tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25694433934046687842024-03-05T18:10:01.842-08:00snooping the webone blog at a timeJanicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14843055469349414568noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569443393404668784.post-43753589685542388752011-01-12T15:50:00.000-08:002011-01-12T15:50:16.445-08:00I'm smittenHello fellow blog snoopers. IF you’re reading this, you must still be snooping my blog! Thanks! :)<br />
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My blogging has been on hiatus for absolutely no good reason. When I started blogging, it was mostly because I LOVED reading everyone else’s blog so much. Never in a million years did I realize how much work actually went into each post…SHEESH. So to all you bloggers out there who blog regularly…KUDOS to you. <br />
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If you took a look at my blog roll, about 75% of my subscriptions are to food blogs. I usually browse through my subscriptions before I get out of bed each morning. On my way to work*, I re-read any posts that perk my interest and tag them if I plan to make the recipe sometime in the near future. Then by the time I get to work and before my computer is even powered up my stomach is roaring like THUNDER. I immediately eat anything I can find to make the noises stop...thus my expanding waistline! <br />
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Anywho, last week a post from <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/">Smitten Kitchen</a> caught my eye. It was for vanilla pudding. I’m not really a fan of pudding and usually don’t like things that are too vanilla flavored…but for some reason I wanted to give it a try and I’m sure glad I did. It was DELICIOUS! :) Smitten Kitchen is a bonafide home cook and blogging superstar. She’s ambitious with the recipes she’ll try and after reading a few of her posts you’ll be pretty smitten with her…trust me! <br />
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Check out a picture of Smitten Kitchen’s (SK) vanilla pudding...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/smitten/5332873457/in/photostream/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/smitten/5332873457/in/photostream/</a><br />
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and here’s my version. Fancy huh?!<br />
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A few tips if you’re going to try this recipe:<br />
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- SK suggests you put the vanilla bean in the simmering milk if you want a more intense vanilla flavor. I say…make it a requirement. The extra vanilla kick isn’t overwhelming but its definitely life changing! AND vanilla bean is freaking expensive ($6 for 1 stick at Whole Foods) so get your money’s worth and don’t waste ANY of it!<br />
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- Don’t take your eyes off the simmering milk. I turned my back for one millisecond and before I knew it my precious (and expensive) vanilla milk was bubbling over! It was a serious tragedy but I only lost about ¼ of cup of milk so not all was lost. <br />
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- Eat it that same day. With each day that passed, it was less delicious than the day before (sad face). <br />
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Blog snooper signing out. I promise to be back soon!<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">*I’m a responsible blog snooper…I only read posts while I’m waiting at a red light…I promise</span>Janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14843055469349414568noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569443393404668784.post-2765407059421740682010-06-30T07:00:00.000-07:002010-06-30T07:35:01.497-07:00not a lame GIVEAWAYHi folks...<br />
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Blogsnooper here checking in to start her very first not-lame GIVEAWAY! <br />
As I mentioned earlier, I’m giving away 2 terrariums! <br />
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Aren’t they so cute?! The one on the left is named Min (b/c its sort of prickly looking and Min sort of has a prickly personality) and the one on the right is named Janice (b/c its beautiful and perfect and Janice is sort of beautiful and perfect)! :) hehe…j/k. <br />
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I named them Min and Janice because <a href="http://www.easterahn.com/">Easter Ahn Lee</a> names her <a href="http://www.easterahn.com/blog/?p=117">Jewelry</a> after people she likes..so I copied her and named one Min (my favorite person) and since Min and I come in a pair…I named the other one Janice!!! <br />
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Now onto the important details: To enter, answer the following question correctly in the comments section of this blog: <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>What is the name of the blog I read that inspired me to make a terrarium in the first place?</b></span><br />
