of-layered-shooters/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Sep 2010 21:31:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/?p=569</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Layering shots is not only a pretty way to pour delicious drinks, it&#8217;s also a lot of fun.  A bit of flavor mixology, some math, some experimentation, pretty colors&#8230; that&#8217;s always a recipe for entertainment!  It&#8217;s a shame that it seems to be a technique that&#8217;s gone out of favor &#8211; the fast [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/LayeredShots0.jpg">
<p>Layering shots is not only a pretty way to pour delicious drinks, it&#8217;s also a lot of fun.  A bit of flavor mixology, some math, some experimentation, pretty colors&#8230; that&#8217;s always a recipe for entertainment!  It&#8217;s a shame that it seems to be a technique that&#8217;s gone out of favor &#8211; the fast paced environment of today&#8217;s clubs has put a kibosh on the previous popularity of layering. Bah! Let&#8217;s bring it back!
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<p><b>The keys to layering shots are:</b>
<p><i><b>1. Understanding the various specific gravity measurements of various liqueurs and spirits.</i></b><br />
 &#8220;Specific gravity&#8221; is a number representative of the density of a liquid. The lower the number, the less dense  the liquid is. A few examples:
<p>Water: 1.0<br />
Grenadine: 1.18 (Heavier than water)<br />
Southern Comfort: 0.97 (Lighter than water)
<p>As always, <a href="http://www.google.com" target="_new">Google</a> is your friend! Just search &#8220;Specific Gravity&#8221; along with the name of an alcohol, and you&#8217;re bound to find the information you&#8217;re looking for. Write down the numbers of each alcohol you would like to play with, then arrange in order.
<p>As a *general* rule of thumb, the alcohol content is inversely proportionate to the specific gravity. That is to say, the higher the alcohol content of a liquid, the lighter it is &#8211; and the lower the specific gravity reading will be. Like all rules, there are some exceptions to this.  Also, cream based liqueurs tend to be lighter than non-cream based liqueurs of the same ABV. Again, there are some exceptions&#8230; experiment! It&#8217;s all in the name of science, afterall! <img src='http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' />
<p><b><i>2. A careful pour</i></b><br />
In addition to layering in order of density, you need to slow the pour of your liquids, as to not disturb the surface of the layer before it. There are several methods people use &#8211; pouring over the back of a spoon, pouring down the handle of a bar spoon, using a syringe, pouring over a cherry. My own preference incorporates a favorite style of pourer with spoon technique &#8211; see pictures and description below!
<p><i><b>3. Mixing flavors in a pleasing way.</i></b><br />
 Each of the flavors that are incorporated into an individual shot will hit the tastebuds in rapid succession &#8211; you&#8217;ll want to pick flavors that go well together!
<p><i><b>4. Choosing colors that contrast with each other.</i></b><br />
All that effort figuring out the liqueur densities will be wasted if you layer liquids with a similar appearance. In addition to contrasting color, it can be really striking to layer clear liquids with cream based liquids.
<p>So, now that you have the basic idea, let&#8217;s get started!
<p>First, pick out a few liqueurs, spirits, and syrups (such as grenadine) in a variety of colors and ABV / Specific Gravity readings. Arrange them in order of specific gravity, from the heaviest to the lightest.
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/LayeredShots.jpg">
<p>This photo shows my favorite type of pour spouts for liqueur bottles. It&#8217;s nice to have a bunch on hand, and they cost next to nothing. Pick them up at your local liquor store, or visit my favorite site for bartending supplies, <a href="http://www.barproducts.com" target="_new">Barproducts.com</a>. Yes, the site is horrible.. but the products are great, there is a huge selection, the price is right, and they ship fast! No complaints here! <a href="http://www.barproducts.com/Stock_Bar_Blowout.php#item_Plastic_Pourer_P" target="_new">Click here</a> to go directly to this style of pour spout.
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/LayeredShots7.jpg">
<p>The thing that I like about this spout is that you can slow the flow of the liquid by placing your finger over the hole on the top side &#8211; gives you a lot of control!
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/LayeredShots1.jpg">
<p>Carefully pour your first layer, trying not to splash any on the inside of the glass, above where the top edge of the layer will be.
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/LayeredShots2.jpg">
<p>Position a spoon into the shot glass thusly. Yes, thusly. I know most places will tell you to pour it over the BACK (convex) side of a spoon, but that&#8217;s just crazy talk. Pouring down the concave INSIDE of the spoon gives you more control, IMHO.
<p>Anyway, aim the spoon to be near &#8211; but not actually touching &#8211; the first layer of alcohol. The tip should touch the inside of the glass.
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/LayeredShots3.jpg">
<p>Carefully pour your second &#8211; lighter &#8211; alcohol on top. Keep the pour as slow as you can. I only had a teeny bottle of Bailey&#8217;s on hand for this photo &#8211; the small bottles like this are good for a slow, controlled pour. Otherwise, use the type of pour spout mentioned above, manipulating the speed by covering/uncovering the hole.
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/LayeredShots4.jpg">
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Continue carefully pouring your liquid until you reach the desired amount. This shot incorporated only 2 liqueurs &#8211; Creme de Menthe and Bailey&#8217;s, but 3+ layer shots are awesome too. Just divide up the height of the glass, eyeballing measurements as you go.
<p>For a third &#8211; or subsequent &#8211; layer of liqueur, just repeat the above instructions, using a lighter liquid.
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<p>The photos below demonstrates what happens when you mess up a pour (banged the bottle off the lighting apparatus!). See how the shot corrects itself? This was over the course of about 2 minutes &#8211; given more time, it will have corrected to a sharp line, as if I hadn&#8217;t screwed it up. It didn&#8217;t last that long, though &#8211; it was tasty!
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/LayeredShots10.jpg"></p>
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<b>Pro tips:</b>
<p>- Chilling the ingredients changes the specific gravity readings. Liquids become less dense as they warm, and more dense when chilled. Feel free to play with this knowledge to make your desired creations work!
<p>- If you mess up when trickling a layer into your shot glass, carefully finish pouring it, and set it aside for a few minutes. The layers should level out on their own. Hell, if you&#8217;re planning to serve a bunch of layered shots at a party or whatever, you can cheat a bit! Pour them ahead of time, not bothering to be too fussy about getting the layers perfect. Arrange the shot glasses on a platter and chill. They&#8217;ll settle out by the time you serve them!
<p>- If you feel like adding some drama to your shot presentation, remember this: Your highest ABV liqueur/spirit will be on top. The higher the ABV, the more likely it&#8217;ll BURN! Yes! Feel free to light the top of your shots on fire! Use a lighter &#8211; not a match &#8211; to carefully light the top of the liquid aflame. Please observe basic fire safety common sense &#8211; hair tied back, no baggy clothes dangling into the flame, etc. Also, be careful with the flame &#8211; sometimes the flame can be hard to see!
