Babycakes Cake Pop Maker

Kristi and I exchanged Christmas gifts last week before she left to visit her family in OH. I thought that I had given her some pretty spot on gifts... until I opened mine. Homegirl knows meway too well!

She gave me a Babycakes cake pop maker, a double tier collapsible cake/cupcake carrier, a cupcake/cake decorating icing kit (with tons of tips, etc. -- pic to come later), and a giraffe wisk!

(Can you guys tell that I like to bake?)

While Kristi is away, I am watching her furry child, Carter.

Sir Carter

Anyways, since it was cold and I didn't really want to do much, I decided to crack into the Babycakes box and make some treats for my coworkers. And boy was this an adventure! I will preface this post by saying that the cake pop making was the easiest part of all. The maker really does make it so quick and easy.

The maker came with a recipe book (other recipes are also found online) and I, of course, chose to make red velvet cake pops. The batter was simple to make and yielded about 3 dozen pops. I also made some chocolate pops but those weren't as tasty as the red velvet, in my opinion.

Chocolate balls, post baking.

Red velvet balls cooling in the tray.

Red velvet balls preparing to be stuck!

Balls become pops.

Notes:

1. It says to place one tablespoon in each divot. I found that to be a little too much so don't go crazy with the batter in there. If it overflows, that is ok. As you can see from my pictures, the overflow easily detaches from the balls.

2. I highly recommend using the removing tool that comes with the kit! It's a little wired prong instrument that doesn't look like it can do much but trust me - it does!

3. In order to get the sticks to stay inside of the balls and not move around when icing (more on that in a bit), dip the sticks in melted chocolate/icing before placing the stick in the ball. Once you have a few balls with sticks, place them in the fridge/freezer for about 5 minutes.

Now, on to the icing...

You can make your own icing if you want. If you're crazy. Or you can just buy the Wilton candy chips and melt them like I did.


In sticking (haha, no pun intended) with the holiday theme, I chose green candy melts (vanilla flavored) to coat my red velvet pops. I placed about 1/3 of the bag into this small little pot that came with my larger crock pot. I'm not even sure what it's called but I know that it was made specifically for me to melt chocolate and candy. It's just so cute!

This pot only has one setting but it doesn't get too hot; just hot enough to melt the candies and keep them melted. I do, however, recommend stirring this occasionally - especially if you're not going to use it right away. Also be sure to keep adding chips as you use the icing. I found that when you only have a few chips in the pot that it gets too hot. DUH.

So now you can remove your pops from the fridge/freezer and dip them in the icing/melts that you have in your pot. Because the sticks are frozen into the cake balls, you won't have to worry about the sticks spinning inside of the balls while you're trying to coat them.

I also added sprinkles to my pops just for giggles. Plus it made them prettier :)

Then I decided that I needed to package these suckers if I was going to distribute them to coworkers. I took pieces of saran wrap and cut them into 4x4 inch squares and wrapped the pop in them. I then took some thin red ribbon and tied a bow at the base of the pop.

Now, aren't those just the cutest things that you've seen in your entire life?!?!

No? Ok, well, I bet they're at least close.

I've only talked to one worker about these pops and she was pretty excited about them. I don't think she ate it yet but she at least liked the packaging. If I weren't such a dessert fanatic, I would think that they were almost too pretty to eat.

Tonight I plan on icing the chocolate cake balls with white Wilton candy melts. I'll be sure to let you know how those turn out (because I know you'll be up all night wondering...).

Happy holidays, y'all!

Crock Pot Pulled Buffalo Chicken

I forget where I saw this recipe (probably through one of my friends on Pinterest) but it was a great find! Fairly common sense when you think about it but we all know that sometimes I just don't think about it.

I have amended this recipe slightly based on my observations but what works for me may not work for you. Be sure to read the notes section at the end before you jump on this recipe!

Crock Pot Pulled Buffalo Chicken

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs. chicken breast, frozen

1 package ranch seasoning

1 jar of hot sauce

Cooking Instructions:

1. Turn crock pot on highest setting and place frozen chicken breasts inside.

2. Mix together hot sauce and ranch packet and apply directly on top of frozen chicken breasts.

3. Cook for about an hour or until chicken is cooked thoroughly enough to pull apart.

4. Remove chicken from crock pot and pull apart using two forks.

5. Place pulled chicken back into crock pot and mix with liquids that were in the pot from before.

6. Turn crock pot to "low" or "warm" setting and allow to simmer for another 1-2 hours.

7. Serve pulled chicken on tortillas, bread, etc. Garnish with desired toppings.

Notes:

1. I chose to use chicken tenderloins but only because that was all that was in my freezer! This is also a great option when you are cooking for one, which I am.

