EPIC CAKE: 6-LAYER CHOCOLATE AND PB

There's a cake I had been wanting to make forever. I first saw it on the blog, Christopher and Tia. It was gluten-free and vegan and since Corey's girlfriend follows a gluten-free diet, I figured "hey, I could make this cake for Bryanne!" But of course, I was always waiting for the perfect time to make this cake and that day finally arrived, the weekend after Halloween. Sean offered to help me make this epic six-layer chocolate and peanut butter cake.

Here's the recipe and process, it all its photo-glory:
Layer #1 - Brownie
I cheated and used a gluten-free brownie mix from Bulk Barn since I'm a gluten-free baking novice:Sean mixed all the ingredients together:
He's really big compared to that little tiny hand mixer:Next, spread brownie batter into a springform pan:Here I go:The gluten-free brownie mix was really "springy":
Bake for 20-25 minutes and the brownie layer should come out looking like this:If you use your leftover brownie mix to make regular brownies and add chocolate chips and mini marshmallows to the mix before making, this is what they'll look like:(though they tasted pretty darn good)

Layer #2 - Chocolate and peanut butter rice crispies
Get out your mise en place! This was a rare mise en place baking adventure. Here I have rice crispies, creamy peanut butter and chocolate chips:Start by melting the PB and chocolate chips together in the microwave in 30-second intervals:
Photo glitch:
Stir until melted and well combined:Next pour the melted chocolate and PB mixture over the rice crispies:
Stir!
Then spread onto the cooled brownie layer:
Ta-da! Then stick this in the freezer
Layer #3 - Chocolate Mousse
Gather your ingredients for the chocolate "mousse" (tofu, chocolate chips, vanilla extract):Begin by melting the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second intervals:Then beat in the vanilla and entire block of tofu. Whip until smooth and thick:
Then spread on top of cooled chocolate and PB rice crispie layer. Stick in freezer to cool:Layer #4 - Peanut butter mousse
Repeat chocolate mousse steps but with peanut butter instead of chocolate chips. You may be covered in melted chocolate and PB at this point. It's okay...there are worse things to be covered in. Spread on top of cooled chocolate mousse layer:
Start chopping some roasted salted peanuts:
Look at the concentration on my face:
Chopping brought to you by Farberware:
Here is your five-layer cake out of the freezer:Layer #5 & #6 - Chocolate ganache and peanut sprinkles
Make chocolate ganache by melting more chocolate chips with soy creamer. Sean and I couldn't find soy creamer in his town so we had to use heavy cream (making our cake no longer vegan). Heat the cream and then pour on top of chocolate. Let sit for a minute or so and then stir to combine. Set cake on top of something (we used an upside-down cake pan) and then pour chocolate ganache on top and all over sides. NOTE: It is KEY that your cake is set at this point, especially your peanut butter mousse layer, otherwise everything will kind of slide around like ours did a bit. I had to salvage everything with a spatula. Immediately sprinkle chopped peanuts on top:
Transport to friend's house and serve:
Six layers of gluten-free cake:Chocolate and peanut butter smorgasbord:If you want to make this cake, which I highly recommend if you're a chocolate or peanut butter fanatic, here's the linky to check it out. And if you're serving it to a crowd who isn't gluten intolerant or vegan, don't even bother telling them because they won't notice a thing!

Oh and don't forget to take silly pictures of you and your "helper" and your cake before you cut into it! Our first attempt:Second attempt:Can I offer you a piece?

GOOD FOOD + GOOD FRIENDS = GOOD FUN

Jessie, Sean and I had reservations last night at Trevor Kitchen and Bar during Winterlicious. Your town must have something similar, a week or two when restaurants in the city offer a prix fixe menu of their tastiest selections. Toronto has a Summerlicious and a Winterlicious.
Earlier in the month Sean and I had had brunch at Frank Restaurant (at the AGO). I didn't take any photos that day because I had an appointment with a neurologist later that day and was more concerned with my daily migraines than carrying around a camera (ie: I forgot to bring a camera). To start, Sean had the tamarind glazed beef brochette with coconut chilli chutney while I had the gingered beet and carrot soup with (crisp) heirloom carrot ribbons. Bread, butter and rock salt was a plenty. Sean's appetizer was the winner. Sean's main was the grilled cheese with spiced apple-cranberry chutney on raisin egg bread, along with fries and lemon mayonnaise while mine was the lamb meat loaf with garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed rapini. Again, I deemed Sean the winner. Dessert was our last option and I opted for the chai-spiced rice pudding brulee (along with a couple of pistachio biscotti) while Sean had an apple berry crumble (or something like that). I was finally a winner! But the best part of my meal wasn't just the dessert because I had the most fabulous cocktail: the Midsummer Night's Dream, a cocktail consisting of a mint gin and honey lavender lemonade concoction. It isn't listed on the Frank menu and I'm pretty sure it's a special in collaboration with their Maharaja exhibit, but it was amazing. All my favourite flavours in one cocktail and they complimented each other so well. Immediately after having a sip, I told Sean that we could come back any time and just have a "liquid lunch."

