Caramel Cake, pt. 2

Well, I am officially the parent of a teenager. Much more scary than turning 40. Some of you might recall the trials and tribulations I endured last year while trying to make Sonny Boy's beloved caramel cake. As stores in this town do not deem it necessary to stock caramel frosting, I had certainly been at a loss. But then my husband's sister, Yaya, came to the rescue. She found a recipe from her mom (and thus Sonny Boy's grandma) for caramel frosting. Yaya was so thoughtful to frame it and it has hung on a wall in my kitchen for several months.

Sonny Boy unfortunately was never able to know his Grandma Elizabeth. She died when Hubby was still a very young man. I'm sure she would have liked this teenager who looks so much like his daddy and has his energy (even if he has inherited my argumentative temperament!). I'm also certain she would have been quite pleased that he was eating his favorite cake from one of her old recipes.

Caramel frosting is not easy to make (as I discovered last year). And it wasn't quite perfect this year - I added one cup too many of sifted powdered sugar. But now I know. It was good enough this year, and next year will be absolute perfection!

Of course, it would have helped my ego if Sonny Boy didn't tell me one of his friends still talked about the ugly cake I made last year.

Caramel Frosting - Melt 1 1/2 cups butter on the stove and add one cup packed brown sugar. Cook on low for 2 mins. Add 1/3 cup milk and bring to a boil. Remove from heat for 10 mins. Then add 4 cups sifted powdered sugar until desired consistency. Frost your luscious yellow cake.

Make a wish

The moon was shining brightly as the group of women walked side by side along the old fishing bridge. The bright light from the sky revealed all the dark places on the pavement - we were hoping it was only fishing guts. A few seabirds called out in the distance as we strode further to the heart of the Nassau Sound. It was just a touch too quiet - like some really big slasher movie. Yet, we were all about 20 years (and some of us 20 pounds) past starring in such a movie. To break the eerie mood, I spoke.

"Ya'll, this is just a perfect night. That moon is just gooorrrgeous!"

HJ responded, "Kinda feels a little like a slasher movie, doesn't it?"

"No way! This is a buddy chick movie!" We all continued to talk until we were about halfway along the old bridge to Jacksonville. BM took the wine bottle, held it up in the moonlight, saying "Well, here are all our wishes! Let's hope they come true before someone finds this bottle." She then flung it with full force into the ebb of the tide.

"Sure wish I could have used that original wish," I quietly said.

"Rio, one hot night with Mr. Darcy is not something that could actually happen. These are really our intentions." A sigh escaped my lips.

As we walked back to the car, we began to flesh out our buddy chick movie (and it would be far superior to Wild Hogs, trust me). I called dibs on Kate Winslet playing me. That British connection might actually get me one step closer :)

Book Group Rook Goddess!

I have been quite fortunate to spend the first four days of my 40s with my Asheville Book Group buddies at our annual beach trip. We have many traditions - walking on the beach, sharing bottles of wine and beer, eating good food, enjoying long naps, and playing cutthroat games of Rook. Tonight was no exception. I was neck in neck with BM in the lead, each of us hoping to get to 150 first. I kept plying her with wine, hoping that would give me the edge I needed to get across the finish line first. At one point, our very sweet and gracious mommy to be, Corky, was at negative 30. I felt for her and wanted to keep BM from getting some points, so I passed some along to Corky. Well, Corky came on strong at the end - and went from 70 to 165, beating out my final score of 155. My response can be left to your imagination.

So here is a picture of Corky, with little Lizzie (who we look forward to meeting in a couple months), wearing the championship belt - "Rook Goddess." Congrads Corky, but watch your back next year...

Hair Compliment

I got a pretty short do on Tuesday - ready for a change and thought I would hit the 40s in a different mode. So Princess is commenting on my hair. She really likes it. "If your hair was black, it would look like that Charlie guy. You know, uh, Charlie Brown." Huh?

"Oh, no!" She said. "Not Charlie Brown. That guy in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

In other words, Johnny Depp looking really, really weird. Thanks a lot.