XBox and Other Green Hair Bows

i suppose at some point maybe i should invest into making a bow board. i kind of have fun making these things, and my friend who got me into this talks about making one for herself often. THEN, i could attach all the previous ones i've made onto that instead of this loop of ribbon, and accessory i got from work! magic!!

how fun are these, right? that's me, making use of the fifty pounds of lanyards i have gathered over the last seven years. gamers unite!!

okay, i don't really know what that last one was about, but come on. how many places can you say that you have seen video game lanyard hair bows? not many, i bet. i know there are places that print special fabric and stuff on the internet, but that is kind of expensive. i choose the free alternative. we totally just got some today for bethesda (complete with elder scrolls online wreaths, and a couple other pins), and for wolfenstein. once everyone takes theirs, if they want them, i will probably bring the rest home to chop them all up. yay crafty!!

aside from that, i also made these for the wedding i will be in, in about a month. they are a pale green, with light green, light purple, and dark purple gemmies that i had. the theme is purple and green, and they were having trouble thinking of a piece so go with all of the purple, but still kept the green. at some point the fact that i was wearing one of my many bows came up, so i suggested, why not a hair bow for the party? it's little, still matches, win!

plus, i get to do more granny crafts. double win.

i actually made these first, and then started burning up all of the xbone lanyards. i wish playstation would send us more cool things, but they are too cool for that. they're all like, "free stuff?? yeah, well we are too busy being face meltingly awesome for that kind of stuff," and i'm like, "you're right!! i take it back!! don't leave me!!" i'll take what i can get. in the meantime, microsoft will have to do. i mean, i guess they got alan wake, and forza is pretty pretty.

aside from all the hot glue and glitter, i have more cupcakes to do for sunday for a communion. peanut butter and chocolate for the win. i have never catered a batch of filled cupcakes before, so this will be a first. i am hoping to have time to make these basil tea truffles as well. i have been thinking about them (and lots of other things) for some time now. it's like one big waiting game. ugh! is it time? almost, you just have 47 other things to do first, and when you are done with those, there will be 52 more! and after those? 36 things. it's like a vicious cycle.

dammit, i will make something for me even if it kills me!!!

and then someone else will have to enjoy it for my dead, lifeless body. sad face.

more mug cakey goodness! AND it's not entirely bad for you!! who knew there were things out there called healthy dessert blogs? okay, i did since, like i told you, i have been hunting for things that are better for you. SO...single serve chocolate cake....yes, i may have made it slightly worse by adding the teaspoon of peanut butter and fluff to the top (although it was still less than 250 calories, AND had protien from the greek yogurt), but who cares! that might be better than ice cream, anyway. i think it needed an extra 5-10 seconds, as it was a bit squishy, but who doesn't like to eat cake or cookie batter? yep, that's what i thought.

i am still dying for some samoa-like treat, and i found these handy dandy samoa truffles, and samoa fudge that i want to make, really really badly....! like, i keep ending up on pinterest and just staring at the pictures for a while. sigh. one of those things that "someday" i will accomplish. in the meantime, i am stuck doing everyone's biddings. although, i think i am good for a couple weeks after this unless something comes up last minute. hoping for a no, although i will probably accept anyway since i need the money. sigh, the troubles of being poor. it must be nice to be able to have one job with steady hours and to be able to afford things without having to worry.

#notreallysureifthatsfirstworldproblems #toopoortocare #haventpretendhashtaggedinawhile

alright. i suppose that's enough venting for me, before any readers out there get bored. not that i have any at this point. maybe 3. #thatsprobablyafirstworldproblem

i will just continue to hope things turn around soon enough. i'm getting real tired of some crap....and just tired in general. i am going to go dream about those truffles that i want to rub all over my face. probably both of the ones i mentioned. and some donuts.

thanks for reading! ☺

Finished Cake and Questions.....

well, here is the finished product.

strawberry vanilla swirl cake, with decorated rolled fondant, and air brushed gum paste flowers/mask. i put about 6 hours into this. i do not believe i even got a thank you. even after changing the theme last minute, to make me change my plans, and having to make more cake than originally asked for. i think it came out nice, but i am disappointed for putting the extra effort into this.

