Friday's Five Things

So I got this idea from the blog "A long (enecker) short story" but she actually got the idea from Cupcakes and Cashmere, (not sure why I hadn't seen it there in the first place).  But anyhoo, the idea is basically to list five things that you are thankful/grateful for in the moment... or simply, five things that make you happy.  Anything from a simple picture that ellicits a smile, a yummy dessert, or a special person.  It's always a good idea to take some time to think about these things.  It's easy to get caught up in the daily routines and lose perspective of many of the positives in life.  And there are many!!

So with that said...here are this weeks five things!

1) I must always have my creative juices flowing. Not a week goes by where I'm not in the kitchen baking or off with my crafts.  This week I've been putting the two together... kitchen and crafts collide!! ;-) I've put together these "Cowgirl Cookie" mixes in mason jars.  I got the idea from the oh so talented Cake Pop Queen over at bakerella.com.  I made them as little gifts for my girls at work as a little "fare-thee-well" present.  

 First, I filled each mason jar with the cookie mixes and added the finishing touches below.  Some fabric I actually had lying around, a little ribbon and the printable label from Bakerella.  

2) My all-time favorite movie was recently re-released in 3D on the big screen.  I think you know which movie I'm talking about....The Lion King! And I was delighted that we got to take my boyfriend's nephew...he seemed to like it :-)  It was funny to watch him pawing at the air as if the movie was coming to life 2 inches in front of his face.  And I know he loved his Uncle Mikey time.   

They even had specialized Lion King themed 3D glasses for the kiddos....I secretly wanted the kid ones (which probably would've fit my face better anyways, next time I'll know to ask ;-) 

3) I'm training for yet another half marathon and my fantastic Brooks are keeping my feet going strong. I feel the need to purchase some new ones, as I've trained and conquered 2 half marathons with these shoes already.  It's time...but I think my existing pair will bring me through a third one.  Third times a charm right? 

4) My sister is pregnant with her first little one (I can't believe it, I'm going to be auntie!!) and I'm happily in charge of the baby shower.  The paperlesspost.com has become quite helpful in sending out the "save the dates".  An easy ad quick way to send what looks like an actual letter via e-mail.  Simple yet elegant.  I can't wait to start on the "She's Ready to Pop" themed shower! 

5) My boyfriend's crazy busy schedule with work and school week in and week out is something I'm so   proud of and yet it boggles my mind.  I rarely hear a peep out of him in terms of complaints, and I know I complain my fair share for the both of us.  Of course everyone has their own stressors and gauge as to what they can and can't handle.  But it's always a good reminder to know that someone always has it rougher than you.  I don't know how you do it babe...and with a smile on your face! 

And with that said, I leave you with a few good sayings (even I need some reminders)!

Sure will! 

So...

And :-) 

Happy Friday

I'm gettin' fancy!

It's been awhile since I made my first cakepop...and I've mastered not only the rounded shape and the smooth candy coating. I think I've mastered the best flavors as well...which frostings will go best with what cake and so on. And today I've stepped up my game to the next level and incorporated food coloring gel!

I've always wanted to use the food coloring gel since I used Little Miss Momma's tutorial on how to make cakepops. She used this great light blue swirly-doo a-top the cakepop...but I just wasn't ready at the time for that much pizzazz.

Don't her's look amazing! This is what I was going for today...

My boyfriend's good friend Lisa is a fanatic of cupcakes, cakepops, probably anything to do with cake. So I told her I would make a batch of cakepops for her special day.

So my swirly-doos aren't as spectacular as hers but I tried! I added a touch of star sprinkles...ya, gotta make a "wish upon a star" on your birthday ;-) (Corny, yea?)

Might I add...I did a splendid job!

Can't forget to wrap it up all purrty like! I had a great little basket and bought some cellophane to tie all together.

And there you go!

I also happened upon these bad boys below at the dollar store...I'm warning you... they are killer delicious! They taste like teensy versions of cakepops. I had them devoured for breakfast with my coffee the other day. It was a great combo!

Cake Pops!

Only recently have I really desired to learn how to make cake pops. It was after a baptism where they had cake pops as the party favor did I learn how freaking amazing they are! I always thought they looked extremely difficult to conquer (and I'm in no way saying they are the easiest thing to make) but it made so much more sense after following the detailed visual instructions from Ashley Stock's blog. So with her expertise, I went to town... literally.

Had to stop at Michael's for a few supplies: candy melts, cake pop sticks, and styrofoam (I'm gonna keep you guessing as to why styrofoam is needed).

Candy Melts

So you bake your cake as usual (as the box tells you), let it cool, and dump the thing in a bowl with half a container of your choice frosting. I would go with the same flavor as your cake, but but it's all about creativity so whatever floats your boat. Then mash away! Once mashed, roll the cake into 1-inch balls.

Now here is where I'm going to insert some things I've learned. Use less of a roll and more of a compact. If you roll the cake until its a solid ball, you've pretty much got yourself cake dough all over again. I didn't realize this until all my cake was in the form of highly dense rolled cake balls. So a more compacting technique may get you a cake-ier consistency which, I would think is what it's all about.

Technique tip: The balls should be somewhat small as a small carboard stick needs to withhold the cake balls weight (another reason you don't want dense balls ;-)

Confetti Cake with Rainbow Chip Frosting

Once the cake balls are formed, the sticks must be placed. So, microwave the candy melts until smooth adding a large spoonful of shortening for thinner consistency. Dab the stick into the melted candy and place in the cake ball. Should look like the picture below once sticks are placed.
Technique time: After sticks are placed, use a styrofoam base as a holder for the cake pops. The stick should be able to harden to the cake ball in this right side up fashion. Because my cake balls were so dense and large, the stick fell right through the cake ball despite the candy melt "glue" to hold it in place.


Once the candy melt glue has hardened to withhold the cake balls weight you are ready for dipping and covering the entire cake ball with the candy coating.
Now, as you can see below, I have not perfected the "covering of the cake ball", so I really don't have any techniques tips for this part of the project. However, I can tell you that the consumers have thus far loved the extra glob of candy coating. I had to dump this extra glob on so my cake ball would finally stick to the stick, but the presentation was/is awful! With some practice, I will master the candy coating adding sprinkles, colored icing, and more decortions!

So ta-dah! Here they are all set in my cake tupperware ready for my consumers at work.