Don't Drink All The Beer.

Yeah, it's almost April. Oh well, at least I came back, you know? I didn't remember the name of my own blog, but I came back. ;)

Currently slaving away at work - don't ask. It's not going well. Enough said.

We're about 30 days away from the trip to Italy and London...major list making is going on, shopping plans are being plotted, fun is being had! We, naturally, had to go to breakfast to plot this morning.

At Doughboys. *ahem*

Other than that, not much happening. The parental units are out of town...I'm not supposed to drink my Dad's beer. As if. More like dancing in my underwear. ;)

Oh, and? My Whole Foods now stocks the Peanut Butter Tart...Yay!

Mmm, Saturday.

Yup, I made it. It was touch and go, but I didn't end up in jail for killing several co-workers.

So yay.

Anyway, it was a pretty long week. Lunch was a blast, I need to plan another with AJ1 before she goes back to work.

So far today, we've been to Doughboys (whee!), the bank, Lowe's and Bristol Farms. And, duh, Starbucks! Ha.

Tomorrow? The Simpsons Movie. Hee.

In other news, I love this time of year - it's Back to School time! All the backpacks and lunch boxes and clean notebooks? *swoon*
This backpack is for the Long Beach Rescue Mission - some little girl is going to totally love my carefully chosen notebooks and crayons. Yay!

The best laid plans...

Ugh. The weekend didn't quite go as planned.

First of all, traffic sucked. So no red velvet. *sniffle* Next weekend, for sure.

Then? My grandmother is coming to town in a few weeks, which means the house has to be straightened. This included the garage - took all three of us most of Sunday to figure out what was in the garage and where it actually lived. So no Simpsons movie.

And this week isn't going to be much better: there is drama at work. Enough said. And I feel icky.

I'm living for Wednesday - lunch with AJ1! Whee! And for Saturday - red velvet! Whee!

Ahem. Is it Wednesday?

Thursday...the new Friday!

Yeah, I don't believe that, either. Snerk.

Oh well, on the fun stuff. It's almost the weekend, which I pretty much live for now. So...

Saturday, 8/4: Late Pedicure, Red Velvet from Doughboys, Bristol Farms (we're GRILLING!), shopping and watching Alton Brown.

Sunday, 8/5: Target and watching The Simpsons Movie. And working on my resume. Ugh.

A whirlwind of fun, I tell you!

Birthday Fun (part one!)...

Yum-o!

And? I got many Mini-themed presents. Snerk. Too funny.

The party was relaxing and fun. The food rocked and the red velvets? Dude. :)
Everyone climbed all over Hedwig and checked her out - they all approved. *ahem*

Birthday Weekend, Version 1.0

Yes, I'm a princess - my birthday is more like two weeks of planned fun. Woo!

*Ahem*

Now if I could just shake this cold/sinus thing, life would be perfection...*snerk* Sunday is the family celebration, which means they will all be here...cleaning is required!

Saturday: Dust, Bristol Farms, Market, Starbucks, Vacuum, Finish Favors, Hof's Hut
(I'll need pie after the dusting and favors, trust me.)

Sunday: Doughboys (first thing, ahhh!), Deliver cake to Auntie J1, Starbucks, PARTY!!! Oh, and red velvet, yum-o!

Monday: Crash, big time. Hang with the parents and just crash. We're going to enjoy the new backyard and BBQ. Sounds so nice right now.

Hugs to all!

Sigh.

Is it Saturday yet?

How about now?

I don't want to go to work today. I don't want to work tomorrow. I pretty much don't want to go at all.

They can all pound sand.

Did I mention that I'm tired? Just a wee bit?
*ahem*

Oh, well. This weekend will be fun:
Doughboys breakfast and planning for New York. Yay! New York!

Hot!

Oh, I love Santa Ana winds! Hot! Warm! Hot! Warm!
Hee.

~Did much running around Saturday, got most of the birthday party sorted out. Yay!

~Night at the Museum was cute, in a the kids would love it way. Not quite what we wanted, but it was good.

~Mmm, peanut butter sammie!

