Tag Archives: Dessert

On Birthdays, We Wear Pink!

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Before the month ends, I wanted to put up pictures of when my sister and I went out for my birthday earlier this month.  We both have Monday’s off, and my birthday was on May 8th, which fell on a Monday this year.  Since my husband was working and our son was in school, my sister and I went on a mini-adventure in the Irvine area.  I’ll split our trip up into two parts, which was what I wore, and what we ate!


Birthday Adventure 2017:  THE OUTFIT

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I bought two things from the Victoria Beckham for Target line:  The Blush Floral Jacquard Bomber Jacket and the Black Collared Dress, which I’ll be wearing in another outfit post (pictured above).  It was fitting that we visited the Hello Kitty Cafe on our way home, because pink was the order of the day, and who wears it better than Hello Kitty!  I wore the jacket very casually with black jeans and a white t-shirt, but jazzed it up a bit with a pom-pom necklace, metallic sneakers, and of course…pink pins!

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Outfit:  Blush Jacquard Bomber Jacket by Victoria Beckham for Target (no longer available online); The Cotton Box-Cut Pocket Tee by Everlane; Michael Kors purse (older, no longer available); Jeans and Leather Eyes Bag Tag by Madewell

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Pom-Pom necklace purchased at Vocabulary Boutique; Chic” pin by Pin Drop; “Just Another Tweenage Dirtbag” pin by Pretty Nobody Co.; “George Michael” pin by Bang-Up Betty

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Breakpoint Metallic Canvas sneakers by Converse


Birthday Adventure 2017:  THE FOOD

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Our food adventure began at Burntzilla (menu here) and ended at Stax Cookie Bar (we didn’t actually eat at Hello Kitty Cafe).

Burntzilla is a brick & mortar cafe, combining two of Orange County’s popular food trucks: Burnt Truck and Dogzilla.  We originally had other plans to visit a place that served specialty tater tots, but unfortunately it was closed on Mondays.  Since I was in the mood for tater tots in any form, I searched “tater tots Anaheim”, and Burntzilla came up (although the location is in the Irvine area).  I love a good slider, so the menu was appealing because it had different variations on sliders and mini-hot dogs.

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The folks at Burntzilla generously gave me a complimentary Golden Combo for my birthday!  The Golden Combo is a great deal because you can get two Sliders or Zillas (or one of each), with a soda and naked side.  Along with the tots, I had the Yaki Zilla (hot dog) and the Sloppy Joe Slider.  Both were amazing and the tots made my meal perfect!

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My sister also had the Golden Combo, but had the Dogzilla, Cheeseburger Slider and fries, since I had the tots.

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For dessert, we wanted something out of the ordinary.  On the fly, my sister hit the dessert jackpot in her search while we were literally on the road, and found Stax Cookie Bar, right across the street from UC Irvine.  Based on the pictures below, you’ll see why!

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This is the Smookie.  Stax has a variety of filled cookies to choose from, and you can top it any way you desire.  Since it was my birthday, I had the Snickerdoodle cookie (filled with Nutella) topped with birthday cake ice cream and caramel sauce.  I can’t even begin to describe how decadent it was!

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On the left is the Bacon Chocolate Chip Creamrito, which my sister attempted to get through.  The Creamrito is rolled ice cream wrapped around more ice cream and other yummy fillings.  This truly is a two-person dessert, and we do plan on coming back up and doing it justice because it was quite delicious.  On the right, is the famous “Waffle Shot” by Zia Valentina.  I had my first one at The Grove, but the one I had at Stax was espresso with ice cream at the bottom of the shot.  Yes, it was as good as it sounds!

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I had a great time on this mini-food adventure with my sister, who gifted me with several new pins, because well, she’s my sister and knows what I love!  Thank you Rholnna for spending my birthday with me, and here’s to more foodie adventures to come.  Cheers!

Cake Pops Made Easy: Bake Pops Review

My mom loves “infomercials” and is always bringing home the newest gadget that catches her eye during her shopping excursions.  Prior to her surgery, she brought home a pan set called Bake Pops because I had been talking about making cake pops, but never got around to doing it. I know that there is a way to make the popular cake pops organically by baking a full cake and forming them into balls by breaking the cake up and using cream cheese to bind the cake pieces (like this recipe on Little Miss Momma).  Knowing most of my friends make them that way, I felt a little bad about making them with the Bake Pops because I felt a little like I was cheating.

My very first batch was a bit of a disaster.  I just used the recipe as instructed on the cake mix box and used a glaze over them rather than frosting or candy coating, which made them more like donut holes than cake pops (and not as moist).  After another trial and error batch, the cake pops I made finally looked and tasted just like the ones I’ve bought or that were made by my friends.  All in all, I think this is a fairly easy way to make these popular cake pops if you use the tips I provided below.  Enjoy! 

1.  Use the alternate recipe that they provide in Bake Pops instruction booklet:  Replace milk for water, add an extra egg and add a packet of pudding mix.  This will make your cake more dense and incredibly moist.  I used the Pillsbury Moist Supreme strawberry cake mix and added a small packet of vanilla pudding.  My kitchen smelled heavenly.

2.  The cake pops actually come out a bit egg-shaped after they come out of the oven, and they are not as round as they appear in the commercials (my husband says they look like acorns).  This is due to the slight separation between the top and bottom pans, in addition to the holes in the top pan (which allow for rising).  To get them to more of a “ball” shape, just scrape the middle and tops of the cake pops.  I put the lollipop stick in the part of the cake pop where they rose out of the hole, so that the rounded portion is on top.  Also, the candy coating can hide most anything if you don’t wish to scrape the imperfections away. 

3.  Place your cake pops in the freezer to cool prior to coating them.  My niece came over to help make them, and we bypassed the cooling part and it took longer for the coating to set.  For my second batch, I placed them in the freezer prior to decorating them, and the coating set beautifully (note: strawberry cake & light coco candy coating makes for tasty cake pops).

(Note:  This is simply a review of the product, conducted solely at my discretion.  I did not receive any compensation, product or discounts when I purchased the product.)