'Tis the Season

I had some leftover sprinkles sitting on my baking shelf and I needed to put them on something chocolate. I always have a cake mix (or seven) lying around, so of course it had to be cupcakes. Plus reflecting on all my cupcakes from the this past year really got me craving one (or three).

Mmmmm....Christmas cupcakes....

Spinach Dip #FoodPicFriday

I haven't met too many dips I didn't like. Whether I'm dipping chips, pretzels, veggies, or pumpernickel bread, if the dip has sour cream and/or mayo in it, it's probably a winner.

Mom makes the classic spinach dip, that was originally served in a hollowed out pumpernickel loaf and was a hit at so many parties. This is that dip, but in a less edible bowl, and with more taco chips. Equally good.

Relaxing into the Holidays

Our freezer seems to be full of things that turn into hearty home cooked meals. Tonight we had a one-pot-meal roast chicken and it was filling and festive.

While the chicken was cooking, I looked through the grocery store flyers to see what their last minute Christmas sales were. There was nothing that would tempt me to brave the crowds (or the weather) this weekend, and I'm happy to say we have everything we need until after the holiday. If we realize we missed something over the next few days, we will just have to manage without it.

A snow storm is supposed to hit this weekend, and if you're looking for me, I'm going to be happily inside with the cat and a good book.

Christmas Cactus - December 2013

Our Christmas Cactus started blooming on December 9th. There are currently about ten buds in various states of growth so I expect there will be some blooms for Christmas. Nice and festive.

Always love it when the Christmas Cactus is blooming. At 60+ years old, this guy shows no signs of stopping, and gets bigger and stronger with each passing year.

Mom's 65th Birthday!

We had a celebration for Mom's 65th birthday on the weekend. We ordered a tonne of Chinese food and I brought the cake.

The Food:
We ordered take out from Mom's (and our) favourite place, Canton Restaurant in Midhurst. Because 65 is a big deal, and because it's the holidays, we went over the top and ordered about $20 more than we normally do. It was basically the equivalent of having 3 extra dishes of awesome food. Canton Restaurant seriously has the best Chinese food, and it is always super delicious. Even though we had all the extra food, we still ended up with the same amount of leftovers. Funny how that happened. No one had room for cake (I had mine the next day). If food's on the table, we eat it!

The Cake:
Last month I practiced decorating a 65th birthday cake to try out some ideas. I'm so glad I did. It encouraged me to pick up a few more Wilton decorating tips (I got Star #21 for the borders, and Round #3 to make the cake toppers), and I decided to go with a chocolate on chocolate cake. The cake was very chocolate, and even had some icy squares on top (in triangles and as crumble).

For the "6 and 5" cake toppers, I used my Round tip to pipe melted chocolate chips onto parchment paper that had a number stencil taped underneath. I printed the numbers backwards, so that the side that faced out would be flat and smooth. It was super easy to make them and they stuck in the cake perfectly.

The festivities for the 65th continue, as I'm heading to Barrie this morning to have lunch with Mom, my Aunt, and my Grandma. I'm finding it hard to believe Mom is actually 65 (and so is she), but the more we celebrate the more it'll sink in. Plus when she starts getting the sweet seniors discount at certain retailers, she might just be happy to be 65.

Happy Birthday Mommy!!! I love you!!!