More shirt ideas....

I still haven't made my shirt for Comic-con and it's in two days. I need to work on it today or tomorrow, but I just can't decide what to make. If I can't get it done, I'll still need something for the book release outing, so regardless I'm going to have to pick sometime, here's a few more ideas. I'm leaning towards the first, it's simple I figure everyone gets it:






Super simple, once again, these could be on either black or white I guess:








I watched Romeo and Juliet the other night (the one with Claire Daines and Mr. Titanic), so I couldn't help myself with this one....




I figure all you Austen die hards need a literary shout out, too--so here you go (not for everyone, I know, but you Pride and Prejudice fans will get it.)





So, any suggestions? I need to pick probably by tonight.

The EDWARD cupcake

You knew it was bound to happen. I mean, come on--how could I NOT make a Twilight cupcake? Actually, to be precise, I've made an Edward cupcake. It started out as just a Twilight cupcake, but after I bounced the idea off Jon (and AFTER he laughed himself into ACTUAL tears for 5 minutes) he jokingly said it sounded like I wasn't giving "that Jacob boy" very fair representation (see, proof he does kinda listen.) Then the epiphany...

So, now The Edward, The Jacob, and The Bella cupcakes have all begun to come to fruition. Hey, why not? Some of my favorite deli's have sandwiches named after famous people, it's practically the same thing (except sweeter and a little less in touch with reality.)


Today I present to you THE EDWARD:


I figured this cupcake had to be dark, sweet, rich, dense, a bit unexpected, and a little overwhelming on your palate, but still leave you wanting another bite. I also wanted the frosting to be snow white and sparkley and of course, I figure, for representation purposes, it should be served cold...
(The sparkles didn't really show up in the photo, but I have crystal clear sparkles all over the frosting so it quite literally sparkles in the sun.)


The best part; check out the inside. Here's the little unexpected. You know the inside couldn't match the outside... just like our protagonist, he's not what you'd think.


The recipe is below:













EXTRA DARK CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE WITH SOUR CHERRY CENTER AND WHITE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM WITH A SOUR CHERRY DRIZZLE (OR--THE EDWARD)



Batter

1 box dark chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla


Filling

8 oz package cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
dash salt
1/4 cup sour cherry sauce
red food coloring (optional)

Frosting

4 oz. white chocolate
1 c. confectioners' sugar
4 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
dash of salt (or used salted butter)
milk

Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, mix all of the filling ingredients together until smooth and place in freezer to chill. In a separate bow, combine all elements of batter and beat for 2 minutes at medium speed. Fill cupcake liners 1/2 full of cake batter. Remove filling from fridge and spoon into a piping bag. Pipe about a teaspoon of the filling INTO the cupcakes (not on top, put the piping tip actually in the batter and then pipe, the cupcake will swell.) Top the batter off a bit with a spoonful more of chocolate batter to cover over an center you can see. Bake for 22-24 minutes. COOL COMPLETELY!!

Frosting

Melt chocolate; blend in confectioners' sugar, salt and butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating thoroughly after each. Use milk to thin to proper consistency (only if really needed) Stir in vanilla. Whip for about 5 minutes. (This will frost about 12 cupcakes--double for whole batch)

Frost cupcakes generously and drizzle with sour cherry sauce and sprinkle with clear sparkles.

Enjoy!!

Stay tuned later in the week as that other boy in the story gets his chance to wow your palate.

(all comments on how out of control I am will be summarily deleted...)

Current funniest Twilight Tease...

It's no secret my husband teases me MERCILESSLY for loving these books. It still doesn't stop me from blabbering on and on about them. The last few days I've been explaining the Edward and Bella relationship more and more (even though for some reason he keeps walking away from me...) This morning he stopped me mid-sentence and exclaimed "Maybe its just me, but it sounds like there's an awful lot of spooning in a place that supposed to be called Forks."

Ahhhh, Jon.

This is not the only Twilight post today, check back this evening for the fruits of my afternoon's labors.

More Twilght...

Jon always like to make fun of me in his own teasing way by creating symbols for me and out of recognizable icons and then tweaking them a bit. For Harry Potter, the made me a potter logo out of the Harley Davidson logo. This time, I got a Cullen logo out of Coca-Cola....
He says I'm a dork, but I think he's jealous.





