Photo a Day in July #23

23.  Mirror

Zach and I had a lovely little shopping trip today.  :)  We both slept in, but I got up a bit earlier to finish his cake.  After he got up, showered, and dressed, we head to Arby's for 64 CENTS roast beef sandwiches!  Over the weekend, they sent out a coupon for cheap sandwiches to celebrate their anniversary.  (I guess the business was founded in 1964?)  We split a large fries, and it was more than enough because these were the full-sized sandwiches.  I like Arby's every now and then.  :)

Then we headed over to the Promenade, stopping in for some serious cereal sales at Target and for some iTunes gift cards that were on sale at Bed, Bath, and Beyond before going to Old Navy.  When I went on my shopping frenzy a few weeks ago, I got some Super Cash--$10 off $25.  Zach has needed some more shorts for awhile, so he looked for them while I tried on their colorful skinnies.  I have been in the market for some for awhile now, but I missed them when they were at F21.  I really want some RED ones.  I think they will be perfect for the fall!  I tried on one size larger than I usually get since they are Super Skinnies, but those were too small.  So I tried the next two sizes; thankfully, the next one up fit.  My only concern is they may shrink awfully fast with my Skinny Long Legs (this was my cousin's nickname for me in college).  I have seen some at Walmart (L.E.I) that I am going to try, too, and I may see if F21 has them in store again since both theirs and Walmart's are around $15.  Old Navy's is $30-ish, but they have 31 (THIRTY-ONE!) different colors online.  I had to try on the emerald green ones because they didn't have the size I needed in red.  I did like these a lot, too, but since I am out of fun money for the month, I will have to wait until August to buy.  That's why I want to make sure I have the right ones because we only get $30 each in fun money, so I could get two pairs instead of one depending on where I go.  *lol*  I also found two dresses (one purple striped one and one pink buttery one), a cute grey and yellow flowered shirt, and some yellow polka-dotted leggings for Briley's fifth birthday.  (This is my best friend's little girl, so she is my best niece. :)  I'll probably add another thing or two to her present--some kind of toy or book.

Finally, we popped into Petsmart to get Dinah a birthday present--she's ONE today!  We got her a Martha Stewart catnip mouse that rattles; it's in the cutest purple plaid material.  We didn't get it just because it's cute though; she is TOUGH on her toys, and we needed something she wouldn't chew through.  We also grabbed some Sunchips on sale at Walgreens, stopped by the credit union, went through the carwash, and came home for a piece of cake (I did promise a picture, so here's a few!):

This was right after I started assembling the cake--I had unwrapped my Kit Kat's and gathered everything I would need (except for the homemade whipped cream that was in the fridge).

 side view of the ice cream cake

I didn't do a very good job of leveling the ice cream in the cake pan.  *lol*  Thank goodness for icing/whipped cream to hide that!

 I had him close his eyes for the big reveal.  I needed to touch it up a bit because somehow it melted a bit in the freezer after I decorated it!  He was so surprised by how I decorated it! He is a HUGE fan of Kit Kat's!

 up close

Here, you can see that it is a little rough around the edges.

Happy birthday cake day, Baby!  I love you!  Now let's go collapse into a sugar coma!  (We quickly learned that a two-wafer-wide piece is the limit.)

Photo a Day in July #22

22.  Upside-Down

Zach's birthday is Wednesday, and every year I make him a scrumptious cake.  Usually, he requests Black Forest, but this year he wanted an ice cream cake.  (He requested it about two months ago.  *lol*)  I have never made one of those before, so I got on Pinterest to look for some ideas and made  a game plan.  He also asked if I could have it ready a few days sooner since we have a busy afternoon Wednesday (orientation session).  I decided to make it today since we are both off on Monday and could enjoy it then.  However, Dinah attacked Zach's foot last night--it bled quite a bit, was sore throughout the night, and made him hobble--and I woke up with a headache, so we missed Meeting this morning and had a very s-l-o-o-o-w start to our day.  I finally headed to the store at five this afternoon to pick up a few things I needed so I could get the ice cream ripening and cake baked.  (It's best to make the ice cream batter and refrigerate it for awhile before freezing.)  I made homemade chocolate chip ice cream, and then I made a homemade Black Magic (chocolate) cake (minus the marshmallows plus instant coffee).  This is the cake upside-down!  It was cooling on the rack, and I decided rather than being upside-down or placing an item upside-down or holding the camera upside-down that this would work for today!  I'm going to assemble the cake tomorrow, ice it with homemade whipped cream, place Kit Kat's around the outside, and top it with green M&M's (from a previous post).  I should be back tomorrow with a picture...

