Darth Vader Double Chocolate Cake (Gluten Free, Vegan)

I want to share two things with you today.

The second thing is this cake:

Emperor's New Groove: Yzma Cupcakes

Disney movies have left me a bit cold recently. And, yes, that's a Frozen pun. Shut up about it.

Game of Thrones: Sansa's Lemoncakes

If you have connected with us on facebook, twitter, or tumblr, you know what we've been up to for the last couple months. For the rest of you who have been waiting patiently, today's the day it will all be revealed to you. Aren't you excited?

Powerpuff Girls: Power Puff Marshmallows

Sugar. Spice. Everything nice. That's what little girls are made of?

Wrong. We are all Chemical X, baby. And we're here to take names and kick asses. So I'm going to need some names.

Sherlock: Mrs. Hudson's Lemonade Scones

You Sherlock fans are masochists.

Doctor Who: Giant TARDIS Cake

Time travelling is hard. Seriously.

Firefly: Shepherd Book's Rosemary Biscuits

It's November. Grab a sickly sweet pumpkin-spiced latte. Wrap yourself up in your Batman snuggie. Warm up a buttery biscuit, schmear that shit with butter, and stuff it right in the ol' pie hole.

Wait, November already? What the hell happened to October?

Usually, I really get into the Halloween spirit and inundate you with a gaggle of spooky baked goods.This year, however, November snuck up on us way too quickly. One day, I'm trotting along through the grocery store, buying bagfuls of those little mellowcreme pumpkins and then BAM - CANDY CANES OUT OF NO WHERE.

But there is a flip side to this whole thing. There may not have been any orange and black goodies on the blog, but we did spend October doing what we do best: baking for a group of charities and special events that make Vancouver really fantastic. In fact, we dropped off more donations in the last month and a half than ever before. We'll get back to those warm buttery biscuits later (I promise you), but, for now, I want to share with you want we baked up last month:

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.

Portal Mini Cakes

I don't play a lot of video games. Because of this, I feel a little left out of geek culture sometimes. I gobble up comic books and board games and cosplay stuff, but I'm always in the dark when people around me start talking about what they got during the latest Steam sale.

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.

San Diego Comic Con Cake

I got my Con cherry popped not too long ago by Emerald City. It wasn't planned - I hadn't thought about going at all. One day, however, two of my best buds mentioned that they was taking their comic on the road to Seattle.

"Boy," said Mr. C, "it would be cool to go down and hang out with them."

"Yeah," I said, "and, like, cosplay and stuff."

We laughed. And then looked at each other with intensity. It dawned on us. This was our chance to finally see what all the fuss was about. I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep well for months after that - All I could do was think about finally going to my first convention. What would it be like? Would it really smell like BO and regret? Would I get to talk to someone famous? Would I spend all my money on Booster Gold figurines? Would my very first cosplay end up in pieces on the vendor floor? SO MANY QUESTIONS.

Game of Thrones: Dothraki Blood Pie

Do you remember playing Junior Monopoly? The one where you had to buy up rides to create the most badass amusement park ever? Or Guess Who? The one where you had stare at twenty of the ugliest faces ever illustrated by the gaming industry? Or Sorry? The one where you were allowed to be a total dick to your friends?

Man, tabletop gaming sure has changed.

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.

Game of Thrones: Honeycakes

Do you . . . do you want to talk about what happened?

I mean, it might feel better to get it all out.

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?

Wash's Cupcakes: "Curse Your Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal!"

"I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."

If that phrase makes you feel like you've been punched in the gut, you're a true Firefly Browncoat. Hoban Washburne was one of those special Whedon characters that the audience usually feels a direct attachment to. They're the Xanders or the Agent Coulsons. They make us smile, and they usually voice what the audience is thinking, only far wittier. No wonder we hate it when Joss maims and/or kills them.

Let's not talk about maiming or killing, though. Let's just talk about Wash. The happy-go-lucky Wash. The Wash that doesn't have a giant piece of metal sticking out of his chest.

Dr. "Bones" McCoy's Space Supplements (Gluten Free Vegan Fudge)

When I was growing up, there was only one Star Trek universe for me. Well, there was more than one, but Voyager didn't count. Deep Space Nine sometimes counted, but only when I was really desperate. No, Next Generation was the only version of Star Trek that I was interested in. And, now that I look back at it, it's amazing that teenaged-me would have liked a show like that. It was . . . intellectual. Seeing as I was also a fan of Saved By the Bell and Boy Meets World, it's weird that I would pick up a show like Next Gen. But I did. And I loved it.

Maybe it was my first foray into science fiction. I know my Dad would love watching it as well, so maybe it was our attempt at some daughter-father TV bonding time. Or maybe it was Wil Wheaton. Because, if you were a teenaged girl in the 90s, you had a crush on Crusher. End of story.

The Walking Dead Cupcakes

As pointed out in the latest episode of West Coast Geeks vs Nerds, everyone has a zombie apocalypse survival plan. Hell, there's even aps for this very purpose. Our household's plan is probably very similar to yours: grab a chainsaw, wing our way through London Drugs, then hold up in the closest Costco. Well, to be honest, that's Mr. C's plan. My plan goes a little bit differently: unsuccessfully escape from the horde, get bitten by zombie, have Mr. C shoot me in the face. Really, I'm just being honest with myself. I'm a lover, not a fighter. When the walkers take over, I'm not going to last very long. I'm loud. I cry a lot. I'm not a sprinter. I'm as good as dead.

Being a realist is an important part of the zombie apocalypse.

Blue Milk and Cookies Star Wars Cupcakes

May the Fourth be with you! And may many horrible Star Wars puns be with you as well!