Random Acts of Cake-ful

I started this post awhile ago, but these items are all relevant still so it totally counts (SBoR 37.1ish or thereabouts, check it.)

Last weekend we did some new things and you just can't beat that New Experience ... experience. Or something.

We finally checked out the mysterious "Popcorn Store" in our town. We have seen it, and actually walked past it a hundred times without even seeing it, and wondered 
(in Jerry Seinfeld voice)
"What is the DEAL with the tiny place?"

Do you see it? The architect must be the same guy who designed the Order of the Phoenix HeadQuarters. I totally wanted Dumbledore to jump out when we walked in. 

It's like there was a nice-sized gangway (as we call them in Chicago, you may say 'alley') and someone thought,
 "I bet if we put a roof over this alley and a nice door, we could sell popcorn and candy!" ,, 

Gods bless you, Genius Person. The thing that makes this place so great is that the rent, if any, has to be really low because these wonderful people sell a whole WALL OF CANDY for pennies a piece. They also make fresh, real popcorn for cheap. We bought a medium-sized bag for $1.29 that my husband and I shared, and was plenty for both of us. You can barely buy a soft drink or a bottle of freaking WATER for that price, and the Earth is mostly MADE OF WATER.

This is THE WHOLE STORE in this picture. That's it, that's all folks. It's just this hallway of candy, popcorn made in the back. If a pregnant lady wants popcorn? Everyone has to leave the store so she can get back where the popcorn is. 

We also got NEW PHONES. My phone was constantly locking up, even after uninstalling Facebook, and I had to pull the battery out almost every day. It was getting old. I'm thankful my new phone works well, brings me the internet even if cough-cough it's initial load time is slow, I'm still thankful for technology in my pocket. Yes, that is a tiny computer in my pocket, and I'm happy to see ya.

We went to the Pac-Man themed restaurant, which was fun even if it wasn't exactly the amazing 80's experience I was hoping for. I did a whole review, so click that link to it if you're curious and leave it at that. 

I'm sure everyone who isn't abominable is thankful that Spring seems to have Sprung. This Saturday was not only THEE Pi Day of the century, 3/14/15 but also the day they dye the Chicago River green. I posted this picture last year, I love it.

A & M Photography

Even though Saturday was Pi Day, I made a cake for my BIL (that I'm marrying to my sister in September.) I'm more of a Cake Person. By that I mean I'm now more Cake than Person now. 

I think literally. 

My Blood Type? Butter.

CAKE PERSON. Look at that guy's FACE! from VH1.com

I found a great cake recipe, that is not only delicious which it IS, the writer explains the reasoning behind each step so that dum-dums like me don't think, 'eh, I don't really need to use a mixer for this, or separate egg whites, etc.' and now I DO those things in that way. For great results. It's a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, totally delicious.

Warning: A pound and 1/2 of butter goes into doubling the recipe for a 2-layer cake, which is the preferred method of cake delivery for an ideal Frosting-to-Cake ratio. This is something I know about. Click >>HERE<< for the recipe. 

Or just know that it's pinned to my Pinterest, not only in my "Cakes" board, but also my FAVORITE Recipes board, which has recipes I have made and highly endorse. I like the writer of this recipe's explanations.

I've gotten a lot better at cake-ing thanks to:
New Pans 
and
Practice.

Meaning I make a cake like every week for one reason or another. Hey, Practice Caking is an important thing. And totally a real thing. I have to have a recipe down for my friend, Lizzi's trip to 'Murica this year! 

Though my husband has called a "Cake Intervention" and called my baking self-destructive 
- literally the words that he used - 
at this point, but I can now bake a mean cake. I mean a delicious cake. My cakes are not mean. If you don't count the damage they do to your arteries. And I don't. 

St. Patty's dessert tray. Rainbow cupcakes & booze.

So to balance all this cake, I'm thankful for crispy fried onions. I'm going somewhere with this, they make eating salads less of a punishment. Let's face it, salads are sadness in a bowl. These add some actual taste.

Delish. from freshgourmet.com

Also thankful for Lite beer, and you can put it down all you want but it still tastes like beer for under 100 calories and goes well with salad. 

Hey, I'm balancing Midwest Winter (and cake) Weight Gain so give me a break, beer snobs.

I'm also thankful for Wii Fit because I can pretend exercise without leaving my house, which other than walking is the only way I'll ever do it. 


This list of buttery cakefuls and rambly thankfuls is a post that is part of an awesome community, the Ten Things of Thankful!