tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34921079619792073652024-03-04T22:06:00.967-08:00♥{Saving the World One Cupcake at a Time}♥Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-67075244345828826152010-02-22T10:37:00.000-08:002010-02-22T10:37:39.551-08:00Gimme a break...<div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>HEY!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm taking a little break to re-focus.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm juggling a lot right now </div><div style="text-align: center;">(and I don't even have <i>kids</i> yet! YIKES!) </div><div style="text-align: center;">and important things are kind of <b> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>slipping to the wayside.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>SO,</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;">[<i>in an effort to re-prioritize and run things smoothly</i>]</div><div style="text-align: center;"> I'm putting some stuff on hold </div><div style="text-align: center;">[<i>like, um... blogging</i>] </div><div style="text-align: center;">until I can figure out my <b style="color: red;"> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;">NEW GROOVE.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;"> </b></div><div style="color: black; text-align: center;">In the meantime, though, I'll still be checking out your blogs and seeing what's up.</div><div style="color: black; text-align: center;">And besides, <b>if you really miss me</b>, you can always reach me</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;">[<a href="mailto:dotsonthespot@gmail.com">HERE</a>]</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;"><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">♥</span></b></div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-14675062732856623462010-02-16T21:02:00.000-08:002010-02-16T21:02:53.420-08:00The Fame... It's Going to My Head...<div style="text-align: center;">Um, so I know I'm no celebrity, but there's something about being <b>asked for advice</b> that makes me feel <span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: red;">super important.</b></span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Like I'm some sort of <i><b>ZENITH</b></i> of knowledge.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">A wealth of information.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">A source of <i><b>all there is to know.</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The end-all be-all of ---</div><div style="text-align: center;">OK, do you get the point yet? <span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Can I let my big head deflate now?</b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Last week,<b> <span style="color: black;">Amber</span></b> of <a href="http://amber-laha.blogspot.com/"><b>Amber's Life</b></a> sent me an email asking me if I had a good recipe for red velvet cupcakes.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><b>Do I have a good recipe for red velvet cupcakes?</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Uh...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Does <a href="http://onecupcakeatatime.blogspot.com/2010/02/mustache-monday-puss-in-stache.html"><b>Gertie Rock</b></a>? Does doing taxes stink? Are Reality TV shows overrated?</div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b>[answers:</b> <i>yes, yes, and double yes</i><b>]</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>You get my point.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> So yes, I had a recipe to share with her as well as my own recipe for cream cheese frosting.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Here's what she came up with:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienSE4WhC8rmuyVYsvXyb_JFttSj95It3zSUkGglVwqUgF6AcO7u4XEkbWcUtqI5ubCYsyjd0xt2QKy5bds8qn9hglrrAxYDlvjAFdhl0fi-8PL_t83QiBrT7rvGXQsYrEWtHdGxltO5k8/s1600-h/Closeup+Red.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienSE4WhC8rmuyVYsvXyb_JFttSj95It3zSUkGglVwqUgF6AcO7u4XEkbWcUtqI5ubCYsyjd0xt2QKy5bds8qn9hglrrAxYDlvjAFdhl0fi-8PL_t83QiBrT7rvGXQsYrEWtHdGxltO5k8/s400/Closeup+Red.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Look at these little beauties! </i></div><div style="text-align: center;">Look how <b>RICH</b> and <b style="color: red;">RED</b> they are!!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Ohhhhh... that's what a red velvet should look like... </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Here they are iced:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS-8Cako0hCByIyT6j-yOoL6oVoqNGMbw3CLcyuayl25DC2-SGTkQbwIFAIMKrlz6ZLJ9H7dPBH0_JduUwjaOh9qtGStYwKKpMWakGKrVIlEssBwfy7cBivun4V0FKepxkYeNeeSGS1Tof/s1600-h/100_0155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS-8Cako0hCByIyT6j-yOoL6oVoqNGMbw3CLcyuayl25DC2-SGTkQbwIFAIMKrlz6ZLJ9H7dPBH0_JduUwjaOh9qtGStYwKKpMWakGKrVIlEssBwfy7cBivun4V0FKepxkYeNeeSGS1Tof/s400/100_0155.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mmmm... word on the streets is that these suckers didn't last long...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Check out the <i>sweet little sprinkles</i> she found to put on top:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGWOsQyv3a12rtjfsAkzl0PywKiA5DFMQRLQ-CJQDYQtBQBdo8iFdNO_kni7bPqoJL-PYMQ3wIFCCRlsybO-Ernh0Xn_hkR2-iE6jtqSViKPY3X5Kz7x82WU6jlI6E0KIGIesUKf2d3bu/s1600-h/100_0152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGWOsQyv3a12rtjfsAkzl0PywKiA5DFMQRLQ-CJQDYQtBQBdo8iFdNO_kni7bPqoJL-PYMQ3wIFCCRlsybO-Ernh0Xn_hkR2-iE6jtqSViKPY3X5Kz7x82WU6jlI6E0KIGIesUKf2d3bu/s320/100_0152.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Awwww...</i></div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: red;">♥</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Thanks for <strike>petting my ego</strike> making my day, Amber!! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">(<i>And hey, if any of you get a chance, go check out her blog <a href="http://lahadesigns.blogspot.com/"><b>Designs by Amber</b></a>, too. She's so talented!</i>) </div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-16928089613334486882010-02-15T21:22:00.000-08:002010-02-15T22:44:50.862-08:00I'm Really Loving It.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMBQlWxHqIOWiuxuGKeX_xRN7Dmw9DWiFPhfAZUxJLIbb8xHWRYCFJe9xkG3ErdqK1BpQ6cvAtxX-PeC5hyphenhyphenFuLFs18d3TlRFU0eii0OVIhDj0BnRTvPjPM_jABChjskY50l5qFfLoTAQt/s1600-h/lovejob.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMBQlWxHqIOWiuxuGKeX_xRN7Dmw9DWiFPhfAZUxJLIbb8xHWRYCFJe9xkG3ErdqK1BpQ6cvAtxX-PeC5hyphenhyphenFuLFs18d3TlRFU0eii0OVIhDj0BnRTvPjPM_jABChjskY50l5qFfLoTAQt/s320/lovejob.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> It's Monday night, I'm watching <b>Cake Boss</b>, and I'm thinking over and over again <b>how happy I am</b> about my new job.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">In case you haven't heard, <b>I finally got a job</b> and --<i>as if that weren't great enough</i>-- it's <b style="color: red;">AT A BAKERY.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>DOES IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!? </b><br />
<br />
It's a sweet, <b style="color: red;">family-run </b>bakery where the owners are <b>really invested</b> in the <b> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>happiness<span style="color: red;">♥</span></b> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;">of not only their customers but their employees, too.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<b>Everyone works together as a team.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="color: black; text-align: center;"><b>Everyone's having fun.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">It can get really busy</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>(<i>as was evidenced by the <span style="color: red;">trial-by-fire</span> I experienced this past Valentine's week</i>)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">but there's just something about helping people find</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>exactly what they're looking for</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">that makes for a really satisfying feeling.<b style="color: black;"></b></div><div style="color: black; text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Tomorrow begins </span><b>Week 2.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>I'll let you know how it goes!</b></div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-87822399383407568412010-02-15T01:17:00.000-08:002010-02-15T01:17:38.674-08:00Mustache Monday - Puss in 'Stache<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Meet Gertie.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuYaK9brorBeTHurHV3IRAyw4x7bMVdrXrFIunuPci4D5ppLQW1QQevlsavtM6jBDGIQvFUcfGtpDOYaaITWvR3vtoz7G8wkM1Zr225DcJ1vjMxiNkLgs1HFH3k6MfmL8ZrKxDUxLMDXX2/s1600-h/4202435340_0ce6981046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuYaK9brorBeTHurHV3IRAyw4x7bMVdrXrFIunuPci4D5ppLQW1QQevlsavtM6jBDGIQvFUcfGtpDOYaaITWvR3vtoz7G8wkM1Zr225DcJ1vjMxiNkLgs1HFH3k6MfmL8ZrKxDUxLMDXX2/s320/4202435340_0ce6981046.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Gertie is a cat.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Gertie is <i><a href="http://thelittlegoat.com/">Lauren's</a></i> cat. </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Good cat</i>, Gertie.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<b>See Gertie.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>See Gertie play.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5K_zsrmxLpGYJD6NM01auPU7-zBbeJUATH0I9_XeBbz1E8R882c4WiJI5ji26hfBVeqiaAhWsWu0qLPFN7dGeIcAmLPogw8Jmp8gnWP0Mfo_MkHirZtc9QhlSDDXtrfhEoksZA3ohjokC/s1600-h/3498424849_740231196c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5K_zsrmxLpGYJD6NM01auPU7-zBbeJUATH0I9_XeBbz1E8R882c4WiJI5ji26hfBVeqiaAhWsWu0qLPFN7dGeIcAmLPogw8Jmp8gnWP0Mfo_MkHirZtc9QhlSDDXtrfhEoksZA3ohjokC/s320/3498424849_740231196c.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Play, Gertie, play!</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Gertie is tired. </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>See Gertie snuggle.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvS5vZqdh4Pv2q0bKS9PpgzJ6wHy_jle1DpYmbMHerZRrJSrizlFSe6UyjEB81zVGxbvQ8HEtbDxgiU7qDlDWwDd9HUkbI-p-BQ_E_mgSPrZKrKNIN-cALIGgPGcphxtnI3fXe3oo1tkov/s1600-h/4219116517_59804b17d2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvS5vZqdh4Pv2q0bKS9PpgzJ6wHy_jle1DpYmbMHerZRrJSrizlFSe6UyjEB81zVGxbvQ8HEtbDxgiU7qDlDWwDd9HUkbI-p-BQ_E_mgSPrZKrKNIN-cALIGgPGcphxtnI3fXe3oo1tkov/s320/4219116517_59804b17d2.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> Snuggle, Gertie, snuggle!</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Gertie has style.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Gertie sports a <span style="color: red;">'stache.</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NflmNvDEj8IQI8AfxW2wbBpNB4fqC4WBPxjLFhz6Ck2R5ylCex3Afn7o-DIzOWOYIvhCGB2kzHmk329EqHOEaZALuL0wBPMYDEgvE11POoeGkK840S3P-pi2FuimXduRfsrwkZn7C1Hv/s1600-h/3499238668_ca501ce219.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NflmNvDEj8IQI8AfxW2wbBpNB4fqC4WBPxjLFhz6Ck2R5ylCex3Afn7o-DIzOWOYIvhCGB2kzHmk329EqHOEaZALuL0wBPMYDEgvE11POoeGkK840S3P-pi2FuimXduRfsrwkZn7C1Hv/s320/3499238668_ca501ce219.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Sport that 'stache, Gertie, sport that 'stache.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Gertie <i>rocks. </i></b></div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-48473692957918621742010-02-11T21:45:00.000-08:002010-02-11T21:57:19.776-08:00This Kinda Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjZe-nJlE3V6hw1Bhq57byDgprDazb1pr32bJhsAYL70J7nNfuxmVb_Vq-qYnxovBi7Qky3jdgzlm86OdQ1FkWUyjFJszAzB3rtTNoayxbQBv7Wk4mgS3Ez90myaFRXP1g05EAsyKB1Yd/s1600-h/persiangraphic_768_1024_child004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjZe-nJlE3V6hw1Bhq57byDgprDazb1pr32bJhsAYL70J7nNfuxmVb_Vq-qYnxovBi7Qky3jdgzlm86OdQ1FkWUyjFJszAzB3rtTNoayxbQBv7Wk4mgS3Ez90myaFRXP1g05EAsyKB1Yd/s320/persiangraphic_768_1024_child004.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">In light of <b>Valentine's Day</b> coming up, </div><div style="text-align: center;">I've been thinking a lot about <b style="color: red;">LOVE</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">♥</span> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">When we talk about love,</div><div style="text-align: center;">we're typically talking about the</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>{</b></span><span style="font-size: large;">love between two people</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>}</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Between <i>parent and child,</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">between <i>siblings,</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">between <i>husband and wife,</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">between<i> friends...</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">But how often do we stop to think of the <b style="color: red;">love</b> that <b style="color: black;">our furry friends</b> have for us?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Entertainment/Feel-Good-Video-of-the-Week-Warm-Welcome.html"><b>This video brought tears to my eyes.</b></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">Look how happy this dog is that his master is home!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">What a beautiful thing :)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">♥</span></b><br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Wouldn't you like to share</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: red;"><b>THIS KINDA LOVE?</b></i></div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-29740654712764262442010-02-10T20:00:00.000-08:002010-02-10T21:03:30.459-08:00I might actually have a future after all.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72hK6gMnacKQtgHHidEQ7kW04LFVC58I8WsAnr1UXcBI-64HGftOdsBmmz938XI7LJU3xUL_kWRuzVmfWX_JRcE9-BqgBk0j1-dF1DN1Y-y9czGDqR-Iw_2bGyT1BRbFMRJNuk0AgKjWH/s1600-h/Animal+Kitten+Exhausted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72hK6gMnacKQtgHHidEQ7kW04LFVC58I8WsAnr1UXcBI-64HGftOdsBmmz938XI7LJU3xUL_kWRuzVmfWX_JRcE9-BqgBk0j1-dF1DN1Y-y9czGDqR-Iw_2bGyT1BRbFMRJNuk0AgKjWH/s400/Animal+Kitten+Exhausted.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b> I <span style="color: black;"></span>am<span style="color: black;"> </span><u>SO</u><span style="color: black;"> </span>tired<span style="color: black;">.</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>But I am so happy.</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I had such a great first day of work.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I think I found it, guys.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
I think I found <b> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>where I belong.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black;">[[</span>My dream job<span style="color: black;">]]</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>I am so happy.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And just to think...</div><div style="text-align: center;">a mere two weeks ago,</div><div style="text-align: center;">this was me:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjSKqs0-gHBpxSU7sxjs_4LmsEYPY7kz3-bNt2e5eZGSLqIqUJc6Pt-RtF8VF8R263m2ok0OAE_OGkxGBzR3f9qU8pJlTRcHDdeBQK3N5DFqTUTdDUGtvuprEQpY3ibKY0beanM3ALMjwR/s1600-h/dreamjob.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjSKqs0-gHBpxSU7sxjs_4LmsEYPY7kz3-bNt2e5eZGSLqIqUJc6Pt-RtF8VF8R263m2ok0OAE_OGkxGBzR3f9qU8pJlTRcHDdeBQK3N5DFqTUTdDUGtvuprEQpY3ibKY0beanM3ALMjwR/s320/dreamjob.gif" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.illoz.com/cowles/?"><b>©David Cowles</b></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Me + Bakery = <span style="color: red;">♥</span></b></div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-66585385230423336852010-02-09T21:15:00.000-08:002010-02-09T21:19:20.965-08:00My Valentine's Day Blind Date<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5gW4a5x7VHZczBfISd7Yt2yBALXHrQ9NFupwgXON8qJYs1ejQc1D88U6pvCvklT7q-jWbkchX1ov0I2H8nBd90Do6KB7vXH-E_p1WB24dm-lcAFAgyo89DL6EQkn-zLvPWEGdzlfznCiK/s1600-h/vdayxchange.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5gW4a5x7VHZczBfISd7Yt2yBALXHrQ9NFupwgXON8qJYs1ejQc1D88U6pvCvklT7q-jWbkchX1ov0I2H8nBd90Do6KB7vXH-E_p1WB24dm-lcAFAgyo89DL6EQkn-zLvPWEGdzlfznCiK/s320/vdayxchange.png" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>BAM.</b></span> <br />
<br />
Aside from munching on See's chocolates and snuggling with my honey, THIS is what I'm doing for Valentine's Day.<br />
<br />
