Hey everyone, we are currently doing a little bit of construction on this site. It's a real work in progress at this point, please excuse our mess. You can check back with us in the future. But for now feel... Continue reading

Guess what? I moved. That's right, I have a new online home. Come on over and say "Hi." Also I make a couple of announcements over at the new blog home-so don't miss out. Lot's of changes happening around here and I can't wait to share them with you! xo. Emma Continue reading

I made coffee cake yesterday for two reasons: 1. It was mother's day and I thought a cake was called for. I landed on coffee cake because I was serving it in the morning (and frosting before noon just seems a little much sometimes. Not that I've never eaten frosting before noon, don't get me wrong). 2. I had coffee on the brain as this week I am having a little coffee fast in preparation for my sister's wedding this Sunday. You see, I'm doing the whole teeth whitening thing and the whitening strips box told me to avoid black... Continue reading

A few weeks ago I found myself with an excess amount of egg roll wrappers. Sure, I could have bought items to make the the egg roll filling again, but instead I decided to make something up. Why not? So instead I filled some of the wrappers with cream cheese + dark chocolate, and some with cream cheese + honey. I folded them 'crab rangoon style' and fried them up. Then I sprinkled the tops with sugar, hoping to make them look more... uh... dessert like. ;) They were a hit! I personally favor the chocolate ones. Have you ever... Continue reading

If you've been reading my blog for very long then you probably already know that I have a slight obsession with making curries. I love curries. And I have made it one of my goals this year to create a really good curry recipe. And I must say, this is my absolute best one yet! Plus it's super easy. My picture on the other hand... hmm. Maybe my next goal should be to get really good at taking pictures when there's not a lot of light available. It. has. not. stopped. raining. Avocado Curry, makes 4-6 servings. Slightly adapted from... Continue reading

When I was in high school I got sent home one day for wearing a slip as a dress. In my defense I really didn't realize it would be such a scandalous moment. I had just seen a few models where slips over their t-shirts and jeans in Teen Vogue that month and I thought it was cool. So I wore a slip over my jeans and t-shirt. And then I got sent to principal's office. And then I had to go home to change. I was SO embarrassed. "But, Emma, why didn't you just take the slip off since... Continue reading

I love citrus: lemons, limes, oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, etc. So when I saw this recipe in an issue of Everyday Food I had to try it out. I am SUCH a sucker for magazine photoshoped, high gloss images of tasty treats. I really am. If you show me a really cool picture of food I immediately want to make it. And I read quite a few food magazines. I was getting my oil changed at a Wal-mart the other day and so I had time to kill, in Wal-mart (I swear they planned it all this way). So I wandered... Continue reading

Let's talk vegetarian burgers for a minute, it's not like anything else big is happening today. What royal wedding? I've made lentil burgers before, and what I love about them is they are easy to make, filling, delicious, packed with protein AND so easy to customize to your (or your families) tastes. Warning: This will be slightly green in color. If you have family or guests who may not be so enthusiastic about vegetarian fare (or for some reason might not like the idea of a greenish burger-go figure!) then you can distract them by adding a slice of cheese... Continue reading

I recently finished reading 52 Loaves by William Alexander and I must say, I was so impressed. And talk about obsession, Alexander spent a whole year baking, traveling to bread conferences, taking baking courses in Pairs and even baking at a monastery all in the pursuit of the perfect loaf! What a foodie. Geez. This book chronicles his journey-it has irreverent humor, scientific facts, historical explorations and (maybe most importantly) recipes. I really enjoyed this entire book, and I highly recommend it. But I must warn you: it will have you wanting to stop everything and bake bread. But that's... Continue reading

The other morning I woke up in the mood for muffins. With a crumb topping. And then, for some reason, I was trying to remember what I used to eat for breakfast (or any meal really) back before I started cooking/baking. I remember a lot of breakfast cereals, specifically cocoa pebbles and fruit loops. I remember a lot of "bean quesadillas" made with tortillas and re fried beans (from a can) made in the toaster oven. Maybe with cheese if I was feeling fancy. I ate a lot of toast with butter. I've always loved toast. Smells so nice in... Continue reading

Hot Cross Scones. Like hot cross buns... but lazier. I used Joy's recipe for Hot Cross Biscuits, but used cranberries and nuts instead of currants. To be honest, I'm not totally sure I've ever even eaten a currant. But I did want to pop in and wish you all a very happy Easter-and if you don't celebrate then a very happy... uh... normal Sunday. xo. Emma Continue reading

...combo is a weird word, huh? In other news: I stole this top from my sister. Don't worry, she knows. She took this picture. Having a fashionable (and generous) big sister is pretty awesome. I think about half the outfits I put together have something she has... um... lent me. These are the shortest shorts I own. I still can't bring myself to get anything (shorts, skirts, dresses) that are any shorter than my finger tips when I have my hands to the side. This was a church camp rule growing up, and it stuck. Outfit details: Top from Modcloth/my... Continue reading

The weather is warming up and I am in the mood for picnic food. Doesn't even matter if I'm not going a picnic right then, I just want the food. Like movie theater popcorn. You know? I've actually gone to a movie theater just to buy the popcorn before, and then not see any movies. Sometimes I just want the food. So there. This is a sweeter variation of the ever classic cole slaw. It's fun, and light and delicious. And pretty healthy. Not that I keep track of that sort of thing. Apple, Carrot and Cranberry Slaw, makes 4-5... Continue reading

