Huh?

Words cannot describe how confused I am:
Police: Man offers $69 for Klondike bar down pants

What a Croc!

I have been hinting and hinting and hinting for quite some time that I would like some Crocs, but my husband has been very non-responsive to this. In fact, he's been downright against it, saying flat out that they look ugly. They look ultra comfortable, though, and there are days in which I'm working where I'm on my feet for over 6 or 7 hours.

I went to Nordstrom Rack with my sister and saw classic Crocs (Crocs Beach, I believe) for $10 less than MSRP, but to my disappointment the small size was too small in length and the medium size was too big. I say that with the caveat that both were way too wide for me to be comfortable.

Yesterday, my sister and I went to the mall, and we stopped by the Crocs kiosk. My sister pointed out to me the Crocs that she had (Crocs Malindi), which had a slimmer fit, more exact sizing, and were OH SO COMFORTABLE. I got them in Berry:


I also got a pair of Crocs Olivia in Brown:

Aren't they adorable? And so comfortable! I especially like the rhinestone charm detail. The kiosk had them in red, brown, black (though none in my size), and new gold. I was going to get them in red, because, well, red is my favorite color and honestly they're Crocs and should be bought in fun colors, but my sister convinced me that since I was already buying the magenta Crocs, I should get a more practical color that would go with more of my clothing. I showed them to my husband last night, who didn't realize Crocs came in different styles, and said that they looked cute and ultra comfortable. The funny part is that I told him about the red-brown debate, and he said I should have gotten the red ones. Sigh. I am very happy with my Croc purchase, though. I'm going to take one of these pairs out today on the town. I have every confidence they'll be as comfortable as they were when I tried them on.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

OK, so I've been having a thing for cupcakes lately. I went and tried all the red velvet cupcakes in the immediate 5 mile radius. And then I decided that it was really expensive to buy cupcakes from cupcake bakeries. Especially when red velvet cupcakes (fast becoming one of my favorite cupcake flavors) were easy to make. I found this recipe from New York's famous Magnolia Bakery online, and I have to say, it's delicious! I absolutely love it, and I think it's loads better than the cupcakes I've been buying. I used 1 oz of food coloring paste and diluted it with 4 tablespoons of water, which worked out just fine. The cupcakes were more effort than the usual box of cake mix or going to the bakery, but totally worth it.

The recipe online came with a vanilla frosting of some sort, but I love my red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, so I included a recipe for cream cheese frosting as well. I have to say that I didn't get up to the suggested 5 cups of powdered sugar. I used maybe 2 1/2, and only because my husband wanted it sweeter. Enjoy!

RED VELVET CUPCAKES

3 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
6 tablespoons red food coloring
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well.

In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat.

In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well.

Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

Divide the batter into the prepared muffin pans. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Adapted from Epicurious

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 pound (two 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, softened and cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
5 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat well. Gradually add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating continuously until smooth and creamy. Cover and refrigerate icing for 2 to 3 hours, but no longer, to thicken before using.

Thank You, Megan!

Megan knitted us sheep and sent it to us for Christmas. Presumably it was more for or because of the Skittle, but I had a notion that perhaps the smaller sheep was for Romeo, as he is in fact a shepherd by birth. Romeo, however, decided that the toy was way too nice for him and has kept his distance from the plush toy, which is unusual but I'm not complaining. The sheep is too nice and white for Romeo to be slobbering over.

Thank you, Megan!

I tried so hard!

I have been trying so so hard not to buy anything for the baby. Especially baby clothes. I know academically that people L-O-V-E to give baby clothes, so in general I have been trying very very hard not to buy anything for the baby until after the baby shower.

But I'm now 18.5 weeks along, and it's the end of the year, and everything is on CLEARANCE. I have refrained from buying the adorable giraffe baby leg warmers that I need to have. I've walked away from adorable Pooh items. So, of all places, I broke down at Target yesterday and bought some cute DwellStudio baby clothes (just one kimono onesie and one sleeper!!!).

And this morning, in a fit of "If I wait, it might be gone..." thinking, I went ahead and bought this from Target.com:



My thought originally was that I was going to register for it and see if someone wanted to buy it for us, but with it going on clearance, I decided I wanted it too much to risk it not being around in 3 to 4 months. We're going for a safari-esque theme, and we had mostly decided that the colors we're going to use in the nursery will be sage, aqua, and chocolate, so I think it will work just fine.

I'm very excited, and hopefully once the rug comes, it will motivate us a little bit to start shoveling out the room in preparation for the little Skittle!