Harley Davidson motorcycle birthday cake

Hi everyone! I know I haven't posted anything for a while, but today I wanted to share this cake that I made yesterday for a very special birthday today! I needed to make him a fun cake. I know he has a love for motorcycles so I decided to make him a cake in the shape of his blue fat boy!

Meet Toothless our cat.

This is toothless, the most annoying, trouble making cat ever known. His name was picked out by my dad. If you have ever seen the pixar movie how to train your dragon you will recognize the name. I found toothless in October a week before my birthday. He was so tiny then and I thought he was a good luck charm because I'm a Halloween baby and he is a black kitty. It didn't take me very long to find out that this cat was a lot of trouble. He is always wanting attention when I'm doing something like reading a book. Whenever I talk on the phone he is there, when I go to the bathroom he's also there, when I sewing guess who's there. The only time he's not there is when he's trying to steal food from the kitchen or messing with the dogs, and of course when it's bath time. He loves to look at himself in the mirror and chase the cursor on the monitor. This week I'm taking him down to the shelter to get his vaccine up to date. He is not going to like it one bit. Then after a week or so I will return to the shelter to get him nurtured so there will not be any black kitty's roaming around the neighborhood. I found that the animal shelters that offer nurturing and vaccination services are so much more affordable than you normal vet. For example to get him nurtured at a vet would cost me 200- 300 dollars were as if I go and have it done at the shelter it's only 40 dollars. I don't know about you but that seems to be a much better deal, I'd just rather not throw my money away if it's not necessary.

meet the family's dogs

My family and I have three dogs. They are very mischievous, and obnoxious, but at the same time loyal and loving towards my family. They are all great with the kids and if they see a stranger they do their job by making sure we know that there are unknown people around. We have a Akc brindle boxer named Shorty Dot who is now a year old, shes the most energetic dog but is very loving. We also have two labs. Henry Holiday is a yellow Akc lab, he's the most clumsy of the bunch but he's the friendliest he is now 9 months old. Last but not least is Maria May she's our Ckc chocolate lab she is as oldest of the three she will be turning five in september. Maria is probably the most adventurous of the three but is the most protective of our family. Here is a picture of the three of them.

From the left: Henry, Maria, and Shorty

My spicy chiken soup recipe

A few nights ago I made my famous spicy chicken soup. It's so delicious and easy to make. I make it at least every month if not more. You can serve it with corn chips, corn bread, or do like me and serve it over white rice.

Below is the recipe please tell me what you think after you have tried it!

Ingredients

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 can of corn kernels
• 1 chopped onion (yellow)
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup pace picante sauce (hot)
• shredded cheddar to top

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, saute the chicken in the oil for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin and mix well. Then add the broth, corn, onion, chili powder, lemon juice and salsa. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Break up some tortilla chips into individual bowls and pour soup over chips. Top with the cheddar cheese and a little sour cream.

christian's fifth birthday

On 2-18-2011 my little brother turned five. He was so excited that now he could stop looking at clothes in the toddler section of the department store, but now when he goes to the boys section there is a size five just for him! Now he feels so like a big kid and is starting to get a little tough guy attitude on the side. Now the reason I'm righting this post, is because, I wanted to share a few pictures with you guys from his birthday!

The morning of his birthday I got up before he did so that I could decorate the kitchen and dining room with all the toy story party decorations that I had bought.

To go with the toy story theme christian put his  favorite tee on along with a toy story ribbon I bought for him to wear.

The day before I made him a toy story cake that he enjoyed eating on his birthday. The toys that I used on the cake believe it or not cost me fifty bucks. Man toys are expensive but I got them because he wanted them.

 For his party we served the kids pizza from dominoes, and I made green colored punch out of kool aid, pineapple juice, ginger ale, and sugar.

The kids got to watch all three of the toy story movies, then later it was time to play toy story freeze.
Then last but not least he got to open his presents. He had such a good time taking his presents out of their packaging. All but two of his gifts were toy story related because he is in that toy story phase right now.

All in all he had a wonderful birthday, and I am so glad that I got to help put it together for him.

T

Travel Mug with Personalized Fabric Insert

A family friend recently asked my to make some custom coffee cup inserts for her so she could give them to some of the women she works with. I was so excited that a new project was given to me because I had been wanting to use the  embroidery part of my sewing machine but didn't know what to use it for first. I made seven total coffee cup inserts, five for her friends at work, one for her, and one for my mother. Here are a few pics of the first one  I made.

my new favorite food... its green inside, it's a fruit, it's not kiwi it's... Avocadoes!

I used to hate avocados with a passion but now I absolutely  love them! Now I want them in my sandwiches, tacos, served with chicken or by themselves! It's so delicious! So today when I was trying to find something for lunch, noting sounded appetizing, until that avocado popped into my head. An avocado for lunch sounded just perfect! Now I know this is going to sound rather strange but I wasn't in the mood to eat it plain. I sliced it drizzled a little bit of lemon juice on it, then sprinkled some cilantro and cayenne pepper, and last but not least smothered it literally with Tabasco sauce. I know weird right, but oh my goodness it was so tasty! The thought of putting Tabasco popped into my head because I love it on pretty much everything savory. The creamy avocado kind of mellowed out the spiciness of the Tabasco, but the Tabasco gave it a great flavor! So if you're reading this post please try it out, who knows maybe you'll be amazed by how great it taste!

