Twilight, Travel, and Treats

This post is about baking. For all the dirty twihards out there, get your mind out of the gutter and in the kitchen for just a few minutes.

No, I don't own these (pic from http://www.dollymix.tv/

Okay, really, I'm leaving the smut out of this post after this point.

I thought it might be nice to balance out my blog with some wholesome goodness. Must counteract the lust of Fanfic Fridays otherwise I might internally combust. So to keep this blog true to its name I'll start posting Sugary Sundays.

My earliest fondant creation that I have a photo of is this.


They were made for a beach or Hawaiian themed birthday. Apologies to my good friend DQ (for Dancing Queen, not Dairy Queen) that I can't remember why we made these for her daughter. It was years ago.

how to make these

I didn't give an equipment list at the beginning as I'll be explaining what you'll need throughout the post. If you prefer the equipment list and photos at the beginning please let me know for next Sunday. I apologize in advance for the lack of photos with each step as I'm stepping back in time.

let's get started...

The grass was piped by DQ from buttercream piped with a Wilton grass tip (tip# 233).

use tip #233 as a grass tip (in the midde at the top)

I made the sandals by colouring Wilton premade fondant with Wilton gel food colouring. Note, this is not the liquid you buy in bottles from the supermarket. Use a toothpick to transfer a bit of colouring into the fondant and knead the colour in. Be careful as it stains your hands.

Comes in a huge rainbow of colours but these are the basics of course

Next roll fondant to about 1/8 inch thick. If the rolling pin sticks you can use powdered sugar to dust a bit. Careful with the sugar on coloured fondant because it makes it look, well, powdery. Some people put the sugar in a clean nylon stocking and tie the top to make a dusting bag.


You can use a wooden pin but if you're really serious you can buy a mini roller like this


Cut out the sandal base with a mini butterfly cookie cutter.

best butterfly cutter - Wilton Easter mini set

Then with a sharp craft/exacto/paring knife cut the sandals out from the butterfly. Yes, you will have some wasted fondant from the middle of the butterfly. You can always mix back into your fondant ball to make the next batch. Smooth edges with fingers.

Make the top of the flip flop by rolling out and cutting a small rectangle of a contrasting colour. Then cut a slit down 3/4 of the way so that it looks like a pair of pants. Use fingers to smooth edges.

Attach the top to the sandal using a very very small amount of clear liquor like vodka dabbed from a tiny paintbrush. I attached the top of the pants first and then used a round toothpick under the "knees" to keep them a bit raised and finally attached the foot of the pants.

Lastly roll and colour the fondant for the flowers. Cut out using the smallest gumpaste flower cutter you can find. I bought this set from Michael's with my 40% off coupon

Wilton gumpaste flower kit - use the tiniest flower

I know it seems like overkill to buy a whole kit for a small flower. If you do enough cake decorating you'll find this set invaluable (the 40% coupon from Michael's email list helps). They do sell individual gumpaste cutters but they are quite expensive so this started kit is actually a good deal.

Lastly the centre of the flower was made with an indent from the tip of a Wilton #2 icing tip (this is the one that people usually use to write names on cakes with).

Round tip #2 (on lower left) comes in all basic cake decorating kits

If you own a basic metal icing tip set from the supermarket it should have a #2 tip inside.

Let them harden up on some parchment paper overnight before you put them on your cupcakes the next day. If you put fondant decorations on buttercream icing more than a couple of days ahead I have found that the fondant gets soft and melts. I usually try and put them on last minute.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Up next week - Fondant Daisies

Usually once I like something I throw myself into it. Wholeheartedly with no holds barred. Not always a wise thing but it is what it is. I had prided myself in the fact that I thought I knew the twilight movie quite well.

