Cake Pops!

For Jody's wedding shower, I decided to make these adorable Cake Pops! that a girl at work introduced me to. You can find the directions on how to make them here, but I'll just share some of the tips and tricks I learned along the way to make it easier.

First of all, the recipe calls for a whole can of icing. This makes the consistency much too sticky and difficult to work with - it's more like a dough at that point when you want a moist, cakey texture. So half a can of icing turned out to be the perfect amount.

I think some people recommend using a cake baller (like a mini ice cream scoop), but I found that it was easier if Matt and I just hand-rolled the cake mixture into the sizes we wanted.

Then it got even trickier - we had cooled the cake balls over night, and in the morning we started the process of putting them on sticks and priming them for dunking in the chocolate. Our mistake was taking out the whole pan of cake balls and trying to get them all on sticks at once. That gave them time to thaw out, which led to balls crumbling apart in the hot chocolate mixture! But then again, it's not a true Pamela Baking Day if we don't have at least one disaster/meltdown. Poor Matt - he puts up with me so well :) So to solve this problem, we found that it was easier to leave the balls in the freezer and just pull them out 2 at a time to work with. That was fine, since you have to re-heat the chocolate after every 2 dunks anyways to keep it from hardening in the glass. Very Cold Balls + Very Hot Chocolate = Success

That's another good trick - using a tall glass to melt your chocolate in, rather than a bowl. On our first trial of making the Cake Pops, we used the bowl method and found it hard to swirl the Pops around to get full chocolate coverage. A lot of them fell apart or had bare sides and it did not look as pretty. By dunking the Pops straight down in a tall glass of chocolate, you get full, smooth coverage without all of the hassle.

And yet another tip - splurge for the good chocolate!! We tried just using the chocolate chip morsels that you can buy at the grocery store, but they didn't look or taste as good. So I went to a cake specialty store and bought baker's chips (someone told me you can also find them at Michael's). They had a lot of different colors to choose from - I went with purple to fit the theme of the party, and also added in some white for funsies. I bought the cute little heart sprinkles there too - I think I spent way more than I should have at that cake shop, but I was in baker's heaven!

Jordan helping out

Matt also made me this nifty Cake Pop Holder by spacing holes in a slab of styrofoam about 2 inches apart. That way, I could cool the Pops in an upright position to avoid flat sides during cooling. Plus, it looked really adorable when all of the Pops were on there - like a little field of cake :)

When I saw that they were selling Cake Pops at Starbucks for $2 a piece, I thought it was such a rip-off. But after spending a day trying to make 100 of these treats, I decided that $2 each is a more than fair price - ha!! The end result was great, though, and everybody loved the look and taste of the Pops! I will definitely be making them again, but I think it will be a special-occasion-only treat :)

Birthday Weekend

Even though my actual birthday is not until tomorrow, I think I can safely say that 26 will be a good year for me. I'm basing this prediction off of the fact that this past weekend we had an awesome time pre-celebrating the big 2-6.

Friday night after work, Matt and I headed to downtown Phoenix to have dinner with my parents at a place called Gallo Blanco at the Clarendon Hotel. The place was really cute, and we grabbed a margarita while we waited for our table and enjoyed the funky atmosphere. We had heard that the food was great here, with a focus on local and fresh ingredients. And it did not disappoint! Their guacamole is made with a citrus zest and was a yummy start (even though my dad had to down a glass of milk to avoid having an allergic reaction to the avocados. I don't blame him - I would risk a swollen throat for guacamole any day!) The pork tacos were some of the best I've ever had, and Matt ordered a tasty carne asada burrito. They also serve Mexican breakfast all day, which was tempting for me since I love me some breakfast burritos. We'll have to go back one day to see how they are. It was so nice to spend time with my parents and my brother Tommy who had tagged along for the good eats. And my mom got me a cute cocktail dress that will make a photo appearance soon since I plan on wearing it to Jody's wedding shower!

Saturday morning, we lazed around for the first part of the day, then decided it was time to run to Costco to get a 10-pound birthday cake :) While we were there, Matt also bought me the birthday gift that he had been planning for some time - a new Nikon 3100 Digital SLR camera!!! Oh man, do I love this thing! I am only halfway through my instructional video on how to use it, but already I am taking better, clearer pictures. Especially when you compare them to the ones I've been taking with my phone, the difference in quality is huge! I am so grateful to have such a thoughtful husband who would buy me an awesome gift like that. Hopefully in the weeks to come, I'll be able to post some of the pics I'll be taking and you can see the improvement - ha!

That night, we got dressed and headed over to my favorite pizza place (Grimaldi's) with my favorite friends. We had a blast chatting, catching up, and enjoying the food. Then we headed over to the movies to see "Just Go With It" with Jennifer Anniston and Adam Sandler. It was a cute little romantic comedy - pretty predictable but I liked it nonetheless :) Then back over to our house to demolish the cake (we made a good dent - about 1/2 of what is NO JOKE A TEN POUND CAKE!!) I also got to open my awesome gifts (clothes, flip flops and gift cards galore from Claudia and Jody and sweet new jewelry from B!) It was an awesome night and left me feeling very thankful for my amazing group of friends.

Sunday we got up early and joined Shannon and Tom for a spring training game at the new ballpark in Scottsdale. I honestly couldn't even tell you who was playing or what the score was without looking it up... I prefer to spend my games eating nachos and enjoying the warm weather :) After that, we headed over to check out the new Talking Stick Casino since that is where we'll be staying for Jody's bachelorette party. It looked like a fun hotel with a good pool - and I heard that the buffet is the best in the state!!

After we went home and showered, we headed over to Matt's mom's house for a nice dinner at Ruffino Italian Cuisine. We all split a bottle of wine and caught up with each other, then we enjoyed a fantastic and authentic tasting dinner. There was even a guitarist playing all night which added to the cool ambiance. After that, we headed back to their house for more Costco cake and presents. It was another great night spent with family and was the perfect way to cap off a great weekend.

Looking forward to laying low tomorrow and just spending time with Matt and Jordan for my actual b-day. Here's to hoping 26 is as great as (or even better than!) 25.

Napa Valley

In typical Hesselblogger fashion, it is now 3 weeks since our trip to Napa Valley and we are finally going to blog about it.  Much like the New York trip, this was quite a departure from our usual beach-style vacation.  This trip was all about exploring the area and enjoying all the great food and drinks this place had to offer.

We arrived Friday morning into a portion of Napa Valley called Yountville and checked into our hotel, the Napa Valley Lodge.  Our favorite part about this hotel was the fireplace in the room.  It was fun to unwind after the day and enjoy a crackling fire, especially when it was a little cold and rainy outside.  Our first stop on the food tour was a place called Bottega.  This was some very tasty Italian food, probably our second favorite restaurant of the trip.  On any other trip it might have been the best, but we would top it later that night.  After lunch we went to our first wine tour/tasting at Stags' Leap Winery.  We learned all about the history of the area and of this particular winery, which was used as a speak-easy during prohibition.

In the evening we had our much anticipated dinner outing at Redd.  This place was amazing.  Pamela's coworker, who made the reservation, pressured us into getting the 5-course tasting menu with wine pairing.  Sooo worth it.  It was actually more like a 10-course meal because they gave Pamela and I different courses each time, which we would trade and split.  Every dish was amazing and we thoroughly cleaned our plates of the delicious food.  I think we passed out as soon as we got back to the hotel, we were so stuffed after eating 10 courses, with wine.

Saturday we began with Lunch at Mustard's Grill.  Yes, we began with lunch.  It's our vacation, we're allowed to sleep in.  Mustard's was described as upscale truck stop food, or something similar.  Don't let that throw you off, it was yet another fancy restaurant.  We stuck with old favorites though; onion rings, a cheeseburger, and mac 'n cheese.  Next we decided to drive around to see the area and try a few more wineries.

We first stopped at a winery called Peju.  You can drive up the main highway and there are wineries and tasting rooms all along the road.  We looked a few up online that we wanted to stop at, but if you were so inclined you could just stop at one every mile and try some wine.  All the main houses were gorgeous with fountains and fun art, which was almost as fun as trying the wine.

Next, we drove toward Sonoma and went to a place called Artesa Vinyards & Winery.  This was a huge place on top of a hill, and if it wasn't so darn foggy that day the views would have been amazing.  All their neat fountains and water features did give us a few ideas for our next house though. 

Our dinner for the evening was at the Culinary Institute of America, Greystone Campus.  This was really cool because their kitchen is situated in the middle of the restaurant and completely open so you can watch all the food being prepared.  Sort of Like Buca di Bepo, but with way tastier food.  We were hoping to see some head instructor chefs yelling at the students like Gordon Ramsey on Hell's Kitchen but no such luck.  It was still a fun experience and the food was great again.

