X-Men: Jubilee's Funfetti Cookies

Summer is over in my books. Today was the first day that the blaring light of the sun didn't wake me from my long weekend slumber. Fog and rain clouds have now taken control. But that's okay. I have been growing tired of the heat and sunburns. I'm ready for fall to roll in.

That said, we did have a pretty fantastic summer. Mr. C and I went road tripping. We met new friends and baked for some awesome local groups and charities. The best part, though, was the new cosplay we cobbled together.

Paper. Resin. Fibreglass. Bondo. Lots of sanding. Some pretty nifty LED work. Vacuum forming. This cosplay had it all.

Pokeball Cookies

Mr. C and I just got back from a very long vacation. We climbed to the top of a volcano in the middle of a larger volcano. We went hunting for translucent cave bacon. We geeked out at a Shakespeare festival. Or, I geeked out at the Shakespeare festival. Theatre's in my blood, yo. 

A lot of our vacations are pretty busy. For instance, at Disneyland, we opened and closed the park. In typhoon rains. For five days. It was epic. And tiring. And so very full of blisters. But that's just how we roll. This vacation was full of hiking and travelling, but we had a lot of downtime, which was nice for a change. We even slept in until 10am one morning, which is unheard of during C&C vacation time. It was really refreshing to roll out of the bed at the hotel, turn on the tube, grab some pre-packaged oatmeal, and zone out to some cartoons.

Now, I cancelled our TV a month ago. I don't miss it much, but I do feel a little empty without my Saturday morning cartoons. I think I became a little starved for bright moving colours, because I watched everything animated while on vacation. I watched really really good shows. And some not so good shows. I even came across some old friends - which I feel like I need to talk about.

Mario Starmen Cookies

We've been busy little bees lately.

Remember all those times in Mario - it doesn't matter which one, you can pick - when your tiny little plumber man is on his last legs, being chased by turtles or venus flytraps or ghosts, and you're desperately trying to bash some bricks apart to find something that can help you? Those little mushrooms are great, they'll make you grow bigger, but Mario starves for more. More power. After wading through those bricks for what feels like hours, the star appears. You grab it. The music starts. And you feel like you can destroy the world. Because, lets face it, you can. 

That's what the last few weeks have felt like to me. Holy moly.

Big Bang Theory: Sheldon Cooper's Red Velvet Cookies

What the hell is "Bazinga"?

I see it on t-shirts. Within memes. All over the internet. Yet, I still have no idea what it means.

Arrested Development: Tobias's Blue Handprint Sandwich Cookies

I was really worried about this new season of Arrested Development.

When I heard Netflix was bringing it back, I was, like the rest of you probably were, thrilled. Finally, we'd be getting back the family we all loved to hate. Finally, I felt vindication for still having all my inner monologues sound like Ron Howard. But then I really thought about it. Did I want it back? Really? Arrested Development went out on, more or less, a high note. What if it came back, and sucked?

Simple Yoda Sugar Cookies

Last month, Mr. C and I enjoyed a little March Madness. No, not the one with the basketballs. The other one. The nerdier one.

This is Madness compiled 32 of Star Wars characters and pitted them together in a bracket system to find out which Jedi, Sith, or Droid would be declared the best of the bunch. This was serious business - no Jar Jars were even considered.

I enjoyed the game, but, like usual in any sort of playoff situtation, I got a little bitter towards the end. I mean, how on earth was Han beat out in the second round? By Obi Wan, no less? And pitting two female characters against each other in the first round? That just prolonged the epic Star Wars sausage fest. Come on now.

Game of Thrones Cookies: Khaleesi's Dragon Nests

It's great that the government gave us a long weekend to celebrate the new season of Game of Thrones. I guess that whole Easter thing plays a factor here too. But, really, I think I'll be too worried about who may or may not bite the big one in the first episode to think about chocolate bunnies. Seriously, if they kill [spoiler] and [spoiler] too early, I will have a melt down.

In case it hasn't come across to you, our household is pretty excited over this show. Mr. C is especially pumped. And by "especially pumped" I mean he's re-read the entire series (which, if you've seen the size of those things, is no small feat). I haven't touched the books, but I have picked up rumours of all the death and destruction that goes on in those things. I'm still hoping that John Snow sails over to the other side of the world, sweeps Daenerys off her feet, and rides into the sunset on a dragon. And then makes really pretty babies together.

Mr. C keeps trying to tell me that doesn't happen. Whatevs.

Morning Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan and GF)

My legs have decided to take on a mind of their own. They refuse to move under my command and would much rather lounge about while sucking mercilessly on a bottle of ibuprofen. They scream when I try to take a few steps. If I manage to retain  a sort of shambling walking speed, trying to slow down or turn seem to be impossible for them.

I wasn't in any accident or trama. I simple took part in one of the best experiences Vancouver has to offer.

Six hours. Over one hundred teams of two. Fifteen secret locations. And a whole lot of running.

Vegan Cheerio PB Banana Cookies

We've been a bit AWOL lately. If you've connected with our facebook and twitter, I've mentioned that I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately. And by "bit under the weather", I mean that a large percentage my blood went missing. Mysteriously.