~Doughboys was lovely, as always. Mmm, Red Velvet! Muffin! Cookie! Coma! *snerk*

~Amazing Race is finally over. I know, I love the show, just not so much this season. New season starts when???

And it's a short week, woo! Yup, I'm off to Chicago on Friday - the munchkin wants to take us to the zoo...and I found a new bakery...and Scooters! Woo!!!

Mmm, cake! Doughboys Bakery

Another huge-o mini cake/cupcake. *thud*

This one is a Double Chocolate Brownie Cake. And is it ever. Ha!

Like the Red Velvet (*thud*), this one is 4-inches round by 3-inches tall. I love it. Massive and tiny, all at the same time. It's pretty simple, a brownie base topped by chocolate ganache with a single walnut on top. It's ratio is about 2-inches of brownie to 1-inch of ganache.

The brownie is fudge-y, which I like, rather than more cake like. It doesn't really crumb and break apart when you eat it, rather it breaks off in chunks - it's moist, as is everything I've had from Doughboys. The dough has massive walnuts throughout, a great counterpoint to the chocolate.

The chocolate ganache isn't as rich as Auntie Em's, but that's not a bad thing - it's just less dark chocolate, more semi-sweet. Mmm, semi-sweet. It's luscious and creamy, thick and chocolate-y. Yum-o.

It's like free-basing chocolate. And trust me, that is never a bad thing.

Doughboys Brownie Cake - A+!

Doughboys Bakery
8136 West Third Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
http://www.doughboys.net

Yawn. Yeah, what day is it?

It's Friday, right? Right? I am so confused, nothing like going from unemployed to employed mid-week to cause brain meltdowns.

D'oh.

Well, it's almost the weekend, which is cool. You know I love the weekends.

Saturday, 5/5: AKA, the day we run around like mad
Haircut!
2nd Street Beauty (product!)
Bristol Farms
Just Alterations
Creative Cakery (*ahem*)
Starbucks
Market
Watch Movies, Eat PB Sammies

Sunday, 5/6: Amazing Race Finale Day
Doughboys (*ahem*)
Alin Party
Amazing Race

Oh, I'm the life of the party!!! Oh, and I need to look for a jobs again. Just in case. ;)

Mmm, cake! Doughboys Bakery

Ah, the holy grail.
Doughboys Red Velvet, loved by millions and Oprah...or actually, Gayle. But yeah.

See, Red Velvet I didn't get before. It's just cake and if I want cake, I want marble or chocolate.

But having tried it, now I get it - it's chocolate, just lighter and more subtle. It's different and it rocks.

Doughboys Red Velvet cupcake/mini cake is just that - a massive little cake. It's 4-inches round, 3-inches tall, topped with at least a 1/2-inch of cream cheese frosting. The frosting is topped with crumbles of red velvet...in case you forget the red-red-RED cake is red velvet. ;)

It's moist. It's moist to the nth degree, it's literally wet...which is a good thing, trust me. The fork even makes a slight splotching noise as it cuts into the cake.

*thud*

The cake is delicate, the cocoa coming across just enough to let you know that it's chocolate, but not overpoweringly so. Cutting into the cake and seeing the red, you expect something harsh, vibrant...and the light flavor is the opposite of that.

It's a mystery. A yummy, yummy mystery.

The cream cheese frosting rocks. It's creamy, it's rich. It is just tangy enough, has just enough of a kick to remind you it's cream cheese, but it's also sweet. You can taste the sugar and it actually has a bit of a...well, granular feel, when you bite into it. But it's not too sweet, just sweet enough. It's a nice contrast to the light cocoa-ness of the red velvet, balancing well.

Did I mention that it's moist? Oh, is it moist. It leaves a red ring in the bowl. It leaves red marks on the fork. But? Not in your mouth! Ha!
*drool*

Doughboys - A+!

Doughboys Bakery
8136 West Third Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
323) 651-4202
http://www.doughboys.net

I suck at this.

So.

Yeah.

Guess what? Unemployed girl isn't unemployed any more.
I got fast-tracked in the Cal State temp pool...that was the interview I went on Monday, you know, my first real day of unemployment where I had to get all dressed up? That was with Extension Services.

