do i look like christmas?

christmas 2009 gets 2 thumbs up.
i'm officially over the post-christmas blues...as of now. they might creep back up when i have to take down my tree and put everything away but we'll see.
the festivities continued on christmas eve - we went to see the movie the blind side with my family and had a delicious late lunch at pf chang's. loved the movie, food and company.
then, after a brief scare that our car wouldn't start, we headed down to springville to spend the night at isaac's parents. we woke up the next morning {earlier than planned, i still can't sleep very well the night before christmas} and made a big yummy breakfast and opened gifts. it was a lovely morning, we were definitely spoiled with very thoughtful gifts. isaac knows me so well, he got me the most fabulous things - a mint green diana camera, polaroid film, my favorite chocolates, etc.
in the afternoon we went to my parent's house for christmas dinner, christmas movies {elf for the second time, i can't get enough!}, and games. we also got spoiled again with amazing gifts.
thank you sweet husband and family!

when i got ready i asked ike, "do i look like christmas?!" and he said yes. i was very pleased.

our first christmas was better than i imagined. can't wait for the next!
tomorrow is the new year! better hurry and set some resolutions real quick.
happy new year's eve!

Ho Ho Ho - a festive box of cupcakes

I've fallen a bit behind with my blogging recently- being ill and working too hard has taken its toll, and so only now have I got round to featuring this rather nice pre-Christmas gift from Lola's. I was contacted by Lola's PR company, Slam, via Sarah from Maison Cupcake, as they had read on her blog a nice comment I made re Lola's Cupcakes, and offered a freebie box of their Ho Ho Ho cupcakes to taste.

The cupcakes arrived at work on a rather depressing Friday afternoon and cheered us up no end - I shared with 2 colleagues and didn't keep them all for myself (and my tubby hubby!). Tasha had the gingerbread one and Fahima the red velvet - both thought they were very tasty and ever so pretty, in fact the first thing both of them did on taking hold of the cupcakes was take lots of pics with their phone cameras!

My act of sharing left me and Manny with four to test - 2 vanilla and 2 chocolate (one with vanilla icing), which included the gorgeous red one with my name on - how cute! Whilst the base of the vanilla cupcakes were moist and fresh, they didn't really taste of anything, just sponge. I'm a great lover of vanilla and I like to taste, and if possible (especially in frosting) see the vanilla, but unfortunately in this cupcake there just didn't seem to be any vanilla to taste...at all. Similarly the frosting also lacked even a hint of vanilla, which left you thinking you were tasting only butter, sugar and the food colouring - I don't think I was, it was just the power of perception, "ooooh its green, I taste green".

The whole vanilla cupcake situation is rather odd, as Lola's are not alone - it seems to be the vanilla cupcakes that suffer the most from lack of flavour - I've had this with other cupcakes in London, the vanilla cupcake being just a little bland. I'm not asking for a "knock you out" amount of vanilla, but if you're selling me a vanilla cupcake I would like to taste it!! Before anyone asks I have v.good tastebuds - never smoked and can generally pick out flavours in foods very well - I'm also Manny's real ale flavour taster which I hate as I cannot stand real ale, but I can still get a hint of apricot in something I don't like the taste of when he forces me to try them!

Back to the cupcakes - Lola's gingerbread and their brandy butter, which I tried earlier in December were both flavoursome and very tasty, as were the chocolate cupcakes in this box (and the two other flavours the girls had) only the vanilla let the box down.

All in all it was a lovely gift (and the first time I've received a gift saying "press" since I stopped working for a well known music venue as a trainee press officer more than half of my life ago - and cupcakes are much nicer than Cliff Richard's sateen tour jackets!) and I would like to thank Lola's and Slam PR - I hope the feedback, although not all good has been helpful in some way!

poof!

cricket on christmas, laying in her new bed with her new toys. sweet thing.

i definitely have some post-christmas blues. you plan and plan and plan and then poof! christmas is over. it all happened so fast! and for some reason i feel like if i drag out telling you about it, it will last longer...i'll shoot for tomorrow.

as of now, i'm too busy enjoying my break! i'm already consumed with planning/preparing for new years/my 23rd/valentine's day.
yes, valentine's day.
i don't know if you know this about me but i love holidays.
i bought isaac a vday gift yesterday and i am already dying to give it to him.

i'm officially addicted to holidays.

