Until I get a complete review together for this GREAT, and the very well known Duke Mansion...(I once saw some sumb redneck idiots throw beercans at it, late at night in highschool,declaring DUKES PUKE, after a Tarheel vs. Duke Basketball GameYou don't mess with Tarheel fns.lol)please check out this blog at http://lifeasaparty.blogspot.com/2009/02/food-for-thought.html
I CANT hold the name against them.
I'll post more when I can, since this isnt my main blog.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Best Photographer I've ever seen!
Before you read what I have to say, just take a minute to look at this website. I am posting the link to the intro, because after looking at it, you will be left speechless. http://www.chuckeaton.net/intro.html
you can also visit him at http://eatonphoto.blogspot.com/, but please refer to the website first. (my advice, because I loved it so much)I told you before that the cake is my favorite part of a wedding. I am obsessed with weddings, even though marriage is not for me! IF I could, I would attend a new wedding every weekend, and write about it! (idea!!).The Bride is most important to the majority. The cake was to me, but after seeing this man's work, I have a WHOLE new respect for the photographer. While his work isn't always displayed during the wedding, his role, to me, is way more important and lasting than the cake, or the dress(, and maybe even more lasting than the marriage!)
They say a picture says a million words. And I agree, but Chuck Eaton's photos do more than that. They show more genuine emotion, beauty and mystique,than can be expressed in words. Only his pictures can speak back to you of the brilliant experiences that you were so blessed to enjoy. Looking at his website, brought me to tears at certain points and made me giggle at others. His work is a masterpiece of it's own, your wedding is another! He could make a hoedown in a barn seem timeless and make you want to be there.
http://www.chuckeaton.net/intro.html <----- I am going to keep adding that until I know that you have looked. Please keep in mind that I do NOT get paid or receive any gifts for these posts. It is my sincere admiration of their work that makes me write about them! I walked by Chuck on the way to taste what the Duke Mansion had out on their display table, as Nick sat impatiently annoyed at a table far away. As I scurried like a homeless person to get him food to appease him,this radiant man caught me off guard by inviting me over. He didn't try to sell me on anything, he told me "just look in the book" and talked to me about life, marriage, and asked me questions. I told him marriage wasn't in my cards, and that my boyfriend was hiding, and he laughed. He was a very charming man, with a great sense of humor! After "oohing and awwing" over the pictures in the book, I said to him, this is like a dream for scrapbookers masterpiece, he almost seemed a little offended, in a polite southern way. He said "no, it's so much more". As I looked on, I was in awe of this one particular book.I have seen some nice wedding coffee table books, nothing like this. It took me so long to admire each detail that I didn't even move onto the next,I had people waiting. This was more than a picture storybook of this couple's special day. There were pictures that made me laugh of the bride trying to get dressed, and her bridesmaids confusion. There were pictures of the groom waiting, and of all of the groomsmen putting their hands together,standing in a circle the way football players do, in the beauty of dim moonlight at dusk. It takes talent to capture these moments, that is true, but the emotion,feelings and moment's that Chuck was able to capture, can not be summed up with talent. It's more like magic! I wanted that couples photographs to hang in MY PERSONAL living room. I would get compliments on how beautiful they were, and when people said "who are they". I 'd say-"I don't know. They are very expensive. I bought them at a gallery in Manhattan,this photographer is the next big thing....... OR I might make up that they were family members (everyone knows I am not spending big bucks on artwork)" I told him that he made me want to get married, he told me that he takes pictures for all occasions, so I don't have to rush into anything I don't want to do. That is great because I can't plot out a devious enough way to fool Nick into marriage. He knows how I personally feel about it, and that I ONLY want to have a wedding cake,, desperately....and now a photographer. He wont fall for it. http://www.chuckeaton.net/intro.html
I am ABSOLUTELY in love with this mans work. I have NEVER seen anything like it!
you can also visit him at http://eatonphoto.blogspot.com/, but please refer to the website first. (my advice, because I loved it so much)I told you before that the cake is my favorite part of a wedding. I am obsessed with weddings, even though marriage is not for me! IF I could, I would attend a new wedding every weekend, and write about it! (idea!!).The Bride is most important to the majority. The cake was to me, but after seeing this man's work, I have a WHOLE new respect for the photographer. While his work isn't always displayed during the wedding, his role, to me, is way more important and lasting than the cake, or the dress(, and maybe even more lasting than the marriage!)
