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I had such a nice birthday yesterday.  Believe it or not, I still haven't opened my presents yet.  The kids had school and Jay had to work last night, so we haven't all been together for me to open them.  They are all sitting on my kitchen table, taunting me.  I'll open them tonight after the girls finish their homework.  

Yesterday I woke up and enjoyed my last cup of caffeinated coffee EVER.  As of today, I am a woman who lives free of addiction (and who is also going through a groggy, tired faced withdrawal from caffeine.)   After bringing the girls to school I picked Jay up from the train and brought him home, and then I headed over to my gym and gave my workout 100% of me.  I knew that there would be cake and alcohol involved in my day, so I needed to kill a lot of calories before I put anything in my mouth.  

Soon after returning from the gym, Jay and I headed out to my favorite restaurant.  It's called The Moss Beach Distillery and is about an hour and a half away in Half Moon Bay.  The restaurant sits on a cliff above the ocean.  The food is excellent and the atmosphere is so serene.   Also, they make a mean Bloody Mary!  This is the first day date that Jay and I have had in ages.  While eating, we dreamed of living in Half Moon Bay someday.  It's south of San Francisco, on the peninsula and is just so beautiful.  There's something about the town that reminds me a bit of Cape Cod.  Half Moon Bay just feels like home to me.  Jay also loves it and so do the girls.  I think that we'll make it our final settling place in California.  I don't know when we'll settle down here because it looks like we may have a few huge, pending changes on the horizon... but when we are ready to buy a house and settle into life, Half Moon Bay is where I'd like to be. 

After driving home I took Jay to the train and went over to a friend's house for a birthday dinner.  She had picked the girls up from school and made me a vegan lasagna, salad, garlic bread and picked up vegan cupcakes.  It was the best time.  We chit chatted for hours while the kids played and dinner was just delicious.

As I get older, I find that it's more and more difficult to make good friends.  People without children often don't want to befriend people who have children and it's difficult to find other parents who you can get along with well.   I love California so much and have started to feel like I fit in here.  Despite my horrible social anxiety, I've made a couple really great friends.  And I know from experience, a couple really great friends is far more valuable than a hundred superficial friendships.  I'll take it any day!  

Yesterday I was overcome with optimism for the year to come.  I feel like things are getting better and better.  When I think about my life last year on my birthday- where I lived and how I managed my time and health, I am overcome by pride in how much happier I am now.  I guess that I have Twitter to thank for that.  Really, I guess that I have my husband to thank for that.  When we moved to California, everything else fell into place.  I can not even believe the changes that have happened in the past year.  It's amazing!  

2 more days till I start my raw food cleanse!  I am so excited!  I've been reading how to make pasta dishes out of spiraled raw zucchini!  

I didn't take many pictures yesterday.  But here are the few that I did take.  

Happy Birthday Bunny Holler: Post 1

Each year for Bunny's birthday she and I seek out some cakestrosity that she thinks is extra special and she challenges me to make it for her class.  It's our tradition.  She selects the confection and I do my best as an amateur baker and craftstress to rise to the occasion.

This year, my friend who should be on  sweet genius Jennifer posted pictures of high heel cupcakes and I and Bunny went gaga for them.  We decided to make them blue so that the boys in her class wouldn't feel entirely Barbified.  I also wanted to challenge myself further by making the interior of the cupcake rainbow!  This is something that I have seen several times but haven't ever had occasion to try!  I think it will be a fun surprise for the kids when they bite into their cupcakes!

Here's the How To:

First, I chose decorative cupcake wrappers

Then, I made little bows out of fondant

Next, I mixed the cake batter, colored it, layered it in the cupcake wrappers and baked them!

I cut a small sliver out of each cupcake.   It's for the wide part of the graham cracker to rest on. 

While the cupcakes were baking, I cut my graham crackers and dipped them in candy coating.  Then I cut the heels for the shoes!

After dipping the graham crackers, make sure you stick them in the freezer for a few minutes after you dip each side.  And put them on parchment paper.

I let my cupcakes cool overnight before decorating them!

Frost the sliver that you left out of the cupcake white.  

Then frost the rest blue and cover it in sprinkles.

Glue the heel to the small end of the graham cracker using melted candy.

Put it all together!  Add the bow.  Pipe around the edges of the arch with frosting and use decorative candies to make it festive!

Because of the colors here I think that these would be perfect for a bridal shower!  I sort of wish I'd gone with yellows and greens, but all in all, I'm really thrilled by the way they turned out and I think that the kids will love them tomorrow.  

Bunny's 7th Birthday Pictures!

Unfortunately, some of these pictures are weird sizes and I'm too tired to fix them now! I had to download a few of them from Jay's facebook page and they saved in a weird size. But, you get the picture!!!!

A few Gifts!

These are handmade in Philadelphia from reclaimed sweater material and stuffed with bamboo. I had a difficult time deciding which one to go with, but finally took home the monkey.

Also, we grabbed two of Starlights as well! Bun has been very into her room lately and these are a great, colorful addition!

On Bunny's actual birthday we had a little cake for her and she opened her gifts!

This morning we woke up, had breakfast and headed to New York City. Our initial plan was to picnic in Central Park after going on a spree at the American Girl Store, but the weather thought differently. We were really fortunate to get a reservation at the American Girl Cafe and though I initially scoffed at the prices, I have to admit that I left impressed. The experience was wonderful!!!!!

They had a little box of questions sitting on the table and Bunny wowed me with her reading ability and comprehension!

Also, the food was delish!

And then we went to see the Imagination Movers. Thanks to my bestie Siet, the Movers left an autographed poster at will-call for Bunny that said, "Happy Birthday Bunny. Think Big!" And included all of their signatures! Bunny went nuts for it!

And Finally, we came home and Bunny was able to put on her pj's and match them with her new American Girl Doll Lisa.



This was such a fun birthday. Bunny says that it was way better than a party and I have to agree 100%. This year we were all really able to celebrate. There was no stress or running around. Just lots of fun and love.

Chickie Cake Pops

My friend Shannon suggested making cake pops, and I found this incredible recipe on Bakerella that I followed! Mine are not the perfect little spheres that they show on the website, but I think that they're just as cute!

If you're looking for a special holiday treat, this is definitely the direction to go! Mine are for Bunny's first grade birthday class celebration, but I think that they're a fantastic Easter sweet as well!

Here are some pictures from the project! I'll let them do the talkin', but if you have any questions just let me know. I was nervous about this project. Though it was time consuming, it was pretty easy and I love the way they turned out.