Remind me never to cut corners on the icing again!

And this isn't my first rodeo, people.  I know better than this.  What is more, I know that it doesn't actually save me that much time.  The homemade Wilton icing is so very simple and quick.  In the end this "time saver" ended up costing me time AND a pleasing finished product.

Looks good, right?  You're asking, "What is she talking about?"  This was after fixing it THE FIRST TIME.  I made the cake and iced it quickly with little swirls because what else can you do with canned icing, right?  Then I went to bed.  When I came into the kitchen the next morning, the icing had run and pulled the cake with it in three different directions.  Yep!  A really big crack.  That didn't phase me too much.  I just tried to use more icing to put the cake back together and hide all the boo boos.  I had already planned to decorate with some fresh flowers from the side of the road vendors here.  I went to baseball games and picked up flowers on the way home.  I finished the cake up and took pictures immediately, and I am so thankful for that.

We were having a barbecue party for her at the park.  Since at this time we were in the middle of a string of long trips and trying to get ready for company and the movers to come right after the company leaves, I tried to make this as low maintenance as possible.  We did brats and hot dogs, chips, a couple last minute salads because we were given a bunch of lettuce and tomatoes.  Then there was the cake.

On the 45 minute drive to the park, I was holding the cake in the passenger seat while Brian was driving when the cake cracked wide and irreparably open.  I didn't cry but boy did I whine and moan about the cake the rest of the drive.  This is what it looked like.

Oh, so embarrassing and humbling.  Genevieve was, of course, so sweet about it, but I kept apologizing to her nonetheless.  The rest of the party was perfect and all the children had a blast playing and eating.  In the end, I pre-cut the cake and plated the pieces while the kids were playing.  I even dangerously put twelve candles on Genevieve's slice so we could sing to her.

The big cake fall of 2018 will be remembered in those precious little minds for years to come.  I like to think of my mistake less as a mistake than as a memory peg for my children to remember this day for a long time.  LOL