After all, I used to watch it on my iphone everyday and own multiple versions of the DVD. Imagine my dismay when I came across the twilight goofs page from twilighters.org.  Yes, we all know that the first twilight movie was lacking in budget and no surprise that there were errors. Some obvious ones like the continuity error with Bella's oxygen tubing in the hospital I've caught of course. But did you know that Emmett's name is spelled wrong in the credits?

Someone caught that Emmett wasn't spelled correctly - do you think Kellan's upset?

There were 36 errors listed and another 18 other points they defended as things people had "incorrectly regarded as goofs".

"There’s a scene where Edward and Bella are talking in the forest, it’s raining heavily and they are soaking wet. Soon after they are shown talking in another forest location, and appear to be completely dry. This could, however, indicate the passage of time, especially given their change of clothes. It is therefore assumed that their conversation takes place over several days."

Holy crap, I never thought I'd say this regarding anything twilight related but some people just have too much time. Now, I have to go watch it AGAIN. Better, put away the iphone and watch it for real on the big screen.

At least it gives me something to do while I'm waiting for the New Moon DVD release on March 20th.

Yes, I love my Blu-Ray

Upcoming post...Twilight party anyone?

This post was prompted by the Twitard's new post "RPattz, is that you?" because I actually know a girl who was texting (or well, more like he was texting her) with Rob. Long winded story but we'll get there soon...

So, as some of you may know, I hail from Vancouver, B.C. In fact, I live about 40 seconds up the hill from where they filmed the break up scene in New Moon.

Sigh...they were so close by and I didn't know

In fact, I am very sad to report that when they were filming down my street that I hadn't read twilight yet *shock.* I was driving home from work and wondered what they were filming with all the bright lights. How could I have known that months later it would dawn on me, while I was in the shower no less having some uber good Edward thoughts, that he had been right down my street???

Another fact of living in Vancouver is that everyone knows someone in the film industry. Hence, everyone knows someone who has worked on either New Moon or Eclipse or both.

When the lovely Jelena over at Confessions of a Twiholic posted that she is four degrees away from Rob, I realized I was only TWO degrees away. She insisted that I out myself to the twitarded crew or that she might do it for me. Happy now girlie?



So, a few of my friends of friends are stunt guys, local actors, and stand ins. I know they all have to sign super secret confidentiality agreements and I hope none of them will get in a lick of trouble with Summit because of my tiny post.

One of my friends has a family member acting in Eclipse - when I found out I was speechless for 20 minutes, seething with jealousy. We all hope she'll take us to the LA premiere with her so we can try and touch RPattz. Her set stories are to die for and I wish I could post them here. May have to wait until after Eclipse if released so Summit doesn't take away her first born.

Another relative of a good girlfriend was working behind the scenes in stunts helping to train the actors. I would love the deets on who he trained but no such luck so far. This is the awesome guy who also surprised me with autographed set merch for Christmas out of the blue - loved it and almost fainted in front of my family (who up until that point had been oblivious to my twihardedness).

Best Christmas present EVER!

here's the story

Lastly, little ditty I found out about from MK last night. Back when New Moon was filming up here, a girl at MK's work was at a post awards-show party with one of the Canadian bands and RPattz came in with his posse. She swears that he was high on coke or some other shit. (MK of course came to his defense because obviously you know him or something right?? okay sweetie, I would too)

Anyways, apparently RPattz spent the whole night hitting on one of the girls that had come with said-girl-from-work even though she was all "I've got a boyfriend, take a hike." Can you believe I know someone who turned him down? WTF? RPattz spent the next few weeks texting her trying to get her to go out while he was in town.

Booty text anyone

I am still reeling this morning. Who the hell did this bitch think she was? God, how many of us wouldn't have killed to be her. I know how many of you out there would have dropped kicked her ass and stolen her phone just to kidnap our Precious.

I hope they come back up here to shoot Breaking Dawn. According to Lainey Gossip there is still a chance so fingers crossed. I still drive by the Cullen house in West Vancouver every week to drive my kids to classes.

