Pickett Road

Once a year, our entire house smells like chocolate. This is because of the Barb Shug Cake. This is a symphony of sugar, a masterpiece of molten chocolate, passed down over the years through generations to create one perfect confection for a very important day … Drew’s birthday.

Let there be Barb Shug Cake.

The Barb Shug Cake involves taking a regular cake recipe and adding so many unholy additions that it fails to be a chocolate-flavored confection and instead reaches a new stratosphere of cocoa previously unknown to man. 

So how did this masterpiece come to be?

When Drew was little, he lived in Seattle. His neighbor was a woman named Barb Shug. (I picture her walking around pious and demure, with a glowing halo, like a Vermeer painting.) She was diabetic, but loved to bake and would give her creations to Drew’s family.

One day, she created the Barb Shug Cake, and the world was forever changed. Drew’s mom started making it for his birthdays, and two years ago, she passed the torch on to me. I have the recipe memorized, and I am not a cook. 

It can only be made once a year because it is so lethal. One bite, and you’re in heaven. A few more, and you’re in a happy chocolate coma. But too many, and you’re uncomfortable to the point of madness, the cake is so rich. Last year, in our tiny apartment, I could be in the bedroom and tell just by smelling if Drew lifted the lid of the cake stand to take a piece. I am not fooling around when I say this the most chocolate-y food in the history of the world.

So, Happy Birthday, Drew. Happy Barb Shug Cake. Here’s to many more chances to stuff ourselves full of dessert.

One of my life’s goals is to become a feathered hat-wearing, gin-swilling, theater-going, Chanel-toting, fast-talking woman of a certain age, a la Auntie Mame. So it thrills me that my sister and her husband were kind enough to give me a second kid on which to practice this outcome. 

I now have two little darlings to snuggle, dance with, and teach tricks such as how to make me a sidecar. Big brother Calvin, and a new little addition known as …

Samantha Anne

Isn’t she a little bunny?! I may or may not have been crying in that photo. My mom and I flew out to Colorado to visit her proud parents and entertain her big brother. Luckily, the hospital had lots of fun things to play with, such as surgical gloves.

Paging Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine ...

It was such a neat feeling to have THREE generations of women in the same room. 

Everyone is blonde except for me!

It was a productive trip. Cal learned about glitter makeup, how to pop a champagne cork, and even got to try a dab of Hermes perfume. And Samantha, I promise to answer all of your questions about boys, teach you how to lead a meeting in 3″ heels, and take you to the ballet every chance I get.

I think we’ve found the baker to do our cake. We heard about Tanya Catolos, whose day job is as the pastry chef at the Washington Duke Inn, but who moonlights on weekends as the owner of Daisy Cakes — a mobile bakery that serves up adorable, delish cupcakes and other goodies out of an Airstream trailer. 

Courtesy carpedurham.wordpress.com

The trailer is parked a block away from the farmers’ market, so we took a look today (and sampled some cupcakes!) They were fantastic, and it was so great to sit outside in the sun, eating sweets and drinking coffee in the heart of Durham — right next to the old ballpark. 

Drew wants chocolate (of course), and I think red velvet would fit right in with the retro, nostalgic southern feeling of our house. Other than that, I’m excited to see what Tanya’s ideas are!

Happy Valentine’s Day! This blog is taking a romantic turn.

Drew and I decided a while ago that we should have our wedding at our house. It’s where he proposed (on the porch, after a perfect summer dinner from the taqueria on the corner), it’s our first “nest,” it’s where we’re building our life together. 

At first, I was going to start a new blog to document wedding plans. But since we’re having the ceremony in the living room and the reception in the back yard, it seems logical to post all of the details here. Plus, it’s the easiest way to keep both families in the loop about what’s going on. So, put your gag reflex in check over the next few months, because I’m going to be sharing the progress.

We’ll be figuring out how to throw a wedding for our nearest and dearest at home, and doing some big projects to the house to get ready. So, come for the home improvement, stay for the posts about flowers and cake!

We’ve been a little MIA on this blog … but there wasn’t much home remodeling going on during the winter months. Instead, we decided to brace ourselves against the cold North Carolina winter (It snowed! Twice!) and stay in bed watching old episodes of Star Trek. 

But now that we’ve had a handful of 70-degree days, I think it’s safe to come out from under the covers. Although it was hard to do, considering that this is our new nest. 

The bed is a Christmas gift from Drew’s parents, the mattress set is a gift from mine, and the curtains & bedside lamps were gifts to ourselves. 

Lucy has already claimed it as her napping spot.