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#WinterWedding by BCZ

Tis the season! The season for gorgeous weddings… that is! Today we’re featuring the wedding of Alexi Pankas and Stephen Martin on October 4th.

Our Events Director, Amanda, worked with Alexi to perfect all of the details of her dream wedding cake and sweet table. The vision for the cake was elegant and the decision to add a #BCZ Sweet Table added an element of fun!

The cake was the epitome of elegance. A stunning white, 5-tier cake with a striking petal design, finshed with a touch of pearl shimmer. Don’t these two look adorable cutting it, too?! Here’s another, photo in color:

As far as the Sweet Table, Alexi and Stephen were bringing together Italian and Greek family cookie traditions. Wow – can you imagine what a delicious table that was… those two backgrounds are like T H E cookie people!

So… we incorporated each families cookies and gave them our Bella Christie’s Sweet Treats flair. We created more premium and customized items such as buttercream cookies with their monogram, glitter bon bons in the colors of their wedding, and cake truffle pops incorporating their colors and monogram. All of the sweets were a perfect blend of tradition and contemporary. Feast your eyes on the these photos…

Sweetly Yours,
The Bella Christiez Sweet Team

*The first three photos you see in this post are credited to: Caroline Yoon Fine Art Photography .

It’s Beginning to Look a lot like…

Good morning, BCZ Readers!

Thanks for stopping by =) It’s getting to be that time of year, it’s getting colder – the days are getting shorter and we’re getting excited for the holidays. We can’t believe how fast time has flown, it’s already the 2014 Holiday Season! And naturally, we’re celebrating with all things custom-sweets. It’s so much fun to see the orders that come in every year, they’re different every time! And… oh-so-creative.

In prep for the holiday season, we wanted to give you all the necessary details for placing orders, times we’re open – times we’re closed and what to expect from now until January 1st.

Thanksgiving is coming up and we hope you’ll be spending the day with your family and good friends, fill yourselves with stuffing and green bean casserole (or cupcakes that look like them ;-), see picture below). And while you’ll be celebrating – so will we. Our doors are closed Thursday and Friday, November 27th & 28th. Normal hours on Wednesday… the day before TurkeyDay and regular hours resume the Saturday, afterwards.

We’ll fill you in on Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanza/etc. coming in December. But! As a rule of thumb: place all orders for your special holiday parties – AS SOON AS POSSIBLE =) The earlier we get your orders in, the better! The last day to place orders for Thanksgiving is Monday, November 24th.

Before we go today – wanted to introduce you to our newest holiday-related creations… The Cookie & Cupcake Trays. How convenient for festivities, eh? Please also see our Thanksgiving Flyer 2014 for inspiration for orders and pricing!

bella christiez, pittsburgh bakery — Cupcake Tray

Sweetly Yours,
The Bella Christiez Sweet Team

Bella Christie’s has been TOONED!

Good morning, Bella Christie & Lil’ Z’s Readers!

So – today we have a really awesome-cool illustration we were just involved in! Michelle Littler created TOON in the Burgh six months ago. Her objective? To create cartoon-like depictions of locations around town! …ourselves included. Ever since she sent us our pretty picture (it’s displayed here in this post, right below this paragraph), we’ve been waiting to feature her design and her story on our blog.

We asked Michelle, “How long have you been creating your TOON designs?”
A: Well I have been creating TOONs for all sorts of things for over 15 years but I just started “Toon into the Burgh” in the last 6 months!

Q: Other than us, what are some other well-known businesses that have been TOONed?
A: Franktuay (yummy hot dogs), Sorgel’s Orchards, Carnegie History Museum, South Side BBQ Company and even the Pirates!

We couldn’t help but inquire how Michelle comes to design these amazing TOONs…

I first go to several businesses and I have to love not only what they are selling but the overall atmosphere. I take a bunch of pictures and then freehand draw a few different ideas. Once i’m set on a solid idea thats when I create them on the computer.

And of course, we had to ask her… what’s your favorite thing about Pittsburgh?
A: The food. I am a huge foodie. So I have to be very careful that all my TOONs aren’t all centered around food, haha.

Finally, the most important and pressing question… how did we, Bella Christie & Lil’ Z’s get so lucky to be selected to be TOONed?
A: First I love nothing more than a good cupcake and I was always drawn to the signage. I loved the decor and all of the little touches inside. And after eating the Ho-Ho brownie I know it was a business that people should check out. Everything was super yummy and the staff was so nice. My only complaint is I never know what to try next.

Well, thank you, Michelle! We are so happy to have worked with you and proud to say we’ve been one of the ones you especially picked to TOON! #ShamelessPlug: TOON in the Burgh is accepting commissions for the holiday season. They make great holiday cards and are wonderful marketing materials.

