I guess I've done some crafting recently.  Our oldest son got married in September last year and since I was a florist I decided to do the bouquets.  Since we were trying to save some money I volunteered to make the wedding cake also.  Shortly after that I asked myself if I was crazy?!  Thank goodness I live near Lynn's Cake and Candy store which supplies cake decorating and candy making supplies.  I could not have done it without their help!  It took me a total of 13 hours!  I am willing to do it again for my other 2 children but after that, forget it! Lol!

I used white cake mix, I can't remember which brand but I think it ended up being 8 - 10 boxes for all 3 tiers.

The frosting was pre made and purchased from Lynn's Cake and Candy.

My husband helped me a lot by placing each cake in the freezer to set the frosting while I was working on a different cake.

I assembled the cake at the Reception and it turnedout remarkably pretty!

I sometimes miss working in a flower shop but then I remember Valentines Day and I get over it! Lol!

See you next time!

I'm back!

I can't believe its been so long since I've posted!  A lot has changed since my last post!  Unfortunately my dog Lena and my Guinea pig Frankenstein are no longer with us. 😢 I miss them both very much so I have 2 puppy mill rescue dogs that I adopted to keep me company.  One is a chihuahua named Fiona and the other is a dachshund named Gretchen.  They have very different personalities and I can tell they both had very different experiences being puppy mill breeding stock.

As you can see Gretchen loves attention especially from Daddy!  Fiona is very alert, skittish and doesn't like to be cuddled.  She will accept pets and scratches on her terms, poor baby, she seems afraid of most people and is very guarded.








I haven't done a lot of crafting lately but I've been feeling creative with rocks in my yard!  Yeah, I know how weird that sounds, but I saw some guy online balancing rocks in the most unbelievable ways so I had to try it!  It's very difficult but when you get one to balance in an unlikely way it is strangely satisfying, and very artsy which is totally my thing!  So far I'm only able to balance up to four.

There are four rocks balanced here and they stayed for quite some time until it got windy!



Here are a few more pictures of some I balanced.

Is it still winter?!

Well, Spring is about a week and a half away but with all the snow we have it feels like it will take forever to melt!  I have been busy with my guinea pig as he broke his front teeth off :/ How he did it I have no idea but he was miserable and unable to eat for a while.  He's doing better though and you can see that he is having a good time playing with my husband's dog!

He just loves her, I don't understand what it is but he chases the dog around and tries to get her to chase him back.  I'm not sure if it has to do with their coloring being the same or if my guinea pig is convinced he is a dog?

He is actually nibbling on this dog toy with her so maybe he does think he is a dog?

Well, here he is in his own little dog bed, I figured why fight it, right?
I just love critters, all kinds of critters and I'm especially a big sucker for a furry face!  Here's my dog, she is going to be 15 this year and she is probably one of the most spoiled dogs around!

And yes, I did knit that hooded sweater for her! LOL!

 

But how could I resist that adorable face?

Happy Valentine's Day!

So, last night me and the girls got together to make some Valentine's Day treats for our guys!  It was a lot of fun dancing around the kitchen making a huge mess!  We wanted to make several items that were easy and fun and wouldn't take forever.  So what did we make???

The first item was Strawberry fudge!  Sounds like a lot of work doesn't it?  Well, it wasn't, it was 2 ingredients and didn't require a candy thermometer-even better!  I'll post the recipe at the bottom!

Next we made these fun cake balls although we forgot sticks to put them on so we opted for some very nice candy papers I already had.

We all had fun decorating these!  Sounds very time consuming right?  Nope, the cake balls were already made-stay tuned for the recipe!

Next we made some cut out cookies, these were the most time consuming but we all had fun decorating them!

 

So as you can see we had a lot of fun last night!  Don't be chicken, try them yourself!

Here are the recipes:


Strawberry Fudge

1 bag of white chocolate chips
1 container of Strawberry Frosting

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler, remove from heat and stir in the container of frosting.  Pour into a greased baking dish and decorate the top with sprinkles etc.  Refrigerate until firm, cut with a sharp knife dipped in hot water.

Cake Balls/Pops

1 doz. donut holes
1 bag white chocolate chips or candy coat or almond bark
1 bag of chocolate chips
1 pkg sticks for candy making (available at Michaels)

Melt coatings in a double boiler, dip sticks in the coating and poke 2/3 of the way down into donut hole.  Let set in the freezer for 5 minutes.  Remelt your coatings in double boiler being careful not to over cook them or they will start to crystalize or scorch.  Dip donut holes, shake off excess by tapping on the side of the boiler and place the sticks in a piece of styrofoam with holes poked in it.  A box will work also or place the donut down onto wax paper like a small taffy apple.  Decorate immediately while the coating is still wet.  Let set.

