Cupcakes!

I made some cupcakes the other day, and they turned out cuter than I expected they would.  They were pretty time-consuming to make, but I think you'll agree, worth the trouble!

Chocolate Butterflies on top of green frosted chocolate cupcakes

Cute little puppy!

I used jelly beans for the eyes and noses. Smaller ones for the eyes, since the large ones were TOO big and looked kind of scary!

The tongues were tricky, since I didn't have the right candy. I ended up cutting apart some of those gummy teeth (found at the Bulk Food store). I used a knife to cut off the white "tooth" portion, then rolled out the pink "gums". It took a bit of manipulation to get the shape right, but like how they turned out.

The ears were another component that took some time to do. I used mini tootsie rolls,  unwrapped and microwaved them (2 at a time, so they wouldn't cool before I had time to shape them) for about 10 seconds to soften. I then rolled them out so they would be flat, then used a paring knife to cut away and help shape them into ears.

Muzzles are just 1/2 of a large marshmallow with frosting on top.

For the butterflies, I first found a photo of a butterfly online that had a good silhouette, printed it off and traced the outline onto a few small pieces of paper. I then put a piece of paper under some wax paper, and used melted chocolate to trace the outline.

After I traced 4 or so, I switched colours and flooded the inside of the wings with melted orange chocolate. I only did a few at a time, because I wanted to be able to work with the dark chocolate before it set. After flooding, I used a toothpick to make lines from the dark into the orange.

Once all that was done, the whole lot got put into the freezer to set while I worked on creating the antenna out of more chocolate. They got put in the freezer for a few minutes as well.

Once all the chocolate was set, it was time to assemble. So exciting, I just couldn't wait to see if they would turn out or not, and if the wings would melt. I put both wings pretty close together on top of a cupcake, then filled in the small gap I left with more chocolate.  Added the antenna, and they were done!

To keep the wings from toppling over, I pipped a bit of extra frosting underneath to help stabilize.

Chilliwack and Cultus Lake

On our way home, the final destination place (meaning places we wanted to tour and not just stop at on our drive) was Chilliwack, BC. Beautiful! I love how close it is to Seattle.

It's a pretty quiet here, but with Vancouver and Seattle being close by, they don't really need much in the way of amenities.  I think farming was and probably still is what this bit of B.C. paradise is all about.

It's somewhat surrounded by mountains. I say somewhat, because they are on three sides, with the fourth side being open. That's the way to the ocean, Seattle and all that lies there. I like it very much for this reason. It suits hubby and I, since he's from BC and used to being surrounded by mountains. I'm an Ontario girl and used to some rolling hills, but mainly open spaces. The mountains get too claustrophobic for me. Chilliwack is the perfect balance.

We camped just outside and up the mountain from Chilliwack in a place called Cultus Lake. This was a mistake. While it's very pretty, the campground is overcrowded. The trailers and tents are within arm's reach of each other. The trees are tall and offer no privacy. Nothing like getting away from it all just to have your neighbours closer to you here than they are at home!

I will say this though, the lake up there is beautiful! Just don't camp unless you don't mind having people watch you build and enjoy your fire, as well as make note of what time you get up in the morning, go to bed at night, and how often you use the camp facilities. Most unpleasant camping experience to date.

Chilliwack's Suburbia

Chilliwack Valley

Frasier River

Cultus Lake at Sunrise

Cultus Lake

Dock at Cultus Lake

Watching sunrise over lake

Beach and swimming area

Cannon Beach, Oregon

We were told before going that Cannon Beach is possibly the nicest place along the Oregon Coast. I think this is true! While busy and FULL of tourists, it manages to keep it's charm.

It is so quaint. The little shops and houses are very well kept, there are window boxes everywhere.

The beach here is fantastic. This is the home of Haystack Rock and it's, well, a giant rock. It's fun to watch how the tide moves in on it and then away as the day goes on. Sometimes it's possible to walk right up to it, and other times not, depending on the tide. The water here is VERY cold. Too cold for me to bother swimming. Actually, there wasn't much swimming done by anyone. Children played along the edges of the water, but that's about it.

There was a stream feeding into the ocean out to once side, so we took the boys there. The water was a bit warmer here. Still not warm enough for my liking, but the boys seemed to enjoy it, along with a number of other children.

As always, lots of photos to share!