Check out previous TOON in the Burgh on Facebook.com/toonintheburgh and give ’em a “Like”.

Sweetly Yours,
The Bella Christiez Sweet Team

Donut Station, Best in the Nation

Oh yes – you read us right, we have a Donut Station! …fully equipped, open for travel and popping out hot & ready donuts, right there – in front of your eyes. She’s quite the site to see, we can assure you. And this amazing invention can be yours, anywhere – Weddings, Mitzvahs, Anniversary Parties, Baby Showers, Bridal Showers, Birthday Parties, Graduation Parties, Corporate Parties, Holiday Parties… whatever type of gathering you can dream of, we can create delicious fresh donuts!

The flavors we come up with are just marvelous, too… pretty much anything your #sweettreat heart can desire – glazed, cinnamon sugar, peanut butter cup, oreo, almond torte, sprinkles, coffee cake crumble, and a ton more!

The Donut Station is actually so popular that here at Bella Christie’s… we’ve had to recently add another Donut Station to our inventory! During Wedding Season, both stations are completely booked (so reserve them early, folks!).

Q: How did the inception of such a fabulous portable Sweet Station arise?
A: When the owners first started getting into this business they noticed that at Weddings and Events people were more inclined to eat mini desserts. So they started researching everything mini …and found mini donuts. Then, they promptly found a cart to use for easy, on-location manufacture and also had travel capabilities.

It takes two #BellaChristiez Sugar Fairies to run this sweet station. They’ll be behind the bar, smiling with their pink uniforms on and all sugared up and ready to create!

Q: What’s a cool, fun-fact about our beloved, Donut Station – that’s Best in the Nation?
A: The donut station needs to be setup a couple hours in advance… our Sugar Fairies need to allow some time for the station to fully heat it up in order for the donuts to fried into perfection and ready as soon as it’s dessert time!

Would you like to reserve our Donut Station for your next big event? Give Amanda a call at 412-772-1283 =)

Sweetly Yours,
The Bella Christiez Team

Lawrenceville Highlights

Good morning, @bellachristiez readers!

Thank you for stopping by, we’re happy to have you this morning. Today we are digging into all things our Lawrenceville location. We’re talking about what makes it special, what makes it unique & we’re also sharing a few quotes from our employees that work there.

“My favorite thing about Lawrenceville is that it is a revitalized and young community filled with welcoming people who bring so much more charm to our Sweet Boutique!” -Jon B., Bella Christiez – Lawrenceville, Employee.

Q: What’s our featured baked good?

A: Well – we like to specialize in Gluten Free Treats, Vegan Treats, and made-to-order sandwiches. Creating those Gluten Free and Vegan Treats is super important – there are so many folks suffering from gluten issues and it’s great to have vegan options for those who live by a strict Vegan diet… they need sweets too! Chocolate covered pretzels, rice krispie treats and candy can all be found on display (and for sale!) at our Lawrenceville location.

“Our customers walk-in our Lawrenceville location and immediately fall in love with how unqiue our sweets are setup. They are even more impressed once they taste how good everything is!” -Kiera B, Bella Christiez – Lawrenceville, Employee.

Q: What else is amazing about Lawrenceville?
A: We have – count em – one, TWO – floors =) On the bottom we have our Sweet Boutique store front. Walk in and choose from all sorts of sweet treats… we have coffee, breakfast pastries, and made-to-order sandwiches for your morning and mid-day foodie routines. After you grab your sweet treat – head on up the stairs to our dual purpose room – also used for parties and business meetings! Long tables, chairs & privacy.

“I love working in Lawrenceville because I have lived here my whole life and it is so great to be a part of one of the many ‘up and coming’ businesses that is responsible for its new livelihood.” -Carly M, Bella Christiez – Lawrenceville, Employee.

Lawrenceville is also the only location that has donuts, ready and hot – every single day! Located in one of Pittsburgh’s trendiest districts, with free on-street parking and the city’s only FryDaddy Station known-to-man.

Q: What’s a FryDaddy Station?
A: Think of the best carnival sweet you’ve ever had and that is what the FryDaddy Station is! Fried Oreos, twinkies funnel cakes – as far as the sweet-eye can dream! Before we leave you today – don’t forget to call us in Lawrenceville to schedule your party or business affair, upstairs 😉 412-687-1265.

Sweetly Yours,
The Bella Christiez Sweet Team

#Bev, Employee Spotlight

Good morning, Bella’s Readers!

How are you this fine Friday morning? We hope you’re ready and rearing to go for the weekend! But before you go, we want to give you this month’s Employee Spotlight via the Bella Christiez Blog =)

Have you met Bev? Our Lead Cake Decorator… she’s been decorating cakes for almost 5 years! Wowza, this girl knows technique!

