That's Doctoral Candidate Ridge to you...

Excellent News!!

Claron is officially a doctoral candidate. He passed his PhD Candidacy exam (also known as orals). He did a great job. We are very proud of him. Here is a picture of him in action (well practicing anyway).

Being the wife of a pre-doctoral candidate can be difficult and stressful. To diffuse this stress, I baked, and I contributed the goods to the PhD Candidacy Exam Committee. Here is the evidence:

Water, Lemons, Limes, Grapes, Strawberries, Blueberries, Carrots, Ranch, Cheese, Crackers, Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies, Brownie Buttons with Toffee Pieces, Nutella Cupcakes

I am so proud of my husband. The only down side is that we are closer to leaving Santa Barbara.

Petit Fours

I made Petit Fours with Bryanna and Erin (who are both chemists). It was so much fun, but definitely a lot of work.

Here is what I learned:

• It is best to use a very FIRM cake. Your cake should not have any crumbs.
• Gum paste is FUN! I loved making gum paste flowers. In fact, I made the two big flowers in the picture. Bryanna made the hearts. Gum paste does dry fast though.
• Heat the glaze. Glaze is already difficult to spread but if not heated, it is impossible.
• Many hands make light work. Petit fours take a lot of effort; so, invite a lot of friends.

Thanks to Erin for hosting and being so gracious and Bryanna for piping and the good laughs.

Eliza turns 2!!!

Today was Eliza's second birthday. We had a little party with some of her friends. She had a great time. Here are the pictures: