Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes

The Fourth of July is coming up soon, which means it's summer, which means it's travel season.

I love to travel. I love to stay in hotels. And I've totally passed on that love to Jordan.

We don't camp. Well, Jordan and Mel probably would. To be more specific, I don't camp. That's really a whole post all on it's own, but the gist of it is, if I'm on vaca, I don't want to work to set up my room. I don't want to cook. I don't want to be dirty. I want to sleep on a comfy bed.

So we stay in hotels.

Another problem I have? I like to be comfortable. And comfortable, to me, is not shoving the three of us into one room. Where's the fun in that? I want to put Jordan to bed and go sit in a different place, drink wine, and watch TV alone with my husband.  So we like to stay in suite hotels, whenever possible. I've become a genius at reading room descriptions. {"Suite" does not necessarily mean separate bedroom.}


I have damaged my child so much that, when we moved from a two bedroom suite at one hotel to a resort with a one bedroom suite in Phoenix, she cried because the "sofa bed wouldn't be comfortable enough."


Yes. I know that her future husband is going to have to be a special kind of man. (Or woman. Because right now she wants to marry her BFF, so you never know.)

Anyway, it's hard to find the perfect hotel room this time of year. So I've put together a list of things I would put in the hotel I would build if I won the lotto. Is that weird?


*Every room would be a suite, one or two bedroom, with the bathroom in between the living area and sleeping area. Not in the living area, causing the middle of the night tippy-toe dance around the sleeping child to deal with mommy bladder.


*Only real hair dryers would be supplied. With diffusers. Can I get an amen?


*Kids would eat free. All day. And everyone gets free breakfast. {And no, granola bars and stale pastry do not qualify as "breakfast."}


*There would be a water slide at the pool.


*And free drinks with umbrellas.


*And free massages.


*And free childcare.


Wait a minute...this list is beginning to sound like I'm travelling without my kid.


Hmmmm...


Oh, wait, I forgot one.

~Read More~

Red Velvet Hugs Cookies

Both my parents worked when I was a kid, so up until third grade I went to in-home daycare. There were two of them, the first was before I was five and don't really remember much, except that the lady was awesome and we remained friends with the family until after I was out of high school. That's where, at the tender age of three or something, I learned to change a diaper and I got married to the boy I napped with (they figured I slept with him, so we should be married).

{I get my sense of humor from my mom, if you hadn't already figured that part out.}

The second daycare I went to, in grade school, was not so heart-warming and awe-inspiring as the first. I mean, I was safe and all. I never lost a hand or got forgotten at school. But the lady was definitely someone who was in the childcare profession only because she had kids my age and probably would have been better suited to a different profession. One that did not deal with small children. (Hey, I'm not judging. Sometimes I know that the universe made a good decision when it gave me only one kid.)

Here are a few things I learned while in her care:

If you have kids the same ages as your charges, they MUST play together. And if your daughter makes the babysittee play the dog in a game of house, it's perfectly fine.

If you provide a healthy, state-approved snack after school, it MUST be Wheat Thins. Every day. (For three years, people. It took me until college to be able to look at that yellow box again.)

Toilet paper squares MUST be torn straight across. No jagged edges are ever allowed! If you leave a jagged edge, you will be required to go repair your infraction.

Red and pink do NOT match and should never be worn together.

Now, I really don't understand that last one. Red and pink not matching? Ridiculous.

I mean, if red and pink didn't match, what would we wear on Valentine's Day?


No one would buy red and pink M&Ms. Or those hot pink stuffed gorillas with heart-shaped ear muffs.

The themed holiday industry would probably implode on itself.

So I will proudly wear pink and red this Valentine's Day. I might even eat some Wheat Thins.

But I will not play doggie. And I will rip the toilet paper however I want, thankyouverymuch.

Red Velvet Hugs Cookies

by Crazy for Crust

Keywords: cookie

6016689

Ingredients

• 1 box red velvet cake mix (Duncan Hines)
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• 24 Hershey’s Kisses Hugs, unwrapped (or more if your cookies are smaller)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Mix together cake mix, eggs, and oil using a hand or stand mixer. Roll into 2” balls and place on prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake about 8-10 minutes until tops start to crack. Immediately press a Hugs candy onto the top of each cookie. Let cool completely. (If you want a softer cookie, bake them closer to 8 minutes, even though the will look like they aren't done. A 10 minute cookie is crunchy.)

Powered by Recipage

Have a Linky Party you want me to join? Add it HERE.

These are the fabulous parties I link to each week:

Monday: Mingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of Desserts, Creative Monday (Clairejustineoxox), Mix it Up Monday (Flour Me With Love), Things that make you say mmmm Monday (Cooking with Karyn), Mop it Up Mondays (I should be mopping the floors). Tuesday: 2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking), Tea Party Tuesdays (Sweetology), Mushki Loves My Stuff (Mushki Loves), Totally Tasty Tuesdays (Mandy's Recipe Box), Talent Show Tuesday (Chef in Training), Trick or Treat Tuesday (Inside BruCrew Life), Let's Do Brunch (My Sweet & Savory), One Stop Shop Linky (The Southern Product Queen). Wednesday: Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party (Mrs. Fox's Sweets) Made It On Monday (Lark's Country Heart), This Chick Cooks, Cast Party Wednesday (Lady Behind the Curtain), Famous Linkz Par-tay (Made-Famous-By), Bakes with Bizzy (Bizzy Bakes), Whip it Up Wednesday (Crockpot Ladies).  Thursday: Sweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls), Turning the Table Thursdays (Around My Family Table), Tasty Thursday (The How-To Mommy), Tastetastic Thursday (A little nosh), Sweet Temptations (Talking Dollars and Cents), Taking a Timeout Thursday (Mom on Timeout), Things I've Done Thursday (BearRabbitBear), (RHW Recipe Round-Up) The Real Housewives of Riverton. Friday: Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate), Bacon Time, Fusion Friday (Jane Deere Blog), Foodie Friday (Not Your Ordinary Recipes), Dwell on Joy, Fun Finds Friday (Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons). Saturday: Country Mom Cooks, Sweets for a Saturday (Sweet as Sugar Cookies), Seasonal Inspiration (Crumbs and Chaos). Sunday: A Well-Seasoned Life,Sharing Sundays (Everyday Sisters), Strut your Stuff Saturday (Six Sisters' Stuff), Seasonal/Occasional Linkys: Moms Crazy Cooking, Southern Mom Cooks, Cheap Crafty Momma, Susie QT