Archive for November, 2008

Feel free to join the challenge if you’d like!

The pink cake reminded me of strawberry cake that my family used to make a long time ago. It was from a box, and tasted wonderful. I realized I hadn’t seen Strawberry cake mix in a very long time.

The cake in this photo from Betty Crocker is not a strawberry cake, it’s just dyed pink. (You can find the recipe for the cake and the frosting here.) I decided I wanted to make a similar looking cake, but not using their recipe.

I looked at the small A&P near our apartment, but they didn’t have any boxed strawberry cake mix. I had to go to the larger Shoprite to find it – they had the Pillsbury kind.

This weekend I made a two layer strawberry cake with homemade vanilla buttercream frosting. It turned out really good (although definitely not as beautiful as Betty Crocker’s cake). The boxed strawberry cake was just as delicious as I remembered from my childhood.

If you’d like to try something similar, the recipe for Magnolia’s Vanilla Buttercream Frosting that I used can be found online here. I made the strawberry cake exactly as directed on the box. You could also cut some fresh strawberries in half and place them around the top of the cake. I didn’t since I’m allergic to fresh strawberries. They would also make excellent cupcakes, and then you could put a strawberry half on top of every cupcake.

Strawberry Cake

It’s the middle of the long week before Thanksgiving, which seems like a perfect time for a game!

Ginger Sister first posted this game this morning, and it’s been quite a hit. Here’s my attempt – I have some of the same movies as others, but I think my quotes are different.

The Rules:
Pick 30 of your favorite movies.
Find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.

NO CHEATING.  Guess what you know, don’t look them up. :)

1. DONE - Well, it was pitch dark and there he was. Tall, blue eyes, slim, quite good-looking… in a brutal, mean way, Papa. A terrible man! HOW TO STEAL A MILLION (Kristie)
2. DONE – There’s that word again; “heavy”. Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth’s gravitational pull? BACK TO THE FUTURE (Tryphaena)
3. DONE - It’s been many years since I had such an exemplary vegetable. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (Cori)
   
4. DONE – You know, junk food doesn’t deserve the bad rap that it gets. Take these pork rinds for example. This particular brand contains two percent of the R.D.A. – that’s Recommended Daily Allowance – of riboflavin. THE SURE THING (Wad)
5. DONE – What’s the Czech for “Do you love him”? ONCE (Cori)
6. DONE - I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but if Jesus Christ lived in Chicago today, and he had come to me and he had five thousand dollars, let’s just say things would have turned out differently. CHICAGO (Michelle)
7. DONE – If you were waiting for the opportune moment, that was it. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN (Bina)
8. DONE - Ever since I was a child, folks have thought they had me pegged, because of the way I am, the way I talk. And they’re always wrong. CAPOTE (Paige)
9. DONE – They say when you meet the love of your life, time stops, and that’s true. What they don’t tell you is that when it starts again, it moves extra fast to catch up. BIG FISH (Katelyn)
10. DONE - …we are David and Ruth Laskin. Which one do you want to be? I prefer to be Ruth, but I’m flexible. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (Wad)
    
11. DONE – You know what’s gonna happen to you? I am gonna march you over to the zoo and feed you to the yak. BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (Kristie)
12. DONE – Fine. Hi Barry, its nice to meet you. I don’t have a refrigerator. I’M WITH LUCY (Wad)
    
13. DONE – Don’t underestimate the mentally ill. We know how to count. BENNY AND JOON (Sarah)
14. DONE - I would die for her. I would kill for her. Either way, what bliss. THE ADDAM’S FAMILY (Girl Friday)
15. DONE – Madam, I have not disappeared. I am very tiny. I am a germ. A rare disease. I am called malignalitaloptereosis… and you’ve caught me, Mim! THE SWORD IN THE STONE (Ginger Sister)
16. DONE - Don’t fall and smudge the drawing! MARY POPPINS (Girl Friday)
17. DONE – Go that way, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn. BETTER OFF DEAD (Carmen)
18. DONE – I said I would never fall in love; I said love was a murderous thing; And it is, and I’m floating on air. I CAPTURE THE CASTLE (Katelyn)
19. When it comes to love, we are all in the dark.
20. DONE – When was the last time you were decently kissed? I mean, truly, truly, good and kissed? THAT THING YOU DO  (Tryphaena)
21. DONE – Someone is staring at you in “personal growth”. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (Tryphaena)
22. DONE – Where could you possibly be going!? GET SMART (Wad)
23. DONE – I lost it. I lost it all- faith, dignity… about 15 pounds. HIGH FIDELITY (Wad)
24. DONE – Have a bad day today? It hurts when someone screws with your life, doesn’t it? UNCLE BUCK (Wad)
25. DONE – Thanks for dinner. I’ve never seen potatoes cooked like that before. SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (Wad)
26. DONE – My nails, I bit them all because of you! And my hair! Look at my hair! I cut it off just for you! Of all the pigheaded fathers! THE PARENT TRAP (Girl Friday)
27. DONE – I had to be up at that there crossroads last midnight, to sell my soul to the devil. O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU (GINGER SISTER)
28. DONE -  The first rule is, gentlemen callers have got to wear a necktie! HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE (Wad)
29. DONE – He does dress better than I do, what would I bring to the relationship? CLUELESS (Carmen)
30. DONE – Your son has been pretending to be a substitute teacher, lecturing the students, uh, giving out homework, uh. Mrs. Glasser has been ill, there was some confusion with the real sub. Your son held a teacher-parent conference yesterday and was planning a class field trip to a French bread factory in Trenton. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (Bina)
    

(This post was brought over from emilyw.vox.com. Click here for the original post and comments.)

I usually buy a lot of books as gifts during the holidays. This is probably not a surprise to anyone. :)

A few days ago I found out that there’s a new site devoted to encouraging books as gifts this holiday season. It’s called Buy Books for the Holidays. They have a lot of shopping advice and recommendations, and a badge you can add to your blog to show that you’re buying books for the holidays too:

I usually buy all sorts of different books, depending on who I’m shopping for. Unless I know specifically what book(s) someone wants, I usually like to get them something I’ve read before that I think they’ll enjoy. I feel funny about buying a book I haven’t read for someone.

The books I buy usually end up being books I read that year, too. There are always a few books that stand out as books I think many of my friends and family members would enjoy too.

This year, here are a few books that I’m giving as gifts:
-I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
-The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
-The Code of the Woosters by P. G. Wodehouse

And of course, my Christmas wish list is almost entirely books. :)

Do you give books as gifts? What books are you buying for others this year?

(This post was brought over from emilyw.vox.com. Click here for the original post and comments.)

…my Mom was featured on {Culture is Good} – her first {This is Good} feature! She’s the “Page Turner” feature at the top. Check out her great post here.

TIG

(This post was brought over from emilyw.vox.com. Click here for the original post and comments.)