Babies"R"Us - Baby Registry

So I'm registered! Yup! At Babies R Us! (I actually went Dec 4th) I was pretty terrified of the store, but thanks to Lil Alex I made it in and started scanning everything! It was actually a lot of fun. I learned a lot of baby-things and the "overwhelming" sense went away once the scan gun and I got to know one another!

Babies"R"Us - My Baby Registry

Oh! Happy 250th post! Yeah!

Holiday Sushi Candy

Just for fun...

Holiday Sushi Candy!

Ingredients

•Bakery pound cake

•Powdered mini donuts

•Marshmallows

•Fruit Streamers

•Fruit Roll-Ups

•Safeway Fruit Snacks

•Swedish Fish

Directions
1.Cut pound cake and mini donuts into sushi-sized pieces. Separate Streamers and make into a "roll."
2.Wrap with Fruit Roll-Ups. Top with Fruit Snacks and Swedish Fish.

Now that's the kind of sushi I can eat right now!

Starbucks 2010 Ornaments!

Found these babies at the local Starbucks near the house!

Love me some 2010 ornaments for my tree!

Quick! Run to your nearest Starbucks and pick you up a pair!

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes!

So my grandmother asked me to make some cupcakes for her karaoke group that usually meets on Mondays. So while looking through Family Circle magazine this season, I spotted this recipe and thought it would be perfect for grandma's get-together! Also great for celebrating the holiday season too!

Now the recipe below makes 6 cupcakes... yes, only 6. So I had to double, triple, quadruple up on the ingredients! You might have to too!

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2oz semi sweet bakers chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening (NOTE: I used butter shortening thinking it would be better for taste, but the vegetable shortening would probably make the frosting white, rather than yellowish)
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons milk or water
1 1/4 cups mini marshmallows
3 candy canes

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line indents of a standard-size 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2. Cupcakes. In medium-size bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In large bowl, with mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy, 2 minutes. Slowly mix in 2 oz melted semi sweet bakers chocolate. Beat in eggs and vanilla until fluffy, 1 minute. On low speed, beat in flour mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fill each cupcake liner two-thirds full (about 3 tablespoons of batter per liner).

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from pan to wire rack; let cool.

5. Topping. In medium-size bowl, with mixer on low speed, beat confectioners sugar, shortening and milk or water until smooth. Spread over cupcakes, about 2 tablespoons for each. Top each cupcake with 8 or 9 mini marshmallows. With a serrated knife, cut wrapped candy canes into 2-inch pieces. Unwrap and tuck a piece into each cupcake.

All in all the cupcakes were a hit with the singing old folks! I made 24 cupcakes, and NONE of them came back in the carriers! I got brownie (or in this case cupcake) points with grandma and I also got to try out a new recipe! Happy Holidays with these yummy bad boys!

National Cupcake Day!

Just a fun FYI :)

Happy Eatting!

I'm Gold Level too!

Back in November, Erin over at The Lime and the Coconut announced she was Starbuck's Gold Level! (& yes, I was jealous!) Being a Starbuck's fan and Rewards member myself, I was wondering when I was going to acheive my Gold Status, and just like a Christmas present in my email box, there it was:

So talk about being a member since 2008 and NOW getting the Gold Level! Geez!

Now Madalyn over at From These Lips joined her Starbucks Rewards, and for her New Year's Resolution: she's going to be Gold Level Status too! :)

Couture Over Coffee Blog

I had the opportunity to meet a lovely lady out of Laguna Hills last Sunday... who just so happens to mention that she has a BLOG!

& she blogs about FASHION!!!!

(Oh be still my heart!)

Well, like the stalker I am, I found her blog website, and took a peek.

And Yes... everything from clothing, jewerly, handbags, home fashion, and even aprons! Loved the post about everything bows!

Her name is Beth, an editor for a publishing company, and her fun-filled posts are at the Couture Over Coffee 

Note to Beth: Post more lady! :)

125 Days To Go!

Woohoo!! 22 weeks later I'm still growing and Baby Peanut is about the size of a papaya!

Baby Peanut's settling into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- I've been paying attention to those kicks as they start and stop!

Real estate within my belly is getting tight, with my growing baby leaving little room for my lungs to... well... breathe! I already have been huffing and puffing, and I still have a long way to go!! With also not much room for my belly button, that will sure pop out any day too!

Thanks Peanut! haha

Word of the Day 12/7/2010

Susurrous (adjective): full of whispering sounds

Examples: The susurrous opening phrases of the first movement, with its whispering violins, gave way to a thunderous crescendo of brass.

"The Colonel raised his Dixie beer to the ladies, still chatting comfortably in the soft, susurrous Vicksburg night…." -- From a short story in Paul Kennedy Mueller's 2010 book The Pandemonium Bar & Grill (And Other Stories)

Did You Know?: "Susurrous" derives from the Latin noun "susurrus," meaning "a hum" or "a whisper," and may be a distant relative of "swarm" (think of the collective hum of a beehive). "Susurrus" also occurs as an English noun, with the meaning "a whispering or rustling sound." Of the two English words, the noun is the older (it debuted in 1826); "susurrous" came onto the scene about thirty years later. Both of these were preceded by the noun "susurration," which appeared in the 14th century and means "a whispering sound," or "murmur." Today "susurrous" is used to describe any kind of sound that resembles a whisper: a light breeze through a tree, perhaps, or the murmurs of intrigued theatergoers.

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day

#12 DZP: Go to the Zoo

Sooo I haven't had time to upload the pictures off my camera (and my mom's camera) of the FABULOUS time we both had this last weekend.

Here's how it went down:
Friday - Minor set-back (blog post to come) but drove down to San Diego at night
Saturday - San Diego Wild Animal Park
Sunday - Seaworld

Both parks have changed sooo much since I last was down there... I swear they both were huge parks when I was a kid, but over time they grew to an even bigger park!!!!

I'm so glad my Mom and I had our vacation-bonding time! Pictures on the way! :)