Buttercup Lagoon

Chocolate Turtle Cake

I found this recipe for this Chocolate Turtle Cake

over at Visions of Sugar Plum.

Being a lover of Turtle candy and all things

chocolate & caramel, I had to try this recipe.

With this cake, you get a triple dose of chocolate,

with plenty of pecans and caramel.

It was so delicious!

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Chocolate Turtle Cake

(Recipe by Visions of Sugar Plum)
Makes: 8-10 servings

Cake Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup dark or regular cocoa powder
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
1 1/3 cups whole milk

Ganache Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 cups dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans, toasted, plus additional whole pecans for decorating
1 tablespoon mini chocolate chips (optional)

Caramel sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter and flour 2 (9-inch) cake pans.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat 3/4 cup butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla, until creamy, about 2 minutes.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
Beat in 1 cup melted chocolate chips until combined.
Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture, alternating with milk, until well combined, about 2-3 minutes.
Evenly scrape batter into prepared cake pans and smooth the surface with a spatula.
Bake at 350 degrees F, for 35-40 minutes, or until cake edges pull away from the pan, and a toothpick inserted into cake comes out with moist crumbs attached.
Cool for 12 minutes before running a knife around edges and inverting onto wire racks to cool completely.
To make the ganache, melt 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Stir in heavy cream and bring to a boil; turn heat off and stir in 2 cups chocolate chips until melted and smooth.
Spread ganache evenly onto first layer of cake and top with about 1/3 of the pecans.
Place second cake layer on top.
Spread the rest of the ganache over cake top and sides.
Sprinkle and top with remaining pecans.
Decorate the top with whole pecans.
Sprinkle mini chocolate chips over the top, and drizzle caramel everywhere.

Wordle

I found this site a couple weeks ago.

I just got around to trying it.

This is something fun to do when you need to waste a little time.

You just type in whatever words come to mind,

and a collage of those words is created.

You can then change the color, font, size and even language.

For this one, I typed in the url for my blog,

and it made a collage out of words that have been used in my blog.

For this one, I typed in a few of my favorite things

(and one of my favorite people!).

Check it out and see what you can create!

This is my favorite children’s book. It has been for many years.
It’s such a humorous little story and so much fun to read!

The last time Elephant had to sneeze it was chaos! The fish lost their scales and almost froze. The zebra lost his stripes and the leopard lost his spots. The alligator’s snout turned inside out.

See what happens when Elephant declares to all of his animal friends that he has to sneeze and see how the smallest animal does the only thing he can to keep Elephant from sneezing!

This is the copy I have, but you can get a newer edition here.

This is another book by the same author that I have and enjoy,

though the story of Elephant is still my favorite!

Through It All

Danny Thomas, founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, said, "No child should die in the dawn of life." Yet, this unpredictable life brings unpredictable and unwanted tragedy to reality so many times.

In 2005, I began donating to St. Jude. In doing so, I have been touched many times on numerous occasions. In the pictures that I see of these children, I am continually captivated by the sweet smiles on their precious faces and the look of innocence in their beautiful eyes. And it saddens me to think that, in their short time, these innocent children have seen, experienced and felt more pain and suffering than most adults will in their lifetime.

Yet, the spirit of a child cannot be broken- even with cancer, sickness, pain and, sometimes, even death fighting against them. They have an unwillingness to waver or falter in the face of imminent danger and catastrophe.

I asked myself, "If these children can continue to smile as they rise and grow through all of this, then, why can't I?" I wrote this poem in dedication to all of the wonderful children who have been a part of St. Jude...the ones that have fought and the ones that are still fighting to live a full and happy life. May God bless them all...

