On Wednesdays, we wear pink

All right, I need to cool it with the Lindsay Lohan references eventually, but it's a Wednesday in October and I just delivered a VERY pink cake. I don't even like Lindsay Lohan, but somehow I've managed to mention her in two out of my three current blog posts. I promise it will come to an end, although admittedly now I'm wondering if there's any possible way for me to incorporate Lindsay's viral dance moves and/or her beach club in Mykonos into a future design....

Flamingo cakes started popping up on my instagram discovery page over the summer and I added it to my very long mental list of cakes that I wanted to try. Of course, by the time I finally had an opportunity to make it, I found myself in the middle of October... sigh. How could I possibly incorporate a flamingo into something relating to fall? I already pushed my limits by making an ice cream cake on the very last day of summer. A flamingo amidst pumpkins, witches, and ghosts... OH MY!

Luckily all of the stars aligned one day when I was deciding on a recipient and I landed on the nearby cancer center. DUH! October is breast cancer awareness month! Bring on the pink flamingos and pink ribbons!

While I currently spend my days decorating cakes and cupcakes in a downtown bakery, I used to spend my days with cancer patients. I worked in oncology clinical research before my husband and I were relocated to North Carolina, so the cancer center seemed fitting in more ways than one. I know what it's like to work in the type of environment that's tough to shake at the end of the day - You find yourself worrying about your patients and their families while you're making dinner or mowing the lawn. It never really stops and it can be emotionally draining. Whenever my colleagues and I were having a particularly tough week, I would bring my poodle, Bruin, into the office on Friday as a way to end the week on a good note. Moral of the story is that little surprises and simple pleasures go a long way when you spend most of your time caring for and worrying about other people, work related or otherwise.

Anyways, this was one of those cakes that I thought would be an absolute breeze to complete, but it ended up giving me a very hard time. I re-made the neck/head three different times using three different methods and it STILL ended up breaking in the parking lot of the cancer center (if anyone from FirstHealth is reading this, please know that Mr. Flamingo originally stood so much taller than he did by the time I dropped him off!)

Even though gravity wasn't on my side, I love the way this one came out and I absolutely love who it went to. I'm not sure if a flamingo cake is as exciting as my poodle, Bruin, but hopefully it worked the same magic to put a smile on the faces of the cancer center employees and volunteers!

Baked with love,

Emma