It's that month of the year once again...

Our 2 girls will be celebrating their birthdays this January!

...which means, it's time to choose the cake designs.

Believe me, birthdays in this household used to be quite a production. Then came our journey to the path of simple indulgence. Simple does not always necessarily mean plain. Yes we ogle at them 3-tiered cakes with fairies and princesses at the mall. Who doesn't, right? And if you can afford, why not?

Last year the kids wanted only the chocolate cake their Tita Sharon makes. But with the colors they want. It wasn't just a lightbulb moment for us. It was a big big big lightbulb moment! Tita Sharon makes the meanest moist chocolate cake and that's important. For big sister who turned 7, she agreed with the chocolate cake "au naturalle" . Ahihihi. At P590, the cake didn't cost us an arm and a leg (finally!). We printed out a Ni-hao Kailan poster, put it on a board and anchored it with toothpicks right in the middle of the cake. Viola! We had the happiest 7-year-old on the block!

Ohhh little sister,4, was a bit tricky. It had to be a princess cake. Out of the blue, it occurred to us that a cake doesn't actually have to have a princess on it to be a princess cake. Ahihihi...

With the magic of the internet in this time and age, it would be a breeze to search for any cake design. And so Tita Sharon made us this...

The crown is an ordinary toy crown we bought for P25 at a party supply shop. Isn't it beautiful? And princessy?

I have just talked with my niece Chloe (Tita Sharon's daughter) about next week's cakes (the girls' birthdays are 4 days apart). All set! Their parties will be in school therefore it's important I follow the girls' specifications (to some acceptable extent.). No sense giving them something they, or their classmates, would not like. Two cakes at P590 each (more or less), character figurine P70 and printing at P35... we are well way within the budget! Yey! (Ok, don't freak out Chloe, my P590 is just an estimate, hahaha).

Yes no need to break your budget over them expensive cakes. With a little more brainstorming and creativity, the simple cakes can be very delicious and pretty. So excited for next week's cakes. It's gonna be awesome!

This is Tita Sharon's shop.

Follow the smell of them mango cream pies at the back of Cebu Doctor's Hospital. You can call ahead at 417-4945 or 538-2039.