Hush Now Baby...Baby...Don't You Cry

Ello Baykahs!

Mother's Day is here...our second busiest holiday of the year. Retro has been so busy that I have been going in an HOUR earlier for the last two days...and I realized something. 4:20 a.m. is morning. 3:20 a.m. is NIGHT. There is a huge difference...so, I won't be doing THAT again. It just makes me feel like a ZOMBIE. But, when it's your business it's WHAT YOU DO. Someone has to do it...and it's always YOU.....kinda like being a MOM.

I've been a mom a LOT longer than I've been a boss, but it's literally exactly the same. Babies cry...you love them. Employees cry...you give them some advice, some baked goods...and some love.

You see, no matter how I try to separate the MOM me and the BOSS me, it is impossible. I am a MOM first, so that is what happens...I want to take care of things. I want to HELP. I want to make sure that people are walking down the right paths and help them back on their feet when they're having troubles. It's the MOM in me that just can't let it go. I truly CARE about my employees...current or otherwise. I LOVE them. They are like my little birds...and they know it.

If my Retro family needs anything they ALWAYS have me (and Brian for that matter) to come to...no matter what. We ARE a family at Retro. You work for us, you get a second family. It's part of the deal....even as we've been getting bigger and hiring more people, that fact hasn't changed. It's my favorite part of the business. We genuinely care about each and every one of our employees. They are FAMILY. Even when they haven't worked for us in two years...they can ALWAYS come back and get advice...hugs...or just a cupcake and a good cry.

 Being a mother is my calling. Yes. I can bake....BUT, being a mom....that is my IT. I love it. Abbi and Lucy are my only reasons for truly BEING. My Retro kids? They just are MORE to love.

Happy Happy Happy Mother's Day.

NOW...THE CAKES O' The WEEKS (since I was too lazy to post last week):

"Rustic" buttercream style cake with real roses:

 Doggie Birthday cake:

"Rolled" fondant roses wedding cake (to top a cupcake tower):

Black and Yellow wedding cake:

LOVE and Initials wedding cake (to top a cupcake tower):

Pirate birthday cake:

Damask wedding cake (with real ribbon and brooch):

S swirl wedding cake with real flowers on top:

Married in Fabulous Las Vegas wedding cake (to top a cupcake tower):

 King and Queen of Hearts wedding cupcake tower:

And the BIG DADDY OF THE WEEK! It's the Chevrons and Succulent wedding cake!

I will now celebrate my Mother's Day with MY mother...who without HER none of THIS would be possible.

Laytah

It's So Easy to Fall in Love...It's So Easy to FAALL in Love

Ello Baykahs!
Another week in the books...this one was a doozy. This week wasn't really all that elaborate in cakes...as you will see in my lack of pictures, but it was full of cupcake tower weddings! In fact, we had so many deliveries and set ups that Brian was gone the entire day on Saturday racing around town setting them all up.

Yup. BRIAN sets them up. It's not me out there...or someone we hire. It's HIM. He is a master of the cupcake set up. There is something to be said about proper spacing and placement for each cupcake that you just can't do if you've never done it before. That's why we always recommend us setting it up if you have more than three dozen. It just starts to get messy, and frankly, it's a lot of work to make it look like no work at all.

That's the trick to this business...it LOOKS really easy. You bake. You make. You sell. So, EVERYONE thinks they could do it...It's just cupcakes, right???! WRONG. The reason it looks easy is because WE'RE working so hard. You prep and prep and prep: making toppings, making over 24 different flavors of cake and buttercream, baking cookies...all before 8 am (10 am on Saturday). THEN you attack all the "pre-orders" as I call them (orders placed for cupcake pick up that day), making sure they're ready for pick up at their proper times AND the custom orders are ready for deliveries...and THEN while you're doing all that five people have stopped in through out the day to talk over their wedding orders...so, you have to stop and start constantly. It's a ticking clock over your head ALL DAY, especially on Saturdays.

