Cupcake Fetish

So, today at work, we ordered cupcakes from this local place called... yes, you guessed it... "Cupcake Fetish." Anyways, my coworkers each ordered 2-3 cuupcakes, which would sound reasonable to most people. I, however, decided that 6 would be a more appropriate number to order (come on, I do live with this guy named Richard--who has a HUGE sweet tooth). So, here were my selections (see below for the name and description of each):

Starting with the back row (left to right):

Sleepless in Albuquerque--chocolate cake, mocha buttercream, chocolate ganache, and espresso bean.

The Drama Queen (for the little sister)--chocolate cake crowned with pink vanilla buttercream and glittering colored sugar

Birthday Cake (for my soon-to-be birthday boy, Richard)--vanilla cake, chocolate buttercream, confetti sprinkles

(Front row, left to right):
Hello Dolly--vanilla cake topped with raspberry and coconut, filled and topped with vanilla buttercream

Half Baked--Chocolate chip vanilla cake, vanilla buttercream, cookie dough center

Grasshopper--chocolate cake, peppermint buttercream, mint chocolate chips

Don't these sound amazing! (AND! The creativity of those names!) I can't wait to go back and try Amore (choc cake, strawberry filling, dipped in dark choc, vanilla swirl), Cookies n' Cream (choc cake, oreo in center, oreo buttercream, cookie crumbs), Margarita Madness (vanilla cake, lime buttercream, coarse sugar, candy lime slice), and (for Richard) Hostess with the Mostess (choc cake, vanilla filling, dipped in dark choc)! Wow!

So, yeah, a fun (sugar rush) day at work today!

Condo Renovations

So, I've promised pictures for some of you... and here they are (finally). Actually, all of these are pretty much the same thing--our living room, looking towards the fireplace. But, they are a good demonstration of what it looked like before, during, and after.

First up is the fireplace in the process of being torn down. We put in the new carpet (it was installed the day after we closed) and it looks awesome. The fireplace had this weird "faux stone" panelling glued to the drywall! So Richard tore it down and you wouldn't believe the screams! Yeah, he found some... dead wildlife... back there! Apparently, 50 or 60 birds got trapped (when the fireplace was installed?) and died back there! All the evidence they left were dried up skulls and ribcages, and a 3-inch thick layer of feathers and dust!


After that mess, we got it covered up again and looking "presentable." But then we had the great idea to remove the "popcorn" from the ceilings! Here's the room with new fireplace wall and NO popcorn. Oh, we also decided to wire a light in the middle of the room (there were NO lights in here before). Later, we'll put in a celing fan/light.


Finally, we primed the new and improved ceiling and painted the walls this warm "golden honey" color! See, all nice and tidy. Actually, it needs a second coat, and the fireplace wall will probably be painted an accent color, oh, and the ceiling will be repainted off-white, but besides all that, it looks pretty nice.