Confession #7- I meant to post this yesterday

YESTERDAY was National Candy Day. The longest relationship I have ever had in my life is probably with candy...more specifically, chocolate. That may seem weird...but honestly, if you don't love candy you have some serious problems. Or maybe I have a serious problem because I love it so much? Who knows. Either way, it was National Candy Day yesterday and I hope everyone celebrated this precious holiday.

According to a number of online sources, Snickers is the number one favorite candy bar. This boggles my mind...don't get me wrong, snickers are pretty damn great, but really? Number one? Maybe it's because I'm more of a Reeses person (which is number two, btw.) Anyway, in honor of National Candy Day and my love for chocolate, I would like to give a shout out to my top 5 favorite chocolate candies of all time (in no particular order):

1. Reeses Cups/Pieces- You are delicious, and I just wanted you to know that without you, my world would be incomplete. You are even more easy to love because you come in so many different sizes! Thank you for existing in my mouth.

2. Raisinets- I get criticized very often for liking you; a lot of people don't (no offense.) I mean..you are kind of weird, but weird in that awesome way. The same way that pugs are cute in that ugly kind of way, you are delicious in that strange "I'm a dried grape covered in chocolate" way. I love you anyway, because you taste like sunshine.

3. Lindt truffles- When I bite into you, it's like finding 10 dollars in my pocket. You appear like you will be hard, but then there is this creamy center to you...so delicious. Thanks for being awesome and coming in so many varieties. Usually plain milk chocolate is kind of boring, but your milk chocolate truffle changes everything. Sweet (literally.)

4. M&M's- You are so basic, and that is why I love you. You melt in my mouth, and also come in several varieties. God Bless you.

5. Milk Duds- Back in the day, you helped me get through many boring movies. Thank you for taking forever to chew AND for being filled with tasty caramel. You are the bomb diggity.

Now I really want chocolate.....FUCK.

Confession #6- Quaker Minis are equivalent to Crack

I work at a health club where we are in constant supply of some kind of free sample. Recently, we got a massive box full of 90 calorie packs of Caramel Drizzle Quaker Mini Delights. Now, the great thing about these is that they are small portioned bags and they taste ridiculously good. The bad thing about them, my coworkers and I have discovered, is that they are as addictive as crack. None of us have ever actually been addicted to crack (or at least no one announces it,) but we imagine that this is what it must feel like. After having one bag, you feel like you have to have another one. When you have crack, you want more..have you ever seen the TV show Intervention? They should make one for people who are addicted to 90 calorie bags of snacks...because I am positive that no one just eats one at a time...just like no crack addict smokes crack once a day. See the similarity?

Here's a picture of these cracktastic snacks:


Now, there's no need to develop a fear that you will become addicted to these. BUT, I warn you, eat with caution and enjoy!

Confession #5- I still love cupcakes

A little less than a month ago it was my mom's birthday, so keeping with tradition I baked her up a big ol' batch of cupcakes. Carrot cake cupcakes are a fan favorite (yes, I have fans believe it or not,) so at midnight I baked the most delicious carrot cake cupcakes ever. I was too lazy to make my mom a card, so instead I decided to write her a birthday message on the cupcakes with raisins. Here are some pictures:



After we dug in, I found hilarity in creating words with the cupcakes.

I have also had to bake cupcakes for numerous occasions (3 friends birthday cupcakes and a batch of congratulations cupcakes)...here they are!

These are peanut butter cupcakes with chcolate frosting and a reeses cup baked inside with pb chips and magic:


These are Vanilla confetti cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting ( I didn't have a frosting bag handy so I used a plastic bag...:

These are Vanilla cupcakes with strawberry filling and strawberry frosting with a mini nilla wafer on top:


And lastly...these are Chocolate chocolate chip with whoopie pie filling and chocolate buttercream frosting...delicious!

Confession #4- I HATE MICE

I have a mouse. Not as a pet...he's an evil pistachio eating mouse. This mouse, lets call him Shithead, is a pain in my ass. I woke up the other morning and found him nibbling on a bag of shredded coconut. As soon as I walked over he HID behind the coconut, as if I wouldn't see his stupid little tail sticking out. I then walked away, grabbed my camera, and headed back over to my closet shelf. He had then moved behind the cornstarch and was HIDING FROM ME. He totally knew I was there..I know it..so I started snapping pictures of the little shit and finally got a few. (I don't know why I wanted a picture of this coconut munching mouse, but I figured why not?) I think I scared him though because he then FLEW OFF OF THE SHELF. I'm tellin' ya..this is not a regular mouse, this is an acrobatic/satanic mouse. He leaped at me...he jumped off of the shelf AT ME. Luckily, he hit the curtain and scampered away...it might have been my scream that made him run, or maybe I blinded him with the camera flash...but seriously? WTF. I didn't even know mice liked coconut. Or pistatchios. Here is the little shit in action:

See him? SEE HIM!?!