Then I got calls on Friday and Monday about other jobs. They finally got me Tuesday morning when I was back from NJ for an HR thing (uh, NO!) and then another position for the Department of Social Work. I set-up an interview for today, then another person called today as I was walking in the house from Starbucks about a job with another department. I have an interview with them on Tuesday.

Today's interview? 3-month emergency temp thing that is probably leading to a permanent position. It was weird, literally, and I'm supposed to report back to the Dean at 8:30am on Wednesday to start...
Uh, yeah.

I'm confused and apparently employed.

I suck at this! Where is my break, my baking and red velvet and lounging around watching soap operas?!?!

Ahem. D'oh!

Decompressing...Jersey-style.

Yawn. I know, I've been kind of quiet...well, eating baked goods and kind of quiet.

I guess I'm finally decompressing and remembering how to relax. The problem with being completely stressed and living for the weekends is that when you suddenly find yourself out that situation...you don't know which way is up anymore. At a loss, basically.

And having lots of free time in which to putter. *ahem* Walk to the shore, get coffee.

I'm figuring it out, a little bit every day. I'm trying to keep to my schedule, so up and exercising and all that fun stuff. But here is an update. :)

Interview: The interview went well, it's an emergency temp job for up to 6-months. Not ideal, but something, at least. They will be making a decision next week and let me know. I think I did well, but we'll see. I wore the power-suit and I was confident. Woo!

Car: The Oompa-Loompas have made my car! Hedwig exists! Yay! The time line is looking more like mid-to-late May. The little owl is waiting to go on to the ship, per the mini website!

New Jersey: I fly to Philly on Thursday...the Thursday that will never end! I leave at 6am (AHHH!) LA time and get to Philly at 6pm...I think we have to flap the wings of the plane by hand. Planner Girl has everything all worked out, for the most part, and I'll just be following her instructions - I think I need to be told what to do for awhile. All I know is that we get to try P.B. Loco, and that's a good thing, Martha.

Next Week: Ah, more relaxing. The big plans are to go to Doughboys and then bake cookies. Seriously. And go with the Mom to South Coast Plaza. I'm going to be applying for more jobs and checking out temp agencies. We might even hit Disneyland. Woo. ;)

Hugs to you all!

Mmm, cupcake! Auntie Em's Kitchen

Ah, the BIG-O CUPCAKES!!! And for the record...no, I didn't eat them both the same day. *ahem*

Chocolate Cupcake – Large
It was huge, 2.5-inches by 2.5-inches. It was your basic grown-up chocolate cake, topped by swirl of rich dark chocolate frosting and a bit of rainbow nonpareils.

But? Dry cake. Yummy, but dry. It wasn’t sweet, instead a deeper chocolate cake - hence the grown-up comment. This wasn't a "classroom birthday party cupcake."

The frosting saved it, but the cupcake isn’t supposed to be just about the frosting. It was stiff, perhaps because we put it in the fridge, but it was dark yummy chocolate. Rich dark yummy chocolate. Very rich.
*Thud.*

Red Velvet Cupcake – Large
Same size as the Chocolate Cupcake, a huge-o 2.5-inches by 2.5-inches. I'm happy to report that it was topped by real cream cheese frosting…I approve! Red cake, cream cheese frosting topped with cute little RED nonpareils.

The cupcake was moister than the Chocolate, but still felt dry. The red velvet was red-red-red, slightly less red than Doughboys…and yes, Doughboys still wins. Doughboys is more cocoa-y, tangier and more flavorful. The cream cheese frosting is sharper and more…well, cream cheesier. The Auntie Em's version was nice, but kind of boring – Doughboys is more fun, more…red velvet-y.

Auntie Em's Kitchen Cupcakes - C! Dry. *sniffle*

Auntie Em's Kitchen
4616 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
323) 255-0800
http://www.auntieemskitchen.com/restaurant.html

Mmm, cake! Torrance Bakery

Well, technically, this is a review of my going-away cake, which makes me laugh.
Oh, does it make me laugh...
Not quite on my mini-cake quest, but, to be fair...a review...