Autumn Birthday or Anniversary Cake recipe

Autumn Birthday or Anniversary Cake

4 oz. (1 cup) self-raising flour, sifted
1 level teaspoon baking powder, sifted
4 oz. (1/2 cup) easy-cream margarine
4 oz. (1/2 cup) castor (granulated) sugar
2 large eggs

Chocolate Glace Fudge Icing
1 oz. (2 T) margarine
3 tablespoons (3 3/4 T) water
2 oz. (2 squares) plain (bitter) chocolate
6 oz. (1 cup) icing (confectioners') sugar, sifted
2 oz. (1/2 cup) blanched and chopped almonds

White Glace Icing
4 level tablespoons (5 T) sifted icing (confectioners') sugar
Few drops warm water

Pre-heat oven to moderate (350°F, Gas Mark 4). Brush an 8 in. sandwich tin (cake pan) with melted margarine and line the base with greased greaseproof (waxed) paper.
Place all cake ingredients into a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until well mixed, about 3 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin (pan) and bake in the centre of the oven for 25-35 minutes or until well-risen, golden and firm. Leave in the tin (pan) for 5 minutes then turn out and cool on a wire (cake) rack. Place a leaf-shaped paper pattern on top of the cold cake and cut round to form a large leaf.

Chocolate Glace Fudge Icing: place the mar-garine, water and chocolate in a bowl standing over a saucepan of hot water. Leave until the chocolate has melted, stirring once or twice. Remove from heat, cool slightly, then beat in the sugar. Continue beating until the mixture is a coating consistency.

Pour over the cake and press the chopped almonds around the sides. Transfer to a cake board.

White Glace Icing: mix the sugar to a stiffish paste with warm water. With a writing tube and forcing bag, pipe lines on the cake to represent the veins of the leaf.

Chocolate Sandwich Cake recipe

Chocolate Sandwich Cake

5 oz. (1 1/4 cups) self-raising flour
1 oz. vanilla flavoured custard powder
(1/4 cup cornstarch + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
1 oz. (1/4 cup) cocoa powder
6 oz. (3/4 cup) butter or margarine (or mixture), softened
6 oz. (3/4 cup) castor (granulated) sugar
3 standard eggs
2 tablespoons (2 1/2 T) milk

Pre-heat oven to moderate (350°F, Gas Mark 4). Brush two 8 in. sandwich tins (cake pans) with melted fat. Line bases with rounds of greased greaseproof (waxed) paper.
Sift the flour, custard powder (cornstarch) and cocoa together twice. Cream the butter or margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy, then beat in the whole eggs, one at a time, adding a dessertspoon (tablespoon) sifted dry ingredients with each. (If using cornstarch, beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract with the egg.) Fold in half the remaining flour mixture with a large metal spoon, stir in the milk then fold in the remaining flour.

Divide equally between the prepared tins (pans) and bake in the centre of the oven for 30-35 minutes or until well risen and firm. Leave in the tins (pans) for 5 minutes, then turn out on to a wire (cake) rack. When cold, sandwich together with chocolate butter cream.

Chocolate Butter Cream
3 oz. (1/2 cup) icing (confectioner's) sugar
1 level dessertspoon (1 T) cocoa powder
2 oz. (1/4 cup) butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence(extract)
1 dessertspoon (1 T) hot water

Sift the sugar and cocoa together, then cream with the butter till light in texture and pale in colour. Add the vanilla essence (extract) and water and beat in thoroughly.

Christmas cupcake gifts!

As you can see from the pics above I had a cupcake filled Christmas this year.

Myself and Manny had originally decided not to do gifts as we're going to see Manowar in Tilburg in a month (yay!) and have some home improvements (new windows..hurrah!) then we umm'd and ahhh'd and that changed to getting a few little gifts for each other as Manny wanted to make sure I had a lovely Christmas..and I did :)

So, my gorgeous gifts from Manny were - a cupcake cake stand, a cupcake message board, cake lettering and the slice of cake money box (the middle one in the pics). The other two cupcake money boxes were from the lovely Fahima (the one on the left) and Tasha (the one on the right). I also got Twilight on dvd and I'm going to sit and swoon/cry over that in the next day or so :) I am a very lucky cupcake lover!

The cupcakes you can see are fresh cream cupcakes from Waitrose. Originally I'd planned to go to Hummingbird on Christmas Eve to pick up some Christmas Cupcakes however my cold was stonking by then and I just couldn't face town so I picked these up while getting some last minute food bits. We had them on boxing day (too stuffed on Christmas!) and they were really nice with a cup of tea - they had a raspberry compote in the middle and the fresh cream made a nice change to heavy frosting, also the blobs of pink sugar on top were very yummy. I can say these were far superior to recent cupcake's purchased from an East End cupcakery which was inedible due to being rancid and very very old (more to come on this in a later post!)

So I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and got lots of fabulous presents. I'm going shopping tomorrow afternoon or Thursday to look for some cupcake goodies to spend some of my Christmas money on and I'm collecting some more gifts in the next day or so from friends I've not caught up with yet and I've been told cupcakes feature so look out for updates!

Marshmallow Petal Birthday Cake recipe

Marshmallow Petal Birthday Cake

Make up Chocolate Sandwich Cake.
http://cakerecipebook.blogspot.com/2009/12/chocolate-sandwich-cake-recipe.html

When cold, cut each cake in half horizontally (4 slices).
Make up butter cream: cream 8 oz. (1 cup) butter with 1 lb. (just over 2 1/2 cups) sifted icing (con¬fectioners') sugar and 2 tablespoons (2 1/2 T) milk. Colour pale pink with red food colouring then sandwich layers of cake together generously with butter cream. Swirl remaining cream over top.

To make marshmallow petals: snip as many white marshmallows as required 6 times with scissors dipped into hot water (6 petals). Stand on top of cake then place a candle and holder in centre of each.

Silver Wedding Cake

Make exactly as Golden Wedding Cake, but colour the butter cream pale blue with food colouring. Decorate with silver ornaments.

Golden wedding cake : http://cakerecipebook.blogspot.com/2009/12/golden-wedding-cake-recipe.html

Valentine Cake Recipe

Valentine Cake

Make up Victoria Sandwich mixture
http://cakerecipebook.blogspot.com/2009/12/victoria-sandwich-cake.html

Bake in a greased and lined heart-shaped tin (pan) or 8 in. sandwich tin (cake pan) for 35-40 minutes in the centre of a moderate oven (350°F, Gas Mark 4).
Leave in the tin (pan) for 5 minutes then turn out on to a wire (cake) rack. Peel away paper. If the cake was baked in a heart-shaped tin (pan) cut in half horizontally. If baked in a sandwich tin (pan), cut into a heart-shape and then slice in half horizontally.

Sandwich the cake together with a little apricot jam (preserves).

Topping: beat 1/4 pint (5/8 cup) double cream (whipping cream) with 1 tablespoon (1 1/4 T) milk until thick, then stir in 2 tablespoons
(2 1/2 T) melted and sieved apricot jam (preserves). Spread thickly over the top of the cake.

Break up 3 oz. (3 squares) plain (semi-sweet) chocolate and put into a bowl over hot water. Leave until melted then stir in 1 1/2 oz. (1 cup) cornflakes. Leave until almost cold then pile on top of the cake. Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes for chocolate to harden.

If possible, make and eat on the same day.

