Snow, Snow, go away.
Come to play another day.

Another day when I'm not here,
a day that I don't drive and steer.

Save your bleary doom and dread,
for a day when I may stay in bed.

That horrible, windy cold and chill
makes me want to take a pill...

...and hide my eyes, that's they won't know
you've sent away the sun's warm glow.

So Snow, oh snow... please go away.
You're ruining my entire day.

This is Alton Brown:

This is his amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe:

1. Cream 1 cup shortening with 3/4 cup sugar and 1 cup brown sugar.

2. Add 2 eggs, one at a time. Add 1 1/2 tsp vanilla.

3. Sift together 2 1/4 cups cake flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt.

4. Mix dry ingredients into wet mixture slowly, in 3 installments.

5. Add 2-ish cups of chunks (chocolate, nuts, whatever)

6. Chill. Chill. Chill.

7. Scoop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10.5 minutes. Seriously, exactly 10 and a half minutes.

8. Let cool on the pan for a few minutes to firm up before transferring to cooling rack.

These are the cookies I made using this recipe. They are, might I add, my first successful batch since I've lived in Utah. No joke.

Really just one. We went to the Redwood forest, which I've always wanted to do! It was pretty sweet, and Chris was an especially well-informed tour guide... as he read each bullet point that coordinated with a clearly marked number which labeled each point of interest :)

...go check it out! www.utahlovescupcakes.com

Here's a teaser...

Go check it out! www.bakerella.com

So, since we've moved, I've been pretty lazy as far as making cupcakes and updating my cupcake blog (www.SomethingSwankyUT.blogspot.com). And the longer and longer I went without working on it, the more and more of a far off, unrealistic dream my cupcakery became. And I started to wonder what the point of my expensive hobby was? Was it really worth pouring our penny-pinched money into every week when it's possible it may never really go anywhere? I had a box of cupcakes made especially for getting pictures taken to put on my blog. And they sat, and sat, and sat on my counter for weeks. And then I finally connected with the photographer I've been wanting to work with. She took the box of 3 week old cupcakes and came up with these:

As soon as I saw these pictures, I remembered why I love cupcakes. They are so pretty! Really, just adorable. And I couldn't stop grinning on my way back to work. And the grumpy people pouring into the office didn't bother me anymore because I knew I had something that I still loved to do- and that I can do, because I'm good at it! It's my craft :) And it's just nice to have something in life that you do well and can hold on to. Anyway, thanks to Rachel for the amazing pics and reigniting my love of cupcakes!