Cake International 2010 in Birmingham, UK... finally!!!

Well, it's about time I let you all in on what goes down at an exclusive cake decorating exhibition... The day after my arrival in the UK, I had rented a car to have for the duration of my trip. I haven't even had my license for a full year yet, so I was pretty freakin' nervous at the prospect of driving on the other side of the road. I had a mini adventure driving through the New Forest with my lovely friend Ranger; the New Forest is my ultimate favourite part of the UK still to this day. It is a region in which ponies, donkeys, pigs, sheep, and cows all have the right of way. You'll be moseying along, cruising through some gorgeous little villages, when all of a sudden you have to stop because there's a herd of ponies hanging out in the road! While I imagine this could get a little frustrating when you're running out the door and late for work, as a visitor, it is so refreshing to visit somewhere that the animals still have the run of the place. Ranger and I stopped off at the New Forest Owl and Otter Centre, where we came across a rather hungry little deer! It was a close escape, but we both made it out alive.

My driving experience that day was pretty uneventful - I didn't have any accidents, and I wasn't even honked at... however, I hadn't exactly travelled very far! The next day, I was heading to Birmingham for the cake show, which was over a 2 hour drive away. I've driven to Toronto and back a few times, but it's not the same when you're in unchartered territory on the other side of the road! I brought my cousin Joan and her sister Jean along with me, as they were coming up for the day and taking the train home at night. I was happy to have the company for that trip, as I was still a little nervous. Luckily, nobody had to wear their crash helmets and there wasn't even a single scream from the backseat. A success all around! We safely pulled in to the NEC at around 10:30am, and that's when the real fun began...

First off - the cake show was definitely anything but exclusive (which is what I love about cake decorating; it brings together the most unlikely of hobbyists!)... there were so many people there, that within the first 5 or 10 minutes of being there, I was immediately separated from Joan and Jean. You really had to stake your ground and take your time to make sure you saw everything. We had thought that by going the first day, we'd miss at least some of the crowd... we were totally wrong, as this was definitely the busiest day.

There were about 5 sections to the whole exhibition - student display cakes, competition display cakes, vendors, live competitions, and workshops. There was some incredible talent at this show. It was so inspiring - and of course some pieces just made you wonder why you even bother! There were some cakes made by children students that would give me a run for my money... why didn't I discover this art all those years ago!? It's kind of impossible to transcribe how I felt while going up and down the aisles of the competition pieces. There was one cake (right) that was decorated only using royal icing which didn't even make sense. I have a pretty good understanding of royal icing and how different techniques and effects are created, but this thing was ridiculous. It didn't necessarily appeal to me aesthetically, but the technique and skill required practically took my breath away. Look at the collar on this thing!! I don't GET it!

After carefully inspecting each and every cake, cupcake, and sugarpaste flower (so much inspiration in one place!), I moved on to the vendor tables. Oh. My. God. Living in Ottawa, we are deprived of a well-stocked, high quality cake decorating supply shop. I do most of my supply shopping online, and a lot of it comes from Toronto. Unfortunately for us, a lot of stuff originates from the UK and is then shipped to Canada. So the prices obviously have to reflect that... but then on top of that I end up paying extra shipping to get it here in Ottawa. (There is a very important reason that I have laid out this thought process... it was my entire justification for buying everything that I did at the show. It was a lot. I had to tell myself this reasoning every 20 minutes or so.)

To be perfectly honest, it's not as though there was anything I absolutely needed... I would have been absolutely fine if I had come home with nothing. But that just wasn't happening. I swear the stuff was calling my name! I could hear it! Even above all the noise and hubbub of the show! Resistance was futile. I won't bother naming everything that I got as it's probably only of interest to me... but I was a happy lil girl at the end of the day when I got back to my hotel room and started going through everything. The photo you see here isn't even close to everything that I got, as I accidentally bought more stuff over the next 2 days of the show.

Anyway... after scouring each and every vendor table, I met up with Jean and Joan (who had lost me and were sent in to a bit of a panic! I hadn't left the show at all, but with the masses of people I guess I was difficult to spot. I even ate my watercress sandwich as I walked! No rest for the wicked!). They were heading back to Southampton on the train, so I gave them a hug goodbye and lugged all of my loot to the hotel. I slept well that night, that's for sure.


