asa | boston, Wedding Cake Design
by Amy Stevens Adams
As I’ve previously mentioned, when John and I first met we each owned our own business. I was a wedding cake designer, and John a systems engineer. I’d like to introduce you to my company, amy stevens adams | boston (asa | boston). The reason for this article is that with the new redesign of our blog, we have decided to include in the sidebar an ad for my business, and have decided to feature asa | boston in conjunction with launching the ad.
I started out 6 years ago with a previous company, The Occasional Cake (TOC), which I also owned. When I started TOC I was 5 years out of Culinary school and I desperately wanted two things in life; to own my own company and to create beautiful works of culinary art. TOC was my starting point. I began like so many others who start a company, I did any work I could, took any client that came my way, and undersold myself. I eventually earned a reputation for working with fondant, which is a sugar dough with the consistency of Play-Doh. I did lots of creative work, everything from Princess wedding cakes covered in hundreds of pink roses, to anniversary cakes covered in realistic, edible poinsettia flowers. I’ve made more edible seashells then I could count. It was a fun business, but at the end of that day, I wasn’t doing my own designs. And isn’t that what every artist wants to be doing?
So in 2008, as I was preparing to move from Maine to Boston, I decided that as long as I was uprooting I might as well change my business direction too. I would finally make it into what I had always dreamed about; I’d be a wedding cake designer. There were a lot of ways I could have done this, but in the end I knew that incremental change wouldn’t give me the clean slate and fresh new image I wanted. I’d need to tear it all down and start over, or discontinuous change. If you’d like more info on discontinuous change, what it is and why it’s important, you can read J0hn’s article, “Discontinuous Change”.
I started it all from scratch, new business name, new logo, new colors, new direction, new goals, even a new state. I knew because I had done it before (built a business) that I could do it again. This time I’d be doing what I love, my designs. I now serve Boston and Cape Cod, and I do artistic cakes in fun designs that I create myself. I use bold colors and funky designs. It isn’t anywhere close to what I used to do, but it is more in line with my personality and where I want to be in life. It is my true path.
As far as TOC, it still exists. I have transitioned it to my mom, and she will continue the business with me serving in an advisory role. It was my ‘first child’ so to speak and I learned many valuable lessons form that business that have made me into who I am today.
The greatest lesson I learned is that it doesn’t matter what you want to pursue, the clients and recognition will come if you’re persistent. I no longer have the clients who want traditional wedding cakes, I have clients that want me to design a spectacular showpiece for their wedding. They want something whimsical, colorful, unique and fun. They want a work of art, and I love every minute of it.
Follow your passion, it will lead to extraordinary things!
-Amy Stevens Adams of Cape Cod Branding
Vegetable Garden- Week 1
by Amy Stevens Adams
Last week John and I planted a vegetable garden in the planter on our back deck. I hired a container gardener, Fiona, to help assist with the design, planting, and in general teaching me how to care for our new plants. To read our first article on how we set up our container garden with Fiona and to see pictures check out John’s post “The Container Gardener”.
That was a week ago. Since then, we’ve done a bit with the garden, but mostly it’s a waiting game until all the plants are mature (with the exception of some of the herbs I planted which are ready now). The biggest garden-related project we had was weathering a rainstorm on Friday. You can read about our solution to protecting the new seeds from the rain and wind in my article “Saving My Seedlings”.
Aside from that, I had a bit of fun clipping some of the herbs. I’ve been out there regularly getting mint for our iced tea. I’m so addicted to it! I make a fresh pitcher of iced tea almost daily in the summer and I love being able to tuck a big sprig of mint into the ice cubes at the top of glass. Beautiful, fragrant and delicious! Although John prefers a slice of lemon in his tea, and I did buy a Meyer Lemon tree to keep in the kitchen. It is currently about 12″ tall and Fiona says it will triple in size this year and I’ll get fruit off it in the first year. I’m VERY excited about that!
I’ve also cut a bit of parsley and am drying it to save for later use. Every Autumn my mom sends me a big gallon ziplock bag of dried parsley from her garden and I use it all Winter. This will be my first time drying it for myself. Her directions for drying herbs are as follows (and this can be used for almost any herb that is hardy enough to dry);
Directions for drying fresh herbs
1. Wash the cut herb and lay it on a paper towel to soak up the excess water
2. Place herb on a paper towel in the microwave and cover with another paper towel
3. Microwave 1-2 minutes, stopping to check it frequently, until it is crispy
4. Store in a ziplock bag to keep fresh
I’ve used mine for up to 6 months (and then it runs out), but it might last longer if stored in a cool, dark cabinet. (I never store my spices in the cabinet above the microwave because it gets too hot and sometimes moist).
Here are pictures of our garden at 1 week old. The lettuce, carrot and radish seeds are just beginning to sprout and fill in between the half-moon rows of basil in the center of the planter.
On the other side of the deck, our rose has some new buds that should bloom in the next few days.
Also, we’ve added a hanging flower outside the sliding door to the master bedroom.
More updates weekly. Enjoy!
-Amy Stevens Adams of Cape Cod Branding
Apple Gets It
by Amy Stevens Adams
June 19th is the magical day! For weeks now, John and I have been speculating on when the new iPhone would be released, and because we both have .mac accounts we got the official e-mail yesterday with the good news. To see all the details on the new iPhone and watch the TV ads, go to Apple’s iPhone page.
I have been an iPhone user since the beginning, trading in my 1st gen iP for the new 3G as soon as they came out last year. This year we plan to do the same, I’ll get a new white one, and John a black one, most likely in 32GB.
We immediately watched the videos on the Apple website and excitedly poured through the new features; to include faster internet connection, voice commands and improved chat features. John is especially looking forward to the video capabilities so we can add short clips and how-to’s to the blog. We’ve talked about getting a video camera, but had held out because we ‘knew’ Apple would eventually add it to the iPhone. I’m particularly excited about the Compass feature since it will make it easier for me to continue with the feng shui I’ve been implementing in our new house. 
All in all, it looks like the phone will be the same in colors and size, just faster and and more App-heavy. What we love about our iPhones is that we only need one device. It has replaced our need to carry an address book, appointment calender, camera, iPod, GPS, note pad and calculator, in addition to a phone. It’s all in one. Add to that the Apps we’ve downloaded to ours over the year and it’s also a voice recorder (that app will soon be replaced with the official Apple recorder in the new 3G S), grocery list, flashlight, recipe finder, dictionary, restaurant finder, as well as having Twitter & Facebook access. I can’t remember how I got along without it in the past.
Apple truly does ‘get it’. They know that busy people don’t have the time or patience to buy, learn and carry multiple devices. So KUDOS to you, Apple. We love you!
-Amy Stevens Adams of Cape Cod Branding
