Book Review: Key Lime Pie by Josi S. Kilpack

Key Lime Pie by Josi S. Kilpack

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Sadie is starting a new relationship.  Things take a turn for the mysterious when he suddenly leaves for his hometown of Florida, looking for his long lost daughter.  Sadie cannot help but get involved, whether he wants her to or not.  Things are not as they appear to be at first glance and you never know who you can really trust.  I've never made Key Lime Pie, but I might have to after reading this one.  Probably my least favorite book out of the series, but still fun.



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Angry Birds Invitation

This was the invite for my son's birthday party.

A great free printable from Digital Mom Blog, an Angry Birds font online, and a little time in Photoshop.  He loved it.

Book Review: Devil's Food Cake by Josi S. Kilpack

Devil's Food Cake by Josi S. Kilpack

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Another installment in the Culinary Mystery series by Kilpack.  This was a fun one, my favorite being the opening scene, the main character is lovingly flawed and easy to like...even if she doesn't always see the obvious truth right away.  I'm starting to make some of the recipes in this book and they are yummy!



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Angry Birds Cake

We saw this amazing video HERE of an Angry Birds interactive cake.  My birthday boy was smitten and had to have it.  I admit, it looked like a lot of fun, so we went for it.

Started off with a sturdy, wooden board, covered in aluminum foil.  I colored some frosting green for grass and spread a thin layer all over the top.  Sorry for some of the dark pictures.  I did this at night after the kids were in bed.

The building blocks for the cake were frosted chocolate cake pieces and ice blocks from our "Don't Break the Ice" game.

Our wooden logs were Little Debbie Nutty Bars.  Yum.

Instead of making a traditional Angry Birds structure, we decided it would spell out the birthday boy's name.  The "S" was the hardest letter.  I used some strategically placed toothpicks, chocolate frosting, and a prayer...it held!  It actually didn't need the piggies to hold it up, but since we were going to be moving the cake a couple of times, I thought better safe than sorry. 

The "C" had a couple of toothpicks as well.  The rest of the letters just had frosting glue.

A dab of frosting on the bottom held the letters to the board as well.  If you really want a strong hold, use royal icing instead of buttercream.  It hardens really well.

Our Angry Birds and piggies were a combo from an Angry Birds board game and some figures purchased on Amazon.  My kids have played with them every day since the party, worth every penny.

Since I was going to let the kids destroy the cake, we decided to bake some cupcakes for the adults and anyone else who didn't want demolished cake for dessert.  I found the Angry Birds font online and cut out letters in green cardstock with my Silhouette.  Kabob sticks worked great, holding the letters up high so you could see them behind the structure.

The kids and birds won this battle.

Happy Birthday Scott!

Sidenote:  This cake took less than 2 hours from start to finish, plus baking time for the cake pieces.  The guy in the video above made his own ice blocks, birds, and piggies.  I took the easy route by using some non edible things and saved myself hours and hours of work.  This is a big impact cake for minimal effort.  Let me know if any of you make one too!

Book Review: English Trifle by Josi S. Kilpack

English Trifle by Josi S. Kilpack

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Cute book, second in the Culinary Mystery Series.  Sadie finds herself entangled in a murder at her daughter's boyfriend's manor in the English countryside.  Sadie can never resist a good recipe or a good mystery, so she is on the case...despite everyone's objections.

These are great, easy reads.  Will continue with this series.



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Gardening

My Mother's Day gift from my boys this year was some planters to hang off of our deck.  I wanted some herbs and flowers.  Now, I have tried a lot of different tasks, craft techniques, etc.  I have a lot of areas of interest in my life, but there are two things I despise:  gardening and exercise.  The reason?  Delayed gratification.  You do not see the fruits of your labors until much further down the road.  Instant, satisfying results do not take place in either of these areas...at least for me.  

This year is all about expansion of my own personal hang ups.  I am running, entering races, and trying to take better care of myself down the long road.  Losing a few pounds would not be a bad thing either.  I don't like it and I have to wait for results....annoying.  I feel the same way about gardening.  I have to remember to do the little things every day in order to enjoy the food and/or flowers later on.  So far, I have remembered to water and dead head my flowers every day.  My basil and oregano are large enough to start snipping stems for cooking.  We will be eating a lot of Italian food this summer.

Here's to trying new things....and delayed gratification.

Semi-Homemade Cupcakes

Helped make some cupcakes for a friend who was hosting a shower recently.  She bakes the cupcakes and then bought the most yummy buttercream frosting from a local cupcake shop.  I just brought over my decorating tips and we added some sprinkles to finish it off.  Such an easy way to save some money and time.  I will be doing this in the future for my own hosting responsibilities.