They say a picture says a million words. And I agree, but Chuck Eaton's photos do more than that. They show more genuine emotion, beauty and mystique,than can be expressed in words. Only his pictures can speak back to you of the brilliant experiences that you were so blessed to enjoy. Looking at his website, brought me to tears at certain points and made me giggle at others. His work is a masterpiece of it's own, your wedding is another! He could make a hoedown in a barn seem timeless and make you want to be there.
http://www.chuckeaton.net/intro.html <----- I am going to keep adding that until I know that you have looked. Please keep in mind that I do NOT get paid or receive any gifts for these posts. It is my sincere admiration of their work that makes me write about them! I walked by Chuck on the way to taste what the Duke Mansion had out on their display table, as Nick sat impatiently annoyed at a table far away. As I scurried like a homeless person to get him food to appease him,this radiant man caught me off guard by inviting me over. He didn't try to sell me on anything, he told me "just look in the book" and talked to me about life, marriage, and asked me questions. I told him marriage wasn't in my cards, and that my boyfriend was hiding, and he laughed. He was a very charming man, with a great sense of humor! After "oohing and awwing" over the pictures in the book, I said to him, this is like a dream for scrapbookers masterpiece, he almost seemed a little offended, in a polite southern way. He said "no, it's so much more". As I looked on, I was in awe of this one particular book.I have seen some nice wedding coffee table books, nothing like this. It took me so long to admire each detail that I didn't even move onto the next,I had people waiting. This was more than a picture storybook of this couple's special day. There were pictures that made me laugh of the bride trying to get dressed, and her bridesmaids confusion. There were pictures of the groom waiting, and of all of the groomsmen putting their hands together,standing in a circle the way football players do, in the beauty of dim moonlight at dusk. It takes talent to capture these moments, that is true, but the emotion,feelings and moment's that Chuck was able to capture, can not be summed up with talent. It's more like magic! I wanted that couples photographs to hang in MY PERSONAL living room. I would get compliments on how beautiful they were, and when people said "who are they". I 'd say-"I don't know. They are very expensive. I bought them at a gallery in Manhattan,this photographer is the next big thing....... OR I might make up that they were family members (everyone knows I am not spending big bucks on artwork)" I told him that he made me want to get married, he told me that he takes pictures for all occasions, so I don't have to rush into anything I don't want to do. That is great because I can't plot out a devious enough way to fool Nick into marriage. He knows how I personally feel about it, and that I ONLY want to have a wedding cake,, desperately....and now a photographer. He wont fall for it. http://www.chuckeaton.net/intro.html
I am ABSOLUTELY in love with this mans work. I have NEVER seen anything like it!
Delicious and Decadent....Brenda's Cake Gallery
When I walked into Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden yesterday, it was just a way to enjoy nature and the good weather. I had no idea what I was in store for!
While entering the GRAND Main Room, to the right, where cider is served during the Winter Wonderland exhibit, I noticed a small table with three cakes atop it. Simple, and sophisticated, these three cakes sat, as if to be quite conservative and shy, with all of these great big "hoo-ha's" of cake displays in the other rooms and outside. I suppose that it is every caterers and Bakers desire to be in the Great Room or out in the garden. I could not begin to guess. But neatly and very delicatly sitting on this table to my right were three beautiful,elegant and classy cakes. If all of the cakes at Daniel Stowe were Famous Icons from the past, the Great Room and Garden were full of Socialites like Marilyn Monroes,Ivana Trumps and Elizabeth Taylors. To my Right was a table where in the form of cakes, Grace Kelly and Jaqueline Kennedy sat. Quietly, with the UTMOST class,there they were, very refined and distinguished with magnificent TASTE!!!! These were ,in my opinion the best tasting cakes at the show yesterday at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden! There were sooo many delicious cakes to chose from that the decision was hard. There were sooo moist and fluffy, with so many remarkable designs to chose from.These are just a few that were out on display, but in the books, you saw so much variety. I myself typically like the bold, and they do they have it! Yet the desings they had on display were timeless and elegant.The designs were so eloquent and precise, with colors that were vivid and striking, yet not overdone in the least. All I can say is that they were stunning and absolutely beautiful! IF you are a Trendy Mindy, they cater to your needs to! Don't you love that blue !?! But TASTE is their signature!
