Orlando Bloom

Have you ever watched a movie and realized that someone in that movie was, like, super attractive. And you've seen them in other things, but for some reason this movie and this time just clicked for you? And even if all your friends thought this actor was attractive before, suddenly, somehow, you got thrown on the bandwagon. Yeah, that's what happened to me when I saw Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

I was never a fan of Legolas when the Lord of the Rings movies were coming out. I was always a much bigger fan of Viggo Mortenson's Aragorn. I think I am more of a sucker for dark hair, which would also explain why I didn't notice Orlando until Pirates of the Caribbean. Makes sense, right? Right.

I think I saw Pirates of the Caribbean about 10-12 times in the theater when it came out. I don't actually even want to think about how much money that was. Especially since I didn't have a job for half of that time. It was my freshman year of college! Time to party! Learn to stay awake all night and still make it to classes the next day...or not.... I may or may not have almost failed out my first semester. BUT, my roommate's very kind boyfriend bought me a copy of Pirates the day it came out as an early Christmas present. Because he knew of my obsession. And that same roommate bought me a poster that hung above my bed the remainder of the year. And maybe even on my wall after I moved, I honestly can't remember. But if Orlando Bloom was in the cast, I watched it. At least, that was my motto for the next several years. I thought he as an AMAZING actor. I thought everything he did was just stellar. And then I went on a mission for my church. I spent a year and a half in North Carolina not watching TV or movies. And talking to people in the south about Jesus. I did realize the irony of my mission while I was there. But while I was gone, I forgot about Orlando. Mostly.

A friend sent me an action figure as a joke, but it was really funny. That action figure sat on my desk the remainder of my time in North Carolina. I think it's still in a box somewhere. When I got home, things were different. I was different. I had learned a lot about myself over those eighteen months away from my friends, family, and the life I knew. Don't get me wrong, I still watched movies. Oh, and I have not stopped since. But I had become a little bit pickier about what I watched. And how many times I watched it. And somewhere along the way Orlando slipped into oblivion. It also could be because he hadn't done a whole lot over the course of several years.

He did show up in The Musketeers as the villain, and if you need a good laugh GO WATCH THAT MOVIE. It's not as bad as you're thinking. It's actually pretty fantastic. AND, Orlando is a villain. With a ridiculous wardrobe. And a blimp. No joke. Just go watch the movie. It prob
ably won't be a waste of time for you.

And then he disappeared again. Until the Hobbit movies came out and he reprised Legolas again. This time, I felt so sad for his character. It was heartbreaking to watch him lose hope. But, it was also kind of cool to see his character again. And, if any of you are purists of the books, I know he wasn't in them. I know, I know. BUT, it was still great.

To check out all of his movies and stuff, check out iMDB HERE.

So, in honor of his birthday today, I have made eclairs!! They're fancy and look really cool BUT, they also taste AMAZING. Here's the run down on how to make them!!

Homemade Eclairs

CHOUX PASTRY: (pronounced Shoe Pastry, it took me WAY to long to learn that!)

½ cup butter
1 cup water
1 cup all purpose
flour
¼ tsp salt
4 large eggs

CUSTARD FILLING:

1 (4 serving size) package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt

CHOCOLATE ICING:

1/3 Cup chocolate chips
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp hot water

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet, and I would not recommend using a cooking spray. Pull out the shortening and a paper towel and actually grease the pan. The dough won't stick otherwise. And you don't want your choux sliding around!!

In a medium saucepan add the butter and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the flour and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a stiff ball.

Remove from heat and add the eggs one at a time. This is tricky because you don't want the eggs to become scrambled eggs in the pan. I usually make a little indent in the ball and add the egg, then stir it gently, but quickly, until the egg is mixed in. Then, I repeat until all the eggs have been mixed in.

Spoon the dough into a pastry bag with a star tip. You can also form them without a tip in your pastry bag. Pipe the dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. They will expand a bit, so don't put them less than an inch apart.

Bake for fifteen minutes at 425, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and cook for another 20 minutes. You want them puffy, golden, and hollow sounding when you tap on them. As soon as you take them out of the oven, insert a knife into the end of each to release the heat inside and to keep them puffed and hollow. You will also be using this whole to fill each eclair. Let them cool completely before filling.

