All things Sweet!

Margarita Cupcakes

Oh how I enjoy making these. Between these delicious Margarita Cupcakes and the Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes (which by the way are my two most favorite Cupcakes to make) I love, love, love, the Margarita ones a tad bit better!!



I spent most of morning yesterday making several dozen Margarita Cupcakes. And no...I didn't take any swigs of the Tequila...AT ALL. :)

For some reason, I enjoy making these particular Cupcakes the most. Perhaps it's because I love Margaritas in general. Oh yes, I believe that's probably the number one reason why.

These Margarita Cupcakes are a yellow cupcake, made from scratch, with hints of lime flavoring from the zest of limes. They're topped with a Lime Buttercream also infused with Lime flavoring and lime zest. This delicious buttercream also contains Tequila which gives it that extra flavor which, combined with the lime is ABSOLUTELY TO DIE FOR!! A true "Margarita" tasting Cupcake!!!

On Monday, I spent the morning making these amazingly tasting Chocolate Covered Pretzels! They are the BEST!! You have that salty taste of the Pretzel, yet the sweetness of the Chocolate..... a very intoxicating combination!!!


I made Milk Chocolate with Sprinkles......


And White Chocolate with Sprinkles......


I also made some Milk Chocolate with Crushed Oreos.....
They didn't look all too appealing, but they tasted DELICIOUS!!


How would you like to sample some of these goodies?!? Well, be sure to keep coming back to check because there's going to be opportunities coming up in the next week or so for you to receive a gift basket from Clever Confections!

In the mean time, go check out my Etsy Store
Clever Confections and Gifts

Happy Wednesday!!!

FOOTBALL SUNDAY!!!!!

I am all about FOOTBALL!! Especially the STEELERS. The 6 time Super Bowl Champion Steelers. The ONLY team to have won 6 Super Bowls. Seriously. I am a Steeler Fan Junkie!



However... I do have to say I like Football in general. I guess it's because I grew up watching NFL games every.single.week!



Growing up in the Bay Area of California, it was either the 49'ers or the Raiders. Despite the fact that we lived in a City two minutes away from Oakland....ten minutes from the Oakland Coliseum, you'd think my mom would be a Raider fan right?!? Nope. She was a DIE HARD 49'er fan through and through!

She was a petite, 4 ft., 9 inch Chinese/Filipino who could whoop and holler with the best of 'em. Cussing up a storm every few minutes... oh.. yes... how I miss those days!! We'd have BBQ Sticks like these:


And of course Won Tons like these homemade ones my daughter and I made:


Mmmm.. those were the days!!!

These days, my Sundays consists of spending it from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. (sometimes earlier if I get tired.. or later if my Steelers are still playing) at either Cool Hand Lukes (because you know, it's the Coolest Joint in Town)


Or this local Pizza Parlor that is most famous for their incredibly delicious Chicken Wings! This place has been open for 35+ years and still going strong! Quite honestly, I don't quite care for their pizza, but boy, those Chicken Wings are TO DIE FOR! I usually order them with some Fries and this is what I get:



Well, onto this week's Steeler's game. This is what I have to say about that!


Both teams are going into this game 2 - 0, so its going to be a good game. I think the Steeler's defense can hold the Bucs, but their offense (Steeler's) need to do some fancy dancing early on!!! I have faith! I have faith!

Now, here's an awesome photo to leave you all with.... this is a true Steeler Fan! I should have worn my Steeler Scarf, and had my Steeler Football with me in this picture. Ah... maybe next time! :)

Potpourri of Thoughts!!

That is me...this evening...after two Washington Apples, a portion of a Strawberry Daiquiri and a Red Headed Slut....well actually, the Red Headed Slut was the drink in my hand.

Nothing like having a drink at the Coolest Joint in Town (Cool Hand Lukes). And yes, for those of you who don't know me, I don't normally drink more than one drink....EVER. But today was a special occasion. I had a lousy day, people irritated me, and sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

Anyway... on Wednesday I decided to try a Martha Stewart Cupcake Recipe. The recipe I tried is her Hi-Hat Cupcakes. (Meg, I know you'll appreciate these!!)

These are the cupcakes with the Vanilla Meringue Frosting. Don't they look delish?!?


And here they are after I dipped them in the Chocolate.


Not quite as appealing as Martha's but oh well! I tried! I'm actually fine with it as it was only my first attempt at this recipe.

On Thursday Brian and I stopped at our local Hallmark Store and guess what I found?!? You know Christmas is coming soon right?!? (Three months from today!!) Anywho...... lookie lookie!!!

A Troy Polamalu Christmas Ornament!! How awesome is that?!?