Yep, a <a href="http://www.domesticdork.com/2010/01/valentines-day-blog-exchange.html"><b style="color: red;">Valentine's Day Gift Exchange</b></a>! </div><div style="text-align: center;">Thanks to <b style="color: red;">Holly Noelle</b> (the <a href="http://www.domesticdork.com/"><b>Domestic Dork</b></a>)'s amazing matching abilities, I got paired with <b style="color: red;">Lauren</b> of <a href="http://thelittlegoat.com/index.php"><b>The Little Goat.</b></a> Lauren's this spunky, fun, eclectic blogger from NorCal who's got all sorts of fun stuff going on on her blog.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>For example:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;">♥ </b><i>She <a href="http://thelittlegoat.com/?p=832"><b>just got engaged</b></a>...</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;">♥</b><i> She has an <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/wunzees"><b>Etsy shop</b></a>...</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>[and]</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;">♥</b> <i>Every now and then, if you're lucky, you'll get to read <a href="http://thelittlegoat.com/?p=800"><b>a post by her fiance</b></a>, Mick</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Since I had only <i>just met</i> Lauren and didn't know much about her, I set out to reading some of her posts to get a better idea about who she is.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">First, I found <a href="http://thelittlegoat.com/?p=821"><b>this post</b></a> that she wrote about her new-found love of houndstooth.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht241iEebHanDXhG9HgoJXP_tGHFpWdgamZjNXhxklcUQSx5xthcuoBMFJjZRE6O9lfjG6II3Q7me1A49M5AB66QZTz17teYODufJiPvjIjY5U_kVaZorXPQEyNmIUeVAjcNrVYCo6z5kB/s1600-h/4255095737_72ec81204d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht241iEebHanDXhG9HgoJXP_tGHFpWdgamZjNXhxklcUQSx5xthcuoBMFJjZRE6O9lfjG6II3Q7me1A49M5AB66QZTz17teYODufJiPvjIjY5U_kVaZorXPQEyNmIUeVAjcNrVYCo6z5kB/s320/4255095737_72ec81204d.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Hmm..."</i> I thought, <i>"That hat up there has a little heart on it... Would that make a good Valentine's Day gift...?"</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Nah."</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: center;">It just wasn't quite right.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">So I read on.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And I checked out her store.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And I saw <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31011466"><b>this.</b></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeih5UHnXb5mdaxX8kklcTZ6oRrbemeKylfJsQiYt4FQniILUQ6bgdnICwKaOsalI7X7xXR3XVfneX0UEl1nr51JT4ZQip3odN11DTg2eI-y3T7KWRNXbom_dd_MrtPQMNTmq8UYnMntgC/s1600-h/il_430xN.90724067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeih5UHnXb5mdaxX8kklcTZ6oRrbemeKylfJsQiYt4FQniILUQ6bgdnICwKaOsalI7X7xXR3XVfneX0UEl1nr51JT4ZQip3odN11DTg2eI-y3T7KWRNXbom_dd_MrtPQMNTmq8UYnMntgC/s320/il_430xN.90724067.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"QUE????"</i> I asked myself, before quickly reminding myself that <a href="http://i46.tinypic.com/2z5n39s.jpg"><b>I don't speak Spanish.</b></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">She likes mustaches?? This is awesome! This is great! I like her already!!</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">But then I couldn't find anything with mustaches on it that seemed appropriate for Valentine's Day.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">:-/</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't supposed to be just a regular shmegular present. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Blah.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">So I went back to her blog. And I read further. And then...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">...then, my friends...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I found <i>this</i> (on <a href="http://thelittlegoat.com/?p=615"><b>this post</b></a> here):</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7GNaHh6ZlZqv0Q_N50U0nd7CGbAbgseLrT91Vdpy5tIdv7OVvNnchdOLdQiwNSlD3Ois-7gzHXiLa4NxXssIQitbjGu3jJv9n1MJQYGI0OeDH_cHYHoGRKo-bsBZ6xmaqyhLa-Bz9R0m/s1600-h/il_430xN.86446799.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7GNaHh6ZlZqv0Q_N50U0nd7CGbAbgseLrT91Vdpy5tIdv7OVvNnchdOLdQiwNSlD3Ois-7gzHXiLa4NxXssIQitbjGu3jJv9n1MJQYGI0OeDH_cHYHoGRKo-bsBZ6xmaqyhLa-Bz9R0m/s320/il_430xN.86446799.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Isn't it <b style="color: red;">GLORIOUS!?</b> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Oh it's so fantastic I can't help myself -- I want it for <b>ME!</b> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>ME ME ME!! </b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">But <strike>sadly</strike> thankfully I had someone else to buy it for. So I did. I bought it for her.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>HER HER HER!!</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And I hope she likes it.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And I think she will.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And I think you should <b>go check her out</b>, because, well, she's pretty neat.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">She might even be <a href="http://onecupcakeatatime.blogspot.com/2010/02/mustache-monday-all-in-family.html"><b>worthy of a mustache</b></a> ;)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">No promises, though!</div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-76596284059309915232010-02-08T20:30:00.000-08:002010-02-08T20:49:28.719-08:00FINALLY!!<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_r_EXpQK_rPqXI2GMFIxn8qGEPsa8-YpW8_0PT4QflDovb_5bGHD22VXCHp_BAEsCYJ1I653lhGgKxvq63ayv_27os7BcRV5Y8CqH_4gDBoXfFDz9n8YrYSmlaSAam_vjvyd9ujLmAUOg/s1600-h/elvgren-+let%27s+eat+out+1967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_r_EXpQK_rPqXI2GMFIxn8qGEPsa8-YpW8_0PT4QflDovb_5bGHD22VXCHp_BAEsCYJ1I653lhGgKxvq63ayv_27os7BcRV5Y8CqH_4gDBoXfFDz9n8YrYSmlaSAam_vjvyd9ujLmAUOg/s320/elvgren-+let%27s+eat+out+1967.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>"Let's Eat Out" - Gil Elvgren, 1967</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> </i></span> <br />
I am so, <i>SO happy</i> to be able to write this because this is something that <b> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>I've wanted for so long...</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I, <b><span style="color: red;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">[[</span>Miss Dot<span style="color: red;">]]</span></b>, </div><div style="text-align: center;">have a job... <span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: red;"> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: red;">AT A BAKERY!!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed about working in a bakery.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">When people get a baked treat, it's always something <i>special.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">That's why it's called a <b>TREAT</b>, silly!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">To be a part of that <b><span style="color: red;">[[</span>something special<span style="color: red;">]]</span></b><span style="color: red;"> </span>seemed <b>SO FANTASTIC</b> to me.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Whether it be something as simple as <b style="color: red;">the eclair</b> that a lady decided to treat herself to at the end of <b>a long workweek</b> or <b style="color: red;">the cookies</b> a mom promised her kids <b>in return for good behavior</b>, being a part of the <b>treat chain</b> (<i>as I like to call it</i>) has long been something I've wanted to do.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">It even goes further, though;</div><div style="text-align: center;">to get the chance to be part of someone's special day...</div><div style="text-align: center;">to help take the order for a <b>birthday cake</b>,</div><div style="text-align: center;">an <b>anniversary cake</b>,</div><div style="text-align: center;">a <b style="color: red;">wedding cake</b>...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><b>I mean, think about it: </b></div><div style="text-align: center;">When customers order from us, they have chosen (and entrusted!) this bakery (and, in essence, chosen <b><i>me</i></b>) for the task of ensuring that<b> their celebration is perfect.</b> And what a task to be given! I am just so excited to start and learn and begin helping people make their celebrations amazing.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I want to be that <b>key piece<i> </i></b>that helps put everything together.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I want to hand them their cake and have them say:<br />
<b>"</b><i><b>THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED</b></i><b>"</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">or, even better:</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;">"THIS IS PERFECT."</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I know there will be rough days and unsatisfied/unruly customers, but hopefully those will be few and far between and the pros will outweigh the cons.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Keep me in mind come Wednesday (my first day!) and I'll let you know how it goes :)<br />
<br />
<b>[<span style="color: red;">♥</span>]</b><br />
<br />
<div style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lisa Leonard Designs Giveaway! </b></span> </div><br />
Also, if you're in the Valentine's Day mood (either for yourself or a loved one), check out <a href="http://www.livinthesimplelife.com/2010/02/03/lisa-leonard-designs-giveaway/"><b>this giveaway </b></a>hosted by one of my <b>favorite</b> bloggers, <b style="color: red;">Jenn</b> of <a href="http://www.livinthesimplelife.com/"><b>Living the Simple Life.</b></a><br />
<br />
After checking out all of the beautiful jewelry on <b>Lisa Leonard's</b> <a href="http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/"><b>site</b></a>, I have to say that this is my favorite piece -- that is, if I have to choose <i>just one</i>. She has such a unique style -- so clean, crisp, and classy!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixybh_MHlJjFC8lACQy3TS5EFZIKzAXgjDuz6G3JnwwZaH0_JIYp4GzOlzgnPsHD_ehYNx9PbuP8FYG0iw_NeNZZy_UJy-jSs4ALRV8MUvvDyX8O6Eynkm1VCBecRL6jntMsI4kvr9OLEk/s1600-h/DSC_0153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixybh_MHlJjFC8lACQy3TS5EFZIKzAXgjDuz6G3JnwwZaH0_JIYp4GzOlzgnPsHD_ehYNx9PbuP8FYG0iw_NeNZZy_UJy-jSs4ALRV8MUvvDyX8O6Eynkm1VCBecRL6jntMsI4kvr9OLEk/s320/DSC_0153.JPG" /></a></div><a href="http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/inspired-designs/illuminate-necklace.html"><b>Illuminate Necklace</b></a><br />
<br />
What would YOU choose? <br />
<i>Hurry</i>, you only have until <b>midnight</b> <b>Tuesday</b> to enter!</div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-54449531750274568522010-02-07T20:30:00.000-08:002010-02-07T20:30:00.551-08:00Mustache Monday - All in the Family<div style="text-align: center;"><b>I have been asked </b></div><div style="text-align: center;">(<i>on more than one occasion</i>):</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: red;">WHAT'S WITH THE MUSTACHES?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">What's with the mustaches, you ask?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Well, it's simple.<br />
<br />
Like <a href="http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1870&dat=19760205&id=vU0gAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jcoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1368,1491780"><b>John Marcum's silver dollars</b></a>, </div><div style="text-align: center;">mustaches are my </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>calling cards.</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">But let's just get one thing straight:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>[[<i>NOT EVERYONE GETS A 'STACHE</i>]]</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
The mustache ain't for everyone, folks.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Firstly,</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">It's a symbol of my <span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: red;">appreciation.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">It means that I think <b>you're pretty neat.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Secondly,</b><br />
It's a symbol of our <b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">friendship.</span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I</span>t means that </span><b>you're counted among the people I call <i>friends.</i></b><br />
<br />
<b>Lastly,</b><br />
It's a symbol that you're <span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>worthy.</b></span><br />
It means that I have chosen <i>you</i> as someone who is<i> </i><u><b>COOL</b></u> enough to understand<b> </b><br />
<i><b>the awesomeness of the 'stache.</b></i><br />
<br />
Basically, it means<b> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">I like you.</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></b><br />
<div style="color: black;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Just like I like <b>my sister Katie <span style="color: red;">♥</span></b></span></div><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Especially on her birthday.</span></span></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVWHPEK89xUaui5r-LgfEs2eeJC-O-q7-LeP5mEUICdhyXGV03U9nkNj3WhqCIx39vsKOYK5Ypqw3nuzdpdJcRgxj8jpuf4Bn_ZNAQQ832CAnB1z3TqgLrZMG3t7Kz-1VzjaBGzRa3nfp/s1600-h/Mustache+Monday+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVWHPEK89xUaui5r-LgfEs2eeJC-O-q7-LeP5mEUICdhyXGV03U9nkNj3WhqCIx39vsKOYK5Ypqw3nuzdpdJcRgxj8jpuf4Bn_ZNAQQ832CAnB1z3TqgLrZMG3t7Kz-1VzjaBGzRa3nfp/s320/Mustache+Monday+2.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKb2aSRV_BbENKjlgP9JeopN5V-In7mq9Smg2y1-5xFef996p9zMlusVXAMFYrMWo_xcINmgydIQ0oC8DMnzAq-HItTgTshVDlNYwjppKbDus68b4YnROCO6BRcAD3G53DwXKiKi9DDeZK/s1600-h/Mustache+Monday+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKb2aSRV_BbENKjlgP9JeopN5V-In7mq9Smg2y1-5xFef996p9zMlusVXAMFYrMWo_xcINmgydIQ0oC8DMnzAq-HItTgTshVDlNYwjppKbDus68b4YnROCO6BRcAD3G53DwXKiKi9DDeZK/s320/Mustache+Monday+3.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">[<i>That's my sister on the left with her friend Catherine on the right</i>]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And just like I like <i>Megan</i> <b><span style="color: red;">♥</span></b>, </div><div style="text-align: center;">who chose some of her own friends to share the <b style="color: red;"> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">[[</span>awesomeness of the 'stache</b><span style="color: black;"><b>]]</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">with</span> on <i>her</i> birthday.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ABZJJcNEzmcQmJy4t_28RpEaAxrdS324U9bE04j65ZPX7Ny50mNeo0bMfbpxRhtXlkXoxMxZCQnF1MfNrlDxK5jD1ObqOPnoLdq9lpbkNiacCxqQEvaYWfC3SSnP9Cm3Uv75H-F7mvhr/s1600-h/Mustache+Monday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ABZJJcNEzmcQmJy4t_28RpEaAxrdS324U9bE04j65ZPX7Ny50mNeo0bMfbpxRhtXlkXoxMxZCQnF1MfNrlDxK5jD1ObqOPnoLdq9lpbkNiacCxqQEvaYWfC3SSnP9Cm3Uv75H-F7mvhr/s320/Mustache+Monday.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">[<i>There's Megan on the left with her worthy friends on the right</i>]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">That's right, people. <b><i>Not everyone is worthy of the 'stache.</i></b> But if I have deemed you <b style="color: red;"><i>cool</i></b> enough, <i style="color: red;"><b>fun</b> </i>enough, and just downright<b style="color: red;"> <i>awesome</i></b> enough to sport the mustache, then you too might find yourself with a random mustache or two in your next batch of cupcakes.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>The 'stache has spoken.</b></i></div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-55407781786911127582010-02-04T17:41:00.000-08:002010-02-04T17:58:19.378-08:00Burgers for Dinner: Catch and Release<div style="text-align: center;">If you can't tell by the little pitiful sick-looking <strike>troll doll</strike> <strike>duck</strike> <strike>dust bunny</strike> <strike>wad of grass</strike> creature in the post below, I've been kind of <b style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">{</span>OUT OF IT<span style="color: black;">}</span></b> </div><div style="text-align: center;">this week.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>[</b><i>Quick thanks to Mr. Dot for hopping online Sunday night and posting that for me so no one thought I drowned in cupcake batter</i><b>]</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">•••</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>[</b><i>Another quick moment to think about how awesome it would be to drown in cupcake batter</i><b>]</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Death by Cupcake.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><i><b>Bring it on.</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Sunday, though, did not feel like "Death by Cupcake." Sunday just felt like <b>death.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Thanks to a <b>[<i>poorly cooked?</i>]</b> hamburger eaten the night before at a local joint down the street, I spent over 17 hours <b>hugging the porcelain throne </b>[of death].</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: red;">Dramatization:</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjfk3PZuEJwA1sqaO6qv5ZAMTiiq_D91AEq_han1zIHClgcTUGKbXshW26oNrLyrgVjUdXM1EauwbV_gQWELXxN4rBd7tl-RuTg7EOk8WavYVdInogf5g0Z0SMuwS6_IjPfMdY1sWYxk1/s1600-h/HugginthePorcelin.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjfk3PZuEJwA1sqaO6qv5ZAMTiiq_D91AEq_han1zIHClgcTUGKbXshW26oNrLyrgVjUdXM1EauwbV_gQWELXxN4rBd7tl-RuTg7EOk8WavYVdInogf5g0Z0SMuwS6_IjPfMdY1sWYxk1/s400/HugginthePorcelin.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Gracias, <a href="http://alteredbarbie.com/artwork/huggin-porcelain">Altered Barbie</a></span><b><br />
</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b><i><b><br />
</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;">Though at the time I found nothing especially enlightening about the whole situation, now that I have regained my <strike>sea</strike> land-legs,<i><b> </b></i>I am trying to gain a fresh perspective.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Therefore, I'm actually <b><i>thankful</i></b> for the tainted <b> </b><br />
<b>||<a href="http://i46.tinypic.com/f54nmd.jpg">BURGER-of-DOOM</a>||</b><br />
because:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">• <b style="color: red;"> I lost 4 pounds</b> (which I may or may not have gained back since I've begun eating again) </div><div style="text-align: center;">(<b>read:</b> <i>since I've been able to keep more than a single Wheat Thin in my stomach</i>)</div><div style="text-align: center;">• <b style="color: red;">I gained a personal, one-on-one relationship with the floor just under the sink ledge that I did not have before</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">(<i>and have subsequently Swiffered, sprayed, and washed every inch of it thoroughly</i>)</div><div style="text-align: center;">• <b style="color: red;">I am no longer tempted by the thought of eating burgers or fries</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">(<i>at least, for the time being...</i>)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">For a while there, in fact, I actually considered that perhaps the <b> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>VSTADAEOOWT </b><b>Diet</b><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;">["<i>Vomit-Seven-Times-A-Day-And-Eat-Only-One-Wheat-Thin" Diet</i>]</div><div style="text-align: center;"> was going to be the diet for me, but then I remembered one key thing:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>I like food going down better than coming back up.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Ah well, can't win 'em all.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>[<span style="color: red;">♥</span>]</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">In the meantime, though -- keep your fingers crossed and do that praying thing again. I had a second interview at a bakery down the street (not <a href="http://onecupcakeatatime.blogspot.com/2010/01/its-coming.html"><b>this cupcake place</b></a>, though -- they're <u><i>still</i></u> not open! Dunno what's going on there...) that I'm <b>so excited</b> about. I've been trying to get my resume in there since we first moved up here and all of a sudden they started hiring just a couple weeks ago so the timing was perfect. I should hear back sometime tomorrow or Saturday.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">GAH!!</div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-27273041201373355712010-01-31T21:26:00.000-08:002010-01-31T21:26:35.380-08:00Sick Day(s)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxn9DzxWBTLcM3fF60ZFZmMW6mQqJBK79Ft_lheKD_PYa9D6CJM269vQtbOyZAvAH7uXSlnCO7kKCXvz0ZcKKLdHnSsosFw26Z6ONxid_jWOozYXqhEjWlrKADvEjw0Es3WiVdqOAmJmGC/s1600-h/UndertheWeather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxn9DzxWBTLcM3fF60ZFZmMW6mQqJBK79Ft_lheKD_PYa9D6CJM269vQtbOyZAvAH7uXSlnCO7kKCXvz0ZcKKLdHnSsosFw26Z6ONxid_jWOozYXqhEjWlrKADvEjw0Es3WiVdqOAmJmGC/s320/UndertheWeather.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Miss Dot's feeling a little under the weather right now (food poisoning...ugh...), so it may be another day or two until her next post. Until then, use <a href="http://www.bored.com/">this</a> to keep yourself occupied. Happy Monday.</div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-69717242799245024232010-01-28T20:45:00.000-08:002010-01-28T20:45:00.610-08:00Cookies and... Beer?<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">Let's try some word association:</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Peanut Butter?</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">(<i>Jelly.</i>)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Peaches?</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">(<i>Cream.</i>)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Captain?</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">(<i>Tennille.</i>)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Cookies?</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">(<i>Beer.</i>)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">All good things must come to an end, my friends, and it is with that that I bring to you our final</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>BEER WEEK</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">recipe.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;">~•</span>Recipe #5<span style="color: black;">•~</span></b></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnq2s-ILO7rMa7-M3UuIjE6gSYUoRzyEt9g-F7hLFaNSISs_SxPPXgWiHptePxciS-gsX8nNpqarXRmGMspJhQfYgbMj7uwgd8j8aS_srQVOILzw4C5ekUHaZnf-QW5sQMjyw9pI3s34Ot/s1600-h/IMG_1776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnq2s-ILO7rMa7-M3UuIjE6gSYUoRzyEt9g-F7hLFaNSISs_SxPPXgWiHptePxciS-gsX8nNpqarXRmGMspJhQfYgbMj7uwgd8j8aS_srQVOILzw4C5ekUHaZnf-QW5sQMjyw9pI3s34Ot/s400/IMG_1776.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;"> <span style="color: red; font-size: small;">♥STOUT COOKIES♥</span> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Adapted from <b>Carolyn Smagalski's</b> recipe on <a href="http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art38667.asp"><b>BellaOnline</b></a> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Makes about 40 cookies</span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ingredients:</span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/2 lb. butter</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">2/3 c. granulated sugar</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">2/3 c. brown sugar</span></span><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 egg</span></span><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 T. molasses</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">3 T. stout</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 t. vanilla extract</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/2 t. baking soda</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/2 t. baking powder</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 t. salt</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 t. cinnamon</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/2 t. nutmeg</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/4 t. ground cloves</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">2 c. oats</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">3/4 c. dried cranberries</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Directions:</b></span></span></span></div><ol style="color: black; text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">HEAT oven to 375°F and lightly grease cookie sheets.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">SIFT together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">CREAM butter until light and fluffy. ADD sugars and beat until light and fluffy again.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">BLEND in egg, molasses, stout, and vanilla. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">ALTERNATELY ADD flour mixture and oats, blending in between additions.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">FOLD in dried cranberries.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">DROP by rounded spoonfuls onto baking sheets and bake for 9-11 minutes or until done <i>(mine took 8 minutes)</i> </span></span></li>
</ol><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;">The site notes some health benefits at the bottom which I will relay to <strike>make myself feel better</strike> help you track your daily vitamin intake:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Health Benefit:</b> <i>Rich in fiber, calcium, vitamin B-complex vitamins, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, zinc, copper</i> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><b>There.</b> <b style="color: red;">Feel better?</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicCFdd-mv8bxVpHH46tHLK6fVniebKuR2hi9QEP3pX-NhjfdbXuVsHkN6zfEa95Z6vAjCQiV6mziyHs1jypJc5-LrvH0aAnh9sfKblLUJQHFH18_mk1SIXWC-bIA43jPNid8U5G7PXoPzS/s1600-h/IMG_1769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicCFdd-mv8bxVpHH46tHLK6fVniebKuR2hi9QEP3pX-NhjfdbXuVsHkN6zfEa95Z6vAjCQiV6mziyHs1jypJc5-LrvH0aAnh9sfKblLUJQHFH18_mk1SIXWC-bIA43jPNid8U5G7PXoPzS/s400/IMG_1769.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">These cookies were pretty good. I tried adding chocolate chips to the last couple sheets of cookies and I wasn't too into it. They're definitely good and chewy but I'll admit, if I hadn't seen stout in the ingredients list, I wouldn't have known there was stout in them at all. If you're looking for a recipe that really showcases stout, this is not it. However, if you're looking for some good, spicy cookies and want to brag to your friends that there's beer in them, these are your best bet. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then again, you may want to ask yourself why you're bragging to your friends that you have beer in your cookies. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Weirdo.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">*shakes head*</div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-43784883878403803432010-01-27T20:50:00.000-08:002010-01-27T21:00:00.925-08:00I'm a Changed Woman<div style="text-align: center;">I must admit -- I used to be an <i><b>unbeliever.</b></i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I used to think that <b><a href="http://onecupcakeatatime.blogspot.com/2009/11/brownies-how-i-loathe-thee.html">I couldn't bake brownies</a>.</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I used to think that it was...too difficult.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I would overbake them; I would underbake them; they would stick to my apparently unnecessarily-greased pan.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Bottom line: <b style="color: red;"> </b></i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;">I LOATHED </b><b style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">[making]</span> </b><b style="color: red;">BROWNIES.</b><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">That is, until I met <i>these little beauties.</i><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjctjIkJkMHkcgjKuyflIY7l_xN1kHSVpPVNNxr202yUekGUu_NtyDzds0K-73XbojRphMSsN9hild8wHsCAhdH3tJjAJh6lnz6izRc_goTV7yl8qjsOYbX9_7hTq0FUgEKFfhpoIGDGSQ/s1600-h/IMG_1733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjctjIkJkMHkcgjKuyflIY7l_xN1kHSVpPVNNxr202yUekGUu_NtyDzds0K-73XbojRphMSsN9hild8wHsCAhdH3tJjAJh6lnz6izRc_goTV7yl8qjsOYbX9_7hTq0FUgEKFfhpoIGDGSQ/s400/IMG_1733.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> </i>Yep, you guessed it...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>{<span style="color: red;">STOUT BROWNIES</span>}</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">These little brownies behaved so well.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">They baked for the amount of time they promised they'd bake.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">They didn't stick to the pan.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>They even had a <b>toothpick</b> test and guess what? </i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>THEY PASSED.</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm so pleased with these brownies.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> </i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">They're everything a good brownie should be:<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><b>Moist, decadent, and fudgy.</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbqOQuTPx8pHMBzezwlxzbqjkNdBvoNFUATJPhA9gRWr9KM3A9WHKyyslg_DuiX_YhYWH3jAtEIUB5eJhm42tXE3pmMZrtr3xpfpFQog-2HeW0JHE0-_CT0yUN9Hqyycwu4qofU0RjUg/s1600-h/IMG_1742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbqOQuTPx8pHMBzezwlxzbqjkNdBvoNFUATJPhA9gRWr9KM3A9WHKyyslg_DuiX_YhYWH3jAtEIUB5eJhm42tXE3pmMZrtr3xpfpFQog-2HeW0JHE0-_CT0yUN9Hqyycwu4qofU0RjUg/s400/IMG_1742.JPG" width="400" /></a>Plus,<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>there are chocolate chips on top.</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>MmmMMMmmmmmMMMMMMMmmmm.</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> </i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you like <b>dark chocolate</b>, </span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">(or are a fan of chocolate that isn't <i>too</i> sweet),</span> </span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-size: large;">these are definitely for you</span></u><span style="font-size: large;">.</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This recipe combines<b style="color: red;"> three different kinds of chocolate</b> to create a <b>rich</b>, <b>dark chocolate</b> flavor that only serves to <i>enhance</i> the bold stout.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">May I introduce you to:<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;">~•</span>Recipe #4<span style="color: black;">•~</span></b></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;">♥STOUT BROWNIES♥</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Adapted from</b> <a href="http://www.cookiemadness.net/?p=689"><b>Cookie Madness</b></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Makes 15 Miss Dot-sized-brownies or 36 normal-person-brownies. </i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Who knew?<br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<b>Ingredients</b>:<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 c. all-purpose flour<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/4 t. salt<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">6 T. unsalted room temperature butter, cut into cubes<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">6 oz. dark bittersweet chocolate, chopped<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 c. white chocolate chips<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">4 large eggs, room temperature<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 c. granulated sugar<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">10 oz. (1 1/4 c.) stout (she used Guinness Extra Stout) -- room temperature<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">3/4 t. vanilla<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">1 c. semisweet chocolate chips<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">1/8 cup confectioners sugar for dusting (optional)<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Directions:</b><br />
</div><ol><li>HEAT oven to 375°F. Line a 9"x13" baking pan with a nonstick foil like Reynolds Release <i><b>*TIP:</b> I didn't have nonstick foil so I just lined the pan with regular foil and then sprayed it with cooking spray.</i></li>
<li>WHISK together flour, salt, and cocoa powder until combined. Set aside.</li>
<li>In a separate bowl, MELT butter, bittersweet chocolate, and white chocolate chips in a double boiler over very low heat, stirring constantly until melted. Remove from heat. Alternatively, you may do this in the microwave by microwaving on high and stirring every 30 seconds.</li>
<li>In a separate bowl, BEAT eggs and sugar together on high until fluffy (about 3 minutes).</li>
<li>ADD melted chocolate mixture to sugar-egg mixture; beat until combined.</li>
<li>BEAT flour mixture into chocolate mixture.</li>
<li>WHISK in stout.</li>
<li>POUR into prepared pan and drop semisweet chocolate chips on top of batter. Some will sink in; this is fine.</li>
<li>BAKE for 25-30 minutes on center rack in oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out <i>almost</i> clean.</li>
<li>COOL; Dust with confectioners sugar before serving. </li>
</ol><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoNwJJ-0VjA8gwMMLKSWel78N6-vE8RnwFJ5_1KenXzNM95ukW1l3cH5WY3iv4o0orTeMQSWdW6CcIpnCu_OPprNnvsqr3gZnlUJGAcJoyrL3tse2-Tn9ucXM3L-lZwv_hej9rkcXyfk/s1600-h/IMG_1736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoNwJJ-0VjA8gwMMLKSWel78N6-vE8RnwFJ5_1KenXzNM95ukW1l3cH5WY3iv4o0orTeMQSWdW6CcIpnCu_OPprNnvsqr3gZnlUJGAcJoyrL3tse2-Tn9ucXM3L-lZwv_hej9rkcXyfk/s400/IMG_1736.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gDto1Cl1Ukh0Ks4HB7alu_HaaXrnMqKkOKVwuWFMmx0V67qlGUkTaW-S9dZJmeHrBFCw6BWD1i0CBOxlPmMA9FZp7yaWmGO7VztL1xctLCB-1FKH3ymut6M6ZFJ2KsnPwMfFCiS0LY0/s1600-h/IMG_1747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gDto1Cl1Ukh0Ks4HB7alu_HaaXrnMqKkOKVwuWFMmx0V67qlGUkTaW-S9dZJmeHrBFCw6BWD1i0CBOxlPmMA9FZp7yaWmGO7VztL1xctLCB-1FKH3ymut6M6ZFJ2KsnPwMfFCiS0LY0/s400/IMG_1747.JPG" width="267" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This recipe has been <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT_n__vsguk"><b>Swedish Chef</b></a><b>-approved!</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-60785295096943424732010-01-26T21:00:00.000-08:002010-01-28T22:59:16.306-08:00Beer Bread Remix!<div style="text-align: center;">Sooooo this one time, I made some <b style="color: red;">beer bread</b><span style="color: red;">.</span> It was from a mix, it was from a Partylite party, and it was <i>delicious.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Since then, I've done <b> </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b>three <span style="color: red;">[3]</span> things</b></u><b>:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>[<span style="color: red;">1</span>] </b>I researched beer bread recipes.<br />
<br />
<b>[<span style="color: red;">2</span>]</b> After looking at a bunch of recipes and learning how <i><b>easy</b></i> beer bread is to make, I vowed to never buy beer bread mix again because it would be like oh, I don't know...<i>buying a paper airplane kit </i>(contents: 1 piece of paper).<br />
<br />
<b>[<span style="color: red;">3</span>] </b>I chose a beer bread recipe and <a href="http://missdotscupcakespot.blogspot.com/2009/11/iron-cupcake-earth-apples.html"><b>tried it</b></a>.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I <b>**know**</b> I've posted about it before</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>(duh, I just put a link to it up there)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;">so, in order to avoid any unnecessary <b style="color: red;">name-calling</b>,<br />
<i>(i.e., cheater, lazy baker, un-original nincompoop)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm doing a little</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>RE-MIX.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Same recipe,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>DIFFERENT BEER.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Let's try this recipe <i>ONE MORE TIME</i>, but this time, let's do it with <b>{<span style="color: red;">stout</span>}</b> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<b>[<span style="color: red;">♥</span>]</b><br />
<br />
<b> </b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;">~•</span>Recipe #3<span style="color: black;">•~</span></b></span></div><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"> </span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">♥BEER BREAD♥</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><b>From <a href="http://foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/2005/11/beyond-easy-beer-bread.html">Farmgirl Fare</a></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;">Makes 1 loaf</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Ingredients:</b></span> <br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">3 c. all-purpose flour</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">1 T. sugar<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">1 t. salt</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">1 T. baking powder<br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">1 1/2 c. (12 oz.) <b style="color: red;">stout</b> beer<br />
</span><br />
<ul></ul><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Directions:</b></span><br />
<ol><li><span style="font-weight: normal;">HEAT oven to 375°F and grease 1 loaf pan.<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: normal;">COMBINE flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: normal;">STIR in beer slowly (dough will be thick and sticky) and spoon into loaf pan.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: normal;">BAKE for about 45 minutes or until toothpick stuck in center comes out clean <span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b><br />
<i>**NOTE**</i></b><i> Mine only took 35 minutes</i></span><br />