But of course, back to Trevor Kitchen and Bar. First off, the atmosphere is really nice. It wasn't too dark or loud and for a Wednesday night, albeit during Winterlicious, it was busy! The three of us arrived terribly early (traffic was light) but we didn't have to wait long before we were seated. Like! I started the night off with a cocktail (of course!) and Sean decided to have a couple wines with his plates. The menu options at TK&B were quite extensive. Typically most restaurants offer three options for each course (appetizer, entree and dessert) but Trevor gave us a plethora of options. I had a hard time choosing:

Appetizer photo fail:Entree:Dessert:
For our appetizers Jessie ordered the mac & cheese while Sean ordered the corned beef tongue reuben, which was like a deconstructed reuben. I ordered the sea diver scallop and pork belly. It was a toss up between Sean and I. I equally liked his appetizer as well as mine. I don't have any photos because my camera decided to be fussy. I will ask Jessie for hers and upload them here eventually.

For our mains, I chose the cavatelli in parsnip and sage cream with wild mushrooms (also came with spinach and grape tomatoes): I was going to get the pork shank but this is where to number of options was too overwhelming and I just chose the first thing I remembered when our waitress came back to our table. I should have asked for the pork shank but I was still happy with my meal. It was a huge portion. Actually, all of our portions were huge.
Sean chose the port braised beef cheeks with sunchoke risotto and horseradish cream:
And Jessie chose the cripsy chicken confit with cheddar pierogi, sweet potato and buttermilk gravy:Everyone's main looked ridiculous good. Sean's was ridiculously delicious. He used our remaining bread to wipe his plate clean. I had a good laugh but that bread was to die for; there's really nothing better than fresh bread and salted butter. Or butter and rock salt. Mmm...rock salt.

Photos of us...
Jessie's sad because her boyfriend was too far away to make it for dinner:Sean and I attempt to take a proper photo:

Jessie picture-taking fail:Fourth attempt = good enough:For dessert I chose the classic creme brulee, which came with 3 small cookies on the side (chocolate, peanut butter and chocolate chunk):While Jessie and Sean both chose the cookies and cream tiramisu:
Everything at TK&B was great. The service was attentive and informative. The food was delicious and the plates were more than generous (I couldn't finish my main) and really, who doesn't love cotton candy when their bill arrives!? Granted, a lot of diners didn't finish their cotton candy so I gave them evil stares as they walked out the restaurant. I implore you to check out their menu and drop by for some fabulous eats. Oh, my only gripe with the restaurant is that their washrooms are freezing (!!!) and they need to fix their washroom doors. I almost got stuck in two separate "stalls" twice. Thank goodness Jessie was there to kick the door in for me to get out.

RECIPE: NUTELLA & BANANA OATMEAL

I had a post all ready about my epic six-layer chocolate and peanut butter cake, but then yesterday was National Nutella Day (as well as Sean's half-birthday) and I just had to celebrate. I've missed every other NND in the past so being home all day (mainly because I was feeling lazy), I felt like yesterday was a NND not to be missed!

Nutella and I have quite the history. When I was really young, I would make myself Nutella sandwiches (Nutella spread inbetween slices of sliced white bread) but every single time I ate those sandwiches, I would get a nose bleed soon after. I knew I wasn't allergic to chocolate and I wasn't allergic to nuts either, so I had no clue why Nutella had this affect on me. I could no longer eat Nutella. I'd watch and sigh as my brothers ate Nutella sandwiches. I'd think about having one and sometimes make one for myself as an afternoon snack, but the same thing always happened, that darned nose bleed. I've ungrown that stage, thank goodness, but it did last a pretty long time.