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Make sure to indicate which terrarium you would prefer: Min or Janice. If both winners choose the same terrarium…I will give the winners the one I feel like giving them regardless of their preference. hmmm…maybe I’m the one with the prickly personality! Oh well. <br />
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Of the respondents that answer correctly, I will draw your names out of a hat! Please read rules and disclaimers below!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Blogsnooper rules and disclaimers:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">1. I will not ship these terrariums, so either I need to be able to get to you or you need to figure out a way to get to me.<br />
2. If they die, sorry.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">3. If they live, please tell me how you kept them alive…b/c mine always seem to die.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">4. Enjoy them…or else! OR else, I will ban you from reading my blog. </span>Janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14843055469349414568noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569443393404668784.post-55985471110076559242010-06-29T20:59:00.000-07:002010-06-29T20:59:05.443-07:00FREE! FREE! FREE!Did that catch your attention? :) Blogs often host contests and giveaways as a way to attract scavenger blog readers…like me! I’m such a sucker for contests and giveaways on blogs. If you’ve ever heard of <a href="http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/">thepioneerwoman</a>, she’s gives away some serious loot (Kitchenaid Mixers, LeCreuset Pots and Digital SLR's). I enter every time and am honestly disappointed when I don’t win…even though there are usually over 20,000 readers that enter. <br />
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On the other side of the spectrum, there are blogs that have contests and giveaways that are seriously lame! I was a recent recipient of a really really really lame prize. The OC Weekly has a restaurant blog called ‘<a href="http://blogs.ocweekly.com/stickaforkinit/">stick a fork in it’</a> and about once a week they have contest called ‘guess where I ate'. The blogger takes a picture of his meal and the first person to guess where he’s eating wins a prize. I was THRILLED when I found out that I had won last week contest! He was eating a Papa’s portabella mushroom burger at the Veggie Grill. I eat there all the time...mostly because I secretly wish I could be a vegetarian. Unfortunately, I love meat and don’t feel bad eating animals…but let’s save that for another blog post. <br />
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Anywho, I get an email requesting my name/address and informing me that I can expect my prize in the mail. It arrives! I rip open the envelope, expecting a gift certificate to a restaurant..but which one!!! Honestly, I would have been thrilled with any sort of restaurant gift certificate…McDonald’s, In-n-out, chick-fil-a, Maggiano’s, Maestro’s! yumm!<br />
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Instead…lucky me wins 2 guest passes to the Orange County Museum. Wha?! This is a food blog, with a food contest and what do I win? Museum tickets! I have to admit, I was disappointed to the max. <br />
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I, on the other hand, will NOT disappoint my readers with a lame giveaway! :) So I’m giving away 2 succulent terrariums!!! It’s part of my terrarium makeover, so hold tight…contest will begin Wednesday morning. And if you're REALLY lucky... your terrarium will include 2 free guest passes to the OC Museum of Art!Janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14843055469349414568noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569443393404668784.post-36080484671284122492010-06-07T23:19:00.000-07:002010-06-07T23:19:38.605-07:00ControversyI’ve noticed that a quick way to rise up to blog stardom is to blog about something REALLY controversial!<br />
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Controversial posts spread like wildfire in the blogging community and can catapult you into the upper echelons of blog royalty!! <br />
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Case #1: <a href="http://dooce.com/">Dooce.com</a><br />
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She started out just like you and me. Blogging about life, which in her case was about how severely she hated her job and people she worked with. Sounds pretty harmless, right? Well…turns out, her lack of filtering any sort of thought or opinion made her really interesting. Maybe a little too interesting, her blog started to spread amongst family, friends, strangers and unfortunately to co-workers. <br />
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As a result, she was fired from her job. Now, she’s a famous blogger and coined the word <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dooced">dooced</a>. <br />
