How To Make A First Birthday Cake

For this cake, you will need to bake an 8-in. square cake. 1. Refrigerate cake until it’s firm. Trim off the domed top with a long serrated knife. 2. Cut cake according to chart. 3. Arrange shapes on a platter, sticking pieces together by icing the cut edges. 4. Apply a thin layer of icing all over the cake and refrigerate. 5. Then add a second layer of icing. Insert lollipops into cake in your desired pattern; trim the sticks if needed. If lollipops present a choking hazard to any of your guests, remove them after the candles are blown out and photos have been taken.

Something old, like a vintage ring, something new, like a new wedding dress, something borrowed like a mother’s veil and something blue, like a blue garter. I find this is an easy way to think about different types of wooing. Something Old: Do you have an old favorite, This is a great way to have an excuse to hang out. For example, just recently I was talking about my favorite (and the only, in my opinion) genuine Mexican restaurant in Portland to a new potential friend. I love Mexican food,” she said. Bingo: fun tease. It was then easy to say, “Cool, I was planning to go on Friday, you free, Something New: I made friends with my friend Stephanie because we both had been dying to try something new: dance classes.

We were both bemoaning how awful the gym was when she said she heard about a cool Bollywood Dance class. It was then easy for me to ask if she wanted a partner in crime to try it out. We have also tried a cardio drumming class and a cook-around-the-world night. She is amazing. Want to try something new, Bring it up and see if they are interested in joining. This is both a fun tease and a woo. Something Borrowed: Friends lend us ideas, books, clothes, suitcases and time. This is another great way to feel out a new friendship.

Have a book you love, Offer to loan it to them. My friend Samantha was wearing the most beautiful shawl—it looked so warm and fuzzy! I brought it up to her, and she so kindly said, “you must borrow it—I have two! ” You can also borrow ideas. If you know something that might help someone else, offer to teach them. Are you a whiz with resumes, Offer to edit it for your new friend. Are you a great cook, Have a cooking day with a new friend if they are trying to learn their way around a kitchen. I started a Spanish vegetarian cooking club exactly this way.

7 of us got together because we were all trying to practice our high school Spanish and learn to cook more vegetarian. It’s easy to make friends over a steaming tray of homemade tamales. Something Blue: I don’t mean actual blue, I mean sad blue. We all go through hard times. It might be you, it might be your new friend. You want foul weather and fair weather friends—those who are with you through the good times and the bad. In the beginning of the wooing process, it’s important to be honest. If you’re going through something, bring it up and see how they can help. This is a great way to know the depth of your potential friendship.