Miss Mamie's Cupcakes, Cakes and Such - Happiness Baked Daily

Wow!  Don”t these pictures make you jealous?!  I wish I was little again so I can have a fairy princess cupcake party!  Ms. R went all out for this party so as to capture awesome pics for when she will be featured in the “Our Town” magazine…so watch out for her and her fellow princess party goers!  Ashley (my roomie) made the cake and cupcakes after attending the DMB concert….needless to say we wrapped the whole thing up around 3a.m.  We work best under pressure:)

I can’t complain much when it comes to past Birthday parties as Mom and Pops spoiled me most every year.  Here are the parties I remember best….

At 5 I had a tea party at Aunt Sandra’s house.  I remember how special I felt eating the little deserts she had made while wearing my party dress, party bows, party gloves, party shoes, and of course the party socks with ruffles!  I was especially delighted when I realized that the tea set we used turned pink when the tea was hot and later turned purple as the tea cooled.  Man did I think that was the cat’s meow!

At 6 I had a spaghetti dinner/dance party in which all of my friends were required to wear their Sunday best.  That’s right, I had a dress code.  Mom made spaghetti and meatballs (because that’s the fanciest dinner a 6 year old could dream up!) then after we ate Dad slid the table out of the dining room and into the living room and Voila!  a dance floor appeared!  We spent the rest of the evening dancing to songs like the Hokey Pokey and the Chicken Dance.

At 10 my parents decided to let 20 of my girlfriends spend the night.  What were they thinking?!  Obviously they weren’t!  However, it was smart of them to set up our pad out in the garage.  One would think a garage would not be a very festive atmosphere for a birthday party, but we managed to make it look like a dream come true.  20 cots lined up…thank you Dad. Balloons and streamers galore.  Mom hooked up the T.V. so we could watch “The Parent Trap” with Lindsay Lohan.  We ordered pizza, had a water balloon fight, swam in the pool and giggled half the night while cousin Myranda slept:)

At 14 Dad took me and about 5 girls out to hunting camp.  Although I am a girly girl at heart I am not afraid to get my hands dirty every once in a while.  We brought dirt bikes and four wheelers, ate burgers and dogs, and had smores a plenty.  We rode the dirt bikes to Lake Michigan and went swimming….brrrr!  I still have pictures of that party.  Just about every one of us had braces, frizzy hair, and not so hot outfits…pretty much we fit right in with the folks in Bliss MI.  It was a riot.

At 16 my best friend Maggie and I thought we were going out to dinner with our Mom’s (our birthdays were pretty close together).  I was growing suspicious when Mom kept telling me I needed to dress up.  Who did I have to impress!  I understood once the Limo pulled in the driveway!  Mom and Donna surprised us with renting the limo to pick us up first and then drive around to each of our friends house and pick them up then take us to dinner at the Dixie in Mackinaw city.  Afterwards we went home to spend the night in a suite at Aunt Doris and Uncle Clayton’s hotel.  Once again we chose to stay up most the night and chat……….probably about boys at this point.

At 21……maybe we shouldn’t talk about it:)

Soooo this past weekend was incredibly PACKED at Miss Mamie’s due to the Art Show in the square!  And although I don’t have any pictures of that to share with you (I was WAY to busy to even THINK about taking pictures!) I do have some pictures of our camping adventure to share with you…….

STEP 1:  Drop Howard John off at his best friend Wilbur’s house

STEP 2: Drive 3.5 hours to the Blue Ridge Mountains where our good friends Tyler and Joey were waiting to camp with us.  Tyler’s godfather owns the property that backs up to a National Forest and started to build a weekend getaway about 9 years ago.  Ross and I enjoyed the time away from all the goings on of work…it was good to be off the grid!  And talk about BEAUTIFUL!!!  It reminded us of being at home….Bliss, deer camp, good ol’ country folk, ring any bells?  Check out these pics….

