July Fourth

So much has been going on here, you can't even imagine.  We signed a lease on a new place last weekend, we are moving in three weeks, my last day at work is Wednesday (more on that later), and actually, it doesn't seem like so much when I try to list it off, but believe me it is overwhelming.  And the overwhelming nature of packing is amplified by the fact that John will be busy studying for and taking two bar exams up to two days before moving day.
Anyway, I feel like I haven't gotten anything done for weeks, so I'll share my fourth of July cake with you.

Chocolate of course.  I was struck by the idea of making a red, white, and blue cake, using strawberries, buttercream, and blueberries as the colors, respectively.
I layered the cake with fresh berry layers and topped it off with berries.

 I (as usual) used sweetapolita's recipes for chocolate cake and buttercream.  The difficulties I encountered were typical of me, I didn't have enough eggs or any white sugar.
The first shortage was solved by just not making much icing, which worked out as John and I have never been fans of too much icing.  The second left me making icing with raw sugar.  A delicious alternative, but not nearly as white, so the Fourth this year was celebrated with red, off-white and blue (a fact not well represented by my photos).