But, YOU just see the fabulous wedding tower that Brian sets up at your wedding...or the cute box of six cupcakes asking your future date to Prom. And that's the way it SHOULD be....It's our CHALLENGE every week to finish EVERYTHING on time...and make sure everything is decorated properly and tasting delicious. THAT'S the CHALLENGE of it all.

It's been a little MORE challenging than usual this week simply because my PHONE battery has decided to not keep a charge, so I literally got only three pictures this week just because of BRIAN. So, let's check out what he's managed to snap pictures of after his set ups:

HERE ARE THE CAKES/CUPCAKES O' THE WEEK!

 Mini cupcakes on platters with a 6-inch cutting cake:

Tangerine fondant flowers wedding cupcake tower (with both minis and regular cupcakes and flavor cards):

and the BIG DADDY of the WEEK:

The CIRCUIT BOARD birthday cake!!!!

The best part about this cake is that it says, "Trust me. I'm an engineer." BUT another cool part is that Brian's VERY first job out of high school was designing and making actual circuit boards. In fact, he has a patent on one of his designs....don't ask me what it's for...but, he DOES have it. This cake was a pretty full-circle moment for him...

Every week is another challenge to make it look easy...and taste even better than it looks. It's what gets me up every day...

Laytah

Father of Mine...Tell Me Where Have You Been...

Ello Baykahs!
I know it's been a bit...but I have an excuse! My father came to visit last weekend!! Since I never get to see him I put ALL work aside (ok, I mean the extra stuff like bloggin...) and spent every second I could enjoying my father and him seeing my kiddies.

This business is tough when it comes to EXTRAS like vacations...or ANY time off more than one day. It's probably the worst part of running your own business. There are no three-day weekends. There are no "take the rest of the day off" days. There is is just work. I know this is a problem...it just doesn't REAR its head until someone important comes to town, and I just can't get away...."the price of success" I call it...

So, these next couple of weeks we have to focus on this...I can't just be the only one making cupcakes. It's becoming a HUGE issue that keeps coming back especially when family comes to town...or if we have a to have a meeting...or sign papers FOR THE NEW HOUSE WE JUST GOT!!!!!

Yep. The house is ours!! Well, kind of. We sold our current house and got the new house...BUT, since we're crazy busy, and since the current occupants of the new house want to wait until school is out before moving...we DON'T have a new house. We're waiting until Summer vacation to move...so, it's actually perfect. I get two months to pack and get ready to move, and since I have ZERO extra time, I could NOT have asked for anything better.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am scared outta my mind just thinking about the next months, but I am just going to focus on ONE day at a time...and packing one box at a time....and throwin' out whatever I haven't used in my house in the last 10 years!

As I think about moving...YOU take a look at the last TWO weeks of CAKE!

Here are the Cakes O' the LAST TWO Weeks!

Fondant roses and petals cake:

"Rustic" buttercream wedding cake with ALL hand-made fondant flowers:

 Baby Belly cake:

Spring Tulips birthday cake:

Fondant mustaches and lips cupcakes:

Three-tier damask with brooch and ribbon wedding cake:

 "We Love Lucy" birthday cake:

"Married in Las Vegas" mini cupcake tower:

 Hibiscus wedding cake:

and the BIG DADDY of the WEEK:

Three-tier, square, HAND-PAINTED peacock feathers wedding cake:

The next months will be FULL of all KINDS of work, but if I can get through it...at the end I will have my house I've been waiting for with the VIEW I've been waiting to look at when I'm NOT working....

Laytah

WAIT! I forgot!!! I just happened to be checking Retro's email last Friday morning and there was an email from the WIFE of Art Alexakis of EVERCLEAR!!! She needed a cake THAT NIGHT for his birthday...and, LUCKILY Snazzy had JUST starting baking, and I YELLED, "Get a cake in the oven for tonight!!" So....the timing worked out, and Art got his cake...and they sent me this RAD picture:

The entire bakery was THRILLED we could do this for them!! Gotta love VEGAS!

How Long...How LOOOONG Will I Slide...

