Small Potatoes

1.  It's my dad's birthday again.  And that can mean only one thing:  Red velvet, baby.

2.  I've had about seventy pounds worth of jigsaw puzzles in the trunk of my car since December 31st.  This is because when we tried to donate them to Goodwill before the end of the year, they told us they wouldn't accept games or puzzles.  I want to donate them to somewhere else, but first I want one last hurrah with each puzzle.  This, of course, led to an idea for a blog series of recipes inspired by said puzzles.  So, get ready to see more pictures like these in the coming weeks:

3.  I always start a puzzle by dumping out all the pieces and separating out the edge pieces, then putting the puzzle border together first.  I don't think I've ever gotten every edge piece on the first try.  There is always at least one sad little place where the border doesn't meet, and inevitably I find it much later, when most of the puzzle is complete and no one really cares about the border anymore.  Poor Border.

4.  I almost had to kill Dolce today.  This is why:

5.  You don't mess with your Grandpaw's birthday red velvet cake, Dolce.

6.  Yes, I meant to write "Grandpaw"; my babies are felines, after all.

7.  I made chocolate cupcakes for a coworker's birthday tomorrow.  She requested vanilla icing.  So I made vanilla buttercream from a recipe I found at America's Test Kitchen.  This required some Kitchen Kemistry:

8.  Is buttercream supposed to lose its shape and get goopy when it comes to room temperature?  Because this one does.  I think I made it wrong.  I hope Christopher Kimball doesn't break down my door demanding that I try again.

9.  I have big news.  But I can't share it yet.  And no, it's not that.  I am purrfectly happy with my current brood.

10.  And yes, I meant to write "purrfectly".

Eat well.