Mini "Caramel" Apples

We were lucky to be invited to a Friendsgiving dinner and asked to bring a dessert that was neither a pumpkin or chocolate pie. The girl and I decided to try to make these Mini "Caramel" Apples, per FamilyFun magazine.

After scooping out "mini apples" from Granny Smiths with a melon baller and piercing it with a lollipop stick cut on a diagonal, we squeezed the mini apple dry so the melted chocolate would stick to it.

Working with melted chocolate was best, the melted peanut butter chips were second, and the butterscotch chips (which we could melt all the way) were a clumpy mess.

Then it was ready for decorating:

We rolled it in various toppings, like toffee bits, coconut, cashew dust (which was supposed to be chopped cashews but we overdid it in the Magic Bullet), and sprinkles.

These are the toffee bits:

And wha-la, mini caramel apples!

I would emphasize one note of caution: these are best enjoyed within a few hours, because despite best efforts to dry the exposed apple, the juice from the apple will eventually cause a mushy, chocolatey mess at the bottom (similar to chocolate covered strawberries that aren't inhaled immediately), which isn't so appetizingly cute.

You're able to get quite a few mini apples out of each apple (about 8), so it doesn't take many big apples to produce a lot of mini ones.

Cute and tasty--*if you eat them soon after you make them!

Bear knows

Unfortunately productivity went out the window for this long weekend, as exemplified by our cat, Bear:

I made a lame effort of hitting some Black Friday sales but I didn't really have a list so it was unfocused and the reward was miniscule.

I should have just stayed home and caught up on movies.

Yeah, I know.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a safe and warm Thanksgiving.

Since I'm the only one who likes dark meat but is now a vegetarian, I make a turkey breast for Thanksgiving. I know, no drumsticks or wishbone, bummer...but it means all white meat for these meat-eaters who are missing the delicious dark meat gene.

I was at a loss for a centerpiece for our Thanksgiving table. I didn't have anything autumny, let alone Thanksgivingish, so the girl thought it was clever to simply create a centerpiece highlighting the bookends of Thanksgiving:

After all, who isn't grateful for the holiday spirit and those who vanquish monsters?

I have the power

I am He-Man.
Just in time for Thanksgiving. This pretty much took me all Sunday--filing papers, putting my craft supplies away, deciding what to just toss. Now on to the rest of the house...

Nerd Alert

There was a huge annual sale at our local comic book store, Alakazam. And we went a little crazy:
All the comic books we got were $1 each, and all the other stuff (the graphic novels, compilations, and Mad book) were 20% off.

Check out some of these gems:
"If you've got to die...die fighting!" Sing it, pal!

And check this out, one of literatures oldest heroes:
And he's battling Dracula!

And the cool thing about this Tarzan comic:
has to be these enticing words:

Though I have to confess, I was a bit disappointed with the Ape-English Dictionary:

Or maybe I just have to meet up with some more articulate apes.

Weight Watchers Week 1 Redo - FAIL

I weighed in at 155. I gained a pound. And honestly, it's not just about the numbers. I'm feeling muffin-toppy, double-chinny, jowlly, and slow.

Ugh, I shouldn't have put too much hope kicking off WW on a week where we had a Thanksgiving potluck at work. I've eaten a paralyzing amount of butter, white carbs, mayo, french-fried onions, and pie the past two days. I did exercise 3 times this week and I guess the bright side is I could have gained a lot more weight. sigh.

Well, I'm not giving up. It's a new week.

By the power of GraySkull

I will conquer this:

Paul had his doubts about posting this picture of our messy table but there's something that motivates me to be accountable when I post it on my blog. Sad to confess we have been eating on this table. How? When it's time to eat, we dig a little clearing in the clutter to make room for our plates. I believe you can actually see three separate spaces. Sort of. Ugh, terrible, I know. But it's getting cleared up this weekend for sure. I'll post a picture to prove it.

Just as terrible, this is pretty much what the rest of the house looks like. But I am definitely not brave enough to post pictures of that.