Girly-girl party and a new cat

We had a birthday party for Lorelei yesterday at Mom's. I can't believe Miss L is FOUR (well, as of 4 pm tomorrow).

She dressed appropriately...in a ball gown.
It's all about the fashion. And purse. And jewelry. And shoes.




I found THE perfect cake for her:


A Barbie (tm) cake. A real Barbie stuck into a big cake:


The doll is sitting in a plastic tube, and when you pull her out, she isn't all gunky with icing.
The dress is the cake. That is brilliant. Four layers of chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. My glucose levels still haven't come down.
Isn't that cute???
(I like that the Barbie isn't Caucasian. We need color in our lives. I call her "Guadalupe Barbie".)


Big news at the Mom's house:
A new cat.
Now, if you know my Mom personally, you know that she has been very adamant about no more pets. Bailey, her Manchester terrier, has been just fine for her and that's that. We had cats and/or dogs while I was growing up, but after my Dad died, she said no more animals. But.

My SIL found this cute cat outside (when it was like 5 degrees) and started taking care of it.
Mom resisted a whole 2 days before asking my SIL to bring the cat over. Next thing we know, there's a litter box in the basement and Fancy Feast in the pantry.
And Mom's all, "Who's a pretty boy? Who's a pretty boy? Wuzza wuzza wuzza...."


His name is Spot. Bailey is unsure of this, but seems to be willing to adapt to this strange fuzzy thing.
This is one cute kitty. Loving, happy, calm, always has the motor running...
He has short hair, white with black spots.....
But his tail looks like it used to be on the end of a raccoon:


Welcome to the fam, little kitty. You hit the Jackpot.