Victoria Sandwich Cake

Victoria Sandwich Cake
4 oz. (1 cup) self-raising flour
Dash of salt
4 oz. (1/2 cup) mixture margarine and butter, or other combination
4 oz. (1/2 cup) castor (granulated) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence (extract)
2 standard eggs

Pre-heat oven to moderate (350°F, Gas Mark 4). Brush two 7 in. round sandwich tins (cake pans) with melted fat. Line bases with rounds of greaseproof (waxed) paper and brush paper with more fat.

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.
Put the fat, sugar and vanilla essence into another bowl and cream until light and fluffy. Beat in the whole eggs, one at a time, adding a dessertspoon (tablespoon) sifted dry ingredients with each. Fold in remaining flour with a large metal spoon.

Divide mixture equally between the prepared tins (pans). Spread evenly with a knife then tap the tins (pans) gently to disperse air bubbles. Bake in the centre of the oven for 25-30 minutes or until well risen and golden. Remove from the oven and leave in tins (pans) for 5 minutes.

Turn out and cool on a wire rack.
When completely cold, sandwich together with jam (preserves) and sprinkle with a little sifted icing (confectioner's) sugar or castor (granulated) sugar

Cream-filled Victoria Sandwich
Make exactly as above. Fill with jam (preserves) plus whipped cream or butter cream.
To make a simple butter cream, beat 2 oz. (1/4 cup) butter until very soft. Gradually beat in 3-4oz. (1/2-5/8cup)sifted icing (confectioner's) sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. If liked, flavour to taste with vanilla.

Golden Wedding Cake recipe

Golden Wedding Cake
10 oz. (22 cups) self-raising flour
1/4 level teaspoon salt
8 oz. (1 cup) butter or margarine, softened 8 oz. (1 cup) castor (granulated) sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla essence (extract) 1 level teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
(optional)
4 standard eggs
3 tablespoons (3 3/4 T) milk

Golden Butter Cream
8 oz. (1 cup) butter
1 lb. (2 1/2 cups) icing (confectioners') sugar
3 teaspoons lemon juice
Yellow food colouring
Apricot jam (preserves)

Glace Icing
2 lb. (7 cups) icing (confectioners') sugar
Strained juice of 1 lemon
Warm water

Pre-heat oven to moderate (350°F, Gas Mark 4). Brush one 9 in., one 8 in. and one 7 in. round sandwich tin (cake pan) with melted margarine. Line the bases with rounds of greased, grease¬proof (waxed) paper.
Sift together the flour and salt.

Cream the butter or margarine with sugar, vanilla essence and lemon peel until light and fluffy. Beat in the whole eggs, one at a time, adding a tablespoon flour mixture with each. Using a large metal spoon, fold in the remaining flour mixture alternately with the milk.

Transfer to the prepared tins (pans) and bake in the centre and one shelf below centre of the oven for 15 minutes. Reverse the position of the cakes and continue to bake for a further 10-15 minutes or until well risen and golden. Leave in the tins (pans) for 5 minutes then turn out and cool on wire (cake) racks. Peel away the paper.

To make Butter Cream: beat the butter until soft then gradually beat in the sugar and lemon juice. Continue beating until light and fluffy. Heighten colour by beating in the colouring.
Split each cake in half horizontally and sandwich together with apricot jam (preserves) and a little butter cream. Stand the cakes one on top of the other (largest at the base) and hold in position with a little butter cream. Put on a large rack.

To make glace icing: sift the sugar into a large bowl and gradually mix to a smooth, semi-stiff icing with lemon juice and water. Pour over the top of the tiered cake and allow it to fall down the sides and find its own level; any thin patches should, however, be covered with icing by spreading it on with a knife (spatula).

When the icing has set firmly, carefully transfer the cake to a silver board and pipe lines of butter cream along the lower edge of the bottom cake and also where the tiers join. Decorate with yellow and gold ornaments, flowers, etc.

Mixed Salad with cheese and citrus fruit recipe

Mixed Salad with cheese and citrus fruit

Serves 4
Preparation 10 min
Cooking 20 min

Place the salad greens in a large salad bowl. • Peel the orange and the grapefruit using a sharp knife, removing all the bitter white pith. Break the fruit into segments and add to the bowl with the salad greens. • Add the fennel, radishes, celery, and Parmesan and toss well. • Beat the oil and lime juice in a small bowl with a fork. • Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve at once.

