The Cake is (NOT) a Lie

in fact, it has quite the presence.

oh my goodness, i had no idea what i was getting myself into. not because it was troublesome, or was a lot of work. i mean, it was some work, there were quite a few steps. no. once assembled, and not even completely assembled, this cake is massive in its own right.

like, i almost think it could be a small continent or something if it were any bigger.

seriously, though, i cant wait to eat it tomorrow and commence the most intense sugar coma i've ever had. which, aside from the wegman's ultimate chocolate cake coma about two weeks ago, will be the second ever. is it wrong that i am super excited for this?

yes, yes. maybe my photos are not the fanciest. i work with what i have...which is a tiny apartment kitchen with one overhead light. sometimes there is enough light from my tiny windows to take a fancy picture with the outdoors.

see what i mean?? now picture standing next to it, in front of it, whatever. i am pretty sure it is taller than the diameter of the cake its self (which, coincidentally, is an 8" round cake).  i am still trying to determine if i made the mousse wrong. the peanut butter mousse i usually make for the cupcakes and stuff, is usually really creamy and fluffy, and spreadable. this came out more like a paste. i could have molded it into shapes if i wanted. it tastes delicious. maybe it needs to be the thicker consistency for the type of cake this is? i have no idea. i am not going to complain.

gaze upon the glory of heaven and hell. you know you want to touch it. with your mouth.

devils food cake. angel food cake. that peanut butter filling (calling it filling now since i don't really think it's a mousse). dark chocolate ganache. holy crap. i might die tomorrow.

happy birthday to me, and to my dad. this one is for you!

aside from attempted death by chocolate (etc), i am celebrating my own personal fat kid day by going to the cheesecake factory. yes, it is excessive. that will probably top the whole day off. the end. no more blogging for me because sugar is going to consume me.

in my defense, i think i deserve it once a year.

in other news, on monday i had to bring my son to the vet. he has been all squinty for the past few days in his left eye. they seem to think he may have allergies, since this happened around the same time of the year a couple years ago. i have the meds for him in case it gets worse, or if i need them in the future.

he is the best. i was worried that he would bite the doctor since he is so touchy with everyone else, but he didn't. he got me once because i was holding him while she checked him out, but he was nervous, so it happens. aside from him being squinty, he is actually pretty healthy! a little fat, but he can't really fly so that is understandable. (he is out all the time, but since his stroke, he can't do too much moving around. he can't grip too well, or flap for that matter.)

regardless, i am glad he is doing well, even if he is still squinty. i just have to keep an eye on him for now.

sigh. well last but not least, i will leave you with this recipe for lemon blueberry bread .  i made mine a little different, i added some red and black raspberries, and topped it with a quick cream cheese icing.

it came out kind of pretty. i like the colors of everything. the raspberries kind of had a bunch of seeds in them, and it threw me off a bit when i tried a piece, but otherwise it was pretty good. nice and squishy. the icing is not too sweet, but just enough to counter the tart of the fruits. breakfast!

i can't wait to make blueberry muffins. i don't know if i said that or not in the last post. i still have a small army of strawberry muffins in my freezer that i have started eating, but i think aside from chocolate chip muffins, blueberry are one of my top favorites. with the brown sugar streusel to top them off? hell yes. and to think i found a donut variation of said muffins?! i will have the best breakfast for weeks. the blueberries make it okay. maybe i'll use some whole wheat flour or coconut oil. i actually have some greek yogurt to use in stuff too. power breakfast!! wooo!

so for now, i will leave you with that. i would like to start making this a bi-weekly and consistent thing, since i have absolutely none of that going on right now. i am thinking sundays and wednesdays, since those are the easiest days to not go to bed late....even though that's what i end up doing anyway, like right now. 11:49pm? yep. i should go to bed, i have to pay bills early tomorrow before i go do anything fun. you can't escape bills even on your birthday. thanks for reading! ☺

Cookies for a Cause

hello, hello! it's been a while!

again.

i know, i know. i am slacktacular. i have a few things to share this week though! most likely more later this week!

so....did you know that summer is really kind of a bad time to make sugar cookies? or, i would imagine, any kind of cookie that requires refrigeration and rolling out? humidity is terrible to that kind of thing. being impatient and in a rush doesn't exactly help either.

i have had these planned for a while now, but when things come up last minute, it kind of makes time a little less available, unless i decide to not sleep. that is not really an option for me, since sleep and i are bff's.

eventually, i spent a couple days making these cookies for a friend's mom's benefit. she was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and has been fighting for the last couple of months. the chemo treatments have been helping somewhat in their own ways, so that is a bit of good news.

of course, the situation like that is never a good one, but best to make light of a dark situation. i am all too familiar with something like this, even if it was quite a few years ago.

the whole benefit went over pretty well though, there were a lot of people, lots of food, and there were fifty something gift baskets that were given away all for a good cause. i am glad to have been a part of the day.

the cookies all went, too! (there were about five dozen).

well, that aside, i went on a little adventure toward the end of last week as well. i am now the proud owner of half my weight (exaggeration) in blueberries, red raspberries, and black raspberries. they are mostly in my freezer for the time being, but it will be worth it in the long run.

i have to find something to make with all of them. i am feeling some muffins are definitely in order. i found some blueberry donuts on pinterest to make. was also thinking of some quick breads. fruit makes me think of breakfast usually. the raspberries could go nice with some chocolate though. or maybe a pie.

i have at least one other plan before that, though. or maybe at the same time.

have you ever heard of this magnificent stack of sugar-coma-worthy glory?

i know the text is small, but just in case you can't see it, this would be a heaven and hell cake.

let me elaborate: a layer of devils food cake, topped with peanut butter mousse, topped with a layer of angel food cake, more peanut butter mousse, repeat the first three, and then ice with chocolate ganache.