<p>- Give your spoon a quick rinse between layers if possible. Residue of previous layers can mess with your pour!
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<p>Ready to go?  Try these traditional shot recipes, and stay tuned for some original recipes in the coming days!
<p><b><i>Note: All ingredients are listed in order of pour. The first ingredient mentioned is poured first, etc.</b></i>
<p><center></p>
<table border=1 width=550>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><b>B-52</b><br />
Kahlua<br />
Irish Cream<br />
Grand Marnier
<p></td>
<td valign="top"><b>After Eight</b><br />
Kahlua<br />
Irish Cream<br />
Creme De Menthe
</td>
<td valign="top"><b>Buttery Nipple</b><br />
Butterscotch Schnapps<br />
Irish Cream
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top"><b>Monkey&#8217;s Lunch</b><br />
Kahlua<br />
Creme de Banane<br />
Irish Cream
<p></td>
<td valign="top"><b>Blue Eyed Blonde</b><br />
Creme de Banane<br />
Blue Curacao<br />
Irish Cream
</td>
<td valign="top"><b>Green Eyed Blonde</b><br />
Melon Liqueur<br />
Creme de Banane<br />
Irish Cream
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Want to learn how to not only bake with liqueurs, but to make your own liqueurs at home? Check out our new cookbook, &#8220;The Spirited Baker &#8211; Intoxicating Desserts &#038; Potent Potables!  <a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/Publishing/TheSpiritedBaker.html" target="_new">Click here</a> for more information, or to order!
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Celebration-Generation/29890105917" target="_new"><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Facebook.jpg" border=0 alt="Join us on Facebook"></a><a href="http://www.twitter.com/Celebr8nGenr8n" target="_new"><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Twitter.jpg" border=0 alt="Follow us on Twitter"></a><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/09/06/shot-tectonics-the-science-of-layered-shooters/&#038;title=Shot+Tectonics+The+Science+of+Layered+Shooters" target="_new"><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Stumble.jpg" border=0 alt="Stumble This!"></a><a href="http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&#038;url=http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/09/06/shot-tectonics-the-science-of-layered-shooters/&#038;title=Shot+Tectonics+The+Science+of+Layered+Shooters" target="_new"><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Digg.jpg" border=0 alt="Digg This"></a><a href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/09/06/shot-tectonics-the-science-of-layered-shooters/&#038;title=Shot+Tectonics+The+Science+of+Layered+Shooters" target="_new"><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Reddit.jpg" border=0 alt="Share on Reddit"></a><a href="http://delicious.com/post?url=http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/09/06/shot-tectonics-the-science-of-layered-shooters/&#038;title=Shot+Tectonics+The+Science+of+Layered+Shooters" target="_new"><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Delicious.jpg" border=0 alt="Share on Del.icio.us"></a></p>
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		<title>Coolest wedding rings ever!</title>
		<link>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/08/26/coolest-wedding-rings-ever/</link>
		<comments>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/08/26/coolest-wedding-rings-ever/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:29:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[




So I was perusing twitter the other day, and one of my tweeps posted a link to an Etsy seller called &#8220;jewelrybyjohan, who &#8211; as it turns out &#8211; is fairly local! He&#8217;s over in Wisconsin!
This gorgeous ring is inlaid with actual meteorite!
Click here to see the full listing of this amazing ring! Just gorgeous.. [...]]]></description>
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<blockquote>So I was perusing twitter the other day, and one of my tweeps posted a link to an Etsy seller called &#8220;<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/jewelrybyjohan?ref=top_trail" target="_new">jewelrybyjohan</a>, who &#8211; as it turns out &#8211; is fairly local! He&#8217;s over in Wisconsin!
<p>This gorgeous ring is inlaid with actual meteorite!
<p>Click <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/53960921/6mm-wide-meteorite-inlaid-in-titanium" target="_new">here</a> to see the full listing of this amazing ring! Just gorgeous.. and unique!
<p>Click <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/jewelrybyjohan?ref=top_trail" target="_new">here</a> to see more of Johan&#8217;s unique wedding ring creations!!<br />
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		<title>Reflections on a *Crazy* career &#8211; BIG DAY!</title>
		<link>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/08/24/reflections-on-a-crazy-career-big-day/</link>
		<comments>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/08/24/reflections-on-a-crazy-career-big-day/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:59:17 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[Today I am at home, awaiting 2 deliveries.  The first is something I&#8217;m pretty excited about &#8211; it&#8217;s an order of promotional materials for my book release. In particular, the order includes custom bookmarks. Yes! I&#8217;ll have my own bookmarks! How insanely cool is that?
I used to love bookmarks when I was a kid. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Today I am at home, awaiting 2 deliveries.  The first is something I&#8217;m pretty excited about &#8211; it&#8217;s an order of promotional materials for my book release. In particular, the order includes custom bookmarks. Yes! I&#8217;ll have my own bookmarks! How insanely cool is that?
<p>I used to love bookmarks when I was a kid. I loved going into book stores and pouring over their selection of bookmarks, weighing the options. What color tassle? Glitter, or no glitter?  Unicorns? (Of COURSE I wanted glitter and unicorns!) Loved it.
<p>The second delivery is something even more important, and I&#8217;ve been waiting for this day forEVER. My initial shipment of &#8220;The Spirited Baker: Intoxicating Desserts &#038; Potent Potables&#8221; arrives today!  I CANNOT wait to see them, the culmination of an insane amount of work between my husband (the photographer!) and I! Insane.. this feels so surreal.
<p>Today feels like the biggest day of my life&#8230; well, second only to meeting/marrying my amazing husband. I&#8217;m such a dork about this.. but it just feels.. augh! Amazing, and nerve wracking, and everything!
<p>So as I sit here waiting.. and waiting.. I&#8217;m reflecting on my career. It&#8217;s been a wild ride, and we&#8217;ve had some really fun, amazing moments! Let&#8217;s take a trip down memory lane, shall we?  In no particular order, here are some of my favorite moments from the past few years:<span id="more-540"></span>
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<p><b>W00tstock</b>
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/ReflectWootstock.jpg">
<p>Ah, <a href="http://www.paulandstorm.com/gigs/w00tstock" target="_new">w00tstock</a> was awesome! 700 nerds and geeks under one roof, the comedic stylings of <a href="http://www.paulandstorm.com" target="_new">Paul and Storm</a> and <a href="http://wilwheaton.typepad.com" target="_new">Wil Wheaton</a>, appearances by <a href="http://www.adamsavage.com" target="_new">Adam Savage</a>,  but also several &#8220;Mystery Science Theater 3000&#8243; guys there:  <a href="http://www.cinematictitanic.com" target="_new">Trace Beaulieu</a>, <a href="http://www.rifftrax.com" target="_new">Bill Corbett</a>, and <a href="http://www.rifftrax.com" target="_new">Kevin Murphy</a>&#8230; authors <a href="http://whatever.scalzi.com" target="_new">John Scalzi</a>, and <a href="http://www.physicsofsuperheroes.com" target="_new">James Kakalios</a>&#8230; running in to the guys from <a href="http://www.thacothemovie.com" target="_new">Thaco</a>&#8230; watching Wil Wheaton &#8220;Lose his shit&#8221; over the cake I made&#8230; just epic. Check out the blog entry about it : <a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/06/09/w00tstock-awesomeness" target="_new">here</a>.