2. If you are cooking for one, I would only use half of the package of ranch. I used a whole package and it was way too salty for the amount of chicken that I used.

3. This recipe will probably work best if you were to mix together the hot sauce and the ranch. I chose not to do that and had chunks of ranch throughout my chicken. That was fine by me but again, it was rather salty at times.

4. The longer you let the pulled chicken sit in the sauce mixture, the thicker the sauce will become. And the spicier the chicken will become!

5. This chicken would also be great on nachos, garnished with some sour cream, jalapenos, shredded cheese, beans, etc.

Enjoy!

Happy Pawlidays!

Happy Pawlidays, from the furry friends of my friends!

Sir Carter

Miss Haley

Current Obsession: Pumpkin

The pumpkin obsession has spiraled slightly out of hand. Seeing as how it is now closer to Christmas than Thanksgiving, the pumpkin products that I have found in the grocery have drastically decreased. (I know, my waist and pocketbook just released sighs of releif!)

Here are a couple of my very exciting [and delicious] purchases from the fall. And yes, I am rationing them so that they last into the spring :)

Cream cheese AND butter?!?! Yes, please!

Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts. You're welcome.

I also baked another round of whoopie pies at my parents house over Thanksgiving. I forgot my original recipe at home and ended up using one that I found via Google. While I was not impressed with the recipe (it wasn't red velvety enough), the pies still disappeared like cupcakes. Probably because they actually tasted like cupcakes! This recipe called for about a cup of cocoa powder - whoa!


Anddddd, I made baby versions of the pumpkin & cream cheese cupcakes that I have been so obsessed with this fall. I'll post the recipe later. Someone please remind me!


Baby cupcake pans are the devil. It is far too easy to create tiny morsels of deliciousness in a bite size form. What did I do during the 6 hour drive from my parents house back to my house? I popped baby cupcakes into my mouth.

Odd Facts

I'm about to share some odd facts about myself with you. So, if you don't want to read them (or if you just don't care) then please ignore this post.

For those of you who don't care - you really should read this. It's going to be entertaining. I promise!

So, here it goes...

Every time I sneeze, my hips pop. My right hip always pops. My left hip only joins the party about half of the time.

Also, I've noticed that the older I get the skinnier I get. Is that normal? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Now, I'm not complaining about these 2 facts at all. The hip popping is a blessing in disguise because it makes my work outs much more enjoyable. And I don't have to stop in the middle of a run to do my crazy kick stretch in an attempt to make those suckers pop out. And the skinny thing... well, I mean... what girl doesn't want to be skinny?!

Someone get me a cupcake.

Wedding Bell(e)s

There seems to be a lot of talk about wedding dresses as of late.

One of my best friends, Cassie, recently became engaged. For a couple of weeks we talked about wedding dresses, scouring countless ads, pins (via pinterest), and websites for the perfect dress. Turns out, she found an almost $4,000 dress at a flagship store in Raleigh for.... (wait for it)... under $400! It's the perfect fit for Cassie, as she could wear it right off the shelf, minus a few inches that need to be hemmed off the bottom for Mrs. Short Stuff ;)

I also stumbled across this website today: My Ex-Wife's Wedding Dress. Apparently, this guy's wife left him after 12 years of marriage and 2 kids. Did I mention that they were high school sweethearts? I'd say that finding 120 uses for her old wedding dress is excellent payback. And therapy.

He has also written a book about the wedding dress experiments, which is available on amazon.com.

You're probably wondering how I stumble across such things. Well, there are a variety of interesting ways but today it was via an MSN article.

On another note...

I think that, if I were to get married, I would wear a completely ridiculous dress just because I could. Kind of like the ones that Carrie Bradshaw wore/modeled in the first SATC movie.

The Target website

The Target redid their website, y'all!

I pulled it up to look for something and became so immediately enthralled by this new user friendly site that I completely forgot what I was looking for in the first place.

OH, but I just remembered! Leg warmers to wear as "long socks" under tall boots.

Thanks for the help! Now go and check out this new redesign.

Random Updates

I must update y'all on a few random bits. (I swear that a post with some depth will be coming soon.) These are absurdly random items and completely unrelated, so please forgive me now.

1. The goldfish obsession continues. I went to Sam's Club and purchased over 4 lbs of these delicious baked snack crackers. Three large bags came in one large box. I just opened my last bag of goldfish about 5 minutes ago. It will, of course, be devoured come the week's end. So if you need me this weekend, I'll be at Sam's Club!



