Cake Ideas

Flowers

I'm not a fan of real flowers (nor the cost). I ordered these from Etsy for Luna and myself. Hopefully they look just as nice in person

Cake topper and presents!!

I ordered these two:

Main table centerpieces

I'm thinking these will be on Luna and my table

Guest book!

We're stepping away from the usual guest "book" and going with a piece of art that we can hang in our house

Hair

I am a fan of these looks so far

Favors

I finished putting the favors together. I decided to go with mints. Why mints? After the tasting, we'd ate so much that I couldn't imagine my guests smelling so bad all night long ;)

Lots of dresses to choose from

These are all the dresses I said hell no to. I won't show you the one I said hell yes to until the day 😉

Needless to say, I wasn't too impressed with these, and my face kinda shows it.

Wedding tasting

Brought part of the centerpiece so we'd get a better idea of what the tables might look like.

List of appetizers ranked from favorite to blahhh!

Creamy of tomato

Cream of broccoli

Taste off

Taste off

Final Menu!!

Centerpieces!

I budgeted $45 a table for floral arranged centerpieces. I did a lot of research and thought I had the perfect arrangement for my money... but then I ran into Joann. Joann's fabric to be precise!

I'm just wandering the isles and I come across the candles. Immediately I can't take my eyes off of this box. I have no cart with me, as I only went in for one item.

I see that there's three boxes and say "wouldn't that make for a cute centerpiece?!" Cue lightbulb, fairy dust, and angels singing!! I see that it is on sale for 60% off the sales ticket!!

Whoosh! I break out my iPhone(um I probably could have done the math mentally...but don't judge me!)

The original price was $20, and I could have it for $8!! SCORE!! So awesome. I love them. I bought everything on their shelves and then called a few more stores to have them put aside the rest of their stock for me :D

I just saved $37 a table!!

 

The problem that we encountered was that we could only find enough for 10 tables. So what do we do??? Looking around, I found this cute candle holders that were also 60% off. The little ones were $2, and the larger ones were $4. So, the look of the tree and the leaves will be staggered. 

 

I am totally proud of how frugal I am :)

Invitations, in the making!

So, I decided to make my invitations, rather than order them. Price difference? I'm saving $410.

Luna and I went and scooped up our little cousin Jalexi, who then helped me pick out fonts, print and punch out the little tags.

We worked for a good 3 hours and only finished about 15 invitations hahaha! It's a ton of work!!
But, we're all set with the basics now, and can really start rolling out the invites.

Humboldt Crack Cake: Are you feeling Tipsy yet?

I love bakeries. You already know that though, from my previous entries. But, there's a neighborhood bakery called Tipsy Cake, and well... they've crossed into my dog house of no return.

Here's a video that I saw last night

1. My first reaction to this, is that I love City Soles, and could not believe that they continued to conduct an interview with this woman and did not call her out for her inappropriate language, like "crack cake."
2. She laughs and says that there were too many gun shots in the cakes...
3. She mentions that her upscale clients were too scared to come to her shop in Humboldt park...
4. And this is the kicker: She says that a pastry that she makes is called "crack" because the police officers in Humbolt park used to come in and ask for the "crack." Now, the host then actually calls the cake "Humboldt Crack," but the owner does not refute the name.  The owner tastes the cake and then laughs and says "oh my God, it's just like any crack I've ever had!" :: Cue laughing::

Ugh! I was absolutely disgusted after watching this video, and decided to write on City Soles website to describe how disgusted I was with their attitude toward the American drug trafficking problem. I couldn't believe that they would 1. speak about drugs in such a nonchalant way, and 2. belittle the community that has hosted Tipsy Cakes since 2005. Are you kidding me?? After my complaint and a few others, the video was taken off youtube... but if there's one thing I teach my kids, it's that once you put something online, it's there forever. (Hence how it's visible to you here on this posting)

Needless to say, the owner has thoroughly pissed off the Humboldt park community, and continues to antagonize the people who live here, by thinking her "witty" remarks are funny:

 Ooof! Bad move. Don't mess with Puerto Ricans. We don't give up. Nor do we forget. The response has been amazing! The Alderman have been contacted, as well as news stations. There is a such thing as bad publicity... especially if you want to continue your business in an area where "bullets" supposedly riddle your cakes.

Seems as though they understand this now, after seeing this comment. My comments have been deleted, as well as anyone else who mentions Tipsy Cake on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

And then they try to play the "I am friends with colored people" card.

This is a reason why the Humboldt park community is anxious when dealing with outside businesses. What is your intention? To push the community out, or to help retain the culture that we have established? If you've been a loyal reader, then you know that I am all for my community, and support local businesses. But in this case, I, for one, will boycott Tipsy Cake, and urge all others to do the same.
If you look them up on Yelp, they've gotten plenty of bad ratings due to the rude customer service. Go to Cafe Colao for a great cup of tea, coffee and home baked goods. Skip Tipsy Cake. Go to a family owned bakery that has supported the neighborhood for 100+ years: Roesers. Skip Tipsy Cake.

United, we are strong. Humboldt Park Pride. We are NOT FOR SALE.

Skip Tipsy Cake Hahahahaha

Linens and things

Luna and I went to go choose our table and chair linens. Who knew there'd be so much to choose from!
Here's what we got so far:
Ivory table cloths with green overlays.
Now we've got to choose from the super sparkly or the slightly sparkly (our terminology, not the planner)

I'm pretty set on the side knot for the chairs... But can pick from 20 different styles on March 10th, when we go for our tasting.

