Ah, the memories...

I am sure there are many pictures like this one from my childhood. I couldn't resist a second generation re-take. The only difference is the lack of black eyes, bruises and I was a lot fatter than Ashlyn...REALLY! People don't believe me when I tell them I was a fatty, so I will have to document that later (my Mom hates it when I say I used to be "fat", but we will let the unbiased decide. For the record, Ryan has seen the photos and agrees with ME!)

I wanted to make a cake for a friend's birthday and just couldn't decide on the right cake. I didn't want to do an easy-peasy original, cause I just love Katie! After looking through all my cookbooks of favorites, I remembered THE CAKE that Mom used to make for our b-days growing up. When I called her for the recipe/instructions, she said she hadn't made it for years because she hasn't been able to find chocolate frosting mix in over 10 years. Well, I knew I had seen it somewhere! Don't you hate it when you've seen something but can't remember where? Well, I ran out to 3 different stores until I found it. I think the reason I took note of this mix was because it is for those of us families with allergies. I'll tell you what...I haven't tasted this cake yet (remember...it's Katie's cake~) but, if I find that it turns out resurrecting the infamous cake of old, then the nearly $4 box is well worth it! Here's the box, Mom:

Dear Mom...I didn't do you justice. Good thing this was practice. I added too much water to the glaze and my children thank me because they got to "snitch" the glaze from the puddles on the paper towel that saved my refrigerator shelf.

I am considering which cake recipe to put up for auction at a scout fundraiser. To make it "fancier", I added chocolate curls on top. I don't know what I think. This will sound funny, but the chocolate curls are the wrong color brown to me. What do you think? By the way, there are four layers of yummy goodness inside this little beauty! Maybe Katie will cut it open and I can snap a photo(:

Ps...thank you cherrybrook kitchen for making frosting mix for my favorite birthday cake from my childhood and for looking out for my son. I will buy your mix often! (found it at WalMart...the big one, not the neighborhood market.)