A King has been named.

My husband was making jambalaya for dinner last Tuesday and I decided to get into the spirit of things as well. So, on a bit of a whim I made king (cup)cakes for Fat Tuesday.

I had originally wanted to make an actual king cake till I realized, that wasn't exactly the type of thing you just whip up at four o'clock in the evening, so I used king cake as more of an inspiration per se. Basically this meant I used a lemon flavored box mix and added a tsp of ginger since as far as I know, which isn't much, lemon and ginger are two key components of a king cake.

Though much by accident, I made my batter egg free. That's what happens when you forget to check and see that you have all your ingredients before you begin. Oops! Wouldn't be the first time, which is why I knew to substitute 1 Tbsp milled flax seed mixed with 3 Tbsp water for each egg. However, if you have egg allergies, want to make something vegan or you just screwed up and forgot to check your eggs like me, I would suggest using 1/4 cup of mashed banana or applesauce as an egg replacement instead, but surprise! I didn't have those things either, so flax seed it was.

A king cake is like Mardi Gras on your plate. Covered in gold, purple and green, presentation is key with this hideous looking thing. So for my cupcakes, I divided my batter into three bowls and mixed in food coloring so that I would have a rainbow of cake mix to work with.

I added a spoonful of yellow, green and purple to each cupcake tin.

The thing that truly sets the king cake apart from ordinary cakes, other then the fact that it looks like an Easter wreath and is stuffed with pantry randomness, is the plastic baby hidden inside. Apparently the plastic baby is suppose to represent baby Jesus, so Ive heard. Whoever finds this baby inside their piece of cake either earns the title of "King for the day" or has to make the cake next year. Something like that. I decided to go with the king for the day bit. Oh, and I also went with a plastic army man. It was the closest thing I could find to a plastic baby laying around the house.

I mixed a little confectioners sugar and water with intentions of drizzling some icing over the cupcakes, but wouldnt ya know it - I ran out of confectioners sugar. I was over it by this point. I half ass decorated a cupcake and called it good.

If your wondering who found the army man?... Well, nobody. At least nobody that night. Hey, it wasn't exactly your normal king cake, so who said the army man actually had to be found on Fat Tuesday? He eventually was found though and 'A' was pronounced "King for the.... well, rest of the Night".

(No army men where harmed in the making of these cupcakes)

Shame on Westboro and their irrational disicion to protest Powell boys' funeral

I am so disgusted and saddened by the news this morning of the Westboro Baptist Cult, I mean Church, and their ignorant disicion to protest the funeral of the two Powell brothers who where killed by their father last Sunday after he deliberately set fire to their home in Washington state (as if that's not sickening enough). The reasoning behind their mindless protest? They actually are naive enough to think that Josh Powell, the boys father, was punishment for Washington's decision to legalize gay marriage. What the, excuse me, fuck are they thinking? Better yet, why are they not thinking? That is the most absurd thing Ive ever heard, and Ive heard some pretty absurd shit. Have these sweet little boys not suffered enough? Let them rest in peace, please!

It is uneducated organizations like the Westboro so called church that give Christianity a bad name. Shame on them for using god as their platform to spread their hatred!

My husband, god bless him, was so upset by this story that he decided to call the Westboro church this morning in hopes of maybe indoctrinating someone with some actual scripture and respectable moral value, but was further aggravated when sent directly to an automated system prompting him to choose whether he was a veteran or a patriot. Upon choosing patriot, he was then directed to another automated message criticizing his patriotism because of the acceptance of gays in our country. Infuriated, he was not able to listen to the entire brainwashing message and hung up.

Westboro should not have the right to call themselves a church. A church is a place of worship; Wesrboro is a place of prejudice.

"There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you - who are you to judge your neighbor?" (James 4:12)

Chocolate Avocado Banana Pudding

I had tons avocados left over from Superbowl Sunday that needed to be used. I am not a huge avocado fan and my husband was a little burnt out on guacamole so I decided to try something new.

My Chocolate Avocado Banana Pudding. Yum!

There is a Chocolate Pudding recipe in Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, Deceptively Delicious that uses avocado's. Seeing that my kids are a little on the small side, we're talking 5th percentile for weight, I thought a little avocado in their diet could do some good. However, Jessica's recipe calls for an entire cup of confectioners' sugar, which lets face it, is a lot of sugar. Kind of defeats the purpose of hiding the avocado in the pudding, so I decided to change it up a little and not only cut out the sugar, but eliminate the stove, saucepans and even add a banana.

