A bit of something new

You may notice something new on the blog. A fancy new WIDGET!! Check out the site. You earn points by using their search bar and then you can redeem that for stuff! SWEET RIGHT????

Shortest post ever!

Finished my first sock and Digital Scrapbooking

I finished my first sock ever!!! I am so proud of my self. I will post a picture soon. I have attempted making a sock twice, but the first time I was just making a plain sock and it wasn't very challenging and I had trouble keeping track of things. Clandestine makes you constantly count stiches and you NEED to know where you are at (hence me having to restart it once).

While I was knitting I watched the first 2 seasons of LOST and then took a break from that to watch the HBO series Carnivale. More on that later, but so far it's GREAT!!

OK second point of buisness. DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING!!

My parents recestly traveled the Wild West (Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, ... that kind of area). Usually when we get back from a trip mom drags out boxes and bins of scrapbooking supplies and then goes to a speciality scrapbooking store and buys EXPENSIVE special cut letters, images, stickers, and an array of paper. She figured it up once and one scrapbook can cost up to $400-$550 easily. Her scrapbooks aren't super elaborate, but very eye pleasing!

So this trip return I was expecting the same, but I was completely surprized when she said "Hey let me show you my scrapbook" and grabed her laptop. She has been dedicated to creative memories but the results have worth it. Now they have a Digital Scrapbook Creator. WHAT?! I've used iPhoto and Shutterfly and the results were nice, but compared to what my mom's looked like when it was printed, they don't look anywhere near as nice and they aren't near as customizable. You can also upload your pages right to facebook. HOW COOL!! The only downside is that softwear is pc only, but you can get around that easily with a program like visual box. I can't wait to try this! You can get the program for free, but that one is pretty basic. I think I will try they one you buy (it's on sale).

It has many more features. So much stuff for your photos and your pages. It's almost like a little bit of photoshop plugged into the scrapbook maker. You can also get a free downloads daily or weekly (not sure yet) for pages and such. I will let you know more once I try it out. :) I am also thinking of being a consultant so if you want to try it too let me know :)


So do you think traditional scrapbooking or digital? Give me your opinion.

I can't believe I'm a winner!!!

I won $25 store credit (and free shipping) to Timely Vintage via Blooming Leopold's (one the 'ol college buddies) blog!!! I am hardly a fashionista but this bow tie and this vest caught my eye (never mind the fact they are in the same picture :P ) I would love advice on this purchase!!

However, I definitely feel the need to get the bang for my buck since I have started my very own COUPON FOLDER!!! I am currently saving about 1/3-ish of what I spend. Like today I spent $21 after I saved $14. Not too bad!

I would love to sew a top to go with the bow tie, BUT I am going to finish sewing my current project (a dress) before I move on. I also thought the bow tie would be an adorable hair accessory. Like ponytail with the bow tie on top and tails on the side....hmmmm we will see.

Also! Due to my stupidity & lack of attention, I some how managed to start knitting backwards on my sock! :( ...then due to my ambition and seemingly random need for perfection, I started over...I was a good three inches in (maybe 5) now I have this.

BUT I know I was doing some of the stitches wrong and I know that this sock will look awesome because now I have practiced it and know some of the odd bits.


Any way thats really all I have for now. So have a good weekend readers and let me know your thoughts in a comment below.

The Big Move

Wow. Yesterday I began moving into my apartment for the summer. It's terrifying and wonderful. I've gained a little weight (heh) like most people who go to college. The final push this semester was especially stressful. (WHEW!) ....and I'm a sugar fiend. So this move into my apartment is also a move towards healthy. My 12 mbps internet gets turned on Monday morning and hopefully my job will start Tuesday.

I'll be minutes away from walmart, grocery stores, and organic food markets.

In the mode of If a Tree Were To Fall, I am also going to begin COUPON-ING!!!!

Also a big thing with this semester is a CRAFT opportunity. I am now minutes away from a Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's Fabrics and these are next door to a Barnes and Noble. Now I am definately a Borders kinda girl (the books are CHEEPER there), but perhaps I will go to B&N and read a book there and then buy it online.

