My 15 Minutes of Fame...Sorta...

When I was little I was featured on the Ramblin Rod Show - a local TV show for kids. Okay, fine, maybe not featured but I was on the show and he did ask my name. I was way super cute...some would say a small version of the adorable person I am today. Recently my mom and I stumbled across the tape - yes tape - and re-watched by brief brush with fame. I think all combined I was probably on the show for like 5 minutes, so in my mind I have a good 10 minutes of fame left on my clock.

That said, a few weeks ago I sent an email to one of my favorite blogs inquiring as to what to wear to my best friend's rehearsal dinner. It's at a BBQ place down the road from where we live. And lo and behold, I received a response! And not just an email that said "thanks for writing." My own blog entry!

http://www.outblush.com/women/personal-shopper/personal-shopper-nonbumpkin-dresses-for-alissa/

Yes, I am well aware that they spelled my name wrong, but it still counts!

Happy New Year

So what it's already February...oops. :) I have been a bad blogger, but hope to be updating more often now that I got settled in with my new laptop and printer (thanks boyfriend).

Without further ado...the Christmas post.

Christmas is so much more fun with a little on around. Mason Roadie joined us for Christmas, and watching him open presents was great. He is choo choo obsessed so pretty much everything he got was related to a train. Earlier in the month, Mason picked out a train tent that he wanted, so Lili got it for him...

To be honest, I think he just enjoyed getting in it and walking around pretending he was an actual train. Oh well.

And Nana came for Christmas!! Mason loves his Nana!

And his Lili!


I love this little man, he is the cutest. And I think next year will be even more fun, maybe we won't have to bribe him with choo choos to open his presents. :)

Belated Birthday wishes...

Even though I am three days late on this post, I would like to wish my fabulous boyfriend a Happy Birthday.

Keith turned the big 33...okay maybe not so big, but whatever...on Thursday. I made him a giant cupcake cake to share with our coworkers, and although this one wasn't the prettiest cake, it tasted yummy. For those that read my last two posts, please note that vegetable oil coated on the cupcake pan is not an appropriate substitute for Pam. A small fail, that was covered up with heavy doses of frosting.

I love you babe, Happy Birthday!! XOXO

Today is Election Day!

Baking Part 2

So after my mediocre attempt at recreating Bakerella's cake balls, I decided to go for something a little more my speed.

I have long been eyeing a giant cupcake pan that Wilton carries. And my fabulous Mom - shout out Catty! - got with the Easter bunny and got me the pan for Easter.

Not sure what my new found obsession with cupcakes is, but I am rolling with it...

As you can see from the picture - half of the pan is much more shallow and less dense than the other side. And from reading on a couple of website I found out that the way to remedy that is by putting the shallow side in a pan of shallow water. Martha Stewart watch out.


My first attempt was a chocolate cake with butter cream frosting and then I made another cake a week later that was yellow cake with chocolate frosting. All of the websites said that you should use a box and a half of cake mix, but I poopooed that idea and just divided the one box between each side. What are you supposed to do with the other half of the cake mix? So silly.


Before you put the cake mix in you should spray the pan heavily with pam...I decided not to lightly flour as some suggested because I hate having flour on the outside of my cakes - especially as I wasn't planning to frost the bottom. The cake rises quite a bit after cooking as you can see above but came out of the pan flawlessly. After leveling the two pieces and placing them together with the help of a little frosting I then used the rest of the frosting for the top of the cupcake. I then used a variety of regular sprinkles and large candy bits to decorate. You can also use jelly beans or red hots, etc.

I was pleasantly surprised by my results! A great giant cupcake that tasted as great as it looked. And for those keeping track, both my coworkers and I enjoyed the final product.

Bad Blogger and Baking Part 1

Not that anyone reads this but my mother, but I inadvertently took a hiatus from blogging. So here we go, some catch up...

I have never been much at cooking. Partially because I am just not a fan, I think it takes longer to cook than clean up and thus is a waste of my time, and partially because I just like to eat out. That said, I have always enjoyed baking. I used to make cookies pretty much every weekend. So after my Mom drew my attention to the Bakerella I decided that I should give it a go.

If you have never seen Bakerella's work, I highly encourage you to do so. She is amazing and creates what is the perfect meld between art and baking. Check her out: bakerella.

So after researching her website and reading her instructions on how to make "easy cake balls" I decided that my college educated self could manage to pull it off. As you can see from the pictures, I did pull it off, but it wasn't the prettiest effort. To make the balls you make a cake - I chose red velvet - and mix it with frosting - I chose cream cheese. And then you form balls and refrigerate. I actually put mine in the freezer as I am super impatient. Then you melt chocolate and put it in your candy mold and quickly shove a cake ball in each mold. Once that has cooled you coat your ball in another color of chocolate - I picked pink - and decorate.





Not sure I will be trying this again in the near future - it was quite the effort and super messy for an amateur like me. That, and melting chocolate to get the perfect consistency was A LOT more difficult than I could have imagined. On another note, although I didn't care for the finished product, my office mates enjoyed them quite a bit.

To my Father and Brother:

I hate to use this blog to call out people, well, actually I don't, so here goes....

I fondly remember the day my dear Daddy bought me my Mustang. **Sigh** And though eight years have passed since that time, I still very much love my car. When I moved to DC five years ago, my dear Daddy drove my car up here for me, and it was like my little piece of home away from home.

My car and I have been through a lot over the years...college, waitressing, road trips, running out of gas, stolen hood ornaments, a lost side mirror due to a vicious attack by the garage, a back end reconstruction after being run into on the street, you get the idea... So when my precious car's odometer stopped working I set to once again figuring out how we can together make it past another of life's hurdles.

I did some research and found that the trouble is likely due to a broken odometer gear...and, according to the guys at stangnet.com, its an easy fix! I order my part, print off my directions, and call my dear Daddy for moral support. And sadly, moral support was nowhere to be found. Apparently, Father (as he will now be referred) doesn't think I can handle taking apart my dash and fixing a broken gear. Apparently, Father thinks I should spend $300 and take the car into the shop to be fixed instead of spending $30 and doing it myself. Apparently, Father was about to eat his words.

So being the determined person that I am (some would call it stubborn) I was hell bent on fixing my car myself. And thinking I could garner a little support from my Brother, who is himself a mechanic, I call him. Well. As my Nana would say he was about as helpful as tits on a boar hog. I feel bad for my brother, because apparently he takes after doubting Father and is absolutely certain that I am going to break something. Thanks for the vote of confidence people.

So I ask you, whatever happened to "you can do anything you want in life"? Whatever happened to family backing you up? Whatever happened to..? You get the idea. After borrowing a set of socket wrenches, I set to work. I will spare you the mundane details of how to change your odometer gear, but you know what??? I did it. ALL BY MYSELF.

Thus, To my Father and Brother: Eat your words, boys, eat your words.

My dash after I took it apart, replaced the gear, and put it back together, notice there are now numbers on the tripometer.