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<p><b>Klingons!</b>
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/ReflectKlingons.jpg">
<p>Over the past year, we&#8217;ve maintained excellent relations with the Klingon Empire, and it&#8217;s been a blast!
<p>Our initial involvement with Klingons came from working on <a href="http://www.cbtheatre.org" target="_new">Commedia Beauregard</a>&#8217;s production of &#8220;<a href="http://www.cbtheatre.org/Klingon-Xmas-Carol.html" target="_new">A Klingon Christmas Carol</a>&#8220;. A ridiculously awesome show&#8230; and an insane, 4&#8242; long Red Velvet Klingon Bird of Prey cake! Epic!
<p>We later followed that up with being nominated for a fouffy local event industry award for that cake, and attended the fancy, red carpet awards show with an entourage of 4 fully-uniformed Klingons!
<p>Check out the blog entry about Klingon Christmas Carol <a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2009/11/30/the-most-awesome-thing-in-the-history-of-awesomeness/" target="_new">here</a>, and the blog entry about the Star Awards <a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/03/27/star-awards-didnt-win-but" target="_new">here</a>, and photos <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=171255&#038;id=29890105917" target="_new">here</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=177432&#038;id=29890105917" target="_new">here</a>!</p>
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<p><b>The invention of caffeinated baking mixes!</b>
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/ReflectCaffeine.jpg">
<p>The title almost says it all, doesn&#8217;t it. While we&#8217;d enjoyed moderate success with our modest line of baking mixes, I wanted to have some fun with it. I wanted to come up with a product that could/would be sold on <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-3666972-10356324" target="_new">ThinkGeek.com</a>.. so I took my beautiful brownie mix recipe, added a ton of caffeine anhydrous and guarana seed extract to it, tweaked everything so that the caffeine flavor was completely covered up.. and a star was born! Each brownie made from the mix has the same amount of caffeine as a large cup of coffee, and are fudgy and delicious.
<p>The brownie mix WAS eventually picked up by <a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-3666972-10356324" target="_new">ThinkGeek.com</a>, just months after its invention. Mission accomplished!  The brownie mix was followed up with Jacked up Java cookie mix and Cranked up Chai blondie mix, both available from our <a href="http://celebrationgeneration.com/Mixes.html" target="_new">online store</a>. </p>
<p>Click <a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2009/06/16/sonnet-for-caffeine" target="_new">here</a> &#038; <a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2009/10/27/awesome-news" target="_new">here</a> for old blog entries about that!
<p><center>**********</center>
<p><b>Pioneering the art of &#8220;Cake Taxidermy&#8221;!</b>
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/ReflectTaxidermy.jpg">
<p>Foopmallet was one of our favorite groom&#8217;s cakes ever. We love it when people order cakes that really represent their personalities and interests.. in our eyes, generic cakes are a little passe. So, when we met with Kirk and Amanda and received an order for the Kirk&#8217;s World of Warcraft character as a cake, we loved it! Add to that the fact that we further personalized it by crafting a new flavor &#8211; Redbull, for Kirk and his gamer friends.
<p>Well, Foopmallet apparently had too many hitpoints to be felled at the reception, and was still standing a month later. The decision was made to preserve the formerly-edible cake into a less biohazardous statue. Read all about the process &#8211; and see the photos &#8211; <a href="http://celebrationgeneration.com/Foopmallet.html" target="_new">here</a>!</p>
<p><center>**********</center>
<p><b>Ace of Cakes</b>
<p>It was SO thrilling to find out that the Aces of Cakes themselves, <a href="http://www.charmcitycakes.com" target="_new">Charm City Cakes</a> not only knew about us, but were referring people to us. From time to time, they receive requests for cakes from Minnesotans.. who got passed our way. We were completely honored to find out about this! Oh, and btw.. they were big fans of the caffeinated cookies (from our mix!) that we sent as a thank you!
<p><center>**********</center>
<p><b>Learning to be ourselves</b>
<p>I&#8217;ve always been sort of an outsider to the wedding industry. I don&#8217;t like being told what &#8220;has&#8221; to be done, I&#8217;m not huge on trends, I&#8217;m more for individual expression, free of societal expectation/intervention/guilt trips, etc. In 2009, we finally gave up on traditional wedding media &#038; advertising, veering off on our own, unique marketing path. We stopped attending wedding shows &#8211; our personal idea of hell &#8211; stopped pursuing all of the traditional wedding marketing venues, and completely changed our focus.
<p>Rather than aiming for any and all brides that could fit us in their budget, we focused on working with brides we like, that we WANT to work with, and who appreciate us. Fellow nerds and geeks, for the most part! It was a ballsy move at first, but has paid off with us being MUCH happier, having MUCH more interesting / artistically fulfilling cakes, and generally being treated with more respect. Awesome.
<p><center>**********</center>
<p><b>Having fun with cake competitions</b>
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/ReflectContests.jpg">
<p>As a former figure skater, I know how frustrating it can be to enter a competition, trying to live up to  the expectations of whoever happened to be judging. Particularly as those expectations tended to seem random and arbitrary at times. Early on in my cake career, I decided to have fun with competitions. Take some rules as literally as possible, bend definitions, think outside the box.. whatever. Just have fun with it!
<p>Twice, we&#8217;ve had the opportunity to really have fun with a competition. We submitted a &#8220;Tremors&#8221; themed wedding cake for a chocolate show competition &#8211; their only theme rule was that the wedding cakes had to be animal themed. Well.. graboids are animals, right?
<p>Then, we were invited to compete in the &#8220;Czar of Cakes&#8221; challenge at the <a href="http://www.foodwineshow.com/index.php" target="_new">Minnesota Monthly Food &#038; Wine Experience</a>. The  only real rules specified that the cakes had to be epic, and had to be Food/Wine themed. We could have done the wine/cheese thing.. but we decided to do a cake themed around &#8220;Silence of the Lambs&#8221;. It was epic.
<p>It got a ton of attention.. it was blogged about around the world, and actually sent us over our monthly bandwidth in one day! Most of all, it was a ton of fun. We have a ton of info and pics posted&#8230; click <a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/02/18/czar-of-cakes-challenge-or-i-gotta-be-me" target="_new">here</a> &#038; <a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/02/18/clarice-have-the-lambs-stopped-screaming" target="_new">here</a> for our blog entries about the Food &#038; Wine themed contest cake. Also, click <a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2009/11/10/you-know-what-would-be-awesome-3" target="_new">here</a> for the blog entry about the Tremors cake.</p>
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<blockquote><font color="black">Wow, what a crazy ride! I think that sums up most of my favorite moments of my cake career &#8211; am I missing anything particularly epic?