For 2011's NND, I immediately knew what I was going to make: Nutella hot chocolate from Eat, Live, Run. Two ingredients were all I needed and what I had on hand. I waited until the perfect moment to make it (right after the sun had set) and enjoyed my cup while waiting for my fondant flowers to dry:But then this morning I woke up and decided that Nutella shouldn't just be celebrated on one day and that I would in fact, make this National Nutella weekend by making Nutella & Banana Oatmeal! Sounds good, right? Well it tasted even better!
NUTELLA & BANANA OATMEAL Ingredients:
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 recipe of Nutella hot chocolate, cooled (see first link above for recipe, the recipe makes 1 cup)
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon psyllium husks
1 ripe banana, chopped
Toppings: sliced strawberries, choped hazelnuts, drizzled Nutella, etc

Directions:

1. Place rolled oats and Nutella hot chocolate in a small pot. Cook on medium-high. (I always start my stove at high and then reduce the heat when it starts to boil.)
2. Add chia seeds and psyllium husks and continue to stir.
3. The seeds and husks will thicken the oatmeal. At this point, add your bananas and stir some more until your desired consistency is reached. I like my oatmeal is a little on the thinner, rather than thicker side. If it gets too thick and gloopy, I just tend to stir it around in my bowl and not eat it. If yours gets too thick when you're stirring, just add more milk.
4. Serve in bowl and top with your favourite toppings.
   

My parents had just bought some strawberries the day before and I was dying to dig into 'em. I have no clue where these berries are coming from--probably California, because they are pretty sweet for February.Now if that doesn't sound like the most enticing oatmeal for a Nutella fanatic, I don't know what is. I, myself, thought it was pretty darn tasty:
Breakfast? Check.

CONFESSIONS...

• I convinced my dad in the summer of 2009 that we needed (yes, needed) a juicer. I also convinced him that we needed the Breville Juice Fountain Elite. I used the juicer a lot that summer. I used it zero times last year.

• I'm your typical Type-A personality except for my bedroom: it's a sty. Clothes are in neatly folded piles all over the place (waiting to be put into drawers or hung in the closet), countless magazines sit in piles on my desk and under my bedside table. There are bags and bags and bags of clothes and misc. items to donate--I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Everything seems to be in its place, there's just a lot of everything. After 27 (almost 28) years, I've seemed to accumulate a lot of stuff that I really need to get rid of.

• I'm sentimental. It's hard for me to get rid of anything. I usually wait until I'm "in a mood" and then I get rid of everything.

• I'm too scared to shower at night because I have to blowdry my hair at night (it's a flat-mess in the morning if I don't) but I'm too scared to do so because I'm afraid that the creatures from The Descent are coming to get me. There, I said it! I've become a morning shower-er become of this insane phobia.

• I wish I could be a stay-at-home mom except that Sean and I are not having kids. I really like the idea of cooking and baking and cleaning. In a way, I find it therapeutic. Instead, he's going to be a teacher and I'm going to use his earnings to start up my bakery. Score!

• I recently re-watched every single episode of Gilmore Girls on DVD (even the boring episodes where Rory decides to take time off from Yale) and was sad when I was finished watching the last episode. Oh, but then I was also mad because I remembered the stupid ending.

• Ever since that pistachio biscotti from Frank Restaurant on Thursday, cookies are all I've been thinking about.

• This week is our annual Valentine's Day bake sale and I can't figure out what to bake. Do I go with double chocolate fudge cupcakes filled with dulce de leche, topped with Baileys dark chocolate ganache? Or do I make something new like heart-shaped red velvet whoopie pies or red velvet cheesecake brownies? Or make a co-worker favourite like chocolate crinkle cookies? Ugh, decisions, decisions...

(double chocolate fudge cupcake with rosewater buttercream)
OR
(co-worker fave: chocolate crinkle cookie)

CURRENTLY

1. Obsessed with Sleigh Bells' Treats album. If you haven't heard it, you absolutely have it. It's listed under alternative in iTunes but considered "noise pop" by some critics. Whatevs, it's awesome. Must be listened to at maximum volume. MUST.

2. Obsessed with earl grey tea. The stronger the bergamot, the better. I can't believe I used to hate earl grey. I wouldn't drink it even if someone else made it/offered it to me. Now I just can't get enough. I'm in the middle of making my own lavender earl grey. I hope it works.

3. Wishing for my hair to grow out faster so that I can get some blunt bangs cut in. I miss my bangs from the summer of 2007, despite having several customers (back in my part-time retail days) think I was in high school. I was a year out of university by then, yeesh!4. Wanting to cut my own bangs but stopping myself just short of doing so.

5. Wishing it was warmer in my bedroom. The space heater has been on full blast for the past five and a half hours and the thermometer only reads 14C. Sacre bleu!

