Right, so I’m really bad at updating. Whatever. =)

Anyway, since I have a bunch to tell all y’all and I’m way too scatterbrained to get it all in topic-specific posts, here’s a bunch of little posts rolled into one big ol’ one.

The boy and I went to visit his grandparents in FL between Xmas and New Year’s, and that was super awesome. The best part? DISNEY!!! (You have to understand how retarded I am for Disney. It’s scary.) We did one day at Epcot, and that was awesome (and I got me a Mickey ice cream pop) and a surprise bonus was *real* shave ice at the Japanese pavilion. I’d been disappointed over the summer at Hampton Beach because I was at a stand that advertised shave ice, and I was actually served a snow cone. Yes, there is a distinct difference. Mostly in texture. But it’s there. So okay, shave ice, yay!
We did a second day at the Magic Kingdom, and there wasn’t anything particularly amazing foodwise, but the day was AWESOME. And I have the pirate Mickey ears to prove it.

One of the highlights foodwise was after our beach day, the grandparents treated us to dinner at a restaurant called “Sweet Tomatoes”, which is an all you can eat salad bar restaurant. Yup. You go in and build yourself a gigantic salad with all fresh veg and stuff (and they have the good ranch dressing. the tangy and not gloppy kind. trust me.) and then you pay for your meal. The added bonus (beyond the all-you-can-eat part even) is their soup and bread bars. Something like seven soups, and pizza foccacia, delish cornbread, baked potatoes and other stuff I’m sure I’m forgetting. And they have soft-serve ice cream!
Now, this is all fine and great and a great way to pig out on stuff that’s actually not bad for you, so awesome. BUT: the reason I was so excited is because they have the same parent company as my ABSOLUTE favorite place to get lunch in Brea, Souplantation. I had suspected when the concent was described to me, and then it was confirmed when we walked up to the restaurant and I saw the same seating layout through the windows, and the same green and black checkerboard trays. And that was so great seriously because I LOVE the Souplantation and I was sad that I’d have to wait until NEXT year to eat there again. So, yay! Seriously. Go look up Souplantation on Google and tell me it isn’t like the best thing ever.

I also made two meals for the family while I was down there, which were very well-received. I actually have to check the archives to make sure I haven’t already posted the recipes for those, so I won’t include them here.
So that was our vacay. It was AWESOME.

There were two things this holiday season that made it the total bestest ever. One was Disney, duh. The other was that Darren, his sister and his dad (and stepmom) all chipped in and got me the Kitchenaid Artisan mixer for Xmas. I was so thrilled. I love it.
Since getting back on Jan 6th, I have made double chocolate cookies, two batches of jam thumbprint cookies, chocolate mint meringue cookies, and today I successfully beat into submission a batch of the most delicious chocolate mousse ever. It’s funny though because since I’ve spent the last few years collecting recipes that don’t need a stand mixer, now I have to practically rebuild my repertoire to include my beautiful new tow.
Next month I shall take on the molten chocolate cake. And I will WIN!

Anyway, that’s it for me. Oh, and Darren and I are making a concerted effort to eat at home more, so hopefully I’ll start posting recipes again.