Cupcakes AND Orchids!!!

I know....you are all in shock - Alanna is actually blogging - and WITH PICTURES, too!!! What may you ask brought this about?

Superbowl! I love football, and I love baking cupcakes, so naturally, I had to back cupcakes for the Superbowl! I decided to cheer on the Cardinals, since the Steelers are the ones to knock my Chargers out of the playoffs, and seriously....I didn't think they really NEEDED another win. I'm all for the underdogs! Anyway, while my cupcakes may not have brought that extra bit of luck that the Cards needed, I sure had fun making these little birdies!

I decided to make Coconut Cupcakes (courtesy of Made by Melissa!). I think I have oven temperature issues, so I set the temperature a bit higher than called for. They were a WEE bit dry for my taste, but still DELICIOUS. And, I frosted them with my most favoritest Vanilla Bean Icing! I added a bit of almond extract to enhance the coconut cupcakes. Mmmmm....

I gave my first attempt at using fondant, and loved it! I just used the store-bought stuff, and it was pretty easy. I printed out the Cardinals logo and separated it into colors, then cut out a stencil with my exacto knife. I used the exacto to cut out the fondant as well. I drew in the black details with a little tube of black gel. Easy peasy!

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On another note, my mystery orchid, one of the ones that Mike rescued from the garbage, is about to bloom! Here it is in bud. I am guessing it will be purple, but I don't know anything other than that. I am excited! The other 4 plants are in various stages of growth, but no blooms yet!

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Anyway, that's all for now. I'm having a bunch of girls over on Saturday, so I'll be doing a lot of cooking for that. Till then....