And we’ve been lucky enough to host her talents for the past few years.

Our next question for Bev… Q: What is your passion behind your craft? A: I really enjoyed baking with my Mom when I lived at home, and I didn’t do too bad back then! So, I decided to make it a career, and cake decorating is very popular in the Bakery Industry, so I gave it a shot! It was a fun craft where I learned new designs and techniques, daily.

Q: What is your favorite part about working at Bella Christie and Lil’ Z’s?

A: Bella Christiez is very diverse, I have never made the same cake twice! I enjoy having the freedom to do what I believe to be best and it’s great to use my own creativity!

Q: What was one of your first experiences decorating cakes?

I first made a fondant covered cake for my sisters birthday 4 years ago, and it was a mess! Now that I look back on it – haha… but, I loved using fondant and making a bow out of it. Ever since then, I have been doing cakes for friends and family at home. At first, I worked at a bakery where I would see cakes being made all the time – I learned a lot from them. And now, I’ve since moved and have become Bella Christiez Lead Cake Decorator.

What is Bev’s favorite cake design and technique to use? The quilted fondant with pearls in between each

crossing, and I still love making bows, she’s an expert now.

Q: How often do you experiment with different styles? A: Everyday at work! I don’t think there has been one week where I didn’t learn a new style of icing or decorating.

Q: Bev – do you bake at home? A: Yes! I love #Fall baking because it is pumpkin season, and everything tastes better with pumpkin (we couldn’ agree more!).

// A little more about Bev… outside of her work at Bella Christiez… //

Q: Did you go to school for pastry arts or did you just have a passion for it? A: I had a passion for it, but my parents wanted me to get a degree and I’m glad they pushed me to go to school for Baking and Pastries because I learned a lot. I graduated with my associates degree at Westmorland Community College in May of 2013.

Q: If you were stuck on a deserted island, what would be the two things you couldn’t live without?

A: Food and water, seriously. A cell phone would be nice too if I could pick three!

Q: What are your favorite travel destinations? A: I love florida, but one day somewhere more tropical with clear water so I can go scuba diving!

Doesn’t she sound like a fun, excited gal? We think so! Give us a call, 412-772-1283 to learn more about the types of #CustomCakes Bev can design for you! We can’t wait to hear from you.

Sweetly Yours,
The Bella Christiez Team

*All cakes pictured are Bev’s designs.

Fall Weddings, INspired

Good afternoon, Bella’s Readers!

It’s beginning to look a lot like fall around here. The air is cooling off, the leaves are hinting they’re about to change and Bella Christie’s is in full fall-themed-baking swing.

Have you noticed it, too? Fall Weddings are getting all the more popular in recent years. Our busy Wedding Season only used to hit the Summer, now we’re seeing brides walking down aisles in white dresses all the way til November!

In a few weeks, we have plans to zone-in and feature a fall favorite wedding – but, since the nuptial event has quite happened yet, we’re scratching this blog post’s surface with Fall Theme Wedding Inspriations…

It’s not the fall season without falling leaves. What we’re noticing this 2014 – lots of requests for fondant shaped leaves, in all sorts of colors – red, orange, yellow… you name it we’ve done it.

Twigs. Believe it or not, we’ve made plans for a few cakes already with fondant and sculpted twigs to be placed on them.

Pumpkins, how could we forget?! Pumpkin cake pops, pumpkin themed bachlorette and grooms cakes. We like to use that edible glitter, especially during this season! Custom Pumpkin Shaped and Decorated, cookies – too!

Fall Wedding? or even a fall themed party? Give us a call – 412-722-1283, ask for Amanda.

Sweetly Yours,
Bella Christiez Sweet Team

#EmployeeSpotlight: RUMI

Good PM, Bella Christie’s Readers – how are you this delicious Wednesday evening?

It is more than official – #BackToSchool is in full gear, kiddos off running to yellow school buses and Moms and Dads working into new routines and new schedules and left to be reading our #BellaChristiez blog posts, in quiet 😉 We’re off to featuring our first Employee Spotlight today – Rumi, our resident Cookie Designer!

Dabbling in CCAC’s Culinary Arts Program for two years, Rumi is mostly all self-taught when it comes to the pastry arts. She’s been decorating cookies for over two years! Before coming on board with us here at Bella’s, Rumi decorated Gingerbread Houses, Cupcakes, Cakes & Cakepops.

Ever since Rumi was a child, she enjoyed doodling and drawing – this, cookie decorating, is an extension of that. Aside from the people she works with – Rumi loves working at Bella Christiez because she has freedom to create all the different designs on cookies her heart desires! Silhouettes, using a projector to create characters – mock cartoons and movie regulars.