Before leaving on Sunday we got up early and tried one last tasty treat on our way out, the Bouchon Bakery.  This place had super pastries and I'd say it's a must try if you ever stay around Yountville.  Pamela had a classic French croissant with chocolate and almond filling, and I had a cream cheese danish.  We also snagged a caramel macaroon for the plane ride home which was my favorite.  Mmmm.

I think I gained a pound a day while we were on that trip, the food was just so good.  But I guess that's why I'm doing P90X, so I can enjoy some nice treats like that every once in a while.

We Can Do It In The Library on Top of the Books

But since we don't have membership at a library yet, we do it at home. Read, that is. But I like to throw in rap lyrics every once in a while so people know how gangsta I am...



One of the things on my "30 Before 30" list is to read a lot of good books. I didn't specify how many and I didn't even try to qualify what constitutes a "good" book. Truth is, I like them all. From mysteries to comedies to educational books, I have always enjoyed reading. But for four years of school, my reading list consisted solely of textbooks (which I read front to cover - oh yes I did! I also loved school... nerd alert). So I want to get back into reading for pleasure, which my friends are making nice and easy for me!




The lovely Miss Jody loaned me Water For Elephants and The Middle Place, and recently bought me Firefly Lane for Christmas. I've read 2 of 3 so far and loved them both. And then TODAY, my WBF (Work Best Friend) gave me SIX new books to enjoy! A few fun ones and a few smart ones (including Freakonomics, which I have been meaning to read for years!) I am so excited to get started on them - reading is so relaxing for me and it makes me feel more productive than just watching TV.



Matt is not as crazy about reading as I am, but I like to give him verbal book reports after I'm done reading something. I think he enjoys it :)

So this post is just to say Thank You! to the pretty ladies helping me to achieve my reading goals this year! I can't wait to get started - let's do this!!!

P90X Results Blog

I did it.  I finished the first 90 days of the P90X workout routine.  That makes me an official graduate.  I didn't actually complete it in 90 days, it was more like 110 but I'm going to count it anyway.  There was a week around Thanksgiving where I was sick and couldn't work out, plus a couple trips (NY & California a couple times) where I couldn't exercise.  Other than that, I stuck to the workout schedule and did something everyday.

I am super excited about my results so far.  I haven't gone through a complete transformation like someone on The Biggest Loser, but I definitely notice a difference.  Before I started I felt like I was in some of the worst shape I've been in.  A combination of being lazy, traveling a lot for work, and maybe just getting older had dragged me down.  I'm happy to have come back from that in a few short months but I need to be strong and stick with this exercise regimen so I don't regress again.

I don't have too many quantifiable results besides the pictures, but I do know that I am down about 15 pounds since I started.  This is based on weight measurements taken at the allergist's office around the time I started and a few weeks ago.  I didn't have a scale when I started so it's hard to determine just how much weight I've lost.  I have shed at least an inch around my waist and probably more like 2 inches.  I'm using a smaller notch on my belts and my jeans fit more loosely.  And finally, I haven't had to take my migraine headache medicine in over a month.  That was a big reason for me to take on such an intense workout schedule, and will be a big driver for me to keep it up in the future.

Here are my before and after pictures.  Hopefully you can tell, but the ones on the left are the ones of me before starting and the ones on the right are me after the first 90 days.  Looking back, I'm glad I took the pictures.  It's hard to tell on a day-to-day basis by looking at yourself in the mirror, but when I look at the pictures side by side I can tell a difference from when I started.  Maybe sometime after the 180 or 270 day mark I can put the pictures side by side and see a huge difference like they do in the infomercials and on the website.

Long-Overdue New York Post Part 2

Since it's been almost two full months since we went on our vacation I suppose it's about time I added the second portion of our New York trip blog.

Our third day in New York picked up right where we left off on day two.  We continued with more activities and sight seeing adventures.  In the morning we decided to walk around and explore Central Park before catching our matinee.  Central Park was beautiful with all the walking paths, bridges, trees, and lakes.  I think we ended up walking about half way through the park before we decided we needed to head back. 

 

We saw Belvedere Castle which had some awesome views of the park, so we stopped and took some pictures before starting our walk back.  I couldn't believe how big this park was, it just kept going and going.  It even has its own zoo.  All along the walking paths there were musicians and artisans who would draw a portrait of you.  I'm not talking about a caricature either, these were straight-up, high quality, portraits.  Too bad it was freezing out and we didn't want to stand still long enough to get one done.   