You can make the filling while the shells cool. Firstly, beat the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla and salt to stiff peaks and set aside. Hint: You can also use cool whip. Don't tell the hard core chefs that spend forever making everything. Then combine the pudding mix and milk together. Let it set for a minute or two. Then, fold in the whipping cream. Pour into a pastry bag that's either been fitted with a filling tip, or with a small hole in the pastry bag. fill each shell until they feel filled. It takes a little practice, but you'll get the hang of it, I promise.

Then, once the shells are filled, make the icing by melting the chocolate chips and the butter in the microwave in 30 second intervals until melted. Then, beat the chocolate, powdered sugar and water together. I usually pipe the chocolate on the top, but you can spread it with a knife as well. Then, enjoy!!

Ian Somerhalder

I was never really into the show LOST. My best friend was obsessed and tried on several occasions to convince me to watch it. All to no avail. I still have not seen past the first four episodes of the show. I was, however, intrigued by one of the characters. A tall, skinny guy with black hair and piercing blue eyes.

Fast forward a few years to my brief, but damning, vampire phase. It was BAD, but out of it came my guilty pleasure addiction to Vampire Diaries. I found myself once again intrigued by the "bad guy" of the first season, Damon Salvatore. Same black hair and piercing blue eyes. I actually really loved to hate him then. I was always a bigger fan of Stefan Salvatore because I always prefer the good guys.

That is, until I met the actors who play these characters in real life. I met Paul Wesley first who came to Salt Lake Comic con about two years ago. He was nice, but very distant and distracted. I felt like he was there out of a contractual obligation than to actually meet his fans. Maybe he was having an off day, I don't know. I mean he was pleasant, but distant. Then, a year later Ian Somerhalder came and I wasn't sure I really wanted to meet him because he's the bad guy and also what if meeting him was as disappointing as meeting Paul Wesley. However, I have several friends who love him and wanted to go in on a photo op, so I obliged and we all went and waited in the ridiculously long line with all the fans in their Vampire Diaries t-shirts and swooning at the mere thought of hearing his voice. Then, when we all least expected it, he came out from behind the curtain where the photo ops take place. He walked past us and I think a couple of girls almost fainted. He waved at everyone, even blew a few kisses to the crowd. The line was collectively fan girling over him. And my thought was "well, he seems nicer than Paul. This might not be a waste of my time."

And oh how right I was. I pulled the short straw on the picture and didn't get to stand next to him, but when it was finally our turn, he pulled us in so tight. My poor friend next to me was squished right next to him. She has since assured me that it was no problem at all. My other friend had gone back and forth for weeks on whether or not she should ask him to pretend to bite her because he plays a vampire in Vampire Diaries and I told her to go for it. And this is the picture we ended up with:

It's actually one of my favorite pictures because when she timidly asked if he'd pretend to bite her he very forcefully told her to get over here and this is what we got. I love it. I also loved that after the picture was taken he specifically told each of us 'thank you', which doesn't usually happen and is actually really cool.

Fast forward again to September of this year. Ian came back to Salt Lake Comic Con. A friend of mine got me really really great seats to his panel and me and my friends went. If you've never been to a comic convention before, they usually have panels where the actors/actresses talk about the roles they've played, what projects they have coming up, and so on. Salt Lake's Comic Con lets the attendees ask the actors/actresses questions and you hear a lot of cool stories that way. For Ian's panel, he got a lot of ridiculous questions, but I was very impressed with his answers. He knows where his job comes from. He knows that he's been on a show for 8 seasons because the fans have been watching it. I like it when actors/actresses recognize that they have a job because I am ridiculously obsessed with TV and movies.

Ian talked a lot about the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, which is really cool. You can check it out HERE, if you want to. He is trying to make the world a better place and it's really quite commendable.



He is married to Nikki Reed, which I always thought was a little bit funny that they've both played Vampires in significant series'. She was in the Twilight saga. But seriously, they are the most adorable couple in the whole world. I love them together.

He's been in a few things, but really he's spent most of his career between LOST and The Vampire Diaries. he was on Smallville for a half a second and a few other shows that I actually haven't seen. You can check out all of his credits HERE.

And to celebrate his birthday today, I have made Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies. They are incredibly delicious and I LOVE them. they're so addicting. Just like watching Vampire Diaries. hahaha.

Pinterest helped me out with the recipe that can be found HERE.

Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies

1 Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate (to be melted)
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
¼ Cup Dark Cocoa Powder
1 tsp. Baking Powder
¼ tsp. Salt
½ Cup Salted Butter, softened
¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
½ Cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
1 Egg
2 tsps. Vanilla extract
1 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the cup of semi sweet chocolate chips. Do this by microwaving in 30 second intervals. Stir after each burst of heat so as to not burn the chocolate. Once melted, set aside and in a separate bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Then, in another bowl cream butter and sugars together until well combined. To this mixture add the melted chocolate. Mix until combined. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Then, add the dry ingredients slowly until well incorporated. Once you have a chocolaty goodness, add the chocolate chips and mix until they are thoroughly spread through the dough.

I use a standard cookie scoop and drop them on a cookie sheet about an inch or so apart. I use a silicon baking mat that is AMAZING and I highly recommend getting them if you bake a lot. If not, you can just grease a cookie sheet, they'll still turn out.

Bake them for about 10-11 minutes. Let them cool a minute before moving them to a cooling rack to finish cooling before eating them all gone!

Mehcad Brooks

A year and a half ago CBS announced that they were creating a new superhero TV show featuring the same executive producer as The CW hit duo The Flash and Arrow. They would be focusing on Supergirl. I did not know how I felt about this. Marvel had their whole Agent's of SHIELD thing going on over at ABC, but no one else, besides The CW, had really tried to do a TV show in years. It was almost like the world had said "No, we like our superheroes on the big screen. Don't give us your puny budget and bad CGI TV shows!" and for the most part I was right there agreeing with them. But there was a part of me that wanted to see what they would come up with. 

And not only did I want to see what they would come up with, but I wanted to see a real connection between the Supergirl mythology and the Superman legend. I wanted direct links. I wanted The Man of Steel to show up from time to time. I wanted the writers to acknowledge that although the show was focused on the Girl of Steel, she has a super awesome (and my favorite comic book character) cousin that could help her out from time to time. And they did not disappoint. 

Cut to the pilot. Me, sitting on the edge of the couch soaking in every.single.line. EVERY.SINGLE.SCENE. All of it. And then Kara Danvers, Supergirl's alter ego, walks in to the new Art Director's office to pick up something for Cat Grant and she sees the first real picture of her cousin Kal-El, known to this world as Superman. He steps out of the corner and sees her admiring the print and offers for her to take it because he's got other copies. He took the photo. He is...wait for it...Jimmy Olsen!! Now going by James because only "the big guy" can call him Jimmy. Well, him and James' mom. And in that moment I was like "I like this guy.....who is he?" and so, iMDB came to my rescue, as it always does, and I realized that I haven't seen him in anything else. 

His name is Mehcad Brooks. He's been in a number of sports related movies. I am not really a sports person (if you couldn't tell by this blog. haha), but I might be looking in to them because I LOVE him on Supergirl. You can check out his other credits HERE.

AND, this season they are letting him take on a heroic role and James Olsen will become Guardian who is one of my favorite characters. I'm really excited to see what they come up with for him. His character on the show is really awesome, and of all the Jimmy Olsen's, he's definitely my favorite.

So, to jump right into our tradition here on Starstruck Baking, let's get to the treat I will be eating while I marathon Supergirl Season 1. It's on Netflix, in case you haven't seen it. Is it cheesy? YES. But is it clean, good and wholesome? YES. And if you don't like those things, well, I'm sorry? 

Any way, treats treats wonderful treats!! 

For Mehcad's birthday, I made delicious Twix Thumbprint Cookies!!

I found a few recipes on Pinterest and this is the one I liked best. Check it out HERE.

Twix Thumbprint Cookies

Shortbread cookie:

⅔ cup Butter, softened

½ cup sugar

2 Eggs (yolks only)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1½ cups all-purpose flour

Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees. Mix the butter, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla until well combined and creamy. Then add the flour and mix until well incorporated. The original recipe says to chill for an hour. I've done it both ways and if you chill the dough, the cookie keeps a better shape. I usually don't have time to chill things for an hour and they still turn out okay. They taste the same. 

Once your dough is ready form 1 inch balls and you want to place them 2 inches apart. Press the center of the cookies either with a tart press, or your thumb (which is why they're called thumbprint cookies, FYI). And bake them for about 7-10 minutes. You want the edges to just be a light golden brown. Once baked, take them out of the oven. Let them sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring them over to a cooling rack to finish cooling. 