Here is Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious Chocolate Pudding recipe:

Ingredients

1/4 cup trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
1 cup avocado puree
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup cornstarch

In medium saucepan, melt the margarine over low heat. Stir in the avocado puree, sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Cook, mashing well with a silicone spatula to smooth out any lumps of avocado, until the mixture thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Off the heat, gradually stir in the cornstarch. Serve warm.

Here is my simplified version:

Ingredients

2 avocados
1 banana
1-2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar (optional)
3-4 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
dash of cinnamon or cayenne pepper

In blender, puree avocados and banana with agave nectar or honey till smooth. Add confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and cinnamon or cayenne. Pulse till creamy adding water in small amounts if necessary till desired consistency.

This was so good! Your kids will never know its made from avocado. I even froze some in Popsicle molds for the kids and it came out almost like a fudge. Very rich. If you like dark chocolate, you are sure to love this!

A very happy "A" with his pudding pop.

Distressed Red Dining Chairs

Several years ago, my now mother-in-law gave my husband this picture that we have notably dubbed Jose, for obvious reasons. We have since then, used Jose as the inspiration for out dining room. Having said that, I think Jose is well deserving of a new frame or maybe matting, but for now he's just gonna have to let my new chairs take the spot light.

Jose

Ive been on a bit of a DIY kick lately. I think it was the success of my cork ball that really got me going, but this has been my biggest, and probably most useful project. I painted and distressed a pair of dining chairs that I found on Craigslist for $20 each which may seem a bit pricey, but they were exactly what I was looking for and in pretty good shape.

One of my chairs BEFORE

First, I enlisted my husbands help for the dirty work, and sanded the chairs down. Then with a little help from Jose, I decided to paint the chairs red. I chose Rustoleum spray paint, cause its easy, in Colonial Red.

I let the chairs sit over night to dry. Then came the distressing part. I wasn't totally sure what I was doing here so I pretty much winged it and lightly sanded the edges of the chairs down. Then I went over the chairs with a Minwax Dark Walnut stain.

One of my chairs AFTER

I'm pretty happy with the way the chairs turned out, however I could have done a little more distressing. I was a little weary about sanding the chairs to much before applying the stain though. Nothing two little boys armed with matchbox cars and super hero figurines can't fix, I'm sure.

I do love the color! Wish I could say it was intentional, but the color came out almost identical to the red on my new talavera pot. Very cool!

Next, I plan on using the same color on my son's dresser. Would love any tips you have for distressing furniture with paint. Should I have used a primer? What about a protective top coat of some sort? Is there a specific size of sand paper that works best for sanding down my newly painted piece before applying the stain?

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Cork Balls: Another reason to drink more wine!

It's no secret I like my wine. The problem with that though is, or was, the enormous cork collection I have accrued over the years. So, I decided to get creative and did a little research looking for ways to use old wine corks. Most of the ideas I found where a bit cheesy. Who's really gonna wear a pair of cork earrings? (No offense to those of you who do.)

That's when I found it. The Cork Bowling Alley (cause that's not cheesy). It was like a big ray of sunshine! Someone combined to of my favorite things, wine and bowling. Yes, I love bowling. Go ahead and laugh. It gets better; I even have my own ball with my name on it. Oh yeah!

I'm not big on art, but the cork bowling ball was pretty damn cool. I did a search for cork balls and found that they've actually become quit the rage since this Anthropology window display.

How cool are these? I immediately jumped on the crafty DIY bandwagon and was on my way to my very own cork ball.

What I used:

40 wine corks; cut in half (It's not necessary to cut corks in half, but obviously requires the use of less corks).

garden sheers for cutting corks; if you decide to do so.

4" Styrofoam ball

hot glue gun with several glue sticks

moss

glass of wine (optional)

How I used it:

After cutting my corks in half with the garden sheers (you could use a sharp knife, but I found the sheers worked much faster and were a lot easier), I simply started gluing them to the foam ball. I used a dot of glue on the cut end of the cork and pressed firmly to the ball for about 10 seconds. Following no particular pattern, other then keeping the corks as close together as possible, this took about an hour and a half.