Driving by this house every week I keep thinking they're inside

Okay ladies, until the next Close Encounters with Rob post.

Escape to this world...

So for those of you who are twilight fans but don't read fanfiction, I am sad for you. I have a whole new appreciation for amateur writing and also the depth of smutty goodness that some of these ladies can get to. To start you on this journey (or to give you more stops along the way if you are already deep in the lemons) I thought Fanfic Fridays would help.

A quick crash course on fanfic in general. Lots of good fanfic have the essence of Edward and Bella but they may not be vampires or teenagers. But there is almost always a brooding hot Edward.

All Human (AH) - no vamps

POV - point of view eg. EPOV - Edward's POV like in Midnight Sun

Out of character (OOC) - acting a bit different than we know them in twilight

Canon pairings = the pairs as in twilight - Edward/Bella, Alice/Jasper, etc.

The more lemony goodness the better

Lemons - in short, it means smut in varying degrees. The origin of this term comes from a popular hentai anime anthology called Cream Lemon. Sounds so twisted. Makes those lemon cupcakes look different now, huh?

The main twilight fanfic sources are http://www.fanfiction.net/ and twilighted (the latter requires creating an account). Some of these works are complete but many of them are partially finished and you end up aching for the author to update.

stories

I'm going to start with a short story to get you in slowly...

If you love vampire Edward try Be Very Still.

Isle Esme for grown ups. Pic courtesy of http://www.images2.fanpop.com/

This is basically how the honeymoon night on Isle Esme should have gone if she wasn't writing for tweens. The grown up version is more satisfying but the author keeps in the same tone as Stephenie Meyer.

If you like high school angst but wouldn't mind an All Human you must read the uncensored version of Wide Awake.

Click on the pic for the censored version at http://www.fanfiction.net/

This is the fanfic that got me hooked in the first place. Edward and Bella are both tortured souls who find solace in each other. Actually a very sweet story and it involves baking. This is not a short story but so worth the read. Complete.

My favourites usually fall in the grown up and All Human category. Let's start with something light and not too long like Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Trademark blue

This is a sweet story about rich handsome Edward chasing a quirky cute Bella. There is coffee and of course Tiffany's involved. There are a lot more fanfics in this category but they are quite long so I'll save them for next Friday.

Enjoy until next Friday! I'll be adding in some longer ones so get ready.

Yes, I am a collector and I get obsessed. Currently and for the foreseeable future I am obsessed with Twilight. The idea of shopping in Forks was too exciting and it did no disappoint.

Clearly there are advantages to developing obsessions in your thirties rather than in your teens. For one we have money. We also may have a mortgage and kids to feed but at least you aren't begging Mommy for a twilight Barbie (I have two Bella Barbies by the way - one to play with and one to keep).

They don't come with the woodsy backdrop

Hence you can drive to your mecca of choice and shop with wild abandon. God I miss Forks and can't wait to go back in September with the crazy Twitarded ladies.

Around town

The Forks Chamber of Commerce has one of the best custom Googlemaps I've ever seen. It has hearts on the twilight points of interest and shopping baskets for twilight retail. There were a couple of stores that I enjoyed that were missing from their list but it was pretty comprehensive. Remember, it really is a small town with one traffic light.

Places I enjoyed...

Forks Outfitters

There is no Newton's outfitters - it's a big Walmart like store mixed with Thriftway grocery

The Twilight Zone actually freaks me out - can you hear the eerie music?

Forks Outfitters was actually our last stop and a good one. They had twilight umbrellas (sadly didn't buy one), rain boots, loads of subtle and not so subtle T-shirts, and some cheesy souvenirs of course. They also have twilight and Fork tees and hoodies in tween sizes. Only place I saw in town that carried these sizes. All in a K-mart like setting. And of course you could buy your groceries and junk food to snack away on while reading fanfic in your motel room.