In the original recipe she has you buy caramels from the store. I am not a fan of that method. I have never had a good experience using premade caramels for anything. SO, I am going to share my top secret family recipe for an easy homemade microwave caramel that will give you a delicious caramel filling that adds a million extra delicious points to these cookies.

Caramel

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp. vanilla

Add all EXCEPT vanilla to a microwave safe bowl. I like to cut the butter into cubes so it will melt faster, but you don't have to do that. Mix together and then microwave for 3-4 minutes. Remove from microwave and mix until butter is completely incorporated to the mix then put back in the microwave for another 4-5 minutes. Remove from microwave careful as it will be very very hot. Add the vanilla and then I usually start filling the cookies with the molten hot caramel. You can let is sit for a minute, but the longer you wait the harder it will be to pour it into the cookies. 

To fill the cookies, I just take a spoon and pour it carefully into the center of the cookie. It should be soft enough that it will run over the cookie. Don't over fill them or you will have a caramel mess all over your kitchen. 

Once the cookies are filled, I melt about a half cup of milk chocolate chips in a bowl and then drizzle it over the cookies with a fork. Sometimes I use a pastry bag. Whatever floats your boat. And then, I eat them. Because they are delicious. I get the most compliments on these cookies.  So, check them out, watch Supergirl and have a great night with Mehcad Brooks!

Melissa Benoist

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's..... Supergirl!!
Now, if you haven't figured this out yet, I love superheroes. And superhero shows. And when CBS announced that they were creating a Supergirl TV show, I was a little skeptical. I mean, The CW had done pretty well with Arrow and The Flash, so long as you aren't a diehard fan of the comics. Because they do take a number of liberties. So, I held my breath when Supergirl started. For, like, 10 seconds.  And then it didn't actually ruin Kara Zor-El's origin story and I kept watching.

I'll be honest, before Supergirl I did not know who Melissa Benoist was. But I have the utmost respect for her and am very glad she took the role. She captures the hopefulness and strength of Supergirl and is just brilliant


with Grant Gustin who plays The Flash. In fact, my favorite episode of TV ever is the crossover episode of Supergirl where The Flash accidentally travels to her dimension. I'm excited for her to join the Arrow-verse this season on The CW.

She was also on Glee, which is where she first met Grant Gustin because that is where his career started. I heard they may be doing a musical crossover between The Flash and Supergirl, which wouldn't be a bad thing considering many cast members from both shows have musical backgrounds.
And speaking of all these superhero shows, The Flash starts tonight, kicking off a week and a half of premieres on The CW! Supergirl starts on Monday, Oct. 10th. There are a lot of new shows this fall that I already love and am excited to check out. I wrote about it on my writer blog HERE.

But, going back to Melissa, she was in The Last Ride, which I
loved because I'm a sucker for love stories. She's not the main character, but one of the sorority sisters. Melissa has had many smaller roles, so if you're thinking she looks familiar but you haven't watched Supergirl yet, (the first season is on Netflix, btw. You should go watch it... )  that's probably why! I would love to work with her in the future. I'm currently working on two very different screenplays, both of which I think she would be phenomenal in. So hopefully we can make this happen! The world needs more Melissa Benoist! To see everything she's been in, you can visit her imdb page HERE.

And in honor of her birthday today, I made chocolate mint thumbprint cookies!! These are delightful and not overpoweringly minty  or chocolatey. They're an amazing balance of deliciousness!

I adapted these from THIS recipe over at Julie's Eats and Treats.



Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

For the cookie:
1 cup butter (room temperature)
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 ounce chocolate candiquick

For the fudge  filling:
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 of a 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon mint extract to taste
food coloring ( Green )

Start by mixing butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy. This will take a few minutes in a mixer. Then, add the eggs one at a time until combined. Add the vanilla. Then add the dry ingredients. Mix until well combined.

Roll dough into one inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Then, press the centers with your thumb (hence the name thumbprint cookie. Haha) or you can use a small round object to create the dip in the cookies.

Once the cookies are pressed, bake them at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Once baked, let them cool briefly on the pan, then transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

For the filing, combine the white chocolate. chips, mint extract, and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan and cook on a medium heat just until the chocolate is just melted. Remove from heat and add food coloring.

Spoon into center of cookies. Then, melt the candiquik chocolate and drizzle over filled cookies.

Once chocolate sets, enjoy!! They are delightful!! What shows are you looking forward to this fall? Let me know in the comments!

