Halloween Cupcakes and Jack-Owl-Lanterns

One of my very dear friends was born on Halloween.  How spooky.   Last year I made him these adorably sweet Halloween cupcakes.  I made my own butter cream frosting and used food coloring to make it green for the Frankensteins.  I used regular frosting and gels from the grocery store for some of the details.  The cupcakes were made with regular boxed cake mix, not sure which brand.

The Vampire is my favorite.  I dripped red food coloring on him to look like blood. Mmmm he reminds me of Edward.  See the resemblance??


Are you scared yet??
The Frankensteins are made with gum drops for their....uh...things on the side of their heads.  The mummy had gum drops pushed into the cupcake for eyes.  I used different tips for the frosting tubes to make the different designs.  I used a flat one for the mummy's wrappings.  I had a lot of fun making them (and eating them.)  Sorry for the horrible quality of the photos!










Today I was looking for cute ideas for carving a pumpkin.  Tomorrow I'm going to a Pumpkin Carving party.  How fun!  I found this idea on Martha Stewart's website (and no- i don't usually go on that website.)  I LOVE owls, and I thought these were just too precious.

This morning on the way to the train, I stopped into my favorite little place, The Busy Bee Bakery.  I was glad to see they were in the Halloween spirit.  They had these creepy things on the counter.  They are made of Bread with candles inside! Bread-o-lanterns if you will....

They also had themed cupcakes such as Boston Scream Cupcakes complete with green slime(a.k.a frosting)!

I love Halloween. :)

Ima Vermonta, I do what I wanta...

Well I'm not actually a Vermonter, but I did feel like one last weekend!

Things that happened:

 1. I took a million pictures of the scenery in Vermont, and I went a bit overboard with the macro setting. Can you blame me? It was so pretty! See for yourself....

 2. The power went out in the cabin and we had to light 100 candles and oil lamps and huddle by the woodstove.
 3. We made tons of delicious food using pie crusts. Mini chili pies and corn beef hash and egg hand pies? Yes please!
4. We also made a ton of yummy drinks including:
      a. White Russians
      b. hot mulled cider with rum (heated on the woodstove, how rustic)
5. I discovered my love for Frank's Red Hot sauce
6. I drove a quad/four-wheeler through a muddy field and have never felt more like a "Vermonter" in my life.  I believe they call that "muddin'"

Can't wait to head back up there in the winter!

Excuse me, have you seen my motivation?

This week I learned:

1. I do not like schedules!  I can't stick to one.  So much for my smart coach training plan....
2.  Even though there is a treadmill in my basement, that does not mean I will use it.
3. I am now paying "the fat tax"  (a monthly fee for a gym I barely use)
4.  I have completely lost the motivation I had two weeks ago!
5.  I'm addicted to groupons!  I  bought two this week...
6.  I'm also addicted to Beyonce's new song "Love on top"

that is all....

This weekend I'm going to Vermont for a lovely rainy fall weekend.  I promise to take lots of pictures!

The Ugliest Smoothie

This morning I woke up craving a smoothie.  Our fruit supply was limited so I had to do a little scrounging to find appropriate items to add. Here's what I came up with: OJ, cranberry pomegranate juice, ice, pomegranate nonfat yogurt, and chopped frozen spinach.

Once I blended everything it looked like this:

ewwwwwwwwwwwww..... but once I tasted it, I was in heaven!!!

 I couldn't believe my taste buds.  I had always wanted to try spinach in a smoothie and but I thought it would taste bad.  I love finding new ways to sneak veggies into foods!

I also really wanted an omlette (even though I had one for dinner last night too).  My go-to omlette is spinach and shredded mozzarella cheese. Can you tell? I <3 Spinach!

Here's the final product, a satisfying and savory breakfast!  Now I'm off to attempt a 3 mile run...
wish me luck!

Good Morning, Beautiful!

I have always wanted to be one of those girls who just rolls out of bed and looks amazing.  Unfortunately, I wasn't blessed with that ability.   A while ago I read some beauty tips for waking up prettier.  Here's some that worked for me:

1. Wash your face before bed.  Always!  I HATE doing this.  It just seems like an extra chore, but it really does make a difference.  I try to do it every night now, but if I'm feeling extra lazy, I'll just wipe my face quickly with a make-up remover towelette.  Hey, it's better than nothing!
2.  Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!  I use Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew on my face, and Aveeno body lotion for the rest of me, especially hands and elbows.
3. I still haven't figured out what to do with my hair so it looks ok in the morning.  I've read that you should braid it and take it out in the morning, or sleep with a satin pillow case to keep it smooth.   Since I haven't invested in a satin pillowcase and I'm terrible at braiding,  I usually just leave it down or put it on a bun on top of my head.   If it's oily in the morning I sprinkle in some dry shampoo that I got at Sephora.
4.  Put on Certain Dry deodorant before crawling under the sheets.  It won't help you look better in the AM, but It will help you stay fresh all day!  I don't know how it works, but I swear by this stuff. 
5.  Spritz your sheets with your favorite body spray or perfume.  You will go to sleep and wake up smelling lovely!