Ello Baykahs-
This has been a long week...a very very long week. And, yes, most of my weeks are long, this one just reminded me what it can be when you just can't seem to get it RIGHT. You see, in my experience, Retro will have three or four SMOOTH weeks in a row, then there will be the ONE weekend where EVERYTHING goes wrong.

"No. I didn't order Cookies and Cream. I ordered Milk and Cookies."
-- oops. We wrote down the wrong flavor...OR the customer told us incorrectly. This is why I try to always ask, "Oreo or Chocolate chip?"

"My cake was supposed to be light blue. This is dark blue."
-- This one is more common than you would ever imagine. Everyone has different ideas of color...and if you just say, "BLUE or GREEN" it's going to happen too many times. You HAVE to clarify the shade of color....but sometimes you don't remember...

"I really need an extra 48 minis by tomorrow." which is left on my answering machine three hours AFTER we have closed...and when my answering machine specifically says, "Please don't leave a message. Go to RetrobakeryLV.com for more information."
-- We stopped telling people to leave messages because this happened ALL THE TIME. But, people really expect us to completely change their order sizes by the time we have received the message...sometimes only a couple of HOURS before pick-up. This one is IMPOSSIBLE, so I let this one go a long time ago. I usually solve this by just offering cupcakes out of the case. It's the best and only option I have sometimes.

"You were supposed to deliver my order today at 11 am. Where are you? It's 5 pm!!"
-- LUCKILY, it was actually supposed to be delivered the NEXT day...she just got ahead of herself, but BOY did she cause my heart to stop. No big deal, cupcakes delivered on time on the correct day.

"I know I didn't order, but I need 6 dozen out of your case right now."
-- This necessarily isn't a bad thing...except when there are five customers behind him wanting a lot of cupcakes too....and now I have to figure out how to fill my case back up fast enough to get everyone the flavors they need.

Mistakes and STRESS are just a part of the job. They are going to happen. I don't WANT them to happen, but things get written down incorrectly, misunderstood, miscommunicated, and sometimes completely lost (which has only happened TWICE in five years, so that's a pretty good run, I must say). It is how you keep the customers calm and HOPEFULLY happy while you fix those mistakes that make you more and more aware of how NOT to make them...and how to smooth them over when they do happen.

I hope every day we make zero mistakes and have ZERO stress...but, some weeks like this one just HAPPEN. And we go back on Monday and do it all again...with a little more knowledge on how NOT to do things next time....

NOW...let's take a look at the MISTAKE-FREE Cakes O' the Week!

"My wife's nickname is Tomato, so can we put tomatoes on the cake?" birthday cake:

All fondant baby biscuits cake:

Happy Lion birthday cake (fondant cutouts on buttercream):

 Dirty 30 in Vegas cake:

 THE cutest Dino-Mite birthday cake EVER:

Purple OMBRE wedding cupcake tower:

All fondant with hand-made flowers wedding cake (real gold ribbon):

 And the COOLEST cake of the week...the NV license plate cake:

Five years strong in the bakery business, and we're still trying to get it RIGHT. You bake and you learn....
and you keep on baking.

Laytah

I'm Not Meant to be Alone...Turn This House Into a Home

Ello Baykahs!
So...I'm kinda living up to my "have more time for myself" promise by blogging FROM bed instead of at the kitchen table. I'm still resting, right? The fact is I am a girl who loves a routine, and I mean REALLY loves a routine. So, this NEXT sentence is REALLY gonna shake it up:

We have decided to sell our house.

Just when I thought I would start taking some time to relax...we found THE house that we have been looking for for over two years....and it's gonna take my current house to GET it.

House hunting has been a casual hobby. I love to look at neighborhoods, architecture, design, decor, back yards...all of it fascinates me. I love to get peeks into the lives of other people...their styles...their quirks...especially the solutions they come up with for awkward spaces (like my kitchen's "dead" corner that I finally found the perfect breakfast table for). But, every house I looked at always had something WRONG with it...And suddenly, I ran SMACK into a house that I couldn't say anything negative about.

