The Wisdom of Dove Chocolate

Are you familiar with individual Dove chocolates? Wrapped in foil and the inside has a message, much like a fortune cookie?

I'm not a big chocolate eater, but I do like the taste of Dove. It declares that each one is a "silky smooth promise."

I had to unwrap 24 of these little guys today because I wanted to put them as a decoration on top of a batch of cupcakes. I told myself I didn't have time to read every "promise" but of course I did. You can't help it. Some of them were outright strange, some a little nebulous and some really funny. So, I had to share a few of my favorites.  Each phrase inside is followed by the words, "Love, Dove." (hee, hee...okay...)

The only certainty in life is smooth chocolate.  No, no, I'm pretty sure it's certain that if I keep eating your chocolate the weight showing on my scale is going to way, way up.

Indulge your every whim.  Well, now, I'm not sure that's a good idea, otherwise I'm getting out of bed at 10 every morning and eating cheeseburgers for lunch. (See previous note about the scale.)

Love rules, without rules.  Um...yeah, ok...uh, sure...whatever...

Calories only exist if you count them.  So, go ahead and have another half a bag of Dove chocolates. *wink, wink*

You don't need an excuse. You just need a moment.  Oh, so that's how it's done...

Chocolate won't let you down. Oh, but Dove, you already have, taunting me with your "silky smooth promises."

But you make a really nice cupcake topper.

Arctic Blast of 2013

Winter arrived, and I do mean ARRIVED in freezing fashion. We woke up to this sight yesterday morning. It looks like snow, but is in fact nothing but ice. Temperatures hovered in the high 20's all day and we woke up this morning to 19 degrees. Several cars have tried to drive up our street and have had to back down because they can't get traction. As for us, we are staying nice and warm inside while decorating for Christmas.

View from Front Door

View out Back Door

Thick ice on the pool steps

I tried to poke my fingers thru the ice and couldn't even make a dent!

(Side note: My hands look just like my mother's.)

Frozen Ferns

We don't often get icicles.

Hope you are staying toasty warm wherever you may be. Now, I must go finish decorating the tree.

Halloween 2013

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, I guess...Jeff and Abigail decided the day before Halloween to throw some costumes together. I told them I wouldn't help because I had asked them 2 weeks prior did they want help with a costume. And, not only did I help, I dressed up too.

Bacon with Chocolate with Bacon

Sorry about these last few dessert posts, but what else do I have to write about? I'm pretty sure you don't want to see photos of my piles of laundry on the couch, the piles of dirty laundry in my bedroom floor, and dirty dishes in the sink, right?

Remember I mentioned in the previous post that Dr. Adams asked Paula to find me another recipe? Well, here it is: Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes. I know. I cringed at first, too. But, they were surprisingly good. Not only was there bacon sprinkled on top, but there were bacon pieces in the batter as well. What's a little more fat, huh? Oink, oink...

Some Malted Milk Love

Another new recipe...this one found in a magazine at the chiropractor's office. These are Chocolate Malted Milk Brownies. Aren't they cute?

First thing Jeff said was, "They're round." Of course I replied, "Thank you, Captain Obvious." : )

The very roundness of them is what makes them enticing if you ask me. Well, that and the chocolate swirl on top and the malted milk ball...feel the malted milk chocolate love.

I took a dozen of these on my visit to the chiropractor on Monday. It's only fair since I found the recipe in his office, right? And his receptionist LOVES chocolate. She started grinning the minute I walked in and said, "I was hoping you were going to try those!"

As Dr. Adams walks you out of his office, he says the same thing every time..."Paula, make her next appointment."  As we walked out Monday, he said, "Paula, show her the magazines and help her find another recipe." Gotta love it!

Some Favorite Things

This may be one of my most convoluted posts ever. I was thinking the other day that some things just make life so enjoyable. Usually it's a small thing, but often the brightest spot in a day can come from a little taste of something, from part of a song you hear on the radio, or from a simple item you see sitting on a store shelf. Many times those things for me are edible. Don't judge me. I love food.

Here are a few of my favorite things, for now anyway...

Soundtrack from "Pride and Prejudice"

Colorful striped paper straws...they're just so happy!

Turquoise blue mason jars...I've had my eye on them for weeks and finally couldn't stand it any longer and put them in my cart at Target last week.

