Pictures, Quotes, Distractions, Oh my!

Exciting news!

I am moving! To Texas!

But, leading up to finding up, there was a whole lot of waiting to find out if the job making the move possible was going to go through. The first one was a bust, but the second one, success!

But anyways, while waiting for the call, I was EXTREMELY bored, mainly because I couldn't leave the phone, so I spent way too long on my computer. And my phone. So I was drawing random stuff, taking pictures, then with my random budding graphic arts talent to tweak them.

Okay, I was in need of a distraction.

Here's what I randomly came up with.

XOXO, E

A few geekies :] (CAKES!)

Good morning, lovelies!
I've been busy! Really really busy! I'm gonna get the hang of this blogging here sooner or later. I keep saving stuff to be put up. But then I never do. Boo. I know. Shame on me. I seriously have a folder that's called 'for blogger'.... and it's not empty. But whatever.


Here I am today sharing some really geeky cakes that I've done lately.


These are both... from my brother's birthdays. Bahahah, random.


I'd like a little disclaimer here, though. I am totally and completely NEW at cake decorating. 
I absolutely would love to hear opinions and tips, but please, be kind. I know they're messy.


On top of that... I just barely started using fondant. And I haven't quite gotten the hold of it. Part of that may be because I use my own fondant instead of store bought, but I really don't intend to buy any anytime soon. I've been told mine is pretty good. :]


BUT anyway, here we go!


This first cake was for my brother, GB, who's birthday was on Sunday, and when I asked what kind of cake he wanted, he said 'ice cream Dalek / Tardis cake'. For those of you who don't speak uber-nerd, they're some weird... things... from the Doctor Who series. I started doing both, but it ended up taking longer than expected, and my time was cut short. So I skipped over the tardis and just made the Dalek. I'm not gonna lie, I'm kinda proud of it, since 1) this is my first attempt at decorating like this and 2) I had no *****ing idea what a stupid Dalek was (I may be a nerd, but I'm not a crazed DW fan). So the fact that this thing resembles what it's supposed to?? ... SUCCESS!

Cakes by Cholle <3 Dalek B-Day cake

 On this cake, my mom was actually the one to make the cake, I just decorated. She apparently couldn't decide what KIND of cake to make, because it ended up being a very messy layer cake as follows - brownie layer, candy bar ice cream layer, tie-dye yellow cake layer, ice cream, brownie. In other words, death by sugar. Especially since this was a HUGE cake. We still have like half of it. (and the day after, a friend brought us ANOTHER cake. Oy).


So this next picture is it all put together (I'm glad I had the sense to realized that it would be stupid to decorate ON the cake. That ice cream would have melted all over the place bahaha)

Cakes by Cholle - Dalek Birthday Cake

This second cake was made for my OTHER brother, Jake, for his birthday a few months back.

Cakes by Cholle! - Panda cake set.

Pretty goofy, I'm fully aware. The panda thing is an inside joke. But again, first try EVER at using fondant (oh, and on top of that, I didn't have food coloring. Yeah, see that blue, yellow, and green? Those were all colored with sugar crystals. Oh yeah, be impressed.)


I had GB's help on this, and I would be minimalistic to say that he and I have different tastes. I try to be very specific and clean, he's artistic. I'm not sure if they meshed very well in this. Oh well.


If you're curious, the cake is actually... not cake at all. It's made out of brownies. Jake could create a new brownie monster. The cupcakes are my own recipe for a white cake... that actually tastes more like sugar cookies. They're pretty darn yummy. Especially with some cream cheese frosting, brown sugar, and cinnamon on top. Yummy!


Oh, and if you're wondering about the candles, that's my brother's age.... in binary. Oh yeah. Nerdtastic.


Well, chillens, that's all I have for you for one night. Until next time, I'm off to go digest insane amounts of cake and ice cream. Ooooof.


xoxo,
E

New look, New goals!