6. Anticipating Winterlicious 2011. Already went to Frank at the AGO and Trevor Kitchen and Bar is this Wednesday with Jessie and Sean. (The Midsummer Night's Dream cocktail at Frank is to-die-for and addictive. I could have had a liquid lunch with those.)

8. Obsessing over scone recipes from Alice's Tea Cup. The amount of times I've made scones from the cookbook should probably be embarrassing but I'm going to admit it anyway: 8. Not including the 2 that Sean and Jessie made a few Tuesdays ago when I was attempting gluten-free lavender earl grey scones. So far I've made the Turtle scones, Mixed Berry scones, Lavender Earl Grey scones x (once gluten-free) and two variations: blueberry banana and blueberry peach. I should probably be somewhat ashamed since this has all happened in less than two weeks but I'm not. These scones are perfection:
9. Trying to figure out how to access the photos from my memory card. My laptop refuses to read my memory card at the moment. They're incompatible. It is making me frustrated.

FUNNY STORY ALERT!

I spend most of my day logging samples for microbiological and chemical testing--sometimes, but rarely for quality control (there's someone else for that). The majority of the samples we receive are food-related though there are the occasional pharmaceutical samples.

Most of the time I find it faster and easier to log by samples by grabbing a whole slew of sample request sheets, logging them all at once and then stickering the samples and sending them down to the micro or chem lab.

One day we received samples for milk chocolate chips. I had to log them for a nutritional analysis--you know, the label you see on back of a package, that's what my company is responsible for. Anyway, I logged them under the "snacks" category because obviously they were milk chocolate-covered potato chips. Right, right?

Not so much.

They were actually milk chocolate chips...the ones you find in milk chocolate chip cookies. Duh! I had to cancel the sample I logged and re-log the sample under the correct category--clearly not "snacks" though some would consume them as snacks. I don't know what the hell I was thinking but I found it hysterical and I knew it would only be funny to me, Sean and my foodie friends. I knew that no one at work would have any idea what I was talking about--and think I was totally crazy.

Anyway, that's the funny story of the month. Actually, last month since I totally missed out on November. Now I'm off to have a taste of Asher's Milk Chocolate Smothered Potato Chips. I'll report back when I can.

I'M NOT DEAD...YET

I'm still here. I know it's been more than a month since my last post. To tell you that so much has happened is beyond an understatement. There was Halloween, my dad's birthday, a trip to the ER, four separate attempts at rush tickets for Wicked (the results to come) and lots of baking* and cooking. Most of it was documented--the baking and cooking aspects, not the trip to the ER--although I suppose it would have wasted some more time but my thoughts weren't on that while I sat in the waiting area contemplating my high blood pressure. Crikey, I'm only 27!

Several posts are forthcoming...during the weekend. Thank goodness I didn't enter the Foodbuzz Project Food Blog. I probably would have had to quit my job just to keep up with the weekly challenges.

*The baking involved cupcakes, cookies and a fantastic six-layer chocolate and peanut butter cake that was gluten-free and almost vegan. Where the hell is one supposed to purchase soy creamer in the Markham-Stouffville area?!

RECIPE: ANGELA'S PUMPKIN CHIA SPELT SCUFFINS

One of my closest friend's dog died a little less than a month ago and Sean and I decided to go over and cheer her up. Not wanting to go over empty-handed, Sean and I opted to make her cookies but since she's on the Weight Watchers diet (and doing a mighty good job), I had to find a recipe that would suit the WW points scale but also be delicious.

Enter Pumpkin Chia Spelt Scuffins by Angela from Oh She Glows. What the heck is a scuffin? Well, I kind of wondered the same thing but then continued reading and found out that it's a mix between a scone and a muffin. I followed Angela's recipe with my substitutions in italics below:
PUMPKIN CHIA SPELT SCUFFINS
Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups whole grain spelt flour (I used whole wheat as I didn't have any spelt on-hand)
  
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 1/2 t ground cloves
• 1/2 t fine grain sea salt
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan buttery spread
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1/2 cup organic cane sugar (I used white granulated since I didn't have any cane sugar)
• 1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin
• 1 flax egg (1 T ground flax + 3 T warm water, mixed)
• 1 t vanilla