<p>Anyway, that brings us up to today, as I continue to wait for the UPS guy. The book is done, and on it&#8217;s way to ME! I triumphed over my ADD! It&#8217;s done!
<p>The pre orders will be mailed one week from today, signed, beautiful, and ready to make some epic desserts with.  Have you preordered? <a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/Publishing/TheSpiritedBaker.html" target="_new">Click here</a> to do so &#8211; ordering before August 31 not only saves you $1 per copy, it ensures you&#8217;ll receive a signed copy!
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		<title>Showing off the &#8220;Mad Skillz&#8221; a bit&#8230; Ganesh Cake!</title>
		<link>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/08/23/showing-off-the-mad-skillz-a-bit-ganesh-cake/</link>
		<comments>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/08/23/showing-off-the-mad-skillz-a-bit-ganesh-cake/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:38:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cakes]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/?p=538</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With all of the time spent working on my new book &#8220;The Spirited Baker&#8221;, and now working up to the release of it&#8230; well, there hasn&#8217;t been a lot of cake being created here&#8230;  Well, now I have one to share!
This cake was made for one of my geeky tweeps. Her husband and her [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With all of the time spent working on my new book &#8220;The Spirited Baker&#8221;, and now working up to the release of it&#8230; well, there hasn&#8217;t been a lot of cake being created here&#8230;  Well, now I have one to share!
<p>This cake was made for one of my geeky tweeps. Her husband and her have had a running joke about a &#8220;Ganache Ganesh&#8221; for years. (Ganache being the thick chocolate filling that truffles are made from).  She jumped at the chance to make their in-joke a reality, and planned to present him with a birthday cake of epic proportions. I am pleased to present &#8220;The Ganache Ganesh&#8221;!
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/GanacheGanesh.jpg">
<p>
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<img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Ganesh2.jpg"><br />
<img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Ganesh3.jpg">
<p>This cake is entirely edible, aside from a couple dowels/wires in the extremities. The base and most of Ganesh&#8217;s body is made from our B-52 flavor cake:
<p><i>&#8220;Not only delicious, this cake is a visual delight when sliced! Alternating layers of blood orange and mocha cake are filled with alternating layers of Irish Cream Mousse and Blood Orange chocolate truffle ganache!&#8221;</i>
<p>Awesome.
<p>The rest of the cake is sculpted from Rice Krispies.
<p>Watching the comments come in on Twitter and facebook has been great! A few of my favs:
<p>&#8220;Wow, I had to convince my husband that was a cake.&#8221;
<p>&#8220;That is possibly the coolest cake EVAR, and then the name makes it even better. More pics please!&#8221;
<p>&#8221; &#8220;Look at your man. Now look at me. Is your man covered in fondant?&#8221; need an occasion to get @Celebr8nGenr8n to make that one. <img src='http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif' alt=':-D' class='wp-smiley' />  &#8220;
<p>&#8221; That is amazing! The secret ingredient is obviously insane amounts of awesome. Well done.&#8221;
<p>&#8221; I love your cakes. Love and hate..cuz they&#8217;re gorgeous&#8230;but then it makes me crave your delicious cake.&#8221;
<p>Thank you kindly, everyone!  It was a lot of work, but the pics and reactions make it SO worth it!</p>
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		<title>Gorgeous Wedding Bouquet with&#8230; Lego? Awesome.</title>
		<link>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/08/18/gorgeous-wedding-bouquet-with-lego-awesome/</link>
		<comments>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/08/18/gorgeous-wedding-bouquet-with-lego-awesome/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:05:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/?p=529</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
VERY short and sweet blog entry today!
I just saw a blog entry that Ariela at RBK Creations just posted. Fell in love, had to share!





You may recall RBK Creations from our blog entry, &#8220;Far-flung Awesomeness of the Floral &#038; Photography Varieties&#8220;. If not, here&#8217;s the basic scoop: Met her on Twitter, she&#8217;s located in Texas, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>
VERY short and sweet blog entry today!
<p>I just saw a blog entry that Ariela at <a href="http://rbkcreations.com" target="_new">RBK Creations</a> just posted. Fell in love, had to share!
<p></p>
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You may recall RBK Creations from our blog entry, &#8220;<a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/05/04/far-flung-awesomeness-of-the-floral-photography-varieties" target="_new">Far-flung Awesomeness of the Floral &#038; Photography Varieties</a>&#8220;. If not, here&#8217;s the basic scoop: Met her on Twitter, she&#8217;s located in Texas, and she makes the most ridiculously awesome fabric and button wedding florals. Love them! (No, this is not a paid ad or anything!)
<p>Of all the bouquet styles she does, my favorites are the felt ones, especially when there are bright colors involved. I&#8217;m a sucker for teal &#038; purple&#8230; so when I saw those two colors, in my favorite style.. WITH LEGOS.. I had to post! Isn&#8217;t it awesome? Here&#8217;s some contact info if you want to revel in her awesomeness more closely &#8211; like with your own set!
<p>Website: <a href="http://rbkcreations.com" target="_new">www.rbkcreations.com</a><br />
Twitter:  <a href="http://www.twitter.com/RBKCreations" target="_new">@RBKCreations</a><br />
Etsy: <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/reallybadkitty" target="_new">www.etsy.com/shop/reallybadkitty</a><br />
Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RBKCreations" target="_new">www.facebook.com/RBKCreations</a>
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		<title>Cake Toppers: They don&#8217;t have to be as horrible as you think!</title>
		<link>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/08/11/cake-toppers-they-dont-have-to-be-as-horrible-as-you-think/</link>
		<comments>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/08/11/cake-toppers-they-dont-have-to-be-as-horrible-as-you-think/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:24:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[This blog entry is going to be a unique one for me &#8211; a positive blog entry about something I normally hate!
Yes, I am vehemently, rabidly anti-cake toppers. 99% of the time, I find toppers to look cheesy, cheap, and TOTALLY out of place on a cake. Most of the readily-available toppers in stores all [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This blog entry is going to be a unique one for me &#8211; a positive blog entry about something I normally hate!
<p>Yes, I am vehemently, rabidly anti-cake toppers. 99% of the time, I find toppers to look cheesy, cheap, and TOTALLY out of place on a cake. Most of the readily-available toppers in stores all look the same as they did 20 years ago, and they all sort of look the same. Yawn.  They go completely against my belief that a wedding should be personalized, and truly reflect the couple.
<p>Aside from the stand-alone cheese factor, the other thing that gets me is that they&#8217;re very rarely used in a way that complements the design of the cake. I&#8217;ve got almost 20 years of old school design experience, so things like jarring breaks in form, line, color.. it just gets to me.
