Pumpkin Bread with Vanilla Pudding

My son was looking through a bunch of my pictures from when I was a kid trying to figure out who was who.  He saw a picture of me like the one below of good ol' Will Ferrell.

He said, "Is that you, Mom?" pointing to one of the faces.

"Yep,"

Then, pointing to the other one, "Is that.... Uncle Erik?!"

I laugh and say, "Nope, that's me, too."

With a the most quizzical look on his face, he frantically said, "What?!?  Why are there two of you in that picture?!"

I think I laughed for a good five minutes.  I'm pretty sure that every kid that was born in the 80s has a picture like these.  They are completely ridiculous.  I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when they were taking these pictures.

"First, look right here.  At me.  At the camera.  Don't smile though!"

"Now, for the second shot.  Look off into the distance and picture something wonderful.  Unicorns, cotton candy, swimming in a pool of spaghetti, anything that conjures up happy, wonderful thoughts and let those thoughts show through that perfectly, cheesy smile. Perfect."  Click!

Good times.

Now, this pumpkin bread is something that one could think about to conjure up a perfect little smile.  It's tender and delicious.  I thought I had the most perfect pumpkin bread recipe, but this one takes the cake- or the bread in this matter.  No need to hunt for another recipe for pumpkin bread or to go to your local Great Harvest to buy some.  This puts it all to shame!  Now, get baking!





















Vanilla Pudding Pumpkin Bread
PHOTO and recipe source: http://chindeep.com/2015/09/03/vanilla-pudding-pumpkin-bread/

1 and 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 (3.4 oz.) package dry, instant vanilla pudding (unprepared)

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, melted (or oil of your choosing)

1 cup sugar

15 oz. pure pumpkin puree

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease an 8x4 loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients (flour, dry vanilla pudding mix, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon).  In another bowl, combine the butter (or oil), sugar, pumpkin puree, and eggs.  Whisk well.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients; whisk until just combined.  Add the chocolate chips, if using.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Top with chocolate chips or nuts (if using).  A sprinkling of cinnamon sugar will turn out delicious as well.

Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool for ten minutes in the pan.  Remove from the pan and place on a wire rack to complete cooling.  

Bakery-Style Blueberry Streusel Muffins

See this lovely picture below?  I didn't take that awesome picture.  The girl at littlesweetbaker.com did.  However, when I made these muffins, they actually looked like that when I took them out!  I couldn't believe my eyes.  These muffins come out so tall and perfectly-streuseled.  They were so delicious, too!  My son ate three of them and said they were the best blueberry muffins he's ever had- but then again, he's 7.  They were pretty darn close to being the best I've tasted!  They turned out perfect. Box mixes are dead to me.


Recipe and Photo Source: http://littlesweetbaker.com/2015/02/13/bakery-style-blueberry-streusel-muffins/

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 & ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk (any kind, whole or buttermilk is best)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 & ½ cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 
  
• For the streusel topping
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp unsalted butter, melted
• ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place muffin liners in a muffin pan.

Prepare the streusel topping.  Put the ingredients in a bowl and use a fork to mix until it resembles coarse crumbs.

In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Whisk to combine.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, add the melted butter and sugar.  Whisk to combine.  Add the eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Whisk until smooth.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  Gently stir with a rubber spatula and flour is incorporated.  Gently fold in the blueberries.

Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 full.  Top with streusel topping.

Bake for 5 minutes.  Reduce the temperature to 375 and bake another 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Strawberry Coffee Cake Muffins

My son told me about his dream from last night.  In short, there was a hole in our back yard, and the kids heard a growl.  My son said it was a tiger, and my oldest daughter didn't believe him.  Sure enough, a tiger pops out of the hole, and I beat it with a rake and shoo it back into the ground.  Take that tiger!!  Aren't dreams awesome?!  

Now you can awake from your awesome dreams and make these delicious muffins for breakfast.  They are tender, delicious, and all that a muffin should be!  Enjoy!

Strawberry Coffee Cake Muffins
photo source: http://www.sugarandsoul.co/2014/07/strawberry-coffee-cake-muffins.html (my photo wouldn't load!)
source: livingbettertogether.com

Muffins:
1/4 c softened butter
3/4 c white sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 c milk or buttermilk
1 1/2 c fresh strawberries, diced small

Crumble:
1/4 c butter, cold
1/2 c flour
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c sugar

Preheat the oven to 375.