i have to rethink some things, namely i will most likely do some research on a set price to charge per serving. a lot of things, i guess, since i don't make anything from doing this for anyone. i mean, i want to help out and not be crazy expensive, usually as long as people thank me, appreciate my efforts and enjoy what they get i am happy. if people can't even utter a thanks, slam doors in faces and have nothing to say, it's not even worth the time and effort.

sigh. that's why i have all of that tea. and my son. well, all of the birds. i just feel like doing nothing but sitting around and reading or watching anime or something dumb. i need to not eat all kinds of bad things. i have totally been searching pinterest for granola bars, stuff with oatmeal, peanut butter, and stuff like that. i did not know that breakfast cookies existed until a couple days ago, and i want to try them.

speaking of anime and things, i tried that mug brownie again a few days ago. it came out better this time, as i microwaved it less. i still could have gone a little less, since the bottom was slightly crispy.

still delicious.

i wonder if they make healthy versions of things like this? or maybe i can make a ton of those breakfast cookies, and just eat them all day. that sounds good. at least it might be a little better for me.

then, i can put myself into a tea coma and be happy. maybe make some hair bows. that sounds good too.

on the list of things to do this week!

other things? i have no idea, other than work, and probably go for another walk on thursday. yay for trying to be good! (keyword there is trying, i will be making up for today all week. it was worth it though. i love food.)

i know, i know. i am posting this bird again. but...but.....DAT FACE!!!! ohhh i just wanna smoosh it all the time, but he won't let me. i have to trick him to pick him up or else he bites, but once i pick him up he is fine. i cannot resist his smooshable face. aahh!!

is it sad that the picture of the brownie and this face make me happier than putting that cake together right now? i don't think this has ever happened to me before. HAPPY THOUGHTS. gonna make some treats! gonna make some tea!! gonna read some books! gonna watch tv! cuz i got alll dayyy offff tomorrow!! when i will figure out what to do when i get there. i am sure i am not making any sense, but whatever. i will probably have more treats to report since i like to make things in my random free time. ooh, i have those basil tea truffles one of my waitresses found in the newspaper....project?! probably.

well, i am going to leave it at that for now. thanks for reading! leave me comments if you are feeling nice enough.

Lots of Tea.....Oh, And A Cake (Partially)

i seriously think this is the only thing that can keep me sane. or happy. or anything positive most of the time.

ohh i was feeling sad for a while. i was making a payment with my discover card, and looking through all of the things i could possibly use the cashback bonus for, and i found these "extras," which basically they give you free money to buy stuff....soooo i got free money for tea from adagio teas (. even better: while browsing the website, i got a pop up from adagio asking for my email for MORE free money. why the f*ck would i say no to free money for tea? so that happened. i got 7 different kinds of tea to add to my other 20-30 or so. zero f*cks given. happiness ensues.

things just kind of build up once in a while, and that seems to have happened now. so....for the next few days, around work, during work, etc, i am going to crack myself out on various teas, read manga, and do my best to try and forget all the stress, which for me, will be the ultimate challenge. i'm pretty sure i give myself stress pains ALL OVER the place, which is probably not a good thing. maybe it's because i'm so little that i can't contain the amount of stress i put myself through. or that i'm old. or ALL of those things. regardless, that is why i have tea.

look at all of this fun!! happy! yum! ♥♥♥☺♥♥♥

today i had the earl grey moonlight (which is like an earl grey cream), the cocomint (chocolate mint green tea), rooibos vanilla chai, and foxtrot (which is a peppermint vanilla chamomile). aaaahhhhh.  i am going to try the coconut and vanilla rooibos tomorrow. the vanilla rooibos, and even the coconut i was thinking of mixing together, or with the plain chamomile. i am excited. i hope it can keep me happy for a bit. i have to finish and deliver a cake tomorrow before work as well.

this is just the start, of course. i have my cakes covered, flowers and mask made, i just have to color and decorate tomorrow. it is to be a masquerade theme, if you can't tell by the mask. it will be more exciting tomorrow, i promise.