After leaving the park, we wanted to stop by the Carnegie Deli for lunch.  This place was recommended by one of Pamela's coworkers and I guess it's famous for large portion sizes, rude service, and cheesecake.  Unfortunately when we got there the line was literally a block long.  No way we were going to wait in the cold that long, plus it was getting close to our showtime.  We ended up ducking into a little deli/cafe called Bagel & Bean near the end of the Carnegie Deli line.  No wait there and we even had time afterward to stop at a cupcake shop next to the theater called Crumbs Bakery.  Yum.  Bellies full, we headed into the Broadway theater to see Promises, Promises with Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth.  Being on Broadway definitely meant a step up in terms of the stage, props, and overall production value.  Another good play and Sean Hayes was hilarious in the lead role.

Back to the hotel to change into some warmer clothes and we were back out in the evening.  We took the subway toward downtown to eat at a place called Freeman's.  I brought up the location on my GPS but it was nowhere to be found on the main street.  We walked all around the block and determined the only place for it to be was down a sketchy alley named Freeman.  We had come all the way here so we decided to be brave and check it out.  Sure enough, it was down the alley and it turned out to be a cute little restaurant, albeit very crowded.  Apparently they were very accustomed to this because the entire upstairs was a bar/lounge where you could hang out while waiting for your table.  Again, the food was great.  

An unrelated picture of us at Times Square

We decided there was time for one more stop before calling it quits for the night.  We took the subway back toward midtown and went to the Empire State Building.  Another iconic staple of New York City that we had to visit while there.  Night time turned out to be an excellent time for visiting the Empire State Building.  I guess during the day it can get pretty crowded with tourists but at night there was hardly anyone there.  The views from the 86th story observatory were breathtaking.  You can walk around each side of the building to see the entire city.  It was very romantic with all the city lights and a saxophonist playing Christmas songs.

Not the greatest quality picture, but it proves we were all the way up there.

Sunday was a special day because we got to meet up with our good friends Don and Nicole whom we hadn't seen in almost a year.  They took a train from Connecticut to meet us in New York to spend the day.  So the first thing we did was meet up with them at Grand Central Terminal.  Grand Central is another New York landmark which was very cool to experience.  After finally finding them in the huge main hall of Grand Central we were off down fifth avenue toward Rockefeller Center for some ice skating.  Fifth avenue had a ton of stores decorated for Christmas and elaborate window displays.  Some even had sectioned off walkways for viewing their window displays without blocking pedestrian traffic.  It was a good idea but they didn't work.  Everyone, including us, would slow down to view the displays anyway right in the middle of the sidewalk.  I think it took us about 30 minutes to walk one block.  Rockefeller Center was fun with the big tree and decorated plaza, but we wouldn't be skating there.  They had a special event going on that reserved the rink and it wouldn't be available to the public until the early evening.  

Undaunted, we looked up an alternate skating rink at Central Park which turned out to be an even better option.  It was a much bigger rink, for cheaper, and no time limit on skating.  I would recommend going to this rink and skating amongst the trees and beautiful backdrop of Central Park, even though Rockefeller may be the iconic New York ice rink.

We worked up a bit of an appetite out on the ice so we decided it was time for lunch.  We took the subway toward downtown again to eat at a pizza place called Lombardi's (apparently all the good restaurants are in this area between midtown and downtown).  This was Pamela's food highlight of the trip.  This place had advertised on their walls and menus that they were the original pizza place in New York.  I'm not sure if that is true but they definitely knew what they were doing.  We went with the waiter's recommendation of a spinach and meatball pizza.  These toppings are not what we would typically get on our pizzas but Lombardi's made it work and somehow it was delicious.  

Now it was back to midtown to see the gingerbread extravaganza at Le Parker Meridien Hotel.  A lot of hype turned out to be 6 movie themed gingerbread houses, which was a bit of a letdown.  At least it gave us a place to warm up and sit for a minute.  Since we were in the area, we decided to try the Carnegie Deli again and hopefully score a piece of their famous cheesecake.  Even though the place was packed around lunch time, apparently mid afternoon it's a ghost town.  We were able to get right in and score a table.  Pamela and I split an enormous piece of cheesecake that was as tasty as it was over-sized.  

Pictures of all the famous people who have been to the Carnegie Deli

To end the night we decided to head back to our hotel and just spend some time catching up with our friends.  Even though we just had drinks and a few appetizers at the hotel bar it was a highlight of the trip to hang out with our good friends.  We walked Don and Nicole back to Grand Central and said goodbye but still had time to check out a few features of the building.  There is a patch of the ceiling that they left untouched when the building was restored to remind people of how disgusting it used to be.  We had to ask someone to point it out and sure enough it was a small strip of pure black on the ceiling.  Hard to imagine the whole place being like that.  Then we found the whispering wall, which is a neat feature of the architecture that allows sound to be amplified or reflected from opposite corners of a large hallway.  Pamela and I stood at the appropriate positions and you can literally whisper into the wall and the other person, about 30 feet away, can hear you perfectly. 