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She continues to be controversial which remains a large part of her appeal. <br />
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Case #2: <a href="http://iammommy.typepad.com/i_am_baker/">I am Baker</a><br />
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<a href="http://iammommy.typepad.com/my_weblog/rainbow-pancakes/">Rainbow pancakes</a>. Yup…you heard me right…this blogger became controversial over rainbow pancakes. I’ve linked her blog before (much of my cake making inspiration came from her), she’s talented and eventually would become really popular...I'm sure. However, she got a HUGE boost into stardom over these pancakes. Some praised her for her creativity while others accused her for poisoning her kids with artificial colors and flavors! <br />
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Point is…I plan on being controversial! Not sure exactly how…it’s just a matter of time. <br />
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Maybe I’ll post my family’s famous recipe for puppy stew. =) <br />
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But I may need a bigger pot for that!Janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14843055469349414568noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569443393404668784.post-11752328338344640202010-06-01T21:38:00.000-07:002010-06-01T21:38:15.522-07:00One tiny little distraction…Long long time ago, when I first started to blog =) … the web was my oyster. All I wanted to do was blog all day long and continue to be a serial blog snooper! <br />
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Then a tiny little distraction crept up on me and made blogging just an afterthought! Yikes!<br />
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Let me introduce to you my new niece Megan!<br />
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Because of her…my web browsing has been limited to googling the best diaper bags, strollers, crib sheets, pacifiers, and anything to do with babies! Luckily my sister has benefited because I bestow all of my newfound knowledge onto her. She LOVES when I give her baby advice, especially since I don’t have a baby! <br />
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I read Megan a few blog entries and she LOVED them! Then I told her that I haven’t been blogging much lately b/c of her and she wasn’t too happy! <br />
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So let the blogging frenzy continue! Onward Ho!Janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14843055469349414568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569443393404668784.post-42874883737704365512010-05-15T18:18:00.000-07:002010-05-17T08:46:47.867-07:00Small Stump + Studio Choo: Terrarium Take 2Awhile ago, I made a succulent terrarium. The main reason I chose to build one is because they’re supposed to be pretty self sustaining, and they require minimal maintenance…if any! Considering that I have a pretty brown thumb, I thought this project would be perfect for me!!<br />
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Here’s a picture of what it looked like when I first built it. (Most of it is alive!)<br />
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And here’s picture of it now. (Most of it is dead) <br />
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Considering, I haven’t watered it in about 3 months…it’s not doing too bad! <br />
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I got my idea to build one after reading the <a href="http://smallstump.blogspot.com/">Small Stump and Studio Choo</a> blog. They’re a small flower shop owned by best friends in the San Francisco area. <br />
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The reason I love them so much is because they make flower arrangements that look like this…<br />
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And they have a dog that looks that that…<br />
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Now, you must know that I’m partial to anyone who owns a Chihuahua. Everyone knows that they are the most superior dog breed in all of existence!!! Also, don't you love how natural and crafty their arrangements look? <br />
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Sometime in the near future, I plan to give my terrarium some TLC and will post pictures later of its mini makeover and the grand reveal!Janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14843055469349414568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569443393404668784.post-49844177303687061812010-05-12T10:00:00.000-07:002010-05-12T10:00:39.178-07:00How about that?!My eyes perked up this morning when I saw <a href="http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/">How About Orange's</a> blog post...how about that?! Hmmm...I wonder how she came across that calliope cake? :)Janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14843055469349414568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569443393404668784.post-1276226033675675992010-05-11T19:59:00.000-07:002010-05-11T20:03:25.050-07:00Blog struckHello loyal readers! :) <br />