supposedly i have some cupcakes to make next week, but i haven't gotten all the details yet....i am getting a little worried on time. why i ask for a few weeks in advance- so i can prepare properly (and make sure i have enough money to prepare).

aside from that, hopefully i have a free day soon, i have been waiting to make some hair bows! i have some for the wedding i will be in, and i also just want to make all of my game lanyard ones. i feel like i have been waiting a few weeks now, and while i like making cakes and stuff, things keep coming up. maybe it's a spring thing. i want summer. or at least a day off during summer, when i will still drink tea anyway. got to keep the happy juice flowing.

and now, just for fun, it's my soooonnnn. he had some green tea with me and was so happy. he is the best ever. you know what else is good? top gear. not the 'murican one, but the british top gear. oh my god, they were just racing a caravan (aka: suv with one of those little campers hitched to the back) around the test track for the fastest time, and the trailer lost a wheel....and they still finished the lap. the second one? flipped the trailer. oohhh my goodness. if only i hadn't had four cups of tea today, that would make my life complete. i am pretty sure jeremy clarkson, richard hammond, and james may are my heroes, and i wish the stig would drive my car.

oh man. good times. goooood tiiiimes. alright, that is going to end my rant tonight. i will post cake pictures tomorrow, or sometime in the next few days. thanks for reading!

Bridal Shower Cupcake Cake (Final)

 just wanted to post a quick update on the lemon raspberry cupcakes. they turned out to be a pretty good hit! everyone seemed to like them, and a few people even had two! this was how it was set up. idea courtesy of pinterest, of course. if you can't tell, it's supposed to be like a dress!

 

the liner and the butterflies, i just took a picture of (with all the glitter) because it looked neat. they were little cutouts all over the tables, and the glitter was from some other things that were on the tables. they had candy. i had to touch them, and then eat the candy. i probably didn't need it, and will have to go on another 12 mile walk to burn all that off.

regardless, i am glad everything went okay! i am still looking for another lemon cake/cupcake recipe, and have one i want to try, but worse comes to worse, i can make these again, since they went over well.

that is all i have for today. i have to work a whole bunch more, then get another bridal shower cake ready for next weekend, which is now a masquerade theme? we will see how that goes. of course there are all sorts of other things i want to, and possibly will, make. inner fat kid is raging hard. he is probably mad because of that walk. whatever. the greek yogurt makes me feel less bad about eating everything. hope to have more to post soon! thanks for reading!

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes

someday i will conquer lemon cupcakes.

nice, fluffy lemony delightfulness. these guys are more like a pound cake. i hope they taste good to everyone else. i thought they were pretty good. the raspberry frosting has a nice little kick to it. tried them separately, of course, not together. i like the way they came out. little flowers. now all that is left is to set them up tomorrow morning. here is the link for the recipe, anyway. i didn't use the frosting, just because i needed a raspberry flavor, so i made a basic buttercream and, in place of the vanilla, used raspberry extract.

sigh. i guess i thought i had a little more to say tonight, but i am coming up at a loss. i went for a 6 mile walk on thursday with a friend. then we realized we had to walk back. yes, thats right. 12 miles in like 3 hours and 20 minutes or something like that. just my left foot hurts. not even sure why, even being just the left one. i suppose that's what i get though.it was fun. i need to get out more. we saw snakes. this one was kind of mad that we picked him up. the others didn't really care. if only they would stay that small so i could have one that wouldn't eat my birds.

speaking of birds, i've become pretty good lately at taking bad photos of my birds, kind of like bad photos of people, when they yawn, blink, etc. here's the latest:

errrrr meh gerd he is so special, i just wanna squeeze that fat face. yawning or not. i spent the afternoon, after frosting the cupcakes, sitting on the floor stretching next to him. i love when he takes his afternoon naps, since he snuggles in his ring like this. cosmo will sleep in his coconut shell sometimes, but every time i see fat face here, he is always cuddling with this ring. i suppose i will never understand why.

birds.

or i'm sure you're thinking: crazy bird lady.

well, i will post pictures of them when they are set up. maybe i will have more to talk about next time. next week i will have a cake of some sort to post. as long as the theme stays the same. thanks for reading!

