Call Me Amaesing A Niche of Tasks and Inspiration

Having a little free time during the day allows me to start browsing some of my favorite websites, including Bakerella, PioneerWoman, BakeItPretty, and related subjects. Today I re-stumbled upon a really neat blog, SweetDesigns by Amy Atlas, and spent quite some time reading up on some inspiring designs and party themes.

Amy Atlas is a New York Party Planner, and she does it amazingly well. She even dropped her career plans for law practice to go back to her passion - baking and planning themed parties. Weird how I come across so many of these similar stories of people dropping a "steady" career to do what they love - and loving it. Maybe it's a calling.

Anywho, her blog is loaded with pictures of current and past projects that she has done, from a Pink Parisian themed party, to lime green margarita outdoor celebrations, and everything inbetween. She even has some stellar shots of cupcake recipes: my favorite of course. She even gets her party setups in spreads of famous magazines (very interesting to read!). So if you have time, browse her blog, and take a look in her website gallery.

photo credits: Amyatlas.com + Sweetdesigns

This is a late post (as all my posts are). About two weeks ago, the interns and some employees volunteered our time at the WTTW station, Chicagoland's local PBS television station. I'm a huge fan of PBS, grown up watching this station my whole life, and support the educational mission and their strive to make learning interesting.

As a kid, Saturday afternoons included recording cooking shows on VHS - such as Jacque Pepin on French cooking, Julia Child with her weekly guests on baking and pastries, Rick Bayless with his Mexican influenced dishes, and being awed by Jacque Torres' fascinating chocolate towers. PBS also inspired me artistically, with shows like Donna's Day, Beads Bobbles and Jewels, to even simple crafts that they had on Zoom. After I would record these shows, I'd spend the rest of the weekday watching them, over and over again.

So being able to visit the station, be a part of this telethon, and then receive tour of the building with Geoffrey Baer himself afterwards was awesome. We were told to be there at 6:15, but due to traffic we arrived around 6:30, but the program didn't start till about 8, we even had time to head downstairs to eat a free dinner in the cafeteria. About 7pm we walked to the room where the telethon was going to be filmed.

"Everyone find a seat and we'll wait for the other group of volunteers before we start the training session"

Here's me and Dana trying to look like pro-telemarketers. Each station had their own computer, keyboard, phone, and headset.


There's Geoffrey Baer setting up and getting ready to be broadcast live in-between sessions of playing "Chicago's Lakefront" - a WTTW series of Chicago history told in fascinating parts.



Working hard answering calls. Ok, I lied. This was taken during break while we had about 15 minutes in-between calling sessions.
Our group picture post-telethon


After the telethon ended - roughly 10pm- Geofrrey Baer gave us a tour of the station, showing us the recording room, different stages and sets, and even pulled out this heavy antique bicycle he's filming for the next recorded Chicago segment called "Biking the Boulevards". This was one of the last pit stops, the set where they flim "Chicago Tonight", a nightly news segment. What a great way to end up the night! Hope you call in and support your local PBS station!

I finally uploaded my pics from the Wilton Tent Sale. Oh. My. God. My poor credit card (just wait for my blog about the H2O warehouse sale). We arrived at 7:15 when the doors close at 8:00, and I shopped so frantically that I even lapped the whole football-size sale tent twice to make sure I did not skip out on anything important that belonged in my cart.

Heading inside..
And take a deep breath.. The first thing my eyes took me to was what you see right here, boxes of cupcake stands, 3 tiers, 4 tiers, wired, plastic. Oh this is going to be painful. I'm sorry credit card. I really am. But you have to realize that a freshly decorated batch of cupcakes cannot sit in their cupcake tins for display. You need something like this. So people can see and inspect the goods, including the bottom half, and from all angles... you don't understand what I mean?
Credit Card: No, I don't know what you mean. You can buy this later, Diana. When you actually start to host parties and might need stuff like this.
Me: But you don't understand. All good bakers have this. (puts 3-tier easy assemble box in cart).. Should I maybe get another one?
Credit Card: sigh.. TWO cupcake displays? NO. no no. IF you do then I will un-authorize you.


Me: fine. Lets move along... what's this?... cupcake tins?
Credit Card: You already have cupcake tins. Lots.
Me: Yeah. I know, but look! insulated! Non-stick! Gasp* look here! Ones with plastic covers!
Credit Card: No, you don't nee-
Me: Oh hush, yes I do, you don't understand. Cupcakes can dry out if you let them sit out, and I don't have a good container to transport cupcakes without using shrink wrap and messing up my frosting. (puts cupcake tin in cart)

Where to next?.....
Cake tins! Look at these Spring Form heart-shaped ones, in all sizes. Do I need one?
Credit Card: .....
Me: Are you giving me the silent treatment?
Credit Card: .....
Me: finnnnnneeeee let's keep walking..