On the Saturday morning, I returned to the show to be there when it opened, and I took another walk around the tables. There were a few more things that I hadn't noticed the day before, so I accidentally bought some more stuff. My workshop with Alan Dunn was at noon that day, and I knew it was popular so I lined up pretty early. It was a good thing, too, as the classroom was packed. Unfortunately, as close as I was, I also had a giant pole in front of my view... that was kind of annoying. Nevertheless, Alan did not disappoint - he provided an incredibly informative, entertaining, and inspiring workshop. He was showing us how to make passion flowers - his favourite exotic Christmas flower. I picked up a few really simple but different tricks that will help save time and improve the quality of my work. It was an honour to be able to see him in action! I hope he one day makes it over here so I can take a full course with him.

After the workshop, I left the show for the day. I headed into downtown Birmingham, which was so busy that I didn't spend very long there. It was another early night for me.... On Sunday morning I woke up early and headed to Kenilworth Castle. This was once owned by Sir Robert Dudley - Queen Elizabeth's favourite. She visited the castle many times, and the gardens were installed there specifically for her visits. It has been added to one of my alltime favourite heritage properties. I loved that some of the building was in ruins, and some was still in tact. You really got the best of both worlds!

I went back to the cake show after a pretty thorough visit to the castle. I knew there were a few more things I had intended to pick up, so I wanted to get those before heading in to the last demonstration of the weekend. This was the workshop that was supposed to be held by Eddie Spence MBE, but he had to cancel at the last minute due to illness. Unfortunately, I can't remember the gentleman's name who replaced Eddie for the demo, but he did a very good job. I think he was nervous, as he must have known everyone had really wanted to see Eddie in action - but he did really well despite that. The royal icing was acting up (any change in temperature or humidity can completely ruin a batch), but he worked through it and gave us some really neat tips on creating unique royal icing sunflowers, hydrangeas, and English roses. I quite enjoyed his demonstration!

That brought me to the end of the cake show weekend. It was bittersweet to be leaving - I was so happy and content with everything that I had seen, bought, learned, etc... but as I have no idea when I will ever be able to return, it was sad that the event I'd been excited for for so long was now over! I will have to take comfort in my new purchases and toys... I have come back entirely re-energized, and completely inspired for the new year. Later this week, I'll have a couple of announcements of some big events coming up next year!

OK I think this was a ridiculously long post... Hopefully this was somewhat interesting to you! Keep an eye out for what's going to be coming up soon... And before I go, here's a quick Top 3 of the most innovative things I saw at the show:

1) Sugarveil ... I have read about this before, and have done a little research, but had never seen it in action. It's unbelievable. The Sugarveil people were demonstrating their products, and if I lived in the UK I would probably have been taking one of everything home with me (despite how insanely expensive it all is). I won't go into the details of how they make this stuff, but when they finish, the final product is a lacey and fabric-like piece of sugar that can be folded, draped, tied... it looked amazing, and not like sugar at all; we were even allowed to sample it in order to prove it wasn't a scary chemical make-up, and it was just sugar-y goodness. Amazing stuff.

2) Magic dust ... Completely natural & vegan-friendly coloured dusts and sparkles that don't dissolve (as some naturally coloured dusts do); this was a very popular booth, and I stocked up on a whole bunch of colours!)

3) Stephen Benison's hummingbird cutter (and basically everything at his table) ... I have seen Stephen Benison's stuff before when I attended the other cake show back when I still lived in England, but I still didn't really understand what he was all about. This second time around, I got it. His stuff it quite modern, and very artsy; he has a very distinct style which I really appreciated. These hummingbird cutters were just gorgeous - I didn't buy them, as I couldn't justify the 20 pounds it cost; it's not often that I will get a couple walking in our door asking for a cake adorned with a modern style of hummingbird! But I watched him demo these cutters about 5 times before finally pulling myself away from the table. He is a new inspiration of mine.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!
Don't worry - it'll be a long time before I get back to a cake show and write a post as long as this!
Have a great week, and hopefully we don't get snowed in!
XOXO
M. Kate

Where it all began...

One of the first things I did on my trip (after having a much needed nap) was to return back to the flower class that started it all...

