Friday Finds: Lara Casey Reps

On Fridays, I like to find things, people or places that are fun, different and informative. Things that have nothing to do with chocolates, gelato, cakes, etc. This week, my Friday Find is Lara Casey Reps. I have known Lara for a couple of months. She is passionate, hardworking and inspirational.

Photo available on Lara Casey blog.

This week, Lara informed the world of her new venture. Read an excerpt from her blog post: "I'm thrilled to launch my new site and business blog today! The wedding market is a big mystery and navigating through branding, marketing, submissions, business strategy and perfecting the client experience can be a huge frustration for so many. My goal with Lara Casey Reps is to take businesses to their fullest potential so artists can focus on their art and wedding pros can focus on the client experience. I'm taking the guesswork out of business and helping wedding professionals get clear, focused, and put their energy where it matters most. " - Lara Casey


I am not a client of Lara Casey Reps. However, I am very proud of her success and hard work. Please join me in congratulating Lara and praying for her continued success.

Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates + Avenue Forsyth + Project Playhouse

Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates is located in the beautiful Avenue Forsyth. We are excited to inform our readers that the Avenue Forsyth is partnering with HomeAid Atlanta to host two child-size dream homes during the sixth annual Project Playhouse 2009 showcase in September and October.

Project Playhouse is HomeAid Atlanta's annual signature fundraiser and features extraordinary playhouses designed and built by metro Atlanta’s premier architects and homebuilders. These child-size dream homes are fully furnished by professional interior designers and exhibit high quality craftsmanship and finishes. Funds raised through raffle ticket sales support HomeAid Atlanta's mission of building and maintaining dignified transitional housing where temporarily homeless children, women and men in metro Atlanta can rebuild their lives. For more information, visit https://www.homeaidatlanta.org/.

For more details, go to http://www.facebook.com/friends/?ref=tn#/shoptheavenue.

Designer Cakes

I saw this cake on Wedding Crush by Maryan Aiken. This is an amazing cake. I love the cake top.

Lucky Shoe by Rene Caovilla

Brainstorming + Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates + Baby Shower

I always like to start each project with a blank paper. Clients like to know what is the "best seller" or what did I do on a previous project, but I try to refocus their attention on what they like. For example, in our store, Cookie Dough gelato is our "best seller", but honestly, I don't like cookie dough. When I tell customers that Cookie Dough is our best seller, almost 50% order Cookie Dough. If I give them "it really depends", I would say only 10% order Cookie Dough.

We are working on a baby shower project. After several days of communicating, the client has selected gelato cupcakes for the event. It is a summer baby shower so gelato cupcakes would be perfect. I am not sure if the event will be more formal or relaxed, but I like to have options to present to my clients. Based on our communication, I believe the event is informal. So this is what I thinking......

I love these buttons. They will look amazing on the gelato cupcakes.
Photo courtesy of Layer Cake Shop

For gelato flavor, I am recommending a combination of flavors. I feel three different flavors would be ideal. For a summer event, I would recommend the following gelato cupcake flavors:

A raspberry sorbet on french vanilla cake

Tahitian vanilla bean gelato on white cake covered in our handcrafted dulce de leche sauce

Key lime cheesecake gelato on our butter cream cake

I will post pictures of the final product. I love brainstorming!

Atlanta Occasion Launch Party + Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates

Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates will be attending Atlanta Occasions' Launch Party. Please join us to celebrate the exiting occasion.

Location: The Foundry at Puritan Mill
Date: Thursday, July 30
Time: 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm

Jezebel Magazine + Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates

After partnering with Jezebel magazine on the Natasha Bedingfield event. Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates decided to feature our new ad in Jezebel magazines. We are excited about our ongoing relationship with Jezebel magazine. The most recent issue has been a hot item, get your copy asap. Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates, Atlanta's 100 Best Restaurants and Jezebel magazine, what more could you want:)

Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates + Montaluce

Italy......... need I say more. I have visited different parts of Italy (Rome, Tuscany, Sperlonga, Calabria, etc) and plan to visit Milan and Venice next year. We normally visit for business, but make time to enjoy Italy's splendor.

There is one place in Georgia that makes me feel like I am living back in Europe and that place is Montaluce. We plan to take a day trip to Montaluce next week and I will post pictures after my visit.

Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates + Cobb County Kia + Heart Association Event

Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates is dedicated to making a difference one person, one day and one organization at a time. In the pass, we raised funds for Adoptions, Armed Forces, and many more. Our current community initiative is Abba House.

