Because Parking is Bad Enough on a Monday

Ahhh, Springtime in DC...

The Tidal Basin,

The Cherry Blossoms,

The Blustery Sub-Zero Wind Chill.

   

Thank goodness for wooly picnic blankets (that are better used as wooly-blanket-type-blankets!) and mounted police officers (who serve, protect, and completely distract small children from the discomforts of frost bite!).

Cassie's Cake

I think I mentioned the "practice cake".  I'd like to introduce you to the "Not Practice Cake".

Here she is, In all her glory- on site and fully decked out.  

Marble pound cake (for 30) with butter-cream frosting and fondant decorations, topped with chocolate star lollies.  

The end.

Of Cake and Other Guilty Pleasures

Two stories:

1.  I'm creating a cake for a friend's second birthday party, and decided to throw together a practice cake 

(Practice Cake [prak-tis keyk] noun- a bad habit I have of subjecting my husband and children to an identical version of a cake they will be enjoying at an upcoming occasion (and because I'm a stellar planner, this bright idea usually strikes no more than 7 days in advance of said occasion- see also: kids cracked out on loads of sugary frosting)).  

As it turns out, this particular cake is stressing me out, as the buttercream to marble cake ratio is tricky. Dense cake + Super sweet icing = weirdness- You care, I know, stay with me... So anyway, I baked (another!) cake this weekend and decided to pawn it off on a few poor souls that aren't related to me... enter the second (and more relevant) of the two stories.

2.  About a year ago my best mommy-friend forced strongly encouraged me to start watching trashy television programming-  My apparent lack of "reality" tv consumption was not only troubling to her, but it seriously hindered our ability to make excuses for random mid-week wine drinking.

So, yeah, The Bachelor.  Here's the thing- We watch.  We drink copious amounts of wine.  We snark.  And on occasion, we find reason to do so at each others houses while the hubbies tend to the kids.  I was easily sold.  

Last night was The Bachelor Finale-  What better reason to set up a dessert buffet, invite the girls over and trash talk the night away.  It turns out that half the women I know (and their MEN, btw- Patton!) watch the show- so again, easy sell.

Below: the breakdown of empty calories I force-fed my beautiful skinny friends

I call this masterpiece "What television program is complete without marble cake" Makes perfect sense, no!?! 

"Dearest girlfriends, please indulge in Chocolate Ameretto Mousse shooters topped with cakepop roses, you are looking fab and I've been baking practice cakes- let's level the scales, shall we?"

Chocolate covered-strawberries, Chocolate Wine (yea- you heard me!), champagne... I hear that if you haven't given these things up for Lent that the calories AND guilt don't count.  Score.  

 And Lastly, please forgive the gratuitous iphone photo of the open (and enjoyed) second bottle of chocolate wine- Now may be a good time to reiterate the stellar planner bit- or catch up to that wagon I've fallen off. 

Be Mine

Seems I'm only a holiday blogger- ah well, what can I do?
So, Valentine's Day; on with it, then-

I unabashedly stole* the greatest kids valentine idea in all of the world- I am totally in love with this cute and original (?) photo card idea...

It starts with a cute picture of your little one with a fist outstretched:

It then gets a bit of the photoshop treatment:

Then print and slit with an exacto-knife, insert a lollipop... and Voila',  insta-VALENTINE!:

Too cute, right!?! You're welcome!


*All craftiness credit goes to Alissa from 24-7-365 blog.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

OMG you guys, 

Cocoa Picnic.

I think I anticipate this day as much as I do Christmas.  Is that totally crazy?- Don't answer that.  

Sometimes we go out of the house.

And sometimes that does not end in disaster.

Here we are enjoying our Nation's Christmas Tree- which I, for the record, think would be much better done by less draping and more wrapping of lights. Just sayin'.

But there were trains! So, Tree? What Tree?

I started a tradition of collecting an ornament, yearly, for each of the kids.  This year I let them pick their own.

I have big plans to keep and box them separately, so that Sofie and Carter can hang their own ornaments on our tree each Christmas.   

Then, when they're fully grown and out on their own- I'm gonna pawn them off as sweet keepsakes, whereby forcing them to manage years worth of their own crap!   

Ha Ha- now, how's that for some passive aggressive mom-shit!