<p>I prefer toppers to be an extension of the cake design itself, usually made from the same materials. Sugar flowers that are also used throughout the cake design, not just plunked on top, for instance. An unbroken, balanced continuation of the design, seamlessly executed. If such a continuation isn&#8217;t possible &#8211; for whatever reason &#8211; I much prefer to have NO topper, whatsoever.
<p>It IS, however, possible to incorporate a topper into the cake without it being cheesy OR jarring! It takes a little creativity, planning, and a talented cake designer.. but it can definitely work. Here are the two key points to remember:
<p>
<span id="more-502"></span><br />
1. It must be a nice topper, ideally custom &#8211; and preferably unique. There is absolutely no way to make an off-the-shelf Wilton topper uncheesy. Ironic, maybe.. but not uncheesy. Sorry. I&#8217;m blunt, but I speak the truth! Do you really want your great aunt Bertha beaming at the memory of seeing that same topper atop her own cake?
<p>2. Contrary to the normal order of things.. you really need to choose such a topper first, and DESIGN THE CAKE AROUND IT. Do NOT try and plop a custom topper on top of any wedding cake design, it won&#8217;t work. Incorporate the colors, themes, and general feel of your topper into the cake, and it will be much more coherent, pleasing to the eye, and YOU.
<p>Where to find such a topper? WELL! I went on a &#8220;cute topper finding mission&#8221; this morning, and I have a load of inspiration and contacts for you, dear readers. Some are quite epic!
<p>Let me say this&#8230; when it comes to finding talented artists to create truly unique toppers, <a href="http://www.etsy.com" target="_new">Etsy.com</a> is a GOLDMINE! The vast majority of the toppers below are from Etsy. Let&#8217;s get started, shall we?
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<td>First up, we have <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/fliepsiebieps" target="_new">&#8220;Fliepsiebieps&#8221;</a>, from The Hague, Netherlands.
<p>I love how adorable these custom polymer clay toppers are, and &#8211; as a cake artist &#8211; would love the opportunity to design an adorable cake around these. I love the use of color, and the lines that this artist uses. I think these toppers would be an adorable keepsake on a bookshelf, mantle, or whatever for years to come &#8211; but then, that sentiment really applies to any well done, custom topper!
<p>Fliepsiebieps has several means of contact listed:
<p>Etsy: <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/fliepsiebieps" target="_new">&#8220;Fliepsiebieps&#8221;</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/fliepsiebieps" target="_new">http://twitter.com/fliepsiebieps</a><br />
Flickr: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fliepsiebieps" target="_new">http://www.flickr.com/photos/fliepsiebieps</a><br />
Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/esthertaal" target="_new">http://www.facebook.com/esthertaal</a></td>
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<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Fliepsiebieps1.jpg"><br />
<img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Fliepsiebieps2.jpg">
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<td>This next artist. <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/buildersstudio" target="_new">&#8220;buildersstudio&#8221;</a>,  just completely blows me away.. and I&#8217;m not even in to Steampunk!
<p>I can&#8217;t get over the insane amount of detail that goes into these &#8220;robot&#8221; steampunk wedding cake toppers. Sick. Amazing! Love it!
<p>I don&#8217;t even know what else to say.
<p>Etsy: Etsy: <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/buildersstudio" target="_new">http://www.etsy.com/shop/buildersstudio</a>
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<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/buildersstudio1.jpg"><br />
<img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/buildersstudio2.jpg">
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<td>The interesting thing about this next artist,  <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/splendorlocity" target="_new">&#8220;splendorlocity&#8221;</a>, is that they mess with those awful premade toppers&#8230; and manages to make them about as acceptable as they&#8217;re gonna get!
<p>Check them out on Etsy:<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/splendorlocity" target="_new">http://www.etsy.com/shop/splendorlocity</a>
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<td><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/splendorlocity.jpg"></td>
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<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/splendorlocity1.jpg"><br />
<img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/splendorlocity2.jpg">
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<td>The artist who makes these ADORABLE toppers,  <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/kikuike" target="_new">&#8220;kikuike&#8221;</a>, is based in Japan. So cute!  I think a cake based around any of these would be adorable, and completely memorable!
<p>Check them out on Etsy:<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/kikuike" target="_new">http://www.etsy.com/shop/kikuike</a><br />

<p>Check them out on Flickr: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/etsy_kikuike" target="_new">http://www.flickr.com/photos/etsy_kikuike</a>
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<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/kikuike1.jpg"><br />
<img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/kikuike2.jpg">
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<td>Lets go from adorable, to COMPLETELY BIZARRE.
<p>I honestly have no idea what to say about these. Definitely memorable, at the very least! As with many of the custom toppers I&#8217;m featuring.. it would be great for the right couple, and the right cake design!
<p>These toppers are made by pouring liquid casting clay into multiple molds, chopping them up, and then rearranging body parts before glazing &#038; firing them. It&#8217;s like&#8230; &#8220;The Cake Toppers of Dr Moreau&#8221;. Awesome!</td>
<td><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/melabo.jpg"></td>
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<p><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/melabo" target="_new">Megan Bogonovich</a>&#8217;s work has been featured on <a href="http://www.marthastewartweddings.com" target="_new">Martha Stewart Weddings</a>, <a href="http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/06/we-like-it-wild-a-choo-wedding.html#more-51639" target="_new">Design Sponge</a>, as well as <a href="http://www.stylemepretty.com/2010/07/01/florida-garden-wedding-with-chic-style" target="_new">Style Me Pretty</a>
<p>Check them out on Etsy:<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/melabo" target="_new">http://www.etsy.com/shop/melabo</a><br />

<p>Check out artist&#8217;s website: <a href="http://www.meganbogonovich.com" target="_new">http://www.meganbogonovich.com</a>
<p>
<img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/melabo1.jpg"><br />
<img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/melabo2.jpg">
<p><center>**********</center>
<p>I think that&#8217;s enough for one blog entry. Stay tuned for a part 2!</p>
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		<title>Wedding Evolution of Dance!</title>
		<link>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/08/09/wedding-evolution-of-dance/</link>
		<comments>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/08/09/wedding-evolution-of-dance/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:11:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Interesting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Random]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/?p=499</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So I&#8217;m sure that everyone&#8217;s seen Judson Laipply&#8217;s &#8220;Evolution of Dance&#8221;. It&#8217;s hilarious. If you, by some weird chance, have not seen it, click here to see it on youtube.
Now, there have been a good handful of couples &#8211; at LEAST &#8211; who have attempted their own versions of Judson&#8217;s act as part of their [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So I&#8217;m sure that everyone&#8217;s seen <a href="http://www.mightaswelldance.com" target="_new">Judson Laipply&#8217;s</a> &#8220;Evolution of Dance&#8221;. It&#8217;s hilarious. If you, by some weird chance, have not seen it, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg" target="_new">click here</a> to see it on youtube.
<p>Now, there have been a good handful of couples &#8211; at LEAST &#8211; who have attempted their own versions of Judson&#8217;s act as part of their receptions. This morning, I watched what may just be the BEST version done yet!