Directions: (straight from Angela's website)
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flax egg in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients (spelt, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves). Set aside. In a different bowl mix the butter, sugar and agave until smooth. I melted my butter a bit in the microwave for 15 seconds first as I find the Earth Balance is easier to work with when melted slightly. Now add pumpkin, flax egg, and vanilla. Beat well. Carefully mix in dry ingredients being sure not to overmix. Spelt is broken down very quickly when mixed and you can end up with a tough batter if you overmix it. But relax it will turn out regardless! The batter will be very moist and sticky, but don’t worry. Drop the batter onto the baking sheet. I wet my fingers to slightly shape the scuffins. Pop a stick in the end if preferred to have your scuffin on a stick! I got my sticks at Bulk Barn. Sprinkle with chia seeds for a spooky, yet nutritious, effect for Halloween! You can also have fun decorating little pumpkin faces on them (great for kids!). Bake for 17 minutes or until the scuffins slightly bounce back when touched. Handle the scuffins on a stick very carefully because they are delicate. I found that I improved this by making smaller scuffins on a stick- then they weren’t as heavy!
Believe it or not, these cookies are only 1 point on the WW point scale. My friend was not only really happy to have some company to cheer her up and not only happy to receive cookies (Sean made a cookie containing coconut and white chocolate), but really happy to find out that these cookies were only 1 WW point. Score!

I've made these once again since that first time and made the following substitutions according to what I had on-hand:

• 2 1/2 cups whole grain spelt flour (I used whole wheat as I didn't have any spelt on-hand)
  
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 1/2 t ground cloves
• 1/2 t fine grain sea salt
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan buttery spread (I used butter as I was out of EB and the calorie count actually turns out to be very similar)
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
• 1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin
• 1 flax egg (1 T ground flax + 3 T warm water, mixed)
• 1 t vanilla

The second round of baking these cookies turned out to be better than the first. I don't know if it was the use of cane sugar or butter but the cookies were less dense than the first batch. They were addictive, crazy addictive.

MONTREAL: SMOKE MEAT PETE'S

I think I'll spend October recapping most of September. Why the heck not? I don't have any upcoming cupcake orders so it seems like my October will be free to post as I wish.

My trip to Montreal with Sean was more than a month ago but the memories are still there. The food memories, of course. What else would I be talking about? Our first food stop was none other than Smoke Meat Pete's, which Sean and I both consider to be better than Schwartz's Deli in terms of food, service and environment.For the first time ever, Sean and I checked out the menu though I somehow neglected to take a photo of it. Though there were a plethora of things to munch on, Sean and I stuck to the Pete's Special which included a smoked meat sandwich with fries, coleslaw, a pickle and a drink. Here's what that looks like in photo form:And here's the sandwich up close:Yum!! Unfortunately I couldn't finish the entire thing. As much as my tastebuds wanted me too, I decided to play it safe and let Sean finish off the last bit of my sandwich and fries. It was hard to do so but I knew that my stomach would thank me later. Plus, being in a city I wasn't too familiar with, I didn't want to have to do any last-minute washroom hunts.

This is the Dairy Queen across the street from SMP: It's a small jaunt to the DQ and had I not been so full of smoked meat and Montreal French fry goodness, I totally would have jumped at the chance to venture into this terribly old DQ and order up something cold and creamy. I love this DQ. It's just so ghetto-fabulous! (This is actually the view from the road. You can see SMP in the background...with the green awning.)

Then we hit the road for our hotel--Novotel Downtown Montreal, here we come!

RECIPE: ANGELA'S HOCKEY NUTS IN CANADA

You have to make Angela's nuts. You'll fall in love with Angela's nuts. It's actually a recipe adapted from Union Square Cafe. You can find the original recipe here but you can find Angela's version.Here's a recap of Angela's version:

Ingredients:

- 2 1/4 cups mixed unsalted nuts (I used 1/2 cup peanuts, 1/2 cup cashews, 1/2 cup walnuts, and 3/4 cup almonds) (I used this ratio of nuts)
- 2 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves (I used dried since that's all I had on-hand)
- small pinch cayenne pepper
- 1-2 Tbsp Sucanat (or brown sugar) (I used 2 Tbsp brown sugar)
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup, to taste (optional) (I totally used maple syrup...I love it)
- 1.5 tsp sea salt (I used pink Himalayan salt since it was nearby)
- 2 Tbsp Earth Balance butter

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread nuts onto the baking sheet and toast for about 10-12 minutes. Remove nuts and let cool for about 5 mins. or so. While cooling, mix the sauce ingredients (rosemary, cayenne, Sucanat, maple syrup, sea salt, 1 tbsp of Earth Balance butter). Now, dump nuts into a large bowl and stir in 1 tbsp of melted Earth Balance butter. Add sauce and mix well. Pour nuts back onto baking sheet and bake for another 10-12 minutes until golden. Cool for about 20 minutes and serve warm. Makes 2 1/4- 2 1/2 cups.

