Free Music

A friend recently introduced me to the music site Jango.com

It's similar to Pandora but you have more control over your stations, like, which music actually plays on them. Also, you won't get cut off after too many free hours, which is always nice.

Anyway, check it out. http://www.jango.com/

Wove, Twue Wove

A few weeks ago I was honored to be a part of the wedding of one of my best friends, Stephanie, to her now husband, Chase. A few months before the wedding, Steph asked me if I would make a groom's cake as a surprise for Chase. She told me that she wanted a Ford emblem made out of cake. Chase works for Ford and has a passion for cars. We decided on Red Velvet cake with a Cream Cheese Buttercream filling. I used fondant to cover the cake so as to give the cake a really clean, sleek finish.

Chase did finally find out that he was getting a cake, but he was not told what it would look like. It was so hard for me to not spill the beans, but I managed! When we presented the cake to Chase he was blown away! It was such a special weekend and I'm so glad to have been able to lend my talents to two very special people.

Old School Made New

I recently found myself craving something chocolaty but not too complicated. I found a box of brownie mix in the pantry but I didn't want just plain brownies. In browsing the internet I came across a recipe for S'More Brownies. I don't remember what the actual recipe consisted of, but I do remember that I thought it was a little more complicated than how S'Mores should ever be. So I made up my own version.

I made a graham cracker crust just like I would for a cheesecake, pressed it into the bottom of my pan, and blind baked it. Once that came out I added the brownie mix (mixed according to package directions, I like the fudgy kind) and baked again until the brownie was done. For the finishing touch, I added a layer of mini-marshmallows on top and put the whole thing under the broiler for a few moments to toast 'em up. The result is delicious!! It is reminiscent of a S'More but it isn't an exact taste replica, almost like a grown-up S'More. I highly suggest that you mix up a batch today. To make slicing easier you can spray a little Pam on your knife before you dig in, it'll help with the marshmallow layer.

In case you need it, here's what I used to make my graham cracker crust:

1 1/2 Cups crushed graham crackers
6 TBSP Melted butter
1 TBSP Sugar
A Pinch of salt

Mix it all together in a bowl or food processor until graham crackers and butter are completely combined. Use a large spoon (or your hands) to press crust mixture into bottom of baking dish. Bake at 325 for 10-15 minutes or until it is a buttery golden brown.

*It should be noted that the addition of the broiler step was brought to me by my fantastic mother. I was going to use a kitchen torch but now I think I like the eveness/quickness of using the broiler.

Dinner and dancing and eternity to follow.

Found this on Tim Siedell's blog:

I follow this guy on Twitter. He's pretty hilarious sometimes. Check him out.

Also, someone remind me about this wedding invite when I get married. I think it's genius!

Oh, side note, Tim said he found the invite here. I couldn't find it but I did find some other pretty neat things.

Deep Thoughts

A few days ago I saw an article addressing how complicated it can be to really experience a good night of sleep. The article is now lost or I would supply a link. The author expressed his view points mainly through hand drawn comics. All in all it was a sweet, thoughtful article that made me laugh.

One comic in particular really got me thinking though. It depicted the well established practice of flipping to the cool side of the pillow in order to regain sleep quickly after night time interruptions. Now, I'm not here to argue for or against that practice, that's entirely not the point here. The point is that the author's depiction was of a person rolling from one side to the other to reach cooling bliss. In other words, using a vertical divide of the pillow. It was something I'd never given much thought to before.

But, later that evening when I was lying in bed I couldn't help thinking over the cold pillow situation. You see, I've always used a horizontal divide. I flip the pillow completely over in my quest to fall back asleep. As I laid in bed, I started thinking things like, "Would it make a difference to roll instead of flip? Is one method better than the other? What about pillow case materials? Fillings? Dimensions?" I realized that there were a multitude of variables involved in only this one sleep-finding method. It became so complicated that I'm still feeling boggled over how we ever manage to fall asleep at all. Or for that matter, how do those few lucky souls who fall asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillows resist and ignore every potential sleep depriving problem in the world. And what if everyone slept as well as they did? Would we solve world hunger? Should the government start looking into better sleeping methods? Needless to say I did not sleep well that night.

I know

I realize, desperately realize, that it's been too long between posts. How will I ever manage to increase and keep any readership that I may, or may not, have if I don't post on a regular basis, you say. No one wants another typical unreliable, self-absorbed blogger on the internet, you say.

Well you're right, and I'm sorry. I will be better from now on, I promise. I will also delete this post if in the end it proves I am not actually any better at being a regular blogger.

The Franklin County Wilderness, It Loves Me...

Last night I was sitting in bed reading when I heard a small crinkling noise. I immediately put my book down and paused to listen. Nothing. Great, now I wasn't even sure I had heard the noise in the first place. I "hear" a lot of things down in "the cave." So I went back to reading.

A few minutes later, more crinkling. This time I knew I heard it. It sounded like something moving against a plastic bag. Crinkle Crinkle. Before I even had a chance to think, my imagination took off and started filling my head with all sorts of nasty images. A giant hairy spider, an enormous version of the millipedes I already find all over the basement, and all sorts of other varieties of crawlies.

What made it all the more disturbing was the fact that this noise, crinkle crinkle, was coming from directly next to me. Either under my night stand or just next to it.

So I did what anyone would do. I got out of bed, found a pair of crocks in case I needed to squish something, a flashlight in case I needed to look under my bed, and carefully began the extraction of the items surrounding my nightstand. I moved both the stack of catalogs and magazines first, then my stack of summer reading books, then a pile of online shopping still waiting to be returned (I know, I know, I'll get to it soon) all of which left me without a trace of the noise maker. So I checked under the bed, thought I saw something, then realized that the something was a shadow. I was flummoxed and starting to think maybe the whole thing was my imagination after all. I was about to climb back into bed and continue my reading when out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of blue slip under my nightstand.

Now, I don't particularly like to have to move my nightstand to find creepies underneath it. It leaves your feet vulnerable for them to attack while you are holding the table in the air to move it. But I had my crocs on, so I braved it.

When I moved the table, I found this little friend:

From Coffee Spoons

Needless to say, he was a much better find than a true creepy, although still not welcome in my bedroom. I believe he'll be much happier out in my garden anyway, which is where he has been relocated.