Happy Birthday to our 1 year {7 in doggie years} little pup!  Chasey has been with us for 9 months now and we celebrated a simple birthday with special treats from his favorite bakery.  And since I’ve only been a pet owner for 9 months..I now know that I need to add a pet bakery section too!!!    So..I will now be listing pet bakeries too in the directory as I discover them or as you submit!

Here’s a few cute pics from Sir Chasey’s little Cookie feast.

Only two ingredients and super yummy & frugal!

I loved the one pictured above because I can use it for various other things.  I found the Wilton 4-Tier Stacked Cupcake and Dessert Tower at Amazon.com.  The reason for this post is because even if I don’t find it…I’m curious to know where you all get your baking tools & serving wear.

My little ones love to do what mommy does.  When I’m in the kitchen they want to be to.  The one thing that I’ve noticed is that the cooking tools are somewhat difficult for their little hands to maneuver.  When I saw “Let’s Play House” it completely stopped me in my tracks.  It had everything that mommy would use but in a smaller easy to handle size for my little ones.   The set comes with a cupcake mold, pie dish, snack plates, cake pedestal and mixing bowl.  And…Microwave and dishwasher safe which are huge!  Of course the packaging is adorable { a cute box shaped like a house} but more importantly it’s useful for my little ones and they can cook with mommy in style!

If your interested in this adorable cook set and don’t want to wait {because how could I blame you} you can order yours by clicking the little add to cart button for secure ordering today!  The set is $110 and so worth it because this is a set I know my daughter can hand down to her children as well.  I’m hoping I can hold off until Christmas to give it to them but  we’ll see.

There’s a cute tool set I think would go so perfect with this and I would love to get it for them as Christmas gifts, are you interested?  Want to see it?    Over time you’ll notice that my store will have many things being for sale.  My hope is that we’ll be able to share in them together and really start a discussion on them to see what works best for everyone!

I can’t wait to hear what you think of my store and if you too order the products what your thoughts are too.  I hope you love them as much as I do!

OH….and you make a purchase between  now and August 16 you can use code: EXCITE25 to get an additional 25% off items in my store!

{This picture has nothing to do with this post other than I’m truly into pastrami right now:-) }
Oh my word, I have been one busy little bee.  I’ve been pumping out the deals on my deal blog, taking mad photographs at my Photography site and lovin every bit of it.  However I’ve missed my sweet little relaxing spot over here.    Everyday I think of a post I’m going to do and then think of the photos that need to accompany it and then get derailed by editing…so on and so on and so on.  That’s the story of my life.

I did a fabulous interview with a baker here in town that I need to share with you all.  I have a new recipe I’ve pumped out from my very own kitchen and it needs a few tweeks but is so scrumptious.

If your looking for what I’m up to you can always find me at my Deal blog pumping out the savings or my Photography site being passionate about life and capturing every moment. Of course you can follow me on twitter, facebook on each of those fabulous places too  I’m a busy girl right!!

Las Vegas Restaurant Week

I’m super excited about Restaurant Week coming August 30 – September 5, 2010 to Las Vegas.  If you want to check out which restaurant will be participating in the event you can go to www.threesquare.org and read more.  I think the hubby and I will probably do Alizé at the Top of the Palms- Dinner $50.10. We are always at the Palms but have never been to Alize and I would love to go.

What have you guys been up to?  I can’t wait to hear.

I received a coupon for a free Buitoni dinner for 2 meal.  I purchased my Buitoni from Target and it was a whopping $8.99.  I’m a frugal blogger and that seemed a bit steep to me.  Now keep in mind it was frgual

Share your home movies on Facebook and YouTube with muvee Reveal

I truly was surprised that my children enjoyed the cannelloni.  They are super picky eaters and weren’t feeling well on top of it.  Hope you enjoy the video.  I purchased my Buitoni at Target for $8.99 with my free coupon provided by Food Buzz and the manufacture.  I thought it was a bit pricey but it did feed all 4 of us.

I love Vanilla cupcakes because it’s such a great base to amazing possibilities.  I have been wanting that cupcake so badly and haven’t found one like it yet. Since I picked up some Vanilla Beans a little bit ago from Williams Sonoma and it’s almost 110 outside {yes it’s literally baking here in Vegas} I thought it would be a good day to try some Vanilla Bean cupcakes.

You can find this recipe almost anywhere but of course this recipe will be adapted to me and my family.  Just so you know, you can find the entire Vanilla Family at Williams Sonoma.  They even have the beans show to the right.  Let’s dig in.

I will tell you two things.  One~how to make these fabulous goodies from scratch because they will be worth the time.  and Two~how to make them in a pinch and still have that dense sweet and moist taste {without breaking the bank}

Scratch Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

• 1-1/2 Stick of Unsalted butter {softened & cool}
• 2-Cups All Purpose Flour
• 6 Large egg Whites
• 1-1/2 Cup of Granulated Sugar
• 3/4 Cup of Milk {only whole}
• 2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 2 Vanilla Beans {Take seeds out & discard the rest}

Click Here for Instructions.

In-A Pinch Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

There’s nothing better than from scratch.  However sometimes it’s just not always possible.  If that’s the case and you have a Fresh & Easy near by {on the west Coast only} you might be interested in their recipe.

It’s super Easy and all you need are Eggs, Milk & Butter.  Of course the mix too.  I haven been wanting to try this for a while and I wasn’t at all disappointed.  There Vanilla Been Seeds in the mix are so fresh smelling and it looks just like my scratch mix.