Line a muffin pan with liners.

Cream butter and sugars in a mixing bowl for two minutes or until the mixture is light in color and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla.  Mix well.

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Whisk to combine.  Add this to the mixing bowl alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour.

Gently toss in the strawberries.

Divide evenly among 12 muffin cups.

In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and sugar.  Using a fork, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle this over the raw muffin batter.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350.  Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Cinnamon Scones

This was my first attempt at making scones, and my family asked why in the world I had never made them before.  It's basically a thick, cinnamon-glazed covered pie crust.  Sweet mercy.  It was tasty,  Next time, I'm going to add blueberries or chocolate chips.  It'll be fantastic!  

Cinnamon Scones
source: http://moneysavingmom.com/2011/01/glazed-cinnamon-scones-recipe.html

Yield: 1 8-inch pie/scone/breakfast torte thing

Ingredients:
2 c flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 c butter
1 egg, separated
3 T honey
1/3 c buttermilk (or 1/3 c milk mixed with 2 t lemon juice)

Crumb Topping:
1-2 T sugar
1/2 t cinnamon

Glaze:
1/2 - 1 c powdered sugar
1-3 t milk
1/2 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Whisk together.  Cut in the butter with a fork until crumbly.

Separate the egg.  Set the egg white aside.

In a bowl, combine the egg yolk, honey, and buttermilk.  Add the the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Flour a surface and plop the dough out.  Shape it into a ball then pat it into into a 1/2 inch thick 8 inch round.  Using a pizza cutter, cut it into 8 pieces just like a pizza.  Transfer it to a greased cookie sheet.  Whisk the reserved egg white until frothy.  Brush it onto the tops of the scones.  Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

While it's baking, combine the glaze ingredients.

When the scones come out, drizzle them with the glaze and serve warm.

Muffin Tin Doughnuts

If you like cake doughnuts, you're going to love this recipe!  These muffins taste just like a good cake doughnut.  I think my kids each ate three of them within a few hours this morning.  My husband said he liked my muffins, too, but based on the smirk on his face, I think he meant something other than these.

Muffin Tin Doughnuts
source: America's Test Kitchen The New Family Cookbook

Doughnuts:
2 3/4 c flour
1 c sugar
1/4 c corn starch
1 T baking powder
1 t salt (omit if you use salted butter)
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1 c buttermilk
8 T butter, melted
2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk

Coating:
1 c sugar
2 t cinnamon
8 T melted butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Grease the muffin tin very well.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, corn starch, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.  In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter, buttermilk, eggs, and egg yolk.  Make a large well in the dry ingredients.  Pour in the wet ingredients.  Use a rubber spatula to combine the wet and dry ingredients.  Mix until no flour remains.

Divide batter into the 12 cups.  The batter will be thick, and you'll fill them to about 3/4 full.  Use all of the batter.

Bake for 19-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Let them cool in the muffin tins for 5 minutes.

Pour them onto a clean counter.

Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Working on one doughnut at a time, brush it completely with butter.  Roll it in cinnamon sugar.  Repeat with all doughnut muffins.

Let rest for another 5-10 minutes.

Lemon Strawberry Yogurt Bread

Somewhere in Huntington Beach is a person that has stumbled across a little black Sony Cybershot camera in the many sands of the beach.  They picked it up, surely looked through the pictures delicious food and three amazing kids, and has decided to keep the camera for themselves. :(  This, my friends, is the sad but true story of my camera.  It fell out of the back of our beach chair, and I lost two months worth of pictures.  Sniff. Sniff.  I had picture tutorials for this delicious bread, but now some happy person with a metal detector can delete those pictures, along with others, and sell the camera for a measly ten bucks.  

Back to the bread... sorry... When a mother loses pictures, it's like losing a piece of her soul.  The soul can be mended, however, with a slice of this lucious bread.  My dad and brother came over to try it when I made it the first time around, and they each had about three pieces and dreamed about devouring the rest of the cake when they got back home across town.  This stuff is so moist and flavorful.  The texture is perfect.  It really does taste like a cake right out of a bakery.  Delicious.  

