Cupcake Giveaway and Cake

So, my big announcement today is another Cupcake Giveaway for U.S. contestants!
You need to enter at the sponsor's site...NO ENTRIES on this blog, please. The giveaway is being sponsored by the PurplePinkAndOrange site and the prize is ANY pair of Cupcake Earrings that you can keep for yourself or give to a special someone as a gift.

You have 3 possible methods of entry and
Giveaway ends on Saturday, July 18th at midnight CST.
I hope you enter!

And now for some post 4th of July stories. I love this holiday because rather than fighting crowds and driving to a fireworks show, I simply step outside and watch the illegal fireworks all around my neighborhood. I warm at the muffled sound of a faraway launch, the pop, crackle & sizzle of the burst and then the misty cloud of sulphur smoke that floats swiftly past my home...from a good quarter mile away. I just love it!

We are located smack dab in the middle of what I call the "siren" corridor...the 2 fire stations are at either end of a very long road that passes by our home...at least we are set way back on a court and not on the main road. Usually I hear the sirens going to AND from their locations, but this time I counted SEVEN separate vehicles heading in ONE direction...about 30 seconds apart. As soon as one passed, here came another.

Sheesh! As my mother used to say "sounds like the whole TOWN is burning down". I can identify a firetruck from an ambulance...police sirens and ambulances sound almost the same, but ambulances have a sharper tone. Anyway, couldn't see flames or smoke in the sky, so who knows WHAT was going on!


Okay, second story is about my traditional 4th of July flag cake. I'm sure many of you make one as well, but for those of you who don't, it is soooo simple & yummy, I thought I'd share my "recipe". I buy any white cake mix that advertises it's moisture "value" whether it's pudding or whatever. I bake it in a 13 x 9 inch pan and let it cool until it is still warm on the bottom. Then I pierce the top with a fork and spread smashed fresh berries all over it. I prefer strawberries & blueberries...some people use raspberries as well but to me it then tastes like a wedding cake.


While the cake bakes, I select 50, yes 50 similarly sized blueberries to represent all 50 stars of our spectacular American flag and I slice strawberries by hand. I love my strawberry slicer but it produces a slightly thinner slice that is a little too floppy and I want a firm slice so I don't mess up the whipped cream "icing". I just slice until I think I have enough and then being my anal self, I organize them by size so I can make rows of similarly sized strawberries...looks a little "gollywumpus" to mix sizes....yeah, yeah, I know.

For some reason I just couldn't get good light for this final "ta-da" photo, but here she is... I always present the cake to my family so they can see it before we each dig into whenever we are ready to munch on it. I put the cake in the fridge so it's deliciously chilled which makes a big difference in texture and flavor. It helps to firm up the cake portion. I just love this cake.

Since there are only 3 of us in my household, I always hope my son will attend a party so he can take most of it with him...and sure enough he came through once again, saying "thanks Mom!!!" on his way out the door. Of course, this happiness followed a bbq here at home with the BEST ever tri-tip I've cooked so far!

I used to marinade the darned things for hours and still didn't get flavor running all the way through as I'd hoped. But I have now created a marinade so perfect that only ONE hour on each side is enough!

And here it is...no measurements, just dumped it in a pan as I saw fit:

Soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, worchestshire sauce, liquid smoke (mesquite flavor) and sesame seed oil

As Rachael Ray would say....Yum-OH!

Hope I entertained you today...now go enter my giveaway!!!!

Summer Berry Specials!

Special #1: Peppermint Cherry Polymer Clay Bracelet

Features: Siam Swarovski Crystals & .925 Sterling Silver

(Clay beads measure 10mm in diameter

Matching bracelet available upon request)

For price, see this on my ETSY site


CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT ON SUNDAY, JULY 5, DON'T MISS IT!!!

Special #2: Vintage Strawberry Creme Polymer Clay Bracelet

Features: Polymer Clay strawberry beads against pink background with Vintage Rose &

Erinite Swarovski Crystals & .925 Sterling Silver

(Clay beads have 10mm diameter. Bracelet Fits wrists up to 6 3/4 (16.8cm)

Matching earrings available upon request)

For pricing, view this piece on my ETSY site

I only have one set of each of these, but I can order more beads.
You would receive orders approximately 2 weeks after paying in full.

At the Seashore

Yowee, this bracelet is packed with the colors of summer. Lampwork beads in pink, white, cream & blues create a summery back drop for the spectacular polymer clay cane beads, which are NOT painted. The artist creates a design that runs all the way through a roll of clay so that each slice becomes like a mini painting on both sides...absolutely amazing. Every bead in this bracelet rests on a genuine Swarovski colored crystal to give you plenty of sparkle in the sunshine and the bracelet is very lightweight and not "jangly" sounding.


I just listed this in my ETSY shoppe in time for summer. I still have a summer special coming up here on this blog on Friday as well so be sure to pop right back for it (or perhaps 2 or 3!). Until then, enjoy the show with a few closeups.

A Great Day

This is the big flag hanging above our back yard. New and crisp, just in time for the Fourth of July.

Our wedding anniversary was on Friday, but we saved celebrating until Saturday since we could be together all day. We needed to make a morning run to our favorite old fashioned neighborhood hardware store and since it's right around the corner from our favorite breakfast diner, we stopped first for a meal...y-u-u-m!

Then we were off to the first showing of the morning for "Star Trek" and discovered that the movie theater shaves $4.50 off full price tickets if you attend that early bird showing...yahoo, $9 saved! That covered one of the breakfasts...right ON.

The movie was good, but I still prefer "X-men origins: Wolverine". Star Trek was on a big scale and sci-fi, no matter how good, always loses a little in the translation for me. Wolverine was smaller, more intimate and much more focused on one character than a large cast. And Hugh Jackman looked incredible and moved beautifully so that wins out for me!.

We got home at 1 pm and put a 2nd umbrella up to cool our very hot brick patio and were just about to decide what to do for the rest of the day...when my sis called (mom to our sweet 3 1/2 year old nephew/godson) to say that one of our brothers was near her house for a visit and could we come up for an impromptu barbecue.

Yahoo, you bet! She's only a little over an hour away, so we were off to Napa. These vineyards are visible from her kitchen deck. They surround her on 2 sides but belong to a neighbor, so it's like she has vineyards but doesn't have to tend them...very cool.

I played and played with my nephew for hours, had dinner, yacked for about an hour and then said goodbye before his bedtime. He came running to me with arms out, calling my name and gave me a rare squeezy hug...he usually puts his arms around me but doesn't squeeze. Well this time he did and after I said "I love you" he said "I love you TOO". That "too" was a new concept he's recently begun to understood....and all the other adults said "ooohhhh" in unexpected unison...how sweet that was.

As we drove home on the freeway, we got to see a surprise mini, illegal firework display as the night sky was darkening. That was fabulous! What a great end to a great day. So, 26 years married and 32 years together, here is what we looked like a few months after we met. Hubby was taking a photography class so he took my photo and I took his...they both turned out pretty darned great!

My next entry will be photos of my next Summer Special beach themed bracelet so don't stay away long!