February 19, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

My Valentine’s Day

I love a theme. It’s not that I love Valentine’s Day. Or really, that I even like it. But there is just something wonderful about a day devoted to love. And I absolutely adore when people give into a day and support the theme. In this case, pink or red. I purchased this Free People bright pink caftan and I knew I wanted to wear it specifically for Valentine’s Day. I loved wearing it. It made me feel, oh, so feminine.

I also purchased my husband a tie (clearanced to $10) that matched my dress perfectly. Remember, I love when we match, too.

Double theme. Check. Double nauseating. Check.

I was asked what I wore under this dress. It is extremely low cut, so I paired it with my eyelet bralette. It looks like a pretty supportive tank top.

My honey brought me roses. It is kind of an inside joke. Red roses. I will write about it some time.

My husband and I went out to lunch at our favorite restaurant. They have these fries. These fries. You guys, you have not had fries until you have had these fries. They take three days to make. It is a secret process. I have never had anything like them. You know what I’m craving now.

It was fun to see how different people interpreted Valentine’ Day through their clothing. My favorite was a little old woman in a pink shirt, red pants and flashing lit-up heart pins covering her bodice. It was awesome!

It was a beautiful day.

I had planned on making homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner, but my sweet mom dropped off a homemade chicken pot pie. It was so good. And much appreciated.

And I made these macadamia nut individual brown sugar cakes for dessert.

Did you have a good Valentine’s Day? A good weekend? What did you end up doing? Wearing?

If it wasn’t good, I hope this week is much better for you.

* P.S. I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

November 20, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

It’s The Little Things: Cookie Butter!

Oh, yes, cookie butter. I wish I had it on camera, the moment I first saw this spectacular creation on a giant display at the store. I think time froze as I reread and reread the label, my mouth gaping open. Drool puddling on the floor. I, of course, grabbed a jar. When you see something with words that you normally associate the other way around (Butter Cookies), you have to grab it.

I got home and immediately opened the jar. I tried it. Oh my goodness! Heaven. I checked the calories. Ninety calories for one tablespoon. Reality.

I knew I would have to eat this with something healthy to not feel like Goldie Hawn in “Death Becomes Her.” Anytime I eat frosting from a can, my husband reminds me of that scene. So, I tried it with apple slices. I love apple slices with peanut butter. Now, I love apples slices with cookie butter. It is better. Trust me.

And because I am a hoarder with OCD, I rushed out the next day and bought another jar. It tastes like condensed thick creamy spice cookies. Amazing!

I made a cookie butter cake. Um, this is what it looked like for a week. Not my finest creation. How could I ruin my cookie butter this way?

Then I made cookie butter oatmeal cookies. Now we’re talking. Do you hear that? It’s the sound of my thighs clapping. Recipe for this to come. You will be oh, so happy.

I have also learned that Trader Joe’s carries cookie butter. There is a rumor on the internet that they only allow the purchase of two jars per customer. Is this true? I have not stalked the shelves here, yet. They also make a chocolate version and a crunchy version. Oh! The choices. The possibilities. The dirty spoons.

It’s the little things: it’s creamed cookies! Creamed cookies! Dreams do come true.

Have you tried this yet? Do you hoard it? I am scared they are going to run out.

October 6, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

“It Tastes Like A Cinnamon Roll” Cake

This cake is actually called “Honey Bun Cake.” However, after eating a bite of this cake, my child exclaimed, “it tastes like a cinnamon roll.” And you know what? It kind of does.

But better.

This cake began when I was looking around for a recipe with honey in it to try. I was feeling guilty that my father is a beekeeper, and yet, I rarely cook with honey. I found this cake. After glancing at the recipe I realized that there is no honey in the ingredients. But it looked delicious. I HAD to make it. I found two versions of it that varied slightly. I figured I would just combine them to my liking. I used the cake portion from this Betty Crocker Recipe and the glaze is from Michelle’s Honeybun Cake on All Recipes. It worked out perfectly.

Yum!

This cake was incredibly easy to make. It smells like fall to me. Cinnamony and warm.

Ingredients

1 box yellow cake mix
4 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream (8 oz.)
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Grease a 9 X 13 pan. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees or 325 degrees convect bake (if you have a convection oven)

Pour cake mix, vegetable oil, and sour cream into a bowl. Mix in your mixer or with a hand mixer just until it is all incorporated. Now mix in each egg and combine until batter is smooth.

