Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Morning Does Ugly Things To Me...

Oh, the sacrifices I make for you all..... early mornings, long drives, ridiculous gas prices, a sore butt, and a bad case of sleep deprivation.

This week I have signed myself up for a class to learn how to work with sugar paste and make various kinds of sugar flowers. These kinds of classes overwhelm me because I am terrible at working with sugar/gum paste. In culinary school I did the bare minimum to get through the few days that we worked with this stuff. I'm pretty sure that my chef instructor saw how horrid my flowers were and showed sympathy towards me by not forcing me to do more (thanks Chef Heather!).





I have only completed two of the four days, and I have learned so much. I'm not saying that I am good at what I have learned....I'm just saying I took some notes and made a few flowers, and hopefully I won't completely forget how to do everything once the class is finished.





The class is in Sugar Land which is about 85 miles away....2 hrs in traffic. The drive is rough, but how much better does it get than to take a sugar art class in Sugar Land?? It's like a sugar fairy tale! Waking up at 5:30AM is not a part of that fairy tale. Early mornings do not do good things for me. My face is breaking out, I have those tired eyes that even a pound of concealer cannot hide, and my overdose on coffee while driving to Sugar Land gives me the squirms the entire drive..... a little from the caffeine but mostly because it makes me have to pee as soon as I start the car. My body is rejecting this routine. I'll be happy when this week is over. Learning is nice, but it does terrible things for my complexion.





The class is offered by this neat little store called the Cake Craft Shoppe. The instructor is very knowledgeable and the store carries a great variety of products. If you have ever wanted to take a cake class other than the cheesy stuff that Wilton offers through Hobby Lobby or Michaels (although I've done that too.... I'm not bashing anyone who has taken or taught those classes) check out the Cake Craft Shoppe's classes. They offer a ton of classes, and are definitely worth the time and money.

Now, don't start expecting little sugar bouquets to start appearing on everything I do. This class is an effort to push myself outside of my comfort zone....we'll see where things go from here.

4 comments:

Mom said...

Sorry the drive and early mornings are killing you, but glad the class is worth the time. You always thrive when you push yourself into something new!
Love you and miss you this week!

Paige said...

You didn't look THAT tired...ok, yes you did... At least I felt pity for you & let you eat our leftovers ;) haha Can't wait to see what else you learn!

Anonymous said...

Haley! I'm so PROUD of you! lol. Your flowers back in Culinary school were not too bad. :) It all just takes lots practice and lots of patience to do sugar work. I can't wait to see what you create! Just prop your eyes open with flower wire and knead, roll and press...knead, roll and press... Chef Heather

Anonymous said...

That looks great! Keep up the good work! Chef Heather is right you know ... Practice practice practice. Take time to look at real flowers and realize that they aren't all uniform. It's the subtle difference that make them unique and beautiful! More pics! I love to see all you do and your wonderful creativity!! Ken "The Cake Guy".