<p>Check out the video from Jackie and Nick&#8217;s July 30th wedding, via <a href="http://www.finelineweddings.com" target="_new">Fine Line Weddings</a> in Pennsylvania:
<p><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MOiQy9koW20&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1?rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MOiQy9koW20&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1?rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
<p>Doing the running man, to &#8220;Ice Ice Baby&#8221; &#8211; IN A WEDDING GOWN &#8211; FTW!
<p>My only criticism? No Cotton Eyed Joe. Seriously. The world needs more Cotton Eyed Joe!
<p>Congrats, Jackie &#038; Nick! You guys were awesome, and you look like you&#8217;ll have a fun life together!</p>
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		<title>A Love Letter to the Goddesses of Cheesecake!</title>
		<link>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/07/30/a-love-letter-to-the-goddesses-of-cheesecake/</link>
		<comments>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/07/30/a-love-letter-to-the-goddesses-of-cheesecake/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:30:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/?p=488</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There are two main truths you should know &#8211; or possibly already do &#8211; going in to this blog entry.
1. If you&#8217;ve ever seen me, you could probably tell that I&#8217;m someone who takes cheesecake seriously. This isn&#8217;t &#8220;Fat&#8221;, it&#8217;s CREDENTIALS!
2. Much like wedding cake.. there is an awful lot of crappy cheesecake out there. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There are two main truths you should know &#8211; or possibly already do &#8211; going in to this blog entry.
<p>1. If you&#8217;ve ever seen me, you could probably tell that I&#8217;m someone who takes cheesecake seriously. This isn&#8217;t &#8220;Fat&#8221;, it&#8217;s CREDENTIALS!
<p>2. Much like wedding cake.. there is an awful lot of crappy cheesecake out there. Also &#8211; again, much like wedding cake &#8211; it surprises me what some people consider &#8220;good&#8221; cheesecake. You need to try truly amazing cheesecake, to be able to have an accurate reference point. Again, see truth #1.<br />
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<td valign="Top"><font face="tahoma,verdana,arial" size="-1"><br />
I bring this up because today is July 30th!  You know what that means? It means NATIONAL CHEESECAKE DAY.
<p>Growing up, my exposure to good cheesecake was hit and miss. It was rare to come across a great slice of cheesecake, and &#8211; even if I did &#8211; there&#8217;s no guarantee that a.) I&#8217;d ever be at the establishment again (travelled a lot!), or b.) the consistency was there, that my next stop at that establishment would yield an equally awesome slice. Sigh.
<p>My lifetime quest for the most epic cheesecake came to an end when I met Amy and Tami from <A href="http://muddypawscheesecake.com" target="_new">Muddy Paws Cheesecake</a>.
<p>So&#8230; where to start? Amy and Tami are complete sweethearts. Really, that&#8217;s probably an understatement. Love em! They&#8217;re two of my absolute favorite people in the local industry, no question. Any bride that hires them for wedding desserts is in VERY good hands.
</td>
<td><font color="white">&#038;nbsp</td>
<td valign="_top">
<img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/MPCheesecake1.jpg"><br />
<font face="tahoma,verdana,arial" size="-2">Photos courtesy <a href="http://www.stulagu.com" target="_new">Studio Laguna Photography</a></p>
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<p>While my fangirling up about those two goddesses is completely exclusive of the fact that they rock the cheesecake like nobody&#8217;s business&#8230; this blog is about the cheesecake. So, let&#8217;s go there.
<p><span id="more-488"></span></p>
<p>OH. MY. SWEET. FSM.
<p>Muddy Paws Cheesecake is &#8211; hands down AND consistently &#8211; the best cheesecake I&#8217;ve ever had. EVER. Did I mention &#8220;Hands down&#8221;?. Yeah. I probably shouldn&#8217;t be writing this on an empty stomach. SO freaking smooth and creamy!
<p>Truly, if I can ever convince my husband to marry me again, we&#8217;ll be serving their cheesecake at the reception. STILL have no desire to make my own wedding cake, and &#8211; after the freezerburnt abomination we were stuck with at our first wedding &#8211; I&#8217;ve adopted the &#8220;Don&#8217;t trust ANYONE&#8221; mantra. Well, anyone aside from Tami and Amy, who I KNOW would take care of us!
<p>There are two main reasons for my loyal adoration of <A href="http://muddypawscheesecake.com" target="_new">Muddy Paws Cheesecake</a>:
<p>1. They don&#8217;t put crap in their cheesecakes. By &#8220;crap&#8221;, I mostly mean flour. When you add flour to cheesecake, it means you can add less of the good (read: expensive) stuff, like.. well, more CHEESE. It also gives it a certain texture, with a completely different mouthfeel than a pure cheesecake. Unfortunately, the vast majority of cheesecake outlets add flour (and other fillers) to their cakes. In addition to leaving crap out of their cakes, they put a big emphasis on only using the best quality of the ingredients they DO use. Yum.
<p>2. They offer about a million flavors!* If you&#8217;ve seen my own <a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/flavors.html">flavors listing</a>, you should know that they are really singin a song I can appreciate. I LOVE variety! (* Well ok, it&#8217;s more like &#8220;over 220&#8243; flavors&#8230; but still!)
<p>Personally, my favorite is the key lime&#8230; or cappuchino.. or&#8230; mmmmmm.
<p>Today, as it&#8217;s National Cheesecake Day, Muddy Paws is adding extra incentive to go gorge yourself silly on their creamy cheesecakey goodness. Today &#8211; July 30th &#8211; from 10:30am -2:30pm, they are offering buy one get one free on all slices. YES!
<p>So by all means, give them a call and go drop some coin on the best cheesecake ever. Affordable luxury that you deserve&#8230;  plus, it&#8217;s a good way to celebrate Friday <img src='http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p><center><br />
7600 West 27th Street<br />
Suite B2<br />
St Louis Park, MN 55426<br />
(763) 545-7161<br />
Website: <A href="http://muddypawscheesecake.com" target="_new">Muddy Paws Cheesecake</a><br />
MP on Twitter: <A href="http://www.twitter.com/mpcheesecake" target="_new">@mpcheesecake</a>
<p>
</center><br />
If you&#8217;re one of my far flung readers, you&#8217;re not COMPLETELY out of luck &#8211; They do mail orders! Yes, anywhere you may be across the country, you too are able to indulge in their awesomeness. Just go check out their website!
<p>Also, to toot their horn a little more for them&#8230; Keep an eye out for the &#8220;Singular Sensations&#8221; Episode of <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com" target="_new">Food Network&#8217;s</a> &#8220;<a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/roker-on-the-road/index.html" target="_new">Roker on the Road</a>&#8220;&#8230; cause they&#8217;re featured in it! See, I told you they&#8217;re rockstars!