If you’ve read my past posts, you know that I’ve been pretty obsessed with cakes as of late. <br />
I was doing a google image search, looking for cute cake ideas when I came across this cake:<br />
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Cute huh?!?<br />
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Well, this particular cake caught my eye b/c of the pattern of the bottom cake. It’s a calliope print designed by Jessica Jones. Jessica has a blog called <a href="http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/">howaboutorange.blogspot.com</a> and it’s the FIRST blog that I subscribed to! Yes…my blogging obsession started with her cute design blog. Naturally, I emailed her as soon as I saw it and I was pleasantly surprised when she emailed me back. Ha…actually…I was ecstatic, seriously shocked, and jumping for joy! I know…I’m weird and I’m totally blog struck to the max!<br />
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I've pasted our email exchange below:<br />
I wrote:<br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-small;">Hi Jessica.</span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-small;">I’ve been a long time subscriber and fan of your blog! :)</span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-small;">You may have already seen this, but I came across this really cute cake that used your calliope print!!</span><br />
<a href="http://www.sugarcoatitstudio.com/"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-small;">http://www.sugarcoatitstudio.com/</span></a><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-small;"> - Look under cakes -> geometrical!</span><br />
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Jessica replied:<br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-small;">EEEEK! Janice, that is so awesome! Haven't seen it before. Holy schmoly. I love it. Thank you!!!</span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: x-small;">Jess</span><br />
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Holy schmoly right back at ya Jess!Janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14843055469349414568noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569443393404668784.post-91025534625758354602010-05-09T22:04:00.000-07:002010-05-09T22:06:19.207-07:00Mothers Day Cakes Part III’m soooo caked out! I think it’s safe to say that no father out there will be getting a cake from me when father’s day rolls around. <br />
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After making 3½ cakes in one week (I’ll explain the ½ part later)…I think I’ve got the basics of cake making down! <br />
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A few tips I learned along the way:<br />
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<strong>Tip #1: The freezer is your friend</strong><br />
Freezing makes cutting and frosting so much easier.<br />
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<strong>Tip #2: Room temperature butter and eggs are a MUST</strong><br />
I was in a rush and made frosting with almost room temperature eggs and butter and came out with lumpy frosting. I learned from this <a href="http://stephfood.com/tag/frosting/">blog </a>that if you have lumpy frosting, it’s because your butter is probably cold, to fix it wrap a steaming hot towel around your bowl to slowly melt the better. That was great advice…until my frosting got too warm and started to separate! Then according to the same blog, I gave my bowl a nice ice bath to cool the frosting! That worked too…until my butter starting getting lumpy again. After repeating a few more times, I gave up and decided I’d make my frosting look organic (according to <a href="http://chefjulieyoon.com/">Chef Julie</a> … organic looking = not perfect looking...which I was willing to accept by this point)! <br />
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<strong>Tip #3: Making 3½ cakes in one week will give you major cake burnout</strong><br />
Take it easy or you will hate making cakes! I’m done with cakes for next month or two!! My next project using my stand mixer will be bread…yummm…nothing like freshly baked bread to ruin my svelte figure!! <br />
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Enough talking…ONTO the pictures! <br />
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Cake #1:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebrFiQ5VOgo4iyaA17umW8zU65m7mpOaEZR7U4bkygigdk7jHH0CkIBbbIHwOCOXRBeMBazdGfxOBn6M1Gxi8r0w8LH42l34EkCr1y0giw2Nk73V8ILehgR9e8FXzBIxUdTVnrbI9fIw/s1600/mothers+day+pic+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebrFiQ5VOgo4iyaA17umW8zU65m7mpOaEZR7U4bkygigdk7jHH0CkIBbbIHwOCOXRBeMBazdGfxOBn6M1Gxi8r0w8LH42l34EkCr1y0giw2Nk73V8ILehgR9e8FXzBIxUdTVnrbI9fIw/s320/mothers+day+pic+4.jpg" tt="true" /></a></div><br />
