Weekend sweets and pattern envy

After reading about Sunday Cakes over here at Bleubird I thought that it would be such a nice idea to start here at home.  We go WAY overboard on the sweets over here.  Seriously overboard.  And this past holiday season kind of did me in.

BUT I STILL EAT TOO MUCH.  Sweets I mean.  (I probably ate at least 1/3 of a Purdy's box at work in one afternoon. I'm not exaggerating either)

So this afternoon I thought we'd start the new tradition of making a sweet thing on the weekend and then THAT'S IT FOR THE WEEK.

So I made a chocolate spice cake with dark chocolate filling and a coconut honey glaze on top.

????

It is so intensely sweet that I just want to go brush my teeth and drink a Big glass of water.  Ugh.

And there is a HUGE portion of cake left!  I could only manage one piece and I had to kind of slog my way through it.

It is that sweet.

So I don't have any free time AT ALL.  I ridiculously thought that I'd make myself a new winter coat in January, but we're coming into week three, and I've got orders to fill and trades to finish and a show to prep for IN ONE MONTH that all of my non kid time is bench time.

Or baking stupid cakes.

But my sister in law sent me a link to BURDA STYLE and I am kind of losing my cool over it.

There are a few pieces that I really want to try my hand at.

Like these for example...

Or these...

So now that I've discovered it, I am obsessed and can't stop picturing myself dressed up in new made-by-me duds and generally feeling fancy.

(Maybe in March I can make myself something!)

Quite possibly the most beautiful chocolate bar

This beauty was in my stocking this year.  Dark chocolate with lavender.

I love lavender!

My Mom found it here at Sacred Mountain Lavender.

It. Is. So. Good!

(Art by Jim Hart for the Salish Sea Chocolate company)

Anemones, in progress

(These shots are from just before Christmas, and I don't have any shots of them finished because, naturally,  I sent them all out IMMEDIATELY after finishing them.  Because they were finished at the Last Minute.  Classic)

These are the new Anemone series, teeny tiny brooches, pendants and not pictured were earrings too.
Silver copper and 14k yellow gold!  They all got some nice dark patinas and some hand engraving too.

I'm going to start a new batch of them next week.