something new to encourage my craving

An ice cream maker! 

This morning my father and I had plans to go to the local flea market after my daily errands. However, when I got home he said he needed to run to the bank. I didn't understand why I couldn't come, but I'm glad I didn't push the subject. I stayed home and waited for him to return. Just a few minutes later, a Fed Ex truck arrived at my house. I was a little concerned because I didn't think anyone ordered anything in my house, so I grabbed a key [I mean it could be used as a weapon, just in case, right? haha] I answered the door and the box was addressed to me, from Neiman Marcus. Now I was really confused because no one in my household ever orders anything from the store. As soon as I opened it up I had the biggest smile on my face! My own ice cream maker! I couldn't wait to open it up and start making ice cream, however, I have to wait 12 hours for the bowl to freeze. 

As soon as I start creating my ice cream, you better believe there will be pictures, along with recipes :]

"Wow, you don't even need milk with these!"

Banana Caramel Cakes are to die for. I made them the other night for my family and my brother, whom we would be visiting at college the following day. Again this recipe is from the recipe book Cupcakes by Pamela Clark


Sour Cream Banana Cake                          Filling & Decorations
     6 tablespoons butter, softened                    13 ounce jar caramel sauce
     1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar               1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
     2 eggs                                                   2 medium bananas (14 ounces), sliced thinly
     1/2 cup self-rising flour                             3 1/2 ounces dark chocolate
     1/2 cup all-purpose flour
     1/2 teaspoon baking soda
     1/2 teaspoon allspice
     2/3 cup mashed overripe banana
     1/3 cup sour cream
     3 tablespoons of milk


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 6 or 12 hold muffin pan with paper baking cups.
2. Beat butter, sugar, and eggs in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Stir in sifted dry ingredients, banana, sour cream, and milk. Divide mixture among baking cups; smooth surface.
4. Bake large cakes for 25 minutes, and small cakes for 20 minutes. Take out & cool.

5. Remove baking cups from cakes. 
6. Fold 3 tablespoons of caramel into cream.
7. Cut cakes horizontally into three slices. Re assemble cakes with remaining caramel and banana. Top with caramel- flavored cream.
8. Grate chocolate with vegetable peeler and sprinkle over cakes. 

9. ENJOY :]

My parents have said they're amazing & you don't even need milk, because they're so moist! My brother and his roommate love them and said they're amazing, as well. Sal's parents said they were very good too. In my opinion, they're delicious! I would definitely make them again, for a party or for myself :]

From heaven or the oven?

My parents are absolutely amazing. They always push my brother and I to do our best and always taught us to excel in what we're good at. Sure we've excelled in whatever we've put our minds to, whether it be school, sports, or a job. Lately though, I've been highly interested in making cupcakes. I've always been a baker, but I've never made anything besides a pumpkin cheesecake from scratch. Therefore, my daddy, so graciously bought me a Cupcake book. He loves to see me baking and enjoying what I'm doing; he also doesn't mind eating the final product ;] 


This book, by Pamela Clark, has a numerous amount of cupcake recipes, along with pictures of every cupcake, and some baker's tips in the back. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in trying new and delicious cupcakes. 


I've made two different kinds of cupcakes over the past few weeks: Cloud Cakes & Banana Caramel Cakes.





Cloud Cakes:
Strawberry Swirl Buttercake                      Fluffy Frosting                 Decorations
     6 tablespoons butter, softened                    1 cup sugar                   pink sugar
     1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract                      1/2 cup water
     1/2 cup sugar                                         2 egg whites
     2 eggs
     1 cup self-rising flour
     3 tablespoons milk
     3 tablespoons strawberry jam



Directions: 
1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees & prepare 6-12 hole pan with paper baking cups
2. Beat butter, vanilla, sugar, eggs, flour, and milk in a small bowl with mixer on low speed until ingredients are combined. Increase speed to medium, and beat until mixture turns a paler color.
3. Divide mixture in baking cups. Divide jam over tops of cakes & use skewer to swirl jam into cakes. 

4. Bake larger cakes for 30 minutes & smaller cakes for 20 minutes. Take out and let cool. 

5. Make Fluffy Frosting
     a. Combine Sugar and water in small pot; stir over medium heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved. 

     b. Boil, uncovered, for 5 minutes. [should be thick but not colored]
     c. Remove from heat & let bubbles subside
     d. Beat egg whites with a mixer until soft peaks form
     e. Add syrup in a thin stream, while mixing & beat for 10 minutes

6. Spread frosting on cupcakes & sprinkle with pink sugar. 

I couldn't get the frosting exactly how I wanted it, but hey it was my first time making cupcakes from scratch and everyone loved them, so that's all that matters. 