Ingredient :

8 oz (250 g) mixed salad greens
1 large orange
1 large grapefruit
1 bulb fennel, sliced into thin wedges
8 large radishes, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
2 large stalks celery, thinly sliced
4 oz (125 g) Parmesan cheese, cut into flakes
1/3 cup (90 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chicken Salad with pomegranate recipe

Chicken Salad with pomegranate

Serves 4
Preparation 15 min
Cooking 15-20 min

If using chicken breasts, place in a medium saucepan with the carrot, onion, and celery and bring to a boil over medium heat. Season with salt and simmer until the chicken is tender and cooked through, 15-20 minutes. • Remove from the heat and let cool. The cooking liquid will male a good chicken stock. Refrigerate or freeze for later use. • Chop the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces. • Place the chicken in a large salad bowl with the mixed salad greens. • Beat the oil and lemon juice in a small bowl with a fork. Add the cilantro, parsley, and chives. Season with salt and toss well • Add the pomegranate to the salad bowl and season with pepper. • Drizzle with the dressing and toss again. • Sprinkle with the Parmesan and
serve at once.

Ingredient :

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts,
about 1 1/2 lb (150 g),or the same amount of leftover roast or grilled chicken
1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
8 oz (250 g) mixed salad greens
1/3 cup (90 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro (coriander)
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped chives Salt
Seeds from 1 large pomegranate Freshly ground black pepper
4 oz (125 g) Parmesan, cut into flakes

christmas babes.

christmas was so great.

having a husband made it 100% better than all the past christmases combined. our festivities began on the 23rd at my family's annual christmas party. the best part was not the delicious food and fun games but these little babes. all of my cousin's kids are so sweet and i can't get enough of them.

i can't wait until i have myself a little christmas babe...

Spicy Buffalo Wing Lovers Unite

Just a single whiff of saucy hot wings and our stomachs launch into a full-blown volcanic rumble. But whoa, watch out! With 1,000 calories and 66 grams of fat in the average serving, these wings can still fly-straight to our thighs. It's a good thing there's a way to get that palate-tickling blend of spicy, crispy zing without having to get the waistbands of our pants professionally altered. We call these nibbles first Buffalo Blings but you'll call them downright delicious. To make: Nuke a bag of 100-calorie microwavable popcorn, then sprinkle in a few drops of Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce. Clamp the bag shut, shake, shake, shake and dump it all into a bowl - preferably one that nestles right into your lap. Ahh...yum without adding inches to the tum.

remember, remember.

i don't only love today because it's christmas eve, but also because it's the one year anniversary of this event. i can't believe it's been a year! christmas has an even more special meaning to me now.
merry christmas!

dear santa.

santa came to isaac's family party and we loved it. he asked what i wanted and i just didn't know!! i've thought about it since, maybe i should write him a letter?

sorry for the terrible picture quality.

is it wrong that i'm 22 and still secretly believe in santa?

i hope you have a holly jolly christmas!

Mix in rice to REV Metabolism

Lean beef burgers can cook up a bit dry and tough because they have so little fat. To keep the meant nice and tender, I toss in some leftover cooked brown rice before grilling. The grains absorb the meat's juices before they can burn off. Slide this burger into a toasted whole-wheat bun and you've got a perfect meal.

All you need to do is to heat grill. In large bowl, combine 1 1b. lean ground beef and 1 cup cooked brown rice. Form into 5 patties, Grill 3 to 5 minutes on each side, or until thermometer inserted in center of burgers read 140 degrees Fahrenheit for medium-rare. Divide patties among 5 whole-wheat hamburger buns. Top with lettuce, sliced tomatoes and sliced red onions, if desired.

The trace mineral selenium in brown rice helps the body convert the thyroid hormone thyroxine into triiodothyronine, a form that is four times more effective at regulating metabolisn and energy. German scientists found that this can speed fat burn by up to 60 percent.

