Holy Holidays, Batman!

let me just say. i don't know if its the lack of payroll, (actually, that's probably it) or all the extra people, but daaamn. i'm just glad i haven't encountered any angry people yet. you know, the ones who are like, "why are you sold out of "blahblahblah" the day i need it when i could have purchased it weeks ago?!" well, because f#ck you, that's why.

#endrant #kindof

see, assface here has the right idea. this is kind of what i want to do: lay around, be in the sun and be warm. ideal situation. that is for another time though.

i don't really have much this week. i went and purchased my supplies for my cookies, so i will be starting those over the next two weeks. trying not to go overboard this year, i have only chosen 5 treats to make: a couple classics- chocolate chip and halfmoons, and something new- amaretto fudge, peppermint macarons, and chocolate caramel italian butter cookies (which i tried while in virginia beach, and i am hoping the ones i make do not disappoint me. i have been dying for them since october.) if i get the time i might make some gingerbread just for home or whatever, since, for the last 8 years, i have said i want to make it and never do.

i also have to come up with stuff for a couple christmas parties. i have not decided on those yet, but it will be something easy, no doubt. probably mini, too, because mini is the best.

oh, to be a cat and be lazy all day. or a bird. i could be a noisy asshole, technically the cats are noisy assholes, too.

i am just filling space, today. once in a while i get in these moods where i don't feel like doing anything. i know i should do something, but i just don't wanna. maybe i'll snap out of it before work or something. WHO. KNOWS. ☺

anyway, thanks for checking back, and hope you are looking forward to holiday treats as much as i am! thanks for reading! have a great weekend!

As Promised- More Recipes (and Pictures)

alright, just two pictures i guess. it has been a tiring week, or time, or something like that. (hence why this is a day late.)

the pumpkin roll comes from nestle and libby's. it is pretty easy to make, and smells really good coming out of the oven. i've mentioned before, i am not the biggest fan of pumpkin, but from what i hear, it's quite tasty. ☺

i love the way it looks when it's all completed. swirls are pretty great. just saying.

so is cream cheese. speaking of cream cheese, i need to make a cheesecake. i dont know when, but soon. soooon.

the blueberry apple crisp came from one of my taste of home books. have i ever mentioned that i like to collect these? i mean, i don't buy every single one of them, but i typically look through them when i go shopping. i have a nice little stack, and the huge fall baking one (which is where this recipe came from).

this one is also super easy, as you pretty much dump all of the fruit and a few spices in a bowl, mix it up, then make the "crisp," mix that up, and sprinkle it on top. bam. easy as pie is how it works....or crisp.....ba-dum-tssss.

this also smelled quite delightful upon exiting the oven. i love cinnamon and fall smells. cinnamon is like a warm hug for your nose. or in general.

just go look at the recipes. pay no mind to my sensless rambling.

only a few more weeks of retail nightmares and busy-ness to live through. i am tired. enjoy these pictures. we'll see if i am in any way productive soon.

christmas cookies soon, too, so tired or not, there will be more treats in a couple weeks.

have a good weekend, all! thanks for reading!

Happy Friendsgiving!

come one, come all, to the most magical time of the year!

or, something like that. i'm not sure about magical. i mean, i do believe that glitter and lights are magic in their own way, and there's that good ol' holiday spirit and all, but when it comes to people.....ehh, let's not get into people. food is it's own level of magic on its own.

fireworks are good. that's how i feel about food.  also sleep. we had fireworks at work on saturday night to, uh, "kick off" the holiday season? something like that. my other employee and i thought we were about to be shot. they were quite loud, and across the parking lot. it was nice though, even for being cold.

anyway, holy crap! not only has it been busy at work with black friday and all, but i managed to plan a whole thanksgiving meal around it! i actually had today off, so i woke up around 9:30a and started cooking/baking. to be honest, i was able to prep some things on wednesday, too, which saved some time.

i started the morning with this chocolate truffle pie from allrecipes. let me say, this pie is quite easy to make, (especially when cheating with a pre made pie crust....i needed to save money, buying this one was cheaper than buying a whole box of graham crackers and butter), and insanely delicious. it is hardcore chocolate, though, so for those who do not like rich, probably get away and leave the rest for me. if i wasn't so full of food, i probably would have eaten more pie.

anyway, it needed at least 8 hours in the fridge, so hence why it was first on the list! let me reiterate- it is totally worth the wait. just saying.

next up, i prepped my potatoes. i made these slow cooker mashed potatoes. also easy! i did forget to put the chicken stock in at the beginning, but i just added some extra milk and spices at the end. they turned out pretty good, too! the added greek yogurt (or sour cream) gave them a good flavor!