Andrew MacMahon

A few years ago my best friend Katie invited me to go to Vegas to see my favorite band, The Fray, play live. I had seen them once before, but they were my favorite band. And, I hadn't taken a vacation in years, so I agreed and we made plans.

Well, The Fray was headlining with Jack's Mannequin who I had heard a time or two but couldn't name any of their songs, let alone who was in the group. I was really lucky, though, because Katie LOVED them and it was a very educational week for me. I heard all of their music and fell in love with so many of their songs. I bought all of their music as well as all of Something Corporate's music because Andrew MacMahon is the genius behind both of them.

Katie also introduced me to Andrew's documentary Dear Jack which is his journey through cancer. It's on Netflix. There is some language, but over all, I think everyone should watch it. It is very raw and real. It is a front row seat of Leukemia. And it is powerful.

So, I became obsessed with everything Jack's Mannequin. I picked up one of their t-shirts at the show in Vegas and I wore it out. I still have the shirt somewhere in my room, but it's sooooo thin now, I can't wear it anymore. But I don't want to get rid of it. I LOVE that shirt. LOVE it. It's so soft and well worn, I just can't part with it. I'll figure out something to do with it, right? Right.
Any way, if you want to check out my introduction to Jack's Mannequin, you can check it out HERE.

One thing I love about Andrew MacMahon is that he LOVES jumping on his piano. He's done it at every show I've been to. It's awesome. And what's more awesome is his incredible talent. Currently he is playing under the name Andrew MacMahon in the Wilderness. He was actually just in my area and I couldn't go the night he was playing her and I nearly died to death. But it was okay....or it will be.

Here is his current top song:

I think the thing I love about this particular video for the song is that it focuses on his family, particularly, his daughter Cecelia for whom he wrote the song. There are three lines that I absolutely adore from the chorus and they are:

For all the things my eyes have seen the best, by far, is you.

For all the places I have been, I'm nowhere without you.

For all the things my hands have held the best, by far, is you.

I have stitched all three of those and framed them for people. Two of them for a dear friend who got married. I couldn't think of a better sentiment than those first two lines quoted above. And the last line I gave to a friend who was having a baby. Because Andrew has phrased them so perfectly. I love his perception on life. I really want to meet him one day. I have the utmost respect for him.

Also, have you heard that new Lindsey Sterling song for Pete's Dragon? Have you wondered who that guy is singing on the track?! It's ANDREW McMAHON!!!! And I love it. GO FIND IT, if you haven't already.

As I've been relistening to his music for this blog post, I am reminded how much his music has affected my life, my writing, my world. We need more artists like him in the world. And, in case you are new to his music, let me give you a list of songs you need to go listen to RIGHT NOW!!

Dark Blue
Swim
Cecelia and the Satellite
The Resolution
MFEO Pt. 1 - Made for Each Other / Pt. 2 - You Can Breathe
High Dive
All Our Lives
Hostage
The Mixed Tape
Amelia Jean
Rescued
Amy, I

And, once you've listened to all of those, you'll need the rest of his music and you'll be a fan. And I'll be happy. Because I know you're all out to make sure I'm happy. Haha.

But seriously, make sure and check out his music HERE and his website HERE.

And so because whenever I'm down I listen to Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequin, and now Andrew MacMahon in the Wilderness, I made double chocolate cookies. They are so so delicious. I LOVE them.


Double Chocolate Cookies
Adapted from Averiecooks.com (she calls them Sofbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies)


1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 ounces (1/4 cup) brick-style cream cheese (get the brick, not the whipped or spreadable kind.)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
12 ounces (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips


Okay, so start by pre heating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. creaming together the cream cheese, butter, sugars, egg and vanilla together for about 4 or 5 minutes. This is important. Don't just mix it a little bit and call it good.

Scrape the bowl and make sure everything is well mixed and then add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix this until just combined. Then mix in the chocolate chips and make sure that everything is mixed in super good so that you can back them!!

Averie differs from my recommendations here, so if you want to try her cookies, you'll need to follow the link above. I tried her way first and didn't like them as much. Once everything is combined, I used my regular cookie scoop, patted them down so they were a little flat on top and just put them on the tray and threw them in the oven. I baked mine for about 10 minutes and then pulled them out, let them cool just a bit and then transferred them to a cooling rack. This method gave me about 24 cookies. And they are delightful. 

