Randomness of the Day

Who missed my Random Thoughts?

1) My fingers and nose are SO cold right now.  I don't understand why the building has to be at BELOW FREEZING all day, just because it's hot outside.

2) My new obsession is the Guaranimal Booster Shot from Organic Avenue.  SO delicious.  It MUST be like a billion calories for me to love it so much.

3) Guess what...I need another haircut.  My hair hasn't grown very much from my last haircut.  But I feel like a change.

4) I definitely need to get back into my baking.  But I think I need to rewrite my Baking Bucket List.

5) I've been reading and seeing movies again! Check back for book lists and movie lists :)

1 Down...

So I finally baked something off my Sweet, Delicious Cravings list! Although I was supremely exhausted from the lack of sleep from the night before. I was determined to get these baked.

What did I end up making, you ask? I started my baking endeavor with Martha Stewart's Strawberry Shortcake Cookies. (see my picture above, taken after the cookies had cooled, and placed in tupperware to send off to little sister) :)

Unfortunately, the cookies came out a little soggier than I imagined (i didn't envision any sogginess at all, actually). I figured the strawberry mixture had too much water/liquid that had accumulated while mixing the cookie dough, and I probably should have strained the mixture before adding to the dough. Oh well, you live and you learn. Next time I'll know better :)
(They still TASTE pretty damn good if you ask me.)

One More for Good Measure

I'd like to add one more item to my Sweet, Delicious Cravings' "to bake" list.

26. Martha Stewart's Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Mmmmmmmmmmmm...
In the words of beloved 80's cartoon character, Strawberry Shortcake herself, these cookies would taste so BERRY good!!

Sweet, delicious cravings

#15 on my Things to do Before I Go Broke list -- increase my baking skills, has lead some friends of mine to send over some very cool new recipes. Which got me thinking...if I had the time (like a couple of free weekends...of which I am not allowed to have apparently), what would I like to bake? Thus please see the following, and add any that you may like to try eating ;) At some point in my nesting stage, I will get to them all (in no particular order) :)

1) Strawberry cupcakes
2) Rocky Road Brownies--the dessert kind, not the Indian people kind ;)
3) Ferrer-Rocher Nutella Cupcakes
4) Margarita cupcakes
5) Champagne cupcakes
6) Scones (of any flavor)
7) Oreo cheesecake balls (although I HAVE made these before, I'd like to make them again)
8) something with coconut (suggestions?)
9) a peanut butter & apple cinnamon crepe (Mmmmm. had these in Vegas once...so friggin' good)
10) Okay, this is going to sound weird to most people, but remember, I am preggers -- Bacon filled waffles (as shown below via ThisIsWhyYoureFat.com)
11) Lemon curd cupcakes
12) Bakerella Cupcake Pops
13) Homemade Mini Donuts (in different flavors)
14) Butterscotch Pie
15) Sweet Potato cupcakes
16) Guiness Cupcakes (for ITPav)
17) Ooey Gooey Yummy Brownies (TGF Paul Deen)
18) OH's Creme Brulee French Toast
19) Fruit Turnovers (Strawberry, Apple, Pear, Blueberry, etc)
20) something with Dulce de Leche
21) something with caramel & fleur de sel
22) something with pumpkin (not pie)
23) Ice Cream Cone cupcakes
24) S'mores Cupcakes
25) Martha Stewart's Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

**I also want to learn to take better photos of what I bake so that I can post them up here on the blog! Any ideas would be most helpful!

Things to do before I go broke...

My name is Brownie, and I am a shopaholic. Recently I was talking to a friend (no, not OH), and she told me that I shop so much because I am bored, and don't have any hobbies like I once did. She asked me to think of what fun things I would like to do, that would take me away from my insane shopping habit (much to the extreme joy of Hubby).

So here's my list. Let's see if I can get at least some of them done this summer, and save some moolah for the Li'l Bluebri's college education.

1. Take drawing classes (OH gave me a set of of 5 for my birthday...now I actually have to use them)
2. Visit a different Museum every couple of weeks (Met, Moma, Bodies exhibit, Natural History, Frick)
3. Ride a bicycle through Central Park (not feasible while pregnant, however), or just walk around the park & have a picnic lunch there
4a. Join a Book Club....it sounds like fun, but then I actually have to complete a book for each meeting
4b. While we're at that, actually use my library card for the first time
5. Help out in some sort of child care environment, maybe an art class for kids or something to that effect
6. Try an art therapy class for adults (do they exist?)
7. Take swim lessons
8. Create some new scrapbooks (especially one for the baby)
9. Work on a photo montage for Tiny Dancer & SK Prankster
10. Put together new fun playlists on my ipod (I want some good tunes for the baby to hear in the womb)
11. Plan the nursery/get the nursery done
12. Take a dance class (again, probably not very feasible during the pregnancy)
13. Join Netflix and rent a bunch of DVDs of shows that I want to get into; go to the theater and see a movie
14a. Go to the Bronx Zoo/Sothstreet Seaport/Cloisters/Botanical Gardens/
14b. Again, while we're at it, (Although this should probably be done WITH kids) Go to an Amusement Park--Hershey, Sesame, Great Adventure
15. Increase my baking skills--get creative with fondant, flavors, colors, etc.