</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: normal;">COOL in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: normal;">REMOVE FROM PAN and cool 10 more minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.<br />
<br />
</span> <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Uf2519oLgxOoa7Cnvhf7zXqzTjs9L7HTCfg2t1SwkoRD8izmMAWOiyDGOL1BCQODscEF1TZlnZchI-2lBO5b1yYgYLpTOOCbJ09svjuyQL2J204gkmYV_FBPOeP-swx4pC4l0BUh0YS0/s1600-h/IMG_1717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Uf2519oLgxOoa7Cnvhf7zXqzTjs9L7HTCfg2t1SwkoRD8izmMAWOiyDGOL1BCQODscEF1TZlnZchI-2lBO5b1yYgYLpTOOCbJ09svjuyQL2J204gkmYV_FBPOeP-swx4pC4l0BUh0YS0/s320/IMG_1717.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>THIS</b> <span style="font-weight: normal;">is how beer bread, round two, came out.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The cracks are kinda scary huh? Like a monster?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Let me help you out with that:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcR5LnkAXpIzeOZchGaE3TJloA_VJThgZpHjv6Z6-JizRTECsxY7Y3b11sWx_FTNgSV4aXtwMfeZRHBXDOsIn1hHLQSVNIJKqMck7okzuNbPHpW9-a_ibYjYrSLT4PtfJ5uL8Wzg0LDS0G/s1600-h/Monster-Bread.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcR5LnkAXpIzeOZchGaE3TJloA_VJThgZpHjv6Z6-JizRTECsxY7Y3b11sWx_FTNgSV4aXtwMfeZRHBXDOsIn1hHLQSVNIJKqMck7okzuNbPHpW9-a_ibYjYrSLT4PtfJ5uL8Wzg0LDS0G/s320/Monster-Bread.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>See what I mean??</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Crazy.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i> </i><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Aside from its resemblance to something kids imagine comes from their closets, this was pretty darn good!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I mean, <i>look at this crust!</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLS9WUrJ6Nh35eIrE-Swz_R0mmyJYzSrgMqxy3HS9wrMfdbE3eqJPb4NCxwDTIQS2JiF8w1cDYXWieCDBgo17lC4wrVpRUyZNZkD7nBQmomU0-LAW31TJZrTCY1LnCLYzd7EG9YR-EA_yU/s1600-h/IMG_1718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLS9WUrJ6Nh35eIrE-Swz_R0mmyJYzSrgMqxy3HS9wrMfdbE3eqJPb4NCxwDTIQS2JiF8w1cDYXWieCDBgo17lC4wrVpRUyZNZkD7nBQmomU0-LAW31TJZrTCY1LnCLYzd7EG9YR-EA_yU/s320/IMG_1718.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mmmmm <b>craggly scraggly</b> goodness...</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMTmhdkhBxhS8v8LpmjXxl3MHzJySgRGRSb5AhncG0BYQQ57ycnN7Wi4-XhtzGQyyEeOT91y0CF78JOJC7FRvSB2i6uPPmeME8wphqU9brpGDbY7ciAEqicw0q2xajBC7E7b8W0W12lsQ9/s1600-h/IMG_1724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMTmhdkhBxhS8v8LpmjXxl3MHzJySgRGRSb5AhncG0BYQQ57ycnN7Wi4-XhtzGQyyEeOT91y0CF78JOJC7FRvSB2i6uPPmeME8wphqU9brpGDbY7ciAEqicw0q2xajBC7E7b8W0W12lsQ9/s320/IMG_1724.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Aww... poor widdle bread. <b style="color: red;">Look at you. </b> You want some butter, don't you? You're all warm and happy and you just want some butter. Butty wutty wutter. Wubby buddy wubber. Bubbe--</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>OK, I'm done.</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><b> </b>Butter.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
<b>Done.</b><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSybyHXXuXcuxmwBZzndN1JBQlxjv1nA17zyhW_BL8FzXg8CCadIxCXjdvru1fHmy4Zr_HiBfCppjxZYVJOtLggQSWivdi_RdPfUuG5izTFStzKW6Joey6tSkGRk6A8FF_VbxU-EJ-mu0c/s1600-h/IMG_1726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSybyHXXuXcuxmwBZzndN1JBQlxjv1nA17zyhW_BL8FzXg8CCadIxCXjdvru1fHmy4Zr_HiBfCppjxZYVJOtLggQSWivdi_RdPfUuG5izTFStzKW6Joey6tSkGRk6A8FF_VbxU-EJ-mu0c/s320/IMG_1726.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<br />
</li>
</ol></div></div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-16747669667782832282010-01-25T21:00:00.000-08:002010-01-25T21:00:02.941-08:00Pancakes??? More like MANcakes!!!<div style="text-align: justify;">So the wife asked me do a guest post on this little blog thing she's got going...bear with me as I'm not what you'd call an avid blogger. In fact, I don't know that I've ever blogged. The closest I've been is updating my facebook status more than once a month. So here goes something...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For those of you out there on the interwebs who don't know anything about me (which I'm pretty sure is like 98.4% of everyone reading this), I'm what most people would consider <a href="http://i49.tinypic.com/2rpcwuf.gif">a man</a>. And by that I mean I am a male of my species and have reached an age that allows me to do everything from buying lottery tickets to renting a car. So for quite a while, I also assumed I was a man. That was until I came across what is quite possibly the coolest website ever (besides <a href="http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/">this one</a> of course). <a href="http://artofmanliness.com/">The Art of Manliness</a> is like a guide to becoming the man that our grandfathers and great-grandfathers were. With articles covering everything from <a href="http://artofmanliness.com/2009/09/03/how-to-unclog-a-toilet/">manly skills</a> to <a href="http://artofmanliness.com/2009/10/06/how-to-straight-razor-shave/">how to get a manly shave</a>, it is a treasure chest of thoughts and tips on how to be a Man.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">While there are numerous articles that I could get into to show you how cool it is to be a Man, that's not why I'm here (plus I'm pretty sure that most of you reading this are of the female persuasion). My purpose today is to tell you about the delicious pancakes that I made. "What do pancakes have to do with a website about shaving and plumbing?" you may ask. Well let me enlighten you to the wonder that is the <a href="http://artofmanliness.com/2008/10/08/man-cookbook/">FREE Art of Manliness Man Cookbook</a>. AoM put this together back in October 2008, but I just recently discovered it. It is a compilation of recipes by AoM readers (which is sometimes evident in the way the recipes are written) for Men and their female counterparts. And boy was I excited to try some of the recipes.<br />
<br />
Note: You did have to subscribe to AoM via RSS feed or email to get the FREE cookbook, but it's well worth it.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I decided to give the Beer Batter Pancakes found on page 18 a try. The recipe is simple, but the pancakes are amazing. I attribute part of this to the fact that I had recently acquired a six pack of a friend of mine's <a href="http://i45.tinypic.com/33cx8r7.jpg">home-brewed stout</a> (that Miss Dot has been and will continue utilizing all week). While the recipe didn't call for such a flavorful brew, I really think that these flapjacks tasted just a little more manly with such a tasty base. For those of you without access to my secret stash, I think a dark beer like Guinness or a darker micro-brew would be great here as well.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well I'm sure you're wondering when I'm going to actually get to the recipe and all that fun stuff. Well you're in luck, because here it comes.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;">~•</span>Recipe #2<span style="color: black;">•~</span></b></span><br />
</div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Beer Batter Pancakes</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>By Steve from MKE (with some additions by me)<br />
</b><br />
from The Art of Manliness Man Cookbook<b> <br />
</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Ingredients</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">1 cup all purpose flour<b> </b><br />
1/4 cup sugar<br />
3/4 teaspoon baking powder<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">1/2 teaspoon salt<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">1 egg, beaten<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">1 cup beer<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">2 tablespoons melted butter<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Directions</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Mix all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> <br />
</b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvI6NYaV4XoDcZQnYqY6zT-GJ72ur7Rt4UlDCNKp_O6j8qaEsMka2bZ950xVngSNKVBoRCvYsJNXiUXshCUpk5cGTsljiISt_MQI9JYlNlCrWfzs9MmEjk6Cy2-Y6bC9O4Br0tzrXKCtt9/s1600-h/IMG_1688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvI6NYaV4XoDcZQnYqY6zT-GJ72ur7Rt4UlDCNKp_O6j8qaEsMka2bZ950xVngSNKVBoRCvYsJNXiUXshCUpk5cGTsljiISt_MQI9JYlNlCrWfzs9MmEjk6Cy2-Y6bC9O4Br0tzrXKCtt9/s320/IMG_1688.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> <br />
</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Pour 1/4 cup of batter on whatever surface you normally make pancakes on<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilNpw-RRKPlGdy1eKv-R9_dTjILdS4H4q3JytgcQUiGDqSX0glyolK12WGVLFg0DFWm-9JEL3kzoZ9DxS6QgkF5WNm-ooOunraZ0NR_MfSRG54f8tzb5-GIpAFikhOaiIiuJVke7IZSFuE/s1600-h/IMG_1697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilNpw-RRKPlGdy1eKv-R9_dTjILdS4H4q3JytgcQUiGDqSX0glyolK12WGVLFg0DFWm-9JEL3kzoZ9DxS6QgkF5WNm-ooOunraZ0NR_MfSRG54f8tzb5-GIpAFikhOaiIiuJVke7IZSFuE/s320/IMG_1697.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> <br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b>Wait until bubbles appear<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_PeE1gyvDrnKgTNTwsE2aSZ6u5A8QFny9pqagJ_s1TW35Xw6GONfdWydu8lKiGJe3x4FqZ-PsKH8JbggMYOLEDJ_pd6_7LAHgU-uTWeIiUdHjkw3hTkPcJC8ZiSSxIssBXYCiSmcyPd1S/s1600-h/IMG_1699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_PeE1gyvDrnKgTNTwsE2aSZ6u5A8QFny9pqagJ_s1TW35Xw6GONfdWydu8lKiGJe3x4FqZ-PsKH8JbggMYOLEDJ_pd6_7LAHgU-uTWeIiUdHjkw3hTkPcJC8ZiSSxIssBXYCiSmcyPd1S/s320/IMG_1699.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Flip<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ErV0koSPVMhZsFHQCLSlu_xB-mEFDCZOL3EAMk6uo0B9m2ProXzZgN7ju1rAy6MaqZmQBPZAvO7Uj_f32ZdVastGRrxiyHzlwCXlKEKsZKd0vWB_-kK5bkrIeALzCsImO-OogKs4mLfa/s1600-h/IMG_1692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ErV0koSPVMhZsFHQCLSlu_xB-mEFDCZOL3EAMk6uo0B9m2ProXzZgN7ju1rAy6MaqZmQBPZAvO7Uj_f32ZdVastGRrxiyHzlwCXlKEKsZKd0vWB_-kK5bkrIeALzCsImO-OogKs4mLfa/s320/IMG_1692.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cover in warm maple syrup<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsITAKZSVvi37yC_qoD_HUJBAx7UcsoqMYc-3hyVKtveqLzP8vOCfLRH_Bg21CTHfuxr9uuMBkuZBEeWaT4j6JIJe6m7McrTq5gN015QLC5h_OfupU0ptHuXtRPlYNH8faCAxbUZFFVvGV/s1600-h/IMG_1706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsITAKZSVvi37yC_qoD_HUJBAx7UcsoqMYc-3hyVKtveqLzP8vOCfLRH_Bg21CTHfuxr9uuMBkuZBEeWaT4j6JIJe6m7McrTq5gN015QLC5h_OfupU0ptHuXtRPlYNH8faCAxbUZFFVvGV/s320/IMG_1706.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Enjoy!!!<br />
</div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<center></center><center></center><center><img src="http://i47.tinypic.com/wpbfd.gif" /></center><br />
<br />
So there you have it. Not only did I make delicious pancakes, but I also successfully wrote a delicious blog post for the wife. I'm sure you have lots of great comments to leave me now, so go ahead and get to it. Thanks for letting me stop by for a few minutes.<br />
<br />
Until next time...Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-3113798165516305612010-01-24T09:01:00.000-08:002010-01-24T21:01:06.559-08:00It's like college all over again!<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk12pgJmqrNEWfwKR_r6Z4KEnpNpXlNw7FaIBCraVDm0SNoQvmj6tARifL2-nOiYkiSxAi6h-vmzEcWf40_hWGwvhMu2MpkMNPxkUu7HndM4-FJ0gvnLj0e9SIBWK_Zwjf5ebRjGSuG5Hd/s1600-h/mustache.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk12pgJmqrNEWfwKR_r6Z4KEnpNpXlNw7FaIBCraVDm0SNoQvmj6tARifL2-nOiYkiSxAi6h-vmzEcWf40_hWGwvhMu2MpkMNPxkUu7HndM4-FJ0gvnLj0e9SIBWK_Zwjf5ebRjGSuG5Hd/s320/mustache.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> brought to you by spamberly's <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/spamberly"><b>Etsy shop</b></a></i></span><br />
<br />
Welcome to my second <b>un-<span style="color: red;">Mustache Monday</span></b> in a row.<br />
<br />
<b>•[</b><i>sad face</i><b>]•</b><br />
<br />
I know you're getting that <b style="color: red;">déjà vu</b> kinda feeling, but I'm doing this little thing on my <b><a href="http://www.missdotscupcakespot.blogspot.com/">other blog</a> </b>that I wanna share with you.<br />
<br />
I'm having a <b>BEER WEEK.</b><br />
<br />
Yep, that's right, a Beer Week.<br />
<b> </b><br />
Week full o' beer.<br />
<br />
Una semana de cerveza.<br />
<i>(That's what I get for living so close to the Mexican border)</i><br />
<br />
So let me begin this fun by telling you about <b><a href="http://missdotscupcakespot.blogspot.com/2010/01/apple-tar-er-cobbler.html">this one night</a>.</b><br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">That one night, I was feeling<b> <i><span style="color: red;">persnickety</span>.</i></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<b>But I was missing something:</b><br />
I was missing one special<br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black;">[[</span>KEY<span style="color: black;">]]</span></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>secret</i></b> ingredient that I needed from a friend.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">One that I needed for a <b><span style="color: red;">new cupcake recipe</span>.</b> <br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Well, guess what?<br />
<br />
<b>I GOT THE INGREDIENT:</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">{<span style="color: red;">STOUT</span>}</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBbPW555PdyUgr-fnGm7B8TiUdkBl6MfNpqgqfOJ8k9RdAa_GOJDsTIBtdMXE5tThgct-lPKx_BsYkbpdqWKfp_4DxwoY6Rthtp55Mfiyz8vk9nDJoT53A9w5v7WlXBZDhyJIhQ9rLaE/s1600-h/Beer+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBbPW555PdyUgr-fnGm7B8TiUdkBl6MfNpqgqfOJ8k9RdAa_GOJDsTIBtdMXE5tThgct-lPKx_BsYkbpdqWKfp_4DxwoY6Rthtp55Mfiyz8vk9nDJoT53A9w5v7WlXBZDhyJIhQ9rLaE/s400/Beer+3.JPG" width="222" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Strong, dark, robust, home-brewed </i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>stout</b>.</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Now, if you'll recall, <i>I actually don't drink</i>, so for me to really enjoy this beer and its <b style="color: red;">bold</b><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">,</span></span><b style="color: red;"> roasted malt flavor</b>, I had to come up with some recipes that would showcase just that.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Thankfully, my husband joined in on the fun, too, and we've come up with a <b>glorious</b> week of <span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;">[[</span>stout-tastic<span style="color: black;">]]</span> </b></span>bliss.<u> <br />
</u><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Let's start the fun then, shall we?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;">~•</span>Recipe #1<span style="color: black;">•~</span></b></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: small;">♥STOUT CUPCAKES♥</span></b></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">From "Martha Stewart's Cupcakes"</span></span></b></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Makes 24-30 cupcakes</i></span></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Ingredients:</b></span></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">3 3/4 c. all-purpose flour</span></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/2 t. plus 1/8 t. baking soda</span></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 3/4 t. baking powder</span></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 1/4 t. salt</span></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 T. ground cinnamon</span></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 1/4 t. freshly grated nutmeg</span></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 1/4 c. vegetable oil</span></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 1/4 c. unsulfured molasses</span></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1/2 c. plus 1 T. packed light-brown sugar</span></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">2 large whole eggs plus 1 egg yolk</span></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 T. plus 1 t. finely grated orange zest</span></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 1/4 c. (10 oz.) stout beer, such as Guinness, poured and settled</span></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Stout Glaze <i>(recipe follows)</i></span></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Directions</b>:</span></span></span></span><br />
</div><ol><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">HEAT oven to 350°F and line standard muffin tins with paper liners.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">WHISK together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">BEAT together oil, molasses, brown sugar, whole eggs, yolk, zest, and stout on medium-low speed until combined.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">ADD flour mixture; beat until just combined.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">DIVIDE batter among cups, filling each three-quarters full. </span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">BAKE, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean (about 20 minutes).</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">COOL on wire racks. <i><b><br />
<br />
*TIP: </b>Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature or frozen up to 2 months in airtight containers.<br />
<br />
</i></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i>To finish, place cupcakes on a wire rack set over a baking sheet; spoon glaze over cupcakes and let set. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are glazed; keep at room temperature until ready to serve.</span></span></span></span></li>