Vanilla Caramel Pistachio Cupcakes ☺

just think about that title for a minute. vanilla. caramel. pistachio. woah.

i am getting a feeling that lemon cupcakes aren't really a strong point for me. every time i make them they come out really dense. they are delicious, the ones i made today are like big squishy lemon bars (i haven't frosted them yet so no pictures for you) which is a good thing, but it doesn't make me think cupcake. i will just have to hunt the internet for more recipes, and try them. i have a few weeks until the wedding to get this right. more right? right-er? better? something like that. i hope these first ones are enjoyed by everyone anyway.

so anyway, to make things a little better, i made these pistachio cupcakes today, too. i've had this pudding sitting in my cabinet for a while now, trying to figure out something to do with it other than make it, since i won't eat that kind of pudding. cake was an option. then i found these cupcakes. that was a few months ago. nooow i'm just getting around to making them. of course, there are a lot of things i can say that about, not even just food.

the vanilla and caramel idea? i seriously googled "what flavors pair with pistachio" and looked through a couple pages, i think i found this combination on another little home bakery page. i don't think those were filled though. i made that part up. a few of these cupcakes even have some sea salt on them, so they're vanilla salted caramel pistachio cupcakes. oh. em. gee.

the made up filling doesn't have the salt in it, i just felt like a little on the top would be a nice touch. i haven't even tried them yet, i am so full of food from lunch, all i could do was look at them when i frosted them. i need a picture of their delightful inner glory, which is a combination of cream cheese, a little of the vanilla buttercream, and some of the leftover home made caramel sauce from my macarons that i made.

tomorrow. breakfast? maybe. i don't know yet. i might go for a walk if it's not raining, so i suppose it wouldn't be all that terrible. i can't even think about food right now. ugh. stupid pizza being so delicious. see this image.

and then look at these cupcakes some more. i think they came out really pretty, on top of everything else. i wish i had more time to dedicate to being fancy. these make me want to make more cupcakes and be all fancy some more. i don't know what to do next though. i still want to make those caramel cheesecake bars.....mmm,,,,

alright. that's all i got for now. when i break into one of these tomorrow i will post that, not to mention the lemon raspberry cupcakes. i will defeat them. YOU HEAR ME?!? DEFEAT YOUUU!!

thanks for reading!

Quick Update, More Later This Week

yes, i know it's been a while since i've posted anything. working random hours sometimes kills any time you have to do anything, and anything aside from work sometimes takes whatever time you have left over. i don't really know what i've been doing that is taking all my time, other than trying to work all the hours.

don't worry though. i have a couple weekends in a row that i will have some fun things to share, starting with cupcakes this weekend! in the mean time, enjoy this picture of these oatmeal cookies i made (again) as a bribe for a good review at work-i mean.....i love cookies! ♥♥♥

i did make a batch of chocolate chip cookies as well, but they are long gone. i have too many bad things to eat at my house, and i just keep making more. it's that inner fat kid calling out to me: "i'm bored with these cookies. make some cupcakes! cupcakes? bored- eat that box of peeps on the counter. not feeling it....ice cream day!" it's a vicious cycle. that's why i try to eat things that are good for me. try.

the cupcakes i am making for this weekend are for a bridal shower, and the cake for next weekend is another bridal shower. just having this realization now. i don't pay much attention to what i am doing until it's time. so right now, or at least tomorrow and the next couple days, it's cupcakes. lemon cupcakes with raspberry frosting. yay! i will post recipes/links later when i have some pictures.

in the mean time, i am a personal bird jungle gym.

look at mr. sneaky face. he got to sit with me last night while i watched a movie. d'awwww. dat face. ♥

today, it is cosmo. oh, hes such a pain in the ass. spoiled. he has been attached to me all morning long. i have to leave for work in a few minutes though, so that is gonna change. i don't know if i had mentioned he likes to rub his face on everything, but he likes to rub his face on everything. he was doing that to my face/eye. i have no idea. he's dumb.

well, i suppose for now, i will leave it at that. i will be back with more pictures of some yummy treats! thanks for reading!