Well, you bolstered my spirits SO MUCH after yesterday’s cake talk (please continue to share your cake dreams; it is a delightful distraction) that I felt totally pumped up and ready to make my cake call. I fished out the business card the baker had given me, phone in hand, ready to dial… and noticed that she has a website.
Listen, I KNEW that she had a website – I’d looked at it before Carla and I went to the event she hosted. My recollection was that the site listed some of the cookies and baked goods she normally offers at the farmer’s market, and that it mentioned cakes on the menu, but that the only thing it said about cakes was that they are custom.
But I wanted to research as much as possible, without doing SO MUCH research that I would lose my phone call determination, so I quickly visited her site. Turns out I was wrong: she has a page on her site devoted to cakes. Not only did it list the price per cake (THIRTY DOLLARS), it had an ONLINE FORM that I could fill out with all of my details!!!
You will understand that the clouds parted and the sun shone down on me and the air filled with the gentle chorus of angels singing, “Ahhhh!” in harmonious unison.
I included as much detail as I could (and the form was nice and long), and left my name, phone number, and email address in case I left out critical details, or in case she refuses to work with lemon curd on principle, I don’t know; I will angst about literally anything. And then I paid VIA PAYPAL (the angels’ song crescendos). THIRTY DOLLARS. I thought for sure I was looking at least $75, if not $100-$150. But no. Thirty. Dollars.
Then, it DID turn out I had left out important information. But I learned this because she emailed me because she is clearly my cake soul mate. (She wanted to know how many people would be eating the cake, if I had a color scheme, and if I wanted any decorations/words.) Then we figured out where to meet to pick it up, and voila! Done!
I am very pleased. And honestly, even if the cake is so-so, the purchase experience was SUCH a good experience on its own I will definitely patronize her again.
By the way, I told Carla when I picked her up from school that I’d ordered my birthday cake! Soothed by everyone’s comments, I was completely unfazed by having done it myself: it is not a big deal, and lo, it was not. But Carla did not get the memo. She was AGHAST. “WHY did you do that, Mommy?” she exclaimed. “You’re NOT supposed to do that!” And I said, “If I don’t do it, who will?” “DADDY!” She was further scandalized when I said she and I were going to pick up the cake after school on my birthday. “You can’t LOOK at it, Mommy!” she said, eyes wide. “DON’T LOOK.”
On to the grocery store report, which I am adding here simply because I like reading other people’s grocery store reports.
I went this morning, which is not my usual morning. Also, we are expecting around a foot of snow overnight, so people are panicking. (Is that why I went to the grocery store when I’d already stopped there Monday afternoon? PERHAPS.) So either of those variables could be responsible for the store being much more crowded than usual.
There was an elderly couple who was on the same route that I follow. I swear I have seen them or their couple-twin before, because they are a) darling and b) incapable of standing in a way that does not occupy 75% of the aisle. I am constantly saying “Excuse me!” “Ope! Sorry! Can I squeeze by?” to these people. They also deliberate long and hard about every item they buy. Seriously. I stood beside them in front of the lettuce and they stared at the romaine for what felt like many minutes. I could NOT get away from them. They were even in the cracker aisle, where I had to replenish our Triscuit supply. Carla is very into Triscuits lately.
Anyway: As usual, our store was fairly well-stocked, although I felt a little… wary, as I made my way around.
First, there is yet another reorganization of the produce section happening. It seems to me like they have added black trays/bins to the normal shelves, and for all I know, it’s to enhance cleanliness and make washing/removing/refilling the trays quicker and easier. But what it LOOKED LIKE is that they are finding ways to make less produce look as abundant as ever.
And it is still abundant! I had a rainbow of bell peppers to choose from! When I was a kid, we were lucky to find a single wrinkled green pepper at the grocery store in the middle of winter, let alone a pile of not only green peppers but red and orange and yellow ones.
Lettuce was bountiful.
Berries were back in stock, although the berry section was rather small. That’s probably just the time of year, though. Or they are winnowing the blue-, black-, and raspberries to make room for an influx of Valentine’s Day strawberries.
