Pumpkin and Spice

Friday morning, Kyle went into work for a couple hours to get a few last things done before our weekend, which was okay, because I had a salon appointment. I barely beat Kyle home, and then ran around the house like a crazy woman trying to pack. (Yeah, I should probably have packed earlier. I'm a busy Pumpkin... it's hard to find enough time in the day!)

Finally, I was ready to go, so we got in the car, and Kyle asked if I had my Disney annual pass. Of course, I did not, so I got back out and ran into the apartment to get it. Once I got back in the car, we really left.

Hi, everyone! My stay-cation was a absolute blast, and I'm working on a couple blog posts all about it... It was a busy weekend, and uploading the pictures is taking a while. In the meantime, why don't you pop over and vote for my lemon basil angelfood cupcake? Don't worry, I'll be right here waiting for you.

Unlike political elections, you can vote as many times as you like for the Iron Cupcake challenge, but you have to do it by this Thursday, Oct. 2! So vote early and vote often! As always, we Iron Cupcakers are competing for honor, glory and some sweet prizes like the Cupcake Courier (gah! I want it!), Jessie Steele's retro-tastic aprons, cookbooks from Taste of Home and Hello, Cupcake!, and Fiesta's Chefheads kitchen tools. Also, this month, a totally rockin' cupcake signet ring by Etsy artist Metal Sugar! OMG! 

Today is the last day of my super-boring Hospitality Management class. I just have to take my final, and I'm free for a glorious three-day weekend! My next (and final) class is Cost Control and Wine, which Jenn really enjoyed, and I am very much looking forward to. Kyle and I are already members of a wine club, which has really taught me a lot about different wines and a bit about tasting, so it'll be fun to enhance that with some more formal schooling.

Tomorrow, Kyle and I are "leaving" to go on a mini stay-cation at Disney World! We booked a room at one of the hotels and are going to go enjoy the first weekend of the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival!!! I'm sooooo excited! The Food and Wine Festival is my favorite time of year at Disney World- it's like a foodie's dream. They set up booths all around the World Showcase, each representing a different country, each offering tapas-sized portions of food, wines and beers from that country. There are also wine tastings, beer tastings, cooking demos by notable chefs from around the country, and concerts! In fact, a band that I love, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (a swing band from the 90s) is going to be performing this weekend!

It's that time again! This month's Iron Cupcake challenge was basil. It was a little tricky, I'll be honest. I don't usually think of basil as a cake ingredient. I like it in desserts, but I usually use it in a sorbet or sauce. (Blueberry basil sauce is like heaven on lemon sorbet!)

After some thought, I decided to use the flavors of basil and lemon. To me, basil is a light, summery herb, and lemon is like sunshine in fruit form! Of course, with such light flavors, I thought the cake should be equally light, so I did an angelfood cupcake!

Sunday was Kyle's birthday, and after spending Saturday evening out with friends and Sunday afternoon with family, we were ready for a quiet, relaxing Sunday evening together. Since Sunday's grocery store day, we decided to just pick something up to make a quick, easy dinner- and homemade pizza seemed like just the ticket!

(Yum! You can see my pizza in the foreground and Kyle's in the background. That's my Diet Coke. I know it's bad for me... And check out the sweet Iron Man napkins! Those were leftover from birthday cake earlier in the day.)