Halloween baking

I had a day off yesterday and now only 2 more left of my clinical training. One could say, I could be happy.

I devoted yesterday to cleaning. Yep, cleaning. That meant: vacuuming, washing the boat load of dishes even though it's not my turn (! why can't we have a dishwasher!?!), picking up, dusting...ya know. (No laundry though!! Ha-ha-ha!)

We also had to clean the aquarium. The shape it was in was shameful. Words cannot describe how much we loathe cleaning it, but if you are going to enjoy the beauty of the creatures in it, it's gotta get done! I always feel so much better about life when the aquarium is clean. Weird.

A few of my friends came over yesterday evening to enjoy what the title of this post is about. Halloween baking. This was the best part of my day. Or well, it was the best part of my morning! By 10:45 a.m. I had everything in the oven...and by the evening completely assembled.

The cake inspiration came from pinterest (of course) but I have only one can of pumpkin left and that is for the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie...

Instead I made a chocolate cake using the black magic chocolate cake recipe from Hershey's.

The buttercream frosting is from here. I just added orange food coloring (ahem, ok - yellow and red)

And the glaze was from here...

And finally my favorite part of this cake! The meringue ghosts! I loooove meringue, we have had a serious relationship ever since my pavlova summer. These were so fun to make, I've never piped meringue before so it was nice to try something new. Cute, doncha think? :)

What a frankenstein of a cake! I didn't realize I needed so many recipes just to make what I had in mind! Lol! It turned out great and was DELICIOUS, too!

Since I had such a halloween baking theme going on, dinner unfolded as a ghost shaped pizza! The dough was made from scratch and we put some ground beef, onion, jalapeno and tomato on it -- and lots of cheese! :) If you hadn't already guessed, I was inspired by pinterest for this pizza, too!

Aah, good food, friends and clean house! A perfect Friday!
Thanks for reading! 

Wishing you a Happy Halloween and fun weekend! :)

Loot

Here was the sunset yesterday. It was rainy in the afternoon, then the sun came out again and lit up the trees and there was even a rainbow! I actually just saw that rainbow today after looking at the pictures (top right corner)!

Kissa is one to take immediate advantage of carelessly placed empty suitcases...

And now to the loot part!

We bought the fish a dragon and lantern from petsmart. The dragon connects to an air stone, so once we get the tubing set up, bubbles will come out of the mouth! :)

Kissa got a green furry mouse (she loves it!) and Koda and Manta got an indestructible ball made from rope. It was also popular last night.

He was happy to come home and be with his mama and papa. Apparently he found the grandparent's home boring.

We got this awesome clock as one of our many generous wedding gifts from the hubby's relatives. Thanks to everyone!

Another one of our amazing wedding gifts: this crocheted afghan. Actually, I'm typing this on the couch right now curled up in it. I looooove it!!! The hubby's grandma made this for us (she made one for the sister-in-law too) and it is just so beautiful. I'm completely inspired to get my butt into gear and finish my blanket too. I need to find out what kind of stitch/pattern she used, its gorgeous. It looks like granny "clusters" (3dc groups) all put together back to back and crooked. So cool. And she has some crazy skill, I bet there is not one mistake in this!

I bought some baking supplies. New autumnal cookie cutters, a big bottle of vanilla extract (they don't sell it in Finland) and lollipop sticks for when I attempt cake pops. I also bought a new frosting piping set like my old dear one! I picked up a Wilton's dessert decorator plus from Michael's. Yaay! Can't wait for a good baking day now! :)

And on that great baking day, I can wear my brand spanking new retro inspired apron! So pretty! And perfect for our kitchen too, since it has the apple pattern! I just need to find or DIY some cool hooks to hang my apron on. I am thinking of starting a collection... ;)

We bought some new knobs for the closets in the bedroom (seen here) and for the hallway. Those hideous 70s brown ones were just too ugly.

I bought this new purse from Marshalls. I looove that store! Such great deals! It's so funny that it caught my eye and I had to have it, because my sister had eyed the darker brown version just a week or two before!

I got this poncho from Kohl's. It was totally an impulse buy but it was the only impulse buy I made so that is pretty good. AND it's amazing to wear. Like in the mighty boosh: "it's impossible to be unhappy in a poncho!"

 I picked up this sweater on clearance from Target. I guess I'm digging gray this year...

Also on clearance at target was this peacock blue sweater. I love it!

And this little dress was on clearance, too at Target. It is so comfortable!

These babies are also from Michaels. Such a pretty collection!

I picked  up this interweave crochet magazine and some new yarn. :)

My sister made us published authors by compiling our Japan honeymoon blog into a book using her Creative Memories software! How cool is that! I love it, thanks E -- you did a great job!!!

Some pile of loot, huh. How fortunate are we! :) It's like Christmas in October! Yaay!

