Yesterday, you were challenged to take a wild guess as to what this week’s mystery photo might be. One of the things I love about doing these Mystery Photos is the wild and crazy guesses you come up with. Here are a few of my favorites…

• macaroons
• Pop Rocks
• sweet potatoes
• Play-Doh
• Squand (aka the Magic Sand of the 1990′s)

You never cease to amuse me with your guesses. My number one favorite guess this week? “Chicken crumbs”, submitted by Mizhelle of Life Can’t Wait.

Chicken crumbs? Guess again.

This week’s Mystery Photo is actually melted white chocolate (with red food coloring) that proceeded to separate and harden within a few short minutes. I made a batch with food coloring and without, but it made no difference. The melted chocolate hardened every.single.time.

And it ruined the cake balls I attempted to make during a recent I-want-to-be-just-like-Bakerella fit. Truth be told, my cake balls looked like crap. And if you ask me, it’s Bakerella’s fault.

(FYI: No one took a bite out of this cake ball. It was just that craptastic.)

And the winners are…

Though no one guessed “melted chocolate”, I’m going to award the crappy t-shirt badge to those of you who guessed “cake balls” instead. Congratulations to Nancy, Amy, PippaD,  HANAN, Sarah, Pamela and Joanne.

You came.

You guessed.

You got it right. Sort of.

And now you’ve got a crappy souvenir t-shirt to prove it.

You can thank me later.

*You’ve got to head on over and read all about my crappy cake balls. Did I mention it’s Bakerella’s fault?

Hi, I’m Kristi. I’m a wife, mother, blogger and wanna-be photographer. Oh, and my cake balls look like crap.

What Are Cake Balls Anyway?

When cake crumbs and icing are married as one, rolled into balls and coated in chocolate – POOF! – pretty little cake balls are born. (And I kid you not, a fairy gets its wings.) Cake balls are pure confectionery bliss – beautiful and delicious at the same time. Oh, and according to Bakerella, they’re super easy to make.

Nobody Does Cake Balls Like Bakerella

Nobody.

Bakerella is a cake ball genius and baking diva extraordinaire. She lives in confection heaven, poops rainbows and sprinkles and has turned the traditional cake ball into little works of art that are almost too pretty to eat.

She also makes cake balls look so damn easy to make – which is the only reason why I even bothered to try my hand at making them in the first place.

It’s Bakerella’s Fault That My Cake Balls Look Like Crap

I’ve got to blame someone and it might as well be her.

There’s nothing more soul-crushing than pouring your heart into those delectable little treats only to fail miserably in the end. The mixing and rolling. The melting and dipping. The electric current of creative juices surging forth and oozing into those beautiful little confectionery masterpieces.

The blood. The sweat. The tears. The…The…

The cake balls that end up looking like crap because you actually allowed yourself to think for a tiny second that you too could be Bakerella. You – and by you I mean I – thought wrong.

Save yourself the pain of cake ball crappiness: Come down from the clouds, get rid of your pipe-dream and come on back to reality.

Your cake balls will suck, just like mine did.

You’re not the Cake Boss. You’re definitely not Martha Stewart. And there’s no way in hell you’ll ever be Bakerella.

My cake balls look like crap and yours will too.

The end.

Note-worthy: The melted white chocolate that proceeded to separate and harden just a few minutes into cake ball dipping may or may not have been a contributing factor to the crappy outcome of my cake balls. However, I like to think that it’s really Bakerella’s fault.

Also worth noting: I’m pretty sure that Bakerella poops like the rest of us cake ball-challenged folks. You know, in case you were wondering.

You’re welcome.

It’s Mystery Photo Time…

After a little bit of a hiatus, Mystery Photo is back! Go on and take a wild guess in the comments section of this post and be sure to come back on Thursday when the mystery is revealed. If you’re new here, you’ll be excited to know that there’s even a crappy t-shirt badge up for grabs!

Good luck…

Thanks for stopping by and linking up here at Live and Love Out Loud. Don’t forget to stop by the following blogs and link up with them as well.

Two ways to link up! Use this super fun thumbnail linky…

Or, the traditional text linky….

Christmas is a serious time of year and I run a really tight ship around here. No laughing. No excitement. And above all else…

No smiling on Christmas.

Christmas in the Live and Love Out Loud household went off without a hitch. It’s a serious time of year around these parts, but I had it all under control.

No curious little fingers ripping ornaments within reach down from the Christmas tree. No advent calendars. No high-pitched, ear splitting shrieks announcing the number of days left until Christmas. And no gift requests.

Just cookies and fruitcake baking in the oven, adult contemporary music playing in the background, a serious family photo shoot in front of our half-naked beautiful Christmas tree and a few simple rules to keeping Christmas a serious affair…

No happy little children and no stuffed animals. I can’t stand either of them.

No goofing around. I don’t tolerate that kind of crap.

No big cheesy grins. I’ll wipe that smirk off your face.

No freaking out over awesome gifts. Scream, and I’ll take it back to the store for a refund.

And no swimming in a sea of wrapping paper. Or I’ll kick you out of the house.

And absolutely, positively no smiling on Christmas.

Wishing you joy, peace, love and happiness today and always. From my family to yours…

Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas)

*Or happy whatever-you-choose-to-celebrate-around-this-time-of-year.