Great British Give Away

Simply Beautiful

Give Away

Since Thurston has been away for work, I've really tried to focus on doing things that bring me pleasure. Besides drinking. Hence I've been blogging again. One thing that I forgot how much I enjoy doing is baking. As a child I remember my mum baking cakes for us & letting us lick the spoon. Which might be frowned upon today due to concerns over consuming raw eggs or flour, but was a highlight of baking with my mum. And quite frankly something I still do today. 

I have one particular trusted cook book that my mum purchased when I was a child & I used often in food technology classes during high school. It taught me how to make Scones, Rhubarb & Apple Crumble and of course, the British Classic, Victoria Sponge Cake. I still have it & enjoy pulling it out when I want to make Yorkshire Puddings or English as opposed to American pancakes. But despite what GBBO has everyone thinking, when it comes to desserts, America has kind of got us Brits beat.

American desserts are more decadent, rich and are loaded with tons more of the bad stuff that tastes good. I mean why just use powdered sugar & butter when you can add shortening! Do we even have shortening in the UK? 

I have a couple of go to online sites for American desserts & enjoy the follow along videos that mean even this chick can create tasty treats. But I am a lover of books, including recipe books. Recently I stumbled across a blog called Life, Love & Sugar written by Lindsay Conchar. Not only does she share delicious recipes but she's also the author of my new favorite recipe book Simply Beautiful Homemade Cakes. 

I am in love. She has a talent & passion for making simply beautiful cakes and she also likes to bake with alcohol. I feel like she's a kindred spirit. I couldn't wait to try one of her recipes and recently made her Mocha Nutella Cupcakes which went down a treat, both at home and work. She has easy to follow instructions, which includes a section that breaks down how to do some of the fancier decorating stuff and vibrant pictures of her creations. I can't decide if I want to try the Neopolitan Mousse Cake (which adorns the book cover) or the Maple Bacon Cinnamon Cupcakes next.  

 And because I want my readers to enjoy her fantastic recipes & because who doesn't love getting something for free..I'm hosting a giveaway of her cookbook. 

You receive one entry by commenting below on what your favorite British & American dessert is. And a bonus entry if you head over to the Sherms In The Middle Facebook page and hit the like button.

Rules aren't fun but are simple; you have to live in the contiguous USA, the winner will be chosen at random, announced & contacted via email March 8th 2017. You'll have two weeks to claim your prize by providing your mailing information or another winner will be chosen.

Little Shop of Horrors

Son Be A DENTIST

Thurston came back into town last Thursday to take me to have a couple pesky wisdom teeth removed. Christmas is the worst time to have any dental problems because like everyone else, dentists like a little time off over the holiday season. Well, over Christmas I got a nasty little infection in my gum because my bottom right wisdom tooth decided that it was going to keep fighting it's way in, even though there was no room. Which resulted in a lot of painkillers and very little Christmas cheer. When I finally got in to see a dentist after Christmas, they said what I already suspected; I needed to have the bottom & top right wisdom teeth ripped out of my gums. 

The only plus side to having dental surgery is that Thurston came home to take care of me. I have good friends here who offered to take me to the appointment & I'm thankful that I stood my ground on having Thursty come home. Originally my fear was that I would say something incredibly embarrassing like the endless viral videos of random girl after dentist. But in actual reality, I was an absolute needy cow & only my husband can or should be forced to put up with me. Thurston, who is not usually the most patient man when it comes to my wild and theatrical departures from reality, was actually super patient & caring whilst I was looped out. And took such good care of me, making sure I took my medications, made me some ice packs & gave me all the mashed potatoes and ice cream I could stomach. 

Having teeth pulled is no joke and I'm so glad they only needed to take two. Regardless, it let me know, no matter how much of a tough chick I think I am, when the numbing drugs wore off I was a baby over the pain. Though, really that's Thurston's fault for not getting more drugs into me ahead of time. Still, I'll forgive him. The swelling was ridiculous, my fault for not having the ice packs made ahead of time and on standby. No lie, I looked like Kayne West when his jaw was wired shut. Think I said that a couple times whilst looped out on the medicines. And I'm glad that my face has pretty much returned to is regular shape now, which is still round but due to cupcakes and not swollen gums. 

Thurston left a couple days after the procedure, when I was mostly back to my usual self. Which meant I was able to make a dozen cupcakes but unable to open my mouth wide enough to eat one properly. Which might just be the ultimate form of torture. He'll be working out of town for as long as this job needs him to but it's not any town interesting enough that I'd consider moving. Guess it's a good thing we're old pros at this long distance thing because we're probably going to be doing it for the foreseeable future. Or at least until his job sends him somewhere I'd consider living. I'm forever hoping one day Washington State will call and we'll have to move out to Seattle. Or at least a short drive away. But I'd be open to a few other states, as long as I'm close to the water. Living in Alabama has shown me just how much I enjoy being near the water & I've yet to dip my toe in the Pacific Ocean. 

Until Next Time xx

‘B’ is for Box

Penny & Maggie have officially joined the subscription box club, at the expense of their humans, and received their first BarkBox this afternoon. They are in love.

For non puppy servants, a BarkBox is a monthly delivery of treats & toys sure to delight even the coldest puppy heart. I know that for sure because when the box arrived Penny was most eager to find out what was inside. 

Thurtson & I have some friends who have long since been a fan of BarkBox. Whenever we'd go over to their place, Maggie would always sniff out and let's be frank, steal some of their dogs toys. To be fair, they have a gazillion dog toys and always think it's hilarious the way Maggie sniffs them out. So with their permission she'd usually leave with some squeaky stuffed thing between her jaws but it was starting to get embarrassing; as if she doesn't have toys at home & is mistreated by her humans. She does have toys by the way. Promise, I get to pick them up from various spots around the living room before I can vacuum. 

