March was very much a birthday month, not only for me but for several coworkers. I celebrated mine with lots of food, and then I baked for my coworkers! It actually gave me a chance to try out a few new things I’ve been wanting to do.
For one coworker, I baked mint chocolate chip cookies, which is a recipe I’m already known for. For the others, I did new things:
- Chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream – I normally do a mint buttercream with chocolate, but I made a chocolate buttercream this time to make it super chocolately. I forgot to take photos of this though!
- Spiced chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting – I wanted to try a smokey and spicy chocolate cake, so I altered my recipe to include cinnamon, ancho, and cayenne. I paired it with a cream cheese frosting to contrast with the spice.
- Chiffon cake with strawberry jam and whipped cream frosting – Each part was a new recipe for me! (How did I not realize how easy it is to make jam??) This cake was light and refreshing compared to my usual flavor-rich cakes.
They were all a big hit, especially the spiced chocolate cake! I’m glad I have coworkers who are willing to be my taste testers 😉
The other hobby I focused on in March was gaming. I realized I’ve been slacking on this and haven’t been playing anything new. First, I finally finished Pyre, and then from there, I moved onto Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. That game has been in my backlog for years! I used to love the Assassin’s Creed series, but I wasn’t a big fan of AC:Revelations and AC3, and it’s been hard for me to get back into it. Fortunately, AC4 is already showing much more promise!
I’ve also been getting back into co-op games. With my husband, we’ve been playing Forced, a co-op brawler and puzzle-type game. We also started up Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes again. The first time we played it, we tried it with my mother-in-law who liked playing Zelda games on the DS/3DS. Sadly, we couldn’t get very far because she had a hard time with later levels. This time around, we started over to play with another friend, and it’s going smoothly! (Well, except for the times my husband trolls us by throwing us off ledges.) I think we’ll be able to finish the game this time around though!
Anyway, I’m going to leave this entry a bit short because not much else has been going on. However, I’ll hopefully have some exciting things to share in the next month or two! Some sneak peeks:
- I’m taking a family vacation with my parents and with my brother and his wife. Though we’ve met up for holidays, family reunions, and weddings, we haven’t had an actual family vacation together since 2012. (And my brother wasn’t with his wife at that time either.) I’ll have a write-up and photos as usual afterwards!
- Remember how I said I wanted to move to a new blog on a new domain? Yeah, I totally meant to have that ready by January or February, but here we are in April. I finally painted the picture I want to use for the layout, so maybe I’ll have it done soon?
- I am taking a break from cosplay photoshoots and am starting a new photography project. I’ll have Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook pages for it once it’s up!
- And some other things too, which I’ll leave vague for now!
Have a good April everyone!
Hi Cat! 🙂
Belated happy birthday to you! and those awesome sweets! <3 Mouthwatering!
Looks like March was super filling for you ha! I’m looking at those cookies and drooling xD They sort of remind me of some cookies my manager baked for her bake sale last year at work – I love it when people do things like that for the office, it’s so lovely to hear and be a part of 😀 I bet everyone loved it!
I’m really looking forward to seeing your new blog – I’ve been waiting for it actually, always visiting your current blog for updates haha! Have a fantastic April!
I thought about moving my blog onto the main domain and off of my subdomain.
Have you picked out a domain name yet?
Man, I had soo many domains and sites, you kept yours so orgainzed and active! I let too many die out. Including sooo many fanlistings omgoddness!!
Also – your pics of food is so dangerous!!! Oh lordy!!!
Birthday months are always the best. Mine is coming up in May. I literally celebrate all month as well.
I’m trying to diet here, and you’re not making it easy! Just kidding. Those sweets look so awesome. <3
My birthday month was lame, in part weather wise and in part just depression. However, my birthday itself was enjoyable at least!
I need to just celebrate all next January, screw it lol.
So far this last couple of days I’ve been busying my buns on my blog, so its keeping me busy(as if April isn’t going to be busy enough! Loool)
Those cakes look to die for o.O
The cakes and cookies look amazing. Please can I come and work with you? Everything tastes so much better when it’s home baked, I really wish I made more time for baking. It’s been over a year since I last baked something!
Glad you been making time for gaming! I’ve spent most of my time reading lately, but I’m really missing The Witcher. I tend to get addicted to a game for a couple of months then just forget about it.
Hope you had a lovely birthday and hope April goes well! Enjoy your holiday!
All those desserts sound so yummy. I really want to try your mint chocolate chip cookies and the spice cupcakes. It’s funny when my job moved me out of the hospital and to the development center, the guys were most sad because they weren’t going to be my taste testers anymore for foods and desserts. It is handy to have co-workers to tell you what they think.
I can’t wait to see your new photography project. I really need to work on my websites and finish them, as well as updates certain sections. lol Ug procrastination and laziness have been tied to my name lately.
Love how you celebrate with lots of delicious food! I still think it’s cool that you’re into gaming where you try out a bunch of different games! I’m so bad where I stick to one XD. Glad AC4 is promising!
Oooh! Hope you’re having lots of fun in the family vacation so far! Pretty cool that you guys are traveling together! Looking forward to seeing some pics and the new domain!!! I want to take some guesses but can I bet some $$ if I get it right during the reveal? XD
But seriously, hope you’re doing well and stay happy, Cat!
Wow, happy birthday to you! the thought that we are getting old and yet being more productive is sad and fun at the same time! Those food are my keeps esp if paired with coffee! #num
Your coworkers are lucky 😉
That’s a bummer your mother-in-law struggled with later levels! I’d be bummed if I were her. At least you do have someone else to play the game with!
Looking forward to reading about the family vacation! I hope you have a great reunion. 🙂
I DO remember you saying you were shifting things around for your blog. 😄 I’m excited to see it! I’ve been working on a new layout myself, but it’s been taking a while too. 😅 You’re forgiven!
MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES. That sounds so heavenly right now. Please make me some if I am ever in the area XD The spiced chocolate cupcakes sounds delicious! Cayenne + chocolate = AWESOME. The chiffon cake looks amazing, by the way! I want some!
Enjoy your family vacation! And I can’t wait to see your new blog and this new photography project of yours! Hope your April has been well so far!
Those look so awesome btw~ You are a great person for always doing thoughtful things like baking wonderful goodies for your coworkers. Now, I want cookies and cake XD
Belated happy birthday!! And was so sweet of you to bake your friends. All of them looked and sound yummy!
Oh my I’m so hungry looking at those sweets! Happy (late) birthday! :))
Belated Happy Bday to you! For me Holidays with lots of food are the best ones as well! Love the combination of mint and chocolate everywhere!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Anna
http://atlifestylecrossroads.com