The banana and onion sections were full. There was NO CELERY, which was worrying for a moment… but when I circled back around to get more mushrooms (I was adding new items to my meal plan as I went; see yesterday’s post for an updated list), the celery had been restocked.
The cereal aisle had some worrying holes – no Rice Krispies. But I did snag a box of Wheat Chex – not that we need Wheat Chex. My thought process was something like, “If we run out of power and have to dip into pantry food, we can all eat Wheat Chex” which is nonsensical, but the anxious brain has its own sense of inarguable logic.
Pasta was well stocked, except that rigatoni was missing. This is my husband’s preferred pasta shape (I am penne 4 life), so it was notable. I got him some campanelli; he can be soothed occasionally by the ruffles.
The freezer section still had pancakes, and I just bought pancakes Monday so I walked right past. I know! I am the epitome of restraint! Still no French toast sticks.
The chicken nugget section was VERY thin. Probably six or seven bags of various breaded chicken options total. Since we just emptied a bag, leaving me with one bag in the freezer, I picked up another bag. Since the pandemic, I have been fully indoctrinated into the Cult of the Backup. As Nicole said the other day, “I always have backups in the pantry of household staple. If the backup comes into use, then I buy another backup. It gives me an enormous amount of comfort to know that if we run out of an item on the main floor, there is a backup in the pantry downstairs.” YES. This is the one true way. Someday I will convert my husband to our movement. What’s not to like? We always have cookies.
The ground beef section was VERY low. Once again, the prepared foods counter was closed. But it was open when I popped in Monday afternoon – it must simply have shorter hours these days, probably due to staffing issues.
Lunchables were available. My daughter’s favorite muffins were not, but her second favorite muffins were, so I grabbed some of those. Bread was plentiful.
The one thing I regret not grabbing was a package of tulips, on sale for $6.99 a bunch. (That’s… a lot. But I have been eyeing the tulips my past few trips, and I think it was running $8.99 before. Two dollars off is a good savings.)
When I saw the title Cake Update I couldn’t click the link fast enough! Congrats on the easy order/price and I can’t wait to see pictures. Not to worry, when Carla is older she will appreciate the joy of being able to get her own treats when the situation calls for it.
Oh, $30 for such a cake seems super reasonable! I hope it is everything you want it to be, and how nice that the ordering was unexpectedly not terribly annoying.
Wow – $30! What a deal for a custom-made cake! I hope it is delightful. Can’t wait to see a pic!
I was thrilled to see that one brand of the dino/veggie chicken was back in stock at Target, so I bought 2 bags. They’ve been out of stock for weeks so my husband bought some Tyson dino chicken w/ no veggies which you’d think my kids would prefer – but nope. The 4yo will eat them, the 1yo took one bite and threw them on the floor. I tried serving them to the baby a 2nd time and the same thing happened. He is clearly opinionated about his processed chicken.
This snowstorm magically missed us in Minnesota. Instead we are having bitterly cold weather. The high today is 4 or something ridiculous like that.
Maybe my distress over your cake decision is what caused me to have such a terrible night’s sleep last night? Either way, I am delighted you got this situation sorted out and can enjoy a delicious cake for your birthday.
I understand Carla’s horror but this is what it takes to be a grownup. Honestly, I am at the point where I would prefer to order my own cake – which I enjoy that arrives on time – then leave it up to someone else who doesn’t know my preferences! To be fair, my husband made me two cheesecakes last year for my birthday, so I shouldn’t throw him under the bus…but I will because another year on my birthday he was away, and then following year he had a “procedure” that involved a scope and a lot of groaning and some meds that didn’t work quite right…and spent my birthday on the couch while I tended to his invisible physical and mental wounds and had neither cake, nor balloons, nor flowers, cards, or anything at all to signify it was my birthday. He made up for it the next year, but nothing says “downer” on your birthday like being grumpy at someone that just had a scope shoved up their rear end for being grumpy.
Oh, and another year he had his tonsils and adenoids removed on Valentine’s Day. We make very, very poor decisions with the timing of medical procedures.
