Appetites and Adventures

Hello, all! It's definitely a long time no see, and it's been a while since I've made a post. With the school year slowly coming to a close, I thought I would kick off the nearing summer with a fresh post!

Fresh is definitely a good word to use around me; I've been baking up a storm! recently I made Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes, and those were definitely very popular. I used the recipe I found here with some modifications. I think all the changes were made for the better. Unfortunately, I was unable to snap a picture of these cuties before they all got eaten! Alas!

On Sunday, when I had been alone, I had been in a baking frenzy. That morning, I baked a batch of Rhubarb Streusel Muffins. The rhubarb we have in our backyard is perfect for use right now, and boy are these yummy. They also turned out HUGE! I think I added too much butter to the original recipes, so I didn't have enough dough, so I made another half batch, and here was the result:

Yum!

After That, I baked up a batch of Funfetti Cookies using the lovely recipe from the side of the cake box. :) I made Cream Cheese Frosting for them, and it turned out splendid. wonderfully tasty, and perfectly light and fluffy. I used as many different kinds of my sprinkles as I could to garnish them, and they turned out darling:As you can see, I have about a million different kinds of sprinkles. I love them, though, so more are always wanted.

Last, but most certainly not least, I made these wonderful cupcakes.

These are amazing. I used regular chocolate cake mix, and then I placed inside the cupcakes Creme-filled Hershey's kisses. When the cupcakes were baked, I used Cream Cheese Frosting to top them, and then on top I grabbed a Hershey chocolate bar and grated it over the cupcakes.
These taste fantastic, and for that reason, they'll have to be given away! :D

A few days ago I made a batch of Peanut Butter Banana Cupcakes. That was a great idea of mine, and they turned out super yummy. I made banana cake, baked it into cupcakes, filled them with the same filling used for the Peanut Butter and Jelly cupcakes, made banana cream cheese frosting (I found a recipe for this but I didn't like it, so I invented one. If you want it, ask. It's delicious! ) to top it, and then put roasted peanuts on top. The result was scrumptious.

If you ever want cupcakes for a function or a special someone, I can be bribed with money or ingredients to bake you up something special :)

Cupcakes and Wishes

As you can see, I've been quite busy cooking up cupcakes in the kitchen. While some people , upon becoming sad eat tons of cupcakes, I make tons of cupcakes. I find myself baking cupcakes, humming merrily along to The Beatles as I decorate them. They all tasted very, very good. By the way, there's only one cupcake left of the two batches (although I think this is mostly of my own doing).
The first batch I used white cake batter, and vanilla frosting. These turned out quite small, and I got 20 cupcakes. Whilst decorating, I followed a strict "No cupcake alike!" rule, and endowed them with phrases such as "Yay," "Cupcake," "Fun," and of course, "Canada!"
The second batch made really big cupcakes. I only got sixteen, and they were large indeed! I used funfetti batter, awesome frosting with chewy rainbow chips in it, and the new sprinkles I made mom buy me! They're nonpareils, which, if you don't know, are the little ball shaped sprinkles.

Anyways, off of the topic of cupcakes, and on to the topic of wishes! I do a lot of internet window shopping, Haha! Usually I just do this when I'm bored, but occasionally I find I just have the urge for it. It is almost always crafts or jewelry, and it is always zany in its own way. Here are some fun things I love ! (These may also be some clever gift ideas for me if you choose to read into it that way. And you should. :P)

Pop Beads!
Okay, so, apparently anybody who grew up anywhere between the 50s and 80s will remember these fun things! Pop beads are so insanely nifty, and I'm really fond of the fact that they come in about a million different colors, so they'll always match your outfit! Plus, you can even get ones that aren't round that are adorable like stars, animals, hearts, and even ones shaped like the statue of liberty. Very fun, and very vintage!

Wacky Earrings
So, I stumbled on this website, and I knew it was meant to be! They have the most insane and wacky earrings here, it's like heaven! My favorites are: Radishes, CD players (That are also pencil sharpeners! Heck yes!) Asparagus, ears, pinwheels that actually spin, Boris & Natasha, boomboxes, cute little stars (They have them in a few different colors. I love them in any color!), rubber chickens, computer mice, and false teeth. I think I better stop now, or I'll go on forever. The basic principle is: the more bizarre, the better.

Indie Stuff
A lot of their stuff here caters to the punk, indie, and geek cultures, which is okay by me. I'm a fan of a lot of thier stuff, my only problem is, is that it seems quite expensive! But, the designs by Ukiyo5 are excellent, Ukiyo5 is really a great artist.

iPod Cases
Technocutie is a girl who makes iPod cases out of felt and vinyl. Unfortunately, the site is down right now, but some of the cases can be found at Shana Logic. My favorite is The orange felt iPod Nano case with yellow stars on it. Very cute.