</ol><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: red;">STOUT GLAZE: </b><span style="color: black;">Whisk together 2 c. confectioner's sugar, sifted, and 1/4 c. stout beer, such as Guinness, poured and settled. Use immediately. <b>**NOTE**</b> I found that this was <i>barely</i> enough to drizzle over my cupcakes. Maybe it's because I'm such a frosting nut anyway that glaze doesn't really do it for me, but I could barely get a full tablespoon on each cupcake, and I only made 24 cupcakes! </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcVS1eUQ1oyy9u15ygWtLT3ZEJV7v3J8TSkAsSKNGQGFYEs2LRXnf2Sn-LMzbyJv8iRcLIBpJB9A3Qibepf7T5RT3EMdPmmnGHmqxo2VbB6MtxPGqgitFGtls7laCYIHKjnLPy8r3Yws/s1600-h/Cupcakes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcVS1eUQ1oyy9u15ygWtLT3ZEJV7v3J8TSkAsSKNGQGFYEs2LRXnf2Sn-LMzbyJv8iRcLIBpJB9A3Qibepf7T5RT3EMdPmmnGHmqxo2VbB6MtxPGqgitFGtls7laCYIHKjnLPy8r3Yws/s320/Cupcakes.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPoveUHYN7Vblr484E3enUA4u_u_fWo2na3OAs4LbyfXbQwpsbO2TeIQcS4rSFJZvY27v38b5_s_9qegKuyXBbB4g2Bdg2HJF-rAR3883x4giw8gwymG4BrqRCLQE10BHVvPkW_RW_cWE/s1600-h/Cupcakes+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPoveUHYN7Vblr484E3enUA4u_u_fWo2na3OAs4LbyfXbQwpsbO2TeIQcS4rSFJZvY27v38b5_s_9qegKuyXBbB4g2Bdg2HJF-rAR3883x4giw8gwymG4BrqRCLQE10BHVvPkW_RW_cWE/s320/Cupcakes+2.JPG" /></a><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Since I only had enough room for two cupcake tins in my oven, I filled those both and used the remaining batter to make a little double layer 6-inch round cake. I iced it with a lemon buttercream on top and cream cheese frosting in the middle. That way, I still got my frosting fix. Silly glazes -- who uses those, anyway?? Pfft... glaze is like frosting for wimps. If you can't stand the sugar, <i><b>get out of the kitchen!</b></i>*<br />
<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4C8WcvSEHJOnS39aTSv_xmwjXuH2r6ZY2PE79rTBeawbsZg-aL2VyN5UnAihY8BVC9l03MCammKe6kCcs9mkXUn4kupItWnHTLftATtBU16hwAS-Xy-42laHPqiwenmz8c7hHdREye54/s1600-h/Cake+Closeup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4C8WcvSEHJOnS39aTSv_xmwjXuH2r6ZY2PE79rTBeawbsZg-aL2VyN5UnAihY8BVC9l03MCammKe6kCcs9mkXUn4kupItWnHTLftATtBU16hwAS-Xy-42laHPqiwenmz8c7hHdREye54/s320/Cake+Closeup.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofKmVVjnx0Rv9gfG75XWc-9NCmHouDfQ8PYKpyM-Ga2e9YwrAXlmrghwGCUXDykYyUBX64Q5LAC6GsULykFlUh5TvQkxgiiPrLdimt97UCLXrzG6CpvPdDBR03LWaraV1biNCSMwGJdM/s1600-h/Cake+Pedestal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofKmVVjnx0Rv9gfG75XWc-9NCmHouDfQ8PYKpyM-Ga2e9YwrAXlmrghwGCUXDykYyUBX64Q5LAC6GsULykFlUh5TvQkxgiiPrLdimt97UCLXrzG6CpvPdDBR03LWaraV1biNCSMwGJdM/s320/Cake+Pedestal.JPG" /></a><br />
</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSfbsoSb0paSznAOHSnJLXYfPtRV4ejJA06-w6j3AAajWOzx44R1R-0YORPpoXxk14BfCvUpdjnnnr-8infe7Bc0zG0mR32E9LSqWv3HDWCuF9ahpJA_LDqn87JE2dwLFVm8epTlSatI/s1600-h/Cake+Slice.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSfbsoSb0paSznAOHSnJLXYfPtRV4ejJA06-w6j3AAajWOzx44R1R-0YORPpoXxk14BfCvUpdjnnnr-8infe7Bc0zG0mR32E9LSqWv3HDWCuF9ahpJA_LDqn87JE2dwLFVm8epTlSatI/s320/Cake+Slice.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This recipe is just great. Those little cupcakes are packed with such a rich, spicy flavor that I had a hard time keeping Mr. Dot's grubby little mitts off 'em. They taste like a spice cake -- a moist, dark, spice cake with a little <i><b>zing</b></i> of <b style="color: orange;">orange</b><b>.</b> I definitely recommend you give this one a try!<br />
</div></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b>[<span style="color: red;">♥</span>]</b><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>*Just as a side note before I start getting hate mail, I am <u>fully aware</u> of the dangers associated with mass sugar consumption. As the daughter of a diabetic father, niece of three diabetic uncles, and reformed overweight child myself, I genuinely appreciate the idea of sugar in moderation. However, I also genuinely appreciate frosting. It's a vicious life I lead.</i><br />
</div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-54872858786538983992010-01-21T14:53:00.000-08:002010-01-21T15:02:21.710-08:00Raintime Blues<div style="text-align: center;">I'm having kind of a <b style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">*</span>blah</b><b>*</b> day.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This is what it looks like outside:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK7qA6fgHkEeswwqx-Ao27466816mbwABqca93je7Sk4V-G7T3ZPszNbK_7zDnP2hAP-4X0KAxL2YTEVtZXzHvNgRCepi-F1JMCOd9bCOa6ElhJCwpHq4NZv3poMTm-x9Yei9eja9L7Qwg/s1600-h/rain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK7qA6fgHkEeswwqx-Ao27466816mbwABqca93je7Sk4V-G7T3ZPszNbK_7zDnP2hAP-4X0KAxL2YTEVtZXzHvNgRCepi-F1JMCOd9bCOa6ElhJCwpHq4NZv3poMTm-x9Yei9eja9L7Qwg/s320/rain.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Though <b style="color: red;">I usually like rain</b>, I feel <b>less</b> like this:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKl3xmhhf5SG_sAOkmyG6EjXJHLH3efk3WVMJS2Deaj5OtPtms25ie8jo9d0w6oGHgPGsRmuS3pv9sEk0HrQCnVN6sJeMxAPB3xeJLXvdLJTyl4cmT2qLOYDYcSIWGPfX155mRvBVy92Q9/s1600-h/Singing+in+the+Rain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKl3xmhhf5SG_sAOkmyG6EjXJHLH3efk3WVMJS2Deaj5OtPtms25ie8jo9d0w6oGHgPGsRmuS3pv9sEk0HrQCnVN6sJeMxAPB3xeJLXvdLJTyl4cmT2qLOYDYcSIWGPfX155mRvBVy92Q9/s320/Singing+in+the+Rain.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">and <b>more</b> like this:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJc7C6j-MCmhJc_0-XCs-ODSuqI-1j6zOis35IXHw5m6rF9lSKEzErSmi3IZnY5kPwBP1qvULmISv1uts6SkCs0q1g1s51xLV5972mhYyH27HV0Ipe6uuvAq4hiitrWpX1NFIG2oW5BeS/s1600-h/crying+in+the+rain+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJc7C6j-MCmhJc_0-XCs-ODSuqI-1j6zOis35IXHw5m6rF9lSKEzErSmi3IZnY5kPwBP1qvULmISv1uts6SkCs0q1g1s51xLV5972mhYyH27HV0Ipe6uuvAq4hiitrWpX1NFIG2oW5BeS/s320/crying+in+the+rain+2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">No, wait, that's <i>too dramatic.</i> Like this:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdiFcXtldYLEOOW8FMxYOB5H5OawECvCZKWt7hyphenhyphenvAyZJ-H-ZSCzQ2-P0U7rUeRz2mYjHWR-GB8oeRgZCPBBsHRu49BE3q-YGZHrSdV-_8PsOg_4Ofwwl6lt8h7VMiE0_YmlMi8rm0S7PZj/s1600-h/crying+in+the+rain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdiFcXtldYLEOOW8FMxYOB5H5OawECvCZKWt7hyphenhyphenvAyZJ-H-ZSCzQ2-P0U7rUeRz2mYjHWR-GB8oeRgZCPBBsHRu49BE3q-YGZHrSdV-_8PsOg_4Ofwwl6lt8h7VMiE0_YmlMi8rm0S7PZj/s320/crying+in+the+rain.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Actually, maybe a mixture between the two. Can you picture that? K good.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">So I'm bundled up inside, watching the rain fall outside, and letting the <b>*<span style="color: red;">blah</span>*</b> run its course.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">In the meantime, though, <b> </b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://missdotscupcakespot.blogspot.com/2010/01/cinnamon-cream-cheese-poundcake.html">I've been busy</a>.</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-12038938832720498592010-01-17T22:07:00.000-08:002010-01-17T22:07:11.733-08:00IT'S COMING!!<div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: black;"><i>We interrupt this Monday's Mustache to bring you the following message. </i></b><b><br />
</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Oh.My.<i style="color: red;">GOODNESS.</i></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">OK, OK, let me back up.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
So I was driving.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Scratch that.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">So Hubby was driving.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">K.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And I was looking.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Right?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Like out the window. <b><a href="http://i45.tinypic.com/140g01v.jpg">Like a puppy</a>.</b> A cute puppy.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Or a kitten.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://i47.tinypic.com/ap8cnk.jpg"><b>If kittens tended to look out windows whilst driving.</b></a>)<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">But I <strike>digest</strike> digress.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">So I'm looking. Out the window.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And I see...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>THIS.</b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGRE5BY2mQ_1VaPvmDGq0njCV1d1lH8nc99JTPVxIawNQ_K4a0vSiFFqpQcB77EoJU1MPiRgrEsD0ogZ0CunaYf7NUmiCCf8pLrtQTEcXnbUw46Zo5VZo9LRy0xp0v4SU9r-ZMZhyphenhyphenEBn_/s1600-h/IMG_4438.blur" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGRE5BY2mQ_1VaPvmDGq0njCV1d1lH8nc99JTPVxIawNQ_K4a0vSiFFqpQcB77EoJU1MPiRgrEsD0ogZ0CunaYf7NUmiCCf8pLrtQTEcXnbUw46Zo5VZo9LRy0xp0v4SU9r-ZMZhyphenhyphenEBn_/s320/IMG_4438.blur" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>DID YOU SEE THAT??</i></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">No?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">K wait.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">How 'bout <i>now</i>?<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJkEoq3AlF9dAR-YkOXVFckBvcGU7xl5ajpS8e0lDDr1ZFVh6Ngo5JZpuiCyEfSyEHC0fvAJkDapOzQrsniNQAb5rbvCHjXsqZW8UR4JDQDPP1Fq7by3EeNVHAfm_318mJdTl_Kj3_dqk/s1600-h/IMG_4438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJkEoq3AlF9dAR-YkOXVFckBvcGU7xl5ajpS8e0lDDr1ZFVh6Ngo5JZpuiCyEfSyEHC0fvAJkDapOzQrsniNQAb5rbvCHjXsqZW8UR4JDQDPP1Fq7by3EeNVHAfm_318mJdTl_Kj3_dqk/s320/IMG_4438.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">See? Right there in the back?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Oh come on, it's plain as day!<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhECXeNIoFesZrwngP7xpkwkzzWBkWtYSw9Yt77Ra100hzjThYzbEe-5ipSGqOOMIec9r1rD3GtuDRLVZr1hKVK-S-acNYrHNHuXmN61o_Hx9L-AQ42jV9LoCjh6KDa6l32y0HdUiUX71M9/s1600-h/IMG_4440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhECXeNIoFesZrwngP7xpkwkzzWBkWtYSw9Yt77Ra100hzjThYzbEe-5ipSGqOOMIec9r1rD3GtuDRLVZr1hKVK-S-acNYrHNHuXmN61o_Hx9L-AQ42jV9LoCjh6KDa6l32y0HdUiUX71M9/s320/IMG_4440.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: red;"><♥CUPCAKE LAND!!♥></b></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;">[[</b><b>OMC OMC OMC OMC</b>*<b style="color: red;">]]</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Since I couldn't find anything on the windows or door indicating a grand opening, I went into the jewelry place next door to get the 411.</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Here's what I found out:</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>→</b></span><b>It's coming.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>→</b></span></span><i style="color: red;"><b>SOON.</b></i><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>→</b></span></span><b><span style="color: black;">It's going to be a <span style="color: red;">cupcake shop</span> </span></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">(Don't laugh! It's not <i>that</i> obvious. It could be a cupcake <b>supply</b> shop or maybe a cupcake <b>accessory</b> shop. It didn't necessarily HAVE to <i>sell</i> cupcakes. Hmmph. Smarty pants.)</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>→</b></span></span><b><span style="color: black;">They're going to sell other goodies too; she mentioned breads and cookies.</span></b><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>→</b></span></span><b><span style="color: black;">The owner has already hired some of her staff.</span></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><i><b>STOP RIGHT THERE.</b></i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Hired? Staff?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://onecupcakeatatime.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-wish-i-could-gripe-about-my-job.html"><b>Hmmm...</b></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">So I went home.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I picked out a <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cupcakes-Notecards-Paperstyle-Wallet/dp/1845977815">cute cupcake notecard</a>.</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And I wrote the owner a note.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I told her <b>I'm happy</b> she is coming. I told her <b>I can't wait</b> to try out her cupcakes. I told her <b>I am so excited </b>because she's going to be the *<i>first* </i>cupcake place in the area.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And then I told her...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">...if she needs any more staff...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">...<i>I'm here.</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And I included my resume.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And I <b style="color: red;">drew her a cupcake</b> on the envelope.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And I slid it under her door.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">And now, I'm waiting.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Wish me luck!</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">(and heck, say a little prayer, too!)<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">♥</span><br />
</div><span style="color: black;"><b> </b> </span><b style="color: red;"> </b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*<i><b><a href="http://i50.tinypic.com/1z566j4.jpg">OMC</a></b></i></span><br />
</div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-81414792707648522092010-01-17T11:20:00.000-08:002010-01-17T11:20:45.474-08:00Lotion Giveaway!<div style="text-align: center;">Like everyone out there, I have <b><span style="color: red;">guilty pleasures.</span></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">One of them is <b>Olsen Twin movies.</b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8LkN9KcO1qUSFRWWAEuIJTSeEPlU58h7I-vb-ndvK_rX56VLenbMeRBgKz1YoUYJhURPd5HlPTrALrSpcnQfUq5OhoCzq9yRyf3dIv_2UAKGOyGWgTYOf1arJ7kgrrFmziJunVQLzBfOZ/s1600-h/it_takes_two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8LkN9KcO1qUSFRWWAEuIJTSeEPlU58h7I-vb-ndvK_rX56VLenbMeRBgKz1YoUYJhURPd5HlPTrALrSpcnQfUq5OhoCzq9yRyf3dIv_2UAKGOyGWgTYOf1arJ7kgrrFmziJunVQLzBfOZ/s320/it_takes_two.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b> <br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Another is the <b>Lifetime Movie Channel.</b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4TMJp-Fc_mskg3vmjO3OBVMzdSqyo10wItgllMYlCIN58JOJR8yAhq3PPftydXWP6eQeYvHR6SR5JHIRFiHi5oRo8FuUSlwA6eue-RVWtElJEmc6a4BetewAFtJ9xHtdjC3BHfReuJ5W/s1600-h/tenthcircle_621x257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4TMJp-Fc_mskg3vmjO3OBVMzdSqyo10wItgllMYlCIN58JOJR8yAhq3PPftydXWP6eQeYvHR6SR5JHIRFiHi5oRo8FuUSlwA6eue-RVWtElJEmc6a4BetewAFtJ9xHtdjC3BHfReuJ5W/s320/tenthcircle_621x257.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">My newest, though, is <b style="color: red;">Makeup Instruction Sites.</b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmSS6jZQlBdADgdcJFKyO_iEZ5jeZJ4bzaRP9lTlkge4qt68so1J_ssYVji9k7G8LaYOXEvAAYbXGi3fWl3V6jzblML7qRg9E-cpHcDfvKZjr7jR9jiz_uqZ96zZ0m6aE2CzF4R66qFNKa/s1600-h/mineral-powder-foundation1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmSS6jZQlBdADgdcJFKyO_iEZ5jeZJ4bzaRP9lTlkge4qt68so1J_ssYVji9k7G8LaYOXEvAAYbXGi3fWl3V6jzblML7qRg9E-cpHcDfvKZjr7jR9jiz_uqZ96zZ0m6aE2CzF4R66qFNKa/s320/mineral-powder-foundation1.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Specifically,<b> <a href="http://www.makeupbylaurenp.com/">this site</a> </b>by <b style="color: red;">Lauren P.</b><br />
</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.makeupbylaurenp.com/">MakeupByLaurenP.com</a></b> is giving one lucky person the chance to win a<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span style="color: navy;"><span style="color: black;"> full-sized bottle of <i><b>Skin MD Shielding Lotion</b></i> along with literature and about skincare. The prize kit also includes several sample packets of regular Skin MD Natural and their SPF15 version.</span></span></span> To enter visit the blog<b> <a href="http://www.makeupbylaurenp.com/2010/01/my-first-give-way-skin-md-natural.html">here</a> </b>and get your entries in for a chance to win!</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYgPiogrE7HkamZBKUhyphenhyphenq1e3RuFN_eA3gn-oNbXeoGyq-nx5SVAVolkaeADyoEgSx7kEMQqHRBSrDGWmCA0zzHvVEWc-AkMziBRoWfolHchBw-6awzh-Kkx7hJKbkOuMCNCz4WRkeDVXTH/s1600-h/skinmdnatural.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYgPiogrE7HkamZBKUhyphenhyphenq1e3RuFN_eA3gn-oNbXeoGyq-nx5SVAVolkaeADyoEgSx7kEMQqHRBSrDGWmCA0zzHvVEWc-AkMziBRoWfolHchBw-6awzh-Kkx7hJKbkOuMCNCz4WRkeDVXTH/s320/skinmdnatural.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-56844155275047683972010-01-14T17:24:00.000-08:002010-01-14T17:24:26.793-08:00I Wish I Could Gripe About My Job...<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>...but I don't even have one. </i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">You probably recall me recently mentioning a little something about a <a href="http://onecupcakeatatime.blogspot.com/2010/01/im-in-money-im-in-money.html"><b>job interview.</b></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since then, you've probably been going NUTS wondering whatever happened with that. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Well...</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I got the job!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: red;">Fantastico</b>, right? <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wrong :(<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The job was not at all what I thought it was going to be. Though I understood that I was going to be performing administrative support at a warehouse facility, I neglected to fully understand just <i>how</i> bad it would be.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">They said that they had recently experienced a rather high <b>employee turnover</b> but that they were looking to start 2010 with a clean slate and were excited about new people coming in. They made it <i>sound</i> like the turnover was on their part (i.e., they let people go), but the more I got to know the place, the more it seemed like maybe the turnover was really more like <b style="color: red;">people jumping off a sinking ship.</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>I'm not sure what tipped me off first:</b> sharing a computer with 2-3 people, making a list of necessary office supplies (i.e. pens, highlighters, staplers) only to be told, "Hmm... we can probably get most of this stuff," or the stack of "Failure to Pay" notices on the receptionist's desk. Oh! Oh! I know, maybe it was the fact that there were only TWO phones in the whole office that rang when someone called in; however, even though these phones were situated on two women's desks, those two women <i>did not answer the phones. </i>Instead, if I heard the phone ring, wherever I was in the office I had to drop everything and book it up to the front to answer the phone <i>right in front of the woman sitting at the desk.</i> WHAT?!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ugh.</b></span> <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I let them know yesterday that I wouldn't be coming back so now I'm back to <b style="color: red;">square one</b>:<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Sitting on the couch, answering wanted ads online, and watching episode after episode of "<a href="http://www.oxygen.com/tvshows/snapped/"><b>Snapped</b></a>" on the DVR.</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Someone better hire me soon, the hubby's starting to worry ;)<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2I7pA5VIjctKLQG1ouARUp9IFQmhyphenhyphen2WOppMdNJMjQTJmrP8KBELodS9gM0X36ojs3fODHgpNyAytYulttIJlw1_U6VPW3VGZX8iuoRlgLtg_MIlh_Km-9iyrKK6IzTsq18Lc8xrUiyPSa/s1600-h/bittersweet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2I7pA5VIjctKLQG1ouARUp9IFQmhyphenhyphen2WOppMdNJMjQTJmrP8KBELodS9gM0X36ojs3fODHgpNyAytYulttIJlw1_U6VPW3VGZX8iuoRlgLtg_MIlh_Km-9iyrKK6IzTsq18Lc8xrUiyPSa/s320/bittersweet.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">© Anne Taintor </span></i><br />
