Have you ever walked in some place and instantly felt a connection to the people and surroundings? It doesn’t happen often, but it’s one of those moments when you absolutely connect with your universe?
This happened to me on Saturday. And it was all on account of cake.
You see, this coming Sunday, my parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. You all heard about my mother’s surprise 70th birthday party back in July and my father’s bypass surgery, which included a very low-key celebration of his birthday in the hospital. Well, partying in the Leto family has been taken to the height of perfection this Sunday when we descend on a very nice restaurant for a luncheon for 200, complete with band, buffet, flowers, and yes, of course…cake.
On Saturday, I went over to my parents’ house to help them when the photographer we hired came over to do their portrait. (I’ll post it next week! It’s gorgeous.) Afterward, mom and I got online and on the phone and started trying to find a cake that would do this celebration justice. We started with the local grocery store that has a fabulous bakery, but they were a little expensive, surprisingly, and needed more time to get the job done. We called two local bakers recommended by the restaurant, but both specialized in cakes made with fondant, which my father hates. He wanted buttercream (and I don’t blame him.)
Then my mother remembered that she’d heard of a business called LET THEM EAT CAKE. She didn’t remember where she’d heard of the business, but we looked them up and my mom made a call. She liked what she heard and wanted to drive down and see them because their website wasn’t very good. They said, “Sure!” So with no appointment, we drove clear to the other side of the city, crossing what we in Tampa consider to be the “sacred boundary” between old money and the rest of the world and ventured south of Kennedy Boulevard to this amazing, delightful, whimsical, wondrous bakery where Chef Michael Baugh creates masterpieces worthy of the Food Network.
And yes, I was home.
Cake! Creativity! Chocolate!
Chef Michael is an incredibly gracious host. No matter that we walked in with no appointment and he had a bride and her family there for a scheduled tasting, he still took a few minutes of his valuable time while the bride went through his impressive portfolio to talk to me and my mother. He sketched out a cake, scheduled a tasting, and frankly, dazzled us with his warmth and genuine love for what he does. He’s infectious. And brilliant. I swear, he could give Chef Duff a serious run for his money.
We went back yesterday for the tasting and after eating more sugar than I’ve had in months (followed by salads for both lunch and dinner!) we settled on four combination flavors, one for each layer. I’ll post pictures of the cake next week, too. Let’s just say it will have hand-made curlicues made of chocolate and dusted with 24 carat gold.
I’m really excited that this weekend’s celebration will be really special for my parents…I hope it all comes off without a hitch. There are still details to be seen to, but it’s going to be one heck of a party. And even if things go wrong, at the end, there will be cake. And really, isn’t that all that matters?
So…have you ever worked with someone who really made an event you were hosting or attending special? Or someone who ruined an event completely? Don’t get me started on the florist who did my wedding…it’s been 17 years and I still remember every thing he did wrong!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Warm wishes for a Happy Birthday go out to Plotmonkey Pals, Bonnie Smith & Sharron Paterson, today! We hope you have a fabulous, fun-filled day!
By all reports, Julie Leto was a sweet child once, somewhat shy, preferring to play quietly in her room making up stories. However, being raised with three brothers in a loud, primarily Italian household did have its influences and Julie discovered her inner tough girl. That’s probably why most of her heroines kick serious butt. Writing sassy heroines has worked out, as she’s sold over forty books to four publishers featuring strong, confident women. Julie lives in Florida with her daughter, a spoiled dachshund, a haughty lynx-point Siamese and a wide range of relatives all within driving distance.
Destiny
Dirty Little Secrets
Once Upon A Valentine
Through The Night
Subscribe to Posts 
Comment
Can’t say I’ve experienced such an event one way or the other. (Sorry to hear about your florist!)