I wanted to eat more and more. The ICING was to die for! Although I had buttercream, as you know, most wedding cakes are made with Fondant, but I hear it is equally as tasty and decadent.Brenda's Cake Gallery has been in business since May of 2001. Brenda still makes many of these cakes herself with the love and dedication that led her to open this business 9 years ago. She took decorating classes 30 years ago for a hobby, and finally opened up her own shop and is sharing her delicious and delectable recipes with others in the area. She makes all kind of treats, ranging from pound cake to cookies and almond bars, but her specialties are the gorgeous wedding cakes that we see here. Southern Baking at it's finest!
The cakes that they had samples of were lemon and almond with buttercream frosting. Although I am an Almond Girl myself (it was delicious and just moist and fluffy) the lemon was EXCEPTIONAL! My daughter HATES lemon flavor. She likes lemonade, and THAT IS IT. She LOVED the lemon, and we may have her birthday cake made by these lovely ladies!(Andrea doesn't even like CAKE, so that speaks volumes!) But while on the phone with the charming and professional Brenda, she informed me that the limits for flavors are endless and they cater to everyone individually. No list here.You want Chocolate, you got it. French Vanilla,Carrot,Coconut,Red Velvet (ARMADILLO for the Grooms Cake??? Watch Steel Magnolias). She could probably have you blueberry!
The designs were so eloquent and precise, with colors that were vivid and striking, yet not overdone in the least. All I can say is that they were timeless, stunning and absolutely beautiful! IF you are a Trendy Mindy, they cater to your needs to! Don't you love that blue !?! I wanted to eat more and more. The ICING was to die for! Although I had buttercream, as you know, most wedding cakes are made with Fondant, but I hear it is equally as tasty and decadent.
Brenda's Cake Gallery has been in business since May of 2001. Brenda still makes many of these cakes herself with the love and dedication that led her to open this business 9 years ago. She took decorating classes 30 years ago for a hobby, and finally opened up her own shop and is sharing her delicious and delectable recipes with others in the area. She makes all kind of treats, ranging from pound cake to cookies and almond bars, but her specialties are the gorgeous wedding cakes that we see here. Southern Baking at it's finest!
They do birthdays and other special events and have no limitations to designs and flavors.
Please visit Brenda at www.brendascakegallery.com
She is located at 11 Main Street
Belmont, NC 28012 ( a small town right outside of Gastonia and Charlotte,N.C)
And you can hear her beautiful warm voice when you make your order at (704)825-CAKE
While entering the GRAND Main Room, to the right, where cider is served during the Winter Wonderland exhibit, I noticed a small table with three cakes atop it. Simple, and sophisticated, these three cakes sat, as if to be quite conservative and shy, with all of these great big "hoo-ha's" of cake displays in the other rooms and outside. I suppose that it is every caterers and Bakers desire to be in the Great Room or out in the garden. I could not begin to guess. But neatly and very delicatly sitting on this table to my right were three beautiful,elegant and classy cakes. If all of the cakes at Daniel Stowe were Famous Icons from the past, the Great Room and Garden were full of Socialites like Marilyn Monroes,Ivana Trumps and Elizabeth Taylors. To my Right was a table where in the form of cakes, Grace Kelly and Jaqueline Kennedy sat. Quietly, with the UTMOST class,there they were, very refined and distinguished with magnificent TASTE!!!! These were ,in my opinion the best tasting cakes at the show yesterday at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden! There were sooo many delicious cakes to chose from that the decision was hard. There were sooo moist and fluffy, with so many remarkable designs to chose from.These are just a few that were out on display, but in the books, you saw so much variety. I myself typically like the bold, and they do they have it! Yet the desings they had on display were timeless and elegant.The designs were so eloquent and precise, with colors that were vivid and striking, yet not overdone in the least. All I can say is that they were stunning and absolutely beautiful! IF you are a Trendy Mindy, they cater to your needs to! Don't you love that blue !?! But TASTE is their signature!
I wanted to eat more and more. The ICING was to die for! Although I had buttercream, as you know, most wedding cakes are made with Fondant, but I hear it is equally as tasty and decadent.Brenda's Cake Gallery has been in business since May of 2001. Brenda still makes many of these cakes herself with the love and dedication that led her to open this business 9 years ago. She took decorating classes 30 years ago for a hobby, and finally opened up her own shop and is sharing her delicious and delectable recipes with others in the area. She makes all kind of treats, ranging from pound cake to cookies and almond bars, but her specialties are the gorgeous wedding cakes that we see here. Southern Baking at it's finest!