<p><center><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/MPCheesecake2.jpg"><br />
<font face="tahoma,verdana,arial" size="-2">Photos courtesy <a href="http://www.stulagu.com" target="_new">Studio Laguna Photography</a></center></font></p>
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		<title>W00tstock Awesomeness.</title>
		<link>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/06/09/w00tstock-awesomeness/</link>
		<comments>http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/06/09/w00tstock-awesomeness/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:39:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/?p=319</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I had fully intended to write this blog yesterday, but I was a complete zombie. I&#8217;m *mostly* recovered now, so let&#8217;s see if I can do this thing justice!
Back in the beginning of March, I received an email from one of my tweeps. She excitedly told me that w00tstock was coming to Minneapolis, and &#8220;I [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I had fully intended to write this blog yesterday, but I was a complete zombie. I&#8217;m *mostly* recovered now, so let&#8217;s see if I can do this thing justice!
<p>Back in the beginning of March, I received an email from one of my tweeps. She excitedly told me that <a href="http://www.paulandstorm.com/gigs/w00tstock" target="_new">w00tstock</a> was coming to Minneapolis, and &#8220;I don&#8217;t know about you, but I think w00tstock would be better with cake!&#8221;
<p>Well, I had to agree, so I got a hold of <a href="http://www.paulandstorm.com" target="_new">Paul and Storm</a>, the geeked out musical comedians in charge. Offered up some cake, they were interested, mentioned I&#8217;d have my husband &#8211; a <a href="http://www.mporterphotography.com" target="_new">photographer</a> along with me to take pics&#8230; they asked if he&#8217;d be willing to be the official backstage photographer (Willing? Hell YES he was!)&#8230;<br />
and we were on track for an adventure in epic geekery!
<p>The plan was to make a surprise &#8220;Tardis&#8221; cake for <a href="http://www.adamsavage.com" target="_new">Adam Savage</a> &#038; <a href="http://wilwheaton.typepad.com" target="_new">Wil Wheaton</a>. Hubby would photograph the goings on, while I doled out samples of our caffeinated brownies and blondies (from our <a href="http://celebrationgeneration.com/Mixes.html" target="_new">line of baking mixes</a>. Cake would be served, geeking out would occur, and it would be an awesome night.
<p>Monday was the day, finally! It had been difficult to not blab the details of the cake design itself, while I had been free to tweet that I would be DOING a cake. Everyone wants to know what it&#8217;ll look like, especially when it&#8217;s a.) Geeky, and b.) Intended for geek royalty!  This blog entry is gonna get long and image-heavy, so click through to read &#038; gawk! <span id="more-319"></span></p>
<p>The day got off to a bad start. Due to some dropped communication between the various parties involved, we ended up cakeblocked at the last minute. The Guthrie decided &#8211; between the time we left, and arriving at the loading dock &#8211; that 1&#8243; samples would be too much competition for their concession stand, and we were left with 600 samples we could not serve. Damn!! Woulda been good to be told that &#8211; we briefly considered a tweetup sampling out of the back of our truck. LOL.
<p>We loaded up the dolly with everything else, and set about to get the cake discreetly delivered to a room where Wil Wheaton wouldn&#8217;t see it. Of course, he was one of the very first people we came across. While a few people tried to guide him away from where we were, there were a few tense moments as we tried out best to stand in front of / conceal out delivery. My minion of the evening &#8211; Rachel &#8211; and I set about setting up our merch booth, while my husband went on the photography gig he&#8217;d been looking forward to awhile.
<p>At that point, the rest of the evening kinda became a flurry of activity, so let me just point-form our highlights. This probably won&#8217;t be accurately chronological in any way!
<p>- It was great to meet SO many of my tweeps! Thank you all for coming by the booth and identifying yourself as such! Kaji, TheGreenAvenger, PerpetualMind, NorthernGypsy, off the top of my head&#8230; hi!
<p>- At one point, Wil Wheaton warned my husband (as the photographer, not knowing he was in any way related to me or the brownies backstage) that the brownies may taste really good, but watch out &#8211; they&#8217;re REALLY caffeinated!. Wil later told the story to me as well, saying that a little bit of one had him feeling like..  damn, I can&#8217;t remember how he put it. Like a hyper chipmunk or something. He was talking very fast <img src='http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' />
<p>- Minutes before the big unveiling, I was told in no uncertain terms that Wil would &#8220;lose his shit when he sees the cake&#8221;. He did. It was great! Here are some pics:
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Reaction.jpg"><br />
<img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Reaction1.jpg"><br />
<img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Reaction2.jpg"><br />
<img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Reaction3.jpg"><br />
<img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Reaction4.jpg"><br />
(What happens when you present a geeky cake to a room full of geeks!)
<p>For more pics of the cake &#038; backstage presentation, check out our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Celebration-Generation/29890105917" target="_new">Facebook page</a> &#8211; fan us while you&#8217;re at it!
<p>- I took a really crappy cell phone pic of Wil on the floor, photographing his cake. <a href="http://www.twitter.com/cakewrecks" target="_new">Cake Wrecks</a> retweeted it&#8230; Wil tweeted pics.. both  (with a total combined follower number of 2,889,949!) including my username&#8230; and my twitter feed went apeshit. Here&#8217;s a more pro version of the <a href="http://twitpic.com/1uvocd" target="_new">Pic I tweeted</a>:
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Reaction5.jpg">
<p>(Being married to a photographer is handy!)
<p>The cake, if you don&#8217;t recognize it, it the TARDIS from Dr Who. What made this cake really cool &#8211; and a stand out for my husband &#8211; is that the light on top was not only functional, it blinked. That meant a trip to Ax-Man &#8211; his favorite store in the world &#8211; as well as ripping apart a few different lights/components, and making custom electronics for it. He was in his glory <img src='http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' />   We let Wil keep the blinky light!
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/TardisCakeComp.jpg">
<p>Another interesting thing about the cake was the inside joke we piped on the back. If you follow either <a href="http://www.twitter.com/WilW" target="_new">Wil Wheaton</a> or <a href="http://www.twitter.com/PaulAndStorm" target="_new">Paul and Storm</a>, you know what that&#8217;s all about <img src='http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' />   I&#8217;m not describing here, as I don&#8217;t want to attract certain types of spam comment bots!
<p>- Being approached by a friend of mine who&#8217;d seen Twitter just blow up over the cake &#8211; and all of the high-profilers tweeting about it &#8211; and the first thing she said to me was a rough quote of a local &#8220;bigshot&#8221; (in her mind) planner who told a friend of mine that I have no idea what I&#8217;m doing, that by catering to geeks and doing stuff like having Klingons as escorts at an Awards Night (see <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=171255&#038;id=29890105917" target="_new">Here</a> and <a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/SponsorAKlingon.html" target="_new">Here</a>, and <a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/2010/03/27/star-awards-didnt-win-but/" target="_new">Here</a>), I was &#8211; quote &#8211; &#8220;throwing my business down the toilet&#8221;. Ah, sweet, sweet vindication. I&#8217;d actually forgotten all about that until the friend brought it up. I was very smug after that reminder, LOL.