When I was living in England in 2008/2009, I was originally working at a little shop called Passion Fish. We sold handmade gifts, cards, and novelty items. It was a nice enough place to work, but the recession- in combination with its location- meant that the store was no longer able to stay open. My mum's cousin and his wife (Dave and Joan) were kind enough to take me in, but being unemployed meant I didn't have very much money to do anything. Every Tuesday evening, Joan would attend this flower class, where everyone would make these awesome floral creations using a medium called cold water porcelain. (Cold water porcelain is not edible, but is an excellent material to learn how to make sugar flowers as it is much stronger and more resiliant than gumpaste.) Because I had nothing going on, and my days were mostly filled with antique related shows (my favourite was Dickinson's Real Deal), Joan suggested I come along with her to class.

After my first class, I was immediately hooked. I borrowed some materials from Joan, and from the teacher, Sue; the ladies who attended the class were so lovely and welcoming. When Sue first started the classes, everyone would learn the same flower every week. She soon realized that since everyone had a different learning curve, it would be better if everyone worked on their own projects and she would just teach or help out where needed. It was so interesting to come in each week and see what everyone was working on.

Because I knew that my time was limited with the classes, I tried to learn as much as humanly possible. Every week I was making something new, and sometimes I'd attend more than one class a week. The flowers we made were mostly used as gifts and display pieces, but they would also be used for cakes. Initially, I didn't have much of an interest for the cake decorating side of it; I can't explain why - maybe it was because I was already trying to learn so much of one art, that trying to take in anything else seemed impossible. It didn't take long to win me over, though...

Joan was making a cake for her neighbour Eileen across the road - I think she was turning 80. We took this opportunity for me to try my hand at cake decorating for the first time. It went relatively smoothly; all I specifically remember was frantically taking photos of each step just in case I forgot something.

Shortly after this first experience, Sue's daughters were taking her to the Squires Kitchen cake exhibition in Farnham for mother's day. She was kind enough to invite me along, and I was more than happy to go with. I marvelled at the size of the place, and couldn't believe how much stuff there was! That's when Sue said, "This is nothing... You should see the other show I go to!" Of course, she was referring to the mecca of all cake shows - the one I just attended. (For the record, she was right.) To be perfectly honest, when I went through the cake show at Farnham, I had no idea what half of the stuff was for. It all looked so foreign to me, that I was a little intimidated by it all. However, it also motivated me to get more involved in the cake side of it, as opposed to just creating sugar (or cold porcelain) flowers.

When it was finally time to head back home to Canada, it was a sad goodbye to have to part with the ladies that I'd spent every week with for a few months. It was bittersweet, though - because as much as I had wanted to stay and learn more, I was equally excited to get home and show to my friends and family what I had learned. Funny how life works... I had originally gone to England to pursue a career in animal conservation, and ended up coming home with the cake decorating bug. Hmm...

Anyway, every time I go back to England (which has been twice now since I moved home), I always make sure I set aside time to stop by and say hi to the people that have taught me so much. Without them, I wouldn't be here today, and it is safe to say that I would not have discovered the joy of cake decorating at all. So thank you, Joan, Sue, and all the ladies, for your encouragement and support!

I'm back!

Well, it's been a lovely few weeks, and I'm home safe and sound. I'll have a couple of posts coming up about my trip, and the (amazing) cake show. But for the meantime, I just wanted to get caught up and show a cake that I had done just before I left for the UK.

This wedding cake was done for Jenn and Krystal. During our consultation, I was given a brief rundown of their wedding attire and I hope we'll be priveleged to see photos from the event! It sounded awesome.

The idea behind the cake was to incorporate aspects of fall and of winter, as the wedding was held at the beginning of November. We went with a strong red and orange combination in the flower, and a pearlescent sheen over ivory fondant. The fabric being used in the wedding attire was a 'champagne' colour, so we tied that in to the cake using this technique.

Because I was gone for the actual event, the cake was made out of a dummy, and mini cupcakes were served in place of the cake. Extra thanks to Mandi for taking care of this in my absence!

The wedding and reception all took place at the Courtyard Restaurant - this seems to be a very popular venue! Considering how peaceful it is (even though it's right on the market), I can understand why it's so sought-after.

Ok! I think that's all I have to share about this cake. I wish Jenn and Krystal all the best - and can't wait to hear how everything went.

You'll be hearing from me again soon! A couple of announcements will be coming up as well!