 Lemon Strawberry Yogurt Bread
source: http://aspicyperspective.com/2010/05/farmstand-fresh.html

1 c butter, softened
2 c sugar
3 eggs
3 T lemon juice, divided
zest of one lemon
2 1/2 c flour, divided
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
8 oz plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
12 oz. fresh strawberries, diced
1 c powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Grease and flour a ten inch bundt pan.  Warning- make sure you flour it well!  The first time I made it, the top of the bread stayed in the bundt pan.  Lightly grease the whole inside with cooking spray and sprinkle flour around the pan.  Tilt and pat the pan so the flour evenly coats it.

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda.  Add the lemon zest.  Set aside.

In your mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.  Add 1 T lemon juice.

Alternately add the flour mixture and yogurt- starting and ending with the flour.

Toss the strawberries in the remaining 1/4 c flour.  Gently stir them into the batter.

Pour the batter into the bundt pan.  Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to 325.  Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Allow it to cool for 20 minutes in the pan.  Turn it onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Once it is cool, whisk the powdered sugar with the remaining 1 T lemon juice.  Drizzle over the top of the cake.

 My crazy kids and husband think that cooked mushy fruit is the grossest thing on the planet, so the next time I make this, the strawberries will not make it in.  I think the cake would be glorious without the strawberries as well.

Make this soon, and if you go to Huntington Beach and see some random person looking at pictures on a camera and drooling, please double check if it is a Sony Cybershot.

Snickerdoodle Muffins

Okay... I know I was ragging on Pinterest recently, but I have come around.  I now realize that Pinterest is a place where I can browse hundreds of recipes and create by own customized cookbook.  Awesome!  Among all of the wonderful recipes I have found was this Snickerdoodle muffin.  Oh, man.  These were just like eating a bloated, puffed up Snickerdoodle cookie.  My kids and husband gobbled them up!  And maybe I had one more than I should have.  Or two.  

 Snickerdoodle Muffins
source: http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/2007/03/16/cookie-conversion/

2 sticks butter
1 c sugar
2 t vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 t baking soda
3/4 t baking powder
3/4 t cream of tarter
1/4 t nutmeg (I omitted this)
1 1/4 c sour cream
2 1/4 c flour

coating:
1 c sugar
2 T cinnamon

See this picture?  Do your eyes deceive you?  Most people would see this and say, "Hey!  Those look like some tasty Snickerdoodle cookies."  Oh, no, my friends.  These are the tops of the muffins.  Mmmm.. Did you ever see that Seinfeld episode where Elaine wanted to start a place that sells only the muffin tops?  Her boss steals the idea and calls the restaurant "Top of the Muffin to you!"  They try to get rid of the bottoms of the muffins by giving them to a homeless shelter, and the homeless folks were all upset that the tops were missing.  However, if they had the bottoms of these muffins I don't think they would protest!  They are amazing through and through.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes or until it is nice and fluffy.

Add the vanilla.  Mix.  Add the eggs, one at a time, to the mixture and mix well after each addition.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cream of tarter.  Whisk it.  Whisk it good.

Add the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately, beginning and ending with the flour.

In another small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.  Use a cookie scoop to plop some of the batter in the cinnamon-sugar bowl.  Roll the dough around until it is fully coated.

Put the dough into greased muffin tins.  Better yet, use paper liners.  I had one heck of  time getting some of the muffins out.

Bake them for 20-22 minutes of until golden brown around the edges.  A toothpick should also come out clean.

 Cookie?  Nope... muffin.

 Muffin?  Oh yeah.

PS- Thank you Peabody for posting this amazing recipe!  I love it.

Mini Caramel Rolls

I know that these little morsels don't look like much, but considering that they only take about 20 minutes of prep-time, they're a keeper.  This is a simple, yet delicious, recipe that will cure your desire for caramel rolls as well as maintain your I'm-lazy-and-too-impatient-to-make-real-caramel rolls.  I must admit that I fall into that category often.  When I wake up in the morning, I don't really want to wait three hours for a delicious, ooey-gooey breakfast.  This recipe solves that problem.  They are bite size, and the homemade caramel sauce is a delight.  The original recipe does not call for pecans, but I love caramel-pecan rolls. 

 Mini Caramel Rolls
source: Simple and Delicious December 11/January 12

1/3 c packed brown sugar
1/3 c butter, cubed
2 T light corn syrup
1 1/2 2 milk
1 tube (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
2 t sugar
1/2 t cinnamon

Combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and milk in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.  The mixture should be smooth. 