Toy Story Birthday Cake

This past Friday was my brother, Christian's birthday. He was so excited that he was going to turn  five! Since Christian is my youngest baby brother, I often spoil him the most. In other words there is very little I wouldn't do for him. So when this past January, he asked me to throw him a Toy story themed birthday party for him I told him, "sure honey of course!". So after he asked and I accepted, we were both equally excited, ( okay maybe I was a little more excited than he was at the time) it's not everyday that I get asked to throw a kid's birthday party!  So of course, for a toy story birthday, there must be a toy story cake right? So instead of buying a store bought birthday cake I decided to make him a cake myself! So last Thursday , right before his b-day I started making the cake. I chose to make it lemon flavored........

Then I thought it would be nice for it to have some fun colors since it's for a kid here's were I had a little fun with th food coloring!

Then I decided that each level of the cake should be different colors...

Then after hours of preparation, baking and , probably most importantly decorating, the finished product was a 2 1/2 ft. Toy Story cake that little Christian loved! I also put some of the birthday toys I bought him on the cake as part of the decoration!

I am so glad I could do this for him. I will post more of his birthday stuff later., but for now it's 12:10 in the morning here in the heart of Texas, so I better get to bed! Good night!

Sweet cornbread recipe

Okay, so here in Texas, cornbread is served with dinner on a regular basis, and whats wrong with that? Cornbread can be very delicious, and is is very simple to make. I have experimented with many cornbread recipes, and one thing I've found is that there always seems to be something missing, like the texture or the tastse is just a little off.  So I decided to tweak a recipe I found on allrecipes.com called grandmother's buttermilk cornbread. After I made a few changes it tasted wonderful! Now whenever I make this cornbread I get great reviews. So.. I wanted to share this recipe with whoever may be looking for a great cornbread recipe!

 Sweet cornbread recipe:

ingredients:

• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees farenheight
Grease a 8x8 glass baking dish

Melt the butter. Using an electric mixer, mix the sugar with the hot butter until very well blended. Then mix in the eggs one at a time. Mix the heavy whipping cream, milk, and baking soda together, then add to butter mixture. mix well. Add the flour, cornmeal, and salt and mix until smooth. Pour batter into the greased baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and when the tooth pick is inserted in the center come out clean.

After you try this recipe please tell me what you think! I love it when people comment!

My little brother is getting old!

Well it's official my youngest brother Christian is turning five this Friday. I guess he is no longer the little, cute, chubby baby I once held in my arms. Oh I miss the little baby he once was, the one who loved the attention I gave him, but at least when he turned two I didn't have to help change the diapers which he dispensed his deadly methane bombs into. The downside was he was able to run away from me  when I wanted to squeeze him and throw outrageous terrible two fits. Now the little fart hates when I give him a little kiss on the cheek, he hates it so much he will wipe his entire cheek of with a wet one. Don't get me wrong I love him to death but now a days
it seems like the only times he acts like he loves me, is when he wants something from me, or wants me to do something. On Friday (his b day) he wants me to do both. Not only do I have to get him some awesome toy story toys, but I also have to throw him the best Toy Story themed birthday party. Yes three days away from his birthday, you know he is turning on his charm. If only I didn't love the little fart so much!

a girl's favorite flowers - or at least mine

There are thousands if not  more of different types of flowers out there Some women like sunflowers, lilies, irises, and daisies. Some women like the even more popular orchids and roses. They say that every women has her favorite flower, and mine is the tulip. To me the tulip is more than just another type of flower, but it's also just one of many of God's masterpieces. When I see the tulip before it is just about to bloom it looks shy. Then when you wake up the next morning it is there to say hello to you. A tulip to me looks not only beautiful, but also elegant, and cheerful. So yesterday when I received some pink tulips for valentines, naturally I was thrilled. Not only did I receive  my favorite flower from someone I love, but that somebody loved my enough to remember what my favorite flowers were!

Pork Roast

For Valentine's day dinner I made my cranberry pork roast.Whenever I make this roast I get great reveiws. The pork is very moist and isn't too sweet, and the best part is that it is very simple to make.  Below is my recipe.

Ingredients:

1 (3lb.) boneless pork tenderloin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup jellied cranberry sauce (ocean-spray is the best)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheight

Place the pork in a baking dish, and rub with the salt and pepper. Then place the pork in the oven for 1 1/2 hours.

While th pork is cooking in the oven, heat the cranberry sauce, orange juice, and brown sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat. Mix over the stove until the cranberry sauce is melted, then take the pan off the heat.