</div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-46922846318324807322010-01-13T00:02:00.000-08:002010-01-18T16:22:52.748-08:00What Happens in Vegas...Goes on my Blog!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>We're Back!!</b></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">In case you haven't heard, my husband and I spent our one-year anniversary in <b> </b><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;">•[</span></b><span style="color: black;">[</span><b>VEGAS</b><span style="color: black;">]</span><b><span style="color: black;">]•</span></b></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">and, since we don't really gamble or drink, we actually did a bunch of really, really cool stuff:<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We saw the <b style="color: blue;">Blue Man Group</b><span style="color: black;">...</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zK5mlO77yDjZPyh5IOAwwwU_Ps-TBFkJArw1IBuFTuEB7_hGdERhIsZ1lDIrkez92FbU1fT8q6Lg448T7u96F0Z-lPGLnY73XIMq4xF5LF6GrgyR7G57kdYfJhOt8uAOUdpMB8UphQnC/s1600-h/IMG_4359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zK5mlO77yDjZPyh5IOAwwwU_Ps-TBFkJArw1IBuFTuEB7_hGdERhIsZ1lDIrkez92FbU1fT8q6Lg448T7u96F0Z-lPGLnY73XIMq4xF5LF6GrgyR7G57kdYfJhOt8uAOUdpMB8UphQnC/s320/IMG_4359.JPG" /></a><b style="color: blue;"> </b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVA9Mt4n4Mc7MgPtJ9IeRt6PnTMcC8cu4fEV_fFcza8lmC_g35h7Elf0CZAwAvkjWxcIEHfx9iGiDM_QOQH862YsuZ7KGX5ED2S6BI_BRxlQYUZFhEm82eqmnpELrBXi6rMX9DjZ22Nxl/s1600-h/IMG_4357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVA9Mt4n4Mc7MgPtJ9IeRt6PnTMcC8cu4fEV_fFcza8lmC_g35h7Elf0CZAwAvkjWxcIEHfx9iGiDM_QOQH862YsuZ7KGX5ED2S6BI_BRxlQYUZFhEm82eqmnpELrBXi6rMX9DjZ22Nxl/s320/IMG_4357.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfF0TXuswcLGXtuDht_N1aP7nI7ji3eJYZ3i4TdD5276SE_pAa8lA7xLajHqAYeVHG1ND1ew78Uws2aWFLvc2x25KBrD2rYadnikw2Po3xRvx1wlL7tgupt6CI8XbYFcMPcupq2K0Q4EjY/s1600-h/IMG_4360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfF0TXuswcLGXtuDht_N1aP7nI7ji3eJYZ3i4TdD5276SE_pAa8lA7xLajHqAYeVHG1ND1ew78Uws2aWFLvc2x25KBrD2rYadnikw2Po3xRvx1wlL7tgupt6CI8XbYFcMPcupq2K0Q4EjY/s320/IMG_4360.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGz6lVGRmsDYnw0FEs5uXvH__pKurxF58tx4STQvNlZSiKpsplOEJIRaQ3Gn7U0nOgJOwXmM7G2sLFvJzA54VQQD_RIzfCpjGYyIW27_sloAcyUGwJDvO21_d7NVmne_Bglfd6TpfLFsaN/s1600-h/IMG_4362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGz6lVGRmsDYnw0FEs5uXvH__pKurxF58tx4STQvNlZSiKpsplOEJIRaQ3Gn7U0nOgJOwXmM7G2sLFvJzA54VQQD_RIzfCpjGYyIW27_sloAcyUGwJDvO21_d7NVmne_Bglfd6TpfLFsaN/s320/IMG_4362.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: blue;"> <br />
</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">[[</span>♥<span style="color: black;">]]</span></span></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">...<b>Jersey Boys</b>...</span></span></span><b style="color: blue;"></b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5QqAdB3PADCuD6LN9Fqvk4qrehHdGJlb_aArS8Y9HvQashiKmZre3Oq5r_JIxLh7W6LXOF2jZSCtH2QWMR4WqNJVVEg7qiOSbsB-yNdPDl24Rf5SXug2YAVeLTRL3XGvZz0kSa_2L8ssG/s1600-h/JBGiftVoucher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5QqAdB3PADCuD6LN9Fqvk4qrehHdGJlb_aArS8Y9HvQashiKmZre3Oq5r_JIxLh7W6LXOF2jZSCtH2QWMR4WqNJVVEg7qiOSbsB-yNdPDl24Rf5SXug2YAVeLTRL3XGvZz0kSa_2L8ssG/s320/JBGiftVoucher.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: blue;"><br />
</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">[[</span>♥<span style="color: black;">]]</span></span></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">...</span></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">and <b>Le Rêve</b>.</span></span></span><b style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpl5Q1sGrtB7p1vofQuWRLIxIe6fRNF7JM9SINvBfVf1Z4p_HkNSZ0xj-zPDDq-o2iBmVfUhJjfTfrSk_bMjiW3wb4HYmG7ZITSMkGf9E0QGeR5d83lr5viAoLm0wPcW9C1NgmZ682bwYC/s1600-h/le-reve-logo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpl5Q1sGrtB7p1vofQuWRLIxIe6fRNF7JM9SINvBfVf1Z4p_HkNSZ0xj-zPDDq-o2iBmVfUhJjfTfrSk_bMjiW3wb4HYmG7ZITSMkGf9E0QGeR5d83lr5viAoLm0wPcW9C1NgmZ682bwYC/s320/le-reve-logo.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VpkkSp5KJrncqmpwwTe4h6mE1FUH00hc36REnkvSun1x3JqiXXXzngNMTwBBOHuX2YaK5zfwJdYb3ORnks6np_2iEiQow8KR7jvDgSW0r3UIzixDeKJAzTjH-ppaVBiCIXAdfKUPjACH/s1600-h/LeReve_f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4VpkkSp5KJrncqmpwwTe4h6mE1FUH00hc36REnkvSun1x3JqiXXXzngNMTwBBOHuX2YaK5zfwJdYb3ORnks6np_2iEiQow8KR7jvDgSW0r3UIzixDeKJAzTjH-ppaVBiCIXAdfKUPjACH/s320/LeReve_f.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">This last show took place at <a href="http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/"><b>the Wynn</b></a> which, in case you've never been to Vegas, is only the <b style="color: red;">classiest</b>, <i><b>most chic</b></i></span></span></span><b style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">hotel (and casino) I've even been in. They had a <b>Ferrari dealership</b> <i>IN THE HOTEL</i> and I <u>swear</u> the toilet paper had real gold flakes embedded in it. </span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Naturally, the hubbs bought me one for our anniversary.</span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">[[</span>♥<span style="color: black;">]]</span></span></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">I also ran into my <b><span style="color: red;">♥</span><i>childhood sweetheart</i></b></span></span></span><b style="color: red;">♥</b><b style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbKyfXg-scomFerixD13aWvHlgBpWTGZx0v2W38DaMSQZDzAqtN8B6W2vH6SYJvzt9jIaGtU2-0FGNXa-wOqxA6KoNqba83PyVUst5FRtztQNekfK2XX4NVdEYhUCu9-cVhwiF-rw6FSV/s1600-h/IMG_4404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbKyfXg-scomFerixD13aWvHlgBpWTGZx0v2W38DaMSQZDzAqtN8B6W2vH6SYJvzt9jIaGtU2-0FGNXa-wOqxA6KoNqba83PyVUst5FRtztQNekfK2XX4NVdEYhUCu9-cVhwiF-rw6FSV/s320/IMG_4404.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepOiEVu9wp5K35dJQXUmaW3G5-OXHrSwoujoKxNHvTM6V1MmE6EpzZPQXxxk4rSoiAbSVq7CJ_OcJZKmSG4B_kjv8rxm7oa7SIg240qmUHvLXaDKXiZOAlLIOqGyNXWvk1yFmlhCcG09e/s1600-h/IMG_4406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepOiEVu9wp5K35dJQXUmaW3G5-OXHrSwoujoKxNHvTM6V1MmE6EpzZPQXxxk4rSoiAbSVq7CJ_OcJZKmSG4B_kjv8rxm7oa7SIg240qmUHvLXaDKXiZOAlLIOqGyNXWvk1yFmlhCcG09e/s320/IMG_4406.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrm5_UmqGryyAcYb5bmh-wXXT-TxoA5yhC5cv_IjHz5ng9Dubj3Ymuz-NpPFs5z0GbLbMBC3R26KZnsa5fjKsafjQYgcUOpVp83RkcahyphenhyphenPONfR9rh10u9RllgYXd9jXZhGEFHQt7XFCm8x/s1600-h/IMG_4405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrm5_UmqGryyAcYb5bmh-wXXT-TxoA5yhC5cv_IjHz5ng9Dubj3Ymuz-NpPFs5z0GbLbMBC3R26KZnsa5fjKsafjQYgcUOpVp83RkcahyphenhyphenPONfR9rh10u9RllgYXd9jXZhGEFHQt7XFCm8x/s320/IMG_4405.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>and then again later:</i><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMh3zjUaOHpBjNnkwlxVuEUnFwoVGzPZCabBJV8IzabLh68NRSzcpxiOeat0XOWa5PAfFgmP3WMztFTOXeEoaZcJAFxQ9mHGUMNJ2atOpF0n5EOXnjgoSiCCEAJW1-5Ber4L7Vs8edzViX/s1600-h/IMG_4410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMh3zjUaOHpBjNnkwlxVuEUnFwoVGzPZCabBJV8IzabLh68NRSzcpxiOeat0XOWa5PAfFgmP3WMztFTOXeEoaZcJAFxQ9mHGUMNJ2atOpF0n5EOXnjgoSiCCEAJW1-5Ber4L7Vs8edzViX/s320/IMG_4410.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">[[</span>♥<span style="color: black;">]]</span></span></b><br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">But just about the <b>**<i>coolest</i>**</b> thing we did was this:<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">A <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">CAKEWALK</span>!</b></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">After reading through the <a href="http://www.cakespy.com/blog/2007/8/2/cakewalks-sweet-bakeries-weve-tried-in-various-cities.html"><b>Cakewalks</b></a> on <b>CakeSpy</b>, I thought it'd be fun to try out a bunch of new cupcake places.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Then, <a href="http://amber-laha.blogspot.com/"><b>Amber</b></a> (who suggested Vegas to us in the first place) found some cupcake places in Vegas, and so the hubbs and I went and searched for some more to try out and review while we were there.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Without futher ado, here is our<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>~VEGAS CAKEWALK~</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>First stop:</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;">Sugar's Bakery</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>[</b><i><a href="http://www.sugarsbakery.com/home.nxg"><b>website</b></a></i><b>]</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">It took us a bit to find this place -- it's not on the strip and so we had to drive about 10-15 minutes to get there. Initially, we were kinda bummed about the distance but we soon found out that there are (at least) two other cupcake places in the immediate vicinity (reviewed below!) so it was OK.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Our first impression came from their sign.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>How cute is this?</b></i><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGyn70R6WMgMKKD_NnFAGJ6XvAlUvrrPtRlqXITHN1MEhtybajtPMFwn7s88xX-H-we5oiKiQiH005c8jkxRADZgZJsftC6YPW1fSiXP1VchHRiWq_dY1CPXDfypiW0nTyRyz-EJZ3e1Nc/s1600-h/IMG_4379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGyn70R6WMgMKKD_NnFAGJ6XvAlUvrrPtRlqXITHN1MEhtybajtPMFwn7s88xX-H-we5oiKiQiH005c8jkxRADZgZJsftC6YPW1fSiXP1VchHRiWq_dY1CPXDfypiW0nTyRyz-EJZ3e1Nc/s320/IMG_4379.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> <br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Inside, it gets <i><b>even cuter!</b></i> (Can you believe it?) It has great display cases for their cupcakes and other baked goodies (like<b> cookies</b> and <b>brownies!</b>) plus fun seating and reading for kids and adults alike to enjoy while munching on their baked treasures ♥<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbjHddnqWBu6XPvmoYYvDveAQ1-Wu_YAA-tfqMI4iuMngXV9xJMArZZdUXkEHPdcym2jR9Kac37xKbs-9AFmtIoSVLP26qZNjSIT7f3EqHmh4luWmUYAS4SfjiimW1K9TJc8JlkAIXVd4/s1600-h/IMG_4377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbjHddnqWBu6XPvmoYYvDveAQ1-Wu_YAA-tfqMI4iuMngXV9xJMArZZdUXkEHPdcym2jR9Kac37xKbs-9AFmtIoSVLP26qZNjSIT7f3EqHmh4luWmUYAS4SfjiimW1K9TJc8JlkAIXVd4/s320/IMG_4377.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH9eLlY7XM9GN5_g5uHhfQuVd40qS2YoQ6MKu5t2z4N6tcNpdKWz_JdGSCIV_g6GK7fiSx3xjB7h9idu02nISmtA_qtkSxR-r-Da71EojZumhCZm3PFRTSSmfgxZrYRTlhFfpZNIVVC670/s1600-h/IMG_4378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH9eLlY7XM9GN5_g5uHhfQuVd40qS2YoQ6MKu5t2z4N6tcNpdKWz_JdGSCIV_g6GK7fiSx3xjB7h9idu02nISmtA_qtkSxR-r-Da71EojZumhCZm3PFRTSSmfgxZrYRTlhFfpZNIVVC670/s320/IMG_4378.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">[<i>Look at the cute hubbs enjoying the little kiddie chair on the far right</i>]<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Mbg6Hj357tC6Q08mfs4a1MZpZJFqGEIx9pNRpmuEzZP4cBq-PsgWS7sji7DCMVOO7lddlSqToFHDPaacTH1q33x-O_mN8p9DrgTfk9b7DvKJvcV2DgoABPoffkzdcnfMZqPmL2S0KNfJ/s1600-h/IMG_4374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Mbg6Hj357tC6Q08mfs4a1MZpZJFqGEIx9pNRpmuEzZP4cBq-PsgWS7sji7DCMVOO7lddlSqToFHDPaacTH1q33x-O_mN8p9DrgTfk9b7DvKJvcV2DgoABPoffkzdcnfMZqPmL2S0KNfJ/s320/IMG_4374.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">[<i>Hubby enjoying a <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pinkalicious-Victoria-Kann/dp/0060776390">cupcake classic</a></b></i>]<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">For flavors, we finally settled on these three:<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cUeeW7HdZfvF53xdXKRMIMI9j2Rgf8MN-qaKgGZzpIozngNOpOaR4aiB76eUKnlyc04kpdegVDCCzmJU03AgCVsYbJ8XYPattZ6TpFyNI7aU8t-py6zMMeMd5beEo6i6BjM8pYixO_q3/s1600-h/IMG_4376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cUeeW7HdZfvF53xdXKRMIMI9j2Rgf8MN-qaKgGZzpIozngNOpOaR4aiB76eUKnlyc04kpdegVDCCzmJU03AgCVsYbJ8XYPattZ6TpFyNI7aU8t-py6zMMeMd5beEo6i6BjM8pYixO_q3/s320/IMG_4376.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">(<i>clockwise from left:</i> <b>Lemon Cream</b>, <b>Red Velvet</b>, and <b>German Chocolate</b>)<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><u><b>Review</b></u><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b>The good: </b> They had a nice variety of flavors to choose from, the decorations were thoughtful and creative, and we liked that they sold other baked goods though they advertised themselves as a cupcake shop. We <i>loved</i> their interior decorations, too. Everything was fun, whimsical, and made us want to stay forever. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>The not-so-good: </b>Their cupcakes were refrigerated --boo!-- which tends to make the cake dry out. Sure enough, after tasting the Red Velvet, we thought both the cake <i>and</i> frosting were dry and unappealing.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Bottom Line: </b>Of the 4 cupcake places we visited,<b style="color: red;"> we ranked this one <span style="font-size: large;">#2.</span></b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span> Definitely worth the drive!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~•~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span></b><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b>~ </b></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Second Stop:</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;">Mad Hatter Cupcakes</b><b><i> </i></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>[<a href="http://www.madaboutcupcakes.com/">website</a>]</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This is the second cupcake place that we visited in the area that we came to term <i>"Cupcake Alley"</i> because of the (awesome) predominance of cupcake shops.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Seriously, there were <b>three</b><i> </i>all within a 2-mile radius.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>FANTASTICO.</b></i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNCJGtkNNXQrcjRj5RiqF-cTvY1Rusbt_rlmPoEwJKeYIUQpBVyYffsMqVSphGPPCSye8TtaCxInu5RihP7lNcdXZOWs-1jF3cgRK04sZSQhw1-UwvDG_DZJAPpgqQqtFY2OJaX69lTGHg/s1600-h/IMG_4380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNCJGtkNNXQrcjRj5RiqF-cTvY1Rusbt_rlmPoEwJKeYIUQpBVyYffsMqVSphGPPCSye8TtaCxInu5RihP7lNcdXZOWs-1jF3cgRK04sZSQhw1-UwvDG_DZJAPpgqQqtFY2OJaX69lTGHg/s320/IMG_4380.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Here's the front of the cupcake shop. Seems pretty cool, right? Oh wait, it gets better.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>CHECK THIS OUT.</b></i><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn8XFs0bO6_OA8Ww7opVIT8HcoFrCpD6YB53pwdzy3AaxhmvTbvxUbkMy50UuIjeuYdVOs9uzKpwPZySK2ooIJZQ2dVQ0U6d3_7f8KZVR5eERg_PtaDESJ-0cDSoPxwbajUbhhRCbk7H91/s1600-h/IMG_4382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn8XFs0bO6_OA8Ww7opVIT8HcoFrCpD6YB53pwdzy3AaxhmvTbvxUbkMy50UuIjeuYdVOs9uzKpwPZySK2ooIJZQ2dVQ0U6d3_7f8KZVR5eERg_PtaDESJ-0cDSoPxwbajUbhhRCbk7H91/s320/IMG_4382.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b> </b></i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>WHAT?!?!</b></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Did I READ that correctly!?</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">CREATE YOUR</span> </b>[my] <b style="color: red;">OWN CUPCAKES???</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">OMC I'm sold.</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">They let you choose your cake flavor, filling flavor, frosting flavor, and then your own candy to put on top. They even offer suggestions if you can't decide on your own! </span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">This place is like <a href="http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/"><b>Coldstone</b></a> for cupcakes.</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZ4DNZbkRPdNggof-DY9RpMM7YHjUwET6cNSDUSZ41UvoynxUsyS18gRB-WEHDmx5cfZZVNvJ4-xH4MZ8AzOu0S0A-t4uTMHuFEYLrOAw50UQv-x1i2D2uZXAY9u1uJG38d8V1n7k9g63/s1600-h/IMG_4367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZ4DNZbkRPdNggof-DY9RpMM7YHjUwET6cNSDUSZ41UvoynxUsyS18gRB-WEHDmx5cfZZVNvJ4-xH4MZ8AzOu0S0A-t4uTMHuFEYLrOAw50UQv-x1i2D2uZXAY9u1uJG38d8V1n7k9g63/s320/IMG_4367.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"> <i style="color: black;"> </i></span><span style="color: red;"><i style="color: black;"> MAKE MY CUPCAKES!! </i></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: red;"><i style="color: black;">(please!)</i></span></span><b style="color: red;"></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;"><br />
