Thursday, March 10

From the Mouths of Babes

Glee isn't the only thing that's got me laughing these days. Roo and one of his 2nd grade buddies have me cracking up.


Last night, Roo was emptying ice trays into an ice container. When I asked him what he was doing, he replied while he pounded on the tray, "I'm trying to get this bad boy outta here."

At soccer a couple of weeks ago, Roo arrived late to indoor soccer (bad mommy). His coach said hi to him and Roo said "Yo," with a big wave in the air. That kid is such a joker.

During afternoon carpool, Roo and his buddy have devised some excellent uses for mini pretzel twists. One day they asked me to look at them - they occupy the third row during carpool - and I busted up. Roo's friend had broken his pretzel and placed it in his nose like a ring in a bull's nose. Seriously.

The other day they were using the pretzels as glasses.

Leave it to little boys. Their imaginations never cease to amaze me.

I really had no idea pretzels could be so much fun (although I do know that they're a thrifty snack for ravenous kids).

Wednesday, March 9

Gwynnie's Back

Good grief, glee was PG-13 last night. The Diva had to get her eye muffs on and luckily Roo was out of the room. Personally, I like Joan Jett but the whole game changes when kiddos are in the room.



Jayma Mays' performance of 'Afternoon Delight' as a song about celibacy made me laugh harder than I had in a really long time. I love glee.

Monday, March 7

Monday Madness

Check out today's dealios. Even if you can't indulge, it's always fun to look.



LivingSocial - $30 for $60 worth of clothing at Body Bark

BoCo Deals - $10 for $20 worth of merchandise at Whole Pets

Groupon - $25 for one ticket (regular $56) to Cabaret (professional production) at the Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities

WeeklyPlus - $7 for $20 gold wash package at The Wave Car Care Center

LOFT - 3 spring sweaters (new merchandise ) marked down to $25 each

JCrew - extra 30% off final sale items 

Nordstrom - women's shoe clearance

Banana Republic - 30% off purchase until noon today (Sunday Brunch to Monday Lunch promotion)

Thursday, March 3

The Diva's Birthday Cake

Back to the Diva's birthday cake. . .

Suffice it to say the Diva likes dessert, especially chocolate, as much as I do. The richer the better. And birthdays are the perfect time to indulge. A flourless chocolate cake from The Joy of Cooking sounded perfect.

Flourless Chocolate Decadence
Makes one 8-inch round cake
Have all ingredients at room temperature, about 70 degrees 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8 x 2-inch round cake pan (not a springform) and line the bottom with wax or parchment paper.

Combine in a large heatproof bowl:
1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
10 tablespoons (1 and a quarter sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ten pieces


Set the bowl in a large skillet of barely simmering water and stir often until the chocolate and butter are warm, melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in 5 egg yolks.



Beat in large bowl on medium speed until soft peaks form:
5 large egg whites
1 quarter teaspoon cream of tartar

Gradually add, beating on high speed until the peaks are stiff but not dry:
1 tablespoon sugar

Use a rubber spatula to fold one quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remaining whites. Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Set the pan in a large shallow baking dish or roasting pan, set the baking dish in the oven, and pour enough boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake for exactly 30 minutes; the top of the cake will have a thin crust and the interior will still be gooey.

Set the cake pan on a rack to cool completely, then refrigerate until chilled, or overnight. To unmold, slide a thin knife around the cake to detach it from the pan. Invert the cake and peel off the paper liner. Reinvert onto a serving platter.

Store in the refrigerator, but remove 1 hour or more before serving to soften.

The cake didn't quite turn out the way I had hoped. As usual I was running behind - I went  to no less than 4 stores to find the gift at the top of the Diva's list, volunteered in Roo's classroom, went to the grocery store, etc., etc. - and didn't make the cake until after I picked the kids up at school.

The melting and mixing went according to plan and so did the baking. The problem started when I was ready to serve the cake. Even though the cake hadn't chilled long enough, I had to serve it. Bad idea. When I tried to remove it from the pan, it had a pudding-like consistency. Not quite what I expected, although it was delicious. After chilling overnight, the cake was lush and dense. But it never did look right since I was too impatient.

Note to self: make the cake the night before.


Tuesday, March 1

Roxy Heart Vintage Giveaway


Roxy Heart Vintage is giving away a gorgeous little rustic wood cake stand on March 17 to one lucky Facebook friend! 


The rules are simple:
2. Suggest the page to at least 5 of your friends: use the ‘Share’ link in the bottom left hand corner.
3. Post something you like from the Roxy Heart Vintage website on your wall and encourage your friends to ‘like’ us them as well!

When you’ve completed the steps above, be sure to post that you’ve entered on Roxy Heart Vintage's Facebook page.

The winner will be chosen at random and notified once it has been verified that the rules have been met. Good luck and spread the word!