XOXO
Kate

So long, farewell, I bid you all adieu!

It's time!!! I'm at the airport! I'm sitting on a couch, looking out the window at the plane that will fly me to the far, far away land called "England". You might have heard of it.

I've had a bit of bad news =( Just found out that Eddie Spence, my royal icing hero, has fallen ill and will not be having his demonstration at ICHF this weekend. While I'm extremely disappointed that I won't get to meet him (this demo was the driving force behind my decision to go!), it's more important that he gets better! So my thoughts are going out to him and his family, and hopefully he recovers soon. Sigh!!!

Anyway, before I take off, I just wanted to post a little update with the latest wedding cake. This past weekend our dear friends of the bakery - Crystal and Allen - were married on the most sacred of days (in my world, anyway) - Halloween! From my understanding, their special day started off at the Mayfair Theatre, where they were wed and had a screening of a specially requested film (not sure what they decided on!). The reception was then held at the Courtyard Restaurant; a beautiful location on the market (although a difficult place to deliver to - it's not fun to carry a cake from a parking garage! haha)

The cake itself had a few inspirations that influenced the final design. Being that the event was held on Halloween, we went for something that had a gothic feel to it. The red reminded me of the colour that's used on curtains and walls in older theatres. A couple of Halloween-details were added to really represent the awesomeness that comes with being married on October 31st. The last detail that you'll notice is a 2-person bike on the sides of the cake. This couple are avid cyclists (one is a bike messenger! How cool is that!?), so I added this detail to really make the cake unique for them. I thought the 2-person bike was pretty cute =)

I have to admit that this cake was a little self-indulgence for me... (Mario cakes and Halloween cakes... they make me so happy.)

OK, well I think it's about time I start getting my stuff together and getting ready for my flight. It has been such a manic past 4 days that it is hard to believe my trip is really here!!! I have saved all my pennies so that I will be able to go absolutely wild at the cake show. (Man, I'm such a nerd.) Lots of pictures and updates will follow, I'm sure!

So I shall leave you all with the snow, and the cold! Sorry, but it has to be done. Duty calls! It's a hard life, isn't it?

Take care, and I will be back... eventually...!!!

On that note, I leave you with a lovely song from The Vandals:

C'est L'Halloween! Hey!

Trick or Treat!
Trick or Treat!
Trick or Treat for Halloween!
Better give a treat that's good to eat
If you want to keep life serene!





Did you know that Halloween is our absolute favourite holiday? Everything about the day - and the weeks leading up to it - fill us with absolute joy!! Jack O' Lanterns, skeletons, ghosts... glorious!!

If you're anything like us, you've got something special planned for the Halloween weekend. Maybe you're having (or are attending!) a party; maybe you're having an eerie night in while watching spooky cartoons from the 1920's, playing Nightmare, and reading Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. (Ok, so maybe that's an average Friday night for me...) ... (minus reading Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, because it doesn't even make sense how scary that book is.)

Anyway!! Whatever you're doing, we're sure your night could use some extra spookiness!!! Place an order with us for some spooky cupcakes so you'll have your Treats sorted!

All orders must be placed by Friday, October 29th, by noon.

6 assorted Halloween cupcakes .............................. $18
12 assorted Halloween cupcakes ............................ $30
24 mini cupcakes .....................................................$25

Please call us at (613) 238 - ALOO or e-mail us at auntielooweddings@gmail.com to place your order.

That's it from us for now, but I leave you with a couple of our most favouritest videos to get you into the SPIRIT! (get it? Spirit? Like a ghost? Ha ha ha!)

XOXO
Miss Kate

HAPPY HALLOWEEN
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Skeleton Dance

Trick or Treat

Happy 1st Birthday, Auntie Loo's Treats!

Okay, I have to admit... I have been a bad 'blogger'. Almost a month since my last update? It's unacceptable!!! I will, from here on in, do my best to update more regularly. I recently had an injury that put me out of commission for a while... (I'm using this as an excuse even though technically this means I should have had more time to spend online...) AHEM.. ANYways...

This past weekend was a momentous occasion for us at Auntie Loo's Treats. It marked our first birthday since our grand opening in 2009. It was truly an amazing, whirlwind of a day. All day Friday, and early Saturday morning, was spent in preparation. I set myself up with a little workstation where I was able to watch series 1 of Breaking Bad while decorating the cake. Kind of the best setup ever. (By the way, if you haven't watched that show yet, you basically have to.)

