Elastic Waist Pants

Hey guys. As some of you may know, I'm in culinary school. As much as I love it, let me just tell ya, it might just be the death of me. Or at least my girlish figure. LOL. This was Germany/Poland week in my International class and I can't tell you how much butter I've consumed. (sorry but there will be no pic for this entry) Now don't get me wrong, the food was delicious. It seems like everything was cooked in butter. (that's one of my favorite food groups you know.) But I think I've schnitzel'd one too many times. The funny thing about the school uniform is that you never really know how much weight you've gained because of those pants. Elastic waists are the devil's spawn! Being that I pretty much live in my uniform, I honestly had no idea. But when I put on a pair of jeans today.... let me just say, I've grown. LOL. I feel like I need to take some of that butter I've been cooking with all week and grease my hips so I can do a running dive just to get into my pants! I've fallen off the wagon I tell ya! But no worries. As soon as Monday comes, I'm getting right back on that wagon and exercising some discipline. Why Monday you ask? Why, I've got cupcakes to make this weekend of course!!! LOL. Nighty night all.

Lil Sweet

A Trip to the Farmer's Market

Man, do I love the farmer's market. My weekdays stay pretty busy so the only real time I can get there is Saturday morning. Please overlook the pic of me in the car driving to the market. I know, I know, not quite the safest thing in the world to do. (taking pics of yourself in the car that is.) But in my defense, I was at a stoplight. Kids, don't try this at home. Anyway, I really like the fact that I know exactly where my food is coming from and when I read the label, I know what each of the words mean. I'm supporting my community and I've met some genuinely nice people. Now let's back up a second. This past summer, I was at the market when I stopped at a booth where I tasted just about he best Italian sausage I've ever had. If you ever want to try a truly good Italian sausage, try Vito's. (http://www.vitositaliansausage.com/) Now, fast forward to last weekend. I see my newfound sausage peddling friend at The Incredible Food Show that was held at Rupp Arena in Lexington last weekend. (check it out at http://www.theincrediblefoodshow.com/. It was a blast. More on that later) I tasted a pasta sauce made with his sausage and it was just as good as I'd remembered. So when I saw it today, I couldn't give him my money fast enough. Pasta night at my house! YAY!!! While I was there, I also bought some of my favorite all natural handmade soaps. I've used Anna's Sweet Essentials soaps for a little while now and I like them for both the body and hair. The Cinnamon Clove is heavenly. (http://www.annas-soaps.com/) After making my rounds, I decided that I'd bought enough for the day and made my way back to the house. (for more cupcakes of course!) All in all, it was another great day at the market. As for the rest of the day, I spent it with the family. I tried to get a jump on my Christmas shopping ( I don't want to be Last Minute Annie this year ) but unfortunately that didn't work out. But the pizza I had for lunch more than made up for it. Can you believe there are already Christmas decorations out at the stores? It's not even Halloween yet! This year sure has flown by. Well guys, that's about all for today. It's way past my bedtime.

Peace and Blessings

Lil Sweet

Chocolate Chip Cupcake Updates

I finished the chocolate chip cupcakes from last night and let me just tell ya, they are GOOD. I used my own chocolate frosting instead of the one from the book. The house still smells chocolatey and delicious. (man do I love that!) So here they are guys. Enjoy!

I'm off to the farmer's market now. It seems like I meet some of the funniest people there. I'm sure there will be pics to come.

Have a great day.

Peace and Love

Lil Sweet

Who's that girl?

I guess introductions are in order. The name is Vacie but you all can call me Lil Sweet. Where in the world did that name come from? Am I little? Well, if you call 5"3' little, then I guess I am. Am I sweet? Of course I am! Although sometimes I can be a little salty too. But seriously though folks, the name came from my grandfather. He passed away 7 years ago and there's not a day that goes by that I don't miss him. So for him, I will always be his Lil Sweet.

I'm a diehard foodie and nothing makes me happier than being in the kitchen making a mess. I learned to cook at the hip of my two favorite women, my mother and grandmother. No one can top Mama's fried chicken and Memaw's lemon meringue pie is second to none. I started off as the official bowl licker, moved up to stirrer, and then graduated to yeast roll roller. So from those humble beginnings, here I am.

I've wanted to try this blogging thing for a while now but never quite got around to it. So finally, here I am. So what made me start now you ask? Hmmm... let's see. CUPCAKES!!! I love cupcakes. No really, I LOVE CUPCAKES. They always seem to put a smile on my face. Whether it's the swirling of the icing or the moist cake underneath, I love it all.

But here's the thing, even though I love cupcakes, I was thinking, it's more than that. I love all food. Baking is where my heart is, but, the sound of an onion sauteing in butter will put a smile on my face everytime. So even though there will be alot of the sweet stuff on here, I promise there will be more. Aside from food, there are alot of other things swimming around in this head of mine. So from my brain, to your screen, you'll get the good, the bad, the sweet and the salty!

I'm a culinary student at Sullivan University in Lexington, Ky. I truly love the program . The Chef instructors there really care and want to see you succeed. I appreciate that. Cooking is what I was born to do. I've met so many cool people through food and so many opportunities have presented themselves since I enrolled last year. I'm so excited about the future.

So on to the food, shall we? It's Friday night and what am I doing? The same thing I do every night Pinky. Trying to take over the world. LOL. Sorry, I love the Pinky and the Brain. Forgive me. No really folks, I'm up making cupcakes. I got a copy of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes in my hot little hand and couldn't wait to get started. Now let me just tell you about this book. I LOVE IT. I saw it a few months ago at Michael's and drooled over each and every picture as I flipped through it. Finally, I bought it. I have no idea what took me so long, but whatever. I thought about making each one and blogging about it, but umm no. Not so much. There is more to life than cupcakes right? Not much more, but I'm sure there is . I'm working on Martha's chocolate chip cupcakes so please bear with me. I will leave a pic of the uniced ones. I can't tell you how good my kitchen smells right now. I'm going to bid you guys farewell for just a little while so I can finish these because I can't wait to try one. I'll meet y'all back here with pics and results. Maybe not the same bat time, but definitely the same bat channel.

Peace and Love Y'all

Lil Sweet