i made cornbread on wednesday and froze it, so i took that out to thaw. then, it was time for the blueberry apple crisp! i got that from taste of home. i think i might share the recipes for the desserts (other than the truffle pie) for next post, so i have something to write about! ☺

while that was going, it was time to prep the turkey! butter. butter, and more butter all over the place.  i stuffed it with apples and oranges, and then put some apple cider and chicken stock over top of it, and in the pan. i totally got sprayed with turkey juice while prepping. there was this plastic thing holding the legs together, and when i pulled it off, salmonella in the face. yep. at least i needed to shower, anyway. it was inevitable.

i am actually amazed at how clean i was able to keep my kitchen. i think i ran the dishwasher 3 times in the last 24 hours, but whatever. its weird, i grew up without one, but now that i've had one for a few years, i don't think i could live without it. it makes things so much easier sometimes.

anyway, heather was in town, so she stopped up for a bit to see the kitties. they're doing okay. wolverine is still kind of an asshole, and hiccup is....well, curious. all the time. he and cosmo had a few stare downs today, since cosmo didn't want to stay in his house. i'm pretty sure he was trying to show them who's boss.

(of course, i supervise them all, for anyone questioning my sanity. cosmo is about the same size as them, and he is an asshole. gizmo is afraid of him and he is 5 times the size of the bird. also, i would not let cosmo bite the cats. they mostly run away from him when he moves too quick.)

so yeah, i had a little down time after i got the turkey in the oven, so we just relaxed for a bit, until she left. i cleaned, showered, and then had to finish the veggies and stuffing!

i prepped and toasted my bread for the stuffing on wednesday. i probably should have covered it, but it came out pretty tasty anyway, either that or i needed more broth. i am not complaining though. it is another recipe from allrecipes for bread and celery stuffing.

i was frying onions and celery alongside a pan of brown sugar and butter for these cinnamon glazed carrots, as well. multitasking like a boss. carrots go well with sweet, i think. i made a honey glazed carrot recipe or something another time. or i might have made it up. but carrots and sweet are awesome in my book.

once all that was under way, i baked my croissants (courtesy of wegmans for 99 cents), warmed the peas and corn, pulled cranberry sauce, the turkey, and the pumpkin roll. ron made the gravy while i set the table, kind of. we don't have a big table to sit at, so it was basically a table full of food, and we sat in the living room.

ta daaa! yes, it was a lot of food for three people, but i love leftovers. i will have lunch for a good week or so here. maybe it will even make me gain a couple pounds. not that i am aiming for that, but i am sure there will be days (like friday) where i won't get to eat, so it will make up for it. not that that's healthy at all, but working in retail where you only have single person coverage most of the time, that will happen.

anyway.....and then we have the dessert spread! (aka: the best part, in my book. even if i don't eat most of it.)

this chocolate pie. oh my goodness. have i mentioned i would have eaten the whole thing if i wasn't so full? for serious. i am glad i chose the regular graham cracker crust. the recipe calls for chocolate cookie crust, which would probably have been delicious, too, but that is like hard core, "bad day" chocolate fix. kind of like my "i am going to eat pizza and brownies until i can't stand anymore" a couple weeks ago. and for that, i will keep this pie in mind. i bet i can half it. i wonder if it freezes well.....i wouldn't have to half it, but just make a bunch of small ones, wrap them, freeze, and then defrost for instant bad day relief down the road.

just for the record, that is apple cider in a wine glass.

kristen came over for dinner, which is the original plan behind friendsgiving. her mom passed away last year around this time (see previous november post- i charcoaled a picture of her and mom together last year), and it was her mom's favorite holiday, but she had to work all day pretty much. we were talking and she suggested having a late thanksgiving because she would miss it, and wanted to for mom. here we are!

so the three of us (ron, kris and i) sat in my living room and watched "home," and then played some diablo to finish out the night. because diablo. also, i just scored this sweet purple chrome controller from work that someone traded in. i am obsessed with purple.

anyway, stay tuned for the pumpkin roll and apple crisp recipes, and probably a couple more pictures on wednesday. hope your holidays were nice, and get prepared for the next. have a good week, all! thanks for reading! ☺

We Got Death Star!

(emperor) it's not the east or the west side...

(vader) NO ITS NOT.

(emperor) it's not the north or the south side....

(vader) NO ITS NOT!

(emperor) it's the DARK SIDE.

(vader) you are correct.