Haystack Rock

Enjoying goodies from the bakery

Cute little bakery we discovered

This is a kite shop! How cute is this?

I believe this is called Corn dogging

Cafe in Cannon Beach

Sunset over a stream where it meets the Pacific

We love Cannon Beach!

Seaside Oregon

As promised, part two of our Pacific North West vacation adventure.

We camped for four nights in Seaside, Oregon. This gave us plenty of time to take in both Seaside and the nearby town of Cannon Beach.

Seaside is okay. It's  a bit touristy and overdone for my liking, and despite claims of a long boardwalk, there isn't actually a boardwalk. It's made of cement and not fantastic. I had visions of something like the famous boardwalks in California- Venice beach and Santa Cruz type boardwalks, so this was disappointing.

There was a carousel, so that was something. We didn't bother riding it though. What we did do was find an amazing ice cream store, and a saltwater taffy store. We also took in the aquarium, where we were able to feed seals. They were quite fat, probably because the get fed all day long. The most interesting thing in the aquarium, in my opinion, was the octopus. Really neat to see one up close!

The seals were entertaining. Very demanding creatures, they did tricks for us to get food. No one even forced them to do it, they just did. They smell though, so I didn't spend as much time there as I could have.

We happened upon an demonstration of salt making, as it was in the early 1900's. This was towards sunset and it was an interesting display on the beach. The backdrop of Pacific Ocean behind it was what really got my attention though! Photo op! It was such a nice evening, and the fog was rolling in. Loved it.

Enjoy the photos and watch for the Cannon Beach post and those photos coming up next.

Thank you for reading!
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Flowers bloom in Seaside

Beach at Seaside

Fog just starting to roll in off of Pacific

Ocean and a bit of Seaside

Giant Slug!

Hubby's hand next to it for comparison

Boys running along seashore at sunest

Fog rolling in

Sunset

This is a novelty. No such signs where we live at 3,000 feet!

Driving across the Astoria Bridge(Connects Oregon and Washington)

Seattle Vacation

We traveled to Seattle this month. Oh my goodness, could I love it any more? I knew I would love it before we went, and have been dreaming of visiting ever since I was a little girl. Remember the movie Sleepless In Seattle? Yeah, that sort of did it for me back then, and I've been yearning to visit ever since.

This was a dream come true, and I wasn't the least bit disappointed. You know how sometimes things seem better in your imagination and then when they happen in real life it's a real letdown? Not this time! I loved, loved, LOVED every part of this experience. We camped, had fires, visited the Seattle Zoo, the Marketplace, the aviation museum, strolled along the harbor and just generally had a great time.

It's just beautiful. The weather was great while we were there, and we fell in love with the laid-back attitude. Although it' a large city, it doesn't really feel like one. Everyone is free to do their own thing, there's a bit of a hippie vibe going on. We will return for another visit someday, maybe sneak in another trip while we still live in the West!

Being such  huge Starbucks fans, we dragged the boys to the original location. Heaven! It wasn't what I expected, although now, I'm not sure what I WAS expecting! It was great and totally exceeded whatever I thought I was going to encounter.

We first camped at Bay View State Park for a night, before making our way down to Seattle. Excellent camping here. We had a trailer, but got there too late for water/power hook-ups.  It didn't matter though, and I can honestly say that I'd tent camp here (I generally dislike tent camping). We cooked dinner over a fire and went to bed early. Next morning we woke up to a beautiful sunrise and a slight chill in the air. After a quick breakfast, we went down to explore the beach (photos below) then headed back to the trailer to pack up and drive to Seattle.
 
I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. Part II coming tomorrow, our visit to Seaside, Oregon!

Boys at Bay View State Park
  

View of Ocean at Bay View State Park- Excellent Camping here!

 

Early Morning on the Beach

Original Starbucks Location!

Inside Starbucks

Another view inside Starbucks

Harbor in Seattle

Beecher's Cheese Factory

Flowers at the Pike Market

Outdoor Cafe setting up for day

Garlic and Hot Pepper Bouquets in Marketplace

View of Harbor

Sunflowers brighten the Marketplace

Cute balcony on home in Queen Anne Hill

Wooden Statue in Harbor

Beautiful gardens grow here

Laughing Giraffe at Woodland Park Zoo

Driving down Queen Anne Hill. Crazy long and steep!

Space Needle