I have set up mouse traps (the kind that don't let me see the dead mouse after.) I filled them with peanut butter (mmmmm) so hopefully soon the little shithead will sniff the peanut butter, follow the peanut butter trail into the mouse trap, choke on the peanut butter, and DIE. =)



*Update. Not only did I find I dead mouse in my bedroom closet...I caught the little shit in the PB mouse trap...BITCHES.

Confession #3- Before I die I NEED a FFB.

I believe the story goes like this:

Once upon a time I was walking down the street and spotted a van covered in amazing looking fruit bouquets, I then visited the website www.ffbc.com and fell in love. The End.

Ok so I've never actually had the luxury of eating a fresh fruit bouquet(FFB,) but sometime before I die I really, REALLY want (neeeeeeed) to get one of these. They've got fruit flowers, marshmallows, and chocolate covered berries, what more do you need? Seriously..whoever thought of creating full bouquets made of fresh fruit is a genius and deserves a high five. *high fives brilliant creator of the FFB*

In case you have never seen what a FFB looks like, here are some photos of these fantastic creations...try not to drool on yourself..

I'm going to pee my pants with excitement if I ever get one of these, fo reaaaal. These things are filled with magic, I'm sure. MAGIC, BITCHES. =)

Confession #2- PB2 = God's gift to PB addicts

If PBAA (Peanut Butter Addicts Anonymous) were an actual organization, I would attend regularly. Peanut butter is probably the greatest spread in the world...it goes with everything! Peanut butter jelly sandwiches are a kid favorite, anything made by Reeses is way up there on my favorite candy list, and you can spread it on a number of things such as apples, crackers, celery..... spoons....and God only knows what else.

Unfortunately, for someone who takes their weight very seriously, peanut butter has a ridiculously high fat content and calorie count. The average brand of peanut butter has somewhere around 200 calories and a whopping 16 grams of fat....for two tablespoons. That's totally not worth it if you ask me. I have tried several different brands of peanut butter; Skippy, Jif, Teddy, Justin's, wholefoods freshly ground, Better'N Peanut Butter (which was def not better, btw,) but it wasn't until I stumbled upon the ever so lovely PB2 that I was able to feel ok about my peanut butter addiction.

PB2 is Gods gift to peanut butter addicts. PB2, I feel, hasn't really been introduced to the world yet. It's not your typical peanut butter, it actually comes in powder form and once mixed with water forms a nice almost whipped-like consistency. You can mix the powder in with protein shakes, oatmeal, yogurt, etc or you can simply mix two tablespoons with one tablespoon of water to create a 2 tablespoon serving of this magicly delicious peanut butter. On the Bell Plantation website there are a number of recipes as well.

I think the best part about PB2 is it's nutritional information, for one serving it's only 54 calories!!! What?!? Yeah...that's right...54 calories. A serving of PB2 has 2.8 grams of fat, 3.7 grams of carbs, and still holds a decent amount of protein (4.3 grams to be exact.) It's a bit on the expensive side, and you can only order it in bulk, but I feel that it is totally worth it. I have fallen in love with PB2 and I honestly don't think I will ever need to eat regular peanut butter again, it is THAT good.

Confession #1- I have a bit of an obsession

So I really like cupcakes...well....I LOVE cupcakes. Actually, I think my relationship with cupcakes could qualify as an obsession. Over the past two years I have developed quite the reputation for what I do...here are some pictures.

Mini Carrot Cake cupcakes with walnuts
and topped with cream cheese frosting and a raisin

A Gigantic Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cupcake Cake
topped with buttercream frosting, chocolate shavings
rich chocolate ganache and sprinkles

Chocolate-Oreo Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

S'Mores Cupcakes with Hershey's chocolate,
marshmallows and rich chocolate ganache

Fourth of July Boston Cream Cupcakes with vanilla
pudding filling and rich chocolate ganache

Boston Cream Cupcakes with vanilla pudding filling,
chocolate buttercream frosting and rich chocolate ganache

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut buttercream
frosting and topped with Oreos

Chocolate cupcakes filled and topped with
strawberries and buttercream frosting

Mini Gingerbread cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

S'Mores cupcakes topped with buttercream frosting,
rich chocolate ganache, chocolate chips
and a graham cracker stick

Chocolate Cupcakes topped with peanut buttercream
frosting, rich chocolate ganache
and Reeses Pieces

A few years ago I picked up the cookbook Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
and since then I have become quite the cupcake queen. Aside from the chocolate and cream cheese I use in my cupcakes, they are completely vegan, but based on the way they taste, you'd NEVER suspect it. Anyway...if you haven't checked out the cookbook, I suggest picking it up..it's basically the Cupcake Bible. Someone should really consider creating a religion called Cupcake-ism...I'd totally be all over that.