Comment
Stacy, me neither…I have experienced blogs, though…
Comment
I do know what you mean back in 2000 I gave birth to my daughter a long complicated procedure that ended up in a c-section. My doctor was an older guy he was good at what he did and everyone assured me that Doctor Statson was the one to have. Fast forward 3 years and he retires I end up pregnant again and go to a doctor referred to me by a client of mine. I didn’t get the warm fuzzy feeling from her or her staff when you walked in the door it wasn’t friendly. I started having some complications and was told I miscarried then I was told I hadn’t. eventually I did miscarry at home in the middle of the night. When I went into the doctors office the next day I asked to talk to a nurse and was asked if I had an appointment and was treated not to well I was upset and a nurse was laughing when she barged into my room. That was the last time I went there so I get pregnant again and go to a new doctor Dr. Julie A McMillian A little hesitation but the front staff was friendly and when I was called back her Medical Assistant Julie was very kind after talking with both her and the doctor I got that warm fuzzy feeling. Make a long story short I miscarried again but as thing happened both Julie and Dr. McMillian called many through out the day. When I got pregnant again Dr.Micmillian called me to congratulate me I never had a doctor call me usually their staff. I became great friends with both and started doing their hair when my son was born Dr.McMillian brought me a Playpen. since moving to Florida I keep in contact with both but still haven’t found a new Doctor and probably never will.
Comment
My husband made an ordinary Wednesday afternoon special by bringing home a pretty little vase of Dendrobium orchids–just because. I’ll never forget that.
Cher
Comment
Talk about ruining an event? The DJ for our wedding 17 years ago. My brother’s gift to us was to pay for the DJ, a guy who he swore would be wonderful. We’d never heard the guy but I trusted my brother, a former DJ himself. Plus, we supplied the guy with a crate of CDs because we knew what music we and our guests wanted to hear.
The guy played everything but the music we gave him. Music that we and all of our guests hated. So we had people sitting around, not dancing, looking bored with this terrible music playing.
I wanted to slay the dude! It still riles me to think about it.
Comment
Let me just mention the family member, who is usually very good a photography, who did my wedding 11 years ago. And the video. I am still upset. :argue1:
Have fun this weekend Julie and I can’t wait to see the photos. Too bad computers dont’ have taste-o-vision yet!!
Comment
I don’t believe I have ever had a special event. But, I used to work in a fabric store with a bridal section and I was a consultant. I like to think that I helped make events special for others. I did the veil for my best friend. I wish I could’ve done more.
I can’t wait to see the pics and hear all about the big party!
Congrats to you family!
Comment
Happy anniversary to your parents. I hope you have a wonderful celebration and eat lots of cake.
Comment
:wub: :wub: Wow sounds wonderful!
I have a tiny family of 9 so when we do get together it is very special
but a very small gathering. 200 what a wonderful time you should have.
A quick update on my reading: I think the Roxanne St. Claire,
NOW YOU DIE is one of the best non monkey books I have read this year!
Rocki has done a superior job with this book. I love, love, loved it!
Zoey gives it 4 paws up! Rarely does she do that.
I never put it down. Thankfully I finished before my book light dimmed.
My compliments to the plotmonkeys for introducing her here.
Comment
Julie congratulations to your parents…50 Years!
When I was planning my wedding My husband and I were young and money was tight, we booked a wedding hall, which at the time was charging us $15 a head + $ 3 a head for the Viennese hour. The hall was nice but old, but it was really all we could afford. And the owner was a nice older man who knew we were paying for this ourselves so he let us leave a down payment and then make monthly payments. One week before my wedding I get a call from the owner of the catering hall, asking us to come in to see him, with the final payment. I honestly didn’t think anything was up. When we pulled up, we noticed that the outside was freshly painted and some flowers had been planted, but this was nothing compared to when we walked inside. The whole place was newly renovated!! It was beyond beautiful. And I’ll be honest I cried. I couldn’t believe that I would be having my wedding there. The owner was so sweet when he told me I was the last person to be paying the old fee, that he now charged $50 per head, and he knew when we booked it that he would be renovating but that we wouldn’t be able to afford the new price, so he just thought he would surprise us! This man helped make my wedding the most special day with his generous surprise, and I will never forget him!
Comment
I have experienced both!! My florist for my wedding was an alum from the college that my siblings were attending at the time of the wedding and he went above and beyond my wildest expectations!! I loved him. My photographer for my wedding however, was horrendous! His son who was his assistant had to leave early because he was drunk, and after 8 hours of photography I was only given 150 photos to choose from to fill what was supposed to be an album of 75. Needless to say, my album was not that large and we ended up getting our money back because I threw a fit. He didn’t even get my mother in law walking down the aisle!! That is the only part of my wedding I regret and even 9 years later I get upset talking about it.
