Red Velvet....

Red velvet cake is a definite must-try food, it is quite amazing. However, I believe I may have found a way to enjoy it even more- Red Velvet Cake Balls.

You've been reading food blogs for a while I'm sure you've come across cake balls, and I think I might have to nominate them for top prize. The weekend before Valentine's Day I created these treats for a church potluck and they were a hit.

The steps are pretty simple: bake a boxed cake mix as directed, crumble the cake after it cools, mix the frosting into the crumbles, and then begin the creation of your cake balls.

Roll them and freeze them....


Dip them....


Decorate them...


Eat them...

For details directions on how to prepare check out this post on How Sweet It Is, it was the guide that I used when creating mine.

Have you ever tried a cake ball???? Did you love them????

Queen of Hearts..

You all made some pretty good guesses!

The scissors, ruler, xacto blade, printer and laminating sheets were used to create these:



They are oversized playing cards personalized with my friend Emily as the Queen of Hearts, her husband as the Joker and their dog as the face on the septor. Emily was the birthday girl and it was a surprise party so I didn't want ruin anything.

The 'food items' included four 9x13 white cakes and frosting- isn't frosting the best part? The spatula and food items to create this:




Fully assembled I came up with this beauty...


So now you're probably wondering- was she surprised? Yes she definitely was, and her husband definitely put a lot of effort into planning! He made little paninis, pizzas, quasdillas, cheese and crackers, chips and dip, and other tasty treats. The party had a casino theme with lots of great decorations, gambling chips for the guests, a black jack table, and beer pong with wagers.




It was a great night! How was your Friday night???

Beer and Football....

Since my last post we have been very busy folks. Obviously we had our normal weekly activities, but we also took on the challenge of creating a cake for my brother-in-law's 30th birthday. And in our little world we don't just make a simple rectangle or circle, we go big or we (don't) go home! Which means if we are going to drive 2.5 hours one way to deliver a cake, it better be worth the trip.

My BIL, Paul, is a big football fan and isn't one to turn down an ice cold beer so we decided to use that for a theme. After many hours of decorating, we had a six pack of beer sitting on the 30 yard line- which was so appropriate. Check it out!





My hubby is responsible for the decorating of the cakes, and he does a great job and takes it very seriously. I'm responsible for the baking and gathering materials. It is a long process to create a cake, but it is worth it when the recipient really enjoys the creation!

We only spent the day at home, then headed back to Buffalo so that we'd still have Sunday to get stuff done at the house. So I shopped, cooked and cleaned; while Matt painted, installed fixtures, and other home improvement duties. One day wasn't quite enough, but we'll continue next weekend.

We still have lots of stuff to get done around here before we can consider the first floor "finished" but really is a home really ever "finished"?

What I've been making...

Monday: Tilapia with Roasted Asparagus


Tuesday: After a little lacrosse, we went to our favorite Greek restaurant- Kostas!

Wednesday: Green Rice with Black Bean Burger (anything else you could want!)


Thursday: Eggplant and Olive Tapenade Pizza (Sorry no picture after it came out of the oven because we inhaled all it's goodness.)


And lastly Thursday night's experiment with recipe making. My inspiration was an apple pie, and my goal was to turn it into a cupcake. The first batch into the oven tasted great, but didn't have that cupcake look. The second batch was much better! I topped it with some yummy cinnamon frosting!


I'll leave you to drool over the fabulous food coming out of our kitchen- this girl needs some sleep. Tomorrow is Friday and it can't come soon enough!

Aloha!

It's been a very busy and long weekend.

We had a yard sale, hung out with friends, made a trip to the mall, baked s'mores cupcakes, went to a bachelorette party (just me), cleaned the back porch, prepared donations for the salvation army, went grocery shopping, and then enjoyed a nice meal on a restaurant patio to cap off a productive weekend.

As you might guess there were long nights and early mornings so I'm a bit tired- so I'll leave you with a picture of my cupcake creations. The s'mores cupcakes were created using Martha Stewart's recipe for chocolate graham cracker cupcakes with toasted marshmallow.

Though the cupcakes look awesome with just the toasted marshmallow (lovin' the kitchen torch) I took it a step further. I was told the theme of the bachelorette party was a luau, so I used the toasted marshmallow as the 'sand'. Other decoration include hibiscus flowers, homemade coconut bras, little umbrellas, and little palm trees. It was a very successful cupcake adventure!



Aloha!

I'm baaaack....

I've been gone for a while now, but I couldn't help it- I've been busy. Yeah sure I could stay up late into the night to get a post in, but I need my sleep. I do have an update for you tonight.

In my last post a couple people guessed that I was in NYC, and that was right. I left for NYC last Wednesday for a speaking engagement, I took a small plane into the city then a taxi straight to Time Square. Yes I was in the center of it all- I could even see the famous New Year's Eve Ball. Needless to say my hotel room is probably primo real estate on New Year's Eve. Here's some pictures:




It was a short trip, but I did get a chance to visit with my step-sister and see Time Square at night. By the time I got back to my hotel Wednesday I was tired, and needed some sleep for my flight out the next morning. I was back in Buffalo by the afternoon, and set to work on my next task. Baking a birthday cake!

Yes, you read that right while in construction mode for the kitchen I agree to do a 1st Birthday Cake for my niece. I know it sounds a bit crazy, but I couldn't resist. So Matt hooked up the stove and I set to work. I went with a three-layer 12 inch base, a six inch pedestal layer, and 12 large cupcakes. I know it sounds like lots of cake, but I need it all. Oh, and I just white cake and red velvet cake to create all this fun. Here's what we came up with when it was all done:





If you look closely at the cupcakes you'll noticed I went with three types: classic with sprinkles, 'roses', and 'hydrangea'. Traveling with all this decorate cake was quite interesting, but we managed to get it done without any problems or ruined frosting.

Saturday morning I got the chance to go to swim class with my niece, here she is looking hot in her little two piece. She loves playing in the water, she's definitely a water baby!


Later at her birthday party, my niece chose a purple hydrangea for her celebration- and had a pretty good time with it, though it does not appear that much made it into her mouth. She was stained purple until she got her bath.



In other excitement, my nephew turns 2 this week so we had a birthday party for him on Sunday. It was a fun filled weekend, and very busy. I saw lots of family and a couple friends- but there is never enough time to do it all even though we try.

One disappointment over the weekend was my 9 mile training run that never happened. I was all set run to meet Katie during my run, so I'd finally have a running partner. I rarely get to run with anyone so I was pretty excited, only to realize around 10pm on Friday that I left my sneakers in Buffalo! It sucked, but at the same time I think that the skipped run has really helped my knee feel so much better (knock on wood). I plan to take one last run tomorrow, then I'll be saving energy for the big day!!! Sunday is the day I conquer 13.1 miles.

Monday night I was planning to post, but we we're out of town for the weekend Monday usually ends up being a day to get groceries and do random things around the house. Tonight I took some wallpaper down in the kitchen, but stopped at 8 to make some dinner. I was in the mood for some Mexican Green rice. Yummy!


Then I got a chance to blog and watch Biggest Loser. I find that the last episode is one of the best because it just give so much inspiration that it is possible to do what seems "impossible'. You just have to do it, and not let anyone get in your way of being you!

Have a great night!