2. Two weekends ago, I went on a baking charade. I made red velvet whoopie pies and pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing. I didn't want to eat all of these so I dispersed these delicious treats amongst my friends and coworkers. Needless to say, everything was gone come Tuesday afternoon.





2a. Those whoopie pies called for an entire 1 oz. bottle of red food coloring! While that doesn't seem like a large amount, it really is. And look at how red the batter was!



2b. I also made homemade chicken noodle soup before I started baking. I didn't have any bow tie pasta or macaroni noodles so I used angel hair pasta. I stuck a box in the crock pot (uncooked) with 4 cans of chicken broth, seasonings, celery, carrots, and chicken and let it cook overnight. Talk about heaven! mmmm

3. Kristi and I had our first bonfire of the season a couple of weeks ago! Her shed blew over during hurricane Irene so we had a few pieces of wood and sticks to burn. And it was actually quite chilly so the fire was needed and enjoyed. (You know I was out there in a hoodie, sweats, and Uggs.)



4. Speaking of weather - this past weekend's weather was absolutely fabulous! I hope that wherever you reside had weather that was equally as perfect :)

Update: Halloween, Doggie Style

YOU GUYS - I have discovered more Halloween outfits for your dogs. And children, apparently. Check out this website courtesy of the Animal Planet.

Here are a couple of my favorites:



And then this random one, Harry Pupper (haha):

Current Obsession: EOS Lip Balm

If you know me at all, then you know that I am constantly applying chapstick. I just like to have lips that are moisturized! (Have you ever seen someone whose lips are peeling?! Ew!)

Normally, I'm pretty loyal to Bert's Bees. But a good friend/coworker of mine turned me on to Evolution of Smooth Lip Balm.

The EOS balms look like little eggs. They are cute and colorful! These would be great gifts in an Easter basket (because of the shape, obviously) or as a stocking stuffer.


I have two flavors: summer fruit and sweet mint. Both are in the picture above.I keep one on my night stand and one in my purse. But I fully intend to snag every color/flavor when I see them. I saw the lemon drop, also pictured above, but did not purchase it when I saw it. I must have been preoccupied with food or something.

I'm collecting all of the flavors just to sample them. Not because I'm obsessed or anything...

Halloween, Doggie Syle

Get your mind out of the gutter!

This post is completely dedicated to adorable/funny Halloween costumes for dogs. While I do not currently have a dog, almost all of my friends do. So I like to send them subtle costume suggestions for their respective four legged furry friends in the form of photos.

Here are my favorites so far. (The second one is my all time favorite. I cannot lie about that.)







What do you plan on dressing your dog as for Halloween? Please, submit pics!

The Food Chronicles: Goldfish (snack crackers)

Ok y'all, I've been addicted to Goldfish (the baked snack crackers, not the actual marine animal) for about a month now. Clearly I have been far too busy eating these delicious snacks to blog about my recent activities. Hopefully updates will come soon!

After I finish this box, that is...

Justine

Readers, meet Justine:


Justine is the solid pair of black wedges that I have been searching for for months. I hate it when I find a cute pair of black wedges (or sandals, actually) that has a brown sole. Really?! What if I'm wearing an all black outfit? I can't have a dash of brown in my shoes. That just looks dumb.

Thank you, Justine, (and Nine West) for solving my 100% black wedge crisis!

Found: Black Wedges. Lost: Fashion.

Y'all.

I have bad news about the shoes I wrote about a few weeks ago.

Ok, so maybe not about those shoes specifically. But I do have bad news about the black ones I was yearning to find.

Kristi and I were at The Target in Myrtle Beach a couple weekends ago, and they had the black pair in my size! It's like it was meant to be, right?!

WRONG.

Those.sandals.were.hideous.

Clearly, I won the lottery by selecting the brown ones.

I did, however, find a lovely pair of black wedges from Nine West. I can't seem to find a picture online so I'll have to post one when I get home.

Hold please...

Wedges from The Target

Y'all ladies need to drop what you're doing, run out to The Target (or visit the website), and purchase these adorable Merona Elliana Wedge sandals. I found the last pair in my Target store in tan and I am in love!


I wasn't too sure about them initially because they seemed a little too "old lady" for my liking, but that hesitation didn't last past the checkout line. I feared that maybe the wedge was too small but alas, it is perfect! (I know y'all are wondering how a 3.5" heel on a 5'9" woman is too small... but I mean, I just like to be tall!)

