It is that time of the year to reflect on the past 365 days that have gone by. This year was a year of milestones for me. A year of firsts, a year of reunions, a year of dreams come true and an end to an era. It was a blessed year and I am beyond grateful for all that I received and experienced!

There was a first baking experience in February and the launch of a baking addiction. There was a wedding to plan, a dress to be bought and a dream shoe that showed up at my door step in July for the occasion. Friends from afar and near planned a wonderful bridal shower in May and reunions with college buddies! The biggest reunion of all was to see my sister, mom and my high school bestie. And of course there was a groundbreaking event, that ended the era of the single gyal…the wedding to the man beyond my dreams in September! I pray 2013 is filled with as many experiences!

For the new year eve celebrations, I attempted to bake a cake for the evening. I started with no decoration vision (mistake #1) and didn’t start looking for an idea until after the cake and layers turned out better than expected. A frosted cake and some frantic Pinterest searches lead to this organized mess.

End Of Year Reflections and New Year Cake

I almost didn’t share this picture but since this is my memoir of baking adventures, the failures need to be acknowledged. Second mistake was messing up the writing on the cake and attempting to scrape it off (you see the patches on top?). But hey…that’s what adventures are for. To learn from the mistakes.

The cake was this cherry vanilla from Annie’s Eats and I followed her recipe to the dot. It tasted great too!

Happy New Year!!! I hope 2013 brings us all more happiness and love!!! I look forward to growing as a baker in this new year :))