classy vs. casual

Yes! Finally a post with some cupcakes, right? Today's cupcake menu featured the very classy and pretty Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes, as well as the casual and fun Ants at a Picnic Cupcakes.

Seeing as today was a half day of school, it was most definitely the perfect time for my fellow cupcake-maker-in-crime, Maureen, to show some cupcake-naiveties, Magali and Bhavana (see "noodles") exactly how we do what we do.

The Oreo Cheesecake had been made before and was well-beloved by all, thus prompting our decision to again make this extremely rich cupcake. This cream cheese heavy treat was made extra sweet with the addition of chopped oreos. Recipe found from Martha Stewart's Cupcake Cookbook.

However, we also wanted to do some decorating. After flipping through such cupcake books as "Hello, Cupcake!" and "What's New, Cupcake?", we ultimately decided on the ants from the latter cupcake book (mainly for their simplicity...the other option would have been these adorable apples, which may still be made later). We tried to think of a more compelling reason for our decision, and thought that we could also say that since Magali had a childhood obsession with ants and frequently observed their behaviors, that she insisted on us making the ant cupcakes as soon as she saw them (however, this reason was quickly discarded by Magali in order to avoid the possibility that she might appear to be strange). The ant cupcakes were made from devil's food cake mix, with the substitution of coffee for water in order to make them more moist, and topped with green-colored vanilla frosting. Chocolate covered peanuts and watermelon sour patch contributed to the ants at a picnic theme.

Ater three hours, the cupcakes were complete and ready to be enjoyed and photographed.
Click the jump for more pictures!

contemporary craftiness

Today was a craft day for me. A friend of mine, Sam, had made this really awesome splatter painting that he showed me. I, naturally, wanted one of my own and enlisted his help to create it.

So pretty much, we just put some tarps in the garage, got some paint, and started frantically whippin' some paintbrushes around all over this piece of canvas. Simple enough right, not to mention extremely fun. Didn't turn out too shabby either in my opinion. Plus, kept the garage and ourselves paint-free (Sam had a cow apron which protected him while I wore a plastic bag, sadly he looked a lot cooler than I did).

Since I don't think of myself as a great painter, this was a good way to paint something that was pretty much guaranteed to turn out somewhat decent. I think it will make a great accent on a dorm room wall someday. And I secretly hope that someone will see it and say "It says so much, while saying so little" because I just really like it when people say that about art, it amuses me.

Anyway, click the jump for more pictures and a crafty surprise!

noodles

So a couple of friends and I love getting together to make what they simply call "noodles". This is something they'd done for a while and have graciously let me join in, and boy has it been deliciously fun. Tonight, we had a noodles and jersey shore night, which is always a recipe for success (sorry for the lame pun, but I couldn't help myself). Anyway, I have some pictures to document the night and share with y'all the greatness that is noodles.

more pictures and the recipe after the jump.

skrik

Skrik or The Scream by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch

"I was walking along a path with two friends — the sun was setting — suddenly the sky turned blood red — I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence — there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city — my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety — and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature."

everything is illuminated

Last summer, my good friend, Kelsey, recommended the book Everything is Illuminated. I can honestly say that this is my favorite book I've read to date. Since I don't want to spoil too much, I'll just summarize with some of my favorite things about it, (so y'all can read it and enjoy too!)

In its most basic terms, it is the story of a young Jewish man's journey to discover the past. However, the format that Foer uses is genius. The main story is told in broken English by the Ukrainian tour guide, which results in some of the most hilarious reading. However, mixed in to the funny tale of the present day, there is also a story focused on the past. It was this tale in the end that stole my heart. It described life, sadness, and beauty in such a different but brilliant way. By the end of the book I had laughed countless times, but also cried a few as well.

Another sign that this is a great piece of literature is the fact that I started highlighting passages and quotes as I read. This I had never done with anything I had read for pleasure before. There are so many beautifully deep lines that Foer writes, I could fill a whole post with them! However, I won't. But I will drop a few in here and there, no worries.

The point is, if you're looking for a quick read, but want a book with substance and depth...Everything is Illuminated is a premium choice. I've reread it several times and something new hits me each experience. This is a novel definitely worth buying.

And to end with the quote that first inspired my to get my highlighter out:
I do not think that there are any limits to how excellent we could make life seem.

drama + cupcakes

I love the food network. They recently started this new show called Cupcake Wars. Naturally, since making cupcakes has become a hobby of mine, I tuned in. Ah, there is so much drama! I love it, (so much so that I decided to use it as inspiration for this blog).

The contestants get so worked up, and there is always some disaster that occurs to make things interesting. Who knew baking cupcakes could be so stressful? However, despite the craziness, there is always a guarantee you'll see some beautifully decorated mouthwatering cupcakes - success. Not to mention the cute host who only seems to speak in puns, entertaining but sad. I do not particularly like puns, but I try to take comfort in the idea that he is scripted.

Nonetheless, I highly recommend this show. It's simple and carefree entertainment to watch in your free time (and when 30 Rock isn't on).

And now for the typical "first post" blabber: we're going to see how I do with this blogging stuff. I'll try to keep everything short and interesting, but I'm pretty excited to start writing. Anyway, more posts to come later.