Richard Armitage

Guys. I have been looking forward to today for a year. No joke. Last yea
r around this time I finally gave in to peer pressure and watched BBC's North And South. People had been telling me to watch it for about seven years. And I kept finding other things to do and I thought it was based on that Civil War book of the same title. Oh, how wrong I was. It has nothing to do with America and everything to do with the character named John Thornton played by Richard Armitage. I fell IN LOVE with the story and watched it on repeat for, like, a month or something. Crazy/ridiculous/awesome.

And then, after my marathoning of the mini series, I decided to
look up who played Mr. Thornton because he did a really good job and I was curious if I'd seen him in anything else. I was surprised when I discovered that I had in fact seen him in a couple of different things. The Hobbit being one of them. Which is hilarious because I remember watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on New Years Eve with a guy friend and at the end I remember telling him, "You know, that main dwarf was almost attractive. I wonder if I've seen him in anything else." And my guy friend just rolled his eyes and we went about the rest of our day. And I forgot about the almost attractive dwarf. And I didn't watch the rest of the Hobbit movies until last year.

So yeah, Richard Armitage. I read on Pinterest somewhere that he doesn't like being reminded of his age on his birthday, is that a real thing? I have no idea. Sometimes Pinterest lies. But if so, that's funny. Hence why I just put the number 5 on his birthday cake that I will go into later. I also read on Pinterest that he is a huge anti bullying advocate, which I greatly respect. And he's a bit of an introvert which I TOTALLY relate to. He gre
w up in Leicester, which is in northern England and joined the circus in Budapest when he was 17 to get his equity card. He has such a rich, deep voice and sounds amazing when he sings. He also plays the guitar, flute and cello.

I barely missed his birthday last year because I didn't know who he was yet and I was so mad that I missed it that we had a Richard Armitage marathon in September when I discovered who he was. He currently holds the #1 spot on my Top 5. He knocked Tom Hiddleston off last September and has maintained the #1 spot ever since. I would LOVE to work with him at some future date. I think he is a phenomenal actor.
If you don't know this for yourself, I highly recommend watching North and South, BBC's Robin Hood series (even though the costuming is abominable the first three seasons and it's trying so hard to be as great as Merlin, but it's not. Watch it for Richard and nothing else), The Hobbit movies, the second half of the last season of Hannibal. His role is mostly silent in that, and he plays a killer, but if you want to see his acting ability, he is so amazingly good. Also, you should watch him in The Vicar of Dibley. I think that is one of my favorite roles of his. I love the character and he has mentioned that his character, Harry Kennedy, is probably the most like him in real life. Which is wonderful because his character was so awesome on that show. You also need to find a copy of The Crucible from The Old Vic theater in London in 2014. Richard plays John Proctor and Oh. My. Gosh. He is phenomenal. I know I already used that word, but I felt stupid saying that he's really really really really really really good in it. Because he is. Holy cow. He's amazing. Go watch it. Or, if we're friends in real life let me know because I have a copy of it. And I'll gladly watch it again.

Because he is at the very top of my Top 5, I decided to make an AMAZING birthday cake for Richard even though he may not ever see it. Which would be sad. But I'm the one who is going to eat it with some friends during my Richard Armitage marathon, so it had to be good, and I think this is the most amazing cake I've ever made. No joke. It's a triple chocolate cake because I read on Pinterest somewhere that Richard loves chocolate and I'd like to think that if he were actually here to celebrate his birthday he'd enjoy the amazing cake I made. So, here's the recipe!!

The original recipe comes from Recipe Girl's blog HERE.





Triple Chocolate Cake

CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE:
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped
Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 large eggs

CHOCOLATE CAKE:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
2/3 cup + 2 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, divided
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

CHOCOLATE SOUR CREAM FROSTING:
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons light (white or golden) corn syrup

For the cheesecake layer, which you will want to make first, preheat the oven to 325. Melt the chocolate in the microwave and then set aside to cool a little before adding it to the cheesecake batter. While that is cooling down, cream the cream cheese until it's nice and soft. Then add the sugar and the cocoa. I use a rich, fancy cocoa and it actually does make a difference. This cake is amazing and I recommend going all out for it. Buy the expensive 70% cocoa chocolate bar. Buy the fancy cocoa for the cake. It will be the most amazing cake you've ever tried in all your life. I promise.

