These are a few of my favorite things:

I really am a sun baby. I live in a suburb of Seattle, so this presents a problem. However, maybe my locale has actually created (and sustained) this monster? Because I don't see the sun as much as I'd really like, I appreciate it that much more. Anyway, there's nothing I love more than feeling the sun beat down on my face, wearing my oversized sunglasses and cruising with the windows down. Except snow. I LOVE SNOW. Not the slushy stuff... the really fluffy, GOOD snow. Yet another elusive sight in the Emerald City. I have no explanation as to why I live in the land of one season (rain,) except that I love it.

So, since we FINALLY got some snow around these here parts (!!!) I did not stay indoors to cook and bake... and blog, of course! My husband took full advantage of the fluffy stuff and stayed home with us all week and we played harder than I've played in years... yes, I'm paying for it now. We need to invest in some snowmobiles or something, because I think my two year old snow bunny is turning my husband and I to the dark side! (he's a pro at the snowball thing, you can see.)

Yesterday, the "big thaw" started to happen, so I was stuck inside. Perfect day to bake something. I was hoping it would be sourdough, but I failed miserably on my starter (I'm going to try again next week and I hope to share my success story with you,) so I decided to get rid of the box of Cherry Chip cake mix in my pantry and pair it with my own homemade Chocolate Buttercream. I really wanted to try out a new decorating technique (thanks to Pinterest,) so I got to work!

Before I started frosting (and you'll notice I do not have a proper cake stand,) I cut a piece of parchment paper into four and put them under the cake, so when you're done frosting, you can just pull it out and remove all the mess! Voila!

I sliced each cake into two cakes, so I had four layers. I really love lots and lots of layers in cake. I usually give the top of each cake a nice soaking of simple syrup (it keeps things nice and moist,) but I really spaced it this time. Oh well... the buttercream was sweet enough and I ended up adding a little surprise to the center layer (a sprinkling of sanding sugar over the frosting... yum!) There's nothing better than a sugary crunch in the midst of all that pillowy softness!

Once I filled my piping bag with frosting (which I think could have benefited from being a little thinner, but not much,) I realized I didn't have a big enough star tip to create the rosette effect I was going for, so this is what I ended up with. Hmm. I kinda like it, but I'm not so sure I like it with the chocolate frosting... I can't decide. Regardless, it was a fun experiment!

Chocolate Buttercream

(this will make enough to fill, crumb coat and decorate a two layer [or four, if you slice both layers] 9in round cake.)

1 cup softened butter (I use salted. If you use unsalted, you may want to add a 1/2 tsp of salt.)

8 cups confectioners sugar

6 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup half and half (or milk) *add by tablespoon until desired consistency

Whip softened butter until light. Gradually add sugar and cocoa powder and whip until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and half and half. If frosting is too firm, add more half and half. If too thin, add more sugar. Quick, easy, yummy. Enjoy!