I believe I purchased these a week ago and I have already worn them with at least 4 outfits. They really are a great summer shoe and match every color outfit. I even dared to wear them with black!

Aside: I really do need a black pair of wedges (solid black - heel included) which The Target has in this style. I think I will purchase those as well!

Needless to say, my outfits (and shoes) are always a huge hit thanks to The Target.

"Oh, I just got back from South Africa."

I know, I know - I've been slightly MIA the past couple of months. Please, allow me to explain...

The beginning of May was infused with final exams (for FIVE classes, mind you) and the relocation of my entire office to multiple buildings. Two days after my last final, I left for a two week vacation to South Africa. Upon my return, I was sick for a week and then had to get acclimated (read: unpack) to my "new" office which is, in essence, a cubicle. (Thank God I'm only here for 2 months.)

Now that my suitcase is finally unpacked and my routine is once again somewhat normal, I can now tell you about my wonderful vacation to South Africa!

Except that I really don't know how to describe it. It is truly indescribable!

Adam, Kristi, and I hit all of the touristy hot spots:
- Lion Park outside of Johannesburg -- feeding giraffes and watching lions feed
- a 3 day all inclusive safari in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve (my personal favorite)
- a drive to/through/along The Garden Route
- riding elephants in Addo at a sanctuary through the mountains, with views of giraffes, zebra, and wildebeest
- visiting the infamous surf town of Jeffrey's Bay (J-Bay, to the locals)
- bungee jumping from Bloukrans Bridge in Tsitsikamma National Park -- Note: at 216 meters, this is the highest commercial bungee jump in the world! (Miraculously, my mother was not too concerned about me doing this.)
- stopping at the Southernmost Tip of Africa, where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet
- Gansbaai for cage diving with great white sharks (Mom was, however, eager to hear about this. She was actually excited for me to do this! Maybe she was on medication that day...)
- Franschoek & Stellenbosh for a few (ok, a dozen) winery tours and tastings
- Cape Town -- Table Mountain/Lion's Head/cable car ride, Cosy Bay, Boulder's Beach, V&A Waterfront
- and a few other random and miscellaneous stops at wherever the wind blew us

This was, hands down, the vacation of a lifetime. I can't choose one vacation over another as being my favorite because I feel that each vacation I've taken has lent itself to completely different adventures. We met some wonderful people along our journey and had amazing experiences that brought us together as even closer friends than we were before.

I am just so so so thankful that I have the support and resources to take such amazing vacations!

Below are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip. (If you want to see more, check out my Facebook or email me for a link.) Enjoy!

Summer Reads

Do you need suggestions for what to read this summer? If you do, then check out this blog post.

I personally have not had time to read much but feel free to send me suggestions to add to my ever growing list :)

And, if you haven't already done so, check out www.goodreads.com. Having an electronic "To Read" list is genius!

I'm alive!

(Great, now I'm going to have that song in my head...)

I just realized that it's been almost 6 weeks since I have updated all of my fabulous readers! I do apologize for the delay.

A brief synopsis of my life as of late:

The end of April and beginning of May marked the end of the Spring 2011 semester which meant papers, projects, presentations, and final exams for the academic side of my life. This, along with the fact that I had to prepare not only my office but my entire building for a close/renovation for the summer (aka the professional side of my life), left me a basket case. Throw in a visit from my best friend Megan and then a little two week holiday (and related planning) to South Africa and there you have my absence explained!

Many, many people have asked me for pictures from SA. The thing that they don't realize is that I just returned to the States on Sunday evening. Give a sister some time to shower and grocery shop, geeze!

Once I have had time to catch my breath, I promise that I will post more blogs and update you on my SA travels, both in picture and word form.

Denim Day -- 4/27

I received the email below at work the other day and wanted to share with others. I had no idea what Denim Day was so my guess is that you don't either!

I'll be wearing my denim tomorrow :)

-----

UNCW students, faculty and staff are invited to wear jeans to campus April 27 in support of Denim Day, a campus-wide effort to protest sexual violence. Sponsored by the Collaboration for Assault Response and Education (CARE) office, Denim Day is designed to protest the myths that surround rape and sexual assault. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

“We are asking everyone in the UNCW community to join us in wearing jeans on April 27 to speak out about this very important issue,” said Jen Adler, CARE associate director for violence prevention and response. “UNCW administrators are supportive of this effort and have given permission for employees to wear jeans even in offices where business dress is normally required.”

