Hi Fellow Illinoisan (and, by the way, are you attending the ICES thing in St. Charles this summer?),
I have no idea why your Buttercream Dream is turning out that way. I use it all the time, and I think it's basically just the Wilton recipe with 1/2 salted and 1/2 unsalted butter. Mine always turns out great, and it's the only recipe I've been using since I found it here on CC.
Okay, Tana, I'm going to make your day 
!! Do you know about the Wilton Tent Sale at 2240 West 75th St. in Woodridge? It's May 29th thru June 16th, M-F 9am to 8pm and Sat-Sun 8am to 6pm? It's really worth going to -- a HUGE tent full of tons of Wilton and other kitchen products at a really deep discount.
As for the St. Charles thing, here's the link: http://ices09.org/Welcome.html
You can either join ICES so that you can attend classes, etc. or you can just pay $50 for a one-day admission into the vendor room to shop for stuff and the cake gallery to see the awesome creations. I plan to go on Saturday, August 1st just for the day.
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