Wedding Cake: Bakery Question Solved

I had my mom call the wedding planner this past weekend. I'm working on so many things these days that I really don't have time for beating around the bush. My mom is just a lot better with that, while I'm more blunt. I sat next to her working on some payroll logistics that she was having problems with, while she made the phone call.

So, she calls, and explains that she's calling on my behalf, and that we were wondering what plans had been made since our original bakery had gone out of business, and we'd never been told about this. Immediately, the planner gets defensive and quite a bit of a 'tude with my mom, and says "usually, cakes are not chosen until a month before the wedding." I hear this, and tell my mom to let her know that I am busy and need to get things straightened out at once.

Mom, being more diplomatic, explains that since I am working full time and going to school full time, I have limited time to make decisions, so once an opportunity to do so arises, I like to take advantage of that.

Planner lady says, "oh, she must be really on top of things then."

Yes. Yes, I am. Wedding planning is a business, and when I am working with a business, and am paying them money, I'd like to make sure everything is planned out. BESIDES! It's not like I've been stalking her, making phone calls weekly. This is the first time I've contacted her.
Anywho, here's the new bakery:

Here's the menu for the sweet table:

Taffeta and I, don't mix

I haven't been impressed with the wedding dresses I've seen so far, but I do know this much:
Taffeta and I, don't work well together.
(Organiza either...)

Take a look at this picture:

On the average unshapely woman, this would like nice. Notice this model is small on top, and I'm sure she's pretty narrow on the bottom.

This type of dress would totally not work for me. For a petite woman, I'm pretty hippy and have a butt. This dress would end up making me look like that freaky Romanian model, Ioana Spangenberg:

Hahah! Okay, I'm being pretty extreme.  I don't get the whole hour-glass, "Princess," big ball gown obsession. On me, I'd be a walking mushroom.
Well, back to the search.

Questions I will not answer:

I hate when people talk about how much they spent on things...
"my car was blank-blank dollars!"
"I spent blank blank dollars on my shoes!" (dinner, clothes, bills, whatever else you spend your money on)

From a pretty young age, my dad taught me that it is bad form to speak about how much you spend on things. In addition to that, I'm a private person, and don't really want people knowing what I have (or don't have).

Here are some questions that I will not answer regarding our wedding day
(And if you ask them, I will smile at you, and give you my famous wave-you-away hand movement along with the following remarks):

Guest: Wow guys! How much is the wedding reception costing you?
Jackie:Ummm... are you concerned that you have to tip the waiter? Don't worry about that, because I GOT THIS!!! ::said in my George Lopez voice::

Guest: Can you make sure not to set your date for [insert date here] -- I have another wedding already planned!
Jackie: (Hehehe! Let's see if one of my co-workers figures out this one is for him.) Does the look on my face tell you everything you need to know?

Guest: Hi! What table am I sitting at?
Jackie: You see that little table over there with your name on it? Yeah? Go check it.

Guest: Hey! Why didn't you invite [insert name here]?
Jackie: Why would I? ::Awkward silence::

Guest: How many carats is that ring anyway?
Jackie: How many specs of salt is yours?

Guest: Where are your bridesmaids?
Jackie: Serving me by playing in traffic. Didn't you see them earlier?

Guest:  Jackie, don't you think the six-tiered wedding cake is a bit much? 
Jackie: Sounds like you don't want any... ::awkward silence::



I'm just saying...

Awesome shoes!

I really want my shoes on the big day to be flashy!
(Jackie: Flashy? No wayyyyy!)
Yes. Flashy. Not bling-ed out, but eye catching.

Here's some ideas from a manufacture that make pretty amazing shoes that are stylish and very comfortable to dance in (or run if need be... I've done it before in a pair of Nina shoes lol):

Check their site out : Click Here

If I can't get what I want, then... I want this!

Well... Rolf's is gone.
I'm doing a little finagling...
(yes, finagle is a word--> finagling (verb): 1. to obtain (something) by devious or dishonest means. Hehehehehehe)
... to try and get the cake from Roeser's now.
What? You don't know about Roeser's? And you've been living in Chicago for how long? Ooof! Where have you been living? Under a rock?!

Roeser's is the BEST bakery that I have ever had the pleasure of trying (and I've tried a LOT of bakeries in my 27 years). I can still remember my first taste of a Roeser's cake. It was yellow cake with strawberry filling...Mmmm... I was nice a snug, in my mother's womb.
Haha
My mom had a Roeser's cake at her baby shower when she was pregnant with me. Ever since then, I've alway remembered a Roeser's cake at each of my birthdays, and the one year my parents forgot about my birthday (oh no they didn't! You know I let them have it for that one), I bought my own.

Seeing that yellow Roeser's box brings back really yummy memories. My friend Maggie had a Roeser's wedding cake and... I may have taken home 2 slices :)
(Sorry Maggs haha)
it was delicious!

Want to know more about Roeser's? Check it out here--> Roeser's Bakery
It's been open for over 100 years! Go and try a cake/pastry for yourself :)

Example of the times...

I woke up this morning to a text from my cousin saying that the bakery that was going to make my wedding cake announced that it was going out of business.

What the heck?

So, I go to their website and look what I saw:

Son of a biscotti >:(

I'm going to have to call that wedding planner and ask why I hadn't been informed of this >:(

I can't be mad at the bakery though... who can blame them? It's a shame that a family ran business has to go under. It's 2012 people! The world is unraveling! lol