i can almost feel my face buzzing from the sugar just thinking about it. i can not wait, and i hope it turns out to be everything i have ever dreamed of.

yes, i plan on going to national cheesecake day at the cheesecake factory. yes, i plan on making this and eating it, too. i have a perfectly good excuse.

birthdays only come once a year, and it's a special holiday only for me, so imma be a super fat kid. not to mention, i believe i mentioned in my last post about my dad's passing about ten years ago...well, his birthday is my birthday, and i am pretty sure that is where my raging inner fat kid comes from, so the super cake i am making is somewhat in that memory.

i feel like this july has been a lot of sad for some reason. i mean, i have had happy days too, but i find lately i always find something is a little sad, and to make up for it i eat cookies and cake and all sorts of bad things. i really shouldn't do that. maybe i'll start running or something. or die trying. that would be a pretty good laugh, considering i am in no shape at all to run anywhere to save my life.

wegmans has so many good things to eat too! mini halfmoons? totally happened. ultimate chocolate cake? best $3 i have ever spent. could i make all of this at home? probably, but when you work all sorts of random hours between two jobs, it gets difficult to find the time, and it is so much easier to grab something quick and just eat it in like 5 minutes. not even caring. completely delicous. where was i going with all of this again? see how much happier things are with cake and cookies?

cosmo sitting with me while i blog. he is an ass.

 and birthdays! i can say i am excited for cheesecake factory. i mean, the day before is national cheesecake day, the best holiday ever (and should be a day off for everyone), and they usually extend it to the day before or after, which means national cheesecake day is celebrated on my birthday. i am 110% okay with that. it doesn't take much to make me happy. just sit me down with some of my favorite foods and we can be best friends for life.

that, and maybe some new socks would be nice. or this white chocolate coconut cream pie that is in my chocolate lovers book. that would be nice. BUT, i treated myself earlier in the month, not to mention cheesecake factory and my cake. i can't really think of anything else i need immediately. (hint hint). i am the cheap date all over the place, and fend for myself if i ever want anything more.

on a closing note...those sugar cookies i made? i made a few christmas ones, somewhat as a joke. i was talking to my boss about making cookies for the benefit, and when i mentioned "sugar cookies," he asked if i was talking about "christmas cookies (with all the sprinkles and frosting)." well, yes, essentially they are one and the same. so, christmas in july happened! good times. goooood tiiiiimes. i didn't really have christmas sprinkles, but i had some pink diva sprinkles. close enough, right?

well, it is now late officially. birds are in bed, i have to call around for my son in the morning (his left eye has been squinty the past couple of days, and i would like to get him to the vet sometime this week to get checked out). i need to go to bed. i hope to have more epic treats to share with you soon. thanks for reading!

July Things

wow....okay so i have been slacking on here for a while now. i almost can't believe that i haven't posted anything for the month of july, and it's half way over. booooooo.

i mean, i haven't really been baking or doing too much. it's been warm. i've been working a lot. i can't really say too much otherwise.

i did, however, get re-promoted to assistant manager at one work, so that's something i guess....and also will be used as my excuse for not doing anything fun because i really do work all the time. i am okay with that, though. i like to work. i feel completely useless if i am not working or doing something productive.

yes, bayside stole my heart that day.

i haven't entirely been up to nothing, though. i might have had a fun day, might have had a sad day, might have had a painting day in the last two weeks. so all around, i've been on this emotional rollercoaster (but when am i not? i feel like mixed feels is kind of the thing to do for me now days. you know how when little kids color, and they get really excited, and just end up hardcore scribbling all over the piece of paper they are coloring, and the end result is like a clusterfuck of lines all over? that is my mind on a daily basis. no idea where it starts or ends, and is just a jumble all over the place.).

on to some better things.....got a picture from the fun day....gonna skip the sad day because i already had a girl-fest-cry-day-(2 hours?), complete with pizza rolls and ice cream and chocolate (although i think i deserve that once a year. i had a good reason, for those not on my facebook, my dad passed away 10 years ago, he had brain cancer). so now the painting day....

lets see some pictures!

this is the finished product! i painted a friend's wall for her soon to arrive son, who they named jett. so the plane theme is pretty fitting and cute. she found the idea on pinterest (because everybody loves pinterest), but it had a different name (of course). i photoshopped a few font types, played around a bit, and went to work.

i started out just with a pencil and an eraser.....and a ruler and level. i had the image on my phone for a reference. the letter J was about 18" tall, and about 12" wide. the planes wings are about 10" long.

i used acrylic paints and put a clear gloss varnish on top to keep it from fading and whatnot. (which is why in the first picture it is very shiny along the top of the J.)

i think she was pretty happy with it. they are excited i think to have everything done and ready for their son to arrive! i am glad i could help out and bring something unique to the mix.

hmmm. now what else....? more work? i am actually getting ready to head there now. but before i go for the time being, lets do some crazy bird lady talk.

i went to the car wash last week and shared my car wash bay with a family of robins. mom was watching me the entire time, and the babies just kept peeking their heads out. they were effing adorable.

and then there's these two. oh i love them. cosmo.....is cosmo. i can't tell you why, i have no idea, but he likes to have his head squeezed. he will just let me grab his head for no reason, and then will lick my palm. my son? he can snuggle my face any day he wants to . i wish i could take him with me everywhere. ohhh my boys ♥♥♥

anyway, that is all i have time for at the moment. got to make some cookies at the end of the month, and then my birthday....crazy talk, i  know. i promise i will have more next time. you can leave me comments and yell at me if you want to hear more. i will listen. or yell at me on facebook. or whatever. i am okay with it.

i am not okay with being late to work, which i am gonna be.

thanks for reading!!☺