(I just realized that he is getting a Black Magic cake when he usually gets a Black Forest one.  There's something about those "black" (chocolate) cakes, I guess...)

I can't wait to try it!

Menu Monday: CANDIED ORANGE

Zach and I went on a day trip--well, afternoon trip--to Eureka Springs this weekend. We had planned to go on the Saturday before Valentine's Day, but the area's two feet of snow kept us, well, snowed in. Just like Arkansas weather, a week later it was in the 70s or so. It was a beautiful day, not overly sunny, which I don't like. (I like slightly sunny, overcast, cloudy, and/or downright gloomy days. *lol*)

We parked uphill and walked to the downtown area, snapping pictures (see above) and stopping into interesting shops. I was starving, so we got a soft pretzel because our favorite funnel cake place is closed for the season. :( We also went into Two Dumb Dames, one of the fudge and taffy shops.

Last time we came to Eureka, we learned that we should stick to more traditional flavors of fudge in smaller amounts because, the last time we came to Eureka, we got a pound of fudge with such flavors as pumpkin and mint chocolate--the last of which sounds good in theory, but the mint flavor was overpowering and somewhat artificial tasting. We threw most of it out. Of course, we had been to Eureka already three weeks prior to that trip and had just polished off the half-pound of fudge we bought then. You win some, you lose some.

So we got some tiger butter fudge for Zach and some dark chocolate and raspberry cream fudge for me. Then we saw CANDIED ORANGE slices dipped in dark chocolate.

Two of my favorite candies in the world are these:

This is one of my favorite candy bars, which I first discovered at Whole Foods. Then I found them at the Target in Conway. Now I can't find them at any Target. :( I love to take a small bite and let it melt in my mouth down to the orange peel. I love orange peel, especially in some biscotti.

[photo from here]

This Christmas we got three of these on clearance. That was amazing to us because sometimes you can't find them anywhere before Christmas. I got one of these several years ago, and l-o-v-e-d it. Then, as I mentioned, I couldn't find them again for awhile. What's not to love? You get to whack your candy to break it! This year I used one to make some decadent homemade ice cream.

[photo from here]

Zach loves these:

This is a British KitKat that we have been unable to find stateside. Zach brought back a ton when he went on his English trip, and I restocked on mine. Thankfully we have a family friend who keeps us supplied when she travels home to Scotland. (Thanks, Fiona!) I don't like KitKats, but I love these....though not as much as the husby. ;)

[photo from here]

So we knew we had to try a slice. For over a $1.

It. was. wonderful. We both went on and on about how sweet and fruity and chocolatey it was. Definitely worth the $1 unless...we could make our own.

CANDIED ORANGE

1 orange

1 1/2 c. water

1/2 sugar

chocolate for dipping (optional)

-Slice in the orange lengthwise (through the ends), then lay the cut sides down. Slice the orange into 1/4-inch wide slices, discarding the end pieces. Be careful to not cut them too thick or too thin.

-In a flat-bottomed skillet, mix water and sugar together and bring to a boil. Add the orange slices.

-Boil for 6-8 minutes, turning once or twice. Reduce to medium heat and continue simmering for 30 minutes, turning the slices occasionally.

-As the liquid thickens and becomes syrupy, reduce to low heat and continue cooking and turning until the oranges are translucent and the liquid is thick.

-Cool oranges in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to wax paper to cool completely.

-If desired, melt your choice of chocolate in which to dip the orange slices once cool. Lay on a clean sheet of wax paper to harden.

[1 orange]

I think these would be beautiful on a cake! Mine did not photograph so well above, not to mention the poor baby that got scorched. But they do look nice and pretty in person...and once you get them dolled up in chocolate!

What do you think? Have you ever had candied fruits before?