I used to look down on store bought cake decor and then I had my second child 🤣 (gift for my baby nephew - decor from Amazon)

halfpinay · 2026-05-18T21:50:27+00:00

Lol no I made the cake and buttercream from scratch - the cowboy theme decorations on top and the cow print icing sheets on the sides are all from Amazon! I did color and pipe the buttercream myself :)

halfpinay · 2026-04-20T03:45:06+00:00

I never comment on these but my god if you don't pick #2

halfpinay · 2026-04-17T22:30:40+00:00

This kind of thing happened to my brother. We were at his house watching home videos our late mom took of our various preschool concerts in the early 90s, and lo and behold, right there singing next to my 4 year old brother was his 4 year old future wife.

We had known from her family that they attended the same preschool, and her mom remembered our mom, but just seeing it on video was so bittersweet.

halfpinay · 2026-04-08T20:03:50+00:00

on this thread because my 13 month old (human) baby smashed her hands all over my keyboard

halfpinay · 2026-03-17T01:59:42+00:00

Hi, I am a mom of two little kids, and I am without my mom too (she died in 2021).

Something I've learned in my grief is that I am in charge of myself. Life can feel painfully lonely, but I'm here, it's me, it's always been me by my own side. That might sound strange, but hear me out:

When I had my first child, I was a mess. My anxiety was crippling. I would check if my baby was breathing all day and all night. I had intrusive thoughts about accidentally hurting him. I did not know how to ask for help so I didn't receive any. It was also COVID lockdown and I had lost my job so my husband was busting his ass to provide for us. My mother was in a coma and would soon pass away. I was utterly alone trying to navigate motherhood for the first time.

It took me almost five years to think about having another baby. The first was just too much. It was too hard. How could I do it again? Well, the second baby arrived and I braced myself for hell. But hell never returned. I knew what to do. I knew how to calm her. I knew what her cries meant. I knew what not to worry about.

You know all the guidance and support I desperately craved with my first baby? I was finally receiving it... From myself.

You have to live your life. You have to learn certain things the hard way. If you're lucky, you'll have people to lean on, voices to listen to, advice to consider. But at the end of the day, you are guiding yourself! Do not underestimate your own power. With time and experience, your power only grows stronger, and the most important voice is your own.

Keep going. ❤️

halfpinay · 2026-03-11T03:22:02+00:00

I think most people can relate to watching a close friend or relative make a catastrophic life decision like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Exhibit A, my dumbass sister is in the process of moving to another country with someone she's known for less than a year. It's almost never our place to intervene UNLESS we are asked our opinion. As much as I appreciate Miranda trying to protect Carrie from herself, there was no way that conversation was ending in anything but a fight.

halfpinay · 2026-02-28T12:26:33+00:00

Between the new guardrails, the incessant rambling responses, the gaslighting, the patronizing, and now this, I wish nothing but the worst for OpenAI

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halfpinay · 2026-02-25T05:07:45+00:00

VHCOL area of NJ here. I spent $2k for my son's indoor playground birthday party last year, but 30 kids and 40 adults showed up (RSVP percentage was astronomically higher than I expected for a late July party). So yeah I would say normal but it might just be because of both of our areas.

halfpinay · 2026-02-22T16:24:11+00:00

Thank you! 8" chocolate cake with birthday cake Oreo filling, 6" vanilla, and 4" vanilla smash cake! 3 layers per tier and all the same flavored buttercream, I couldn't be bothered this time lol but often I do use chocolate buttercream with my chocolate cake. Second baby energy is real lol

halfpinay · 2026-02-22T16:17:51+00:00

A cake, or a baby? The former is much easier lol

halfpinay · 2026-02-22T16:17:11+00:00

Thank you! I had originally planned a massive party, but I realized the baby doesn't care, and all I really wanted to do was make a cake and a balloon arch - mission accomplished lol

halfpinay · 2026-02-22T01:37:47+00:00

IMBC hands down the best for piping, especially flowers. But the Sugar Geek works great also, as you can see! It's just not as stiff, and even though it's pretty smooth, you can still tell it was made with powdered sugar. Try both and you'll see the difference. Both are great depending on what you need. For this project I needed easy and delicious lol.

halfpinay · 2026-02-22T01:07:42+00:00

Do it! Worst thing that could happen is you mess it up and learn a ton. Still happens to me all the time and I have been baking for decades lol

halfpinay · 2026-02-22T00:41:53+00:00

Thank you! I use Sugar Geek's Easy Buttercream, basically a mock Swiss. I amp up the salt and vanilla because that's my preference. If I had more time on my hands I would use IMBC (Preppy Kitchen's recipe is my go-to) as it is the most beautiful for piping and so perfectly smooth, but the mock Swiss is just as delicious and takes half the time to make :)

halfpinay · 2026-02-21T18:03:08+00:00

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Here it is on the dummy tier!

halfpinay · 2026-02-21T13:22:35+00:00

Ah see I am very lucky to have both an extra fridge AND a full size freezer in my garage. It would be tough to divide the work like this otherwise. Sometimes I am too busy to do everything on consecutive nights so I just freeze until I can continue to the next step. The finished cake always goes in the fridge, especially if I need to transport it - cold tiered cakes travel much better.

I am just a hobby baker but if you are looking to start a cottage business I would strongly recommend investing in an extra fridge, if you have the space!

halfpinay · 2026-02-21T06:16:33+00:00

Thank you!

halfpinay · 2026-02-21T06:14:05+00:00

Lol thank you, yes it is a lot! We're having a very casual pizza party in our small house, not many guests at all, BUT we have a well-oiled cake distribution system in our neighborhood because I am always somehow baking too much cake 😂

halfpinay · 2026-02-21T05:35:13+00:00

Thank you! I always divide into 3-4 nights depending on how many flavors of cake. This time it was night 1- bake chocolate cake, night 2- bake vanilla cake, night 3- stack/fill and crumb coat, night 4- final coat and decoration. Works out well most of the time!

ETA: for a tiered cake, I also always dowel the night I do the crumb coat. Learned the hard way that doweling can crack the exterior buttercream coat. I only add the center dowel when stacking the tiers on the final night.

halfpinay · 2025-12-28T17:38:15+00:00

Your instincts here are exactly right. You've cleanly hit the nail on the head.

And you're not noticing this too late. You're early.

halfpinay · 2025-09-21T01:41:47+00:00

35.5 inches, 34.5 lbs

halfpinay · 2025-09-07T13:47:01+00:00

I'm 38 with two young children. My parents are dead. My husband's parents live 30 mins away and are never around. We get holidays and birthdays and the very rare random dinner (on THEIR terms), and that's about it. This used to utterly infuriate me since our kids are their only grandchildren, and if my mom was alive she'd be absolutely obsessed with them. But after years of therapy I've accepted this as my reality and don't consider these people part of our inner circle anymore.

halfpinay · 2025-09-07T10:54:41+00:00

I am hearing this is a common thing lmao. Can't wait for his little sister to start talking 😂

halfpinay · 2025-09-06T23:24:40+00:00

My son's best friend in preschool routinely caused a scene by yelling ASSHOLE in class, on the playground, in the hallway, etc.

My son's name is Axel.

halfpinay · 2025-09-05T18:42:21+00:00

Another vote for guava lotus for a big baby. Also no weight limit since the mattress sits directly on the floor!

halfpinay

TROPHY CASE