At this point, you could totally leave the ball as is. I chose to use the moss to cover the small white crevices that showed between some of the corks by placing a small dot of the glue into the gaps and pushing in small pieces of moss. Be careful though; the glue is HOT! I figured this out the hard way. I used a toothpick in a couple spots to push the moss down into the hot glue. It did get a little messy.

Instead of the moss, you may want to try painting the Styrofoam ball first, like Nicole did here: http://glamorousgranola.blogspot.com/2011/08/pinterest-challenge-cork-balls.html Great idea!

I foresee many cork balls in my future. I think they'll be cute for hanging outside this summer or if anything, serve as a good conversation piece.

*Want your own cork ball without all the work? Get them at Etsys.

3 Tips for a Cheerful Holiday and ONE amazing gift the entire family will love!

'Tis the season to be jolly... at least that's what they say. However, for most, 'tis the season to go crazy and broke (or just crazy broke)! That's why I'm sharing three tips that may not keep you from going broke, but at least keep you from going crazy broke and keep you somewhat sane at the same time.

1. Don't Try To Do It All. - Really, don't even attempt it! If your hosting a get-together whether it be with family or friends, don't be afraid to assign a task. I have found that people usually enjoy helping out with the food, especially around the holidays when the food takes center stage. We've all got that signature holiday dish, or cocktail in my case, we wanna share. However, for the Martha Stewart's of the world, keep doin' what your doin' and more power to ya (you probably wouldn't like my dish anyways)!

2. Christmas Lists Aren't Just For Kids - They're not just for Christmas gifts either. Not only do I make a list of everyone I need to by gifts for, but I also make a list for holiday travel. Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel times of the year and definitely not a good time to leave anything behind, though I have contemplated leaving the kids. I make a list of everything, down to how many pairs of socks and chonies we need to pack. Don't forget to check your list twice (Santa was on to something with this one) and you'll be on your way, knowing you've got everything you need to make your trip as smooth as possible.

3. Eggnog - Did somebody say Holiday Cheers? *wink, wink* Need I say more? Nothing spreads more holiday cheer then a glass of eggnog (except maybe Bailey's). Just remember to drink responsibly. :D

In the spirit of making the holidays easier, I have got a great gift idea for any little builder in your life. You can add this to your list. Hasbro's New KRE-O Building Sets are sure to be among the top gifts for kids age 6 and up this year. My son just received two of these great building kits for his birthday a few weeks ago and he just loves them. I love them too! We are talking about hours of entertainment here. Of course, feel free to jump in and help them build. We put together the BUMBLEBEE Construction Set one evening together and to my surprise, it was really a lot of fun!

Why We Love KRE-O Building Sets

• With KRE-O building sets your not only building, your playing! I was amazed at how well the sets stayed together when my son was done building. He drove his BUMBLEBEE sports car around for a week before transforming BUMBLEBEE into robot mode. They even come with KREON figures that fit inside the sports car for added fun!

• Not only are KRE-O building sets affordable (they start at a mere $7.99), but you get double the bang for your buck! Each set comes with two buiding options. Kids can create their Transformer into either vehicle mode or robot mode. With a deal like that you may even want to add one of their "basic" construction sets to your holiday packing list if your spending the holidays away from home this year. I know my sons OPTIMUS PRIME basic 90pc construction set will be coming with us. It's a small set that's easy to pack yet loads of fun!

• Maybe the best thing about KRE-O building sets is that they are compatible with other leading brand construction bricks so you can just add them to any collection your kids already own.

Get your KRE-O Transformer building sets in the construction isle of most major toy retailers nationwide or on HasbroToyShop.com and get building!


“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hasbro blogging program, for 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points and a KRE-O gift. The opinions expressed in this post are mine and don’t necessarily reflect the opinions of SocialMoms or Hasbro. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

Tax Breaks for Restricted Diets?

We all know avoiding certain foods can be very expensive. Most allergen free brands tend to be specialty brands and can cost significantly more then big brand or store brand products. There can also be shipping fee's included for items that require online orders. Now, I had no idea, but apparently you can claim gluten free foods on your tax returns. Check out this post from Gluten Free Society, How To Get a Tax Break With Gluten Free Foods. This leaves me to wonder if this works for other allergy safe foods? This could be very helpful to a lot of families dealing with food allergies. It would be nice to catch a break somewhere. After all, allergen free foods are just a small portion of the high cost of food allergies. I would love to know if any of you have tried this before or have any further information on this.