Dylan's Cake

October is usually my favourite month of the year with all the Fall vibes, my favourite holiday (Thanksgiving), and my birthday. This year, it was just a bit weird, but I tried to make the best of everything. I’ve already written about what I made for our mini Thanksgiving dinner and my birthday cake, but here’s a recap of everything else:

  • My favourite little Libra buddy (my friend Lydia’s son Dylan) turned 9 and asked for an Auntie Robyn cake for his birthday this year! He wanted a lemon V Bucks Cake with a secret chamber inside (pictured above) and Lydia said it was a huge hit!
  • I treated myself to a couple kitchen items for my birthday this year. Not only the cute little springform pan I used for my birthday cake, but I bought pretty fancy cake decorating turntable to replace my cheap lazy susan I’ve been using for years. Can’t wait to use it for my next cake orders!
  • It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but it’s been at least 3 years (probably more) since I cleaned my oven. I was motivated by the Go Clean Co Instagram account to tackle this project and armed with Easy-Off Oven Cleaner it couldn’t have been easier. My oven is sparkling clean right now! We’ll see how long it lasts.
  • I made a little care package for my friend Judy who had a baby in September. Did I bring her practical things like diapers or a dinner she could heat up? Nope! She loves treats, so she got Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chai Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake and half of my Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake.
  • And now the regular recap of what I was cooking this month, broken down into three categories:
  • Stuff I made from the archives: Cheesy Butternut Squash Rigatoni and Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burrito Bowls (levelled up with Pickled Red Onions!)
  • Some of my favourite go-to dishes: lots of this Kale Salad, many delicious sandwiches with Thanksgiving leftovers (turkey, stuffing, gravy, mayo, cranberry sauce and lettuce), Honey Garlic Shrimp with Roasted Broccoli, Everyday Meatballs with Garlic Bread
  • New things that I tried and liked: the Brown Sugar & Chili Rubbed Salmon from Oven to Table was so quick and delicious, it’s definitely going into the go-to dish category.
  • Take-out: Nothing notable!

Other non-foodie things I was obsessed with this month:

  • The Bachelorette has returned and it’s just a weird season with Clare being fixated on Dale and all the boring dates at the resort where their bubble is. We all know the rumours of what’s coming up, so let’s just bring on Tayshia!
  • I binged Emily in Paris in two days and promptly forgot all about it, until my co-worker listed out her problems with it. I didn’t even think about it that much, it was just like junk food for my brain. I was also so upset to hear that GLOW got cancelled, so I re-watched all of it on Netflix. I love it so much!
  • The Planet Byn Bookclub™ read Leave the World Behind and we were all SHOOK. I don’t think I’d say we all hated it, but it was definitely unsettling and hit a little too close to home during this pandemic. Next up is a YA murder mystery: They Wish They Were Us.

Flashback!