I Can’t Believe I’m A Year Old Today!

It seems at once that time has flown by, and like it was just yesterday that I put on my big girl panties and hit the publish button. I had lurked for months on different blogs, agonizing over starting my own. Who would be interested in my ramblings? Would anyone be interested in my ramblings? One year, 627 GFC followers, 304 posts, 72,781 pageviews, later... it seems the answer ( in addition to being chocolate) is yes! And for that I THANK YOU!!!

There was no special significance about May 4, 2010. I just decided to take the plunge that day. I remember my husband came home and I said: “Guess what I did today?” and his response of “What exactly does that mean” when I told him I’d started a blog. We're both still trying to figure that out.

Blogging has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. I’ve met so many amazing bloggers and made so many friends. I’ve never encountered one blogger who hasn’t been helpful if I’ve asked them a how to question and so many have freely given supportive advice. I read every comment left on my blog and try to respond to each and every one as well. If you’re a “No Reply Comment” blogger, I can’t encourage you enough to change that!

A year ago, I had no clue what a blog hop or link party was (or how to link to them) , how to create a button, and a long long long list of things. I had no idea what if any expectations  I should have about how fast or big my blog “should” grow. I learned this is unanswerable, at least for me. I’d never sent a tweet, stumbling was something that previously involved gravity and stairs, and pinning was a sewing term.

I learned that you should try a bunch of different things but there is no one right way to blog. It’s easy to see other blogs that start out around the same time as yours grow faster than yours , have more followers, pick up sponsors, do giveaways etc and it’s human nature to be a little competitive. Be honest! It is. And I admit to getting caught up in those feelings but realizing that ultimately, you should be yourself. Be authentic. I know I feel it when I’m not.

I started blogging because I’ve always loved creating, and the more I do, the more ideas I get and the more projects I see, the more I want to do! This is where the hubs gets scared. "What else is she going to get into?" I found a community of people who “get it”…the thrill of a new material, or technique, or lesson learned from a fail!

I had no idea what to expect from blogging, and now I can’t imagine what I’d do without it.
Thanks to everyone who’s made it through this post and who’s decided to be part of this chocolate fueled journey with me. You all are the best!

This coming Friday, I'll start my weekly link party and celebrate my blogiversary with a giveaway. I hope you'll come and link up and celebrate with me!

<a href="http://answerischocolate.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff511/AnswerIsChoco/TAICOpenHouseButton.jpg" /></a>

And one year later, still can't get that darned button centered!

Mother’s Day Printable

Being in and out the past couple of weeks, I am more than way behind for Mother’s Day. Usually I make cards for all my mom girlfriends but not sure that’s gonna happen this year. I did make a printable which those  friends might just get as an email attachment! I found a frame in a cupboard that I didn’t even bother to re-paint. Just layered and hot glued some paper and silk flowers to brighten it up a bit.

This just sums up Motherhood and life for me !

Four colors for you to choose from. Click on a color to bring to full res, right click to Save As. If you use, would love to see what you do w/ it!

Linking Up At: 

 

Travel Finds! LA Fashion District

I’ve been in and out the last couple of weeks as we’ve been finalizing college plans for our son. Last minute visits and decisions. But I managed to squeeze in some creative fun too! One trip was to Southern California and I was determined to get to the LA Fashion district after reading Jamielyn from I Heart Naptime w/ Chocolate Sundae’s post about her trip not long ago. Her trip sounded like so much fun and let me tell you it was A-MAZE-ING! I put that MAZE pun in there because this place is WILD and it is a maze. Multiple blocks of store after store after store filled with anything and everything you could ever need or imagine. Fabric, crafting items, notions, buttons, ribbons, beads. They have a whole website just for the fashion district: http://www.fashiondistrict.org/

I also used that word because if you watch the TV show “The Amazing Race” ( which we love) it was like our own version. We were dropped into this wild place without a clue box  and away we went.

I had to be good because 1.) we flew, and I was NOT about to hear about it if my suitcase was overweight and 2.) this was not exactly Mr. Chocolate’s cup of cocoa and he was a major trooper getting us there through some crazy traffic. But he knew  how badly I wanted to visit so thank you again sweetie! I was so overwhelmed, I didn’t take too many pics while we were there . Two places I LOVED were Michael Levine with two locations one opposite the other on the same street…one has general craft items ( TONS) and the other has fabrics and notions ( TONS).

