May the Fourth Be With You...

I was recently introduced to a wonderful new holiday by the Big Bang Theory--Star Wars Day!!

"It's not May the third...

And it's not May the fifth...

It's May the Fourth--May the Fourth Be With You." 

Totally made my day--how clever! So this past weekend we decided to celebrate this holiday by watching all six Star Wars movies.

That's 15+ hours, by the way, and man were my joints sore afterwards--but totally worth it! As suggested by one of my favorite blogs, The Dating Divas, My husband and I turned it into an extended date night, and it was so much fun! We even had Star Wars themed snacks of course--although, since it wasn't planned with a great deal of advance notice, I didn't quite go all out like Bernadette and Amy on the Big Bang Theory--sorry, no fondant Death Star this year.

However, we did enjoy a variety of intergalactic snacks:

My personal favorite was the Yoda Soda, complete with R2D2 cups I made the night before.

And of course, what would Star Wars Day be without some Princess Leia Buns?? ;)

As they say, May the force be with you! :)

What I Wore: Halloweeeeeeener! ;)

Halfway through November... and I finally got my Halloween pictures to work! (my computer has been rejecting my camera card lately). So, here's to a wonderful What WE Wore--Halloweener Edition! ;)

This year I didn't dress up in costume as in the past; I wanted to keep it a little more simple. I dressed up sporting Halloween colors, and even dressed my little Halloweener puppy up in her orange and black dress and bow (yes, she's cuter than me, but I accept that, haha). The little kids at school kept asking me what I was supposed to be--I was the embodiment of the holiday, duh. :P 

Seriously, I think I love this holiday simply just to dress my little doggie up--isn't she adorable?? :)

Love how she poses like a little model! :)

When I got home from work I decided to do something holiday-ish in the kitchen (it's been a while since I've baked or decorated or anything--marriage sure does through you for a loop!), so I FINALLY made those candy-corn sugar cookies I pinned on Pinterest last Halloween. ;)

They were Delicious, and dang cute to boot. ;)

Nothing Beats Homemade

We have a lovely garden behind our house--like, a REAL garden, at least real when we decide to plant things... okay, so the past few years we haven't been planting as much as we have in the past--it's been so sad! I love fresh produce, nothing can compare! So, you can imagine my excitement when I discovered a bowl of berries on the kitchen counter! 

But wait, what on earth are these things? Not your usual berry, at least not what I'm used to--turns out, we have gooseberries! How cool is that? I mean, seriously, who has GOOSEBERRIES in their BACKYARD?! So COOOOL!!!

So, what do you do with gooseberries? My very first homemade pie!!

I was quite proud, not gonna lie--I've never made a pie before. :)

Check it out--flaky crust and everything!

I wonder what else you can do with gooseberries... :)

Visit me over at Young and Crafty!

Hey guys--today I'm guest posting over at the wonderful blog, Young and Crafty--come check out my post, as well as all of Hannah's amazing projects!

Penguins and Narwhals

I can't believe it--my little brother is 14 years old! Not only that, but suddenly he is taller than me--when did he grow up? I must have missed it... to celebrate his birthday, I decided to page homage to his two favorite animals:

PENGUINS and NARWHALS!!!

Sean has always been a HUGE fan of penguins--when he was younger I took him to see March of the Penguins on his birthday--I was amazed that such an energetic little kid could sit through an entire documentary with so much fascination!

 The narwhals fascination is new this year--apparently there is a popular youtube video about narwhals that the teenagers are really big into these days. Not gonna lie, after watching it several times it does become rather entertaining--but I will warn you, it will get stuck in your head for days and days and days and days... sometimes I even hear it in my dreams, it's slightly creepy... at least my narwhals are cute! ;)

 Although, I have to admit that the penguins were my favorite! :)

 and of course I had to make a few simpler cupcakes for those less inclined to devour a mound of sugar and sweets--so, Swedish Fish were a definite must.

 We kept them in the freezer until it was time to feast--so that they would stay in one piece for a little while at least--when we took them out a few of the mouths started to drip, so Sean took the liberty of adding some skewed Swedish Fish to the more bloodthirsty narwhals.

I just love those penguin eyes! They remind me of Sean's too-cute-to-get-in-trouble-because-I'm-the-baby-of-the-family-face. 

 Sean was pretty excited about his birthday cupcakes this year!

 Savoring every last bite...

 and the very best part about black frosting:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEAN!!!!!!!!

My cupcakes were featured!

Minty Green Goodness

Happy St. Patty's Day!!!! This year we were surprisingly busy on St. Patrick's Day, but I did squeeze in some time for these delicious Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies--thank goodness for Betty Crocker! ;)

These cookies taste so good! Who knew that mint and chocolate could work so well in cookie form?

I'm not a big fan of mixes, but after some doctoring from the Betty Crocker website, they certainly can be mighty tasty!

1	pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/2	cup butter or margarine, softened
1/4	to 1/2 teaspoon mint extract
6	to 8 drops green food color
1	egg
1	cup creme de menthe baking chips
1	cup semisweet chocolate chunks 1 Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, extract, food color and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in creme de menthe baking chips and chocolate chunks. 2 Using small cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. 3 Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Serve warm or cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

Almost an Auntie

I'm almost an official aunt! Just a few more weeks before my little niece is born, and I'm not sure I've ever been this excited--the only bummer is that Carolyn and Daniel live out in Michigan... so I need to get a job and get some money so that I can visit them! Any suggestions? I'm kind of broke at the moment... oh well, somehow things always work out, right?

On the wonderfully BRIGHT bright side, Carolyn and Daniel spent Christmas with us! It was by far the best Christmas yet, and I am already missing them (and so is Guy--he doesn't quite know what to do with himself).

It was pretty awesome--I finished the scarf I started after my surgery (finally! I got frustrated with a knot, and with not being able to see and all, so I kind of quit on it last year... but Carolyn helped me relearn and get it done!), I learned to crochet, we made loads of treats, watched movies, and got to spend time with my favorite sister. <3>

So the day before Carolyn went home I threw her a baby shower. Disclaimer: I've never been to a baby shower before, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I ended up being quite pleased with the whole deal. I even made cake bites and everything (and I'm pretty darn sure I gained at least 10 pounds from them!).

We even had all three grandmas come! Grandma Carolyn (on the right of sister Carolyn),

Grandma Donna (left), and Grandma Marva. We love family!

She got a few things...

Yay for Carolyn and Daniel!!! <3