Forks Outfitters - should have bought the boots

98331 Gear

Very nice and modern inside

This store is kind of tucked around the corner from the main drag but totally worth the stop. Their walls are covered in autographed twilight posters and merchandise to admire and also to purchase. They had beautiful Cullen crest earrings that I should have bought. Their T shirts were very clever but just this side of unwearably raunchy for me since my eldest son can now read.

I really wanted to buy the "Forks Makes Me Wet" shirt but, dammit, there are too many kids at home.

JT's Sweet Stuff

This is the ice cream and dessert place in town. They had loads of yummy fudge and a wide variety of beautiful chocolates. I was pleasantly surprised given it's a small town. They don't have a whole lot of Twilight candy but they do have a copy of Twilight autographed by Stephenie Meyer to them while she was in town. Very cool.

Leppell's Flowers & Gifts

courtesy of Jeanny M. on yelp

We never hit this store. For some reason we missed it! I have heard good things and I will definitely try and stop in September.

Dazzled by Twilight

Sorry folks, I actually have none of my own photos of this store. I was too busy shopping. As soon as we approached the storefront my heart starting racing and my head got a bit fuzzy. I actually felt so excited I got lightheaded. Hence the last thing I was thinking was about photos for a future blog. There is a video out there which has a walk through of this store. I'll have to hunt it down sometime and add it. Another quick note - product photos below, unless otherwise stated, come from the Dazzled by Twilight online store. So you can click on the links and order your own :)

Two storefronts to this place - they are down the street from each other and it's not quite clear that they are connected. Both are very well done. The one where the tour meets up has mostly books, tees, and mugs. Well lit and reminds me of the gift shops in the Vegas hotels before you see a big show. Last show I saw like that was Love by The Beatles Cirque du Soleil at the Mirage. So good and I don't even love The Beatles like Mr. TC does.

Inside the location where the tour meets. courtesy of http://www.celebritysmackblog.com/

The other storefront is the biggie. This is where twihard shoppers go to die. It is gigantic and has the Hollywood outdoorsy feel down so well that nature crackles under your feet (or was it my imagination). I swear the ground felt different or maybe I'm just hallucinating like Edward in my first favourite fanfic Wide Awake.

Gratuitous Edward shot. Plug for fanfic. From talented Angela @ Lion_Lamb LJ

Aah the fanfic that started it all for me...whoops sorry to slip off topic. Edward is just too distracting.

Okay, back to the store. While shopping in Dazzled by Twilight I barely spoke, quite a feat to get me to actually shut up. I was just so focused and in the zone. Mr. TC honestly didn't say anything bad as I racked up baskets of purchases. Except he put his foot down about the damn twilight towels :(

An absolutely huge selection of shirts and hoodies. I mean there are two full size rooms of shirts. I got this one to sleep in since they didn't have the right size for petite Asian chicks.

Love my T shirt with this motif

I loves their magnets and bumper stickers and poured over them for 10 minutes. MK's awesome sis found this one for me - last one too, so lucky.




This sticker totally reminded me of this etsy link MK had sent me so I had to stealthily buy one for her and save it for her birthday.

A surprise sticker for MK's birthday

Or the original etsy wall decal (not sold at the Dazzled by Twilight store)

Life size silhouette - maybe a bit too creepy

The store owner Annette has this huge collection of Twilight stuff in cases in the back - note these precious things are not for sale. I'm sure she has that sh*t fully alarmed to keep away the crazy twihards like myself. Had to wipe some drool off the glass from getting too close.

Their mugs and glasses were perfect and these are the ones I got for myself and my lovely sister.

I *heart* my mug

This is the only hint that I am a twihard in my office. I swear if it ever breaks I'll be crushed and have to drive the 7 hours back to Forks. Oh, and my secretary requested a pair of these too

funny once you put milk in them you can't see the words anymore

I love their jewelry collection and got this bracelet.