Bread and butter pickles -- somebody stop me, I want the whole jar!

 Discovered this last week...gourmet white popcorn. Delicious!

Pickled baby corn...again, someone take the jar away!

Buy a baby pumpkin. Tie some ribbon around it. Put it out where you can see it daily. I promise your life will be better for it.

Chocolate and toffee - go buy one now. Do it. Now.

What are your favorite "little" things?

Feel the Cupcake Love

As I might have mentioned previously on this blog, I find baking to be very therapeutic. When you throw creativity into the mix, I'm even happier! Several cupcakes have been made in the last week or so. 

First up, cupcakes for my sweet sixteen birthday girl, Abigail. Her request was strawberry cupcakes with Granny Cannon icing. (my grandma's secret recipe known only to a few and no, you cannot have it because I promised)

She did not want a theme birthday and picked these basic black and white striped cupcake liners, which I thought went very well with the pink cake. I tinted the buttercream a light pink, sprinkled edible glitter flakes on top and added a royal icing rose. Pretty!

And what's not to love about a pretty pink cupcake under glass? 

Pink plaid -- another good use of the color pink. Butter pecan is quickly becoming one of my standard choices when I need cupcakes in a hurry.

Rebecca found this recipe for Apple Cider Cupcakes on Pinterest. They are everything that is good about fall, and since I needed gifts for teacher goody bags, and it's fall, and so on...

I love the uniformity of this picture. I use an ice cream scoop to put batter into my cupcake liners because I am extremely picky and like my cupcakes to be all the same size.

Topped with Maple Spice Buttercream...delish!

I have a few more fall-ish cupcake recipes lined up to try. The possibilities are endless.

The Best Cupcakes Ever

I'm not bragging on myself. I'm just saying what quite a few people told me when they tasted this cupcake. I am merely a follower of the recipe from a blog that I read. This is the second time I've made this recipe. I tweaked it a bit from the first time, but that was merely to make it easier on me, not for any great issues of taste. I am a fan of the "if you can make it that good from a box mix why wouldn't you?"

So, here are the extremely delicious, best cupcakes ever...

Chocolate Fudge Cupcake with Marscarpone Filling and Chocolate Malt Buttercream

 And while we're talking about marscarpone cheese...oh my goodness. Where have you been all my life? I'd heard of it on cooking shows and food blogs but I didn't know what I was missing. It completely takes this cupcake over the top as far as I'm concerned. And if you don't know what it is, it's Italian Cream Cheese. Add a little powdered sugar and some vanilla and you have yourself a tasty filling for a cupcake!

Topped with shaved white chocolate

Just wanted to clarify that in case you thought it was mozzarella cheese. (my chocolate curls fell apart as I sprinkled them)

And all the people said,
"Dee-licious!"

Let The Tears Fall Where They May

We've had bad luck with our kids - they've all grown up. ~Christopher Morley

The days are short until I take my second born child to college. In some instances time has flown, and in others, I remember every single day that drug by at the pace of a snail. There has been no more challenging child than the sweet face you see below. I've lost my temper, my sanity and possibly my sanctification more times than I care to say. She has also brought more compassion, more sweetness and more light into our house than I can possibly share in this one post.

So, here's to you, Rebecca AKA Becca Lou, Becca, Bex...

you are more than ready to take on the world, or at least one little corner of South Texas.

Home ought to be our clearinghouse, the place from which we go forth lessoned and disciplined, and ready for life.  ~Kathleen Norris

Mocha-Filled Banana Cupcakes - Take 2

READ. INSTRUCTIONS. C-A-R-E-F-U-L-L-Y. 

Or, you will find yourself wasting time and money and food and...time!

I've been wanting to try a new cupcake recipe and this one was at the top of the list -- Mocha-Filled Banana Cupcakes. No one in my house is a big fan of mocha flavoring, so that's probably why it's taken me so long to get to them. I was in a baking mood yesterday, and my friend, Cody, was headed back to college so it seemed like the perfect time to make them as a going away gift.

Essentially you make two batters -- one banana and one mocha filling. About midway through I completely botched the recipe. I added all the liquids to the cream cheese/mocha filling instead of adding them to the flour mixture. And, there is no way to fix that except to remake everything. Of course I didn't have anymore bananas or cream cheese or buttermilk...grrrr....off to the store I go.