Q: Do you experiment often with different styles and techniques?

A: Yes. I have to constantly experiement with different designs to meet the customers’ requests.

Q: What does your daily schedule, at Bella Christie’s & Lil’ Z’s look like on a routine?

A: I start decorating cookies at 7:00am and sometimes, I don’t leave until long after closing hours.

Rumi – no stranger to passion for her work, does like to take a little rest and relaxation once she travels home after her day baking & decorating at our Bake Shoppe. “After a full day’s work, I like to just relax.” And boy, does this gal deserve it! Have you seen the pictures associated with this post – they’re all her, ladies & gentleman!

While Rumi’s relaxing, and daydreaming about cookie decoration (of course!) she also enjoys watching Japanese shows on the internet. And when we asked her – if she were stuck on a deserted island, and were only allowed two things – we expected her to say cookie batter and icing – but she replied with the smartest answer: “My computer and internet access so that I ca send for help to rescue me!”

It’s no surprise some of Rumi’s favorite travel destinations are Walt Disney World & National Parks – have you seen her inspiration? Disney’s Frozen, WICKED and all the Disney Princesses have shown up on her #customcookies – a time or two.

Thank you, Rumi, for all that you do! We couldn’t be baking with you!

Sweetly Yours, The Bella Christiez Team

#TravelingBakery

Good evening, folks! Happy Thursday.

What a week it’s been – we are starting to feel fall creeping in the air here in Pittsburgh; that means it’s almost time for pumpkin shaped cookies, specialty pies and apple-cider flavored sweet treats!

But, before we get ourselves settled into our sweaters, we’re celebrating summer with this corporate family fiesta in The Hamptons of New York!

We’ve talked to you all about our traveling-bakery innovation, haven’t we? Ah, yes – we travel. Anywhere and everywhere – how cool is that? So that means, if you’re a local Pittsburgher whose picking up the wagon and going to the beach, or the desert or… The Hamptons – we have truck, we will follow.

Q: What did we take with us on our journey up north?
A: Our famous Bella Christiez Liquid Nitrogen Station, the Donut Cart and an entire sweet table!
Q: What’s a Corporate Family Fiesta look like? …and what did you create?
A: Well, we #custommade a 3d Jet Cake – we also added a gumpaste little person to resemble, Al – Apollo Jets‘ Managing Director. The liquid nitrogen & donut cart. And we did have fun-fiesta themed treats… cactus cupcakes, cupcakes in ceramic pots, margarita glasses filled with our delicious parfaits, chile pepper cake pops (they were on fire!), maraca cookie pops – too! and pinata shaped cookies.

Two of our BellaChristiez people manned the ‘fiesta air stations’ throughout the entire party all the way up the coast. Which is exactly what we can do for you – anywhere you choose. Whether it’s The Hamptons or The West Coast, our Sweet Treats will be at your party, get-together, wedding or corporate event.

Want to schedule your next on-location event with Bella Christiez?
Contact: Amanda Bryne at our Aspinwall Location, 412- 772-1283

Oh so sweetly,
Bella Christiez {the #Pittsburgh traveling bakery}

Calling All Parties!

Good evening, Bella’s Readers!

It’s been great getting to connect with you all via a blogger level these past few weeks. Utilizing the forum has been a great way to express some of sweet-secrets and inside-the-bakery details!

Last week we mentioned our extra room located upstairs, at our Lawrenceville location on Butler Street. While we do host #CakeParties up those stairs, we do also use the room in a dual sense – as a party room. That means you and all your friends can visit us, host a party in our space – with our cake and clean up crew!

Q: What kind of parties do we host up there?
A: All kinds! Kid parties are usually a big hit; kiddos parents rent the space for them and all their friends – they get to indulge in some fun cake-decorating fun, eat cake, open presents, pop balloons and celebrate. We also do adult parties, we can dive a little deeper into that cake-decorating/eating fun. The party room is a great stop before going out on the town for a Bachlorette Party, we do #NaughtyCakes. It’s also a great space to celebrate a big milestone with some close family-friends…

Q: Can we rent the space, just to rent? Or do we need to have a cake party idea in mind?
A: Yes! You can rent the space for whatever kind of party you’d like. While its amazing to include Bella Christiez in your extravaganza, it’s not necessary – we’re just happy to have you.

The space holds up to 25 standing casual and 20 people, sitting for a more formal feel. We host business meetings and bridal showers… all the time, too!

We take care of the tables and chairs. You provide the linens, cutlery, decorations, food (if it’s not ours 😉 )… and best of all – you can BYOB! Hostess options are provided.

Sweetly,
Bella Christiez