Fill in the Blank Fridays

Today I am participating in the blog world and linking up with some e-friends of mine. I always love reading Soxial Butterfly and she is linked up with Lauren at The Little Things We Do for the "Fill in the Blank Friday" so how about I jump on that super fun band wagon they are drivin' around?

So here it is folks, my first fill in the blank blog post...

1.   The best prank I ever pulled was       I don't think I have ever successfully pulled a prank on anyone - not even my dog. I am that bad and I can't keep a straight face if my life depended on it  .

2.  The best prank ever pulled on me was    good question. Either my friends are really bad at pranks or I am way to slick for them to pull a fast one on me   .

3.  A day without     love and laughter      is a day wasted.

4.  The most important things in life are     family, laughter, health and chocolate (no joke here)   .

5.  I dream of     traveling the world and living abroad, owning a successful bakery, and seeing my family happy .

6.  I dread       my alarm clock. It is by far the worst sound in the world. I also dread oranges, sunburns, needles, and Mondays

7.  A discovery I made this week was       that I will be okay at this new job. I think I'll swim and not sink (cross your fingers) and that even though a 10.5 hour day at work on your feet in 90 degree heat may make me want to punch something -  life outside of those 10.5 hours are worth taking a breath and smiling for    .

Cake Class Week #2

I did slightly better this week. When I say slightly I mean that I actually procrastinated even worse this week. I made my cake on MONDAY (it is supposed to be baked by Saturday at the latest) but since I had the day off work I got to frost it and let it set correctly. So that kind of counts as an improvement right?

And I brought scissors this time! Success!

I loved the cake this week - so cute and reminded me of being a kid. I am still a five year old at heart so when its acceptable to be childish it makes me feel so much better about my kiddish view on life :)

Did anyone else watch Sesame Street growing up? What about Doug, RugRats, Hey Arnold, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Power Rangers...oh the good old days. Quality stuff we're talking about here.

What are your favorite childhood cartoons??

Baby Tay

Good morning wishes from little Tay :)

I hope you all had a great weekend! I got to spend it with this little lady, my boy, my parents and Mike's family. It was a good one, for sure.

What did you do this weekend??

Cake Class Week #1

I conquered my first week of cake decorating! It was awesome but to be honest it was one of the longest days EVER. Remember what its like to start a new job? It is like cramming for finals in college. You try SO hard to stay focused and concentrate on all the names, information and other crap that is getting through around your head that you feel like you brain is going to explode out of your ears. 


That's how I felt all week. Phew it's over.


So for class, this was the homework:


1. Bake a cake on Friday or Saturday
2. Let it set for 24 hours
3. Split, fill and dirty ice the cake on Saturday or Sunday
4. Let dirty icing set for at least one hour
5. Frost cake and bring to class


This is how it really happened:


1. Forget to bake cake until Sunday night
2. Let sit while at work on Monday
3. Race home after work to split, fill and dirty ice cake
4. Put cake in freezer for 7 minutes to set
5. Frost cake and show up to class 30 minutes late


That's my style...procrastinate as late as possible and whip it out like a hurricane.


I was also that girl in class who did not have any of the items they told us to bring. I was the girl who asked "can I borrow your scissors?" every 20 minutes. Sorry guys, I promise to come prepared this week. 


This is what I walked out of class with...

Not too shabby for a first timer eh?? :) 

Up next Monday...Cookie Monster Cake! STOKED :)

What I Think About

I was googling away one night and came across this website that just spoke to me.

It is like they jump into my head and stole all my thoughts.

So I am going to share these intelligent sayings with you and hopefully some of you can relate.

It is when I say things like this that people look at me like I have a problem.

Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate.  ~Sandra Boynton

I want to have a good body, but not as much as I want dessert.  ~Jason Love

Stressed spelled backwards is desserts.  Coincidence?  I think not!  ~Author Unknown

Forget love - I'd rather fall in chocolate!  ~Attributed to Sandra J. Dykes

Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of the pieces.  ~Judith Viorst

There are four basic food groups:  milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles.  ~Author Unknown

Seize the moment.  Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.  ~Erma Bombeck

Chocolate is the answer.  Who cares what the question is.  ~Author Unknown

Man cannot live on chocolate alone, but woman sure can.  ~Author Unknown

Chocolate is an antidepressant, which is especially useful as you start to gain weight.  ~Jason Love

Unless your name ends in Baskin or Robbins, I really can't fit you into my schedule right now.  ~Uniek Swain

I'm going to go have some M&Ms now...Don't judge. :)

Debuting: Taylor!

Everyone meet the newest addition to our family: TAYLOR!

She is the sweetest and cutest little puppy in the world! Mike and I adopted her from a great family in Norco this weekend and are so excited to have her! It was tough making a choice between all the puppies in the litter but this little gal was just so spunky, energetic and lovable I knew it had to be her.

The family who we adopted her from was so kind. They rescue so many dogs and save them from the high kill shelters in their area. They have saved so many dogs from a grim life and sometimes death. I am grateful for people like them. I hope Taylor loves her new home with us in San Diego. I'm sure she will grow so fast but I love her little puppy whines, jumps and little baby puppy eyes. 

I will keep you posted on this little lady's progress :)

    

She may or may not have been named after Taylor Swift ;) So in honor of my love for both my baby Tay and Tswift (little Tay already loooves Tswift's songs!) here is one of my favorites:

Good luck this week with work or whatever it may bring you!

As Promised

I wouldn't dare break a promise to you all. Here is the recipe for wonderful, thick, flaky, soft centered cinnamon rolls I had the pleasure of making last weekend. I also made some cookies and coffee cake but neither could stand up to these babies.