Oh look over here! Boxes of spatulas! Baby scrapers, mixing utensils.. cool!
Credit Card: .....no. stop. keep walking. Diana you already have a brand new 13'' flat spatula you've probably used twice.
Me: I know but with this (*holds up) 9'' angled spatula, I can easily round cupcake frosting and spread out cookie batter. (throws in cart) Oh cool! A silicone scraper! I'm sure I can use this for something. (throws in cart).
Credit Card: ... you're gonna owe me.
Me: I know, stop being so literal. You're no fun. Let's see what's down the next aisle.

cake stands, cake pillars, how about these?

Neato! Credit Card, look! An aisle dedicated to cake decorating, and this mini asile of piping tips. I don't have these: #81, a 3 pack of drop flower tips, #2 large star tip. Can I get them?
Credit Card: You DO have a #2 large star tip. Remember you bought them with me four months ago at Michael's?
Me: You have a crazy memory, get a new hobby (throws all them in basket)
Credit Card: If you're not going to listen to my advice, you will be helpless. Keep up the spending, my friend, and your mom will take me away from you sooner or later. I'm going to leave you here - we haven't even walked half the tent and look at all this stuff in your cart. I'm scared to see what the last half of the tent will be like. I'm signing out.
Me: yeah yeah, whatever. See you at checkout!

Good thing, because the last half of the tent sale was all stuff regarding crafts and scrapbooks. Look at these awesome clear stamps!
Tons and tons of them! I picked out a few of them, hoping to re-start my card making habits. But.. that meant I needed new inkpads. Walk 50 more feet and you'll stumble across some awesome Martha Stewart inkpads for $4 a piece, I grabbed 4 various colors- most excited about the maroon one.
Stickers and embellishments? Look at all these! Even some from Jolee's Boutique, and some scrapbook pads and tags, in various sizes, colors, patterns, and textures. At this time it was 7:57pm, and workers in their Wilton polos were warning last-minute shoppers like me to start heading to the cashier line to pay for our stuff. I sadly pushed my heavy cart towards the checkout lines.

This is my collection spread out on my table (excluding the scrapbooking materials and a plastic mixing bowl). I forgot to insert my 2 foot long receipt in the picture. I'm so excited!

A heart-shaped silicone mini baking tray, two Martha Stewart reusable piping bags, 3-in-1 caddy that you can store cupcakes, cake, or mini cupcakes in, a 9-inch angled spatula, a plane, butterfly, flower shaped cookie cutter, lilac piping cups....
4-tier dessert tower that's easy to disassemble and compact for storage, a silicone spatula, piping tips (finally found my crescent one #81 so i can make mum flowers!), 50-12'' box of disposable piping bags,
... a 12'' rolling pin, 2 boxes of rolled fondant, 2 boxes of buttercream, 2 boxes of whipped icing
.. icing dyes in the shades of: Rose Petal, Violet, Teal, Delphinium Blue, Xmas Red, Rose Petal, Juniper Green, Leaf Green, and a 4 pack of pastel colors.
..cupcake liners, in both regular and mini, some with cupcake toppers too!
... and lollipop sticks! yay for cake pops!

Credit Card: (shakes head in disappointment)
Me: oh you'll never understand. Sorry for putting a dent in you.
Credit Card: that's what you always tell me.

phew I'm pooped. I hope to make some cupcakes tonight and bring them to work tomorrow. Happy baking!

Thank goodness I checked their website. I just realized that the Wilton Tent Sale started yesterday. What is the Wilton Tent Sale? (gasp). Well, if you don't know, it's basically when the Wilton Company, a leading company in bakeware and food decoration headquartered in Woodridge, sets up a massive tent in their parking lot and sells all their inventory at 50% discounts or more. I am lucky enough to live just about 20 minutes away from their headquarters, for someone as enthusiastic about baking and sweet creations, it would be shameful if I let this opportunity pass me by. And not only do they have baking and houseware products there, but also having Party and Food Crafting, as well as Paper and Scrapbooking brands such as EK success, Martha Stewart, Jolee's Boutiques, and others!! Can you just picture the ginormous smile that swept across my face?







I must go, at least, AT LEAST 3 times. They also have daily exhibits and presentations on how-to's such as buttercream, rolled fondant, and chocolate candy molding at 1pm. I hope to catch some demonstrations (boo work week) on the weekends.

I must now compile a list of stuff I want to buy there.

Here's some fun stats:

Fun stats:
• Hours to prepare the tent for opening day: 4,560

• Size of tent: football field length (100 yards)

• Number of customers: 2,000 per day, some traveling from as far away as South Africa and Ireland

Bye for now, hope to see you amongst the muffin tins and fondant cutters.