I decided to go with a different colour scheme this year; my first impulse is usually to match the bakery (green, pink, and white) cuz that combination is just so "happy". Purple spoke to me this time around, so it became the colour of choice.

The design of this cake was originally intended to be more elaborate, but my aforementioned injury meant that I was limited with what I was able to do. Nevertheless, I was pleased with the final result. I used my new toy, a clay extruder, for the top tier... that took me a ridiculous amount of time. I loved the effect it gave, and had planned to do the same thing on the bottom, 14" tier. That plan quickly changed once I realized how long it took just to finish the 6" top tier!

Last year, I made the cake using actual cake, but nobody wanted to cut in to it. The whole cake went to waste =( ... Needless to say, this year I decided to use dummies. We'll be able to keep this on display now, so make sure you come see it if you get the chance!!

So other than the big ol' birthday cake, we also had a couple of other attractions to celebrate with. We had some of the wickedly awesome Rideau Valley Roller Girls skating along Bronson handing out free samples. Another couple of lovely girls from Lush were kind enough to come out to give away free vegan-friendly products. And last, but not least, we had one of the coolest attractions known to mankind... a CUPCAKE PHOTOBOOTH!!! The wonderfully talented Alyssa Iswolsky (she's basically our official photographer now, and we love her dearly) set up out front and took photos of attendees. People were given an instant copy of their photo, and we were even lucky enough to have some donated to our Wall of Fame! Keep an eye out, as I am sure that over the next couple of weeks we will get our copies of the photos posted online for everyone to check out. Also, while you have a minute, check out Alyssa's work here!

Ok I think I better wrap this up. I'd just like to take a second to thank everybody who came out on Saturday and showed us such amazing love and support. We appreciate absolutely every single one of you, and it really touched our hearts to see how many of you showed up. It was great to meet new people, and to see many familiar faces! Thank you so very much! And if you're interested, here is the article that ran in the Ottawa Citizen about us on Saturday.

Right! That's it from me! A couple of really awesome cakes coming up (did someone say "Halloween Wedding?" Heck yes!!!), so stay tuned!

It's our birthday and we'll make delicious vegan baked goods if we want to. Okay?!

See the following message from Auntie Loo for all the details for our 1 year birthday coming up! Hope to see you all there!

Its our first birthday and we couldn't be more excited! We'd like to thank all of you in person for making our first year such a success!

On Saturday October 16 from 10 until 4, we'll be giving out all the free samples (we'll have gluten free ones too, no worries!) you can handle, as well as selling our treats at a spe...cial price!

MISS KATE will be whipping up a crazy sugar creation for you to admire! We're not giving away any hints- you have to come see it for yourself!

Our dear friends the RIDEAU VALLEY ROLLER GIRLS will be here to help us give out all the free samples. Catch them if you can!
www.rideauvalleyrollergirls.com

Like the cupcake we're sitting on in our photo? Wanna sit on it too? Lucky for you our CUPCAKE PHOTOBOOTH will be in full swing in our backyard during the party.

Also, LUSH HANDMADE COSMETICS will be here with samples and some of the yummiest vegan products they have to offer.
www.lush.com

Thanks again for an amazing first year! We look forward to seeing you on the 16th!

love your Auntie Loo

Peachy Keen

Hello again folks!

I'm slowly falling asleep as I type this, but I'll try and stay awake long enough to complete a coherent post.

Our dear friends of the bakery, Carl and Pamela, were married today! We were so happy to be a part of their day - they are an extremely lovely and genuine couple. I'll be sure to hear all about the big day tomorrow as Mandi is there hosting the evening as the MC!

The flavours we used here were chocolate raspberry and vanilla raspberry. They aren't one of our 'regular' flavours - but just remember that we are open to any flavour requests (within reason)! The chocolate raspberry was especially delicious... not that I was snacking on the scraps or anything... I never do that... ahem... so... anyways...

Carl and Pamela's wedding colours were peach, purpley-pink, turquoise and green. When we sat down to discuss the cake, they showed me these handmade, wired bead flowers they were making as decoration - they were beautiful! I used those colours as inspiration for the flowers used as a topper on the cake. The flowers I made are alstroemeria, carnations, a lily, some hydrangea blooms, and a couple of sprigs of peach-coloured blossoms. Sugar flowers are my number one favourite aspect of cake decorating; I may have said that before, but I mean it!