OK so, Goals for the summer:
Finish current projects and get started on new ones
Coupon
Lose weight (I haven't weighed my self so I will set a goal for this once I do)
cook my own food
and thus eat better

Lets just see how I do

Startitis (start-eye-tiss)

I have a pretty decent blog list I read. I discovered the wonders of RSS last year and since I use a mac and use the Mail app I started collecting blogs. I have cupcake blogs, book review blogs, fashion blogs, knitting blogs, design blogs, and my newest to my collection is Twist Collective (also about 20 webcomics). I'm not really sure what all twist collective entails. I found their site through This BLOG and browesed for about 5 minutes before tapping my lovely RSS button (if you use safari it resides in your url space. It only appears when you can RSS something - kinda like magic) ... (I smirked as I said that... thought you'd wanna know).

Wow
Anyway

So whilst rendering (UGH!) I was reading some blogs. This is the one I read. I couldn't help but giggle several times at this blog. It talks about about startitis = the tendancy for knitters to starts several new projects before being able to finish the original....You have no idea, i thought to my self. Right now I have a dead fish hat - 50% done, a sock 15% done, a scarf 5-15% done, a sweater (that i plan on restarting), one of two mittens (who knows if I will ever even do the other one..) This is not counting the crochet, quilting, video, sewing, and paper crafts that I haven't had time to finish. Hopefully this summer of living independently will give me lots of free time to finish these WIP (works in progress).  Hey if I do I will put up pictures.

The problem is that when I learn a new technique i wanna try it. The sock is the first real attempt at a sock with my first set of DPNS (double pointed needles). Any way I am gonna go watch Avatar (the cartoon). More on that later.

So MANY cute cupcakes

Baking cupcakes and what-not for 13 hours sounds ridiculous....but I did it.

I am a graduating senior and that means I have to present my portfolio. I am a digital media major so my portfolio has photography, flash, video, and graphic design in it. The whole thing is online but I am working out some kinks before I want to tell you where online.

Anyway, if you want to keep people interested you have good food!! So I made TONS of cupcakes with the help of: cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski, cupcakes by Pamela Clark (same name different book), Hello Cupcake, and Whats New Cupcake.

Doesn't this look yummy? Ok not yet. This is a delicious concoction that contains brown sugar, honey, milk, butter, white chocolate, and more. This melted together is the base for the delicious Georgia Mud Cupcakes.  

Here it is, post melting mixed with egg I think. I am about to add the flour! 

Yum! These will be stir fry cupcakes later! 

After several hour of baking here are some of the cupcakes ready to be decorated. All the white ones are Georgia Mud and the dark are chocolate mocha. 

Something was horribly wrong with this mix. All my cupcakes are from scratch. These were suppose to be yellow cupcakes, but something went awry and they tasted like vanilla biscuits. So they were tossed. Not a huge set back since it was a single batch and only made 6, barely. 

These crushed oreos are NOT FOR CUPCAKES, but something just as splendid. Mint Oreo Truffles. 

1 pkg of Oreos (pick your flavor, I like mint, but you can do whatever) 

1 pkg of cream cheese

1 pkg of almond bark (i like chocolate, but you could use white chocolate for a richer taste)

1) Crush oreos till no big pieces are left 

2) mix in cream cheese

3) roll out small balls

4) dip in chocolate! 

5) Let chocolate cool/dry and enjoy

To keep the ball intact, i scoop up some chocolate in a 1 Tablespoon measuring spoon and then using a regular spoon I cover the rest with chocolate and then place on wax paper. 

I have also added smashed coffee beans to the chocolate for those all nighters with chocolate cravings.

I started by decorating the Koi fish since those were a small batch of salted carmel cupcakes. (I also was limited by the number of brown mini m&ms)

Here are some of the goodies used to make this tasty creation. 

Here are some more. The odd metal thing is what I use for icing. It came with a cookie press set from a thrift store that I received for my birthday from my AMAZING boyfriend.

These are the stir fry cupcakes. They were VERY fun to make. 

I think I made around 75 mini cupcakes that looked like popcorn. 

Here they are on display (the creations on the left: white chocolate = cake pops..er...balls, because i was too tired to worry about sticks and the chocolate ones are oreo truffles.)

Here are the stir fry cupcakes and some popcorn cupcakes. 

I found these HUGE pans at walmart. $3 each and they have a great lid. I think I will reuse them                 The night went great and the food went fast. Hope you found something inspirational or at least edible looking. 