Valentine Cookies

1 1/4 C all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
5 Tbs butter softened
2/3 C packed light brown sugar
1 large egg

Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix butter, egg and sugar.  Add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix. Knead until it forms a dough. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for 1/2 an hour.   Cut dough in half and roll out on a well floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Bake @ 350 degrees until edges are lightly browned, approximately 12-15 minutes.  Let cool before decorating.

It is a long, cold, winter here in Minnesnowta!

I haven't posted in ages!  I don't know about you but I'm getting super antsy for Spring this year!  Maybe it is because it has been so cold.  Maybe it's because I have the urge to go camping.  Maybe it's because I just want to travel.  Well, whatever the reason, I am getting really antsy for outdoor activities that don't actually require me to go outdoors in the winter!  So, I won't be doing any skiing, snow boarding, or ice fishing this winter!  Well, what can I do instead?  Here's something fun and interesting....

"Wait a minute!  What the?  Are you panning for gold inside?"  Why, yes I am!

 

How is this possible?  Easy!  You can buy just about anything online and these supplies are super cheap!

Yes, yes, it's true!  I paid $15 for a panning kit which came with 2 sized pans, a heavy hammer for prospecting, a pair of tweezers with a magnifying glass attached and 2 plastic vials for specimens.

I know what you're thinking, "surely the pay dirt is terribly expensive!"  But no, it really isn't!  I suppose you could pay a lot for some if you really want to but if your goal is to get rich, then just go to Alaska yourself and pan for it there.  You won't get rich buying pay dirt online but you don't have to pay a lot to have fun either!  You can pay anywhere from $6 up to hundreds of dollars depending on who you buy it from and how much you order.  So, if you want to have a little fun this winter, and you are tired of reading, knitting, or making snowmen in the yard, then check out panning for gold!

Local Dim Sum restaurant

We went out for Dim Sum recently and I took all these great pictures of the food they serve.  It is a tiny restaurant and the food is great but because they only serve Dim Sum on Saturday and Sunday morning, it gets quite crowded!

You are seated at a table with plates and hot tea and a small card to record all your purchases.

Soon after these giant carts on wheels called the steam carts roll by.  They are steaming like mad and the waiter/waitress shows you whats inside each little container.  If you choose something, she places it on your table and marks your card.

They have a cart with fried items too and usually someone walking around with a big tray of desserts as well.

Here are some of our choices!

Pictured above: (top right going clockwise) Pineapple buns, Chinese broccoli, crab claws, fried shrimp dumpling, one pineapple bun, pork buns (shiny). fried taro balls.

My absolute favorite is the fried Taro balls!  They have a very light, airy, almost wispy crunchy exterior and underneath is mashed taro around some vegetables!  It's so awesome!!

At the end of the meal you take your card up to the register.  They total up all your choices and you pay there.  A 15% tip has already been added to your check so you don't need to tip them, unless of course you want to tip them more.

After looking at all these pictures again I have to admit I want to go back this weekend!  Any of my chums care to join us??

Our 4th of July weekend

We had a very nice 4 day weekend for the 4th of July Holiday.  We decided to get together with the family on Saturday instead of on Thursday.  We had fondue for dinner!  Cheese fondue and Chocolate!!!

The recipes were super easy and didn't require a lot of time or special ingredients.  I will post the recipes at the bottom!

Our family gatherings are so much fun and by the above picture you can see we get a little crazy sometimes!

 After dinner, the boys went outside to light fire crackers and blow up things :/  (not to worry, no animals were injured )                                                                                                                                       

 
 After we ate we played this fun while elephant dice game, it is such a hoot!  Basically, everyone who is playing brings a gently used item from home wrapped like a gift.  If they can't find anything they can purchase something but the cost should not go over $5.  We roll dice and if you get doubles you pick a prize.  All the gifts are opened, the game goes on and there is swapping of gifts and then at the end there is stealing of gifts!  There is a lot of laughing, and moaning and it is such a hoot, everyone loves this game!!  There are many ways to play it but we've revised it so that most everyone goes home with a gift.  Hope you enjoy the recipes!!


FONDUE RECIPES

Bacon Tomato Fondue

1 brick of Velveeta, cubed
1 can of diced tomatoes 
1 package of real bacon bits 

Heat diced tomatoes and their juice in a pan over medium to medium high heat.  Add cubes of Velveeta and stir constantly until all is melted.  Add bacon bits and stir.  Pour into a fondue pot and place over a lit candle.

For dipping in the cheese:
French bread, cubed
tortilla chips
cooked chicken, cubed
steamed broccoli
cooked cubed potato
raw celery
bread sticks
pretzels


Easy Chocolate Fondue

8 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup evaporated milk

In a double boiler melt chocolate in evaporated milk.  Water under pot should be bubbling but not touching the bottom of the pot.  Transfer the whole double boiler to a fondue stand over a lit candle.

For dipping in chocolate:
pound cake, cubed
strawberries
mini marshmallows
cookies
cut up banana
pretzels