Ahh I’ve had “design a knit octopus” on my to do list forever and I’m so glad to see that Whit’s Knits  on The Purl Bee has created a free octopus pattern!

Who would you knit a stuffed octopus for?  I am thinking about making it for a friend’s birthday. Would you listen to Octopus’ s Garden while you made it?

images via the purl bee & boy girl party

A few Monday’s ago I had a pretty large brick of white sharp cheddar in the fridge that kept calling me to snack on it after one week of me being a little fridge mouse I though that I should stop nibbling on it and make something a bit more tasty.

Everything about the bread was great but as always I added a bit more butter and cheese. Also,  the recipe can make two 5×9 loaves but I had three disposable mini loaf pans and I know have enough friends around that don’t mind random baked good deliveries that I decided to use them instead.  The only thing I might do differently is to maybe sub out some of the buttermilk for beer.

recipe slightly adapted from Shutterbean

3 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1 cup sharp cheddar, coarsely shredded

1 3/4 cups buttermilk (don’t forget you can make your own)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees . Grease three mini loaf pans. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda.

Using your fingers, mix 3 tbsp. butter into the flour mixture until well incorporated (it should look like sand).

Add the cheese; toss to coat. Add the buttermilk and stir until the dough just comes together.

Divide between the pans; smooth the tops.

Cut a shallow cross all the way across the tops of the loaves. Thinly slice the remaining 1 tbsp. butter. Place the butter in the cuts in each loaf. Bake until the top is browned and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Let cool in the pan at least 30 minutes before slicing… I made it about 15 minutes before I tried a slice.

After a few days of hanging out with my niece I am heading back to Wisconsin today. I am bummed to be parting ways with my partner in crime, but I am super excited for next week and have a lot to get done before I hop on a plane to celebrate my cousin’s wedding!

Great Lake or Ocean? I thought I would be so good at this game because I’ve lived by two Great Lakes but I was not. Still a great “game” to play while sipping your coffee this morning.

I’m planning on making this Whole Wheat Blackberry Ricotta scone recipe for my early morning plane ride treat.

8 Signs You Are Actually A Cat. All eight apply to me.

Would you make or wear a craft apron?

Sue’s pizza blog post reminded me of when she made shaved asparagus pizza it was soooo good!

The Scientific 7-Minute Workout. This kicked my butt but it is hard to talk yourself out of spending 7 minutes on working out.

Next week, I’ll be sharing one sweet and one savory bread recipe.

If you are a Seth Godin fan, you’ll love this talk he did for CreativeMornings.

My niece and I have been jamming out to Jackson 5′s ABC, any song with clapping hands or cups.

p.s. i heart both these dudes.

image via a paper aeroplane

It happened again, I was just popping into Target to pick up a few thing and I spotted Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory cereal! I couldn’t help myself, I picked up a box threw it in my basket and a few days later made some very tasty, chocolatey and gooey bars.

1 box Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Cereal

1 cup puffed rice cereal

5 cups of mini marshmallows

1 stick or 1/2 cup of unsalted butter

1.Coat a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan with butter. In large pot melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Turn off the stove top but keep the pot on the burner.
2. Add RMCF cereal and puffed rice cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using buttered spatula evenly press mixture into pan. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Share with friends and keep in an air tight container. Enjoy!

Two weeks ago I was reading the blog post The Best (Buttermilk) Birthday Cake You’ll Ever Have and I realized that I had everything in the fridge that I needed to make the cake. In the freezer I had peanut butter buttercream frosting, chocolate frosting, and a Butterfinger candy bar that I bought from a fundraiser a few weeks ago. It was the perfect storm of refrigerator contents and a great excuse not to write a few emails.

The cake was easy to put together and you won’t need to keep an eye on it, just make sure to do the toothpick test about 10 minutes before the suggested end time.  Also, keep in mind this is no light and fluffy cake. It is a dense cake, think of it as a scone of cakes and not a muffin like box cake mix. I would bet that this cake would not be enjoyed by kids.

Once the cake was cooled and the peanut butter frosting was at room temperature, I started to assemble the cake. Total time it took to assemble 10 minutes, no joke. First layer cake, second pb frosting, cake, milk chocolate frosting, and chopped up butterfinger bits on top.

If your wondering how I am always chopping up candy bars and cookies, I use the Food Chopper from Pampered Chef. If you’re looking for a special event or just for an every day  cake this would be the one!  Oh and if you think I get excited about cakes, check this gal out.

