Fanart Time!

Sailor Chibi Moon and Sailor Saturn!

Playing Catch-Up

Ack, sorry I've been so busy all this week! Luckily, I've kept my camera by me to take some snapshots of what I've been up to.

I got a double-boiler for $5 at a thrift store, score! So here is my first round of chocolate-coated stuff. I coated maraschino cherries, bananas, marshmallows, and filled up a couple of my silicone cupcake cups with chocolate. My favorites were the straight-up chocolate cups-- going to experiment further with these as my bravery in the kitchen increases.

My-firstest-ever-from-scratch pound cake. *sniff* It was great, but sort of dry. Got good reviews from my taste-testers! This cake is more like a gain-a-pound cake, if you know what I mean. Two cups of butter! This is probably one of the more labor-intensive recipes that I've used, and am glad the cake turned out so well. Still a complete novice in the kitchen, but hey! I think I'm learning a few things. Not that Chem Ramsey would dare let me near his kitchen...

Tonight's bento box, which I have eaten most of already. Baby carrots on a bed of edamame beans, white basmati rice with green curry simmer sauce for dinner. For desert, I invested in an apple core-cutting device and cut up one of Nicole's apples she picked from a farm, used a leftover raspberry chocolate cup, and stole a lemon bar from the mix recipe (shaaame!) that I had made earlier. When life gives you lemons, make lemon bars for your friends!!

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Hot cocoa and muffins

This is been a real yucky week for my friends and me, especially for one of my closest friends. Sooo to help her feel better, I baked chocolate chip muffins for everyone! She got the special treatment, with a tray full of marshmallows, apples, and hot cocoa. Feel better, Luv!

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Italy Flag Pizza

PIIIZZZZAAA! I guess I can't help it, but I make pizza for my suitemates every Saturday at around midnight. I'm still in the process of perfecting it, but oh well. My boyfriend was visiting this weekend, so I wanted to make the pizza special-- I made it in the colors of Italy, which is my heritage. Shallots were green, chopped garlic was white, and pepperoni (special for Matt) was red. The dough was a bit undercooked, but overall, I declare success.

Red Curry Bento

Omnomnom. I work as a police aide on my campus, and my hours can get a little strange-- I work from 12AM till 8AM, so sometimes I like to pack up my bento box with goodies. Tonight is no exception! I have red curry sauce on basmatti rice, a hard-boiled egg on a bed of lettuce, fresh grapes, green tea mochi, and iced animal crackers. All my stuff was really simple to make, since I was in a hurry. Even though it's not gourmet, it's relatively cheap and quick to make for even a novice:

Hard-boiled egg-- You need a single raw egg and a handful of iceburg lettuce.

-Boil a pot of water that is filled to about 2 or 3 inches.
-Carefully place the egg into the water. Let the water simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
-Take the egg out using a spoon or ladle. Wait for it to cool.
-Gently crack the hardboiled egg's shell and peel the shell and skin away.
-Cut the egg in half. Use one half and place the other half in the fridge for later.
-Line the bento with lettuce. Place egg on top.

Red curry rice-- You need 2/3 cup of basmati rice, your favorite storebought red curry sauce (I got mine from Trader Joe's), and some shallots.

-Boil a pot of water that is filled to about 2 or 3 inches.
-Put 2/3 a cup of basmati white rice in a strainer. Run water over the rice and stir to wash it.
-Carefully place the washed rice into the boiling water. Let it cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-Use the ladle to pick out one or two grains. Blow on the grains, and test them to see if they are cooked and ready to eat.
-Strain the rice over a sink. Pour rice into bento box.
-Carefully stir in as much red curry sauce as you prefer.
-Thinly slice shallots on cutting board-- as much as you prefer.
-Sprinkle shallots ontop of rice.

Well-- err-- the rest I bought at stores or pilfered from the school caf. If you are curious-- I bought the mochi at an E-Mart.

No tricks, just treats!