CARE will also provide stickers inviting people to ask participants why they are wearing jeans, so they can share the story of Denim Day, which started after a 1998 decision by an Italian High Court to overturn a rape conviction. The justices reasoned that, because the 18-year-old rape victim work very tight jeans, the 45-year-old defendant could not have removed her jeans by himself, so the victim must have participated and given consent. Wearing jeans during Sexual Assault Awareness Month has become an international symbol of protest about common misconceptions about rape victims.

“Since 1999, people have made a social statement by wearing jeans to promote awareness and show support to all those impacted by sexual violence,” said Adler.
Please join CARE in bringing attention to the issue of sexual assault by wearing jeans to campus April 27.

For more information on Denim Day, go to www.uncw.edu/denimday.

"I need to feed the worms."

I find it hilarious that I say things like "It's time to feed the worms." or "I need to feed the worms."

No, I do not have a tapeworm so I am not speaking of worms in my belly. Nor does Banzai have worms so I am not speaking of worms in his belly either.

I am speaking of the worms who live in our compost pile.

(On a random note, I was googling images of worms and this website popped up. I warn you not to look at these images if you're squeamish. You will probably puke, gag, or something of the like. I think I have a steel stomach because I want to get in there and operate and play around.... I should have been a doctor.)

Last fall, my roommate decided that he would like to start a compost pile since we always have little scraps of fruits and veggies that randomly find their way into the trash. He also eats a lot of eggs, and I drink a lot of coffee, so we needed a way that the earth could benefit from our "trash." He did a little research and came to the conclusion that we could minimize our trash output by donating our natural food scraps to some worms. So, he went to the bait shop and purchased some worms (don't ask me what kind because I don't know), put them in a container that he built, threw in some food scraps, placed shredded paper on top, and we were good to go!


We usually keep our scraps in a large tupperware container for about 2 weeks or until it gets full. Once one of those limits are reached, we feed the worms and cover the food with shredded paper. The shredded paper comes from my paper shredder, which is full of important personal information, no doubt. I mean who in their right mind is going to sift through that in a compost pile?! So not only am I essentially recycling paper but I am also preventing identity theft. Go me!

Here is a great site about composting with worms. There are tons of other websites that teach you the in's and out's of such a practice, but this is a good start. NC State University also has a great website completely devoted to composting with worms.

For most of the year, the worms and their house stay outside in the shade on the porch. When the summer months are here, however, we're going to have to find a new location for the house. It gets into the upper 90s here and that's about 20 degrees too hot for the worms. I refuse to let them inside the house because fruit flies do live deep down in the soil sometimes. (And my roommate emits enough smells - no need to add to that.)

So, if anyone has any suggestions on how to create a climate controlled area for our pet worms, please let me know! As if the living creatures in our house are not already spoiled enough, now we have to go and spoil the ones who live in dirt. Geeze.

Ever Forward

Today, as a sister of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority, we celebrate Founders Day. (Please spare the jokes about how it is on 4/20. Thanks.)


Tri Sigma has members who have served as a Supreme Court Judge, created the Care Bears, authored books, etc. Our most recent claim to fame is the fact that Carrie Underwood is a member of our sorority. (I knew I loved her for a reason!)

I'm sure that most of my friends don't even know that I was in a sorority in college. It's not something that I advertise, but it's not something that I hide either. The fact is that most of my friends from college came from either my sorority or others on campus.

For example, my best friend Cassie is in Alpha Phi. My other best friend Megan is my sister and in my pledge class.

The experiences that I enjoyed during my college tenure with Tri Sigma and other Greek organizations on campus were truly life altering. I absolutely cannot imagine my life had I chosen another path. I will be eternally grateful for all of the experiences and opportunities that Tri Sigma and Greek life have given me.

I am Faithful Unto Death, a sister of Sigma Sigma Sigma.

In Our Bonds,
TAB

Arts & Crafts

Springtime means arts & crafts time - YAY!

Just kidding.

Kind of.

Springtime in this house means that it's time to plant seeds so we can start our garden. Last year, my roommate built huge flower boxes for our porch so we could grow fruit and veggies year round. It seemed that tomatoes consumed all of last year's garden since he did the planting, but I'm taking stake early this year so I can plan some other yummies.

About a week and a half ago I planted these bad boys:


I only remember what is in one pot and that is green peppers. The other one could sprout a child for all I know.

Today, I planted seeds in some old egg crates that my roommate collected. Here they are full of dirt and seeds (thrilling, I know):


Let's hope they grow and sprout into beautiful pieces of fruit and veggies! I'll keep you posted on the progress, since I know you're all just dying to know how everything turns out.