There were so many fabric and notion stores it was overwhelming. There were also a bunch of bead / jewelry stores but I wandered into one called Beadshines that you might say I took a shine to. Here’s some of the yummy goodness that made its way into the suitcase:

Chocolatey rosette ribbon from Michael Levine. No clue what I’m going to do with it yet but couldn’t resist it.

Also got these neutral velvet ribbons…I am planning on making bookmarks with beaded ends from these. Also from ML.

I bought several yards of these different colored velvet ribbons at another store for $.50 a yard! At this great store called Maple Craft, I found these gorgeous paper flowers:

There are hundreds in each and they were $3, $4 a package. I also found this beautiful metallic tulle for $1 a roll:

At Beadshines, I had to restrain myself because I have a bit of a stash problem as it is but I couldn’t resist these:

Strands of metallic crystals and faux pearls and these fun inexpensive packages:

of goodies that will be fun to incorporate into jewelry or mixed media projects. Restraint was HARD! I could have spent a lot more time and money there so it was probably good that Mr. Chocolate and his brother were with me because had I gone by myself, I’d probably still be there!

If you ever get the chance to make a visit here, do it! Be prepared to be overwhelmed!

Mounds Brownie Cupcakes Inspired by Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

 I saw the most amazing sounding recipe recently on the blog Confessions of a Cookbook Queen. If you haven’t visited her, GO but don’t do it on an empty stomach or a full bladder! She’ll have some tantalizing recipes and she’s funny as heck.

The recipe was for Almond Joy Brownie Bites. For me the only thing better than chocolate, or chocolate and peanut butter, is chocolate with coconut! So these went immediately onto my Recipes To Try board on Pinterest.  If you haven’t used Pinterest  you should. That’s a whole ‘nother post.

I ended up modifying the original recipe because *gasp* , I didn’t have any melting chocolate. No chocolate chips. Nada. How that happened I don’t know but I think it has something to do with peanut butter cups.

Improvisation time. Started out with a box of brownie mix which I made according to directions and spooned into a muffin tin lined with cupcake liners.

I mixed 1 can of sweetened condensed milk and enough flaked coconut together to be able to form truffle sized balls. I put one of each of those in each cupcake

and then covered with the remaining batter

Baked @ 350 for 27 minutes ( because that’s what I usually bake regular brownies at when I use a mix) and let cool. Normally I would have made a ganache topping but didn’t have any cream and did I mention I was out of chocolate chips because of peanut butter cups? That’s what the emergency can of frosting in the pantry is for. I melted about 1/2 can of frosting in the microwave and then spooned over each cupcake

And here’s the ooey gooey inside:

And as soon as I re-stock my chocolate chips, I’ll try the original recipe!

Royal Wedding Printable

Are you planning on watching the Royal Wedding ? We're going to DVR it because it's on in the wee hours and while we're not obsessed with royalty, we like this couple and wish them all the best and like one of my BFFs teases me "it's yet another reason to have cake".

So for kicks and giggles, I made a variation of the "Keep Calm" sign.  It seemed fitting since the Keep Calm phenom is British in origin. I made two versions; one with the couple's initials and one without. I used "C" vs "K" since the bride's formal name is Catherine. Sized to 8x10. Click on image to bring to full size. Right click to "Save As".

Here are some other fun and free Royal Wedding printables from Design Editor

Wishing You All A

Happy Birthday Mumster

For those of you who are new readers, “The Mumster” is my mom. Today is her birthday ( don’t worry M, not gonna tell how young you are) but what’s the point of having a blog if you can’t use it to say:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to your mom? Especially since she reads my blog faithfully. Thanks Mom. Not just for that, but for all the things you know I am thankful to you for. For being such a great mom and Grandmom and friend and confidante and supporter and , and and….

By now, she will have received her card, so I’ll share it here. Thank you KandCO for making these gorgeous 3D Iris stickers since the Mumster lurves irises and I love K&CO. Win Win! Knew these were going on her card the minute I saw them!

They’re  from Tim Coffey’s Cottage Garden series. Whenever I see irises I think of my mom. I’m not sure if she loves purple because she loves irises or if she loves irises because she loves purple. Did I mention she loves purple?

And while she’s not a member of the Red Hat Society, she could totally be the poster child for the poem they use:

WHEN I AM AN OLD WOMAN I SHALL WEAR PURPLE
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Taken from the book
When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple
Edited by Sandra Martz
Papier Mache Press--Watsonville, California 1987

By no means do I consider you an old woman Mumster…I wish I had some of your energy, but I’m glad you wear purple and do what you like and set a great example for me as a mom. Thank you for not spitting though!

Love,
YOPF ( which is and will remain an inside joke)