Joys of Jell-O, who would eat shrimp and jell-o?!

Wallpaper tiles, you can remove them when you move out or change your style.

Livatars, a design savvy way to pay homage to Harry Potter.

Cheddar Jalapeño Biscuits, even more cheese than my Jalapeño Cheddar Scones.

If I tried to do this on a treadmill, I would seriously hurt myself.

27 things you can make with cake mix.

Jennifer Lawrence and John Stamos, anyone who grew up watching Full House would have acted the same way. And after reading all of her quotes, I think I want to be bffs.

Bitchy Resting Face Funny or Die PSA.

Not a new song but sometimes you just need to dance and sign along.

Sorry for missing Wednesday’s blog post but I was hanging out with my niece, Lady M. It is so exciting that she is walking but boy did it wipe me out!  Yeah, Moms and Dads you are amazing!

Now, aprons. I wear an apron pretty much every time that I bake. I like that I can throw it on if I want to whip something together and not have to worry about getting my pants covered in flour or chocolate on my shirt. So I thought I would share a few aprons that you can buy and make! Trust me once you throw an apron on, you’ll wonder why you didn’t use one every other time you were cooking, baking or grilling.

This great Ticking Apron from Mignon Kitchen Co is a great price and would be great for a guy or girl. Oh and it is handmade in Ellendale, Minnesota! I also like this Cuisine Couture Apron.

If you’d like to sew your own apron, you can get this Apron of Delight pattern or the Simple Sewing book from Lotta Jansdotter has a few smart apron patterns and can be found on Kollabora! Would you make your apron out of a print or solid fabric?

I’ve been thinking about ice cream and gelato a lot lately and now that it is warm outside it finally seems appropriate to start making my own. I’ve got a stack of recipes that I want to try but when I was searching for a gelato recipe, I found affogato!

You take a scoop of gelato, ice cream or custard (for you Culver’s fans) and pour hot espresso over top. I think this would be the perfect dessert to share with friends after dinner on a hot summer’s night or a couples bridal or baby shower. When would you serve it?

It is Friday! I am taking a tip from a good friend of mine and treating myself to a large coffee and doughnut to help me finish out this week. I would have shared a picture of the doughnut but lets be real here, I ate it in the car on the 3 minute drive home. Do you have any Friday treats, like pizza or bacon & eggs?

I finally put my yoga teaching schedule online.

A few really tasting looking veggie dishes.

Just downloaded this BabyCakes app. I haven’t used it but I think it will help me with making more gluten free and vegan baked goods.

With Summer just around the corner I am casting on this tote bag pattern.

Mother’s Day is coming up. Have you thought of baking mom a little something?

You know I love a good bundt cake recipe, but would you make an olive oil bundt cake?

I’ve got this buttermilk cake recipe in the oven right now and I can’t stop listening to Icona Pop’s I Love It.

image via Gemma Correll

I gotta admit my brain is running on “e” today, so I’m going to make this a quick blurb and go straight to the recipes. Made a few cupcakes this weekend for a birthday party and I used a recipe from A Cupcake For Every Day pin on my Pintrest baking board!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache and Cream Filling or

Homemade Hostess Cupcakes

1 cup flour

1/2 cup dutch cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup or 1 stick butter-room temp

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

or you can use milk chocolate cake mix

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add vanilla and egg. Add milk and flour mixture alternately while mixing. Pour into lined cupcake pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Yields 12 cupcakes.

 Filling

1 stick room temp butter
2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
a dash or 1/4 tsp almond extract

Beat butter until smooth. Add sugar, milk, vanilla and almond. Beat until spreadable. Use knife to cut a cone-shape from the top of the cupcake. Fill the hole with cream, and cover to make an even top.

Chocolate Ganache

3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream

Melt chocolate and cream in metal bowl set in simmering water. When smooth spread on top of cupcakes.

Red Velvet with Buttercream Frosting

Yields 12 cupcakes

1 1/4 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1 tablespoon red food coloring

1/2 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat over to 350 F.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, buttermilk, egg, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.  While mixing gradually add dry mixture until just combined. Bake for 25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Buttercream Frosting

1 stick room temperature butter
2 1/2 cups of confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup of milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
a dash of almond extract

Beat butter until smooth and creamy. Add sugar, milk, vanilla, and almond extract and beat until spreadable consistency. Add additional sugar if needed. Frost cupcakes!