Cake on a Stick?!?!?! Cake Pops!!!!

I recently have been dying to make Cake Pops, but I didn't have a reason so for our Supper Club on Sunday I decided to make them. They are seriously my favorite treat right now. It just so happens that a Mom in my class made them for Valentine's Day and some of the teachers made them for a baby shower and a housewarming party too. Now, all of a sudden Starbucks has hopped on the bandwagon and they are selling them too.

Here is how you make them:

1. Buy any cake mix from the grocery store i.e. chocolate, funfetti, white cake, etc.
2. Bake the cake as directed and let it cool.
3. Break the cake up into little crumbles and mix in 3/4 of an icing container i.e. vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, etc.
4. Roll the mixture into small balls i.e. you can use an ice cream scooper
5. Put the cake balls into the freezer for about 2 hours
6. Take the cake balls out and use lollipop sticks (buy at Michael's Arts and Crafts) and dip them into melted chocolate i.e. white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate
7. You can even add sprinkles
8. You can then let the cake pops harden on wax paper or after dipping them stand them in styrofoam up right

Tips:
-When you dip them in Chocolate use a deep bowl to keep the cake pops smooth
-You can use a potato masher to dip them into the chocolate to keep it less messy (I will try this next time)

Great Websites for More Unique Cake Pops:

This one is great for step by step directions and photos:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/03/cake-pop-lesson-1-the-cake-ball/

If you want to see some amazing Cake Pop photos go here:
http://www.bakerella.com/

So, here is a photo of the eight Cake Pops I brought to Supper Club, the rest of the Cake Pops went to school for my students to eat:

Here are some great photos from the internet:



Gluten Free Cake Pops above

St. Patrick's Day Cake Pops

Halloween Cake Pops

Starbucks Cake Pops

Weekend Fun

This weekend went by really fast! I did my usual tutoring Saturday morning and then went for a beautiful run with Katie. Afterwards we grabbed lunch and then went off to a housewarming party. Saturday night, Dave and I babysat for Carly so that Traci and Bob could attend a wedding.

Sunday was a gorgeous day. Dave and I decided to finally go to Morikami. Morikami is a beautiful museum and Japanese garden, that happens to be a few miles away from our house. We had so much fun walking around in the sun, watching the turtles swim and learning all about the Japanese culture. They have an amazing bonsai tree section. We ate lunch at the cafe that over looked the water, and I had the most delicious sushi!

Check out the website for more information: http://www.morikami.org/ 

Here are some photos of Morikami

Here are some photos of us!

Wardrobe Wednesday

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week!

I am posting an outfit from last Sunday morning.

My hubby and I went to the Honda Classic http://www.thehondaclassic.com/. Although, I am not a golfer, my husband is a HUGE golf fan. Every Saturday morning he volunteers his time at the First Tee of the Palm Beaches http://www.thefirstteepalmbeaches.org/Club/Scripts/Home/home.asp. It is a 45 minute drive from our house and each week he drives up just to give free golf lessons to children. I couldn't be more proud of him.

So, this past weekend the Honda Classic took place in Palm Beach Gardens. Dave spent Saturday volunteering and then staying to watch the tournament. Sunday morning he took me up to check it out. I really do love going to golf tournaments with him. It is fun to be outside in the beautiful weather and also walking each hole to follow the players. It really is amazing to see how talented they are in person.

The outfit I picked was what I wore to the tournament. I wanted to be comfortable but stylish. Plus, I had a lunch with the girls at Neiman Marcus afterwards and I wanted my outfit to be versatile so that all I had to do was throw on a different purse and a cardigan after the golf outing.

Remember my style is add expensive things with a touch of cheaper items to balance it out and keep it affordable!

Top: Ralph Lauren Polo

Pants: Victoria's Secret Skinny Pencil Pant in Stretch Twil

Belt: H&M

Shoes: Tory Burch (Nordstrom)

Purse: Gift from my Mom years ago...it is great for theme parks, tourist excursions, etc.

Jewelry: Earrings- Francesca's, Watch-Michael Kors

Sunglasses: Target

* I really wanted my jewelry and sunglasses to match the gold tones with my purse and shoes

Wardrobe Wednesday

This week I picked the outfit that I wore Sunday night for my Supper Club/Oscar Dinner Party! Each month we go to a couple's house and that couple hosts the dinner for the evening. This month it happened to be at the Shutts' household. We decided to give it an Oscar theme since it was taking place during the Academy Awards. We had a red carpet "plastic table cloth" down the hall for everyone to walk. Each guest was seated at the dinner table, where a gold star displayed their name. They also had sunglasses in the shape of stars to wear throughout the evening. Before the show started everyone was handed a ballot to fill out and prizes were given to the winners. Finally, during dinner as the celebrities walked the red carpet on t.v. in the background, we went around the dinner table and spoke about which designer we were wearing that evening! It was a glamorous event!

Dinner Menu:
Appetizer-Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Main Course- Steak, Spinach and Bacon Pasta Toss, Parmesan Peas
Dessert- Strawberry Short Cake

Wardrobe Wednesday Red Carpet Attire

Black Dress: Dillard's

Red Shoes: Charles by Charles David

Earrings: Boutique

KiDS KorNER

I thought I would update my KiDS korNER with a few little stories that I remember. The kids say stuff everyday that makes me laugh, but whether I remember it or not is the problem.

A little boy said that he was playing on the playground with his friends and they were, "Trying to get the debil."
Teacher translation, "Get the devil"
Another teacher nearby heard him say this and asked him, "how did you know the devil was around?" The little boy said that there was garbage on the playground so he knew the "debil" had left it.

One little girl told me that she was allergic to her Mom's car. When I asked her why or how she knew, she said "well I always throw up in it." I discovered that she must get car sick.

A little boy today told me that money grows on trees in Canada and Russia. This was news to me! I better take a vacation soon to visit these money trees.

One of my all time favorite laugh out loud stories is from about five years ago. I was teaching kindergarten and a little girl said, "My Daddy goes to the tibby bars on the weekend!" When another teacher asked what he did their she responded, "watches the cheerleaders". Now I will let you figure that one out!!!!



Wardrobe Wednesday

The outfit I chose is from Sunday night. We had a wonderful BBQ with friends. Dave and I made the side dishes and Katie and Billy made the ribs. I knew we were going to a BBQ so I wanted to wear something comfy that also had a lot of space for growing due to over eating. Our menu consisted of ribs, cornbread, Texas potatoes and green bean casserole. It was a great feast.

Wardrobe Wednesday Outfit

 

Dress: Gypsy05

                                    Tank Top: Old Navy

                                    Necklace: Forever XI

                                    Flip Flops: Nordstrom



Ormond Beach

We spent the weekend with my in-laws up in Ormond Beach!

We love going up to Ormond because it is a change of pace. The life style up in Ormond is quiet, relaxing, less traffic, less people, golf, empty beaches, bike riding, and lots of nature! Dave and I love leaving our crazy stressful life to go visit family and just chill.

Saturday morning the boys golfed and the girls shopped and grabbed lunch-it was really nice. In the afternoon, I decided to take a two hour nap and a read my book that I can't put down, "The Help". The four of us then went out for happy hour and dinner. We came home early and enjoyed a chocolate birthday cake.

Sunday I got up and ran 4 miles while the boys played golf.  When we all gathered together again we went up to the Club house and grabbed brunch. Then Dave, Kathy and I went and got manis/pedis. We finished off the weekend with some more comfy couch time and then Dave and I hit the road for the 3.5 hour drive south.