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Cake #2:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VqwudnhJ4HPBuaeIEoxuIkKFDyjfR8QxKQgKWf7fwTbiB_hpi4mcjV9oASDN9NSqjp9IdV5vStqy20UWCV7GK7LXU867sZFrME6SVv4E5HCWSgwpa9SVxuKGSsYzntIGUBumOC9jrcU/s1600/mothers+day+pic+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VqwudnhJ4HPBuaeIEoxuIkKFDyjfR8QxKQgKWf7fwTbiB_hpi4mcjV9oASDN9NSqjp9IdV5vStqy20UWCV7GK7LXU867sZFrME6SVv4E5HCWSgwpa9SVxuKGSsYzntIGUBumOC9jrcU/s320/mothers+day+pic+3.jpg" tt="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Cake #3:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmd0Uar3UUGNI3xVG93vPl8a0EdH4xOSqGg0f5lwv13s113OGJgbKziqPKpGBc2LDHzei0ePt8Vz1M5pJ6UaY98IX0odfCRVdVCGt46Y1nsY4LieHS2bwnuUZ7QBcEI4bJ75n-r8dP91s/s1600/mothers+day+pic2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmd0Uar3UUGNI3xVG93vPl8a0EdH4xOSqGg0f5lwv13s113OGJgbKziqPKpGBc2LDHzei0ePt8Vz1M5pJ6UaY98IX0odfCRVdVCGt46Y1nsY4LieHS2bwnuUZ7QBcEI4bJ75n-r8dP91s/s320/mothers+day+pic2.jpg" tt="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Cake #4: <br />
I have 2 unfrosted cakes in the fridge...trust me...they're there. <br />
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I went to 2 stores in my neighborhood and they were both out of unsalted butter and confectioners’ sugar (2 very important ingredients for making frosting)! Someone in Tustin Ranch is out on a baking frenzy…I think they went to all the stores in the neighborhood and cleaned them out! Anywho…this final cake was for my own mother!!! I told her a cake was on its way…but I’m tempted to buy canned frosting! Good thing she doesn’t know how to use the internet and can’t read my blog. HA!<br />
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After waiting patiently all week, they were very upset to learn that dog’s cannot eat cake. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA48EhqVSLuByGQ4ZJJBNLEv1X5hlYKtaKwRhx0AkYuyI3JKw9c6ft1NY8LHLSaHhk41p3AHMoiu_B4TzFpYmX0YUSsRMLJmjg6zECHnMEUHUrDm2l9Yc3WygUWZoGD7UxL93O6HwqNNs/s1600/DSC_6220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA48EhqVSLuByGQ4ZJJBNLEv1X5hlYKtaKwRhx0AkYuyI3JKw9c6ft1NY8LHLSaHhk41p3AHMoiu_B4TzFpYmX0YUSsRMLJmjg6zECHnMEUHUrDm2l9Yc3WygUWZoGD7UxL93O6HwqNNs/s320/DSC_6220.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div>Janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14843055469349414568noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569443393404668784.post-88269818172032845452010-05-08T15:07:00.000-07:002010-05-08T15:07:43.518-07:00Mother's Day CakesAs our family continues to grow (a special thanks and shout out to baby Megan)…we’ve been having more and more reasons to celebrate! Birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, babies, and of course the usual holidays where gifts are likely given (i.e. mothers day, fathers day, Christmas, etc.). While I’m not complaining, it has been quite a strain on our wallets. <br />
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In a valiant effort to be a little more budget conscious, I decided to bake mother’s day cakes! Unfortunately, these cakes actually turned out to be pretty dang expensive. If you add up the cost of the supplies I had to buy (tools and groceries), the fact that I made 2 cakes as practice and need to make 2 more cakes as a final...ugh…I don’t even want to talk about how much I ended up spending. <br />
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Anywho, thanks to my main squeeze, Min, I am now a proud owner of a kitchenaid stand mixer. Luckily, my handy dandy mixer made making cakes from scratch so easy even though the first two cakes i made resulted in utter disaster. As the saying goes ‘third time’s a charm’ and hopefully this saying will bode well in my favor!!! <br />
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I got ideas/recipes for the cakes from the following:<br />
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<a href="http://iammommy.typepad.com/i_am_baker/">Iambaker</a><br />
<a href="http://wilton.com/">Wilton.com</a> <br />
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I’ll post pictures and results later.Janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14843055469349414568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2569443393404668784.post-13216359782281042072010-05-07T14:47:00.000-07:002010-05-07T16:42:16.999-07:00Howdy!<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">If you know me well, you know that I’m obsessed with blogs! I often start my sentences with…’there’s this one blog I read…’ or ‘I read on a blog today that…’. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">I figure I might as well start one too and be a contributing member (albeit a lackluster one) of the blogging community! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">Blog world here I come!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">Enjoy.</span>Janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14843055469349414568noreply@blogger.com0