The cakes that they had samples of were lemon and almond with buttercream frosting. Although I am an Almond Girl myself (it was delicious and just moist and fluffy) the lemon was EXCEPTIONAL! My daughter HATES lemon flavor. She likes lemonade, and THAT IS IT. She LOVED the lemon, and we may have her birthday cake made by these lovely ladies!(Andrea doesn't even like CAKE, so that speaks volumes!) But while on the phone with the charming and professional Brenda, she informed me that the limits for flavors are endless and they cater to everyone individually. No list here.You want Chocolate, you got it. French Vanilla,Carrot,Coconut,Red Velvet (ARMADILLO for the Grooms Cake??? Watch Steel Magnolias). She could probably have you blueberry!
The designs were so eloquent and precise, with colors that were vivid and striking, yet not overdone in the least. All I can say is that they were timeless, stunning and absolutely beautiful! IF you are a Trendy Mindy, they cater to your needs to! Don't you love that blue !?! I wanted to eat more and more. The ICING was to die for! Although I had buttercream, as you know, most wedding cakes are made with Fondant, but I hear it is equally as tasty and decadent.
Brenda's Cake Gallery has been in business since May of 2001. Brenda still makes many of these cakes herself with the love and dedication that led her to open this business 9 years ago. She took decorating classes 30 years ago for a hobby, and finally opened up her own shop and is sharing her delicious and delectable recipes with others in the area. She makes all kind of treats, ranging from pound cake to cookies and almond bars, but her specialties are the gorgeous wedding cakes that we see here. Southern Baking at it's finest!
They do birthdays and other special events and have no limitations to designs and flavors.
Please visit Brenda at www.brendascakegallery.com
She is located at 11 Main Street
Belmont, NC 28012 ( a small town right outside of Gastonia and Charlotte,N.C)
And you can hear her beautiful warm voice when you make your order at (704)825-CAKE
Mind Blowing Cakes by Cheesecake Etc
2nd Runner Up Goes to ..............
CHEESECAKE ETC,
http://www.cheesecakeetc.biz
I have to be honest when I tell you that this company is 2nd runner up by default. There was always such a large group around their table (great indicator), that by the time that I had chance to taste their cakes, I was being hurried out by my daughter.We had tasted SOOOO many cake samples, she was ready to leave! While talking to a friend who is sooo "in the know" when it comes to anything that has to do with weddings, she said "you didn't taste Cheesecake, ETC? You can't make a decision without tasting them" I feel so guilty and terrible now, because of that.
The one thing that I feel good about was that, as far as design and display go, they WERE THE MARIE ANTOINETTE of the wedding cakes! The most aesthetically pleasing cakes that I have ever seen in all of my life,and I regret almost as much for not taking more and better pictures, as I do for not tasting these cakes.
Look at how intricate and skillfully designed these cakes are! It's hard to believe they are food, not art! I JUST LOVED their funky designs and ornamentation,especially the polka-dots! ( I am definilty a little more on the trendy side in that way.) The Cake is ALWAYS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF EVERY EVENT TO ME- you should see Andrea's Bday cakes!) ...and the 2nd picture down was absolutely BREATHTAKING.They have an array of different cakes, icings and fillings that all are made fresh in the shop,from the finest ingredients.Nothing is ever frozen,even the icing is made from scrath to order, and they deliver to a most areas.( Call for more details about delivery areas)
But all that I can attest to (sigh) is the beauty of these gorgeous cakes.
I felt like Alice-N-Wonderland looking at their website. You have to check it out for yourself. It is hard to believe that this is a two woman,Mother and Daughter team.
Gail fell in love with baking cheesecakes in her spare time as a hobby, but much to her surprise her cheesecakes were adored by many and quickly became "in demand"! In 1997 while still working a full-time job, she started Cheesecake Etc, and only made cheesecakes. The more she did, the more her desire to branch out into other cakes started, and she began taking classes to educate her in cake decorating. Soon her and her daughter Kristin were baking cakes for all sorts of occasions and then these extravagant wedding cakes. Can you believe this all started with a hobby for making cheesecakes?
It looks as though there is nothing this woman can not make for you in the form of cake. Please visit their website at www.cheesecakeetc.biz
You wont believe your eyes.
Maybe if you mention this blog when you order your wedding cake, they'll send me a sample and I can taste what all the hype is about , myself. If not, one day, I will make it out there!
Or feel free to contact Gail or Kristin at (704) 509-2020
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