Recently, Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates had an opportunity to participate in a private fundraiser event. This private event showcased a sample lounge of luxury products, dinner & Jazz, and an intimate performance by the popular 70’s Band WAR, to an incomparable list of A-List Guests. A portion of proceeds from the event benefits the American Heart Association. Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates donated truffles for this exclusive event.

Artisan truffles for this event were Classic Dark Chocolate Truffles (with a hint of Brandy), Dark Chocolate Almond Fudge Truffles and Dark Chocolate Caramel Truffles.

The Venue: A 19,000 Square Feet Luxury Estate Nestled on 4-Acres in Marietta, Georgia. This noteworthy property is the private residence of the Event Sponsors (owner of Cobb County Kia) and facilitates philanthropic events on a year round basis.

This estate was breathtaking. It was featured in Southern Seasons.

Philanthropy:The American Heart Association is committed to fighting heart disease and stroke and raising awareness of these diseases. As part of their mission, they focus on specific causes designed to help people achieve a heart-healthy lifestyle. Each cause and initiative reaches out to the public with resources and information to help them take positive action.

In addition to opening their home for this fundraiser event, the estate owners donated a car.

Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates + Wedding Soiree Bridal Road Show

Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates participated in Wedding Soiree's Bridal Road Show 2009.

Flavors catered at this event: Dulce De Leche, 75% Dark Chocolate, and Cookies & Cream

A pristine setting area was arranged for the brides to enjoy their gelato and reflect on the amazing day.

The brides arrived chauffeured by Cooper Atlanta

Brides admiring the gelato before making a selection. Dulce De Leche was the first to sell out.

Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates enjoyed participating in this event.

Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates + Daily Candy

Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates is excited to be featured on Daily Candy Atlanta. Please read the article.

Gelato Cupcakes

Our new line of gelato cupcakes was premiered last night at Studio Wed's Wedding Planner event. Photos are courtesy of Project Duo Photography.

Cookies & Cream Gelato Cupcake topped with whipped cream, crushed oreos, white chocolate, and dark chocolate.

Vanilla Bean Gelato Cupcake topped with whipped cream, brunt caramel and roasted pecans.

Unfortunately, the Strawberries & Cream Gelato Cupcakes were consumed before pictures could be taken. All of our gelato cupcakes were crowned with custom milk chocolate wafers describing the desserts.......Delicious!

Event - Studio Wed Atlanta's Wedding Planners Dessert

What I adore about Studio Wed is the constant opportunities to meet Brides/Grooms and other wedding industry experts. For this event, I wanted something different. Since everything is made from scratch onsite, I should have limitless ideas. I decided to combine two delicious delights:

Gelato

Photo By Ross Oscar Knight

And

Cupcakes

Cupcakes By Le Cupcakes in Australia (I love their cupcake designs)

This new product line will feature mini gelato cakes that resemble cupcakes. For the Studio Wed event, I decided to make individual gelato cupcakes for each guest. There will be 3 different flavors: Nutella, Cookies & Cream and Strawberries & Cream. All flavors will have White Chocolate cake.


Gelato cupcakes are perfect for most celebrations (i.e. bridal showers, birthdays, baby showers, bar mitzvahs, etc). Unfortunately, we don't recommend this product for weddings.

Grand Opening Soiree - Bridal Bar

Dreamy Gelato and Chocolates is working or has worked very closely with several of the Bridal Bar talented vendors like David Christensen Photography, Events with Grace, Wedding Soiree, Sweet Sensation, Ashley Baber, Sandi Spells and many more. This is an exciting moment for these vendors and Dreamy Gelato and Chocolates will be in attendance to celebrate this occasion.





Date: July 15th


Time: 7:30 pm


Location: 4511 Olde Perimeter Way, Suite 600 Atlanta 30346

Custom Chocolates - Twins Baby Shower

Last week, I blogged daily during the production of this custom order. This was an exciting project due to the volume and variation.

Milk Chocolate Crème Caramel Truffles topped with blue sugar flower.


Classic White Chocolate Truffle finished in our Baby Collection design.


Milk Chocolate Roasted Almond Truffles sprinkled with crushed almonds.


White Chocolate Crème Caramel dusted in gold.


Milk Chocolate Champagne Truffles finished in our "It's a Boy" collection.

Friday Find: Cake in the Box

My Friday Find this week is a wonderful bakery called "Cake in the Box".

