S'mores in a Cup...

...gotta love Pinterest, right? I found this SUPER easy S'mores in a Cup recipe on there. To find the original post about it on Cookies & Cups, click here. I made these on Sunday for Mother's Day. My sis, H, my dad and grandma came up and we went to Outback for lunch then enjoyed these for desserts back at my house.

These are easy, peasy...a layer of crumbled graham crackers, a layer of chocolate pudding, layer of marshmallow fluff...repeat! The original recipe said to toast the mini marshmallows on top but I didn't have a tool to do that nor did I want to make a mess in my broiler pan so we had ours non-toasted.

I also used 8 jars (because that's what I had on hand) so I made two packages of pudding which just meant more pudding in each jar and I got to lick the bowl! I ran out of fluff to put second layers in ALL the jars so they just had more mini marshmallows. I'm definitely keeping this recipe around because it was cheap, easy and a cute presentation that I can take to parties and such! 

Cake in a Cup!!!

...forgot all the other cupcakes I've ever posted about on this blog. Cake in a Cup is my new love! Alicia from Supper Club talked about these Cake in a Cups back in April and May. I told her next time to bring me one. Well, this past Tuesday about 5 o'clock, my phone rings and it's Alicia asking if I still wanted a Cake in a Cup (say it out loud, it's fun to say!). Without hesitation, I was like, "Yes please!" I told her nothing with fruit and here's what she brought me:

This picture doesn't even do it justice but I guess first I should explain Cake in a Cup. There's a bakery by her house called the Cakery. They make lots of wedding cakes. Well, as we've all seen on the cake shows, they always "shave" off some of the cake to get the shape right. So then the bakers take all the cake and put it in a cup with some icing and viola! Cake in a Cup!

Let me just say that this thing was AMAZING! Moist, delicious...everything you want out of a cake. I even shared it and let Matt have a bite. I've asked Alicia if she'll bring me one to EVERY Supper Club (it's only once a month), I'll have to start a tab with her for my new addiction. Seriously, I can't get this thing off my mind and I've told EVERYONE about it.

FYI-if you're wondering about dinner, we ate at 3 Monkeys. We had a blogger outing there exactly a year ago. The verdict: don't order an entree, they aren't fab but the pizzas and potato skins are FANTASTIC!

Thursday Tidbits...

...my tidbits for this Thursday.

*Do you remember Bloody Mary from grade school? Well, sometimes at work when I turn the light off before I open the door in the bathroom, I start to panic and get nervous about Bloody Mary. I refuse to look in the mirror and always swear that I see something green. I said this to some of the other gals at work and they said they do the same thing. Good to know I’m not crazy!

*The bank mailed Matt new checks and put my name on them. I’m LOVING it!!! I hope he doesn’t get mad when he sees I’ve already written 2 checks out of it.

*I’m working with a brand new , local organization Midwest Infertility Awareness. We’re offering a free conference here in STL in November and I’m really super pumped about it! We’ve already started confirming speakers and getting giveaways, now we just need people to sign up! Check out the blog because I’m the one updating it and designing it. I’ve learned a LOT about blogging and still am. Leave me some feedback!

*I’m planning on having a Twilight movie marathon this weekend, expect reviews next week.

*I had a Cake in a Cup on Tuesday night and I can’t stop thinking about it. See blog post tomorrow for more information and be prepared to drool.

*I have to Skype on Saturday. I never have and I HATE my voice on technology because I sound like I’m 12. When you Skype do the people see me? That means I’d have to get out of PJs…

*I have been trying to limit my spending…it’s not working very well. It’s like every time I turn around there’s a birthday gift to buy, a race to register for, food to buy, etc, etc, etc…I know you’re probably thinking you don’t HAVE to register for a race or you don’t HAVE to go out to eat but the race is for a good cause and I committed to it awhile back, just haven’t paid for it. And the eating out/food, well, I try my best to NOT eat out but sometimes all your social stuff line up in the same week!

