This has been a crazy hectic week so far. I think it only gets worse from here so the post is short and mostly sweet. Outfits are polyvore this week.

It's also very hot and humid this week so I'm going with a lot of light airy cottons.  Typically I take sweaters or cardigans with me to work to combat the air-conditioning the guys adore so much.  I prefer things temperate, they like it arctic.  We compromise and I wear sweaters.

I spent my day Sunday luxuriating the day away in bed, napping and watching tv.  In between the napping, I was also reminding myself that eggplant is bad for me, with a capital B.  The nightshade family generally is, and I generally avoid it like a zombie plague.  But as with any food intolerance you feel the need to check it from time to time.  Turns out, still horridly intolerant to it.

Cute old house isn't it?

This coming back from vacation thing has made my week all askew.  Add a little family drama, a birthday party, some stupid medical company drama (the pacer machine showed up today - it only took since April) and a little bit of me getting sick off something some time last week and you get a tired, cranky me.


So instead of talking about food today, which I just want to give up on and never look at again, I'm hooking up with My Little Life and doing 5 question Friday.  




1. What is a must in a hotel room?
A duvet that's been freshly washed, white sheets and a nice tub.  I also require a small fridge and microwave since I can't eat the breakfast that most hotels serve due to allergies.

2. Which Olympic event would you be best at? 
Wine drinking.  Oh, that's not an event?  What about putting together an amazing wardrobe from thrift store finds?  Also not an event?  Well crap.


Once upon a time I played softball, so I'd want to give that a whirl.


I would also like to take this time to ask the Olympic Committee to consider adding wine drinking as an event for 2016.  I would drink some wine like a Boss for that.

3. What's your stance on the Chick-fil-A subject?
Why is this a subject?  Seriously.   That sandwich and fries are gonna go straight to your ass anyway.  There are much bigger issues in this world, pick one and shut up about Chick-fil-A already before I have to quit Facebook.


Just kidding Facebook - I can't quit you.

4. One thing you said you'd never do as a parent, but totally have.
Be as strict with my kids as my parents were.  I couldn't ever do ANYTHING.  Thanks Mom & Dad!  It was the best thing you probably did. 


It's probably the best thing we've done as well.  We have well mannered and well behaved minions who we can take anywhere because of it.

5. What's the weirdest thing you've ever found at a yard sale?
Yard sales in Pennsyltucky are a strange thing.  I've seen everything from stuffed wildlife and not wildlife (jackalope) to adult diapers and potty chairs.  I think the oddest thing I saw though was a jar of teeth and some other unidentifiable debris of dubious origin.  I still hope it wasn't human.


Happy Friday everyone!

Normally I do tutorials of some variety or another on Thursday.  It's been one of those weeks, so I'm doing something different today, and that's Ok.

I hope you sing it all day!

Minion #2 wanted a T-Rex cake for his birthday.  Yeah, riiiiight.  How does one make a T-Rex cake?  I still have no idea and I wracked my brain for a few days trying to figure something out that wouldn't look just hideous by the time I gave up.  
It took a small amount of convincing, but the idea of a volcano cake was pressed upon minion #2.  I had to explain that he could put dinosaurs on it.  There would be smoke and it would light up.  Then he informed me that it had to be chocolate cake with peanut butter icing too.  I swear the kid should work for kitchen impossible.
So, I decided that we could make Mt. Wanna-Hock-A-Loogie from a bundt cake and a freezable ball canning jar.  You'll also need an ionizer, preferably one with LEDs.  I have one from a Halloween decoration, came in a cauldron.  If you can get one of those (find the Christmas stuff in stores, it will be right next to it) you'll be golden.

First thing you want to do is prepare the fondant.  This is much easier than you'd think.  Take one bag of marshmallows, 1 tsp of vanilla and 4 Tbsp of water and nuke them in a glass bowl for about a minute or until the marshmallow starts to get melty.  Dump that whole glop in the Kitchen Aid (don't have one - seriously, get one.  You'll want to run away to Vegas with it) and using the dough hook attachment start mixing it slowly.  Add 2 lbs of confectioners sugar to it.  SLOWLY.  If you don't you will be covered in it.  Just trust me on this one.  Every now and again you'll need to scrape down the sides with a spatula so all the sugar is mixed in.  It does take a bit so don't get impatient.

When that's all mixed in, smear some butter on your hands.  You'll be covered in the stickiest substance known to man otherwise.  Divide your fondant into two halves, wrap it up in cling film and refrigerate a few hours or overnight.

We used a Pamela's chocolate cake, omitting the eggs and using the flax meal alternative.  Bake it according to directions plus the extra time it takes for a bundt cake and you're certain you're burning the darn thing.  Cool it on a rack.

Once it's cool put it on a 12" cake plate or cardboard circle.  Insert the canning jar in the middle. Set aside.

Chocolate bundt cake and Ball jar

 
Get the fondant out of the fridge about 3 hours before you plan on working with it so it comes back up to room temp.  Also, get some butter (or spread, or whatever you use, about 1/4 stick) and let it warm a tad.  You're going to want to coat your hands in it from time to time so it doesn't have to be squishy.  To make your life easier, get a fondant roller and a sheet of plastic to roll it out on.  Have powdered sugar to dust it with.

Insert your ionizer into the ball jar and secure the cord.

The first half of the fondant you're going to tint football brown.  Get the gel colors, don't use the liquid. Work it into the fondant.  It takes some doing so be patient and get it even.  Then, dust it in cocoa powder to get it really brown if you're not satisfied.  Roll it out into a circle big enough to cover Mt. WannaHockALoogie and using the ball jar lid, cut a circle in the middle.  Fold it in half and half again then place it over the cake, unfolding it (kind of like how you put a pie crust on) and smooth it down.  Keep in mind you're making a mountain, so bumps and folds are no big deal.

Starting to take shape

The second half of the fondant cut into thirds.  Tint one red, one orange and one yellow.  I used Red, no taste and Lemon Yellow gels.  Mixing the two for a shade of orange.  Roll them out one color at a time and cut them using a pastry cutter into something resembling lava flows.  You adhere fondant to fondant with water.  So just keep a small dish with water in it handy and dip your fingers as needed.  I started with red and made sure to cover the edge of my jar.

Rawr!  Lava!

Do the same with the orange and yellow.  Again, this doesn't have to be perfect, it's supposed to be lava, so you're going to have glops and such.

Pretty Colors

Add in a few dinosaurs, and some trees.  Make your volcano look a bit more 'natural'.