You need to make sure you don’t over mix it.  It will be slightly grainy and that’s ok.   Your house will smell so yummy!

Now for the topping.  This again, is why I love Vanilla.  You can put anything with it.  Since my hubby and I are trying to eat better {don’t you just love that-does he know I have a cupcake blog?}  I thought I would try a variety of things.

Toppings

Yogurt {strawberry is my favorite} but Peach will work too
Simple whipped cream with nuts
The options are endless….I’ve even been known to dig the top of the cupcake Vanilla Bean IceCream and

Top that with coffee Grinds.  YUMMO!!

What’s your favorite way to eat a Vanilla or Vanilla Bean cupcake?

So by now you’ve probably figured out my love for aprons.  No?  Well, just stick around and you’ll find out.  To me, there’s nothing better than to get in the kitchen with a cute apron.  These fancy little numbers use to be a tool to keep your clothes clean in case company rolled in.  Really?  Clearly we’ve evolved over the years.  But I love the nostalgia of this concept.  It’s something similar to your Sunday’s best. Which seems to be falling by the way side as well.

I am so happy that aprons and not just any aprons but stylish and glamorous aprons have found there way back to society.

Living in Las Vegas it’s great to put one of these with a T-Shirt and cook.  Keeps you cool and of course you have that sense of “trendy chicness”.    I am a very old fashioned girl.  Love old movies, mainly because it was a time when folks really took time with each other.  Manners, Etiquette, and defined roles.  Now…step it up into today’s time and I love it now too.  I am a gadget girl that likes her identity.  These type of aprons to me, represent exactly that.  A bit of history with today’s flare.  

Now because of my frugal side I also look for the best pricing.  I want to look haute cooking but I don’t want to break the bank while doing it…rihgt?  I’m not alone on this right?  This super cute red Flirty Apron is on clearance for only$12.99.  I could rock this one all day.  So adorable and full of color.  And yes they make it in children sizes as well.  My daughter would love this.

So if you are an apron wearing guy or gal, where do you store these cute little items?  In the drawer?  On display?  I’m so curious because right now I store them in a drawer but I’m thinking of doing some sort of pegged board and cutely displaying them for all to see my other love.  Oh I have so many loves!!

Flirty Aprons are just one of my faves, What’s yours?

It would have been so helpful to know what exact tools and where to get them so let’s start there.  If you click through to the above image you’ll be taken to my flickr page that will in detail share with you what each of the items cost and where I purchased them.

Step I: -Bake

I started out with just a plain boxed Chocolate Cake Mix I purchased on Clearance of course.  These cake balls were made for a children’s party and I wanted to make it as economical and child friendly as possible.

Step II: Crumb

You’ll want to make sure the cake is completely cooled.  Preferably overnight.  Now, if your like me you want to know why.  If you attempt to crumble the cake while it’s hot it just simply will not work out.  The cooler the cake is the better it will all stick together.  If you have a food processor that would be great to use also.  A great smooth crumbly consistency is what your looking for.

Step III: Adding Icing

I will admit.  The first time I did this I added too much icing to this mixture and it never was firm enough.  My rule of thumb now is for every sheet cake I add 1/2 container of icing and then blend in more as needed.

I could have made a simple cream cheese icing because it truly is the simplest thing to make but for time purposes I just used good Ole Betty Crocker.  The icing will not even be seen so for me this was a great option.

Step IV: Molding

I think I tried every method to keep the balls consistent and if you know of a way, please share.  However, what it boilded down to was just eyeballing it and grabbing up a scoop at a time to form the balls.

Also the first time I did this, it was a stick gooey mess {because of the over abundance of icing} you’ll know you have too much when the mixture is sticking to your hands.

Step V: Cleaning

After you make your balls, place them in the frig.  I put mine in overnight but 4-5 hours should be fine.  While you wait, I love to stress to my family and friends to clean while you cook.  This is HUGE to me. If I’m in the moment and just siimply can’t get my head out of the moment….then it’s ok.  but my dad always said, a good cook always cleans while they cook.  Maybe that’s why I don’t like to do main course cooking.

Step VI: Candy Coating

For the coating I used the Kroger Store Brand Candy coating. The entire package made the full box of cake mix cake balls.  And I had some left over for Oreo Cake Pops I’ll show in a bit.

This is my home made double boiler.  You don’t need to have a fancy one but if you do…. absolutely pull it out and enjoy!

I will tell you now that I don’t have any pictures with the cake balls dipped in chocolate {I know I know} But I will be doing this again soon with a Vanilla Bean mix so I’ll be sure to snap pictures.

After the chocolate is completely melted I just stick the {longer of the two} lollipop stick into the cake ball and dip into the melted chocolate. Give it a little twirl so it’s nice an even.  Stand up in the Styrofoam and let cool.  Now you could place the pop on it’s head but I wanted a smooth pop.

Now this is what I made with the left over candy coating.

For the original baker of Cake Pops you MUST check out Bakerella.  She makes them into these fabulous characters and she’s just all around fabulous.

Here are the key Pros vs. Cons about this apron:

Apron Pros:

• Had an adjustable neck strap for comfort and all sizes.
• Price
• Length – It’s 37 inches so for a shorter person it would almost drag but for taller folks it’s perfect!

Apron Cons:

• Length – again, this would be very very long on a shorter person.  Something that would make the apron adjustable would have been a nice feature. Especially for children to use. Even after I folded up on my daughter it the width was so wide it buckled.

Here’s the best part of this already fabulous apron.  It was only $5!  Can you believe it.