The Great Cake Debate

Did you know that red velvet cake is really just colored chocolate cake? { GASP. } Now, I am not so much a lover of chocolate cake.  Heresy for someone who likes to bake, I know.  I can pass up chocolate cake all day long and not bat an eye.  But put a red velvet cupcake in front of me and I can't say no.  It comes with cream cheese frosting!  Nothing that comes with cream cheese frosting can be bad.

A few girls in my office got into a debate last week regarding chocolate cake versus red velvet cake.  As the resident office-baker-wannabe, they called me in to mediate.  { Via Twitter.  While riding the shuttle bus.  I love technology. } And I'm more than happy to oblige, ladies.  This is my kind of assignment!

But how does one settle this great cake debate and determine if red velvet cake is indeed better than classic chocolate cake?  Or heck, can anyone even tell the difference?  I'm thinking that a blind taste test is in order.

I intend to bake a big ol' batch of miniature chocolate cupcakes and miniature red velvet cupcakes, both with identical cream cheese frosting.  { Please.  I paid attention in middle school science.  I know you can only test one variable at a time.  Even if my mom and sister, the teachers of the family, are probably laughing at me right now. I'm at least trying to make this legit. }

So now the question is... do we compare scratch recipes or should I use the same brand of box mix for more consistency?  What would you do? Do you have a recipe we should use? { And if you're in the office, do you want in? }

Photo Credits: Red Velvet Cake and Chocolate Cake

Have Trunk, Will Travel

As part of this week's TV shoot, we spent a day here.  Look familiar?

No?  How about now?

Well, we didnt have any alligator-esque aliens, nor did we see Captain Kirk or William Shatner.  But... we did have a celebrity!  Meet Tai.

You may recognize her from Water for Elephants with Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson. { I highly recommend the book, if you haven't read it. } This not-so-little lady is a doll!  At 42 years old, she's still got a good bit of life in front of her.  And she's not afraid to prove it.  See?

Girlfriend travels in style, too.  If you see a big, shiny unmarked semi-truck trailer rolling down the 405, it might just be Tai!

California Dreamin'

I love it when a work trip feels sort of like a vacation.  And this has definitely been one of those trips.  When you can walk to great breakfast, sit with your laptop overlooking the sea, get a pedicure at Fred Segal and have dinner beside Reese Witherspoon, I think it's safe to say it's been a good one.  The only thing that would make this better is if SDK were here.

{ Now, I say it feels like a vacation as of this moment, but we're only halfway through the first of two overnight TV shoots.  It's 11:30pm and we'll probably go until 4:00am.  Ask me later and I may have a slightly different answer. }

Regardless, Santa Monica is beautiful.  Case in point from my walk on Monday morning:

Our hotel overlooks these bluffs, the PCH, the enormous beach and the Pacific.  Growing up on the Atlantic coast of Florida, this is an entirely different kind of beach than what I'm used to.  The water out here is freezing, but it sure is gorgeous.  And the landscaping!  All of this lush greenery has me dying to grow things back at home. { Even though I've already managed to kill both a basil plant and cilantro in the last three weeks.  At least my mint and rosemary are still alive.  Looks like I'm going to have to work a little harder to claim that I inherited mom's green thumb. }

But check this out.  There are succulents literally growing on the walls outside our hotel, and they're like none I've ever seen.

Seriously, these bad boys are HUGE!  Those bright green ones at the bottom are the size of a dinner plate.  Does anyone know what they are?  { Carmen?  Alison?  Mom? } Succulents don't take much water, so maybe these would be more my speed for now.  I don't really like killing things.  It's kind of discouraging.

Along those same lines, I am loving the color of my room.  It's the most perfect, calming shade of blue.  So sweetheart, get the paint brushes ready.  I've finally found the color to paint our bathroom!  I love how quickly a change in scenery brings instant inspiration.

And I've had lots of changes in scenery this week.  Like now, for instance.  This is what I'm looking at right now.

I love my job. : )

Deja Vu

It's a strange feeling to come back to a place you've been before, only under a vastly different set of circumstances.  The change in perspective it brings is worthwhile.

I'm staying at a hotel in Dallas, sitting here in the lobby with a glass of cranberry juice.  Last I was in this hotel was in 2006 for a job interview.  I was a senior at UGA, and it was the first time I had ever really traveled alone.  I had gotten myself on a plane, into a cab (first time I'd ever gotten one by myself!) and into the city to this very spot.  And I was terrified.  I had a non-stop day of interviews ahead, arguably the most intense I've ever faced.  The result of that day was a job offer with an incredible ad agency.

I vividly remember the churning in my stomach that this chain of events set forth; never before had God placed not one but two incredible opporunities before me.  I could see myself in either place, and I agonized over which to choose.  They were both perfect for me!  Ultimately, I turned down the advertising job.  I prayed (harder than ever) and stepped out in faith to move to Atlanta.  At the time, it was the toughest choice I'd ever had to make.

And today I am back in that same hotel lobby.  I love seeing the plan that God laid out for my life has unfolded.  Had I taken that job in Dallas, I would never have met my husband.  Who knows where I'd be living or really even what I'd be doing.  Ironically, I'm here in Dallas to meet with the very agency that I intereviewed with.  I work with them every day, in fact.  I'm about to enter through the very same door and go up the same elevator as I did that day.  Heck, I might even end up in the same conference room.

So while four years ago I was longing for some combination of the two job opportunities before me, God knew that one day I would have it.  (Tell that to my 22 year old self!)  It boggles my mind to know that He holds every aspect of my life in His control, even when I can't fathom how things will turn out.

There's a girl across the lobby - clearly a student, possibly here for an interview.  I wonder what she's thinking.  Wonder what the ripple effect of today will be for her.  The possibilities are endless!

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord.

"Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to

give you hope and a future..." - Jeremiah 29:11