I think that about wraps it up for now, and even if it doesn't, I'll continue on another time, lest I kill you with hyperlinks!

Our fuschia fingers

About a week or so ago, I had the privilege of going berry-picking. Now, you must understand that by berry-picking, I do not mean going onto a berry farm, and being handed a bucket.
Heather called me up, and amidst the casual conversation, she dropped the fact that along the railroad tracks, the berries were quite ripe. Growing quite excited, I insisted that she come over at once. We grabbed a bucket, and set off.
I could honestly say it was the best fun I've had in a while! We were there, jovially picking the rosy berries that appeared before us! Oh, and in the amounts they did! The bottom of our bucket was completely coated with berries. We cared not about being torn up by the thorns of the plants, because It was all for the good of the harvest. (Although we did occasionally apply the principle "One for me, one for the bucket.") In our doing this, we realized we had our own berry-picking traits. I was bendy to get the berries in all the weird places, and Heather was balanced to get the berries in the way back of the bushes. Perhaps this is also to say something of our personalities?
Once we had found all the berries we had decided we were going to find, we walked along the tracks for a spell, until we made our way to my little secret haven, which is to say, here:
And when we were there, we sat and ate our berries, toasting to their delicious rosiness. (A toast being a joking bump of berries together.) And we realized that there was a lucky fisherman nearby who had just caught something. Upon further inspection, we realized he was an unlucky fisherman who had just caught a bullhead, and was now toiling about how to get it off of his line without being stung.
Afterwards, we made our way back to my house, where we had decided upon making a berries and cream pie.
This is a snapshot of our harvest. In it are blackberries, raspberries, and gooseberries!

And these are our hands after cleaning our harvest. I think they're a beautiful shade of pink. Left is Heather, right is me. I like wearing lots of rings.

And, for the information for those of you who did not get to enjoy a slice, the pie was delicious.

Biking through wonderland

When I say the city beholds many mysteries, I surely am not mistaken. I went for a bike ride yesterday through Crosby Park (I believe it is called) and it was surely a marvel. You're on a bike path that rides parallel to the highway, and then there is a bike path that goes down into Crosby park. What is wondrous about it, is that the moment you go down the bike path, and get to the bottom, you are engulfed by a healthy forest, and to your right there is a marvelous, swampy lake. What's more is that you really and truly cannot see any of it from the road. When I went down this path it was entirely a surprise. Because I do happen to love taking pictures, I did!

This is when you first come in to the bike path. It's very lush, and the trees have grown just so to create a canopy. It's very cool and shady. Off to the right is a large swampy pond.


When you get further into the forest, it's nice, because you just have on either side of you a foot of small green plants, and then large bushes. It looks really spiffy.


the fun part about Crosby park is that there are so many different paths you can take, where the scenery is a deep contrast to another path you might have taken. Here, you exit the woods and ride your bike onto a boardwalk. Those plants may look short in the picture, but they are, in reality, almost over, if not over your head.

Once you get near the end of the boardwalk, there is a little dock that takes you over this little pond here, and I believe it connect to the other one I talked about before.

Just another shot of the pond. It was cool, because you could see schools of little fishies swimming around!

Going further yet into the woods, and you can stop on the path, and there will be little trails taking you onto beaches. This is the Mississippi river! The water was nice and warm, actually, but swimming in it would have been ew. You can see a bridge in this shot.

This is another picture of the Mississippi river.

One more picture of the Mississippi.

This is the last picture of the river, and the last picture. It was just my sister trying to skip a rock. She didn't.

Well, thanks very much all for reading, see you again some time soon!

Wanders in the cities

I've just had the privilege of being able to go and visit my sister in the cities. Presently, I am in her cool apartment, utilizing her laptop. At any rate... I do love it in the cities. I think it is the wonder of the city, its vast size. It's like you'll never know what you find when you turn this corner, something new and fabulous, and something you've never seen. In a small town, you can't have that sense of wonder. You know everything. You know where everything is, why it's there, and how long it's been there. A city is an adventure.
So, today, we we made use of this vastness of the city, and we did something we hadn't ever done before. Picture this. You walk underneath a masoned archway on a military base. Instantly, you believe yourself to have transported back in time. The soldier at the gate holds his gun high, and tips his hat to you. As you take a step forward, nothing but the sights of stone buildings fill your eyes. Ah, and your ears are treated to the noise of a soldier merrily playing his flute.
Sounds interesting, huh? Today, we traversed to historic Fort Snelling. It was actually quite enjoyable, as the buildings exhibit some marvelous masonry, and heavens knows I love history. When I was there, I took quite an array of pictures, so I decided I would share them will all of you lovely people who decided to drop by and read my blog.