And one year in university my friend had moved away for the summer to work and my phone got cut off on my birthday and I literally sat alone without being able to call my parents and looked out the window and thought: “No one knows it’s my birthday.”
Wow, I might be more traumatized by this than I thought?
Thankfully, the children never forget and wake me up early with some breakfast–in-bed concoction and I think about 5 more years of therapy will cure me of any lingering trauma from bad birthday memories…
Yay for ordering that cake, although now I am thinking after Carla’s exclamations that this was the last time you’ll have to order your own cake, because Carla will make sure that “Daddy” takes care of that from now on. LOL
Very much looking forward to seeing the cake (and hearing about how it tasted!).
Your grocery reports are always so delightful. I am going shopping on Friday, so maybe I should post a report myself sometime. Although I haven’t really noticed any shortages here yet. I am pleased to hear that someone likes Triscuits as much as I do 🙂
Oh, Carla is probably going to be one of those people who doesn’t think the groom should see the bride in her dress before the wedding. It’s SO FUN to see their personalities develop when they’re little. $30 is SO REASONABLE for all the personalization. I predict it’s going to be delicious and wonderful and this business shall be your new go-to for those baking projects you just can’t do yourself.
Yay! The cake dilemma is resolved! And that no phone call was necessary!
$30 seems like a great deal for a custom cake!
I am SO PLEASED that she emailed you back for further instructions/clarification. Nothing worse than using the online form and immediately receiving a phone call (I’m looking at you, online appointment scheduler at my rheumatologist’s office)
Yay for the cake and YES TO THE CULT OF THE BACKUP, JOIN US, WON’T YOU.
I went to the grocery store today and I did not buy any non-dairy milk! I’m growing. However, I DID buy that mascara you mentioned, and I shall report back. I always love a good product test!
Hold up, $30 for a cake! That’s amazing.
Sometimes I remember as a child that there was no fruit available when it wasn’t in season, like, there were only apples, bananas, and oranges. MAYYYYYYBE grapes. But certainly no berries or anything like that. So yay for abundance, even if it’s relative abundance.
Yay for cake!
Boo for celery, Rice Krispies, and chicken nuggets.
It will be nice to have the exact cake you wanted, even if you had to order it yourself.
I’m so pleased that you ordered your cake and it was so simple. Clearly this was meant to be. No celery, frozen salmon [my fave], or ww saltine crackers here. These are staples in this house. Our local grocery does seem to have enough Valentine Day candy for all the residents of this state, maybe the neighboring states, too.
Hooray that you ordered the cake without issue. So happy. I’m laughing at Carla’s reaction. It reminds me of what my kids think when they realize that Coach doesn’t actually buy me a Christmas gift. I just wrap something that I’ve picked out. All I can say, is been there, tried that. This works better for us.
I froze when I saw the vegetable freezer section COMPLETELY empty Tuesday evening. It was broken though, not a supply issue.
You have a cake soul mate??!!! I cannot possibly tell you how jealous I am.
I think I am your cake soul mate. My birthday is also later this month (the 25th) and I will always and forever choose a lemon cake. It must be something about wanting citrus/tropical/summer when one has a winter birthday.
Cake AND birthday twins!!!
Hooray for the cake update! I am so glad you were able to a) get a delicious cake for your birthday, b) support a local baker, and c) didn’t have to go through the phone-calling rigamarole! WOOP!
SO DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY to read this. And agree fully about the backup stuff – I feel so much safer when I know I can run out of something and have a backup, and for that reason why WOULDN’T you buy another backup once the backup is in use? I have now typed the word backup so many times I can’t believe I haven’t misspelled it yet.
Eve has been a triscuit-lover for years. I did a grocery shop of snacks for her before she went back to school in January and she didn’t look at it all but texted me once she opened it “mini-Triscuits, Mom? Total game-changer!” But I haven’t been able to find them again, boo.
If you like salmon, do you have this recipe?https://pinchofyum.com/coconut-curry-salmon. My friend gave it to me and it is amazing.
That salmon sounds amazing!! Thank you! Also, mini Triscuits sound awesome