</b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoXEbIMjtrrFqsSiXJXenYK3woYjLGW4PCKqBCWv0Wixs_0R3sW5QwZsjGb_3nGLySIT_kDIVNFajIqKyJrF6ULD4fKjdcB-3zMfdJqcgFT-RF4-Xd0ekQVv-DxTvUVNuEPTuZQeTiD9_b/s1600-h/IMG_4388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoXEbIMjtrrFqsSiXJXenYK3woYjLGW4PCKqBCWv0Wixs_0R3sW5QwZsjGb_3nGLySIT_kDIVNFajIqKyJrF6ULD4fKjdcB-3zMfdJqcgFT-RF4-Xd0ekQVv-DxTvUVNuEPTuZQeTiD9_b/s320/IMG_4388.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">Yummy cupcake supplies :D</span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBiefDfooUPDzg8F9cLNH43xPEFkMrldeNCwiwnjwFO-cJBv65EWKa0UJAmS3ZStw7BFkjD5WMVrfSiCRlrYQBEEju2ESfLVpa0P_INd5JwM-Sf1CrqmSGFAi37aHiyapn6GPvRLLgstq/s1600-h/IMG_4390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBiefDfooUPDzg8F9cLNH43xPEFkMrldeNCwiwnjwFO-cJBv65EWKa0UJAmS3ZStw7BFkjD5WMVrfSiCRlrYQBEEju2ESfLVpa0P_INd5JwM-Sf1CrqmSGFAi37aHiyapn6GPvRLLgstq/s320/IMG_4390.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> Taking in the glory of <b>Mad Hatter Cupcakes.</b></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgirr2LkpKqeiQnxO8d5dNEC3bO5QxeGGqFfnAZzbMz8e0usHSj7C6Y9TeuVxqFPKYzVBwchrlXk5HLiQku3pGq1PsOZ0_LNmNWwYkHRsbhRFTFGaH_3Qauokf1-cE9eJ-EW-6seDRvOm8g/s1600-h/IMG_4383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgirr2LkpKqeiQnxO8d5dNEC3bO5QxeGGqFfnAZzbMz8e0usHSj7C6Y9TeuVxqFPKYzVBwchrlXk5HLiQku3pGq1PsOZ0_LNmNWwYkHRsbhRFTFGaH_3Qauokf1-cE9eJ-EW-6seDRvOm8g/s320/IMG_4383.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0SVLxd8KyzH6wikVxjuApHDn-Jj_SNlUgSUTw3sYL4xW6lKCWrd3N2l9XDBv2ouKWHplG_V2UBrqLl-9K8IFBtpaLrmJpqXxwo2oL1akLY4UjaMBWU2y-t18wLn4pD8asCEt5uSJXaKwP/s1600-h/IMG_4385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0SVLxd8KyzH6wikVxjuApHDn-Jj_SNlUgSUTw3sYL4xW6lKCWrd3N2l9XDBv2ouKWHplG_V2UBrqLl-9K8IFBtpaLrmJpqXxwo2oL1akLY4UjaMBWU2y-t18wLn4pD8asCEt5uSJXaKwP/s320/IMG_4385.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZZQTI70C7-dmv_Bpov5gqN3ffXIRnr3ljzG1CQqle-rflpInjOmobSp43nAbwwN9AlMkpcyRBeBqfxzA7OTV3OfIirdNWTb3EaEXKD2S6Q8rQLl1Re7cK96oxBqnKfEwXeYAvXaYrgxI/s1600-h/IMG_4386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZZQTI70C7-dmv_Bpov5gqN3ffXIRnr3ljzG1CQqle-rflpInjOmobSp43nAbwwN9AlMkpcyRBeBqfxzA7OTV3OfIirdNWTb3EaEXKD2S6Q8rQLl1Re7cK96oxBqnKfEwXeYAvXaYrgxI/s320/IMG_4386.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">After much thought, we finally chose to make two cupcakes: </span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•<b>HIS:</b> <i>Peanut butter cake with chocolate ganache filling and white chocolate frosting</i> </span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> •<b>HERS: </b><i>Chocolate cake with chocolate ganache filling and chocolate frosting with m&ms on top</i></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><u><b>Review</b></u><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b>The good: </b> OMC can you say "MOIST"?? The cake was so, so nice and moist. MmmMmmMmmmmmmMmm. The chocolate was so good and rich. In the words of my husband, <i> </i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"That's a d*mn good chocolate cake."</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The peanut butter cake was perfect, too. I feel like it can be difficult to capture a good peanut butter taste without creating an overwhelming flavor but Mad Hatter achieved it!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Other things we liked:</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">They sell <b>shaved ice</b>, too (neato!), they have a great seating area for enjoying your goodies, they provide <b>mini cupcakes as samples </b>(that day they had peanut butter cupcakes with white chocolate frosting), they have <b>single cupcake holders</b> in case you just want to take one for the road, AND they have a <b>punch card </b>for frequent visitors. <i> </i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>The not-so-good: </b>Um...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Bottom Line: </b>Of the 4 cupcake places we visited, <b style="color: red;">we ranked this one <span style="font-size: large;">#1.</span></b> <i>Are you booking your trip to Vegas yet?</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~•~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span></b><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b>~ </b><i><br />
</i></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Third Stop:</i></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b style="color: red;">Cupcake Lane</b><i> </i></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b>[<a href="http://www.cupcakelanebakery.com/">website</a>]</b><i> </i><i> </i></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhM6SWEndK-jKUoOaIPzKEUZbt1bJcBU3kWEC5vyHIxbwhNCerOC6EhNQhLI5FYaDUI-jYKNtohVmeS0d5NweZVmkaTLECK69uXH_wjyx8T0zW5fdB-1NK3hAPYHkn1Fq6m1Df73_MSQSu/s1600-h/IMG_4393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhM6SWEndK-jKUoOaIPzKEUZbt1bJcBU3kWEC5vyHIxbwhNCerOC6EhNQhLI5FYaDUI-jYKNtohVmeS0d5NweZVmkaTLECK69uXH_wjyx8T0zW5fdB-1NK3hAPYHkn1Fq6m1Df73_MSQSu/s320/IMG_4393.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">First off, fantastic sign! No doubt about it -- <i>this </i>is a cupcake shop!</span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtmFgpjXwdgg0Hxp_ustBXELH7tsIDOA5f84HndF-S6DQuPn5f8YrvBlNIZ7gnmvWcbDzFaYaT2qhItha2-XxAQXKRiAMqUiDOcvvIcl6KtXkD2Y6lGIg1o1tAx-oRmvMVJDuM8Gd7ybZ/s1600-h/IMG_4394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtmFgpjXwdgg0Hxp_ustBXELH7tsIDOA5f84HndF-S6DQuPn5f8YrvBlNIZ7gnmvWcbDzFaYaT2qhItha2-XxAQXKRiAMqUiDOcvvIcl6KtXkD2Y6lGIg1o1tAx-oRmvMVJDuM8Gd7ybZ/s320/IMG_4394.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">The inside was cute and quaint with curtained windows into the back bakery area.</span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyuRy5ouQmk9Vawm6Boo5ZAys_XElftld1FRHPLI09B5iQJQbWSI9iMqiWruXDFhyphenhyphenfIeTaYdJw39X0EOgaQzEXmzS5-ZGghiSc5LdM-jJ1fAEG0DYwVr8Hzxo3O21gqwjzArWEyTjo9Mhi/s1600-h/IMG_4400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyuRy5ouQmk9Vawm6Boo5ZAys_XElftld1FRHPLI09B5iQJQbWSI9iMqiWruXDFhyphenhyphenfIeTaYdJw39X0EOgaQzEXmzS5-ZGghiSc5LdM-jJ1fAEG0DYwVr8Hzxo3O21gqwjzArWEyTjo9Mhi/s320/IMG_4400.JPG" /></a><br />
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</span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">This cupcake shop also had a great selection of cupcakes to choose from. With flavors that had names like <b>Savannah Street</b> (their version of red velvet) or <b>Michigan Avenue</b> (lemon cupcake with lemon frosting), they definitely won the award for more creative names. </span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">We chose three cupcakes here, too: <br />
</span></span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPnN8AjMavMvQ4btipoZepcKfEfjEaegWG3U3XNMs70ZpA5NNogRRwtv1pM0hS2_IAYHkZtJgcvRfENFk3VOcckgPwl3ntpSlX8LoD8cf3ABvvZFh9oYUjwEnCS2ViSMW5BzFvSaBfWAq/s1600-h/IMG_4397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPnN8AjMavMvQ4btipoZepcKfEfjEaegWG3U3XNMs70ZpA5NNogRRwtv1pM0hS2_IAYHkZtJgcvRfENFk3VOcckgPwl3ntpSlX8LoD8cf3ABvvZFh9oYUjwEnCS2ViSMW5BzFvSaBfWAq/s320/IMG_4397.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">(<i>clockwise from left: </i><b>Lombard Street</b> (their "Hostess Cupcake"), <b>Lake Tahoe Boulevard</b> (their s'more cupcake), and <b>Southfork Ranch</b> (a German chocolate cupcake))</span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><u><b>Review</b></u><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b>The good: </b> Fun flavor names, creative decorations, and cute to-go boxes for single cupcakes (they used Chinese take-out containers). We also liked that they offered some sugar free cupcakes as well as cupcakes for canine companions. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>The not-so-good: </b>Their cupcakes were refrigerated. No no no no no! Pooey. Also, I really (really) hate to say this, but we were totally underwhelmed. We expected a lot given the nifty names and decorations but the cupcakes themselves were totally lacking. <b>Lombard Street</b> tasted like, well, a Hostess cupcake which isn't necessarily bad within itself but if I'm paying $3+ for a cupcake, it better taste amazing, <i>not</i> like something that usually comes wrapped in plastic in a pack of two. <b>Lake Tahoe Boulevard</b> also failed to deliver the nostalgic s'more flavor that I was hoping for.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Bottom Line: </b>Of the 4 cupcake places we visited,<b style="color: red;"> we ranked this one <span style="font-size: large;">#3.</span></b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span> I'd be willing to go back and taste others (they <i>do</i> say that <b>Savannah Street</b> is their best-seller and we didn't taste that one) but I'm not holding my breath for our next visit. If you check out either of the first two you'll already be in the area to visit this one in which case, go ahead. I wouldn't block out time in my day specifically to make the trek, though :-/<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~•~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">•</span></span></b><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b>~ </b></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Fourth (and final) stop: </i></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b style="color: red;">The Cupcakery</b></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">[<a href="http://www.thecupcakery.com/index.html">website</a>]</span> </b></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;">This cupcake shop has<b> three Vegas locations</b>:<b> </b></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;">Two off the strip (<a href="http://www.thecupcakery.com/contactus.html"><b>which are listed on their site</b></a>) and one <b>ON THE STRIP</b> in the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1263361432580"><b>Monte Carlo</b></a>.</span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;">We chose to visit the latter.</span></span></span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQIUux3jF-XL8StLloNZ9Lp8nDk_JLUnyqJdBB-qbviWKmLE7k7MvS06XSTYk4-aRuzYiSRvyAwnrvuE29M1vSDYMV2Oou4PKWWpxsohJjqpfdaJUrlIe4nBtLEIOdN8Y5zotNfAIrCVT/s1600-h/IMG_4403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQIUux3jF-XL8StLloNZ9Lp8nDk_JLUnyqJdBB-qbviWKmLE7k7MvS06XSTYk4-aRuzYiSRvyAwnrvuE29M1vSDYMV2Oou4PKWWpxsohJjqpfdaJUrlIe4nBtLEIOdN8Y5zotNfAIrCVT/s320/IMG_4403.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDeyLtaQL0R0WZRDMfu75G-QfW2k9VwrqUeJW6d0T_v5E7uW_svV1l2cH_kZDeEllw3tsl16MpgrFyvJWzDCtWx0YrzaTazIU1yW64ykisuhT-mNrwzpSmmCKSuz1l3MBOkoPCj3t6L9n/s1600-h/IMG_4412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDeyLtaQL0R0WZRDMfu75G-QfW2k9VwrqUeJW6d0T_v5E7uW_svV1l2cH_kZDeEllw3tsl16MpgrFyvJWzDCtWx0YrzaTazIU1yW64ykisuhT-mNrwzpSmmCKSuz1l3MBOkoPCj3t6L9n/s1600-h/IMG_4412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDeyLtaQL0R0WZRDMfu75G-QfW2k9VwrqUeJW6d0T_v5E7uW_svV1l2cH_kZDeEllw3tsl16MpgrFyvJWzDCtWx0YrzaTazIU1yW64ykisuhT-mNrwzpSmmCKSuz1l3MBOkoPCj3t6L9n/s320/IMG_4412.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVJNW-4Slm9ppmeeb19CMonCCHwfeplT7T5zjsRsUqqcckt-EfrSkdLxMSb9ul7q9JD2YdLUq0irCeZrZeoSfBUIDXQYL1jyv6dGBdk3e0hxvg14eFXfZN1lhljRDWMlXt4qgVt9uTCNl/s1600-h/IMG_4413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVJNW-4Slm9ppmeeb19CMonCCHwfeplT7T5zjsRsUqqcckt-EfrSkdLxMSb9ul7q9JD2YdLUq0irCeZrZeoSfBUIDXQYL1jyv6dGBdk3e0hxvg14eFXfZN1lhljRDWMlXt4qgVt9uTCNl/s320/IMG_4413.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"> <br />
</span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;">This cupcake shop has a great staff who seems to <b style="color: red;">love cupcakes </b>as much as we do (<i>which is a lot!</i>)</span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
<b>We were informed that the above case houses two different kind of cupcakes:</b></span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>ON THE LEFT: </b>cupcakes whose flavors come from the frosting</span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>ON THE RIGHT:</b> cupcakes whose flavors come from the cake (they had cream cheese frosting)</span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;">I'm not going to lie, we were excited about these. Not only were they all pretty and sparkly but they had lots of fun colors and flavors and, well, since it was our last cupcake shop, we decided to go out with a bang.</span></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><b>We got six.</b> </span></span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b></b></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b><br />
</b></span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">SIX</span></span> WHOLE CUPCAKES</b></span></span></i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">just for us two :)</span></span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-fxQ9PRHnvKpIDGq96-Tc7BLsCwr4Mjm_7tZNT9rc3xuNGDcavLqI26dfbCa_pix920psS6b_rvGNXd07uHUVgJ04Uo81z93rDnIfsZdOVYuolw6ekMjl7XmaBd4oI73dg_L-5WFEnMyJ/s1600-h/IMG_4418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-fxQ9PRHnvKpIDGq96-Tc7BLsCwr4Mjm_7tZNT9rc3xuNGDcavLqI26dfbCa_pix920psS6b_rvGNXd07uHUVgJ04Uo81z93rDnIfsZdOVYuolw6ekMjl7XmaBd4oI73dg_L-5WFEnMyJ/s320/IMG_4418.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">(<i>From left to right, back to front: </i><b>Southern Belle </b>(Red Velvet), <b>Gingerbread, Peanut Butter Chocolate, Boston Creme, Tickle-me-Pink </b>(their signature flavor),<b> </b>and <b>Strawberry Shortcake</b>)</span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><u><b>Review</b></u><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b>The good: </b>Great staff, fun decorations for cupcakes AND interior (<i>did you see that giant cupcake??</i>), and come on, they're located ON the strip! Can't get much closer than that!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We really enjoyed the <b>Gingerbread Cupcake</b>; not only was the cake good but the little decoration on top is <i>really</i> a gingerbread man and boy, is he tasty!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Our favorite cupcake, though, was the <b>Peanut Butter Chocolate</b> one. Fantastic peanut butter flavor! Man, two great peanut butter cupcakes in one weekend. I'm in love!<br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> <b>The not-so-good: </b>OK, I <i>really </i>hate to do this, but we were pretty disappointed by the other four. The <b>Tickle-me-Pink</b> (I'm almost positive this is what they called this flavor), their signature flavor, is just vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting. You can also get it as a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><u>Here's my thinking:</u><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">If you're going to do such a simplistic flavor combination as your <i>signature</i> cupcake, <i>MAKE IT AMAZING!</i> I want it to be the <b>best</b> vanilla (or chocolate) I've ever tasted! After tasting it, I want to feel like all the other vanilla (or chocolate!) cupcakes I've had before were made of <a href="http://www.cracked.com/article_15768_as-seen-tv-10-most-laughably-misleading-ads.html"><b>deception and lies</b></a><b>.</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Their <b>Strawberry Shortcake</b> cupcake was not made from real strawberries, either, but rather that stomach-churning, fake-me-out chemical strawberry flavor that probably comes from<b> <a href="http://i46.tinypic.com/1j530y.jpg">this</a></b> rather than <b><a href="http://i48.tinypic.com/qpgsbp.jpg">these</a>.</b> <br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Finally, did you see the carrier we got? Our six little cupcakes were sadly squished into that container with no separators to protect them from getting all mixed together! I feel like if you advertise selling your cupcakes in combinations of four, six, and twelve, you'd better have holders for each!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Bottom Line: </b>Of the 4 cupcake places we visited, <b style="color: red;">we ranked this one <span style="font-size: large;">#4.</span></b> We expected so much from this cupcake shop and were really disappointed by the end of the last cupcake. We were really sad to rank this place last, though, because we really did think we were going to get some yummy cupcakes. I'm not sure if the Monte Carlo location does its baking on-site, though, so maybe we'll chalk up the downfalls to the fact that they weren't fresh...?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">[<b>[<span style="color: red;">♥</span>]</b>]<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Well, m'dears, THAT was our trip to Vegas.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We had so much fun together and definitely celebrated our first year together in style.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I can't wait for our second (And third! And fourth! And fifth! And...) anniversaries.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Here's to forever together!</b></span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge62vuL5YIKCXSED8ILgaXhkfjejKCh7xHe2P5wPzi6ggaLLdM1epW8cLJCmPP1kcSo74bAua3LKuZ5QL0aq8GYXqf7-M9M0ZDBc3z-s66GaB3cyWKq-nuScpPelVybAiL_tEsuJ5frGi5/s1600-h/IMG_8111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge62vuL5YIKCXSED8ILgaXhkfjejKCh7xHe2P5wPzi6ggaLLdM1epW8cLJCmPP1kcSo74bAua3LKuZ5QL0aq8GYXqf7-M9M0ZDBc3z-s66GaB3cyWKq-nuScpPelVybAiL_tEsuJ5frGi5/s320/IMG_8111.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><br />
</div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-7161651886812751982010-01-11T00:01:00.000-08:002010-01-18T16:23:10.793-08:00Mustache Monday - I'll Drink to That!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmWxeagDJrwsIXz8F-AkB2_xKeu0HJdx4iRO3pHtpa_97rH3fdhKjWff41EF-JH9q9RCVx0uMBWVJy1j4dM8JpMw_2lLcvMcklU_5hRXfqV3h6mBpSEHxzLqkT_gP0AFqTHXejxJtW-0Ok/s1600-h/pint_mustache_model.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmWxeagDJrwsIXz8F-AkB2_xKeu0HJdx4iRO3pHtpa_97rH3fdhKjWff41EF-JH9q9RCVx0uMBWVJy1j4dM8JpMw_2lLcvMcklU_5hRXfqV3h6mBpSEHxzLqkT_gP0AFqTHXejxJtW-0Ok/s400/pint_mustache_model.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Well everyone... here I am, <b style="color: red;">still in Vegas</b>, still clinging on to the very, very last of our <b>first anniversary celebration</b>, and yet I have managed to post a mustache for this week's Mustache Monday. How fantastic am I?<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">(<b>Answer:</b> <i>very</i>)<br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">May I introduce you to the ever-classy, incredibly chique,<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.breadandbadger.com/glassware/mustachepint.html"><b>Mustache Pint Glasses</b></a> </span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>(as seen on <a href="http://www.designspongeonline.com/2008/08/bread-and-badger.html"><b>Design*Sponge</b></a>)</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Mustaches are no longer for the menfolk, ladies!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Grab a glass, fill it with your favorite beverage (mayhap some <b>freshly-squeezed lemonade</b> made with the help of <a href="http://aprongoddesses.blogspot.com/2010/01/gotcha-new-gadget.html"><b>one of these</b></a>?) and enjoy your newly [<i>and temporarily</i>] fuzzed upper lip :)<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Be sure to tune in later this week for a post about our trip. I can't wait to tell you about all the <b style="color: red;">cupcake shops </b>we visited!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Thanks again to <a href="http://amber-laha.blogspot.com/"><b>Amber</b></a> who suggested this trip and to everyone who wrote back with their awesome ideas. Even though we didn't get to go everywhere you all listed, we now have some great ideas for other vacations we can take later on!<br />
