jacks mad science birthday party

hey everyone... this weekend we celebrated jack's 7th birthday... after changing his mind like a gazillion times, he finally settled on a theme... mad science... and whats great, is that there is this company that does these awesome science parties for kids... and they totally nailed a perfect party for a bunch of 7 year old little boys... there were lots of loud noises, setting things on fire, rockets, smelly gases, and slime...

now i am ashamed to admit that i was a bit off my game for this party... usually i have everything planned to the second... but i haven't been feeling that well, so i kinda just went with the flow and tried not to stress... so... i stuck to simple decorations, and some fun and colorful desserts... thanks to amazon i was able to order somethings like test tubes and petri dishes to display some of the goodies...

so here are some pictures of jacks party... enjoy :)

cupcakes topped with pop rocks and sour gumballs... and i mean sour gumballs... i felt bad for the kids and all their puckered little faces!!

here's jack, the birthday boy,who was the special assistant of the day

 and here's ben... he couldn't wait to get up and be involved

happy birthday little man... love you to pieces!!

did i forget to mention...

i don't know if i mentioned to you all that i am guest blogging on my amazing and talented sisters blog "jeans and tees and travel and cakes" every friday... well, i try and post every friday... my sister has an amazing lifestlye blog that i sure to motivate you and make you smile... plus she does some awesome giveaways, like really awesome giveaways every lady would love... and stay tuned, because soon we will be teaming up for one hell'uva giveaway...

and also,  a while back i sent in a submission video for cupcake wars... it's not like the typical submission videos that you'll find on youtube, but you know what... it's just me being me... so, below you'll find a link to the audition... and ps... i don't apologize for my corniness!!

 so if you haven't already checked it out, go ahead and click on the link...

heres a few of the things i've posted on her blog... enjoy :)

here's a link to my

cupcake wars audition video...

have a great monday... and as always, happy baking everyone

a weekend roundup :)

hey everyone... i hope you all are enjoying a wonderful monday afternoon... here's a quick post about my holiday weekend (well week) in new york... it was an amazing week filled with family, friends, birthday parties, a delicious couples dinner in nyc, and just lots of laughs and new memories... enjoy the pictures!!

we celebrated a cute little boys first birthday, my adorable nephew william beckett... he is our family's little firecracker, born on the 4th of july

the adorable birthday boy

here's ben, he likes to party :)

here's me and the hubs enjoying a fabulous couples dinner at the standard in nyc

me and my sisters, meghan and lia

the in-laws... the hubs, lia and kyle

 me and my fabulous cousin jamie

 my little ben and his cousin mackenzie

 my two goof balls

 and me and my sister, meggie

until next time... have an amazing day

hey mommy, can we make an "apposaws" cake??

whenever my boys make a baking request of me, i always smile and oblige... even when they make some oddball requests, i usually end up tweaking them a little to make them appetizing... but lucky for me, my little guy made asked for me to make something delicious... after watching an episode of curious george, he came running up to me with a big ol' grin on his face, asking "mommy, mommy! can we make an apposaws cake?!?" at first all i did was laugh at the adorableness of his question... then i asked him why he wanted an "apposaws" cake, (which is an applesauce cake by-the-way)... and he looked at me and said very matter-o-factly "because mom... superheros need their energy"... well, when he put it that way... hahahaha, this kid cracks me up...

luckily for him i actually had applesauce in the house, so... request granted

applesauce cake recipe (adapted from smitten kitchen):
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon (i actually used a heaping teaspoon, maybe more)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

directions:
1. preheat oven to 35o, and place oven rack in the middle... butter or grease a 8- or 9-inch square cake pan
2. whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices
3. beat the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes... add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in applesauce
4. at low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined... the batter will look a little curdled and uneven but don’t worry, it will all bake up perfectly in the end
5. spread batter evenly in pan and bake until golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes... then cool in pan 15 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake to loosen, then invert onto a plate

this cake is amazing... moist, cinnamony, not too sweet... just a really good, simple cake... it's something that will defiantly maintain in my baking repertoire...

the little dude couldn't wait until dinner was over, he kept staring at it with a big smile... and then the smile got even bigger once he took a bite... look at that adorable and goofy powdered sugar grin!

 have a great day guys... and as always happy baking!!

some weekend memories, and a happy father's day

good morning everyone, and a very happy monday to all... i hope you all enjoyed a wonderful weekend, i know we did... it was packed full of fun family activities, and many new memories to cherish... here's a bit of what we've been up to...

 here are my little guys enjoying their first fishing experience... the boys had a great time, and what made it even more special was that they each caught a fish... i think that helped keep their interest... i mean, fishing is a patient man's game, not something easily expected of two boys ages 6 and 3...