Sex and the City 2 AND cupcakes! The excitement!!

Sex and the City is always credited for the phenomenal rise of the cupcake and it from the latest stills and just realised trailer from Sex and the City 2, its a link the producers are keen to play up!

The movie is out on May 28th and I shall be there, cupcake in hand to watch - hopefully my cupcake will be just as pretty as Charlotte's :)

You can view the trailer here, and hopefully get as excited as me :)

party party.

when my sweet friends arrived on saturday night they were all dressed so classy! i had forgotten that i wrote to come in their "christmas best" on the invite...whoopsies! so i threw on a quick party outfit.

ready to go.

katie brought these fabulous headbands! brynn originally got them but i snatched them right up when it was my turn. sorry brynnie.

bffs. it's sad we hadn't all been together since this party.

oh, i just love you christmas.

sweets craze.

last weekend i threw a small christmas get together for my dearest girlfriends and it was so much fun. it really got me in the christmas spirit. we did desserts and i went a little crazy baking...

treats, girlfriends and small gifts are the best combination.
more to come...

told ya.

remember how i said i was glued to my couch during finals? here is proof. isaac and i were in this position every night for a week straight. we love this spot because we lay down the electric blanket and it warms our bums. and this is also proof that we will do anything [take dumb pics] to avoid studying.

don't you love the tissue and cup on the floor? i'm a sickie.

5 smart tips for holiday wine buying

Savoring a great bottle of wine is indeed a celebration. But considering there 5 smart tips on wine buying is a wise decision.

I have read an article from Food and Wine Magazine (November 2008) on page 164 by Ray Isle that talks about the smartest tips for holiday wine buying. Here are those:

1. Buy by the case

Finding good wine and then socking away a case of it (typically 12 bottles) saves money, as many wine shops offer case discounts of around 10 to 15 percent. It also saves trips to the store.

2. Look for screw-caps

More and more excellent wines are being sealed with screw caps to prevent corkiness (a problem with natural corks that produces a wet cardboard - like smell in a small percentage of wines). Screw-capped wines are especially handy for large parties, because they're easy to open quickly.

3. Select food-friendly wines

Big holiday meals tend to involve multiple side dishes, which puts a lot of completing flavors on the table. Well-balanced wines that aren't too extreme (not wildly sweet, not wildly tannic, etc.) are the most versatile when it comes to pairing. Good choices include Pinot Noir, American Rhone-Style blends, Austrian Gruner Veltimer and dry Rieslings from Germany.

4. Pick affordable sparkling wines

Celebratory alternatives to pricey Champagne include cava from Spain and Prosecco from Italy, among others.

5. Use Terrific $12-and-under wines for punch

Seek out inexpensive wines that would be equally delicious in a bowl of punch or on their own. There are wonderful $12-and-under bottles available these days, particularly from Spain and South America.

Hail...the royalty of cupcakes!

A couple of people sent me details of the worlds most expensive cupcake this week - priced at $750, from Sweet Surrender at The Palazzo in Las Vegas ...

Decadence D’Or is a sumptuous cupcake, handcrafted from the most exclusive, rich, and enterprising ingredients around the globe. The main ingredient in this sinful cupcake is Palmira Single Estate Chocolate. This special chocolate varietal is derived from the rare and fragile Porcelana Criollo bean and cultivated to its fullest state of richness exclusively at the Valrhona plantation in Venezuela. Complementary to the Palmira Single Estate Chocolate is Tahitian Gold Vanilla Caviar- the world’s most labor-intensive agricultural crop. This fruit, after it is ripened for nine months, then hand-harvested, cured, sweat, dried, and hand-split, is obtained only by tedious manual extraction; it is truly a delicacy, both in taste and exclusivity. Topping the Decadence D’Or is the masterfully smooth Louis XIII de Remy Martin Cognac, 100 years in the making, and edible, metallic gold flakes, each painstakingly hand-placed. Finally, once baked to perfection, this grand dessert is encased in a stately, hand blown sugar Fleur-de-Lis and presented on a handmade exclusive elegant crackled-gold glass curved plate and bowl.