(emperor)  keep frontin' the empire, to all you vader haters out there...we'll blow your planet up!

yep. for those who don't know, you need to go to the google and search for "star wars gangsta rap." that was a portion of my childhood. i mean, star wars was anyways, but once the internet introduced me to newgrounds and things, it was over. but enough about that. i am pretty sure this is one of my top 5 favorite cakes.

if you recall my last post, this was a four layer cake. there's a cake board in the middle, and a couple "dowels" (aka straws) to support it. it actually only took about 4 hours, i think. i never keep track of time for things like this, except for the grand theft auto cake, cuz that one was about 8 hours of painting.

so this was a result of two birthdays and a midnight release for star wars battlefront. it went over pretty well, i think. i made them pose with their treat, and then we had a work group photo.

we even had a guest appearance by darth vader! i am glad someone wanted to have fun and came out dressed up. SHE even bought the darth vader edition ps4! it was pretty spectacular.

 i guess we have one more midnight on november 30th for just cause and rainbow six, but it will probably be a small one. the last few were decent, but not as big as past midnighs. a lot of people come out at the last minute, but that just means they miss out on the fun and snacks.

as much as i dont like days off, i will be glad to sleep a little bit the next two days. it has been busy, but the next few weeks will be no exception with the holidays coming up. it has been tough to keep up on everything, but it will work out in the end. despite having some new people, i think we have a good team going, and it feels nice to be appreciated and recognized for the things i do. #goodvibes #goodtimes

anyway, i guess i am going to leave it here for now. may the force be with you! happy week, all!

Preparing for the Week

well, we have another midnight event for tomorrow night. ive been working on this the last couple days in my free time.

some call me...darth baker.....

okay, not really, but to get into the spirit of things, it is for star wars battlefront!

on a side note, there is a shirt on the internet that actually says something like that. which i feel like i need. especially since ive been so grumpy at work. my favorite phrase the last few days has been, "this place is made of nightmares."

for serious. i shouldn't have two days off in a row, ever. unless i request it.

to top it off, though, ron has gone to see his brother in pennsylvania for the weekend. i dropped him off to his dad on saturday morning. my apartment has been a sad, lonely place. at least work, the cake, and having a movie marathon has helped a little to keep me busy, but its still no fun being alone.

yes, ive been bored, so snapchat has been my story time. er, something like that. let the memes ensue. er, something. it is just a basic yellow cake with chocolate frosting this time around. it is both my boss's birthday and our sony rep's birthday for star wars weekend, so i thought i would make something to stick with the theme.

i bet you can't guess what it is. i mean, i think i told a bunch of people, except for sony kris, so it's a surprise for someone.

it has progressed further than this, i've got it covered in fondant in my oven, and am going to paint the details on tomorrow between my split shift. i am happy with the results thus far. i hope everyone else likes it!

i've got some cake scraps and frosting left over, i might experiment with cake pops with that if i have any time this week. either that, or eat it with a spoon. i seriously need to eat better. i feel so crappy lately since my bad day last week when i tried to solve life's problems with pizza and brownies. were the consequences worth it? probably. definitely at the time. now, it's kind of like an 80% yes.

so, my movie marathon.....

it started with spaceballs. have i ever mentioned this is one of my favorite movies of all time? probably not, since i usually don't talk movies too much on here. mel brooks is my hero, and i wish i could adopt him. doesn't matter if he's older than i am. i would still adopt him so we could hang out all the time, and he could write a movie about me and my job.

i also need a spaceballs the flame thrower. because fire. by the way, i didn't notice until now, but look at all their expressions. pictures. haha.

i went to sleep to happy feet last night. today i watched robin hood: men in tights, anger management (because for some reason at work, i keep thinking of the song, "i feel pretty." no idea why. i'll get back to you on that one), and now wall-e is on. i do have to go to sleep, since i have to work tomorrow. i will show completed pictures of the cake later this week. in the mean time, have a good week, and i'll be waiting for tomorrow for the husband to get home. i miss him lots, and don't want to be apart anymore.

thanks for reading! come back soon! ☺

long weeek- midnight pics and cookies

picture show time!

seriously. i feel like i have been so busy, and not sleeping, and busy, and things. the last week has been a blur, and this is only the beginning of the season.

because no call of duty launch is complete without mountain dew and doritos. oh, and pizza. because pizza.

we had a mini tournament, and by the end of the night, people had wrapped around the back of the store. it was a little smaller than normal call of duty launches, but i think it went pretty good. i kind of feel like people are getting bored, or something. i mean, it is the 13th game in the series. or people are going digital. or something.

this one was thursday night. had a rough nigh on saturday, i think, that for some reason i couldnt sleep, so by 4:30 am i gave up, woke up and got some water, and read a book for an hour. i finished the cookies for fallout on monday between work. monday was a bad day. it was a pizza and brownies kind of day, for serious. bad to the point where my toe is bruised from going in to rage mode, followed by meltdown mode. when you are tired, hungry, stuck at work for an extra 3 hours when you have other things to do because nothing works, yeah. it's about time for pizza and brownies.