Clearly, I just redesigned the look of my blog. Still not in love with it, but a vast improvement, I think.
Along with that, if I like my blog more, I MIGHT just post more often.

But...

Not tonight! I have an early morning tomorrow, and I have stayed up wayyyy too late as is!

AND YET: I do have a list of books that I need to write my reviews for... I'm so excited! I've actually been getting good books lately! Yay!!

YAWN. I'm falling. So here's just a quick <3, sweet dreams! Sleep tight, let bedbugs bite!

Chat soon!

xoxo.

Live, let live, be happy.

I'm becoming a Crowdtap Junkie

I've been so ridiculously busy, and I miss typing random crap onto my blogs! Sorry I haven't been around much.


It's really early. Blah. Or late. Whatever. I'm barely awake. It's 2:10 AM, and I'm about to pass out, but I wanted to share a little bit about what is going to be my excuse for being online a lot more.

Click here to find me on Crowdtap!


J'adore.


Now, I always quickly mention that I'm an over opinionated nerd, and this site let's me do JUST THAT. And guess what? I get free samples as long as I write a review for it (hey, I usually do that anyway!) but that's not even the best part. I'm getting PAID for it. No, I'm serious. I'm actually getting paid. Several of the actions will give you a couple of bucks, and some of the bigger stuff, like reviewing samples, which I'm starting to do now, gives you a decent chunk of free cash. Booya!


Want some free money??? Who doesn't!! CLICK HERE!


I'm such a free stuff junkie, I'm just excited about getting the SAMPLES. But I'm also getting MONEY for WRITING about the FREE STUFF I'm getting.


Another cool part about it? You're donating to charity. A charity of your choice. (I'm doing To Write Love On Her Arms. I've always loved what this charity does! <3). It automatically donates a part of your earnings (it's not very much, so you don't get the 'oh yeah, you're giving me money then taking it away!' syndrome), but you can choose to donate more of it if you prefer. If you choose to redeem your money, it's a gift card.


Hey, I am sure not complaining!!!


So far it's been fun. I haven't actually gotten any cash yet, because you have to earn a certain amount before you can cash it out, but I'm really looking forward to doing more of these actions. I will absolutely keep you up to date on whether it works or not.


If you'd like you check it out for yourself, check out this link:


Click here to go to Crowdtap, and make sure to add me (it'll let you automatically)


Then you can add me as a friend on there, and then we help each other earn some more moolah. Sound fun? Ooh yeah. Let's hit it.!


Or should I say tap it???


Seriously, how cool is this idea??? If anyone of you have used it (successfully, or otherwise), wanna let me know what you think and any tips, etc?? If not, oh well. I'll be sure to update on it for everyone very soon!




XOXO


Cholle (who is not officially passed out. whew!)

Live, let live, be happy.

Tee-hee: let's be friends. Shoot me an email

here!


Last chance! Click here and add me on Crowdtap!

Remember to like and share my blog on Facebook or twitter!
If I get enough people following me, I'll make some new pages. :]


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Cholle's Bookshelf: A book review of Gossip Girl, book #1 in the Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Zeigesar

Evening, people! I've been completely lazy lately! But I am back. And what's more, in my laziness, I have been reading. Yay me!


Now, if you haven't heard of the Gossip Girl show on the CW network, you must be living in a hole. It's everywhere. The show stars Chance Crawford as Nate, Ed Westwick as Chuck, Penn Badgley as Dan, Taylor Momsen as Jenny, and of course Blake Lively and Leighton Meester as Serena and Blair.


Now, I completely admit.... When I saw the commercials, I thought it looked shallow, drama filled, and kind of boring. I ended up watching it recently (right before the beginning of season 4), and let's just say I watched the first three seasons in about two weeks. And... Well. I was right. It is kinda shallow and drama filled, but in oh the best way.


So like I usually do, when I was paying attention to something OTHER than the show (and that took a while) and I finally noticed that little note at the bottom of the screen that said "Based on the book series by Cecily von Ziegesar", I immediately rushed to my library website and put in a reserve, and picked it up not long afterwards.


