Sebastian Stan

Okay, I'ma be straight with you guys. I didn't actually know who Sebastian Stan was before I saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I was sad when he died in the first one, but mostly because then Cap was sad and Captain America is my favorite Marvel superhero. That's also why I started with Chris Evans' birthday back in June. Because he's my favorite.

So, after I watched Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I thought that maybe I should look up The Winter Soldier because he was sad. Because he didn't actually want to be the bad guy. And then I realized that I HAD seen him before. He's the Mad Hatter.

Have I mentioned yet that I kind of LOVE Once Upon A Time? Like, I have seen every season at least three times. Including the season that just ended in May.
I'm a total #captainswan shipper. That's the nerdiest thing I've ever written on a blog before.  Do I have a problem? Maybe. Do I want to fix it? No. I digress, SO, Sebastian Stan shows up a few times in the first two season of Once Upon A Time and does a magnificent job as the Mad Hatter. A completely different style of Hatter than Johnny Depp's, but brilliant none the less.

He was also on Gossip Girls for about 11 episodes. He was also on The Martian, which was a really good movie! He was in The Covenant, which I haven't seen but have heard a lot about.

So, I've actually met Sebastian Stan. See how long my hair was? Sometimes I really miss having long hair. It was so pretty. sigh.
I met him at Salt Lake Comic Con, and so far I've only met him and Chris Evans of the people I've featured on here.
And they both signed this poster. And Sebastian spelled my name wrong. How do you spell a name as crazy as mine wrong? You forget one of the Es. *shakes fist at the sky* but he was really really nice, so I'll forgive him. More so than Manu Bennett who signed the cover of my Arrow graphic novel and now it's coming off. grrr.

Sorry. Let's get back to the point. Sebastian Stan. He's been on so so many things. Check out his IMDb profile HERE. He's a really nice person in real life. I didn't know I was starting this blog when I met him or I would have asked what his favorite dessert is, so since I don't actually know, I made Margarita Cupcakes. Yes, I know what you're thinking, and I assure you they are as delicious as they sound.

Also, I haven't mentioned this before, because there was no reason to, but these cupcakes have no alcohol in them as I don't drink alcohol, so if you're thinking that maybe I've just become a drinker, I haven't. It's cool. Just try them out.




Margarita Cupcakes
This recipe comes from Brown Eyed Baker and can be found HERE (her recipe does include tequila). I made a couple of changes for the cupcakes I made and have included them below:

For the Cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
5 Tbs. lime juice
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk


For the Lime Frosting:
½ cup butter, at room temperature
¼ cup shortening
3 ½ cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
Pinch of coarse salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pull out your liners and line a regular 12 count muffin tin. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar together until pale, light, and fluffy. This takes about 5 minutes. It IS worth it. Completely worth it, trust me. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at at time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the lime juice, and vanilla. Mix until combined. It will look curdled at this point, which is totally normal. Don't even worry about it.

Reduce the mixer speed low. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Mix only until incorporated. Divide the batter between the muffin cups. The original recipe says it makes 12 cupcakes, but I got 12 cupcakes and then 12 mini cupcakes. Bake for 25 minutes or until just slightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs. Be sure and rotate the pan half way through.


For the frosting, I combined the shortening and butter and whipped them on medium high speed in my stand mixer with the paddle attachment until they were well combined. Then I added the salt, vanilla, and lime juice and mixed until combined.
I add powdered sugar last so that I can stop when I get the right consistency. I add it slowly and then mix until well combined so that I don't get too stiff of frosting. When you do hit the consistency you're looking for (I need a frosting that will hold it's shape, but not be too stiff), stop mixing and frost those cupcakes!!

JK Rowling

Today is a double whamy. Sort of. Because I don't normally celebrate fictional character's birthdays, but it's Harry Freaking Potter. AND, it's JK Rowling's birthday. And she created Harry Potter, so I feel like celebrating both of them today is important.

Also, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play came out at midnight....I might have gotten it at midnight...and I might have finished it.....but in my defense, it was a play. And, in general, a play should take as long to read as it would to watch. Did you guys know that? I learned that in my first screenwriting class where we wrote a bunch of plays. And for that reason I actually really enjoyed reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Also, it was a lot of fun to enjoy one last adventure with Harry. 

Cupcakes I made for a class
project a few years back.

I grew up with him. I related to him along the way. That is, until there started to be years and years in between releases and then I was 23 and Harry was 17 and I had to wait a year after it's release to read it. That was a little bit difficult. BUT, I still loved it. I still love all the books. I love them so much that when the actors from the movies come to Salt Lake Comic Con, I go. And I have them sign Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (my favorite book). 

I kind of offended Lucious Malfoy (Jason Isaacs) when I met him and it was hilarious. That was not Harry Potter related. But it was still funny. I told him Colin O'Donoghue was my favorite Capt. Hook. And he responded with "Why would you ever tell someone that?!" and then we both laughed. It was funny. 

Any way, back to the subject at hand. JK Rowling. She inspired me to reach for my dreams and become a writer. She showed me that I can create a new world on a page and share that new world with everyone. She reminded me that it's okay to dream. And for that, I will always be grateful. 

In honor of her birthday, and Harry Potter's, I read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I also read part of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Because it's still my favorite. And I'm going to fall asleep watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, because it's awesome. 

And I'm going to eat these delicious Lime Tartlets!! 

Lime Tartlets

Crust:

1/2 cup butter or margarine softened

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups flour

Filling:

2 eggs

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tbs. butter melted and then cooled

3 Tbs. Lime Juice

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a couple of mini muffin tins (makes 24, so plan accordingly) with non stick cooking spray. For the crust, combine butter and sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Then add egg and flour and mix until a soft dough forms. Divide into 24 pieces and drop into the sprayed mini muffin tins. I use a tart press to press the dough into a tart shell. You can also use the lid of a 2-liter of soda. Once that is done, gently wisk the eggs and then add sugar, butter and lime juice. Then, pour into the tart shells. Bake for 20-22 minutes. After they bake, Let them set for about 5 minutes and then move them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cooled, store them in an air tight container in the fridge. When you're ready to serve, I usually sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top of them to finish them off. They taste delicious! Enjoy!!