Now, my mother will be laughing at this next part, because in my lifetime I think I have thrown away literally thousands of pounds of bananas that ripened and didn't get eaten. Thousands. I'm not kidding. Several years ago someone (thank you, whoever you were) suggested that I freeze the bananas and use them in recipes later. Genius!! (Of course, now I have a freezer full of brown bananas. Well, not now, because they are all in the garbage from yesterday. See explanation above.) 

But, I digress. Out with the old and in with the new! Bananas, that is. The cupcakes were time-consuming even without the extra time to remake everything. And, they look really good and taste great as well. I'm not sure I would make them again based on that, but they have been made and I've got a dozen of them sitting on my counter if anyone wants to drop by.

The Bible for Practical Living

I've been studying the book of Proverbs for the last several weeks. The title of the study is "God's Answers for Today's Problems." I've always believed the Bible to be relevant to life today and not just an ancient history book so I believe that title to be true.

As I was reading in chapter 23 today, the assignment was to mark all the DO NOT'S in a particular section of verses. Now, if you know me, I do not like to be told what I can and cannot do. Even the words make me want to rebel! But this is Solomon, wise man, speaking (what God wanted him to say) so I figured I'd better hush up and listen.

As I marked each DO NOT, it came to my mind that our lives would be so much better if we would just fall in line with God's instructions. Me? I often think I have a better way. I really am a rebel at heart. I don't openly defy God's instructions. Or do I? This passage gave me pause today. What about you?

DO NOT'S from Proverbs 23:1-21:

• Do not weary yourself to gain wealth.
• Do not eat the bread of a selfish man or desire his delicacies.
• Do not speak in the hearing of a fool.
• Do not move the ancient boundary stone or go into the fields of the fatherless.
• Do not hold back discipline from the child. (Note: I like this one!) 
• Do not let your heart envy sinners. 
• Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine.

Thank you, Lord, that you can bring new truths from Your Word to us every single day.

First Day of School - Junior Year

And then there was one...one little baby bird still in the nest. Today marks the beginning of what I'm sure will be a wonderful year for Abigail. I wouldn't say she's a big fan of school as much as she is say...sleeping and watching TV? But, she is a good student and I am looking forward to what God has planned for her this year.

Her schedule: 

 English 3 AP

 Pre-Calculus

  Anatomy and Physiology

 Spanish 3 Honors

 U.S. History

Art 2

 Basketball

 Tennis

She's also a Junior class representative, which means we are going to have a very busy year going back and forth to Arlington. She will get her driver's license in February, so maybe she can start driving herself to school in the spring. I know, I know...what will I do then? Oh, I can think of a few things...

We Have A Permit

My final driver -- you have no idea how good that feels to say/type those words. Not only am I not a fan of teaching a teenager to drive, the process of getting a permit is enough to kill you. Those of you on Facebook will have come along with me on this journey as I have sarcastically posted of my dilemmas with our government agencies.

In case you are not on Facebook, here are some examples...


Post #1
My head may or may not have exploded today when the guy at the Social Security office told me my daughter's (original, stamped) birth certificate was not good enough proof of her identity to get a replacement card. Ladies and gentlemen, one of our fine government agencies at work! — 

Post #2
I am happy to report that we now have 10 of the 12 required items for Abigail's learner's permit. No, we can't use the RECEIPT for the social security card. It must be the ACTUAL CARD. Of course you can't. That would be too easy. Two more weeks... If I would have known it was going to be this difficult I would have started this process when she was 12.

Post #3
DMV -- we're going in. I have all 12 required items, 16 proofs of residence, a batch of cupcakes for bribery and a vial of blood (just in case). If I'm not out by noon, they don't get the cupcakes. 

Anyway, somehow I've managed to keep my sanity through the entire process and thanks to my smart girl, the written test has been passed and she has an official State of Texas driver's permit. Now on the to the scary part --> DRIVING!

Cupcookie Goodness

No, that title is not a typo. These delicious morsels are part cupcake and part cookie! Officially, they are chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes. Frozen balls of dough are placed in the cake batter before baking. Because they are frozen they don't bake, only warm a bit; hence, the ball of cookie dough in the center of each cupcake. I'm not a huge fan of eating raw cookie dough, but even I thought these were delicious...VERY RICH, but delicious.