Okay, I picked up the first five.


Now, onto the book. I was totally and completely.... kind of... DISAPPOINTED. You know, it wasn't a BAD story necessarily. But.... Ahhh. Okay. Here's the problems I had with it. The first book is basically the first episode of the show. BUT there are some major differences. First and foremost, the characters have no, well... character.
In the show, Serena had a lot of awful things in her past, but she was trying to improve her life and herself. In the book she's just a dirty whore who shows no remorse for anything she does. 
TV Blair is sneaky and catty, but she had definite charm, You can't help but like her. Book Blair is boring and pathetic, just hunting for everyone's approval and only thinking about sealing the deal for the first time, the only reason being a failing relationship. Yeah, sure, that's 'waiting for the right time' BOO.. 
Chuck is disgusting, with an amazing soul underneath... though the soul is shown later, so I'm not too terrible with his book character. 
Vanessa... Vanessa. If you've seen the show, you know the very pretty Jessica Szohr who plays her, with her tan skin, stunning blue eyes, quirky style, etc. Though, you know... pretty annoying. You just want her out of the story. Now in the book, she's trying so hard to be indie, she just comes across as pathetic. A girl who shaves her head because she's going to a private school, and pouts when she can't wear plain black, all the time? Really, how cliche poser is that? Down with fake indie, up with the real stuff!
And Jenny. oooooooh Jenny. They turned Taylor Momsen's cute and fiery little blond character who finds some edge into a boring little brunette with Shirley Temple girls and a size DD chest, and what she gains in chest size, she looses in charm. HATE. 
Even Dan looses his likability when he's portrayed as the sex-crazed pompous jerk. 
It's like the only one that is the same is Nate, the self conscious hot guy who's afraid of making decisions and is in love with someone other than his main squeeze. How fitting they picked the gorgeous Chance Crawford to play the part. Loooove.


Yes, I know that von Zegesar wrote the characters first, but I'm telling ya Cecily: THE CW DID THEM BETTER. I don't know if I would like the characters at ALL if I had never seen the show.


So to say the least, I was disappointed with the characters in general. But the book itself was kind of just... boring. Nothing really happened. Nothing that you wouldn't expect from a group like this.


BUT. like I mentioned, I got the first five. So I'm reserving judgement until I get a little further in the series. I guess miracles do happen, right?


Parental Guide: 
Language: There is a lot of language including... well. everything. And it's all through the book. 
Social Behaviors: Constant drinking and smoking, skipping school (skipping the country to be groped by old Frenchmen). The majority is done by minors.It also includes some parental almost-abandonment, as the parents are pretty distant from their children as they take on the assumption that if they let their kids to anything they want, they wont go out of control and crazy. WRONG. There is also talk of homosexuality, as it's revealed that Blair's father left her mother to be with another man. Also through Blair's story, there is talk of Bulimia. 
Sex and Nudity: An almost-sexual part that gets somewhat explicit, explaining her nudity, and his well... urge to get to the actual sex part. There is also some rather explicit dialog throughout, and some very loose mindsets when it comes to sex. Families that encourage families to think of sex as a marriage-only practice, or at least as special, etc (as I think it should be), would probably not find it appropriate. To finish up, there is a near rape. 
Violence and gore: None, really. Most of the damage is done through poor choices, and most of it is emotional.


Never knew all that would fit into a book that's only about 200 pages long, didja?


For those that would like to read it, it's very simple. I read it in a few hours, only half paying attention.


I would say only appropriate for (tentatively) ages 17+ (yeah, it's kind of overkill, but I think that just because so many teens know so much about sex doesn't mean it's good to be immersed in it. I still believe in innocence!!)


Do I recommend it?: Withholding judgement until I've made it through a few more books.


"You know you love me, XOXO"


~Cholle <3


Live, let live, be happy.