*For all you dog lovers out there, go read this article but grab some tissues first.

Happy Thursday all!

This for That...

...I got this:

...for that:

Sunday morning, Cece, Jenn and Jen and I met at Forest Park for to run 5 miles. We didn't do it for training or just to run, we purely did it so we could go to Jilly's for brunch. The food hangover and blister were SOOO worth it!

Thursday Tidbits...

...random thoughts for a random Thursday!

*While I love a good book, I hate finishing it because I hate finding a new one. I mean I'm loving the characters and the plot and then its done and I have to start all over again. What are your thoughts on this?

*I went an entire week without running and I'm paying for it. I suggest to NOT do this if you want to keep up your cardio and speed...just saying.

*I don't live in the town where I grew up. I sometimes miss going to the store and seeing at least 3 people you know, getting hugs from my friend's parents as a hello and knowing everyone around town. It kind of makes me sad that up here, it's like a big deal if I see someone at the store that I know and even then its usually someone that comes into my work and its just a polite nod.

*Matt dropped chocolate syrup on Shadow's head and didn't clean it up. It got hard and sticky so I cut it out, yeah...the hair on his head is patchy. Matt said, "All you had to do was get a wet towel and clean it off?" I gave him the evil eye.

*I am totally loving CLIF Mojo bars!!! It's like perfect for me...pretzels, chocolate, peanut butter...and probably some other stuff that's good for you. They're dangerous though because I could eat like 10 in one setting. What's your favorite "healthy" snack?

OH! And here's the before picture from Biggest Winner, taken April 27:

I think that's all the tidbits I have for now! Matt's planning us a date this weekend...I'm interested to see what he's got planned for us...any suggestions?

The Bakery Shoppe...

...Groupon had a deal at The Bakery Shoppe, $7 for $14 worth of deliciousness! I was sold and decided I would get them for my sewing party. They are apparently famous for the cocktail cupcakes. I ordered 2 giant ones for Matt and my mom for helping me with the party. Here's the mudslide and chocolate martini:

Yummy!

Then I ordered 6 carrot cake and 6 chocolate "mini" cupcakes. However, this are NOT mini, they are like your regular size cupcakes.

I asked for them to be ready at 2pm. When I arrived at 1:50 they said they'd be done in 30 minutes. Not cool...so I left and luckily, my Mattie was headed home passing the store about an hour later so he picked them up. The consenus from the group: nice size, a little dry and a TON of icing.

Side note: I just love the art of the cupcake!

Fro Yo Taste Tester...

...that's my new title! Jen, Aimee and I threw our names in the hat to be taste testers are the new Fro Yo store opening up in STL. Luckily, all three of us got picked! You can read my post about Fro Yo last fall here. Basically, it's like Subway of frozen yogurt. You pick your flavor, and I'm pretty sure all are non-fat or low fat. Then you go through the topping bar and spice it up. Then you pay by the ounce so it can get kind of expensive. HOWEVER, as a taste tester we got ours free so I loaded mine up:

Jen and I went Saturday afternoon for our free Fro Yo and a sweet t-shirt. Here's Jen with the front of the shirt. It said "Flavor Facility."

Here I am with the back that says, "Fro Yo Taste Tester."

It was pretty cool although all we really did was walk in and say we were taste testers. I skipped lunch so I'd have calories for my free fro yo and it was sooo worth it. Thanks Fro Yo!

Sinfully Sweet Cupcakes...

...okay so I feel like a bit of a cupcake connoisseur lately after the cupcakes I've eaten and all the bakeries I've been frequenting lately. Oh well, you only live once, right? I've been so super busy with LOTS of things to blog about that I'm JUST now getting to tell you about these awesome cupcakes.