Julia and Julia feed the food lovers soul

I finally saw Julia and Julia. (I just needed a good movie) and thank you netflix it was on instant view. XD So click and it was on. I laughed, I cried, I sympathized (I know the feeling of getting the recipe just right only to forget to set the timer and burn the whole dang thing!!!) I watched it while eating some ramen, but it felt ...unethical? I wish I had some amazing take-out, but not much of that to be had in this big city (aka population 7,000). It made me want to bake my heart out...and be better at blogging (doing it more often at least). The whole movie was excellent and if you like a good laugh or a good cry, it's the perfect movie for you. You can relate to the characters whether you cook or not. And how can you not love Amy Adams? So adorable! I usually end up relating to her character. So give it a watch and tell me what you think :)

Glee - Beyond Addicting

I have heard A LOT about the TV show Glee. People on twitter, facebook, friends, and the like rave about this show, but I have a problem following the heard so I never watched it. At least until 2 days ago. Ever hear that saying "I wish my life was like a musical"? This show brings that to a reality. The songs range from Kanye to Frank Sinatra and so many more. The singers are amazing. The dance numbers fantastic. The drama is of course a little over the top, but it flows well with the show. Being a misfit all my life, the show really reaches out to me (band geek, theater kid, scholastic bowl). If you have an hour or two go find the pilot online somewhere. Zac and I even took our laptops out and watched a few episodes on Scott Field. Start from the beginning or you will miss all the good inside jokes! Enjoy!!

So I finally watched an episode of Glee

and it was amazing. I had heard only good things about the show but just never found the need to click that  hulu button until tonight. Man i am glad I did. Laughing one second and then it cuts to extreme heart breaking drama in the very next scene. A musical TV show, which has been attempted before but never got very far, that makes me want to dance and sing (not that it's difficult). So if you need a good laugh, a good villain, and a little bit of drama, check out Glee. You won't be sorry.

My current desert addiction - Cake Pops!!

Ever hear of a fantastic little baking site called Bakerella?

I came across this site when looking for a good way to advertise on cupcakes for my upcoming portfolio show (still trying to figure it out. What do you think on the wrappers? On the icing?)

DELICOUS recipies. Mouthwatering photos and fresh ideas (always good for a baking blog, hehe)

Cake pops: fun, messy, and delicious. All the good things that baking requires!

Try it!

1) Bake a cake (red velvet usually)

2) Once it cools crumble it up and add a tub of cream cheese frosting

3) Mix well

4) Roll into balls

5) Freeze until stiff

6) Put them on a stick

7) Dip in white chocolate

8) Let the chocolate harden

9) Decorate

10) Enjoy!!

These ALWAYS please. We made some as thank you gifts, class presentation goodies, Easter desert.

Check out her blog. One word: AMAZING…or DELICIOUS (you decide)

Mixed together (first picture) dipped in white chocolate - no sticks (second picture)

I have also made the little chicken ones as well as the hello kitty ones, but I don't have any pictures. Sorry

Review: Movie: Black Snake Moan

Whilst sitting in my room one night (around 2 am) I decided it would be a good time for a movie. Since my roommate has MANY movies I haven’t seen I decided to look alphabetically.  Black Snake Moan…er…well ok. Isn’t that movie all about some sex-addicted woman? Well ok… I guess.

30 minutes in  - end

Wow.

This movie was not at all what I suspected. It was quite a bit more religious than I expected as well (in a way that I liked).  Christiana Ricci did an AMAZING job and Samuel L. Jackson was amazing as usual. The use of blues, culture, and childhood issues were really amazing!

Also Justin Timberlake blew me away with his performance. It’s not a roll I would have imagined him in, but he played it well. Overall I think this was a very decent movie and although it had drugs and sex in it they didn’t use them in a way most Hollywood flicks do. It definitely seemed like a negative to the characters overall being.

So I say pop it in your player and enjoy!

Baking: Peace Cupcakes

 I have enjoyed baking for as long as I can remember, he smell of warm bread in the oven, freshly baked gooey chocolate chip cookies, and of course trying new things while baking old favorites.

Everywhere you will see cupcakes and when Christmas came this past year, I thought, why not ask for cupcake stuff. I got books, a cupcake tree, pans and icing tools.

For me, baking seems easy, but icing gives me troubles as you can see on these Pumpkin Pecan Spice cupcakes with white chocolate peace signs (least I tried.)

But I learn more everyday like what you can and can’t add to white chocolate.

For example do not add regular food coloring but instead use a gel food coloring (like Wilson’s)

The first of Many

Zang Wow....well it's the name of my blog.

What blog? Movie reviews, knitting, and baking. My 3 favorite things in one :)

I've been wanting to make this blog for awhile. So... KABLAM!