Comment
My friends and I had to rescue another friend at her wedding. They had between 150-200 people at the reception and 1 case of wine and 2 cases of beer…and no one to serve either. We all pooled our money, got a server from the restaurants one of my friends were running, and got enought wine and beer to make it through the entire reception.
Comment
Julie – it is so cool when things click like that and you get that all-is-right-with-the-world feeling. I hope your parents have a wonderful party!!!
Tina – Your story almost made me cry! Angels do walk among us, don’t they?
And Liza – you were one of those angels to your friend!!! That was so incredbly nice and generous of you. Somewhere, someday there’s going to be a blog like this and your friend is going to be posting about how awesome you were to her on her wedding day!
Comment
At an old job, 18 years ago, I was in charge for making hotel reservations for the executives. My rep at the hotel offerred me a discounted rate for their honeymoon suite the night of my wedding which I accepted. After the reception we went back to my mom’s house and opened our gifts. My brother and his girlfriend drove us to the hotel so we wouldn’t have a car to worry about. Thank God he waited until we checked in at the desk because they gave our room away. My rep wasn’t working that late on a Saturday night and she didn’t indicate “guaranteed late arrival”. So my brother drove us back to our condo. What a bummer! While in Jamaica, we got a beautiful fruit and wine basket delivered to our room from the hotel apologizing.
Comment
50 years is a long time to live with just one person! :wub: I’m sure that this party is going to be absolutely wonderful!!!!
Comment
OMG – I missed the birthdays!!!
Comment
Happy Birthday, Sharron and Bonnie!
The event planner for the Hyatt Hotel where we held our 50th high school
anniversary reunion here in Houston was super! She couldn’t do enough
to help us have a special gathering. I hope she is still there when Honey
and I celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary in 2 1/2 years!
Pat Cochran
Comment
For my sister’s wedding last year, my mom got a recommendation for a photographer from a photographer our family has gone to since he first began taking pictures (he took the pictures at my aunt’s wedding over 30 years ago) but who no longer does weddings himself. This photographer was absolutely horrible. She missed a number of pictures, including my niece and nephew coming down the aisle. Not only did she miss pictures, though, but most of those she did take looked very amateurish and had horrible lighting. I’m just thankful that some of us got better pictures with our digital cameras than the photographer took with her equipment.
Happy birthday to Bonnie and Sharron!
Comment
First of all, Julie Congratulations to your parents on their 50th. That is awesome. I love it when couples can make it work for 50 years or longer. Have wonderful party & enjoy the cake. Great story about the bakery. It seems to me I have heard of it!!
My ex-husband was a professional photographer. We did quite a few weddings & a few special occasions. To many people are willing to compromise on the photographer because it isn’t cheap! I speak from experience it is not the place to save!! Save on favors, save on food, booze but not the pictures because in the end that is what is left to remember your day. Friends that take good pictures are rarely experienced in wedding photography lighting, background, groups, candids plus all the time in taking the pictures, sorting, putting proofs together for the couple. A photographer spends many hours to give you those special pictures of your day. Sorry to get so carried away. Thanks for letting me spout!!
Julie, can’t wait to see pictures of your parents & the cake. Thanks for sharing with us.
Comment
We’ve a friend who started her own photography business-she’s taken family portraits for us for the last couple years and we couldn’t be more pleased! We’ve had some rather lackluster experiences with other photographers, and we’re so happy to have family photos we smile to see every time! Congratulations to your parents, and hooray for you for setting it up! Happy cake eating for all of you!!
Comment
Happy Anniversary to your parents
I can’t wait to see the cake and portrait.
Happy Birthday Bonnie S & Sharron P
Comment
What a great time!
I miss let them eat cake. We had a great DJ at my friend’s wedding – which was great for ridding the bridesmaid angst since the play list had us dancing all night. Happy Birtday Bonnie & Sharronn! 
Comment
Happy birthday, ladies! Julie – sounds like a terrific experience and I can’t wait to see the pics! Also mmm delicious cake!