 Grease a 9 inch cake pan and throw in a handful or two of chopped pecans.  This part is optional.  Pour the caramel sauce into the bottom of the pan.

 Ooey-gooey goodness. 

 Unroll the cresent rolls. I found some that were actually seamless, and those worked perfectly.  Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar on top of the dough and cur into four rectangles

 Roll up all four of the rectangles as if you were making cinnamon rolls- long and skinny.

 Cut each little roll into about nine or ten pieces.  Place the cut-up pieces on top of the caramel sauce.

 Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes or until they are golden brown.  Aren't they lovely little monsters?

 Place a plate on top of the pan and invert it after only cooling for one minute.  Please, for the sake of your hands' safety, use hot pads before inverting the pan. 

 I tapped the bottom of the pan a few times to ensure that rolls came out.  Remove the pan, and you have a whole plate full of delicious, mini caramel rolls. 

As a side note, I apologize for any one that comes to my blog in the hopes of finding healthy recipes.  When I'm pregnant, I have a hard time mustering up the self-control of eating only broccoli and baked chicken every night.  Bring on the sweets!

Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake

I took this to a baby shower this morning, and one girl that tasted it came up to me and said, "This coffee cake is freaking delicious."  Now, you know when someone adds the word "freaking" into a sentence, it's serious. 

This cake turns out tender, delicious, and flavorful.  There are walnuts on the top, but you can easily omit them if you're allergic or just don't like nuts for some crazy reason.  This is fairly simple to make, but it takes an hour to bake.  Although it takes a while to bake, it's worth the wait.  The smell alone will lure any hibernating bear (or husband) out of his cave. 

 Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake
source: Blue Ribbon Recipes by Barbara Greenman

cake batter:
2 1/2 c flour
1 c sugar
1 t salt
3/4 c unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 t baking powder
3/4 c milk
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 c fresh or frozen blueberries

cheese filling:
1 c ricotta
1 egg
2 T sugar
1 T grated lemon zest

topping:
1 c reserved crumb mixture (from start of cake batter)
1/2 c finely chopped walnuts
1/3 c brown sugar
1 t cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease a flour a 9 x 13 pan.

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.  Add the butter and use a fork to smash the butter into the flour.  You will eventually end up with a crumb mixture.  Set aside one cup of this.

To the remaining crumbs mixture in the large bowl, add the baking powder, milk, eggs, and vanilla.  Beat on medium speed for two minutes. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Sprinkle the blueberries on top and give the kids a dirty look for touching the lens of your camera to make the picture blurry.  

Combine the cheese filling ingredients in a bowl.  Stir to combine.  Drop the mixture by spoonfuls onto the blueberries.

Take another picture with no smudges.  Much better.  :)

 Sprinkle the reserved one cup of crumb mixture onto the cake and bake it for 45-60 minutes.  When a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, the cake is done. 

 Drumroll please... This stuff is great.  You'll get smiles all around, and what better way to start the morning than with cake?! 

If you're not a blueberry fan, you coule try to use strawberries, raspberries, or a combination of all three.  Now, stop and smell the cinnamon.

Boston Brown Bread

Traditionally, this bread is baked in a coffee can.  Well, folks, I don't have any spare coffee cans lying around.  Luckily, I found this recipe for the bread to be baked in a regular quick bread loaf pan.  I've got that!  This is a quick bread, so you won't have to work with any yeast.  I know that is a huge perk for a few people I know.  :)  This is a thick bread, and it has molasses and brown sugar, so it comes out sweet.  When my husband tried it, he said that it was his new favorite bread.  My kids gobbled it up, too!  Well, everything but the crust.  It's a great side bread for a steak dinner.  I actually think that Black Angus serves Boston Brown Bread at their restaraunt, and although this bread is quite different, it is similar in taste. 

Boston Brown Bread

source: Allrecipes 

2 c whole wheat flour

1 c all purpose flour

2 t baking soda

1 t salt

2/3 c firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 c molasses

2 c buttermilk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan.  Knock out any excess flour.

Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add the molasses and buttermilk.  Stit until it is just incorporated.  Pour into the prepared pan nd bake for one hour.  Let it cool in the pan for five minutes, then remove it to a wire rack.  Slice it and serve it with butter.

