Another stop at the S-S-S!

I received another e-mail from another friend in California asking me to send

her a couple of boxes of those fantastic disposable pastry bags I found at

my secret savings spot. She read this post and couldn't believe seeing that I

actually found communion figurines too! Communion season is coming up and

her sweet daughter Mini-P, as I affectionately call her, will be making her first

Holy communion in the same Church where the boys made theirs! Of course, I

was all too happy to make another trip out to my s-s-s, especially since the last

time I was there with SpaBoy, we saw lots of employees busy stocking the

shelves with all sorts of new items. One of them being these pencils from my

very favorite make-up, Urban Decay. Do you know what I pay for an Urban

Decay eye pencil at Sephora? A whole lot more than $4.95, that's for sure!

I don't usually spend much time at the s-s-s cosmetics

counter, but that changed tonight! I'll take three, please!

When I couldn't find the communion figurines I started to panic a bit. I mean, just

last week there was a huge box that was practically over-flowing. But tonight, no

trace of them anywhere! I finally asked but I was directed to the food section to

the communion wafers. No... Really! Fortunately, I didn't give up and found this

tiny stash behind the boxes, (and boxes!) of church votive candles. Whew! Now,

all the kids in Mini-P's first communion class will have one in their goodie bag!

I hope that they enjoy it as much as I love the figurine

I received on the day of my first Holy communion...

Although I wouldn't put money on any of them keeping

their first Holy communion figurine for 35+ years like I have!

More Cupcakes!

Last weekend I made these cupcakes and they went pretty fast!

Mostly because I took 12 of them to work to help celebrate a friend's baby news!

She found out she's having a girl, so I thought red velvet cupcakes with pale-pink

icing was absolutely in order! Speaking of in order... I found this measuring

cup/pitcher and thought it was perfect for cupcake liner filling!

And, once again...

I was right on the money! And, speaking of money, if you

want one of your own, it won't cost you much at all!

This was the Best $6.00 I spent all week!

Speaking of spending... Mom asked me to place an order for her with

Williams-Sonoma for some of the same Bistro items I picked up. I was

happy to do it, and even happier to find the table runner I've been eyeing

is now on sale! Mom loves her butter dish and her cheese platter

as much as I am now enjoying my new pantry table runner!

While my cupcakes baked, I checked on the boys out in the solarium!

Our transition has been going quite well this week!

King Bing is back to his calm, happy self!

And, King Leonidas really seems to be enjoying his new home!

For my part, I'm really enjoying the peace and quite. And, what about all

this bright sunshine in January too? Love it! I think as soon as my cupcakes

are out of the oven, I am going to get outside and wash the Mini Cooper!

Cupcakes baked... Mini Cooper washed!

How much do we love Devil's food cupcakes?

Last week I had batter for one cupcake left over...

Today, there's batter left for two!

Time for another round of Martha's Buttercream!

The secret to smooth frosting is sifted powdered sugar!

Sifting works out all the kinks!

 Last weekend I made only one batch of Martha's buttercream...

Which left me with a few naked cupcakes. Naked
cupcakes rarely get eaten around here...

So I throw them out into the yard for the

raccoons. Because they are less picky that way!

Nevertheless, this weekend I'm doubling Martha's

recipe, thereby eliminating the risk of naked cupcakes!

The raccoons won't be happy!

I'm using a couple of different tips this time so I thought I

would share with you my trick for transferring icing from one

pastry bag into another... Just snip off the bottom of the first

bag, and use it to pipe the icing over into the second bag!

Certainly not rocket-science. However, it's a whole lot easier and less
messy than scooping icing out of the top of a used pastry bag. Right?

Last week I told you about the photo light tent I picked up and how

much I enjoy using it. Well, after my friend Cheryl read my post, she

e-mailed me to show me how she was able to tweak one of my photos

using Photo Shop. Cheryl's adjustments looked great, but the thing I

wanted to know the most was how she was able to lift, and brighten

up the background. I don't know how it happened; but I noticed a

while ago that my indoor photos were looking a big drab. After

sharing my frustration with her, Cheryl suggested I adjust my

white-balance setting. And, you know what? She was right!

Adjusting the white-balance on my camera made all the difference!

Now, even without help from Cheryl's Photo Shop, I have

beautiful, bright, clear backgrounds again. Oh, Cheryl...

I heart-you!

Another weekend... And, another great
afternoon spent in the kitchen baking!

Before I go... This is the scene upstairs on our bed

right now. Bing and Leo getting along, and getting closer!

Could grooming each other be far behind?

Inside my Secret-Savings-Spot!

After sharing my Secret-Savings-Spot in this post, I received a ton of

e-mails asking me to disclose its location. I also received e-mails asking if

I would consider shipping some of the disposable pastry bags I found there!

If you're one of my readers that inquired, then you know I answered every single

e-mail. And, if you asked me to mail you a box, (or four) of disposable pastry

bags, you'll know in a few days that they were mailed this evening. But, if you

are one of the many readers who said you wished you could see inside my

little s-s-s, then get comfy... Because the following photos are for you!

SpaBoy and I met for Hot Yoga after work this evening. Then, we hit the

secret-savings-spot. It was his first time. We shopped for almost an hour

and a half! The first thing I hope you've noticed is the variety of products

they carry! Now... This below had me a bit miffed because these non-slip

comfort/wellness mats are perfect for the kitchen but at only $14, they're

a fraction of what I paid for the one I ordered from Williams-Sonoma!

Part of the reason it took me and SpaBoy an hour and half to get through the

store is because we stopped to giggle so often. I mean, really... This has to

be the only place you'll find a garment steamer, blowdryer diffuser, water

bottle combination set, and commercial fry basket all on the same shelf!

Oh, and empty prescription bottles just below!

This cracked me up because I saw these in the gift shop the last time we

visited the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning with the Ranger!

Yes indeed... There's a whole lot of everything here!

Like these hand warmers I intend to send to the Ranger! He told me

it's been snowing in Afghanistan for a week now and that their

digital thermometer stopped working at minus 6 degrees!

SpaBoy loaded up on these sponges... Every

esthetician knows why this is a great deal!

Trehalose...Who knew?

But this is where you'll find it... Right next to

the hot tub safety rails and... The bathtub!

Need a bar condiment caddy, flat iron or set of hot rollers?

Or maybe you're in the market for a new

Bible or you're taking a road trip to Arizona?

I bet you could shop every store in North Carolina and not

find another box of plastic communion figurines anywhere!

Last fall I bought a case of tennis balls at Costco,

and I paid a whole lot more than this for them!

Right above the Pottery Barn wine stopper set and next to the corkscrews

is where you'll find the extra-long Gutting Gloves. And, isn't

extra-long what really matters when buying your gutting gloves?

This is usually the only place in the store where you'll find me...

It's where they stock all the baking/cooking supplies, and where I recently

found these fantastic rolls of 18" disposable pastry/decorating bags, priced

just $9.95 a box! I called yesterday afternoon to ask if they would put another

six boxes on hold for me, and I'm glad I did - Because while it may look like

there are still a lot of boxes left, there were ten times this many last week!

Now, last week they didn't have any of these latex gloves I was

after... But this evening I got lucky, and I took all five boxes home!

This is an example of the Williams-Sonoma goodies to be found here!

And, if you're in the market for a replacement handle

for your Le Creuset rubber scraper, you're in luck!

 I hope you've enjoyed your peek into the best kept secret in this area... SpaBoy

and I had a blast! After all, it's the only place in North Carolina a couple of former

Kansas State University students could find a clock like this hanging over the door!