Inanimate Objects

Anyone else wracked by guilt that your childhood stuffed animals actually had feelings and each one would be all emopants if you chose a favorite that wasn't that one? (This is where I pretend that other people agree with me, since I can't actually *see* your reaction.) I now understand that they have poly-cotton stuffing where the heart should be. But that fear still lingers. Even though I'm 25 and should know better.

Bought a big huge pack of neon straws. Apparently I love neon green & hot pink. I realized that I hadn't used a single yellow straw since I'd bought the package. Then I got sad for the yellow straws. They probably feel inadequate and low. So I used them.



Three of them at once.

Yellow is happy. And none of the other stuffed animals will figure out that Angelbunny is my favorite, because I rotated which ones were on my bed and which were on the floor. Oh yes.

PS - I've been taking pictures on my phone. Please excuse the quality and the crappy light.

Hello, world!

Hi! I assume anyone reading already knows me, but just in case... The basics. I'm Allie. 25. Vegan living in Baltimore. Grew up in Pennsyltuckey. Animal rights activist. Cat lady. Generally good cook with some serious fuck-ups in between. Not a mom, not a wife, not a sports fan (except kickball!). Slightly off my rocker. :)

Everyone else has a blog. Why can't I?

What to expect:
- Random musings, outbursts, or reflections
- Photos
- My attempts (some successful, some not) at baking
- Other stuff

So, to get started. I made my dad a birthday cake last week. (He passed away last January, so he couldn't really eat it. But July 2 was his birthday, so I made his favorite kind and shared it with my family.) It's beautiful. Probably my best cake thus far.

No. I lie. I only bake cupcakes because big cakes stick to the pan, or fall in, or rise on one side, or don't bake all the way through, or dry out. I make killer cookies, fucking sweet cupcakes, even home-made jelly donut holes! Cake? Nope.

Dad's birthday cake stuck to the bottom of the pan when I tried to flip it out onto a flat surface for frosting. It stuck so badly that only half the cake transferred. I sort of scooped out the rest, smoothed it across where it came off, and tried to frost it. And I am using the word "frost" in the most liberal sense. The cake was in such sad shape, I had to kind of fling scoops of frosting and smooth them out a little. About 30 seconds and four flings into this process I realized it was hopeless. Crumbs were infiltrating the frosting quickly, and I would run out of it anyway. So, here's the cake mess (chocolate with peanut-butter-chocolate frosting, if you were wondering):

Pretty sad, yes? It was delicious, though! Scoop a pile of cake into a small bowl and top it with a fling of frosting. Sharing with small children is nice. They don't care about aesthetics.

*a