It finally happened. I was browsing the thrift store, minding my own business, when I saw them. White cowboy (or are you suppose to call them cowgirl) boots. Tucked among last year's Payless cast offs. The day had finally come. Time to cash my chips in. Star-crossed. I don't know what I'm talking about. Here's something you may or may not know about me: my favorite color is green. It's true. I mean, I like a lot of colors. And depending on the season or my mood I might be more inclined to one color than another. But if you... Continue reading

A "buckle" is a variation on the ever classic cobbler. This is also sometimes referred to as "spoon cake." In fact as far as cobbler variations go there is: crumble, crisp, buckle, betty, spoon cake, etc. Weird, right? And as far as my academic research took me (aka-I googled it) it seemed like each term had a pretty loose definition of which was which... so I went with alliteration. Always. But if you are making this for mixed company and they ask what the heck a buckle is-just tell them its a cobbler. This will put everyone's mind at ease.... Continue reading

Don't look at my toe nails too closely. I know I just posted a picture of them on the internet and all... but just try and notice the metallic shoes and not the chipping toe nail polish. *Blush* A really sweet gal who comes into the Sweet Shoppe alot gave us this dress. I guess she sort of donated it to Red Velvet. She had a garage sale and this was one item that hadn't sold and she said she really didn't want to throw it out. I really adore it-so I am so glad she thought of us. :)... Continue reading

I had a left over zucchini in my refrigerator due to an overestimation on vegetable consumption for a curry I made a few weeks ago. Overestimation of vegetable consumption. Yeah, I'm a nerd. So I decided to make some zucchini bread. I researched a recipe, and noticed that the nuts and chocolate where optional. I disagree. Nuts and (especially) chocolate are not optional. Don't you dare leave them out. Unless you have an allergy. In which case, I'm sorry. So sorry. So if you want to make some too check out the above link with the recipe. If you choose... Continue reading

For the last few months Elsie and I have been spending hours and hours working on our latest e-course (and my first one,like, ever) called Dream Job. We share loads of technical advice, tips and personal stories about growing an independent small business. I also share a lot about my latest adventure-the Sweet Shoppe. For more information about the course check here. xo. Emma Continue reading

Over the weekend I hosted a Honey themed bridal shower for Elsie. It was a lot of fun and I thought honey, vanilla and caramel were the perfect compliments to this lovely spring weather we've been having. Here's what was served: Peanut Butter and Honey Cupcakes, Caramel Cakelettes and Toasted Coconut Mini Donuts. On the beverage side of things we had: bottled Root Beer, bottled Cream Soda and milk. Plus there's a great coffee shop located next door to the Red Velvet shop, so some of us took advantage of that. The cupcakes and cakelettes were made from my vanilla... Continue reading

When asked what was for dinner this past Sunday I think I replied by saying, "a frittata" about three or four times before I gave up and started saying "it's a baked omelette." Truthfully I was just nervous that I was pronouncing "frittata" wrong. I pronounce a LOT of words wrong. Whether you call it a frittata or a baked omelette the result is the same: a light and delicious meal that can be served any time of day. And this took about 20 minutes to make. Tap, tap, tap... is thing on? I said TWENTY MINUTES! That's awesome. Short... Continue reading

A few weeks ago I made, ahem-set fire to, banana bread. It was my first banana bread. Mistakes were made. Flames rose in my oven. Smoke permeated the air. It was an interesting day... Bananas and nuts and spices are just so so delicious though-so although I was not quite ready to brave the oven with that particular recipe again, I was in the mood to make something similar. So I made waffles. Duh. Pictured above. :) And these were ah-mazing. If I do say so myself. And I do. Banana Nut Waffles, makes 3-4 servings Ingredients: 3/4 cup flour,... Continue reading

Do you remember the Seinfeld episode where Jerry has a t-shirt that he calls, "golden boy?" I think he does his laundry and golden boy doesn't make it... that was sad. Sometimes I call my coat Golden Boy. Because I am always original. I decided to wear socks with my wedge sandals. It's almost spring around here (weather-wise) but not quite. It keeps going back and forth. Fickle. This only means that I get to enjoy winter prints, knit socks and my Golden Boy coat a little bit longer, so that's not really so bad. Outfit details: Coat was a... Continue reading

In honor of Spring (and my sister's honey themed bridal shower next weekend!) we will be serving up Peanut Butter and Honey cupcakes every Friday and Saturday at the Red Velvet Sweet Shoppe. The "look" of these cupcakes might be a little on the messy side, but I love how the honey sort of seeps into the vanilla cake. And I just adore the combination of honey and peanut butter. Hope you have a happy weekend! xo. Emma Continue reading

My local library asked me to be a part of a special event they were hosting this week! Our challenge was to create an edible book. I choose to make a design based on the classic book Charlotte's Web. I had a lot of fun making these little piggy cupcakes: they had a pink strawberry frosting, pink strawberry jumbo marshmallows (cut in half), mini chocolate chip "eyes" and pink sugar wafer cookies cut into triangles for the ears. I also got the chance to practice doing a little spun sugar design for the spiders web. I used a tutorial from... Continue reading

My little brother is usually the egg roll maker at family dinners, but I decided I wanted to try my hand at it. And so, of course, I decided to make vegetarian egg rolls. These are almost vegan too. Almost. If you choose not to use fish sauce and just stick to soy, then they would be vegan. If you're interested in that sort of thing. I didn't make a sauce to go with these... but I'm in the market for one. So if you know any good sauce recipes that would go well with these, leave me a comment.... Continue reading