The cupcakes were frosted using icing that was naturally coloured using raspberry. Delicious raspberriness...mmm...

I also made the cupcake/cake stand, which is now able to be rented out with orders. It can be customized to match the wedding or event it's being used for.

Not much else to report - here's a quick reminder to pick up your tasting ticket for Cupcake Camp next weekend!

I think that's it for now... I just glanced up at the television, and someone just crawled into bed. I'm extremely jealous so I'm packing up and heading off for the night. I lead a wild life, don't I?

PS - See below for a specialty cupcake that was ordered to go along with the wedding cake/cupcakes... I think it is just better to not even explain its existence... but feast your eyes on this: A RUBBER CHICKEN CUPCAKE!!! (Yes, it's still vegan!!!)

Another SMB Cake!

Well it has been a little while since my last post - I'm sorry! I've had a lot of planning going on lately... big things coming up! October 16th is officially the date of our FIRST birthday! Make sure you come down to 507 Bronson Ave between 10AM and 2PM for free samples & to get your photo taken in our one-of-a-kind Cupcake Photobooth. It will be a great day!!!

I've been planning the celebration cake I'll be making for the event... I have a few ideas so stay tuned =)

We've also got Cupcake Camp approaching on September 26th. If you love cupcakes, then be sure to pick up a taster ticket to come check out all kinds of cupcakes from the Ottawa region! Should be a lot of fun.

Also keep an eye out as we approach Halloween! Anybody who knows me should know by now that Halloween is above and beyond my favourite time of the year. It makes me indescribably elated. This year, we're going to have a bit of a special offer to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year!

Anyway!! I know this isn't a wedding cake, but this weekend we had another Super Mario Brothers cake for a little boy who turned 7 years old. You don't have to twist my arm to make one of these, as it is pure self-indulgence to do so! This one was on a much smaller scale than the last, but it was still a lot of fun to do.

In case you haven't seen the other Super Mario Brothers cake I made, check it out below =) This was a dummy cake we made to put on display for the Go Green Expo back in the spring.

I'm so excited! I'm so excited! I'm so... scared! But not really. I'm actually just excited.

Well!!! The time has come for me to inform everyone that I will not be in town from November 1st to November 16th. (Unfortunately, I won't be able to take any cake orders between these dates). The reason for this leave of absence is that I am going to be attending a 3-day cake show in Birmingham, England! I officially received my entry ticket today, and the tickets for the 2 demonstrations that I will be seeing.

As you can see from the pamphlet to the right, I am one of the first 4,000 people to pre-order their tickets for the show... is it sad that I am incredibly excited to receive a free reel of ribbon??! I don't mind being a bit of a nerd... I'll be the one with the free ribbon reel!

There's also going to be a live cupcake decorating competition. The entry deadline is October 4th, and several entrants will be selected to participate in the live competition on November 5th. I'm thinking I might make a submission of my own, considering the top prize totals over $500. Perhaps something with a Canadian theme...? Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

The two classes I'm going to be attending are with two of the top cake decorators in the world... I can't even explain how excited I am for this. These are the two individuals that I specifically look up to in this business. If I can ever achieve half of their talent, I will be over the moon! The first class is with Alan Dunn, whose specialty is sugarpaste flowers. He has quite a few books published now, and a new one to be released shortly. His attention to detail is exquisite, which is what I truly admire about his work. The second class is with the most talented royal icing artist on the planet. For reals. His name is Eddie Spence, MBE (Yes, he has his MBE in sugarcraft!), and he is the official cake decorator of the Royal Family. He does stuff with royal icing that practically defies gravity... His new book - The Art of Royal Icing - is 320 glorious pages of techniques and tips that I can't wait to practice. I'll make an effort to document my attempts in the coming weeks and months!

Okay well I am going to check on flight prices and accomodation... I suppose I should probably get all of that sorted out. If anybody has any suggestions on what I should see in Central England, I'd be glad to hear them! I've seen almost all of Southern England when I was living there, so it will be exciting to do some more exploring!

Just in case you had any doubts at how excited I am...Check out the details of the Cake International Show here!