===

This IS a highly addictive snack. In fact, I didn't even bother waiting for the nuts to cool and did a little quality control on some hot-out-of-the-oven almonds. Yum, yum! It was some really good stuff and then I proceeded to sit on my hands for the remaining 19 minutes until the nuts had cooled down.
Then I proceeded to eat almost every single nut in the little glass above. It was a little bit of insanity but I managed to stop myself and then had to transfer the nuts into a Bernadin 500mL mason jar with the remaining placed into a tightly shut container. I'm sure how long they'll in their containers but I don't think it'll really matter. They're great snacking items.

A WEEK-LONG UPDATE

So I kind of fell off the bandwagon with my whole "will post every other day" thing. This week was really manic, beginning with Monday. And I'm not even talking about the infamous Marie Claire article about the "Big Six." I do think the article is a bunch of hooey considering that I've been reading Caitlin's blog for close to two years now. (Honestly, I can't even remember when I first started reading her blog but it would take me a heckuva long time to figure it out.) I won't bother commenting too much over the whole thing (it has been a week since the debate exploded) but my initial reaction when I read the Big Six was, "who the hell calls them that?!" And that was pretty much my reaction throughout the entire article.

But enough of that. How was the rest of my week? Well Tuesday involved Glee, a hockey draft with Jessie, Sean and Jessie's BF, Adam. I opted out because I don't really care for hockey. We were supposed to make cookies after Glee but ended up watching more TV and then totally forgot. We're hoping to make pumpkin cookies this week though.

Wednesday was supposed to be jam-packed (picking up alterations, a trip to Bulk Barn, cutting Sean's hair and etc) but Sean and I just got the middle thing done. We picked up some major Halloween necessities at Bulk Barn including a Halloween-themed cookie pan (which I will be using for Halloween-themed Madeleine cookies and cupcake liners and fall-themed mini cookie cutters. I also had a Quarter Pounder meal for dinner from McDonalds and let's just say it wasn't the greatest idea I've ever had. My stomach was kind of in knots the entire evening. I had indigestion and my stomach was making noises so loud that Sean and I both wondered if an alien was going to burst out of my stomach at any moment. It was kind of crazy. Suffice it to say, it's probably going to be a VERY long time before I have McDonalds again.

Thursday was a relaxing night at home involving Baking Life and FarmVille. It was good to get caught up and just chill at home for a bit. To be honest, I hadn't been home in a few days and the cats knew it. I also spent Thursday freaking out about a dress I had altered specifically for a wedding last night. The straps were too long but the altered dress made the dress too uncomfortable under my armpits and all the other dresses I had were either too long, needed to be dry cleaned or were too big. Even a dress my mom had only bought me about a month and a half ago was too big. I've only lost about 2lbs (maybe) since then but still, could it really have made that much of a difference? Well apparently so! I wasn't totally chuffed since the dress only cost $10 and getting it altered will probably cost around $20-25 so the dress (including alterations) will still be a steal.

As a result Friday after work was spent scouring the mall for a new dress and low and behold, the best dress was found at Le Chateau. It's the ultimate little black dress though totally not my usual style. First of all, it was tight and fitted. Sean said I looked like a model (and I kind of agreed). Unfortunately I totally forgot to take any photos of Sean and I at the wedding and when I mentioned this to him, as we were sitting in a Chinese restaurant in clothes that we had brought to change into, he said it was okay because we could just re-create the whole look and take pictures then. *snort* Who the heck is he kidding?! I had to get a last-minute hair cut, dye my hair (a last-minute trip to Coupe Bizzaare wasn't in the cards so I didn't have time to re-dye my pink hair), do a mani/pedi on myself, plus shower, get dressed and get my make up done. I mean, maybe, just maybe for the sake of photo preservation we'll do it. We did look smokin' hot last night.

There's been other drama going on in my life but the one constant has been Sean. Good times all around on that front. And a good man he is. This is Thanksgiving weekend and I guess you could say I'm really thankful for Sean. And our relationship and I guess it's taken me a full 9 years to truly and utterly appreciate it. I mean, I know I appreciated it before and I always told Sean that, but never has our relationship meant more to me and been more meaningful than it is now. And I think he knows that too.

There's another post coming today...I promise!