As I was looking at all these homes through the years I was making a list of my favorite things...and actual requirements for the way WE live. We currently live in 1400 sq. ft. We moved in 10 years ago...with one kid who was starting kindergarten. NOW? Two kids....BOTH girls...who require lots of BATHROOM time...and rooms a little larger than 10x10.

1) bigger bedrooms
2) play loft space

I also wanted a kitchen that you can see the living room from...that you can cook large amounts of food...so when you have people over (oh yeah, I want a house that you can have some folks come visit) you can serve food easily WHILE still preparing dessert.

3) kitchen island
4) cabinet space

Then there's the "we work a lot" problem...so one of my requirements was a house that could double as a vacation spot. Now, we get ONE day off during the week, so I want to make sure that day off could be spent at home RELAXING...and hopefully on a patio with a view. I just want something to LOOK at.

5) patio/courtyard
6) DESERT VIEW

That last one was the most important. I have been craving a space where I can THINK. A place where I can decompress....and that is exactly what this house has. The master bedroom has a view of the mountains that surround Las Vegas...and there is not ONE house behind it. THAT was the kicker. It is on bare desert that will probably not be developed for at LEAST five years.

The other kicker?

When you drive to this house (which is literally only 10 minutes from my current home) you are FORCED to see the Las Vegas STRIP. There would be a perfect STRIP VIEW on my commute every day...and night. This may mean nothing to you...but I moved to Vegas BECAUSE of the magic of the Strip...and I never get to SEE it. With this house I could see it every day!!!!

So...we're selling our house...and FINGERS CROSSED getting a new house....

The best news?? It'll be the EXACT mortgage we've been paying...

Let's not get my hopes up anymore, because I tend to have REALLY bad luck when it comes to getting my hopes up too high. Let's just put it out there that THIS is what I want...and need...

NOW...let's see all the hard work we did to be able to afford this move....
HERE ARE THE CAKES O' THE WEEK!


Buttercream with fondant dots Dice cake:

Buttercream with fondant cut-outs SWEET birdie birthday cake:

Fondant with real ribbon and hand-crafted fondant flowers wedding cake:

Quilted fondant with fondant ribbon and bow wedding cake:

And the BIG DADDY of the WEEK...the fondant fox cake!!!

It's so exciting when you finally decide to make a BIG change...but it is also the scariest, most stressful time EVER. I truly hope this will be the house that will take us into the next ten years....and not just take me to the crazy house.

Laytah

And I Just Can't Seem to Get Enough Of ...

Ello Baykahs!
Yup. Here I am EARLY on Sunday morning BLOGGING. I can't give it up...no, not really. The fact is I have a sore throat and can't sleep, so I might as well chat it up with YOU about my week.

Remember when I told you last week that things were getting a little STALE....well,  be careful what you wish for.....because THIS week we were SO busy with orders that every single day felt like Saturday (our busiest day).

Believe me, I am VERY thankful for the business, but when there is NO rest between days your body has nothing better to do than to get SICK....but, I don't think this sore throat is REALLY sickness. I honestly think is SPRING-itis. When the wind starts blowing 35 miles per hour and the temps range from 80 to 50 to 68 to 40 all in one week your body just doesn't know what to do....except get sore. I always feel a little OFF this time of year....my body starts gearing up for the EXTREME temps to come (which is the EXACT reason why I moved to Vegas: the HEAT).

Speaking of extreme...it was an EXTREMELY busy week for cakes, so of COURSE I barely got any pics. Brian DID manage to get a few...so here are the Cakes O' the Week!


Square fondant wedding cake with fresh roses and real ribbon (with silver dragees):

Topsy-Turvy birthday cake with fondant bow (all buttercream base):

Fondant flowers on buttercream cake (with real ribbon):

Vegas Dice mini cupcake tower (fondant dice on top with poker chips for dots):

And the SMALL Daddy of the Week: The "She loves Coffee and Cupcakes" birthday cake (cup and cupcake made from Rice Krispie treats and fondant with hand-painted accents):

NOW...I'm gonna enjoy my Sunday....and this Spring weather.