Aw, I made another coloring page to add to your pug and cupcake collection! Just click the image to get a printable image. If you can't tell, the pug's dressed up as a vampire, and to keep up the tradition, there's a cupcake in the lower corner. I don't miss a single detail!

Pug Coloring Pages

... So I was cruising the web for free coloring pages and came to a disturbing realization-- there are no coloring pages devoted to pugs! Here are two that I drew myself to contribute to the online coloring book collection. Naturally, I drew them with cupcakes. Perhaps there are more to come?








Special gift: Click the images to get a printable 8.5 x 11 coloring page! Aren't I just the best? (:

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Buddha the Betta

I'm devoting this post to my pet betta fish, Buddha, who is the most adorable fish I have ever owned. I "adopted" him about a month ago, and he is so healthy and happy and playful. Every time I peer through his tank, he swims right up to me. He is such a goofball compared to all the other bettas I've owned, and never seems too bored with his surroundings. And did I mention that he is so cute? That loop on his dorsal fin is always there, too.

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"I scream" for cupcakes

Om nom nom!

About two weeks ago, I made ice cream cone cupcakes for my friends... you know, the cupcakes baked in an ice cream cone? The cupcakes that if your mother made for your fifth birthday, you were automatically recognized as "cool?" Still don't know what I am talking about? Oh, how I pity your childhood. Well, here you go, complete with a recipe. I used Funfetti cake mix to snazz things up a bit, and topped off the icing with those disgusting maraschino cherries. You guys should really google some pics of these cone cupcakes. They are hideously adorable.

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Poor Student's $2.50 Bento Meal

I got my bento box in the mail today, yay. In celebration, I cooked up my first bento meal. It was really quick and cheap to prepare (although it's not that healthy). Not including money for the actual lunch box, I payed only $2.50 for this meal.

Here's what I included:
-Grape tomatoes and steamed carrots on a bed of spinach leaves
-Stovetop seafood flavored ramen with diced carrots
-Fruit medley of grapes, strawberries, and apple slices soaked in soda water
-Storebought green tea mochi and Japanese biscuits with chocolate filling

Wondering how all this was just $2.50? Here is my secret!
At CNU, there is a great salad bar included in the meal plan. I assume that all over the country, there are these secret salad bars that include everything from Velveta cheese cubes to spicy bananna peppers. I take a to-go box and do my "grocery shopping" in the comfort of my campus's cafeteria and salad bar. I pilfer the tomatoes, carrots, spinach leaves, grapes, strawberries, and apple slices from the salad bar. Ramen is $.20, a six-pack of mochi is $1.30, and the biscuits are just $1.00. There you have it! Poor Student's $2.50 Bento meal.

The presentation was adequate for a first Bento box (In my humble opinion). Like the obsessed freak I am, I ran off to Anime Club with my little Bento and showed it off. It was make-a-plushie night, and I'll upload my plushie tomorrow. (:

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Welcome!

Photograph of one of my old beloved betta fish. Rest in peace, lil' guy!

Here's to my new blog, Pugs 'N Cupcakes! I don't really know what I'm doing as of yet, but here is a little about me and stuff I like a great deal:

-Unique and artsy things
-My odd cooking endeavors

-Pugs and other hideously adorable animals
-Things containing the color purple
- Strange events afoot at CNU
-Things that I want but cannot afford
-Coloring in printed coloring pages
-Interesting videogames
-Whatever else I think is worthy of my time :P

Here are some facts about me, Nikki.

My name is Nicole. My nick-name is Nikki. My nick-nick name is Nik. I'm a student at Christopher Newport University. I have kickass friends and a bitchin' boyfriend. I like trying new things, which may or may not include cooking, art, driving to new places, and meeting new people. I like pugs, oh and ghosts, chupacabras, aliens, and anything else that is out of this world. That's all I really feel like writing about myself.

Oh, and unless I give credit to the appropriate person, the photos and artwork here belong to meee! I don't care if you use it, as long as you e-mail me and give me credit.

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