Today I am 28

Not sure how I feel about that number quite yet, but as my Papa always said "it's better than the alternative." I was born at 9:11 PDT, so technically I am still 27. And I am going to take this opportunity and reflect on the past year.

It was a good year, Mason turned 2 and I got to attend his birthday party, I was also able to go white water rafting (check that off the bucketlist), I fed an elephant (still haven't ridden one yet, so that is still on the bucketlist), I caved and got a new laptop which is a huge step for me as I hate spending money, I am still gainfully employed and even took a new gig as a freelance writer, and my best friend got married.

I am sure I am leaving a lot of things out from the past year, but one of the things I am most thankful for is health. I am thankful that throughout the past year and all of the various health scares that my parents are healthy, my grandmas are healthy, and my family is healthy. I think this year more than ever the importance of taking care of yourself throughout your lifetime resonates.

Eat well. Keep moving. Wear sunscreen. And, stop stressing!

So my goal for my 28th year is to, as my coworker says, "tighten up your circle." Tighten up the circle of shit that you care about. It frees you from stressing about things that don't matter. This year I will tighten my circle, make decisions that, if for no other purpose, make me happy, and let things go. After all, to quote one of the wisest women I know "things have a way of working out."

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.