So please, go turn on your oven and get our your mixer. You won't regret it - promise ;)

RECIPE:

1/2 cup warm whole milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature

2 1/2 cups bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, very soft but not melted

1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cinnamon

1. Mix and Kneed the Dough

Combine warm milk and sugar in the bowl of the stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast over the top.

Whisk by hand to blend well. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, until the yeast is activated and foamy or bubbling.

Add the egg and yolk and mix by hand until well blended. Stir in the flour and salt with a with a rubber spatula.

Attach the dough hook and knead on low speed for 2 minutes. The dough may look ragged.

Increase the speed to medium and knead for one minute.

With the mixer running, add the soft butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, allowing each addition to blend in before adding the next.

Once all the butter has been added decrease the speed to medium-low and continue to knead for 5-6 minutes, until the dough looks soft and silky.

2. Rise the Dough (First Rise)

Lightly butter or oil a bowl, scrape the dough into the tub, and brush the surface of the dough with a little butter.

Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise until doubled in size (about 2 hours).

Once it has risen, punch down the dough and let rise again.

3. Form Your Rolls and Bake

Punch down dough and lightly cover your work space with flour or oil.

Roll dough out to about 15x8 or so. 

Spread melted butter over the surface and then sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the top.

Start rolling the long side down and make sure to keep it tight. 

Now you have a roll 15'' long. Cut it into 2 inch segments.

Put into a buttered pan and let rise twenty minutes.

Bake for one hour or until golden brown.

Spread frosting over top while still warm.

Eat and Serve!

ENJOY :)

I'm still here!

Hi friends. This week has been crazy and I feel like I haven't been on my blog or any of your entertaining blogs in forever! It has really only been 4 days but man it feels like a lifetime! 

So this is what's up in Brittanyland.

I started my new job.

I LOVE IT! Can you believe it?? I actually like my job. Of course, it was only the first week so things might change but so far so great :) 

I started a cake decorating class.

That is where you will find me on the next 6 Mondays. So get excited to see my outstandingly, wonderful, historically fabulous decorating skills. (That is nervous rambling for: this could be disastrous) 

Mike and I are looking at some puppies for adoption this weekend.

They are just the cutest things but I will have to keep you posted on this one.

My relationship with the gym is still struggling and strained.

And oooh man...LO SIENTO AMIGAS!

I have been depriving you all of an amazing recipe for cinnamon rolls this week! I made them last weekend and was finally happy with the result and have not had time to share it with you! :( sad face

I promise I will post the cinnamon roll recipe this weekend so look for it! It would be a great surprise for your family and friends on a Sunday morning :)

Pictures as of Late

Today I am tired. Maybe the time change? Maybe the fact that I now have to slip into my fat kid jeans because I have been sucking at my relationship with the gym and smothering my relationship with sugar? I don't know. Either way...I feel like nap time is in order.


So since I don't have enough energy to be all that entertaining - here are some pictures from the last few weeks. Life has been good and I am excited (underneath my blank, pale and chubby bunny face) because I get to have lunch today with one of my oldest friends Michelle (this woman basically raised me!) and remember that new job I told you about? Tomorrow is my first day! 

~wine tasting in Temecula for Brittany O's birthday~

~breakfast of champions~

~hot cocoa with my momma~

~movie date~

~hiking at Torrey Pines~

Have a great week friends!! It's nap time...ZZzzzzZZzz 

And please remember to keep the people of Japan in your thoughts and prayers. They need our love and support. Also, you can donate to help relief efforts HERE.

Happiness is...

a giant chocolate covered soft serve waffle cone

unspeakable amount of delicious calories provided by Mr. Frosties in Pacific Beach

(if you are ever in San Diego - definitely stop in!)

yes, I am wearing a Minnie Mouse jacket and yes, I ate that whole thing and it was GOOD :)

HAPPY WEEKEND!!

The 3 Day Walk: Round Two!

So I am starting to prepare for the Susan G. Komen 3 day walk. Remember when I wrote that suuuper long post about it a while back? Well, I am doing it again this year! It was such an amazing experience and I am really looking forward to this year - big fake man boobs and all.

In order to participate in the walk I have to raise a minimum of $2,300! I am hoping to raise $3,000 this year. It goes to such an incredible cause that will hopefully be able to one day rid the world of breast cancer and eventually all cancer. 

If you would like to make a donation to the Susan G. Komen foundation and support me in my walk just click HERE to do so! If not I appreciate any encouragement because 60 miles on two feet and one body is TOUGH and trust me, I know from experience. 

Thanks a lot everyone! If you want to feel inspired click HERE!

And remember that the 3 day walk is all across the country so find one near you and get a team goin!! Any questions? Please ask :)

[3L's] What a Week!

There are SO many things that I am loving this week. Where do I begin??

The biggest and most exciting thing that has happened is that I got an amazing new job! I will finally be doing what I went to school for and what I actually want to do with my life - event planing!  I am nervous (I think it is only natural) but I am also stoked like a kid in a candy store.

Speaking of that, I also love that I am watching "Kid in a Candy Store" on Food Network right now. Watching how they make Ben and Jerry's heaven sent ice cream? Incredible! I would do a lot of things for  a pint of that half baked goodness.

Other things that made this week a great one:

- Celebrating my friend Ashley's birthday by watching her serenade a bar with her interoperation of "Slim Shady" and our friend Erin's song choice of "the Thong Song".

- Mike making me an impressive and delicious breakfast Sunday morning before I had to go to work.

- ichatting with my brother in Australia.

- Watching my little sister go to her high school Winter Formal.

- Going home to OC tomorrow to spend some fam time, Boomer time and shop for all the new clothes I will get to wear at my new job!

How goes it in the land of YOU? Outstandingly fabulous and beautiful I hope!