Cake in the Box offers a range of cakes from wedding cakes to specialty cakes to traditional cakes. They are also one of a very few cake bakery in the Metro Atlanta area to offer allergy free cakes in a nut free facility!

Photos courtesy of Cake in the Box.

Every little girls wishes for a Barbie Cake.

One of Cake in a Box unique designs.

Any Georgia fan would love this cake.

Custom Chocolates: Twins Baby Shower (Day 4)

The custom chocolates for the twins baby shower are finally completed. The truffles look amazing. The added touches of detail for this order are unmatched and we are certain our client will be overwhelmed with joy. Making hundreds of custom truffles of various flavors and designs can be very demanding, but the final product is unique and special.

To recap this project, our client is having twin boys very soon. She is having an elegant baby shower and wanted custom chocolates. She selected five flavors: Milk Chocolate Roasted Almonds, Milk Chocolate Creme Caramel, White Chocolate Creme Caramel, Classic White Chocolate and Milk Chocolate Champagne. Each truffle flavor has a different design and color.

Our Milk Chocolate Champagne Truffle is our #1 truffle. It is a popular flavor for special events.

Photo courtesy of Belletti Photography

Pictures of the custom chocolates from this event will be posted next week. This was an exciting project to complete.

Custom Chocolates: Twins Baby Shower (Day 3)

Yesterday, I mentioned my client's love for caramel so Day 3 is about more caramel. This time, the caramel will be in white chocolate. Our color scheme for this event is brown, blue and white. Therefore, the white chocolate will look amazing on the chocolate table.

A truffle not selected for this event is the Espresso Truffle.

Photo by Laura Ladd Photography

The ganache for this truffle is made with fresh espresso Italian beans. It is the perfect bite size "pick me up". I can't think of anything more wonderful to enjoy once the twins have arrived home and my client needs a treat.

Custom Chocolates: Twins Baby Shower (Day 2)

We were covered in chocolate yesterday creating custom truffles for our client. We are excited about hand making chocolates for this special event. Day 1 was dedicated to creating our Milk Chocolate Roasted Almond Truffle. The truffles look delicious. A lightly salted roasted almond was placed in the center of the truffle covered in a milk chocolate ganache. The sweet yet salty and crunchy yet smooth center will delight any guest.


Day 2 is all about Caramel. We hand make our caramel with sugar, butter, cream, etc. It is so good; it is hard to resist the urge to taste. The great thing about our caramel is its unparalleled ability to complement any type of chocolate (white, dark, and milk). My client requested a Milk Chocolate Crème Caramel Truffle. This is a popular truffle in the store so I have a photo to share.

Photo by Laura Ladd Photography

The inspiration for the truffle is my client's pure love for caramel.

Custom Chocolates: Twins Baby Shower

I return from my 4th of July holiday with the excitement of creating hundreds of custom chocolates for my client's baby shower. She loves Dreamy Gelato & Chocolates' creations and wants me to create something special for her event.

After several consultations, she selected 5 custom truffle flavors based on her desires. I will be featuring each truffle and it's inspiration this week.

My client is having twin boys and is so very excited.

Invitation by Tiny Prints.

Customizing the truffle/ganache flavor was the first step, the next step is selecting chocolate type then truffle design/color. Sometimes, my clients have a color in mind and we work backwards. Our goal is to be as flexible as possible to meet our clients needs.




So when thinking color, I wanted it to be related to little boys. Most little boys love....

footballs and.....

trains.

So one color will be the brown. Milk chocolate is naturally brown and will complement some of the truffle/ganache flavors perfectly. With the combination of my client's love for almonds and the selection of milk chocolate, the first custom truffle is Milk Chocolate Roasted Almond Crunch Truffle.

News: Atlanta Occasions Magazine Premier Issue & Launch Party

AtlantaOccasions.com is an oh-so chic online magazine for weddings, corporate, and social events south of the Mason Dixon Line. Atlanta Occasions bridges the gap between service seeker and service provider served up with an extra side of sweet southern hospitality, in the 28 counties of Metro Atlanta area. Getting right down to the nitty gritty, AtlantaOccasions.com makes it easy to find the information Atlantans want in the geographic area relevant to them.

Date: Thursday, July 30, 2009
Time: 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: The Foundry at Puritan Mill, Atlanta, GA
Email: info@atlantaoccasions.com

A sincere congratulations to Heather Vreeland, Editor-in-Chief of Atlanta Occasions, on this monumental occasion.