After the pork has done cooking for the 1 1/2 hrs. brush the top and sides of the pork with some of  the sauce.Place the pork in the oven and continue to cook for 30- 40 more minutes or until the juices run clear, continue to baste the pork with the sauce every 10min. Let the pork rest for 5 min before slicing. Brush the top with any remaining sauce.

Happy Valentine's Day

I this past valentines day was great! I got my favorite flowers(Tulips), some chocolate covered strawberries, pork dumplings(my favorite is chicken but these were really good),a sweet card, and some Godiva strawberry truffles! Oh so many goodies! I feel so loved!

asian inspired earrings

Here is a pic of the asian inspired earrings that I made. I just wanted to share with you!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/63476204/china-doll-earrings

My little hat model

When I started crocheting children's hats for my etsy shop I didn't have a head form to model them so I decided to use my youngest brother Christian, as my hat model! Here he is modeling one of the hats that I have in my shop!http://www.etsy.com/listing/59561941/crocheted-boys-beanie

Isn't he adorable!

Crochet necklace

Last year I taught myself how to crochet using the web as my own personal tutor.  Learning how to crochet was an incredibly easy process, and once I got started I was addicted! Even my mom started to crochet a little! My first projects were blankets, and hats. Then I started a new hobby, jewelery making. After I made a few bracelets I decided to make a necklace that combined both jewelery making and crocheting. So I made a pretty pink swarovski necklace using swarovski crystals, and pearls. Here it is

  Then I decided to do a blue tone necklace for my etsy shop...

This one was also made with Swarovski pearls, and crystals.
This necklace can be found  at www.etsy.com/shop/Pumk1n.

No sew blanket

This is a very simple no sew fleece baby blanket that I made a long time ago. It was the first blanket I ever made, and it turned out pretty darn good!I found out how to create this very easy blanket online. Although now that I have a sewing machine I am probably not going to make many no sew blankets any more.

If you know anybody with a baby girl you can buy this blanket at my etsy shop.
www.etsy.com/shop/Pumk1n

Thanks for looking and please post your thought! I love it when you comment!

The best gift

So during my family's last Christmas, we had a lot of fun. There was good food to be had, great company  and not to mention the gifts!  The little ones had a blast unwrapping their action figures, games, and other fun toys. My father loved his mint coin that I got him to add to his collection along with a knife(also to add to another collection of his), and a pac man game. My mother wrapped herself with a pretty new pink scarf, and spayed her and the Christmas tree with the perfume from the Elizabeth Arden Pretty gift set. The three dogs and the little kitten also enjoyed Christmas because of all the dinner scraps. Maybe it's just me being full of it, but I think I received the best Christmas gift, not only did I get to spent good quality time with my family on Christmas eve and day, but I also got the gift that I was hoping to receive.

Yes lady's and gentlemen I got anew Singer Futura sewing machine! It is so much better that my last brother sewing machine and it even has an embroidery feature as well!I am such a happy gal. The sewing machine is my new best friend. Here is a picture of my new pal.

The not so professional cake

Okay so in an earlier post I said I would show you guys and gals the cake that I made. I tried hard to make it look like the famous Wilton Brimming with roses cake..........

As you can see I was unsuccessful. Although I do think it is it pretty good for a beginner. I do think next time I will try to pipe the roses using a royal icing recipe, because it took forever for me to get the rose to look pretty because the butter cream was not very stiff and I didn't want to change the flavor by adding powdered sugar to make it stiffer.

I made a cake but not this one!

This is the wilton Brimming with roses cake. It is my favorite out of all the wilton cakes. So I tried to copy it.
Instead of using the royal icing to make the flowers like they did I used buttercream but next time I think I will stick with the royal icing.  My version is nowhere near as pretty as theirs, but it's ok since I'm new to cake decorating. I will try to post a picture tomorrow so you can all see what mine looks like. What I like about decorating cakes is not only the fact that I can be an artist with icing (which is so much better in my opinion that paint, because it's delicious) but also, I have another reason to shop at  my favorite craft store, Hobby Lobby. Ok I have to eat now because if I don't my inner monster will come out and the people around me will see just how grumpy I can get. lol I will try to post pics tomorrow  when I get a new cord for my camera.

Nicole

So Sorry

Hi everybody I am so sorry that I haven't put more post up. I have been busy. A few weeks ago I had a car accident. No one else but me was involved. I lost control of my mini cooper and it flipped over in a ditch. Amazingly enough I was not hurt and the only thing wrong with the car is that it has a few minor dents and the sideview mirror was broke, there was no broken glass at all. A couple of my neighbors helped me when they saw me in the ditch when they passed by. The very first person I called was my dad. I know right, sometimes I feel like a little girl. Anyway when he heard he came as fast as he could along with my mother. As if I didn't feel bad enough, I ruined their date night. Oh well now that some time has passed since then I do not feel so bad. It was just one of those days you know.

the crafty pumpkin: Happy New Year Everyone!

the crafty pumpkin: Happy New Year Everyone!: "Hi everybody! I know it's a little belated but today was the day I set up my very own blog! I am so excited. I named the blog the craf..."