A bit more subtle than the wood-carved wolf

Unfortunately I lost my crystal heart at the second showing of New Moon that I went to. So f*cking ironic that I spent the whole night wishing for more Edward and ended up going home with just the Jacob. Sucks. Okay I must go to the online store and get a new one. Maybe the official one will hold up better. I know that I could just get my uber-talented sis in law to attach a Swarovski crystal heart but then I'll know it wasn't from Forks and it would just feel wrong.

When you buy a book there they should put a Forks sticker on it. They forgot mine on my New Moon companion guide but I think I overwhelmed them with my massive pile of purchases. Twilight chocolates and mints plus trading cards rounded off my purchases.

I don't know why I love these cards so much

a bit too drunken mugshot for me

MK and her sis took a couple of shots in the store with the stand up Edward and Bella. I would be a dead woman if I posted these pics so you'll have to go there and make your own woodland scene with Edward and Bella.

Well, there were a few more stops that I for sure forgot to mention here and also a few more things that I am too embarrassed to say that I bought :)

If the rumour is true and we get a good shopping excursion to Forks with the Twitarded crew I'll be dropping way more cash. Can't wait!

Keep an eye out for some more fanfic reviews...I'm planning to do FanFic Fridays.

Avoiding the dreaded back up

It's about time I wrote a treats post as well. Holidays have been too busy and sad that my eldest son has to settle for mini cupcakes without any figurines. Well he got a ton of presents and has forgotten that I didn't make a Lego cake. There is always next year...

I have yet to find a really good basic lemon cupcake. So, I tried a new recipe this time for Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Kissed Buttercream frosting from The Cupcakery.

Let's get to their recipe.

Lemon Cupcakes

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. lemon zest
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 325° degrees.

2. Line cupcake pan with mini baking cups. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 4 minutes.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time until the mixture becomes creamy.

5. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt together. Whisk to combine.

6. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk until completely incorporated.

7. Add the lemon zest and fresh lemon juice. Mix batter for an additional minute. Mixture should look light and fluffy.

1 slightly heaped tbsp for each mini

8. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners and bake for 17 to 23 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

9. VERY IMPORTANT to allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Lemon Kissed Buttercream Frosting

4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. whole milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and salt for about 30 seconds.

2. Add half of the powdered sugar and the milk to the butter and beat again until combined. Scrape down the bowl.

3. Add the remainder of the powdered sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. Beat until combined. Scrape down the bowl again.

4. Beat on high speed for 5-6 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy. Add Wilton gel "Yellow" in small amount to achieve desired pastel color.

5. It is preferable to use the frosting on the same day you make it, but it can keep in the refrigerator for 3 days if tightly wrapped. Make sure and stir the buttercream well before using to get the air bubbles out of the frosting and then pipe onto completely cooled cupcakes.

My two cents

Very easy recipe to follow and the longest process was juicing and zesting the lemons. Note I got enough juice for the whole recipe from 2 lemons and enough zest to even sprinkle on the cupcakes after they were iced.

The batter is quite thick. Easy to spoon out and they evened out well during baking.

Baked them for 18 minutes at 350. Quite pale and had a very light hint of lemon. Heavy and very slightly dry out of the oven - very tasty. Next day a bit dry but nothing a bit of icing didn't fix.

Frosting was also pale and really did need the Wilton's lemon gel colouring. I also substituted 1/2 tsp lemon extract and 1/2 tsp vanilla instead to boost the lemon flavour. Put a little zest on top and they are simple but pretty.

A tasty bite although too heavy to have more than one at a time. The cupcake recipe will actually make a good white cake for fondant and carving as it is quite dense but tasty without too much lemon.

Enjoy!

A collection of cupcakes and fondant creations through the years.

Shouldn't it read Population 3175.5?

We arrived at the Pacific Inn Motel at night and yes, it is really just a motel. Front desk staff was friendly and there were a few twilight things inside the small lobby area. Check in was easy and the rooms were nice enough. The crazy overwhelming twilight decor made me forget the HoJo feel of the place.





