Friday fixations

I thought I'd revisit some of my past recipes since Christmas is fast approaching (and Thanksgiving for Americans), and I'm quickly getting too bogged down by moving details to even think about baking right now (gasp! What am I going to do for Christmas presents this year?!). This is the first recipe I posted over at Tasty Kitchen. It's my Gram's original tomato soup cake recipe, and it actually made the home page when I first posted it. I can't tell you how super excited I was about that!

Anyway, this cake is very easy to make and tastes more like a spice cake than tomato soup. So don't worry, you could easily sneak it past any picky eater. You can also adapt it by omitting the walnuts and raisins or by substituting another nut/fruit combination, and it goes perfectly with cream cheese icing but it's definitely delicious all by itself. I think it would make such an interesting dessert for any dinner or party. What a conversation you'd have!

Here's where I blogged about it, and here's where you can find the recipe on Tasty Kitchen!

curent fixations

{plate bowls} Yes. I love plate bowls. There should be no plates and there should be no bowls. The two should only exist in their combined state. So even though it went completely against my nature, I didn't think it would matter too much if I broke up an already lacking set of china just to have four cute vintage-y plate bowls. I definitely would have paid more than the $1.99/bowl I did pay just for the fact that they're not accosting my eyes with 'Pasta! Pasta! Mama Mia!' in green and red with spaghetti entwined around the words.

{super meat boy} I don't think I've mentioned it entirely enough, but I love cute video games. It doesn't really matter that they're bludgening squirrels, it's the fact that they're doing it cutely that makes it so wonderfully enjoyable. Super Meat Boy does just that and it also has wicked hard game play. Ok, maybe not wicked hard, but you are going to lose a meat boy or two (or more) on most levels. And that's what makes it so fun and fun to play together with Idle Husband. No, it's not two player, but we swap the controller back and forth for each level, old school. So when I can't pass a level, IH has a go at it and neither of us ever gets frustrated. It's also got unlockable content (big surprise), but it's unlockable gameplay with different characters which makes it more interesting (and not another cheap stuffing of minigames to fool you into thinking you got a bigger bang for your buck). We only just started the game when we accidentally stumbled on a warp zone which then zipped us over to another set of entirely different levels with a different character with different abilities and seemingly impossible levels forcing us to figure out how to use those abilities. And did I mention the graphics or the music? Both are adorably indie and interesting and fun and artistic. Final bonus? If I want to sit back and enjoy the story without playing (a definite must for me on any game we play), I can because it has that, too, and yes (you guessed it), it's crazy cute. Another $10 game (for a limited time only!) worth its salt. It makes you wonder why you ever bothered with that $60 game you got exactly one day worth of fun out of.

{the island of dr. gateau} Start learning about food and science and the study of all things having to do with taste written in the most clever and entertaining way, all while looking at ridiculously delicious photos of highly scientific food you'll probably never cook because it's so...well, scientific. Amazingly delicious.

{liz lemon} Actually, I adore Tina Fey as Liz Lemon. Tina Fey is my hero. Anyway, I'm assuming that by now, it's no secret that Liz is a little frumpier than most leading lady characters, and I love that honest and real quality about her. So even though she's not dressed in ridiculously fashionable (and mostly unattainable and unrealistic) Hollywood style, her look is absolutely adorable and completely do-able. On a more recent episode, she paired a long sleeved plaid shirt with a short sleeved sweater, and I'm totally planning on rocking that look as soon as I can. Other cute Liz Lemon inspired stuff: nerds, lemonade, necklace, postcards, glasses, blurgh, and check out fuck yeah liz lemon for quotes that will make you giggle.

{rose hips} I'm suddenly very sad I kept deadheading my rose bush with such gusto during the summer. I forgot how lovely rose hips are and how much they add to a fall bouquet. Only four escaped my cutter, so I stuck them into a tiny dried bouquet I already had.

{the edmonton vestiary} Finally! A stylish photo blog from our fair city! It's so refreshing to see real-life fashion that comes straight from the streets of Edmonton. If you love people watching (and ever had the notion that Edmonton was unstylish), I suggest you visit the vestiary tout suite!