Chocolate Muffins

I think I've finally realized why I like breakfast so much.  You can get away with eating chocolate muffins, coffee cake, and burritos, and no one questions your eating habits.  It's like starting your day off with dessert!  Well, burritos aren't dessert, but they're Mexican Food, and that just may be the next best thing.

Now, back to these muffins... I remember when my parents would come from Costco or Sam's Club, and my eyes would always be on the lookout for that muffin assortment pack... you know the ones- The Blueberry, Poppy Seed, and Chocolate Muffins.  Oh, how I loved those muffins.  I have two older brothers, and it always seemed that the chocolate muffins were the first to go.  Those things were so delicious.  Now, these muffins were just as tasty without the preservative after-taste.  I made one dozen regular-sized ones, and about 9 mini-muffins for my kids.  When my three-year-old son tried the first one, he shoved the whole darn thing into his mouth, aside from the plethora of crumbs that I vaccuumed up a few hours later. 

 Chocolate Muffins

source: King Arthur Flour Baking Companion Cookbook (this cookbook is amazing)

2/3 c cocoa

1 3/4 c flour

1 1/4 c light brown sugar

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

3/4 t salt

1 c chocolate chips

2 lg eggs

1 c milk

2 t vanilla

2 t vinegar

8 T margarine or butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 425.  Place muffin liners in a muffin pan. 

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

 Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.

 Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, vinegar, and melted butter in another bowl.  Stir to combine. 

Add the wet and dry ingredients together.

 Stir together one last time.  You don't want to beat this too much- mix it only until it is incorporated.

 Use a cookie scooper or ice cream scoop with a quick-release switch to drop the batter into the muffin liners.  Let me tell you... the first time I used a quick release ice cream scooper, it was like a burden had been lifted.  It works wonders, I tell you!  The recipe said it would make one dozen, but I had some left-overs to make mini-muffins for the kids. 

Bake them for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  If you're doing mini-muffins, you'll only need to bake them for about 8 minutes.

Let them cool for a few minutes.

If you feel guilty about eating a chocolate muffin for breakfast, do what I did- justify it by eating it with a bunch of fresh fruit.  "Here, kids... Stuff your face with chocolate for breakfast.  But wait!  Here's some fruit."  *smile* 

Triple Berry Almond Coffee Cake

"Mom, whattcha makin' over there?"  "Some coffee cake."  "Eww... I don't want any of that.  I thought we didn't drink coffee."  Oh, the innocence of kids.  I went on to explain that the cake doesn't have any coffee in it, but it is a delightful soft cake filled with berries and topped with crunchy almonds.  She didn't turn any down after that.  Also, cake for breakfast.  Not just any cake- good cake.  This stuff is moist, sweet, and crunchy.  It puts toast to shame- this does leave little crumbs all over the place like toast, but it sure doesn't go stale within ten seconds.  And an added bonus- you don't have any crust to peel off!  One more perk- it's cake.... for breakfast, in case I didn't mention that already.  

Triple Berry Almond Coffee Cake

Source: Taste of Home Baking Book

1 c flour

1/2 c sugar

3/4 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/4 t baking soda

1 egg

2/3 c buttermilk

2 butter, melted

1 t vanilla

1/4 t almond extract, optional

1 c blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries (all together- not one cup of each)

1/2 c sliced almonds

1 T brown sugar

1/4 t cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8 inch pan.  

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.  

In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, butter, and extracts.  

Add the liquid ingredients in with the dry ingredients.  

Mix them just until the dry and wet become one gooey mixture.  

Sprinkle in 2/3 c of the fruit.

Put the batter in the 8 inch pan.  Sprinkle with the remaining fruit.  The original recipe called for only blueberries, but I happened to have blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries all on hand.  The three different berries were awesome in there.

Combine the almonds, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  

Sprinkle it over the top.  Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle come out clean.  

Let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.  Slice and serve.  

This was so good with scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns.  Now that, my friends, is a breakfast of champions.

On a side note- If you ever plan on watching "Fantastic Mr. Fox" while blogging, don't expect to get much done.  I've been working on this puny little post for two hours because my eyes were glued to the movie.  However, any Wes Anderson movie is awesome, so I should have known better to blog while trying to watch one of his movies.

To cake and Wes Anderson!  Cheers.