Laytah

Don't Go Changin' to Try to Please Me...

Ello Baykahs!
I'm writing this on Monday...after I FULLY intended to not blog at all this week, but since I have SUCH an impulse to PLEASE EVERYONE here I am....

AND THERE IS THE PROBLEM.

I'm having a bit of trouble lately...I'm in a bit of a RUT because after five years my life has felt like I have just been on REPEAT. Work, home, sleep....EVERY DAY. ALL DAY. ALL WEEK...except Sunday. But, even SUNDAY has become repetitive: get up at 4, do laundry, find  and edit cake pics, blog, grocery shop, clean house, THEN wake the kids up....and try to have a DAY together.

AND WHAT HAS HAPPENED??

I'm getting TIRED...and very bored.

Five years is a LONG time to do EXACTLY the same thing...with the exception of maybe SIX weekends a year when I have plans where a Sunday is different...but then I just come home to a MOUNTAIN of laundry and house-cleaning...and grocery shopping.

Here is the bottom line: My name is Kari...which can also be read as CARRY. I am a person that CARRIES a lot on my shoulders. I always have been. I (for some reason) have always felt VERY connected and responsible for EVERYONE and their expectations of me. From a VERY young age I have felt like I MUST do everything to make EVERYONE comfortable, happy, content, NOT irritated...no matter what the cost to myself. I always did what everyone ELSE wanted to make sure there were no WAVES...just smooth sailing.

FULL DISCLOSURE: This is also the CONTROL FREAK in me too...so, I am very guilty of causing a lot of this on myself.

BUT, I've noticed now that I'm a lot OLDER and now five years in to my OWN business,  that this is imPOSSIBLE to keep up. I am EXHAUSTED all the time running around and making sure i's are dotted and t's are crossed for EVERYONE. And, I know that's part of my job, but I'm going to start DELEGATING and actually letting OTHERS do things...and maybe not doing certain things the same way AT ALL.

And THAT brings me back to this blog. Five years ago, I pledged to make THIS place a place of HONESTY about owning and running your own bakery. I think I have accomplished this. There is LITERALLY nothing that has changed in the last couple of years...so, I feel like it's just getting STALE...with the exceptions of the FABULOUS cakes that Brian and Kim create.

SO, I have decided that I will STILL blog, but it will JUST be the Cakes O' the Week...and maybe the occasional "Look what happened this week..." stuff. BUT,  as of THIS SECOND, I am letting myself off the hook with at least THIS part of my Sunday. No more stress about topics...no more finding song lyrics that match the theme or words for a title (yes, if you haven't noticed by NOW each of my blog titles are parts of songs that I like)...no more ROUTINE RUT.

I am now giving myself some TIME back on my ONE AND ONLY DAY OFF.

*FULL DISCLOSURE: the CONTROL FREAK in me is LITERALLY making every letter I type SUPER difficult....I am a stubborn, old B.

BUT, I will do this. I need to do this.

Now take a look at the Cakes O' the Week!

Owl on a Branch birthday cake (fondant cut outs on a buttercream cake):

Think Pink standard birthday cake (pink vanilla cake filled and covered with strawberry buttercream):

Rock Candy wedding cake (buttercream with pieces of rock candy placed on the cake):

and the BIG DADDY of the WEEK! The Cross Fit Gym Owner Groom's cake! It's a fondant jump rope, kettlebell, and rings!!

Oh yeah...I kinda decided to shake up my baking RUT too...I added Chocolate Cream pies to our case on 3/14 or 3.14 (National Pi Day!). They are super delicious mini pies with graham crust, chocolate cream cheese filling, and fresh whipped cream on top. I'm guess they're gonna be a SUMMER STAPLE this year.

Sometimes you just have to put yourself first, open yourself to change, and WALK YOUR PATH.

Laytah.