Thanks Daddy <3

                    

Finally... the post about Florida

I went to Florida for 10 days in July to spend time with my family down there with Sal, my brother, and his girlfriend. It was rough at first, because we all wanted to do different things, so we fought occasionally, but overall I had a memorable time, that I wouldn't trade for the world. From Venice Beach, the mall, and the Sea Shell Factory, to Siesta Keys and Englewood Beach, Universal Studios, and Parasailing, as well as Jet-skiing. We experienced so many adventures together during this trip, allowing Sal and I to cross off Parasailing and Jet-skiing off our list, and let me just tell you I would definitely do it again! 


The rest of this story will be told in pictures.

Siesta Keys

Steak & Shake [Boy I wish they had these up North]

Englewood Beach

My 'little' brother

His girl

Sea Shell Factory

Venice Beach

Parasailing

Harry Potter - Universal Studios

A Goodbye Picture

I just want to thank my grandmother for so opening her heart and home for us to stay at for 10 days. We had a heart-to-heart talks and I will never forget them. I'm so grateful to have such a loving family, even though they may be miles and miles away I know they're only a phone call or plane ride away and they'll be there for me at any time, day or night. I can't wait to go back and visit, but I'm kind of hoping my 'come to jersey for my 21st birthday' will speed that up! :]

Sliding Into Home: Book Review

Yet another book review, however, these past books aren't on my Book List of the Year, I decided I can't read books from a list and I just need to buy whatever book interests me at that time. I promise I'm going to update you all on my amazing vacation to Florida, as soon as I find the time to sit down and type it [because it's pretty long, I mean I was there for 10 days!]


Anyways, this time I read Sliding into Home by Kendra Wilkinson. I had wanted to go to her book signing in Jersey, but unfortunately I had work and wouldn't make it there in time. So, after weeks of checking every bookstore in Jersey, and a few in Florida, my brother finally found it while Sal and I were parasailing [yes, we did! - details at a later date]. So when he found the book I was ecstatic to start reading it. So as soon as I finished the two other books I was reading, I quickly started and ended this one. It was such an easy read! Now, I loved how unique and different Kendra was on The Girls Next Door. I loved that she got away with doing pretty much anything, from flashing people from the top of a hotel, to being loud and obnoxious [by the way, I love her laugh]. But to me, on the show, she seemed more dumb than anything. 


All I can say is, I'm so glad I read the book. 




Synopsis according to Amazon

KENDRA BARES ALL

Fans of the E! smash hit series The Girls Next Door fell in love with sporty Playboy beauty Kendra Wilkinson’s care- free spirit, infectious laugh, and down-to-earth nature. Now that she’s moved out of the world’s most famous bachelor pad and into her own delightfully chaotic world on Kendra as wife to NFL star Hank Baskett and mother to their newborn son, we’ve watched her hilarious antics as she adjusts to domestic life. But how much do we really know about the fun-loving star? In this humorous and optimistic, sometimes heartbreaking, but always unfailingly honest memoir, Kendra reveals the highs and lows of her extraordinary journey.
She wasn’t always the quintessential girl next door. Before she was a reality television superstar, Hugh Hefner’s girlfriend, or one of the most popular Playboy cover models ever, Kendra was an athletic tomboy whose father walked out on her family when she was a little girl. She grew into a rebellious teenager with a serious drug habit before she quit cold turkey and beat the odds to graduate from a high school that almost didn’t give her a second (or third, or fourth) chance.
Following her rocky teenage years, an out-of-the- blue phone call from Hugh Hefner changed everything. Kendra dishes candidly about life in the Playboy Mansion: the sex, the parties, the show, and even her relationships with her Girls Next Door costars—Hef, Holly, and Bridget. She tells the true story about how she and Hank met and built a relationship in secret while she was still Hef’s girl- friend and a public face of Playboy. Finally, she reflects on the slew of unexpected changes in the short space of a year that have brought her sliding into home from Playboy party girl to wife and mother with a blooming Hollywood career. If you think you’ve seen all of Kendra, think again. She’s only warming up. . . .