Through It All
As I journey down the broken path of life
Everyday I face my share of sorrow, pain and strife.
The mountains rise before me, the ground shakes at my feet.
The circumstances of this life try to get the best of me.
At times my friends forsake me, and I feel alone.
I wonder if I will make it, as I try to carry on.
The road ahead is bumpy, filled with many twists and turns.
And I wonder if these struggles are there to help me learn.
Then, I look around me, and I see heartache all around.
I see a family that's lost a loved one; I watch dreams fall to the ground.
With each new day and step I take I think of all the suffering.
Some live their lives and they are full while others can only dream.
I realize then that all my troubles are not as bad as they once seemed.
Through the darkness, though sometimes dim, a light has always gleamed.
I've lived through lonely days, sleepless nights and moments of hopelessness.
Through it all, though, I have learned that I am truly blessed.
I face some storms, I feel the rain, and sometimes I stumble and fall.
But the storms will pass, the rain will cease and the sun will shine bright on us all.
And though my steps have faltered, I have stood the tests of time.
My faith is restored and I gain the strength each time to continue to rise!

Andes Chocolate Mint Cookies

If you or someone you know is a chocolate mint lover (like I am), these are the perfect cookies to satisfy your chocolate/mint craving. I love the way the mints look after they melt on top of the cookie. Sometimes you can still see some of the green swirled in with the chocolate. Yummy! You can find these cookies and so many more wonderful recipes at Stephanie’s Kitchen and Delightful Delicacies.

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Andes Chocolate Mint Cookies
(recipe from Delightful Delicacies)

¾ c. butter (1½ stick)
1½ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp. water
12 oz. (2 cups) chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 ½ cups flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
Andes Mints (1 for each cookie)

I usually use the Andes Mint Baking Chips

In a large bowl melt together the butter, brown sugar, water and chocolate chips.

Beat in eggs.

Add in sifted remaining dry ingredients until blended.

Chill 1 hour or overnight.

Shape into 1 inch balls and place on greased cookie sheet.

Bake @ 325°F for 8-10 minutes.

Place mint on top (you may want to place back in the oven for a second or two). Spread when melted.

Transfer to wire racks to cool.

ENJOY!

9 Ways to Handle Stress

Are you under stress? These days it seems like everyone is stressed about one thing are another. A friend of mine gave me this small list a while back. Next time you get stressed, give one of these a try.

1. Use your Mastercard to pay your Visa bill.

2. Pop some popcorn without putting the lid on.

3. When someone tells you to "Have a Nice Day", tell them you have other plans.

4. Make a list of things you have already done.

5. Thumb through National Geographic and draw underwear on the natives.

6. Drive to work in reverse.

7. Bill your doctor for the time you spent in his waiting room.

8. Read the dictionary backwards and look for subliminal messages.

9. Jam tiny marshmallows up your nose and try to sneeze them out.

Have a GREAT day!

Valentine Cards

I've been looking at all of the Valentine cards available out there. I thought I'd give you a short list of where you can find some of my favorites!

These sweetheart Valentines are a perfect way to let someone know you think they are cute or cool…or a QT Pie.

You can give someone this card to let them know you are WILD about them!

You can go here for a cute snail Valentine card.

Go here for some adorable free Valentines to download. If you want them black and white so the recipient can color the card, go here.

I love owls, so this owl valentine is my favorite.

Tricia Rennea’s blog is one of my favorites; she has the cutest drawings! Her
lollipop holder valentines are adorable!

These are perfect for little cowboys & cowgirls. They even have a tiny envelope that match!

All of these and more can be found here, here & here.

Valentine Envelopes

I found this cute template to make mini envelopes. You can make these for anything (mini birthday card, gift tags, etc.), but I think they are the perfect size for Valentine cards. You can print them on colored paper or paper with a design, or you can print them on white paper and decorate with markers and stickers. Whatever you decide, these are fun to make...and so cute! You can get the template for these envelopes here and an idea that uses them here.

The smitten hearts paper used to make the above envelope can be found on Tricia Rennea’s blog (one that I absolutely adore!).

Heart Shaped Paper Clips

Found this idea on stumbleupon. Of course, I had to pick up the nearest paper clip and try it for myself. The first few were kind of difficult, but I finally got it to go the right way! Cute! Now I just need to find some some more pink (and maybe red) paper clips. These would be cute attached to Valentine cards. You can find the stumbleupon article here, or you can click here for the original post over at How About Orange… (a Great blog I'm glad I discovered!).

Fisherman

I made this cake last weekend for Shawn's grandpa. Everything is edible except for the "fishing pole". It's yellow cake with buttercream frosting, and all of the decorations are fondant.