STEP 3:  Make the trek from Brevard to Asheville NC.  Supposed travel time 1 hour.  Actual travel time 3 hours.  It’s funny how not having a map, a GPS, or cell phone service can hinder an individual.  Ross and I by no means resemble a Lewis and Clark team so we resorted in pulling over at every gas station (they were about 45 minutes apart) to ask the attendant if we were on the right track.  We continually got the same answer “Just keep goin thataway!” with an out thrust arm and finger pointing in the direction we had been heading the entire time.  Needless to say we were relieved when we finally pulled into Asheville.  If you’ve never been…I highly recommend it.

Asheville is said to be one of the fastest growing cities in the Nation (maybe a good candidate for a 2nd Miss Mamie’s?) and is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited.  The people vary from wealthy retirees to young hippies.  Our activities included:

1. Staying in a Hostel

2. Following a man wearing a fanny pack around trying to get a picture….what does he have in there?!  I must know!

3. Eat some amazing meals including this Brown Sugar Dijon encrusted Salmon served over mandarin orange and cranberry orzo………YUM!

4. Visit tons of consignment shops  (I found the dress below and wanted to buy it desperately but would have absolutely nothing to wear it to…I hate it when that happens!), antique stores, used book stores, bakeries, go for windy drives up the mountains, dream about visiting the Biltmore estate (ran out of time.) listen to sidewalk bands, and chat with several locals.  All in all, it was an amazing time!

STEP 4:  Travel home!  We stopped at the Tallulah Gorge in Tallulah GA to stretch the legs.  Here’s Ross pictured in front of the drop off.

Can you believe that in 1970 a man by the name of Karl Wallenda crossed the gorge for $10,000 and a martini!  I think I would have to have several martinis before I crossed and the reward money would have to be significantly steeper than 1o grand!  Karl Wallenda tragically fell to his death 8 years later trying to cross a gorge in Costa Rica.

All in all it was a successful trip but it feels sooo good to be home. Back to the grind tomorrow!

Soooo…I know it’s been a while!  The bakery is growing everyday and I sometimes find it hard to keep up with my duties around here!  Ross, Erin (our newest employee) and I have been up to our elbows in buttercream as we prepare for weddings, birthdays, and those good ol’ summer barbeques!

In honor of the fourth of July we decided to make a Flag out Strawberry, Blueberry, and Red Velvet cupcakes for our display case.  I remembered eating Aunt Sandra’s 4th of July Fruit tart made the same way and thought “Why not do the same with the cakes?!”  Plus Erin had mentioned seeing it on the Food Network…so we had no other choice! It looks more like a pink, white, and purple flag…which I think is completely acceptable and maybe even more suitable for Miss Mamie’s.   Isn’t it Fresh?

We had many new customers in for the 4th.  The parade, games, beer tents, snack booths, and craft tents brought a large crowd to the Square to celebrate.  I was so nervous about working alone on Saturday that I called in Erin and her husband Brian to help me out!  Lucky for me, they didn’t have prior plans and came in to help me out.  Some of our patrons are pictured below (thanks to Erin’s brilliant photography skills) enjoying some of our tasty cupcakes.  After all, who doesn’t want a cupcake to celebrate our Independence?

This year was the 2nd annual Birthday celebration for my Mom, Aunt Sandra, Marcia (cousin) and Rachel (cousin.)  Being down in Florida for a few days in the spring we all decided it would be a good idea to celebrate the April birthdays.  Last year I baked a cake while on vacation…this year was a different story.  I wanted to take full advantage of my time off so I made cupcakes ahead of time and carried them on the plane.  Having several orders already I had to find something relatively easy, something that would travel well but still be really special to the Birthday girls.  After much thought I decided to do photo toppers featuring old pictures of the girls on their favorite flavored cupcake.  For Mom the Margarita, for Aunt Sandra the Strawberry, for Marcia the Blueberry, and for Rachel the Cookie Dough. The cupcakes were a hit and I didn’t have to worry about anything getting smashed in transit!  Easy peezy lemon squeezy!