Once you walk out of the parking lot, there is a wonderful overlook of the Mississippi river, and there seemed to be people swimming in it, which I found rather deplorable, considering how dirty the river is.

Here is just a plain, unobstructed view of the Mississippi from the overlook.

Before you actually entered the historic part of the base, there are a few buildings that are derelict, unused buildings. This is just a quick snapshot of the front door of one of them, in which you can sort of see how run down it is.

This is a round lookout tower, creatively named "The Round Tower." All the little window-looking bits are actually holes for which to shoot out of.

Getting closer to the inside now! You can sort of see how nice the masonry is from this and the picture of the round tower.

So now we're actually inside the base. This is the inside of the round tower. I just loved how the stairs go up and around, in a winding staircase manner. Very picturesque.

This is a view of out one of the windows in the round tower. Kind of eerie, no? It's nifty that you can't see anything but white light at the end.

From the top of the round tower, this is the view of the grounds. So, basically, from there you can see the entirety of the historic base.

Here are the unused buildings from the round tower.

This is the desk and chair inside of the jailhouse. They were used by the watchman, to the best of my knowledge. It's actually very neat looking, and sort of patriotic.

Kind of amusing, really. It's a huge pile of coal in one of the buildings. The question really is: Why?

This is the fireplace inside of Colonel Snelling's house. I think it's kind of stupid that they painted that silly thing on it, because it is such a lovely fireplace. There's granite on it, and so it seems kind of a waste to do that.

When you walk into one of the buildings, you can go and watch a multimedia show called "History under the floorboards." They used a projector screen (in the background), the wall, and a transparent screen (which you can see right there) to project things on to. Also, they had a projection of a magnifying glass go around the room to point out various interest points, and that's what this picture is of. It talks about all the things they have found underneath the floors of the buildings, and the show itself is set into an unrestored part of the building so you can see where they found the items. I was very impressed with it.

Just a picture of my sister and me.

This is my favorite picture out of any of them! It is some barrels of who-knows-what, but I just thought it looked really spiffy.

Here, they were doing a cannon demonstration. The zoom on my camera sucks, so this picture didn't turn out very well.

I was trying to take a picture of the cannon going off, but the boom was so loud, I jumped! So all you get is a little corner of smoke! Oh well.

Here is one of the guards who stood at the gate. Isn't he cute?

Freddie insisted on this picture, so I let him take it. The guy on the right had some awesome mutton chops!

This was one final picture of the unused building.

So, this is a picture out of my sister's living room window. Very cozy, right? Haha, it looks right into a ditch, so they like to keep the blinds closed

That's all for now, gang! I had a ton of fun on base, and I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Wishing for winter whispers

For the way I feel right now, Summer is all wrong. Summer serenity cannot condone how I am presently. There is a certain comfort that can only be offered up by winter, and it is that cozy and complacent feeling. Though Summer is warm and graceful, winter is in itself warm, and consoling. Summer seems so much a fiery-tongued mistress, prepared to lash out at you whenever she feels. The dearest winter, though on her exterior seeming a frosty tart, is a friend, wrapping you in her inner warmth. Winter always offers the comforts of wanted warmth, and comfortable warmth, as opposed to the dazing and beguiling warmth of Summer. What I wish at length is not so much to be immersed in the chilliness of winter, but to be surrounded by the hospitality of her.
What I am supposing is that I long to be sitting in front of the fireplace, be it real or fake (though preferably genuine) eating warm, fresh bread, and sipping on some delicious confection as apple cider, swirled with a cinnamon stick. The ideal setting is, naturally, a modern and large log cabin, surrounded by evergreen trees dusted in snow in a wondrous forest. Within this cabin, in front of the fireplace, would be a lovely rug of fur (on which to consume the delectable winter fineries) where I could sit wrapped in a blanket, watching the flames lap at the air so determinedly, and reflect on things. Though it would not make all my troubles go away, it would make the great raging beast of them into naught more than a fizzle... at least for a spell.
Of course, if you know me, you'll know I am much a romantic, and that I always long for winter. Perhaps if after reading this, you do too, I will know that I have done my job well.

Die ersten!

So, Mousie here. Nothing too special about this post, it's just that this happens to be the first post of my new blog. Okay, so it's my only blog. But, it IS new. I'll talk a little about me.

I'm Antonym Mouse, and my favorite colors are bright orange and bright green! I'm a very colorful and constantly weird person, so there's never a dull moment. I like old, vintage things, so I have a ton of typewriters and vintage jewelry. I love to read! I'm an authoress and poet!<3