In a separate small bowl mix together brown sugar and cinnamon.

Pour half of the batter evenly in your greased 9 X 13 baking dish.

Sprinkle brown sugar mixture evenly over top.

Pour remaining batter over cinnamon mixture. This is the tricky part. Carefully spread the batter so that the cinnamon mixture is not getting incorporated in the batter. Do this until the top layer is even.

Put in the oven and bake 45 minutes.

Remove from oven.

Immediately mix powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a bowl with a fork.

When it is runny, prick numerous holes in your warm cake with a fork.

Pour glaze over cake evenly.

Allow cake to completely cool (about 45 minutes) and then indulge! I cut our cake after thirty minutes. That was as patient as we could be. It smelled so good. It was also an hour before dinner. Maybe not the right choice, but definitely the right loveliness for our mouths.

My husband said, “I might like this better than peach cake!” Being that peach cake is his very favorite, I will take it that this recipe is a keeper.

Enjoy! (We did with ice cold glasses of milk.)

September 5, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

A Minecraft Party

My son wanted a Minecraft party. They do not make Minecraft party supplies. You have to make them yourself. The very name “Minecraft” even has the word “craft” in it. Here is the problem: My name does not.

A dilemma was born. What is the lazy, uncrafty mom to do?

Attempt to make invitations. In bed. With ~~a glass~~ ~~glasses~~ a lot of wine. While watching the Food Network. Call it done. Send them out and hope the parents think your child made them. (This actually worked out exceptionally well, as several parents called me to tell me my son did a great job on the invitations. Cheers!)

Thankfully, there are many moms out there who are crafty. And they will sell you the things they have made… For a price. I purchased most of the items for my son’s party from Ebay. Unfortunately, most of the items have increased in price by more than 30% since I purchased mine. Bummer!

They are cute, though. And the kids loved the masks.

My good friend, Kellie, taught me how to make candy molds. If I can do this, anyone can. It has to be Merckens chocolate. The Wilson chocolate that you can buy at craft stores is… not my favorite. The Merckens brand is delicious. So good. I actually think it tastes very similar to Lindt’s white chocolate. We have a cake shop in town that sells it. Amazon also carries it. But it is much more expensive there. Check your local area first.

After I finished making the last mold, I licked the bowl. I stood there over my kitchen sink and licked that bowl clean. My family was clueless in the other room. I have good manners like that.

I just melt one small batch at a time in a bowl. I put it in the microwave for thirty second intervals. Stirring in between. Usually it takes one minute. Just stir the bits of chocolate around until they are all melted. Pour the chocolate in the candy mold. Gently tap it to get rid of air bubbles. Refrigerate the candy mold for about thirty minutes. Pop chocolate out. Bag it. Repeat. This is so much fun and the kids love this. I made big white chocolate video game controllers for each kid. In typical Jenni fashion, I made the wrong kind of controller. However, I bet they tasted good, all the same.

For the cake, I ordered a half sheet cake in green with writing on the corners. Then my husband broke up some hershey bars and made a creeper face (this was my idea in my head.) It was touch and go. It was definitely another Jenni DIY project. As in, the kids liked it. I hid it from the adults. We had twenty minutes to make it. It was actually fantastic for the time allotment. I was having a meltdown with the candy bars and the stickers while my sweet husband made the face.

And there you have it. We went to a trampoline park. The kids had fun. The facility cleaned up. Score! This mom went home and had pizza and wine. I thought I would do a post on this in case there were any other uncreative moms out there with kids who want a Minecraft party. In searching for ideas, I ran across so many awesome DIY moms who did amazing parties. I am not that mom. The parties these moms threw (I mean…Wow! Just google it. But then come back here for a dose of reality. And don’t cry.) had me in a panic. A cold sweat. Tears. I knew I was on my own. You are not alone! There is hope! Invest in some hershey bars and wine. Then call it a day! Your kid will love it! (The candy bars, not the wine.)

What have been some themes your kids or yourself have requested? Did you run into the same problem I did? What did you do?

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

cake

My Valentine’s Day

“It Tastes Like A Cinnamon Roll” Cake

A Minecraft Party