Roni’s husband was celebrating his 40th Birthday this past weekend at the “W” hotel in Buckhead!  A lavish party calls for a grand cake!  Grand it was…it required a trip to Home Depot to get a board that would be big (and strong) enough to support the cakes!  Two Red Velvets with One Guinness all covered in fondant and airbrushed metallic gold.  Ross and I had a hard time carrying it out to the front of the store it was so heavy!  Roni had to put seats down in the back of her car to transport the desserts.  Sometimes…no most of the time…no pretty much all the time I wish I could see the parties that my cakes go off to.  I mean, if there were pyramid cakes then I can only imagine what else was at the party!

Kathy’s young aunt came in to order a First Birthday Cake for her special day.  When I met with Kathy’s aunt I could tell she loved to spoil the little gal…after all, who doesn’t love a cute niece or nephew?!  The best part…you can pick them up when you want to spend time with them…and then you can return them after you feed them Cupcakes and Mountain Dew.  (At least that’s what my family likes to do!)  Kathy’s party was Tinkerbelle themed with Purple being the main color.  A strawberry and white cake with 3 layers of Strawberry coulis…YUM!  Delicious and messy (as all first birthdays should be) this cake was the talk of the store last Friday.  HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY KATHY!

Howard John, Howie, Howitzer, Little Jimmy, Little Jim Jim. The Guy.  The Dude.  Those are a few of the many names we have dedicated to our scruffy little man.  Isn’t he gorgeous?!  Don’t you just want to squeeze his fat rolls?!  I think I officially crossed the line of being obsessed with him when I acquired over 250 pictures of him on my phone.  I can’t help it!  (Sorry to all my family and friends that constantly get text messages from Howard with attached photos…he’s just trying to stay connected!)  I know that getting a dog right after opening a business is not the smartest decision I’ve ever made, but I honestly don’t know what I would do without him now.  He does the funniest, craziest things and he is 100% dependent even though he thinks he’s a tough guy.  I can’t wait to come home at the end of every work day to meet my little guy.  What is it about dogs that makes them so easy to love anyways?!

P.S.  Howard cannot wait to visit Cheboygan this summer so he can meet all of his relatives…especially Uncle Rusty who is rumored to have shared many Arby’s french fries with little dogs in the past!:)

Mr. Hensley walked into the shop with his lovely girlfriend looking for a special cake to celebrate his graduation.  He is a recent graduate of Life University, a local chiropractic school.  The two were celebrating with their closest family and friends and wanted something worthy of Hensley’s accomplishments.  Adding a “Dr.” to one’s name is a pretty big deal if you ask me!!  Something special, something funky, maybe something with a spine?  Hmmmm…..here is what I came up with…

Looking for something fun to do with the family and friends on Friday?  Come to the Marietta Square for the first Annual Art Walk! It’s this Friday from 6-9.   Here’s what you do…

Visit the Marietta Welcome Center to pick up your map of participating merchants and a list of all featured artists.  Then walk around and visit the shops, meet the artists, have refreshments, HAVE FUN!  There will be all types of art, some just for display, others for sale.

Miss Mamie’s is Featuring a family friend as well as very talented jewelry maker Miss Susan Wilson.  Her jewelry is flawless, her prices are affordable, and she is the cutest little jeweler you will ever meet!  Susan’s jewelry makes the perfect gift for Moms, daughters, wives, and oneself!    She makes all kinds of styles from fun and funky, to dressy and sophisticated.  There’s something for everyone so come check it out!

To top it all off…there will be free mini cupcakes at Miss Mamie’s! You don’t want to miss it!

Jon’s 30th birthday was this past weekend.  When his cake was ordered he was described as “the guy that still likes superheros and video games.”  I thought “AHA!”  I know just the cake for him!  I have done these cakes in the past and will be doing one for Mark Porter and Rachael Fichtner as a groomscake in June.  Isn’t it fun?!