And for you Twilight fans....here's one for you..... Edward and Bella

Here's a few more photos of more cupcakes. These are Margarita Cupcakes. They have Tequilla in the Lime Green Frosting. And though I normally don't eat any sweets, I just had to taste these babies and let me tell you....they were soooo good. The cupcake itself had a lime taste to it ~ subtle there; and the frosting....mmmmm. Yummy!!!

(Meg, you're going to love these too!!)

And how about these?!? Chocolate Covered Pretzels. These particular ones are dipped in Milk Chocolate sprinkled with nonpareils.

Yep.. I can tell Christmas is around the corner! I've had several orders on my Etsy site and more people emailing me requesting goodies!

Christmas is around the corner!!

Three months and three days until Christmas!!! I'm so excited!!

I love Christmastime! It's my favorite Holiday of the year. Granted, I love all Holidays, but Christmas is the best!!

Here's some questions for you.....

When do you set up your Christmas tree and decorations?
Do you buy for everyone in your family or do you all pick names?
Have you started Christmas shopping yet?
Do you go shopping on Black Friday?
How long do you leave your Christmas tree and decorations up?

This year we're going to host a Holiday Party. Not necessarily a "Christmas" Party per se, but since the date we're looking at is three weeks before Christmas, we're calling it a "Holiday" party.

We're going to do a White Elephant Gift Excahnge so it'll be fun! Tons of hors d'oeuvres, wine, finger foods, more wine, Holiday music, desserts, friends, fun!! Love it and can't wait!!!

You should see the cute little invites we're going to use. Here's a scanned image of it!


I had a wonderful friend who lives in Chicago do these for me! She's awesome!!
If any of you have suggestions for DIY Holiday themed decorations, be sure to pass them along! I've got to get started on things, especially if I'm going to DIY them!!

I'll be sure to share photos along the way. :)

30 Day Blog Journal = Epic Fail

Although I was so on a roll, it's unfortunate that because our Internet went out at home, I got behind..... then I started posting from my Droid Phone (which by the way was a PITA).... then I gave up altogether.....

Now that our Internet is fixed and our WiFi signal is strong, I'll have to resume my 30 Day Blog Journal Posts.

Day 15 ~ Your Dream House

Your Dream House

Here's the criteria I would LOVE:

Definitely a tri-level home

Definitely have a living room with an open wall and view of the ocean with a swimming pool which tapers right up to your living room!

Definitely have an amazing kinda spiral sort of staircase

Definitely 6 bedrooms, including a Master Suite

Definitely 4 bathrooms, including the Master Bathroom in the Master Suite

Definitely have a Loft area which would be an office/den with another amazing view of the living room and ocean

Definitely an amazing Kitchen

Ah, yes...one can dream huh?!?

Day 14 ~ A Non Fiction Book

A Non Fiction Book

I liked "The Blind Side".



  Those who know me know I'm all about sports. Football in general.  And "The Blind Side" was a wonderful true story about football!!

I learned a lot from reading that book.  A ton of football statistics I wasn't aware of, and a few that I already knew.

I learned a lot about inner city youths who are very athletic, yet growing up in poverty, trying to make something of themselves.

The one main story in this book opened my eyes to multiple stories and predicaments that goes on in the world we live in EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

I've seen the movie as well, however, as I mentioned in a past post, I love the books more than the movies.

If you haven't read the book, you should most definitely do so!! It's soooo good!!

Day 13 ~ A Fictional Book

30 Day Blog Journal

A Fictional Book

The most recent book that I've read which I enjoyed was Nicholas Sparks' "The Last Song". My 13 year old read the book in one day and was so into it that I just HAD to read it as well.

While i know that the movie had been released, I didn't want to see it until I read the book. Of course Elyssa immediately watched the movie on her Lap Top while I was reading the book.
It goes without saying that the movie was NOT the same as the book. Some things were left out of the movie that was in the book and some events that was in the movie did not happen that way in the book. Needless to say I still haven't seen the movie. Quite frankly I don't even want to see it.

Anywho.... "The Last Song" was a great novel! Beautifully written and yes, as with many Nicholas Sparks novels, I cried. There is NO WAY you'll read this book without shedding a tear! If you get a chance, get your hands on this book, curl up with a glass of wine and enjoy!!! It's a great read!

Day 12 ~ Something You're OCD About

First of all, let me apologize for the lack of photos that will appear in this post (and perhaps a few more in the near future) as I am without internet at home due to the technical difficulties AT&T seem to be experiencing which has resulted in them not being able to resolve the issue without having to send a technician out to take care of said technical difficulties. Oh, did I happen to mention that the first available appointment they gave available is NEXT WEEK WEDNESDAY???