Any way, once you add the cocoa and sugar, add the eggs one at a time mixing it thoroughly after each addition. Scrape the sides to make sure everything is mixed thoroughly.  Then, slowly pour in the chocolate. Mix until just combined. Pour into a 9 inch springform pan. This batter will be thick, so be aware of that. Then, pop it in the oven for 45 minutes. You can bake it in a water bath, but I have found it still works either way.

Once the cheesecake is done, you want to cool it down before you use it. This can take a couple of hours, so plan accordingly.

While the cheesecake layer is baking, you're going to mix up the cake itself. Start by grease and flouring two 9 inch round pans. This is essential so that you can get the cakes out perfectly. Once the pans are prepared, set them aside. Then, in a stand mixer combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda and wisk them together. Then add the eggs, butter, 1/4 cup of buttermilk, and vanilla. Mix on a low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, then turn the mixer to high for 2-3 minutes to get the batter nice and fluffy. Once the batter is well mixed, slowly add the remaining buttermilk. Scrape the sides of the bowl and then mix for 30 more seconds to ensure all the ingredients are well mixed. Pour into your prepared pans and turn the oven up to 350 degrees after the cheesecake layer is finished baking. Bake these cakes for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then turn them onto a cooling rack to finish cooling outside the pan.

Once you are ready to assemble your cake, you are going to melt the 2 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips and the butter in the microwave melting in 30 second spurts until it is completely melted. Once melted, add the corn syrup and sour cream and stir until well combined. Then, let it sit in the fridge for a few minutes until it is to a consistency that you can spread it on the cake. Frost the cake and then viola! You'r ready to curl up on your amazingly comfortable couch and watch this youtube video of Richard reading you a bedtime story!!

Sam Worthington

Once upon a time I started writing a book. The book was called Changing Tyde. Technically, I'm still writing it. But that's neither here nor there. 

Now, when I write a story, especially one I've been working in as long as Changing  Tyde, I tend to cast the roles as if it were a movie because I see all of my stories as movies in my head. The main character in Changing Tyde is a very attractive actor named Jason Tyde (hence the title.... See what I did there?) so, I had thought about a number of actors that I thought would do a good job, but no one was really sticking out to me until I watched Terminator Salvation. Odd, I know, and I was most of the way through the movie when there was this scene and Sam Worthington's character is looking directly at the camera and I paused the movie and walked up to my TV and just thought 'Oh my gosh. There's Jason Tyde. Right there. He's him.' no joke, that'd what happened. So, of course I had to go look him up. And then watch everything he's ever been in. because that's how  I roll. 

So. Sam Worthington. He is 5'10" born in the UK, but raised in Australia. He has dark hair and blue eyes, which I am a total sucker for. I see a guy with dark and blue eyes and almost swoon every time. I wish that was a joke, but it's not. 

He was the first actor to claim the #1 spot on my top 5. What is my tip 5, you ask? Well, its basically just my top 5 favorite actors. Over the years I added some rules to it that I can't explain. Like, no one in my top 5 can be married because I think that's disrespectful. I don't know why. So, Sam held the #1 spot for years until I found out who Zachary Levi was. No joke. Of he's not married, because I honestly don't know, but if he's not, he's got the #4 spot.

I think he will always be who I think of when I am writing Changing Tyde. He has also appeared in a lot of action movies such as Clash of the Titans, Wrath of the Titans, Avatar, Man on a Ledge, and of course, Terminator Salvation. I feel like he's rather under rated, but I love his movies. 

He's very good at beating people up and being awesome and I highly recommend giving some of those movies a watch. Because I know most of you haven't seen them all. You could even play a drinking game with Man on a Ledge. Everyone takes a shot whenever they say "man on a ledge". Haha. I don't drink alcohol, so I'd have to come up with something else, but you get the point. 

You can check out his IMDB credits here. 

He's got some new stuff coming out that I will definitely be seeing. And not just because he's in it... Probably... 

And so, on to our delicious dessert for Sam's fantastic birthday. He's 40 today, btw. In case you were curious. But yeah, so I made these AMAZING Brownie Chocolate Chip Thumbprint cookies. I found the recipe on Chelsea's Messy Apron blog. And I'm definitely going to suggest you go check out the recipe HERE because she's AMAZING and has a very fun post about them. And I know that it's awful to just post these pictures and not just put the recipe below like I always do, but seriously, peeps. Just go the Chelsea's blog. You'll thank me.