Sounds a bit fancy for me - think I'd stick to their regular cupcakes personally - think of the amount of normal cupcakes you could buy for that amount of $s!

I'm betting this image will turn Manny into a screen licker ;)

I saw these online some time ago but didn't blog about them as I was hoping eventually Godiva UK would see sense and start stocking them so I could buy some for Manny, the chocoholic, as a surprise. However, they are still only available in the USA at the moment so I thought I'd just post the pic to make Manny drool a little - and perhaps incentivise him to get back to NY asap ;)

If you're lucky enough to live in the US you can buy these online from Godiva, and I know their chocolate cafe in New York sells them also.

Festive fun with Johnny Cupcakes

I really LOVE this new fleece blanket from Johnny Cupcakes - perfect for snuggling under while having a hot chocolate and cupcake :)

Also perfect for this weather some Johnny Cupcakes gloves and a fab JC snow tube - basically a giant rubber ring alternative to a sledge - I bet Manny would love this!

Thanks to Johnny Cupcake for use of the photos!

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas

As I look out my window onto a rather festive looking south London I can't help hoping that there will be snow next week and there'll be a lovely white Christmas :)

As usual my thoughts then turned to cupcakes and I began looking for festive cupcakes on google and I happened upon Epicute - the cute food blog! Why haven't I found this before?? Lots of gorgeous pictures of cute food - right up my street!

This lovely cupcake was originally uploaded onto Flickr by Bananagranola - isn't it adorable! Check out her other pics if you like giant rubber ducks too - very cute!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow :)

thanks to bananagranola for use of the gorgeous photo!

Some cupcake treats from M&S

A couple of new cupcake bits from Marks and Spencer for cupcake lovers - yet another set of oven gloves covered in cupcakes (I already own some ultra cute cupcake oven gloves thanks to Manny) and a cute little apron to match.

They are also doing some mini strawberry and chocolate cupcakes for Christmas, and fresh cream lemon ones as well, however after trying a couple of cakes from their cupcake range I shall be giving them a miss!

GIANT Christmas Pudding Cupcake

I spotted this in Daily Candy today and just had to share! From Sweet Things, a giant Christmas pudding cupcake, decorated to look like a Christmas pudding it is in fact a giant chocolate cupcake, with chocolate filling and butter icing. It costs £45 and will feed 15-20 people. This would make a great alternative to Christmas pudding for chocolate lovers!

Sweet Things range includes three other Christmas cupcakes. The chocolate orange cupcake has a chocolate base with orange peel, topped with a Belgian chocolate ganache and the gingerbread cupcake is a vanilla sponge with ginger spices topped with cream cheese icing. Finally the mince pie cupcake has a vanilla sponge with sweet mincemeat, topped with vanilla butter cream and cinnamon sprinkles.

Further info about their Christmas range is available here and you can check out Sweet Things website here, where you can get lots of info about delivery and their other products - all of which look yummy!

Thanks to Sweet Things for use of their photograph.

hallelujah.

i'm done with finals! and i'm officially halfway done with nursing school and i couldn't be happier. it feels like i just started. now i have 3 1/2 weeks off to do whatever i please. i can finally enjoy christmas - baking, wrapping gifties, party planning, and family time. can't wait!


for some serious laughter go here. kristen wiig is my favorite. you won't regret it.

it's a wonderful life.

at the beginning of december we went with my family (minus party pooper jenna) to see the production 0f "it's a wonderful life" by the odyssey dance theatre. of course we love their production of "thriller" so we thought we would see what their christmas show was all about.

not our favorite, but we had a good time with the fam and taking pics during the numerous intermissions...

collin the vampire.

dear mom,

thanks for getting us free tickets, we really did have a fun time...even though i was begging to go get hatch's hot chocolate instead of staying for the third act. am i an adult? apparently not...