My Review


Let's just say I loved this book and have seriously been inspired by Kendra. She went through some pretty rough shit when she was younger and she'll tell you straight out everything that happened in her life, from drugs, rehab, and sexual encounters with men AND women, to the happenings in Hef's room, the truth of The Girl's Next Door, and falling in love with Hank. I was inspired because she had been through so much shit and still came out on top. Many people told her she wouldn't amount to anything, but she proved them all wrong. Sure she had to take extreme steps to get to the top, but hey, she still got there. Now she has a loving husband, an adorable baby, and a future that has it's arms held wide open for her. The possibilities are endless, as you can tell with her new book, as well as workout dvds. She's on a mission, but it's not to prove to anyone that she can do this, because she's already done that. It's to do whatever her heart desires at that given point in time. She's seriously such a role model and has given me the strength to do great things in my life, and take as many risks as possible, because you just never know. 

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: Book Review

I finished another book, in just a few hours on this lazy Sunday, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer. I bought this book awhile back with my friend because we're in love with the Twilight Saga! I had planned on starting it sooner, but I haven't been able to until now. Let's just say I'm glad I waited to read it on a day when I just needed to relax. It was an easy read. I actually thought the book was alright. It definitely wasn't the best of the Saga, but it was a worthwhile read, especially when you're in love with the Twilight Saga. 




Synopsis from Barnes&Noble:


Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by this riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character first introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits. In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery, and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.


My Review:


As I've said before this was definitely my least favorite book written by Stephenie Meyer. I love the romantic aspects of The Twilight Saga, and even though The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner had a tiny romantic aspect, it wasn't enough to grab my attention. What I also didn't like about this book was the fact that I already knew the fate of Bree. I was hoping Jane would change her mind in the end and let her live, but that doesn't happen. What I loved about this book though, was knowing that Bree was stronger and smarter than she seemed to be to outsiders. In Eclipse you think she's this poor helpless little girl, and while she remains little, she figures out the plans of Riley & even accepts the inevitable fact that she's going to die. I really admire Bree and enjoyed reading her side of the story. I would say anyone interested in the Twilight Saga or a quick read, should definitely read this book!

Change of Heart: Book Review

Okay so I'm back from my much needed vacation and I have a lot of catching up to do, blog wise! However, it's extremely hard because I've been working 9 hour shifts everyday; I'm trying my best, but I do apologize. 


While I was on vacation I read and finished one book: Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult. 




Synopsis from the Jodi Picoult Website:

"Shay Bourne - New Hampshire’s first death row prisoner in 69 years – has only one last request: to donate his heart post-execution to the sister of his victim, who is looking for a transplant. Bourne says it’s the only way he can redeem himself…but with lethal injection as his form of execution, this is medically impossible. Enter Father Michael Wright, a young local priest. Called in as Shay’s spiritual advisor, he knows redemption has nothing to do with organ donation – and plans to convince Bourne. But then Bourne begins to perform miracles at the prison that are witnessed by officers, fellow inmates, and even Father Michael – and the media begins to call him a messiah. Could an unkempt, bipolar, convicted murderer be a savior? It seems highly unlikely, to the priest. Until he realizes that the things Shay says may not come from the Bible…but are, verbatim, from a gospel that the early Christian church rejected two thousand years ago…and that is still considered heresy.

Change Of Heart looks at the nature of organized religion and belief, and takes the reader behind the closely drawn curtains of America’s death penalty. Featuring the return of Ian Fletcher from Keeping Faith, it also asks whether religion and politics truly are separate in this country, or inextricably tangled. Does religion make us more tolerant, or less? Do we believe what we do because it’s right? Or because it’s too frightening to admit that we may not have the answers?"

My Review:

Now to be quite honest, I only bought this book because it was a little less than $7.00 [originally $26.00] and it was by one of my favorite authors, Jodi Picoult. I read the inside of the book but wasn't quite sure if I was going to enjoy it, but let me tell you something, by the end of the first chapter, I was hooked. I almost cried too! It brings you so close to each and every character, from the priest, to a fellow inmate of Shay, to the victim's mother. I love when an author gives a person multiple viewpoints in a book. It lets the reader look at a situation from all sides, and maybe even choose the side at which they stand. For me it was an easy choice in the beginning, but when I got into the book more I was quickly confused and found heart pulling towards both sides of the situation. This book not only talks about religion and the law, but the morals of a person in difficult situations. So I have to ask, what would you do if

A. your husband and child are killed by a stranger, let in by you

B. you were pregnant with your second child

C. Your child ends up having a heart condition and needs a transplant

D. the man who killed your family wants to offer up his heart on death row

Would you take his heart? What if there was so much more to question?

Ask yourself, which side would you take? That of a murderer or that of the bereaved family? It may seem silly to even ask yourself, but you'll see...