Christmas trees and decorations were everywhere

Overall we had a great time.  Heading into the trip I wasn't sure if I would like New York or not.  My idea of a vacation usually involves beaches and warm weather, which this had neither.  However, I can honestly say that this has been one of the most fun vacations that we've been on.  I have been converted from my beaches only vacation mentality.  I would be glad to come back and see New York again sometime.  Even though we got around and saw a lot of the city, I'm sure there are tons of things left to try. 

The Long-Overdue New York Post

Whoops... Matt and I went to New York back at the beginning of December, but with the holidays and my general laziness, I haven't gotten around to posting about it yet. The short: it was a blast! Great food, awesome shows, fun times. The long:

We flew in to La Guardia on Thursday and got into our cab just in time to experience downtown New York rush hour. All of the crazy honking and obscenity-shouting you see in the movies? Totally real! I'm thinking New Yorkers could use a crash course on chilling the eff out, no? Anyways - our hotel was really cool. We stayed at the Hilton in Times Square using the rewards points Matt had been accumulating over the last year. We ended up getting a room on the 39th floor with a view of the city. That night, we unpacked, bundled up, and headed out to have sushi at a cute restaurant called Aoki. We were both surprised at how dead the place seemed to be given the thousands of people walking around outside in Time Square and the great Yelp reviews we had read. We weren't disappointed with the food - very fresh and tasty. And the prices weren't out of control like we were expecting either.



Afterward, we decided to act like non-lame adults and go to a bar. We started at Latitude, which was pretty similar to a place we used to go in Tucson called Sam Hughes. But there weren't TVs there and Matt wanted to watch the UA/ASU game, so after a while we headed over to a pub called The Mean Fiddler. There, we sat and had some appetizers while we watched the first half. This place seemed like a bar/frat house hybrid, since there was an intense beer-pong tournament happening in one area of the place. It must be a weekly league or something because the teams had shirts with their names and logos. Also - this is where we learned of an awesome but dangerous game you can play with your friends:

After the meal is done and the check comes to the table, have each person throw in their credit card. Then, when the waiter comes by to pick it up, let them know that you want them to pick just one card at random to put the whole bill on!!! GAHHH!!! The guys at the table next to us apparently play often, and it looked like a lot of fun (if you're not a cheap-o like me).

We watched the second half of the game from the hotel and I fell asleep as our beloved Wildcats threw away the game. Which wouldn't be so bad, except I returned to work to find my cube ASU-ed. Bleh!

The next day, we woke up and rode the subway down to the ferry. Matt was able to see the metro routes on his phone so we really didn't have many problems navigating the system. I thought it was really cool that you can ride the ferry for free - it goes right by the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island so you can get a great view without having to go too tourist-y. It was beautiful to see where our families started their American lives, and we enjoyed the quiet ferry ride. Then back at the ferry dock, I had legit the best pretzel of my life. It was cinnamon with vanilla icing to dip and it was warm and amazing. I imagine if my life were to ever flash before my eyes, that pretzel would make an appearance.


After the ferry, we walked around Battery Park, the Financial District and Wall Street, and saw where they are re-building the World Trade Center. Then, Matt agreed to let me duck into a department store to do a little Christmas shopping. It was crazy and hectic in there, but fun and we got some good deals. We continued our walking tour de New York by heading over to see the Brooklyn Bridge. Sitting on a bench and looking out over the water was very peaceful.



Next came Matt's food highlight of the trip: Bar Pitti. It was a restaurant recommendation from one of my co-workers and it did not disappoint! Apparently Beyonce and Jay-Z eat there a lot, but when we went it was just a bunch of regular Joes. However, the food was very authentic, and our Italian server described the menu to us in an insanely heavy accent. We started with a proscitto salad, then moved on to the main course: Veal Tortellini for me and Rigatoni with turkey sausage for Matt. A little Panna Cotta to cap off the night, and we were in dining heaven.

Our last stop for the night was over to see the off-Broadway production of Avenue Q. It was one of the funniest plays I have ever seen! The actors were wonderful and the songs were hilarious. It had both of us cracking up the whole time. It was a great way to cap off the day.

More to come... possibly written by Matt because I am tired now and going to bed :)