Thanks for reading, hope you weren't too jealous (wink wink)!

life will carry you

Oh no! I forgot to share my happy pictures yesterday! 

I am in need of these happy reminders still. Why is it that when it rains it pours? 

My new Ikea china cabinet we had in a box for months. We saw it in the "as is" section, it was a model that was being discontinued -- almost 50% discount. We couldn't pass it by, seeing as it was just what we had been looking for and now it was in our price range. So it sat in the box for months, waiting for the big move. And now, it's all put together and pretty. :)

The back has the dusty (I didn't have time to clean anything, I just wanted it out of harm's way, will eventually clean...lol) Iittala carafe we got as a wedding gift, its so beautiful.Then the purple Riihimäen lasi bottle/vase my mom gave me a few years ago. And these beautiful cups were a flea market find of my mom's, she thought of me. :) Japanese cherry blossoms and pink. It's a really vibrant pink, the picture doesn't do it justice!

These are the reason we were looking to buy a china cabinet. They are the most beautiful cups I  have ever seen!! They are vintage Arabia cups, Doria.They are from my grandmother... I tried looking up when they were made but the farthest I got was between 1964-71 based on the label on the bottom. I 'd love to know more!

This rose set was given to my mom by my dad when we moved to Finland in 1998. I loved them then, I love them now and finally they get to shine after being on the top shelf cabinet hidden from view in our old kitchen. 

Iiittala "Taika" plate that  we got as a wedding gift (Thanks N & J) and the Iittala plates from my mom. I think the one on top is "solaris", don't know what the one with dots on the bottom is called. Again, I'd love to know more!

No idea, but probably more old Finnish designer glass. Maybe? This color is amazing!

Our Japan market find bowls that I looove in the foreground and the champagne glasses a family friend had etched for us for our wedding toast. Sweet memories. 

Our Japanese silk cats aren't in the china cabinet, they are in the highest square in our "entertainment center" (3 ikea expedits). I had this little oriental stand in a box FOREVER and I didn't know what to do with it but I didn't want to throw it away, and good thing I didn't! Doesn't it look like it belongs with these little cats? :)

We caught her red-handed, or should I say wet-handed. Hahahah. She hasn't harmed any yet, but those beta fish are mighty dumb because they seemed just as interested in her as she was in them and kept getting to close to the top. Argh! I just want peace between all species in this house! She's never jumped on the fish tank before, I wonder why she's started now. Hopefully it doesn't end badly!

The "rag rug" above was a flea market find this week. It was only 10 euros and is about 135 x 185 cm or something like that... It is perfect for our entryway! It was worn, but the fact that it was going to bear the brunt of the coming fall and winter, it's OK that it's not in perfect condition, in fact, it's ideal! I would hate to feel upset about a new rug getting dirty in such a high traffic area. And the price tag makes it that much sweeter. I also love the colors!

Any yup, I am off the nutella kick and on to a smores kick. Heaven. 

I didn't think we could make these since they don't sell graham crackers here, but then we found these on a top shelf in the grocery store! They are really cinnamon-y but I think they taste perfect for this! I think I'll have some more tonight! 

That's all for today! 

Thanks for reading, I am going to go tell my self my new mantra, a Finnish figure of speech I heard today "elämä kantaa" meaning life will carry you. Ah, stress. Always wanting to be my best friend no matter how many times I say no. 

Adios!

A little bit of everything.

Here is just a quickish post about what I have been up to lately, highlighted of course by photos. (Wait a minute, isn't that like all the other posts?)

 Gardening:

 New potatoes for potato salad -- and garlic!

We enjoyed an enchilada dinner Friday night...and for brunch and lunch on Saturday...

We cleaned the aquarium... which was in dire need of it. Here are some of the inhabitants. I think the cat and I love the fish tank most, I love to just lay in bed and watch them swim.

And yesterday, we celebrated the hubby's birthday in the form of a surprise party. Note to self, it's probably easier to arrange when you come up with the idea more than a week in advance. Lol.. It turned out well though, the hubster was surprised and everyone had fun. 

 These carrots (for the cole slaw) reminded me of a marimekko design. I just had to take a picture of it!

 The fridge was so jam-packed that I had to take a picture. Cole slaw, potato salad, veggie plate, hotdog-meatball bites, brownie cake (like the one I made for my birthday)... 

Summer skies... they are so very different from winter skies...

I also had some more random photo love.

 My bowl is filled with nectarines now. Man, do I love them!

The little one being her cute self. 

Well, tomorrow is the actual birthday of the hubsand. We were planning on making sushi with my folks! I love having 3 days off in a row! Only 2 more weeks of work (10 of which are working days) and then I am DONE! 

Woohoo! 

Then I have my sweet summer vacation of a whopping 9 days and then it's off to school again. I can't wait for my time off! 

Thanks for reading!!! See ya soon!