Nyan Cat Poptart Cookies

I'm going to admit something to you all. I'm actually a bit embarrassed about it. Here it goes:

I really like cute things.

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

I love little chocolate truffles. They're so goddamn satisfying. Taking a nibble and letting the silky flavours melt in your mouth is seriously an out of body experience. And, I will admit, it's hard to recreate that flavour perfection at home. Chocolatiers work for years to create flawless orbs of chocolate deliciousness. How can we compete with that at home?

Vegan California Cookies (with pistachio, clementines, and agave nectar)

It's about minus sixteen around here right now. We've got snow. We've got freezing rain. We've got something called an arctic outflow. God knows what that is. And this isn't even the worse part of Canada; In Calgary, it dropped down to minus fifty-seven with the wind chill. That's right. Minus fifty-seven. Your skin would freeze off your face in less than fifteen seconds. 

Screw being anti-stereotypical. Canada is goddamn cold. 

A Trio of Vegan Christmas Cookies

Movember took a lot out of us - I mean, we did have to consume quite a few intense cupcakes. Taking a break was a necessity (especially for Mr. C's waistline). I thought we could take the month to relax. And detox.

Of course, I forgot that December comes after November. December means Christmas. And that means Christmas cake, pies, bars, chocolate. Oh, and cookies. So. Many. Cookies.

Picture taken by Laura of The First Mess. 

I'm usually pretty good at avoiding all those holiday sweets - most of them are verboten anyways, just because of all that non-vegany buttery stuff they usually contain. (Don't worry, Mr. C usually takes one for the team and eats my share as well.)

This year, however, I signed up for The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. I love baking for others, so I thought it was nifty to send a little box of C&C goodness across the country to brighten someone else's day. Unfortunately, I forgot about the other half of this little deal - I send out boxes of cookies, yes, but that means that I'll get a whole hell of a lot of cookies back. Oh. Dear. I don't know if my poor little bloated tummy could handle such things.

Hogwarts Confections: The Hufflepuff Cookie

I feel bad for making Hufflepuff go last. Out of all the houses, it's usually the one that's being made fun of. But, really, you've got to give these guys credit. They're not uptight, nor do they backstab, and (lets face it) they probably procrastinate better than most of us. Also, Cedric Diggory. Cedric. Diggory.

Hogwarts Confections: The Slytherin Cookie

I got some hate mail for my last post. Okay, hate is a strong word. Disapproving is way more apt.

It seems there were a lot of Gryffindors out there who very much disliked my attitude towards their beloved house. Or, more importantly, their beloved Harry Potter. I deserved it. I used strong words. But that's because I'm a Slytherin.

I know what you're thinking right now - "How could she be a Slytherin? She makes such delicious cupcakes. They can't be evil cupcakes, can they?" Well, let me tell you, Slytherin is not all about the evil. Sure there is a big bad bubble of that stuff hemorrhaging out the side of it, but you've got to look at the total picture:

Hogwarts Confections: The Gryffindor Cookie

Okay. I'm just going to say it outright. Just so there's no misunderstanding.

I'm not a fan of Gryffindor.

Hogwarts Confections: The Ravenclaw Cookie

You know that Mr. C and I are gigantic nerds. Dungeon and Dragons nerds. Joss Whedon nerds. The list goes on and on. The one fandom I'm surprised I haven't touched upon here is Harry Potter. We both, of course, grew up with the books. I have a love/hate relationship with Ms. Rowling - I loved her first four books. I hated that she killed off my favourite characters. Did it really have to be Sirius, Lupin, and Fred? Seriously, JK, you should have just totally manned up and killed off Harry. The little snotrag totally had it coming.

Mr. C is still devoted. He's actually re-reading the entire series before we go see the final film. He's excited. Me? I know I'm just going to end up bawling my eyes out. I had to hide the final book in the freezer while reading it, but I can't do that to a movie. How am I going to get through it, you ask? Cookies. Lots and lots of cookies.

Boston Cream Pie Cookies

Wednesday was pretty ordinary for everyone else in the world. But for us, it was game day. It was a day when the entire city of Vancouver put their Burrows jersey on, painted their face, and downed a couple cans of liquid courage before going out and watching the biggest hockey game they have had since 1994.

In case you didn't hear, they lost. And took it pretty hard.

Rapturetastic Twix Cookies

I have a bit of a bone to pick with you, crazy religious guy. Now, I'm not very spiritual myself - if I had to put my horse into the proverbial ring, it would probably be for this guy. What's not to love about a large, happy fat man who's totally chill with everyone? I can get behind an entity who's pretty much like Hurley from Lost.

Post-Election Vegan Stuffed Cookies

A note to our American friends: I'm sorry if, by the end of this, you are very confused. Your neighbour to the north has just been through a really tiring election and we're still trying to work through all our feelings. If you need help understanding, you can look here. Or, better yet, here. Though there is a lot of writing below (most of it pretty bitter), please remember that there is a supremely tasty vegan recipe at the bottom that involves chocolate chip cookies, homemade oreos, and homemade oreos stuffed inside of chocolate chip cookies. If you don't want to get involved in Canadian politics, scroll right down to the end.