Sweet Dreams!

"You're such a Beer Girl"

I attended Harpoon's Octoberfest last Saturday.  As always, it was a good time.  I went with a friend from high school and a friend from college.  While sipping on some UFO,  my friend from high school turned to me and said, "You're such a beer girl."  I took offense to this.  I looked down at myself, "do I have a beer belly or something? That doesn't sound like a good thing."  She tried to explain, "No it's not a bad thing, you just enjoy beer."  I had to admit this was true.  Beer does tend to be my drink of choice.  Whether it's a hoppy IPA,  or a refreshing lager, I enjoy it all.
If I love it so much, why don't I know anything about it?   After a few hours of hanging out and drinking beer, we decided to take a tour of the brewery, mostly for the free samples, but also because we wanted to learn more.  The tour guide asked, "What are the four main ingredients in beer?"   uhhhhh can I buy a vowel?
Answer:
1.Hops
2. Water
3. Yeast
4. Malt
Duh! So simple!  She went on to explain the whole process and how they keep their yeast happy, and make their delicious beer for beer-loving girls like myself to enjoy. 
After I failed the pop quiz, we were lead into a bar above the brewery.  There they gave us samples of the tasty 100 barrel series and the scary Leviathan.  This 100 barrel series was called, Session 38: Docesna - Czech Hop Harvest Ale.  It was really good! Too bad they only make 100 barrels.  It was perfect for fall, nice and spicy.  The Leviathan Triticus was the next sample.  It weighs in at 11.5% alcohol.  That's as much as a wine, folks.  It was a little too strong for me, but I enjoyed getting to try it.
Cheers!

Just me and my treadmill

Tonight is the first time all week that I have had any time to exercise.  So much for my training plan! 
Here's my excuses for the week:
Monday: After work I had an appointment to get a facial at a spa in Melrose.  It was lovely, and afterwards I didn't want to get sweat into my freshly extracted pores! Gross!
Tuesday: I had dinner plans with my Aunt.  We have been trying to find a night that worked for both of us, and I didn't think, "Sorry I can't get dinner, I have to go to the gym" was going to fly with her. Besides: family>exercise.
Wednesday: I went to the Topsfield Fair, my favorite fall event.
Some highlights from the fair:  Sharing a smooch on the top of the Ferris wheel, seeing 3 day old piglets (sooo cute), having hot apple cider and freshly made cider donuts(yumm), and seeing the biggest pumpkin ever (1600 and something pounds)!

So tonight I was determined to have some much needed QT with the treadmill.  I had planned to do two miles and I finished under 25 minutes. It felt pretty good to get my heart rate up and listen to some Katy Perry.  I'm hoping to get 2 more short runs in this week. 

Saturday I'm going apple picking with some friends.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful so I'm really looking forward to it.
 I<3 fall.

Off to a Good Start

I just signed up for the gym on Friday, and I've already been three times.  Woohoo!  And, I've been sticking to my smart coach "Intelligent training plan."  The plan tells you what days to run, how far to run, and what pace you should keep.  I found the pace a little slow, but it's better for me to ease back into running.

Today I got to try out my Nike Plus sportsband and running sneakers.  I think it will be a great tool to help me improve my pace and endurance.  It keeps track of how far you're running and how fast you go.  After your run you can log onto the website and see the stats.  I only did a mile today just to test it out.  I think I'll really like using it when I run outdoors because I'll know the exact mileage of my run.

This week's plan is:
Monday: 2 mile Easy run @ 14.33 min/mile
Wednesday: 2 mile Easy run @ 14.33/mile
Saturday: 3 mile Easy run @ 14.33/mile.

Let's see how well I can stick to that.  I'm not sure I've ever considered a three mile run "easy" but I'll try my best.  My goal for the 5k is to finish within 30 minutes.  It sounds pretty manageable, but the race is in December so I think the cold weather might slow me down.  Good thing I went to school in Burlington, VT for 4 years, I know I can handle the cold!