Randomness of the Day

So, on Facebook, a "note" has been going around called: 25 Random Things About Me. It's actually quite interesting and fun (but, of course, I love that kind of stuff). So I thought, why not post my list of 25 on here, and then everyday post something random about me or that I'm thinking of (along with my "Train of Thought" post), as I have PLENTY of random thoughts about myself and the world. So, let's start today with the initial "25 random thoughts about me":

1) I had written this whole thing out, and my program decided to shut down on me before I could save it. Aargh. Of course, I did it again immediately. I love this stuff.
2) I am SUPREMELY neurotic
3) My little sister is my soul mate -- connected through all of our lives, past, present, and future
4) But my husband is the love of my life -- my strength, my calmness, my laughter, my tears, my annoyance, my hugs, and everything in between
5) The one regret in my life is quitting dance. I started taking classes at age 3, until age 12, when I contracted a major case of stage fright. Still have it.
6) I love to write, however I find I write in rambles. Thus blogging and I have really connected. Check mine out at browniesugar.blogspot.com
7) I wish I were wittier. I think I might have been at one point.
8) Josh Duhamel is #1 on my celeb "to do" list ;)
9) I really wish I was more like Heidi Klum as she's #1 on my husband's list :)
10) Shopping is my drug of choice
11) Baking is my activity of choice. And now I bake from scratch! (No more boxed mixes for me, no sir!)
12) I want to see the world
13) I speak Hindi-English and Spanglish. One of these days, I'll actually start speaking fluent Hindi and Spanish
14) I want to go back to school to get my masters. I just wish I knew in what.
15) I already have names picked out for my future daughters. I can't think of any boys' names I like. This just means I have to have all girls :)
16) I dream in color -- very vivid, very real dreams
17) I majored in psychology due to my extreme fascination with "why we are the way we are" -from birth through the college years. I'm still fascinated by this.
18) I sing in the shower, and think I sound amazing (only in the shower)
19) I incessantly stare at my bare, non-existent abs (aka pooch) in the mirror
20) I play out every worst case scenario in my head of any and every situation that comes my way, whether is has anything to do with me or not. Sometimes I do the same thing for situations I see on tv.
21) I am insanely competitive, thus avoid playing any games to avoid having a "Monica" moment (see "FRIENDS" ep "The One With All The Poker"). I hate when people know more about pop culture than I do. But I'll keep that to myself ;)
22) I used to see 4-5 movies at the theater, in one month, growing up. I now see that many in a year.
23) I love monkeys. The cute curious george, chimp types. Not the crazy baboons with the red butts.
24) I need sleep.
25) I don't know how to swim

Sunday Cupcaking Sunday

So as I promised last week, I baked and baked and baked this weekend. The two pics to the right are the Chocolate Chip cupcakes with Chocolate Chip Buttercream frosting (recipe taken from the latest issue of Martha Stewart's Living magazine). Since our get-together was in honor of the wedding of a close family friend, I decided to pull out the gel cake writers and throw a congrats on the cupcakes. Pic #2 (to the right) also has 6 cupcakes in which I added some mint extract and green food coloring to the leftover cupcake batter and frosting -- to make MINT chocolate chip cupcakes (Hubby's fave flavor -- but only if it's green :D). They have been placed in my Cupcake Courier which is the BEST way to transport your cupcakes. I'll be honest--was not a fan of the Wilton cupcake carrier. My cupcakes went flying all over the place. In the Cupcake Courier, each cupcake depression is deep enough to keep the cupcakes in place (unless of course you tip the whole thing upside down...which I don't recommend).

The cupcakes below are the Sexy Low-Fat Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Skinny Confectioners' Icing from the book, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. This was for my RaakStaar who is Vegan, and is also traveling to the sunny shores of Puerto Rico this weekend for a wedding. I still wanted her to be able to indulge in some sweet cupcakey goodness. These were a HUGE hit. My sister (who only loves foods that are "meant" to be fatty TO BE FATTY, but then craves salads. This I don't get, but my mom wishes I could be more like her in that respect :D) -- anyhoo, my sister LOVED these cupcakes, and even took some home (where my mother finished them off, and even complemented my increased skills in the baking area -- Woohoo validation!!)

When Life Hands You Lemons...Make Lemon Tarts!

So I have decided that since I'm not much of a cook...I'd like to become a baker. I LOVE coming up with new sweet ideas to concoct for get-togethers and guests. I started at the wee age of 12, baking with my sister (the boxed variety)....My Mom loved to cook, but my sister and I were more interested in the sweets region. Since I was not very experienced in cooking, BAKING from scratch scared me. But lately something has come over me, and I just decided -- it's so much easier to control what goes into the mix when you make it all yourself. I started last November with a MASSIVE Autumn care package for my sister who was away at college. (the theme: PUMPKIN)...I made Pumpkin mini muffins, Pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting (thanks LawRose for the recipe!), Pumpkin scones, AND the "piece de resistance" (anybody know how to put accents in a blog?) -- Oreo Cream Cheese Balls. (I know, no pumpkin, but AMAZING. Thank you to Mama's friend for this one...pure genius.)

Anyhoo...from time to time, I'll post recipes or pictures of stuff I've baked that have received good reviews from my personal taste testers. I'll also post stuff that LOOKS really good to me. (I'd like to send a shout out to the girls of Cupcakes Take the Cake--you ladies are an inspiration. Thank you! http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com)

I'd also LOVE to get your recipes or pics of yummy baked goods. I'm always looking for something new to try, or to post works of artistic deliciousness. :D

(This post was inspired by my sudden craving for a Lemon Tart...I can't find one ANYWHERE!!)