</div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-52012341544027004662010-01-07T20:57:00.000-08:002010-01-07T20:57:05.178-08:002 days and counting...<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>...Until our First <span style="color: red;">♥Wedding Anniversary♥</span>!!</b></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">On Sunday, my husband and I will be celebrating our first of many, <b>many</b> wedding anniversaries :)</span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07f9ZqjnqfLEWJQ0JG019zxw1M5VQ4oS70zACNTDu2vPDmwEsm6YI3KRkMIdxFG9GOletffJPqZn7J8FPXuy8TZNC0Yz4BN3B30V6m-gEGkn3p7rZRhBx6emokIk11FJkE65rMYgYFse7/s1600-h/IMG_6430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07f9ZqjnqfLEWJQ0JG019zxw1M5VQ4oS70zACNTDu2vPDmwEsm6YI3KRkMIdxFG9GOletffJPqZn7J8FPXuy8TZNC0Yz4BN3B30V6m-gEGkn3p7rZRhBx6emokIk11FJkE65rMYgYFse7/s320/IMG_6430.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">On Sunday, it will have been 365 days since I was doing this...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><b> </b></span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQv08DMR1gkR7mgqlqerFloNxmYEVmQc8jb6S6kGw4DMV0uOSrjUPeh2BVMQLHxWpZVhgYleTORPBXieITyvIDnMwG5efU0dq4BZyEk3BwNAG1WYgh3q4NsMbUV97C-OwVvPEcd3XbFpPn/s1600-h/IMG_6536+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQv08DMR1gkR7mgqlqerFloNxmYEVmQc8jb6S6kGw4DMV0uOSrjUPeh2BVMQLHxWpZVhgYleTORPBXieITyvIDnMwG5efU0dq4BZyEk3BwNAG1WYgh3q4NsMbUV97C-OwVvPEcd3XbFpPn/s320/IMG_6536+-+Version+2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">...while he was doing that...<br />
<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPOQmPlKVhyphenhyphenuQzNWypR3lw70Z5vtc_vf9gN99zi4tifbh4aaNRX3toJR-zjUp5XW8tQ3KRSX_Z4Pn7QKMaxSn3m85WKSqf_vRfABOGWuoGcuCBh-7GxN3DoAsByM_1DCsXcPl6iP0etJi/s1600-h/IMG_7180+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPOQmPlKVhyphenhyphenuQzNWypR3lw70Z5vtc_vf9gN99zi4tifbh4aaNRX3toJR-zjUp5XW8tQ3KRSX_Z4Pn7QKMaxSn3m85WKSqf_vRfABOGWuoGcuCBh-7GxN3DoAsByM_1DCsXcPl6iP0etJi/s320/IMG_7180+-+Version+2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">...and then we did this...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOFIfJugeQVnqjAfk3YXYSupdneneI4eneG1RuMLTYLf-fDAyDv5orsdTf-lTF8GQAafxyetjjLi6cXc9CFkLNt7zknZX4ZS-PJ9E8Td0DC7IFG0qBu_vCWJ2N3tm5wWY82T1QYhHS2wK/s1600-h/IMG_7189+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOFIfJugeQVnqjAfk3YXYSupdneneI4eneG1RuMLTYLf-fDAyDv5orsdTf-lTF8GQAafxyetjjLi6cXc9CFkLNt7zknZX4ZS-PJ9E8Td0DC7IFG0qBu_vCWJ2N3tm5wWY82T1QYhHS2wK/s320/IMG_7189+-+Version+2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">...and had one of these...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlig9t7tv5mgkM9eshrTT0xFdVnFGc5TCpCyDHyGfkMHmGF2VytZp8-pFN6PHPXSK_z2kqY0SiNuz93BqcJu58amszNhk-CHOL8uMJi0_bH7v9jiG9gZ4zrT4nErIQXXRAbhgQubCI5QfD/s1600-h/IMG_7579.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlig9t7tv5mgkM9eshrTT0xFdVnFGc5TCpCyDHyGfkMHmGF2VytZp8-pFN6PHPXSK_z2kqY0SiNuz93BqcJu58amszNhk-CHOL8uMJi0_bH7v9jiG9gZ4zrT4nErIQXXRAbhgQubCI5QfD/s320/IMG_7579.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">...before driving off in one of these...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXcJzEgO1V0WfWqahXBqlE_-Zm4MCURVLocB8CPe-7tZygtg9E2PVnHBAx10zjXrRu0vnvro3PdHpFKAI5wUuH4yLG3DE1cSk-1kO4tzTKCSm9L6vt0sVAcopO5XyvPpUwXq7ihERJmuu/s1600-h/IMG_8092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXcJzEgO1V0WfWqahXBqlE_-Zm4MCURVLocB8CPe-7tZygtg9E2PVnHBAx10zjXrRu0vnvro3PdHpFKAI5wUuH4yLG3DE1cSk-1kO4tzTKCSm9L6vt0sVAcopO5XyvPpUwXq7ihERJmuu/s320/IMG_8092.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">...to go dance like this...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFdP0PZ4KF9AfdO3LMAGdC5kQqIsCEg26X9MyHIA-nIULOuP_58rferiS27h0vpr-u3roUYVsZn-zyr8POWHh7R0rS1nv9vZeMANpJi-3A3ki0DlZLF_DUpUqMyhXoUn4QL1s2-9zeYff/s1600-h/IMG_8276+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFdP0PZ4KF9AfdO3LMAGdC5kQqIsCEg26X9MyHIA-nIULOuP_58rferiS27h0vpr-u3roUYVsZn-zyr8POWHh7R0rS1nv9vZeMANpJi-3A3ki0DlZLF_DUpUqMyhXoUn4QL1s2-9zeYff/s320/IMG_8276+-+Version+2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">...and eat some <b>cake</b>...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-FgJilu3lGeKlRm0bDRA7LVw0u43w7rEuIiVcKCJXx1nIzCEF3NZWvmXX8lh-B-fPGLIj32-3B8XiknkSleSRm3pPwCogCSosTpKbSilCepDlsXneSvwLYouRIgbmBY38Rpfo78JIHT7C/s1600-h/IMG_7918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-FgJilu3lGeKlRm0bDRA7LVw0u43w7rEuIiVcKCJXx1nIzCEF3NZWvmXX8lh-B-fPGLIj32-3B8XiknkSleSRm3pPwCogCSosTpKbSilCepDlsXneSvwLYouRIgbmBY38Rpfo78JIHT7C/s320/IMG_7918.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">...with friends like this...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHac2qvDTVIAmnrca2tqCbUkQn0liQ1k3YxZKglFf1QeHdinyXS79wE_vIWGEEUPg9eZUct2cdTYjDttJqemVseMUtEgEMb0vx_hKWPQKGl-TocR-hpp3ZzBeJsyauTwe461Gw-rJ1WtL/s1600-h/IMG_8388.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHac2qvDTVIAmnrca2tqCbUkQn0liQ1k3YxZKglFf1QeHdinyXS79wE_vIWGEEUPg9eZUct2cdTYjDttJqemVseMUtEgEMb0vx_hKWPQKGl-TocR-hpp3ZzBeJsyauTwe461Gw-rJ1WtL/s320/IMG_8388.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">...before he pulled one of these...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQikOmBD4rElkHTsaggtT-B8ipgQeSdJJz3YHyEPddWVQy-wD-fJJjq61PF3EApZlvxcqmb7eE7pAF6HS0i7TXs9RTlaIYU_ElLkjqjv_z0owalQXE1Ze37Zj3LGXkF313dZ7qD7y25eMo/s1600-h/IMG_8378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQikOmBD4rElkHTsaggtT-B8ipgQeSdJJz3YHyEPddWVQy-wD-fJJjq61PF3EApZlvxcqmb7eE7pAF6HS0i7TXs9RTlaIYU_ElLkjqjv_z0owalQXE1Ze37Zj3LGXkF313dZ7qD7y25eMo/s320/IMG_8378.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">...and I did a thing like this...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiho3W2TYIMkBHR0w-ukRCPjqAurb1MXouY5ZzPMPnYkRJ2rvfeRVM2oowCDzge3yGFbHI9Fv8mZEu5DXXCnk0ok07GiIb0narG2IiHWNuiFDsbxlIZ75FKIYC1tkwMIdCEM6XeEXvGO8M4/s1600-h/IMG_8497.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiho3W2TYIMkBHR0w-ukRCPjqAurb1MXouY5ZzPMPnYkRJ2rvfeRVM2oowCDzge3yGFbHI9Fv8mZEu5DXXCnk0ok07GiIb0narG2IiHWNuiFDsbxlIZ75FKIYC1tkwMIdCEM6XeEXvGO8M4/s320/IMG_8497.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">...and then we <span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: red;">partied on down</b></span> all night!<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">I love you</span>, baby!</b></span> <br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>xoxo</b></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">♥</span><br />
</div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-51100967197774248872010-01-05T21:22:00.000-08:002010-01-05T21:35:15.050-08:00Wordless Wednesday - Here We Are!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrVo1iP9uQAR1muSGaiDnCs2ACtbpAoyTAnON8nFbLm1RrzcvxPmVw-BA4f2ixnskMJbiDnYnP6C_jYdnxT-OL4GTvSBI_xLsfCYlbNlq9Yfym2YWO9FTFxfFiueTPM5viYFwv47kv_fX/s1600-h/Us+Caricature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrVo1iP9uQAR1muSGaiDnCs2ACtbpAoyTAnON8nFbLm1RrzcvxPmVw-BA4f2ixnskMJbiDnYnP6C_jYdnxT-OL4GTvSBI_xLsfCYlbNlq9Yfym2YWO9FTFxfFiueTPM5viYFwv47kv_fX/s400/Us+Caricature.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">{US}</span></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">By <b><a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_search.php?action=file&userID=2191638&order=6&fileTypeSizePrice=[%7B%22type%22:%22Image%22,%22size%22:%22All%22,%22priceOption%22:%221%22%7D,%7B%22type%22:%22Illustration%20[Vector]%22,%22size%22:%22Vector%20Image%22,%22priceOption%22:%22All%22%7D,%7B%22type%22:%22Flash%22,%22size%22:%22Flash%20Document%22,%22priceOption%22:%22All%22%7D,%7B%22type%22:%22Video%22,%22size%22:%22All%22,%22priceOption%22:%221%22%7D,%7B%22type%22:%22Standard%20Audio%22,%22size%22:%22All%22,%22priceOption%22:%221%22%7D,%7B%22type%22:%22Pump%20Audio%22,%22size%22:%22All%22,%22priceOption%22:%221%22%7D]">Lauren Burke</a></b><br />
</div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><b>♥</b><br />
</div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492107961979207365.post-57214925972253885782010-01-03T21:12:00.000-08:002010-01-03T21:12:17.254-08:00♥ Sugar from my Honey ♥<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTLZ3I5ruVOu0Cr6DIfTszI8tmvWrFcYDD2uq_FqrvlD2k77286P_IGih_ZQcWpsOuWBf0qkSp5rNdxoRo-OJWhQmNGNcrJ355H-1Fyaja2vB_drxfnGhtG2gjhlIdoRk9Sn3fbkt-9ysy/s1600-h/New+Stuff+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTLZ3I5ruVOu0Cr6DIfTszI8tmvWrFcYDD2uq_FqrvlD2k77286P_IGih_ZQcWpsOuWBf0qkSp5rNdxoRo-OJWhQmNGNcrJ355H-1Fyaja2vB_drxfnGhtG2gjhlIdoRk9Sn3fbkt-9ysy/s320/New+Stuff+005.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">In case you don't know, I'm pretty much <i><b style="color: red;">in charge of sweets</b></i> in the Dot household. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">{<b>♥</b>}</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Usually, it's <b style="color: black;">Cupcakes.</b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwuiPYxTw1oeXIoaNmKBURJCWYHOxGNbocjto9h7vZOrB5IVo9hjBEmBCU-uuuVNqowlmUrkWiQgT6U9IhqDVOXPkjKaifFzbR7a8srXe2kSLACaRrOKimnB8vpDuaAThDA6VTie-9ip7-/s1600-h/Pic+012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwuiPYxTw1oeXIoaNmKBURJCWYHOxGNbocjto9h7vZOrB5IVo9hjBEmBCU-uuuVNqowlmUrkWiQgT6U9IhqDVOXPkjKaifFzbR7a8srXe2kSLACaRrOKimnB8vpDuaAThDA6VTie-9ip7-/s320/Pic+012.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Yummy, sweet, <i><b>cupcakes.</b></i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> <span style="color: red;"></span></b><span style="color: red;">{<b>♥</b>}</span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Delicious, ooey, gooey, <span style="color: red;">CUPCAKES.</span></b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEy19huj05v80_iGK_t8GEaBYxW2e_vAidMmDqMsEtBdrSfBN82Yl5uum7ICAJf9qUdC8YepSIZxjNP5mSvUZART5uMNP8HjwOKIJQ4kAn4iN5xdVrQAeHIAE92rG2PDUo6YusglwOGqb/s1600-h/IMG_2996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEy19huj05v80_iGK_t8GEaBYxW2e_vAidMmDqMsEtBdrSfBN82Yl5uum7ICAJf9qUdC8YepSIZxjNP5mSvUZART5uMNP8HjwOKIJQ4kAn4iN5xdVrQAeHIAE92rG2PDUo6YusglwOGqb/s320/IMG_2996.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">{<b>♥</b>}</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But sometimes, it's other goodies...<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">•••<br />
I've tried <b style="color: red;">Cake Pops</b> (à la <b><a href="http://bakerella.blogspot.com/2008/08/hope-these-put-smile-on-your-face.html">Bakerella</a></b>)<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">[<i>Thanks for the encouragement, <b><a href="http://threeasandac.blogspot.com/">Christina</a></b>!!</i>]<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5YcornmUIrby5YeDtB6NVTLg7Ytraqdy0Dr0Di4rL9lA2mQxSYDYq0oB6Aco5zMELNbasz-Vj8YvnoLKK1GhD_Yf4w-BKaOeMR3-S9_b6xCutnOTWX_O_l-xOfVzIM-Oj-2VTJfZoTJpf/s1600-h/IMG_1533.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5YcornmUIrby5YeDtB6NVTLg7Ytraqdy0Dr0Di4rL9lA2mQxSYDYq0oB6Aco5zMELNbasz-Vj8YvnoLKK1GhD_Yf4w-BKaOeMR3-S9_b6xCutnOTWX_O_l-xOfVzIM-Oj-2VTJfZoTJpf/s320/IMG_1533.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <span style="color: red;">{<b>♥</b>}</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Pies</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWeEwxMTIObll_DB2t8mNMvYrXlRXIO3Id758xbObMbar7f7T16ewoaaKGrS2ohPRiuMUfKzjFeDi0DpnmKPFz0TJ8D6Ox354UF_DXCnQXiHzlis6lo_Hzy27gq4DaaR6KzXaFlzULN8l/s1600-h/P1010044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWeEwxMTIObll_DB2t8mNMvYrXlRXIO3Id758xbObMbar7f7T16ewoaaKGrS2ohPRiuMUfKzjFeDi0DpnmKPFz0TJ8D6Ox354UF_DXCnQXiHzlis6lo_Hzy27gq4DaaR6KzXaFlzULN8l/s320/P1010044.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(Don't laugh!! I tried!!)</i> <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">{<b>♥</b>}</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">And </span><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;">Cookies</span></b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZGhhnOPwdEZbWz7XYMIfX-PLBTbbtlUCpXfjLdwBl69pKSwnvI9iheV8BFQgoC3zTYCNmJ_37WlhYyALU_4hdkYG4EIupb5hy3TMBxVdxTqG2wJ9hnt5TMA4fmx70uGKHPpyNFRRUvmh7/s1600-h/IMG_1528.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZGhhnOPwdEZbWz7XYMIfX-PLBTbbtlUCpXfjLdwBl69pKSwnvI9iheV8BFQgoC3zTYCNmJ_37WlhYyALU_4hdkYG4EIupb5hy3TMBxVdxTqG2wJ9hnt5TMA4fmx70uGKHPpyNFRRUvmh7/s400/IMG_1528.gif" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"></span>{<b>♥</b>}</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>.</b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>.</b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>.</b><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>But not tonight.</i></b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> No.</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Tonight, dear bloggy friends,<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: red;"><b>MY HUSBAND IS MAKING DESSERT.</b></i><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVASQmhbIPDQ6dmMvIBm_-2nievvr9rctKBuSO_aSj1JpnDHw90_kuOvXSQajnI5L7lCAh_j9ZXpN3a82xv41MWTKLMiLnBxn3VTJh-VyODre5XjvHTB1ecEFQOXM-oE7_HWiPh0g3Hfbe/s1600-h/IMG_1573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVASQmhbIPDQ6dmMvIBm_-2nievvr9rctKBuSO_aSj1JpnDHw90_kuOvXSQajnI5L7lCAh_j9ZXpN3a82xv41MWTKLMiLnBxn3VTJh-VyODre5XjvHTB1ecEFQOXM-oE7_HWiPh0g3Hfbe/s400/IMG_1573.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Isn't he cute all up in the kitchen like that??</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbK5Q5OMkjzULXzX81C8m3syAfl1RXfj97_Q91rm7LjARzgRkJNbPYFYXGLu3hcFbyBJnpNkJ5zNEY0ckHl76WlFu44fKzJl6OF1gndeoEY-P29-CEIXVkn1Y0h_a04eU8FGsrVhf9oPbP/s1600-h/IMG_1576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbK5Q5OMkjzULXzX81C8m3syAfl1RXfj97_Q91rm7LjARzgRkJNbPYFYXGLu3hcFbyBJnpNkJ5zNEY0ckHl76WlFu44fKzJl6OF1gndeoEY-P29-CEIXVkn1Y0h_a04eU8FGsrVhf9oPbP/s400/IMG_1576.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Nice wide-angle shot of the <strike>mess</strike> creativity in action.</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXw7tppaWgPcF5FccJ0XwaO8X2q75VFoaeCyn5i2QQdWJkwSYvMlXPaqqw3Gxu_Zvc2mAytcekZrzAUPBqIn7QOh9qJzZ7vsYuIs2Aes8CpQ7l_Lpo3XuU8FqPYpSOITkc601Qzndoa6s/s1600-h/IMG_1578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXw7tppaWgPcF5FccJ0XwaO8X2q75VFoaeCyn5i2QQdWJkwSYvMlXPaqqw3Gxu_Zvc2mAytcekZrzAUPBqIn7QOh9qJzZ7vsYuIs2Aes8CpQ7l_Lpo3XuU8FqPYpSOITkc601Qzndoa6s/s400/IMG_1578.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Saucepan?? WHAT IS HE MAKING?!<br />
</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vSqyJUAncZen-lPissGrkTKF7Z0EYT1Z8Tx7Yir4JHzBB-jCYsMZS0W9WSh2_KyIjEHnOQRyP97OUTVD7i57RqdrUoG4K9LL8FhCNFNLlXX_YylNJNakXBefZ_nZr8XhAQNHKDxcZwtV/s1600-h/IMG_1584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vSqyJUAncZen-lPissGrkTKF7Z0EYT1Z8Tx7Yir4JHzBB-jCYsMZS0W9WSh2_KyIjEHnOQRyP97OUTVD7i57RqdrUoG4K9LL8FhCNFNLlXX_YylNJNakXBefZ_nZr8XhAQNHKDxcZwtV/s400/IMG_1584.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Great googly moogly... <i><b>WHAT IS THIS CHOCOLATEY GOODNESS??</b></i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Apparently, my <b style="color: red;">DARLING</b> and <b><span style="color: red;">WONDERFUL</span> </b>husband decided to make me<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Peanut Butter Chocolate Revel Bars</b></i><b> </b></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">From <b>Better Homes and Gardens</b> -- <a href="http://www.bhg.com/recipe/cookies/chocolate-revel-bars/"><b>Click here</b></a> for recipe. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>For <u>Peanut Butter</u> Chocolate Revel Bars, substitute 1/2 c. peanut butter for the 2 tablespoons butter in chocolate filling and substitute peanuts for the walnuts or pecans. </i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>(My hubby didn't put any nuts in ours.)</i><b><br />
</b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2Z4bmc_aNn5vgtiKNd14Km6ShWroaptDhVJ82jOHZjqh6Os8yhPlmmfVnUHm5i03uLTsNG8Fl0xAmBXq-3cTp7ce-8i_dQ51wwjcM2DWP8bI5NqgVcMCggQ-kYhKjMzBKvpZGpYHKNAK/s1600-h/IMG_1589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2Z4bmc_aNn5vgtiKNd14Km6ShWroaptDhVJ82jOHZjqh6Os8yhPlmmfVnUHm5i03uLTsNG8Fl0xAmBXq-3cTp7ce-8i_dQ51wwjcM2DWP8bI5NqgVcMCggQ-kYhKjMzBKvpZGpYHKNAK/s400/IMG_1589.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhipMsMkcwgXcgNgY7rZg9cdQu7I3s5pLP9K6Fn8sJXL_F-Noh09OUPsQN4ljtAAnWAZ_JiNYukGFKULU4hR_j97-KtcXiIVgLnsUnTrDG7srkwGQ30w9sRXbJPsClI5klLJ2t171xEuikR/s1600-h/IMG_1590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhipMsMkcwgXcgNgY7rZg9cdQu7I3s5pLP9K6Fn8sJXL_F-Noh09OUPsQN4ljtAAnWAZ_JiNYukGFKULU4hR_j97-KtcXiIVgLnsUnTrDG7srkwGQ30w9sRXbJPsClI5klLJ2t171xEuikR/s400/IMG_1590.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> </b><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Do you <i><b>SEE</b> </i>all the chocolate goo oozing forth??<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggIhFzDld723WzwjHVOq2RCDAukF5H3O2iDbPTT5BGiX_afIyM8_vJ9X0caU6COdHAN7ET7ao6uwMOD0GywQZrLMlRBrXXSNum-UcfSP4w9740tAvThdEnHLMHXHH386DMI7yvTiOvMyw4/s1600-h/IMG_1597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggIhFzDld723WzwjHVOq2RCDAukF5H3O2iDbPTT5BGiX_afIyM8_vJ9X0caU6COdHAN7ET7ao6uwMOD0GywQZrLMlRBrXXSNum-UcfSP4w9740tAvThdEnHLMHXHH386DMI7yvTiOvMyw4/s400/IMG_1597.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjDFXGm3bcmjYDiOCSshFTOmGfBo_etQS2kH8IU6wwISooRBtXf3xHm52wVplTBc2yx8TNzg6oqYifC8x5pccOIzAfJFRSAm5Bz8A4sWLSCjRri8L2SEMA_zUqbE9XzeLAgqEN9h7WQg3/s1600-h/IMG_1599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjDFXGm3bcmjYDiOCSshFTOmGfBo_etQS2kH8IU6wwISooRBtXf3xHm52wVplTBc2yx8TNzg6oqYifC8x5pccOIzAfJFRSAm5Bz8A4sWLSCjRri8L2SEMA_zUqbE9XzeLAgqEN9h7WQg3/s400/IMG_1599.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDo-aCfPzsryMv86fygG1Lf4LUS96bWDwKNRXsGCswSOKpC_ojVnlVVNfEu40gUuhlLwWbNMIl2mPRUZuLR7AMBoMdqMXwYD2NIoPth_u02lMKHdnpqO_DvDy2uIVObEQzgoDeGE6waUWZ/s1600-h/IMG_1605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDo-aCfPzsryMv86fygG1Lf4LUS96bWDwKNRXsGCswSOKpC_ojVnlVVNfEu40gUuhlLwWbNMIl2mPRUZuLR7AMBoMdqMXwYD2NIoPth_u02lMKHdnpqO_DvDy2uIVObEQzgoDeGE6waUWZ/s400/IMG_1605.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>And then there was none...</i><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">~</span>♥</b><b>~</b><br />
</div>Miss Dothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12684733883350489841noreply@blogger.com10