jack was so happy to catch a fish (a brown trout to be exact) all by himself... not a bad catch for his first time!!

ben was enjoying playing with the worms more then he was fishing... they were making him giggle

here's a picture of the two guys enjoying a cruise around the backyard...

the boys had so much fun learning to skateboard this weekend... every friday my town has a farmers market, and this past weekend they set up a skate park, and had lessons for the little guys... i was so impressed with how natural my big guy jack was at skating... usually he is a bit shy when it comes to learning new things, but he showed no fear when he stepped on top of his board... and then the little guy, he's such a little beast... he was was so excited to be joining in with the big kids, and not to mention, he was also killing it on his board...

we also enjoyed a trip to the portland museum of art... the boys were so well behaved, and we got to see some amazing, classic works of art by monet, picasso, wyeth and more. the thing that bummed me out was being stalked by the security guards... i mean, come on... just because we have kids in tow we're automatically a security risk?! it turned a wonderful afternoon into a stressful one... and i was more concerned about how security was viewing us, then enjoying all the beauty that i was surrounded by...and i get it, some parents might not be as mindful of their children... but that's no reason to lump every family in the same category... or they could have at least make it less obvious they were tailing us throughout the museum... sheesh...

here is a monet (left) and a picasso (right)...

here are some pictures from the kittery block party in kittery, maine... the party included a ton of vendors selling their wares, food, music and other entertainment... we waited in line for like a half and hour for some balloon guy to make some things for the boys... and when jack was up, he asked the guy for a bow tie... when all other kids were asking for guns, and dinosaurs, my jack asks for a bow tie... you gotta love this kid... and what was even more hilarious was seeing and hearing everyones reaction to jack strolling around the fair with a balloon bow tie... and then later on ben, who wanted a balloon pirate sword (which popped like 5 minutes after he got it...which resulted in loads of tears) wanted to try it on... he's so hilarious with the faces he makes... these two crack me up...

here's some fried dough from one of the vendors... it was ah-mazing

and finally... i hope all the families and fathers out there enjoyed a happy and wonderful fathers day... ours was very enjoyable and relaxing, it was just what we needed after a long weekend... my hubby, who by the way is one amazing father and role model for my boys, simply asked for a reese's pieces cookie cake... i added the moustache for a bit of manly fun :)

until next time... have a wonderful day... and happy baking everyone

baked blueberry and butter rum doughnuts

happy hump day people... i hope you are all enjoying your day... the weather is finally starting to brighten up here... and it's about gosh'darn time too!!! it's been raining on and off since saturday... and it has put me in a very blahh kind of mood... but the blue sky and the sun are pushing through the clouds, and pushing me to be more productive... and it's about time i got a little more productive with my blogging... so... thanks mr. blue sky for getting my tushie moving... (btw, i just had to stop myself from singing ELO's mr. blue sky... that's one catchy tune)

now, as i said earlier... i've been totally slacking in my blogging, but i haven't been slacking in my baking... i've been in my kitchen almost non-stop lately... and these beautiful sweeties, were made last week, actually the day before national doughnut day... i stumbled across this recipe, and my jaw dropped onto the computer... and i wanted to reach through the screen and eat them all up... but instead i warmed up my oven and got to mixing up some batter... and several minutes later... i had a plateful of these babies waiting for me... amazing...

doughnut recipe adapted from bakingdom:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon rum extract
*handful of blueberries, cut into halves

directions:
1. preheat the oven to 425 degree, and grease your doughnut pan and set aside
2. in large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt
3. in a large measuring cup, or a small bowl, lightly whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, rum extract, and butter... then add the mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined... *do not over mix or the donuts will be tough, and tough doughnuts suck!
4. fill each doughnut mold about half full with batter (an easy way to do this is to place the batter in a pastry bag fitted with a large open tip, and fill the pan this way... its easier, cleaner and the doughnuts basically end up the same size...
5. bake about 8 minutes or until golden brown at the edges... then let cool in pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack... cool before glazing
*as for the blueberry doughnuts, after i made 6 plain ol' butter rum ones, i added some blueberries to the leftover batter... and baked them up the same way

butter run doughnut glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream, plus more as needed
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
directions: in small bowl, whisk the sugar, cream, and extract together completely... if the glaze is too thick, add more milk, a small amount at a time, until the desired consistency is reached... then glaze away

these little devils were moist, cakey, with a slight crust on the outside... and addicting... oh, so addicting... deliciously sticky finger addicting...

enjoy the rest of your day... and as always, happy baking everyone :)