April 24-30 was National Infertility Awareness Week and aside from the facts I posted on my blog, I also participated by thanking my RE's office. I ordered 2 dozen mini cupcakes from Sinfully Sweet Cupcakes. The first dozen that I ordered were, surprise!, Peanut Butter Cup. It is a Chocolate cake topped with peanut butter buttercream topped with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I snuck one out of the box before I delivered them and OMG! It was to die for!!! Loved it:

The other dozen I ordered were Drama Queens. Chocolate cake topped with pink vanilla buttercream and sugar sprinkles. I didn't try one of these but it looked delish.

Currently, they are working out of a commercial kitchen and not allowed to do any business out of it. They have very reasonable delivery fees. I was lucky enough to have them drop them off at my work so I could deliver them to the doctor's office myself and they didn't even charge me a delivery fee. I paid $18 for the two dozen and it was definitely worth it, the one I had just melted in my mouth. I would definitely recommend them again and I hope they open a storefront soon! He said they're hoping to have a store open by the end of the year. OH! And they came in a box which is always a plus for me. ;)

Mattie's B-Day Cake...

...I ordered Mattie's birthday cake from Baby Cakes in O'Fallon. That might sound familiar because I went to their grand opening back in January, you can read here about it. I decided that since they were a new business and I loved their cupcakes, I'd give them a try for his birthday cake. I walked in the store and the owner was there. I asked how much a quarter sheet cake was and she said, we don't do sheet cakes, we either do rounds or squares. Okay, so we went through this whole drill of what I wanted, what size, etc, etc...I knew it would be expensive so I was trying to keep it really simple. Here's what I told her I wanted: a 9-inch square, chocolate cake, chocolate frosting with greenish icing because he likes camo and Happy Birthday Matt written on it. Okay, easy enough. She rings up my total and it's $45!?! Holy hell, I almost had a heart attack! I know I could have just walked out and said no thanks but I felt like we'd already gone through the details so I might as well just do it. I thought more and more about the price of this cake and decided, you know what? If I'm paying $45 I'm going to have it decorated nicer than a plain color. I call to tell her that he likes camo and she says she's never done a camo cake but she'll see what she can do. Okay, I was really excited/worried to pick it up. I had good reason to, this is what it looked like: Now, I know camo isn't pretty but would you have paid $45 for this VERY plain looking cake? Also, I changed it up and had it say, "Happy Birthday Pretty" because, if you haven't caught on, that's what I call my husband. I did it in hot pink to be funny. Everyone asked me, what hot pink? I didn't know hot pink was so controversial! All his friends asked, why Pretty? I told them to ask Matt to see the inside of his wedding band. They all think we're weird now-whateva! It's our thing. The actual cake part tasted pretty yummy. The icing was a little sweet and like no one ate the camo fondant. OH! And when I picked up the cake, she was like let me get a box. Okay, so I'm waiting and waiting and she comes out with a plain cardboard box that had held cookies or something inside. She sets my cake in it, it's not a tight fit and there's no top. She looks at me, "Sorry! We're out of cake boxes." Really? A bakery is out of cake boxes? I paid $45, I think I should get a cake box! Anyways, as it turned out, the cake was really the least of my worries that night. I doubt I'll be purchasing another cake from Baby Cakes but I might stop in for a cupcake or two.

Grandma's Cookies & Cupcakes...

...last Friday at work, I think I was trying to see how high I could get my blood sugar. I'd brought some cookie dough for dessert with my lunch, Holl brought back some DQ ice cream cupcakes and Jesse brought in cookies from Grandma's Cookies & Cupcakes. Decisions, decisions!!! I went with the cookie dough (I'd already eaten it before I knew about all the other yummy stuff!) and the cookies...the cupcakes can wait until Monday!
Look at these things! They are chocolate chip cookies but don't they kind of look like a pastry mix? Apparently, they use an ice cream scoop to put the cookies out with.

These things were SOOO good! They were crunchy on the outside then so soft on the inside. I think I could have eaten the whole box myself! So what are you...crunchy or soft kind of cookie gal (or guy-Slam!)?