Here's two other possible shirts/stickers I created...










So, here's my question of the day:

What on earth is Alec's power? Jane is one bad little monster and Alec is supposed to be just as powerful--what on earth could he possibly do?

Vampire Girl...

I can't help it. I'm addicted. I'm a total and complete Twilight junkie and I don't even care. For any of you who have just recently came out from under that rock of yours, I'm talking about the Twilight Book series by Stephenie Meyer.

On my facebook page, I have a little piece of flair that says "Twilight fills my Harry Potter void." This could not be more true. I discovered these books exactly one week after finishing the final installment of Harry Potter. (A week, I might add, spent entirely in my pajamas with the blinds drawn wandering around the house mumbling "just what am I supposed to do NOW" more times than my husband cares to remember.) I was a Potter-head. I still am, but now, I will forever be in debt to my dear friend Michele and her cryptic email about a new series she stumbled upon.

Well, that just got me curious. I called her a few days later to ask about it. I remember being a little unsure about the whole teen vampire romance, but since she was offering me her copy on loan (and the fact that I pretty much consider her opinion final on good reading choices) I took the bait.

Now look at me, I"m completely ridiculous. I read Twilight and New Moon in a matter of days and orchestrated a very large gathering of my friends for the Eclipse release just a month later. With Breaking Dawn's debut just days away, I've begun again. Making t-shirts and stickers, committing to midnight release parties and 7 am lineups for wristbands, checking Meyer's website for the quote of the day before I've even brushed my teeth, I've even secured myself a ticket to Comic-con this year just because there is a panel discussion on the Twilight movie (and I don't even READ comics!) My husband has once again begun to mope around the house, reluctantly joining the leagues of male Twilight widows all across the nation.
I've read each book in the series AT LEAST 4 times, and that doesn't include me picking it up every so often to just peruse over my favorite parts. I think it's time for me to finally figure out just what it is about them I (and the rest of the female reading population) can't get enough of.

Why do we love these books? Or, more personally, why do I? I think I first have to examine the writing. I can't help but love the way Meyer moves a story. I find myself reading them very fast an unable to not turn the page or eek in one more chapter in the wee hours of the night. Secondly, like Meyer herself, am a huge sucker for impossible love stories. I like angst--what can I say. Third, I'm a fan of any book that rejects current reality and offers another; particularly when it's merely an addition to our reality and not a whole new one. That's what drew me to the Harry Potter series so much, it didn't introduce us to a completely parallel universe where wizards and magic existed, instead it opened the door to the possibility that it already did here and we just didn't know about it. It's like reading a good story and finding out a big secret all at the same time. Twilight does the same thing, but with a feeling of it being on an even more intimate level.

Now, don't start throwing tomatoes, but I sometimes feel like the only female in love with these books and NOT in love with Edward Cullen. Don't get me wrong--there's something irresistibly delicious about an abnormally beautiful creature in love with a girl so much that it physically hurts him to be so. I know it's my own "bad boy complex" issues, but I find myself liking him the MOST in the first installment when there was still the possibility of him munching her up. What I am in love with, however, is the relationship BETWEEN Edward and Bella. The impossibility of it all makes me wish for more and the strain that comes from being human and vampire is electric. I also love the underlying currents of good vs. evil, the definition of a soul, and the power of choice; except in this particular story of magic and the undead, there are lots of gray areas in which to explore and they all seem to weave themselves tighter in and around Edward and Bella's connection for each other.

Lastly, I think one of the major reasons I love these books is because they are something to love. I've pretty much realized that I'm finally both old enough and secure enough now to admit that sometimes being a superdork fangirl is just plain fun. I get to read great books and let my imagination go wild. I get to think of silly creative things in the middle of the night when I can't sleep and my ADD is totally out of control. Most dearly to me, I get to have fun with my friends who (by definition of friend) have to love me despite my superdorkness and in turn embrace the dorkness with me and be by my side at the bookstore when the clock strikes 12:01 on August 2nd.