Left poor Mr. TC to watch some random sports event on TV in our room while I went to MK's room to giggle hysterically and take photos. I loved that even the light switches were Edward. It was almost disappointing that the toilet paper didn't have some twi-message on it.

I can't believe my husband agreed to stay here

I wonder if Summit has anything to say about this?

Nice details

Finally a chance to sleep under Edward

Hope they add a New Moon room too

Honestly felt like a weird Disneylike hotel but for twihards. I can't recall any other place that I've stayed in that was this themed. Totally worth the $99 a night.

MK slept with this pillow all night

Sweet dreams under creepy Edward

Nice fake ruffled New Moon tulip

You know the first thing we all think when we see this stuff - can I take this home? Where can I get this? There is a large warning that theft of ANYTHING from the room will result in a hefty fine. Might it be worth it anyways?

Do you feel clean using dark towels?

They had some towels almost like these for sale at the Dazzled by Twilight store. So tempting but Mr. TC actually put his foot down. Apparently he doesn't feel clean using black towels. But would I actually feel dirtier using the twilight ones? Is that a bad thing ;) ?

We headed out early and went to the Forks Chamber of Commerce. It was closed on that Sunday am so we decided to peek through the windows before taking lots of photos of Bella's truck.

Willing them to open early

Can you tell if this is the right make and model?

Mr. TC was surprised by how many other groups of twihards were doing the same thing at 10am on a Sunday. Surely there must be something better to do than hang out in front of a closed government office?

Other twihards - it seems the guys were more excited than the girl

We checked out the Forks Diner for breakfast. The elkhead really freaked me out.

Not Carver's cafe

I couldn't eat with this thing staring at me

I really wanted to order the Bella Cobbler but even I can't justify pie before noon. The pancakes really were enormous. Food was tasty and it felt kitschy sitting on the taped up vinyl benches.

Heading back to the Chamber of Commerce we spotted a car out front with awesome bumper stickers. Turns out the woman was the friendly Commerce greeter who also worked at the Dazzled by Twilight store.



Inside the Chamber of Commerce there were lots of news clippings and maps. They gave out a great step by step Forks Twilight tour map. They also had the most kickass Twilight quiz I've yet to come across. I was super tempted to take the Dr. Cullen labcoat hanging on the wall. The poster they had in the fan corner was one I hadn't seen before.

Because I'm such a doctor geek I LOVE Carlisle's labcoat

Do you know where this is from?

Is it from the UK? Anyone?

Twilight Tour

We followed the Chamber of Commerce map with directions of how to it every twilight landmark in town. They really had us twihards totally figured out. Ironically we ended up behind the official Dazzled by Twilight tour minibus. It did indeed look comfy and air conditioned as advertised. At least we knew we were driving to the right places.

We ended up almost following the tour bus

The Swan Residence

I wonder if they get sick of this?

See Bella's room?

See where Bella's window is supposed to be?

Forks Hospital

Dr Cullen's parking spot is actually pretty hard to find. We were lost next to the old folks home and a friendly lady came out shaking her head and laughing, knowing exactly what we were looking for.

Yeah, we saw it for real :) Surprisingly hard to find

City Hall

We then made it over to City Hall which also happens to be the police station. They've got a nice display case set up inside the lobby of some twi stuff and you can even go in on the weekends to have a peek. Way too much glare from the glass case for a good photo though. Charlie's police cruisers are out back.

Forks High

The sign from the movie is almost an exact replica of the Spartans sign in real life (Catherine Hardwicke speaks the truth). We were mortified when some little boys in the school starting looking out the windows at us and pointing. You can imagine us 30 something moms posing in front of their school while they pointed and laughed. We were out of their fast.

The Cullen House

In the window at the Cullen house

Gotta love it!

Do you prefer this one or the glass one from the movie?

Nice touch