<p>- While he wouldn&#8217;t OFFICIALLY &#8220;bust the myth&#8221; of fondant tasting bad, (oh, how I was hoping for video of that!)&#8230; I was told that Adam Savage liked my fondant, and was totally unaware that fondant has a bad rep.
<p>- We met two of the guys from <a href="http://www.thacothemovie.com" target="_new">Thaco</a>! While hubby was photographing Wil with his cake, I went over to inform him that I noticed Bill Stiteler in the corner. You should have seen his grin! He loved that movie.. and had the &#8220;claim to fame&#8221; of being Thaco&#8217;s first review on Amazon. As Bill pointed out, that&#8217;s their ONLY review&#8230; so if you&#8217;ve seen it and loved it, go <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thaco-Bill-Stiteler/dp/B003AYEYX2" target="_new">review it</a> already! (That&#8217;s a totally unsolicited request/recommendation, by the way!)
<p>Actually, I should be more accurate. Hubby met one of the Thaco guys, I met two &#8211; Duck came up to my booth. I have NO idea if he wanted info or anything, cause I immediately asked &#8220;Are you the guy in Thaco?&#8221;, and when he confirmed, I may have sort of screeched excitedly about my husband being a big fan, and asked for a photo with which I&#8217;d torment him. He graciously allowed it <img src='http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' />   Hubby WAS jealous, just as I called it.
<p>- Hubby had a GREAT time photographing the whole thing. His highlights included getting shoved on stage a few times to take pics, looking out on the audience and seeing a bunch of people he KNEW. That had to be pretty cool&#8230; we really did end up knowing a TON of people in attendance, too!
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/Engagement.jpg">
<p>- You see this couple? They got engaged at W00tstock! On stage. I didn&#8217;t get to see it personally (was at my booth!), but I hear it was a geeked out moment of beauty! They later told me, at my booth, that my cakes were one of the first things they thought about after getting engaged. What a compliment! It was also cool for my husband, who was &#8220;shoved out on stage&#8221; to capture the moment. I think it&#8217;s the first engagement moment he&#8217;s been a part of, aside from his own!
<p>- Speaking of couples getting married, guess who stopped by my booth? Check this out:
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/MarioCouple1.jpg">
<p>That&#8217;s a crappy cell phone pic I took of one of my favorite couples ever! They were actually anonymously &#8220;famous&#8221; that night, and have been for awhile &#8211; they&#8217;re Cory and Tori, the couple who ordered the <a href="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/SuperMarioGL.jpg" target="_new">Super Mario Brothers wedding cake</a> for their wedding a year and a half ago! You know, the one on the front page of my site, and on most of my advertising&#8230; the one that something like 90% of the attendees at W00tstock geeked out over? Them! Awesome to see them again &#8211; and doubly awesome that he was wearing a Super Mario Bros shirt for the pic!
<p>- We got a hell of a shoutout on stage from Paul and Storm. I&#8217;m used to very dry &#8220;we&#8217;d like to thank our sponsors&#8221; kinda mentions&#8230; this was nothing like that. I knew they were excited about the cake and enjoyed it, I didn&#8217;t expect it would come through SO much on stage. I was very honored.. and luckily, quick enough to capture most of it on video:
<p><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/E13Ogxh3N_s&#038;hl=en_US&#038;fs=1&#038;rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/E13Ogxh3N_s&#038;hl=en_US&#038;fs=1&#038;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
<p>I CANNOT tell you how electrifying an experience it was when they crowd went SO nuts over the pics of the cake.  I have goosebumps just typing about it. Thank you SO much, all of you. You made my night!!
<p>- On the subject of unexpected ego boosts, holy crap &#8211; I read the comments on the cake pic Wil tweeted.  Awesome, <a href="http://twitpic.com/1uvpgo" target="_new">check it out</a>!
<p>- Being surrounded by not only almost every geek and nerd we know &#8211; which is ALWAYS a good time, we were surrounded by geek royalty, which was really cool. Wil Wheaton, Adam Savage, Paul and Storm, as mentioned.. but also several &#8220;Mystery Science Theater 3000&#8243; guys there:  <a href="http://www.cinematictitanic.com" target="_new">Trace Beaulieu</a>, <a href="http://www.rifftrax.com" target="_new">Bill Corbett</a>, and <a href="http://www.rifftrax.com" target="_new">Kevin Murphy</a>&#8230; authors <a href="http://whatever.scalzi.com" target="_new">John Scalzi</a>, and <a href="http://www.physicsofsuperheroes.com" target="_new">James Kakalios</a> &#8211; who I&#8217;m told COMPLETELY brought the house down with his Physics talk. (Twitter sure went nuts!), and more!
<p><img src="http://www.celebrationgeneration.com/BlogPics/GeekedOutGroup.jpg">
<p>- I got to meet Neil Gaiman! I had gone back to the green room to look for my husband, poked my head in to ask for him.. where Neil was the one to answer. Neil thought that he knew where he was, and very kindly led me back. Very gentlemanly&#8230; and he actually contributed to my most surreal moment of the night. He stopped, turned around and extended a hand, and said &#8220;I&#8217;m Neil Gaiman&#8221;. Like I had NO idea who he was! Kinda caught me off guard.
<p>I&#8217;ve met and/or worked with many celebrities over the years, and I&#8217;m pretty sure he&#8217;s the first to ever introduce himself. Many/most just expect it&#8217;s a given that I know who they are, even when that&#8217;s NOT the case &#8211; sports stars are particularly guilty of this. (Ironically, I&#8217;m usually quite guilty of not having a clue WHO they are!). I follow him on Twitter, as a result of SO many of my friends talking him up.. even though I&#8217;ve not had time to read fiction in.. wow, maybe a decade? He was just such a down to earth and nice guy! I think I&#8217;m gonna have to seek out one of his books and give it a go, as soon as I have a minute to breathe! (so probably end of July, by the current looks of things!). Any recommendations?
<p>- As part of the show, artist <A href="http://www.lenperalta.com" target="_new">Len Peralta</a> (of the <a href="http://geekaweek.net" target="_new">Geek A Week project</a>) was on stage, seated at his computer&#8230; designing the official W00tstock poster. They set it up so that the audience could tweet suggestions as to what all should be on this poster&#8230; and yes, my Tardis cake ended up on it! How sweet is THAT? Thanks Len! You rock.
<p>
Wow, this entry is long and crazy. Trying to think if there was anything else?
<p>Oh! At the end of the night, when the Geek Royalty was lined up at a table across the room, signing autographs.. 4 or 5 people came by my booth with their autographed poster.. and asked for MINE! Signed em and did a quick &#8220;Tardis cake&#8221; sketch. Fun!
<p>All in all, a crazy awesome night!!  What were your favorite memories of #w00tstock ?</p>
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