I have to say, I finished my last and final reading of the series this morning and now I am waiting with baited breath for Breaking Dawn. I have lots of theories, and I may be way off, but I'll share them with you, along with lots of other Twilight creative goodness I've made these last few days and can't seem to control.

For the next two weeks, I'll be posting something Twilight related everyday in honor of the upcoming fourth and final installment. Today (along with the above Twilight manifesto) I'll show you the first designs I made for possible t-shirts/buttons for all my friends to wear to the release party, here's just a few:

Virtue thy name is Patience...

First let me say to my legion of fans (yes, all 10 of you) who have waited for the next blog post, thanks for being patient. It has been an eventful few weeks and quite frankly I didn't know where to start... but I promise with all my heart there will be a new post tomorrow, and if any of you are as excited as me about a certain book coming out in--oh-- say 2 weeks-- you won't want to miss it.

Love to all, I'd be nothing without you! (well nothing without the first 8 of you anyway.)

Scots Rock!/The Awesomest Toy Award

This past weekend we went to the San Diego Highland Games and Scottish Festival held in Vista CA. I, of course had great plans to shoots lots and lots of great photos of kilts and drummers and all things highland. Unfortunately my kids had different ideas--so instead of fighting them, I just put the camera away for the day and enjoyed our time (not before I snapped a quick shot of this awesome shirt.) I don't know, it must be all my celtic blood, but guys in kilts are always so handsome..

The games had it all. We made it to the dancing competition, sheepdog trials, and the gathering of the clans/parade. We also caught a bit of the games themselves. For those of you not familiar with the Highland games, think of the strongman competitions you see on ESPN only crazier. They consist of events like the Hammer Throw, Caber Toss, Sheaf Toss... you get the picture. Very big muscular guys (all in kilts) throwing and tossing really heavy stuff really far. It's pretty entertaining! They even had a 'mini' kids games. Syd participated and got herself a blue ribbon! Okay okay, every kid got a blue ribbon, but she doesn't know that...

We were also able to catch the tail end of the Wicked Tinkers concert. These guys are crazy. It's like what punk rockers in Scotland would have listened to 300 years ago. It's pretty awesome and very entertaining. They play the coolest intruments I have ever seen and the energy these guys have on stage is ridiculous, they are like the Rolling Stones of the Highland Festivals. They tour and tour the whole country and I have NEVER been to one of their shows where there wasn't a bunch of Tinker Groupies dancing it up on the side. Check out there website or even check this link for a snippet of a concert on YouTube. What can I say, we like our music loud.

I must say that the find of the day was not the games, but what we found in the kids section...

Awesomest Toy EVER Award

Did you ever play with blocks as a kid? Well, these are the mother of all blocks. These are fantastic. The toymaker carves each one by hand and creates turrets and peaks and windows and ledges--all for you to create your own castle and kingdom.

At the festival, the toymaker (whose name is Peter Dziulak) had set up little individual tables under a large shady tree with sets of these blocks. Sydney and Vivie played for almost an hour building and rebuilding to their hearts content. I watched boys and girls and whole families (and even some teenagers) come over and build with these.


I have to say I think these are one of the most creative toys I have ever seen. Such a simple idea, but so fascinating! I'm sure your thinking, "they're just fancy blocks" but they're not. Think of what you would build as a child with your blocks. I know I always built castles and forts and kingdoms. With these, you have endless variations of that theme. These are like the blocks you always wished and imagined your blocks would have been.


Plus, for all you moms of little girls--these are terrific. I know my husband is always looking for ways to play with Sydney. She's a girlie girl and she only ever wants to play princess-- an activity he get's (shall we say) a little weary of. With these blocks, they can build together and create Cinderella's castle or Rapunzel's Tower or whatever strikes her fancy. They bridge that gap between "boy" toys and "girl" toys. Since they've made their debut at our house, we haven't stopped playing with them.





I seriously think these are one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time for kids. No, I'm not selling them and I'm in no way affliliated with the toymaker. I just think when you come across something that's unique and innovative and particularly done with love and care, you should celebrate it.




Congratulations Mr. Village Blocksmith, you are currently the reigning king of toys!!

For any of you interested in them, you can find them on the web at www.villageblocksmith.com