Back to the topic at hand.

Something You're OCD About

Although I have many "pet peeves" that bare boderline OCD characteristics, I have to say there are two things that I possess OCD traits with. The first one is basically a 'glorified' pet peeve ~ and that's......drum roll..... the ever controversial UNDER or OVER way to correctly place the toilet paper roll!! Yeah, I'm just gonna say in my opinion ~ which by the way is the CORRECT way, is OVER!!!!

Now, for my real, true to life OCD problem. I seriously have a problem with WASHING MY HANDS. Yes....a problem alright. As in washing them at least 50 times a day. No joke. And that is a minimum. MINIMUM. There are days where I'm sure I wash them way more times than 50.

I don't know what it is it why, but I seriously have an OCD when it comes to washing my hands!!

There you have it!!!

Day 11 ~ A Photo of You Recently

A Photo of You Recently


Well, I have photos of me that were recently taken at our Wedding on Catalina Island in April and a few that were taken at our Minnesota Reception in June.


This was walking thru the cruise ship down to the boat that would take us to Catalina Island.

Here I am, waiting for the elevator on the Carnival Elation.

This photo was taken in June at our Minnesota Reception.

Day 10 ~ A Photo of You that was taken over 10 Years Ago

A Photo that was taken of you over 10 years ago

This photo was more than 10 years ago...it was taken approximately 24 years ago.

There is so many things wrong in this photo.....In fact, here's a list of some that come to mind:

1. What's up with the earrings?
2. Can you tell this is when the "Swatch Watch" was in;
3. Check out my sandals;
4. What the heck was I wearing ~ looks like something I made in Home Economics;
5. Apparently I'm signing someone's yearbook;
6. Evidently we were in the office and not a classroom;
7. I have a ring on my left hand, on THAT finger;
8. I used to 'feather' my hair;
9. I sooo don't remember having this photo taken of me!!!

So, go ahead, laugh while you all have the chance!!!

Ahhh....weekend together!!!

Brian had this weekend off, but unfortunately, he had to work the Holiday today. He's not complaining because he gets the Holiday Pay, so I suppose it all works out. We didn't have any plans for the long weekend, so it worked out perfectly!

We had a nice couple of days off! On Saturday, we went to some friends of ours, Karin and Bill's house for a BBQ and we played Phase 10 ALL NIGHT! They live about an hour away from us, and by the time we got home it was a little after 2 a.m.



Have you ever played Phase 10? I love it! It's almost a Rummy Type game but with twists. (Ha ha ha, I just read the description on the photo above, and I said almost the same exact thing.) It's a big hit in Germany and we played with a new set of cards that just recently came out. I'm not sure if it's available yet in the US, but it is a nice looking set!

As a matter of fact, after doing a Google Search, I found it!



Needless to say, we played two games ~ it takes quite a while to go thru all 10 Phases and we had 5 playing, so one game alone lasted a couple of hours!

Brian won both games. Thus, he is the self-proclaimed "Phase 10 Prince". And yes, I've been listening to him refer to himself as such several times this weekend already.

I hear there's a Phase 10 "Master" Edition that has been released in Germany and I can't wait until it's released here in the US! (Yes, I'm addicted to Phase 10)



This is Bill and Karin's dog Max. I was afraid that Duke was going to be a pain in the butt with Max, but low and behold, the two of them got along quite nicely! Max had no problems telling Duke who's house he was in, but then again, Duke didn't have any problems telling Max he didn't care! It took a while, but they both ended up getting along wonderfully!

Duke just couldn't figure out how in the heck Max kept getting in the house when nobody was opening the sliding glass door! (Max has a doggie door) Poor Duke...all night he kept pawing at the doggie door flap, but never figured out how to go thru it!

Yesterday, we took a nice motorcycle ride to the coast, Monterey, and walked along their 'Fishermans Wharf' (Nothing beats San Francisco's original Fisherman's Wharf in my opinion)



We walked along the pier where all the shops were, but it was mostly just restaurants ~ not too many 'shops' at all.



At the end of the Pier there was a gentleman named "George". He had a cart of Parrots on display. Here are a few pictures.




There was also a Greek Festival going on while we were there and I just HAD to take a photo of this. (See, told you I take Random Photos)



All in all, the weather was great there. A bit on the cooler side, but so very nice!

It was a very nice ride, a bit chili in some spots coming into the coast, but for the most part it was very comfortable!! On the way home, it was extremely HOT! We had to stop just so we could shed some layers!

I love it when we get to spend some quality time together! It makes me appreciate life all the more! Especially when you spend it with someone you love!!!