anyway, here are some more cookies, and my vault boy standee!

dont mind me. i was tired as hell. i still am. #terribletiredselfie

arent these great though? i mean, sure, vault boy looks a little derpy, but i was in a rush to finish them. i think they came out okay. everyone enjoyed biting his head off. for the logos, i actually cut them out of thick paper with a box cutter (if i had an exacto knife i would use that), and used spray color (silver pearl) on a dried sugar cookie icing.

speaking of removing heads, or something like that, my standee doubled as a face-in-the-hole prop.

i got a couple people to pose with him, but most people didnt really care much. people in this area are way so not fun. at the mall store i worked at, they would have loved it and been screaming and crazy and everything. it's probably because everyone around here are rich and stuff.

the guy on the left was one of my regulars at the mall, and the right is my boss. at least a few people were willing to have fun. i did a little trivia contest, too, and gave out some prizes. only a few people participated in that, but this kid basically wiped the floor with everyone and won fallout.

aside from big game releases, we have had to re arrange everything....again. we are getting our seasonal product so it is hard to find places to put things. we also have no payroll to have anyone come in. its pretty great, and extremely tiring.

i have a cake to make next week, too, for the next midnight sale: star wars! and yes, it will be a star wars themed cake.

by the way, do you see this dumb face? i want to smoosh it. i was sending my mom pictures of my foot and threw this in there to confuse her. seriously, my big toe is all swollen and discolored. isnt that neat? im sure you all wanted to hear that, but i like to share what's going on once in a while. :o

ron is going away this weekend to see his brother in pa, so i will be all alone most of the weekend. it kind of sucks, i dont really wanna be alone. i am working some, but i think my mom and kris are coming out for a bit on saturday and sunday. i have my cake to work on, too. if i can, i will probably start it tomorrow. i want to make sure i have plenty of time to get it done and make it awesome, i only have to please all the star wars fans coming to my midnight, and it's my sony rep's birthday. and my boss's birthday. so yeah. #challengeaccepted

so yeah. i got to finish my poster for the door, make up some trivia and stuff for the midnight, also. we'll see how that goes i guess. i will leave it at that for now. may or may not post sunday, i probably won't have anything done, and i dont want to give it away before hand, since i didnt tell my sony rep what kind of cake im making. so, have a good weekend, all, and i should be back next wednesday! thanks for reading! :)

Mini Pies and Artsy Things

since it's the first thing i listed, we are starting with pie. there is nothing wrong with starting with pie.

i know how against anything pumpkin i am, but i bought a can and made mini pies with it anyway. more of a request from the husband, but that's okay. it smells good. it has that going for it. but that is probably due to the cinnamon and nutmeg and such with all the fall flavors. no complaints from me.

so, i have no idea how these taste, but i am hoping they came out alright. i got the recipe from sally's baking addiction for the great pumpkin pie. of course, the recipe is for a whole pie, but if you cut the baking time and keep an eye on them, they work out well. i had enough left over for a tiny ramekin, and made a gluten free pie crust with almond meal which i am going to bring to work for a friend.

i have cookie dough in the freezer to make sugar cookies for the next couple of midnight sales. i also made a potato soup along with the pies, which i got from gimme some oven. it was pretty easy, and ready within an hour.

i would say, "perfect for a fall day," but it was quite literally 70 degrees out today.

no complaints about that, either.

delicious, none the less, especially with those roasted vegetable ritz crackers. yum! ♥♥♥

it has been a really weird few days, with work and everything. it was nice to be home and do other things, even if some were partially work related.

i am going to make a photo booth for a new game coming out on monday night, so i have some cardboard that is taller than me, and am painting vault boy for the masses. i should have some pictures by then of both midnight sales. speaking of which, i have to look up some trivia questions for my contest. THEN....star wars is the week after that! the video game, anyway. i got a birthday/event cake to fulfill for that one, too.

super fun!

anyway, i will leave it off with a couple of pictures of some other crafts i've been up to. or, one, anyway. i actually started it on our anniversary weekend, since it was my gift, but i broke my needle so i was unable to finish it that weekend. i made a book! i actually took a class for book art in school, which was pretty fun. unfortunately, i don't have any of my walkthroughs or how-to's here, but theres an internet for that.

there are several different techniques for binding, but i chose something simple, and bound a whole ream of fancy paper into it. i mean, it was only 50 sheets, but meh. beach themed book, and he decided we will make it a photo album. have i ever mentioned how i miss doing art stuff?

have a good weekend, all, and don't forget to stop by the midnights if you're in the area! thanks for reading! ☺