Well, I recently decided enough was enough & that I would check out BarkBox. If you have a friend who uses the service, they can send you a link to get a free BarkBox. Well, we have such friends. And they also receive a free BarkBox for referring me. That's what we call a win, win my friends.

I was mostly interested in the toys. Penny prefers to stick with Nylabones and only occasionally plays with other toys but Maggie is toy crazy and frankly it was getting exhausting trying to find inexpensive toys that would not only entertain her but not be destroyed after one playing. Since I became a Chewy.com convert, I usually add a toy & Nylabone each month but I slowly came to realize I was constantly buying different versions of the same toy for Maggie. What a boring mum I am but in my defense, these Kong toys are pretty tough. 

I was quite interested to see what kind of treats they would send. I am quite particular when it comes to treats that I'll give the girls. I only purchase treats made in & with US products and try to avoid things like rawhide for digestive reasons. So I was very happy to see that all the treats included in the BarkBox were made in the USA. They were regular sized treats and the Jerky Sticks smelled so good, even I wanted to eat one. 

I subscribed to one box which the girls will share and it's plenty. We try not to give them too many treats because the vet always tells us they're on the chunky side. And I'll still be purchasing their usual Blue Dog Bakery assorted paws treats from Petsmart, which are only 10 calories each.  

I will tell you that I started to feel a little envious that my dogs were going to be receiving goodies in the mail each month & all I get are bills. So I started researching subscription boxes that I would be interested in. These are my top three:

1) Sobakeable 

Each month they send you two baking kits, which includes all the pre-measured ingredients (except for the fresh items like eggs & milk), instructions & pictures so you can create beautiful baked goods. Oh, and also a free specialized gift to make said masterpieces. Previous boxes include Salted Caramel Brownies, Cookies & Cream Mini Donuts and Champagne Cupcakes! For sure a box after my own heart. The cost is really what's made me hesitate on signing up for this subscription. Baking is a passion of mine & I really enjoy trying new recipes and creating some too. However, measuring my items isn't inconvenient for me and my pantry stays pretty well stocked so that on any given day I can whip up some cupcakes or brownies without any more effort than getting my eggs & butter to room temp.

However, I am still tempted by the mystery of what the box could contain each month & what I could be creating next without the effort of thinking about it. Watch this space, if I try one, I'll be sure to blog about the experience.

2) Book of the Month

An obvious selection for me since I love to read and prefer actual physical paper books over an e-reader. First of, I like this because you get to choose your book. I can be quite particular about what I read. I've been known to skip book club if the book isn't of interest to me, so I like the idea of options. Whilst you're choosing between five books that have been chosen by their judges, which can be a turn off if none of the books spark your interest, you do have the option to easily skip a month. The cost is fairly decent considering you're getting a new, hardback book and I love the idea of being able to connect with other subscribers who are reading the same book as you. My hesitation on signing up for this subscription is my Amazon wishlist which currently has a good thirty books I'd like to read. Very few which are new books but which all cost less than the $11.99 p/m subscription and were all chosen by me. 

3) Caskers Vodka Club

You have no idea how long I've been saying, they should deliver alcohol. And I don't really care who they are, I just want to never run out of alcohol again. Caskers promises three full sized bottles, delivered every three months. So I guess the rationing would be up to me, way to practice self-control. I like the idea of experimenting with other Vodkas out there. Some people, who can't enjoy vodka on or off the rocks might not pick up the difference in taste of various vodkas but the husband frequently points out to me that I'm a vodka snob. I'm not a fan of flavored vodkas and the website doesn't say much about choosing the vodkas you receive or completing a survey on preference. However your delivery will include notes written by the curators at Caskers which will give you more information on the vodkas included in your shipment, which I quite like. At present, whilst this does sound incredibly "cool" to try it's not at the top of my list, just because I know a few Vodka's that I want to try and I'm okay with purchasing them myself. Although I've yet to find the Black Cow Pure Milk Vodka in Alabama, so anyone who knows where I can get that, please comment below. Heck, just comment below anyway so I know someone is reading this. Oh & FYI, Caskers also have subscriptions for spirits other than Vodka. 

I am an indecisive person, so it'll likely take a special promotion or free trial to give me the push needed to sign up for one of these subscriptions but in the meantime, I'm going to continue baking, reading and enjoying Vodka.

Until next time xx

Champagne

Cocktails & Cupcakes

I upped my Vodka game this weekend with the addition of Champagne; because let's be honest, bubbles makes everything better. 

Last week I stumbled across a pin for French 75, a gin based cocktail with champagne. I was instantly intrigued & immediately knew I wanted this cocktail in my life. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that lately I've been making Vodka Martini's on the weekend but I've been wanting to make other vodka cocktails too. Enter French 75. I'm not a big gin drinker but since gin & vodka are so easily interchangeable, a plan was hatched. 

I also realized that champagne cupcakes would be the perfect accompaniment to my champagne cocktails; because when is more champagne ever bad?

Answer: when you wake up the next morning with a headache to remind you just how much alcohol & sugar you consumed. Still totally worth it! 

I was so fortunate to spend time with some good friends this weekend. Manicures, shopping & Thai food. Since Thurston has been out of town for work, I've had little human interaction outside of work. Which I'm usually okay with but there is only so much talking to the dogs a person can do before their sanity is called into question.

This week, I shall hopefully do a little more reading & perhaps a little more blogging. And of course, try to come up with what cocktail to make this weekend. I really enjoy baking and bringing a little alcohol to the party is always a plus. Maybe it's the Brit in me...or maybe it's the lush. 



Until next time xx