My going-away cake was red velvet, a 1/4-sheet from Torrance Bakery. It was red velvet, with buttercream icing and chocolate pudding filling.

I requested red velvet and got it, so yay!

However, this wasn't the best I've had, that honor still goes to Doughboys.

The cake wasn't as moist and was a deeper, darker red - more towards the cocoa brownish red, as opposed to the shocking red-red-RED of Doughboys. I love me some buttercream frosting, but...not so much on the red velvet, r v should have CREAM CHEESE ICING.

Yes, I shouted that, just be clear.

And I'm not sure about the chocolate pudding filling, at all.

It was cake, it was sugary and it was great. But not perfection, unfortunately. I'd give it a B/B-.

Torrance Bakery
1341 El Prado Avenue
Torrance, CA 90501
310) 320-2722
http://www.torrancebakery.com/

Brought to you by the Letter *W*

Today will be Wonderful.

Today will be Weird.

Today also starts the Weekend!

Ahem.

Saturday, 4/14
Celebration Breakfast at Auntie Em's Kitchen (BIG-O CUPCAKES!)
Trip to Bristol Farms for Chocolate Chips
*Ahem* Coffee
Apply for 6 Jobs (updated 4/14 - 5, turns out I already applied to one of them! Oops.)
Trip to the Market
Watch lots of TV

Sunday, 4/15
*Ahem* Coffee
Visit Famima!!
Amazing Race
BIG-O CUPCAKES!

What comes after that? Everyone thinks sleep in...uh, let's see a job interview...trip to NJ...Doughboys...the PB Tart test...I'm a busy girl! :)

There will be another update this weekend - a review of the "going away"-cake. Ahem.

This entry is also brought to you by the number *13*.

Weekend Plans

Ah, Friday - Saturday-light, as I like to call it. My favorite day of the week, the weekend is looming.

This one should be really relaxing - the Mom and Auntie J1 are coming home tonight from volunteering in New Orleans. The guy with the big fluffy ears and cotton-tail will be bringing some chocolate eggs. Oh, and jobs. Naturally.

So, in no particular order, because I'm not even sure what order this will be happening...
Apply for 6 Jobs
The Great Dane Bakery (Easter Brunch Muffins and *ahem* cake)
Haircut for the Mom
Pedicures for the Girls
Olives (the Dad is working early Saturday night!)
Mmm, Peanut Butter Sammie
Catching up on 12 hours of Food Network stuff with the Mom
Starbucks
Eat lots of Peanut Butter Eggs
Amazing Race!
Bake Cookies? (found a recipe online for GOOEY cookies!)

I'll update later, when the plans (or lack of) fall into place.
Hopefully I can relax some, because I'm clenching my jaw - only six more days to go and next week I've got two lunches AND red velvet. Not a bad week, if you can arrange it. :)

The Celebration Weekend

Well, we finally made it.
Almost two months after deciding to resign, I actually resigned. Whew, I don't know how much longer I could have acted/bluffed my way through, actually.

Which brings us to this weekend, the CELEBRATION weekend!

No weekend is complete, in my world, without cake/dessert/something, so there will be a brownie and a tiny bundt cake.

And, duh, a peanut butter sandwich! I am totally stealing the Doughboys recipe (mmmm, Red Velvet!)...they have a peanut butter, banana and chocolate sandwich that is dipped in an egg batter and fried...my version, not so much. Mine is toasted, with pb-banana-chocolate chips. Hee.

Then, the brownie - drool, actually a "chocolate ganache cake" from Dancing Deer. Warmed with ice cream...I think I just fell into a coma. *thud*

But before all that...I'm buying a car. Yeah, I quit and I'm buying a car...does it really surprise anyone that I'm doing it completely backwards? How long have all known me???

So:
Saturday- Apply for 7 (!) more Jobs, Buy a Car, Supermarket, PB Sammie and Brownie
Sunday - Plot out NY Trip, Order B-Day Stuff, Bacon Sammie, Bundt Cake and Amazing Race

There might be some Starbucks coffee in there, maybe some magazine viewing, some food network watching...

All I know? I am so much more relaxed!