Super Bowl Cupcakes: Saints

Yesterday I showed you some Colts cupcake ideas.

Today it’s the Saints turn, and I’ve got to make like Paula Adul and tell you Straight Up that Saints cupcakes were way harder to make than Colts cupcakes. Mostly because the Saints’ logo is a fleur-de-lis. Which is for realz harder to make than even a cardinal.

Darn you, fleur-de-lis!

Anyway, here’s what I came up with to make life a little easier:

This was the best compromise I could think of. It’s just a white cupcake with dark fudge frosting, topped with a Werther’s Original candy. Because it meets the black and gold color scheme in a simple, easy-to-make way. You will notice that I tried to draw fleur-de-lis-es on top of the candy wrappers, but they look more like (from left to right) a blotchy disease and a bird. (Note to self: Next time you need to draw a bird, aim for fleur-de-lis.)

So next I tried to actually incorporate Saints things.

The “Who Dat” is a pretty easy way to manage a Saints cupcake. You’ll see that I attempted to fancy up the one on the right. Yes, it’s supposed to be a fleur-de-lis. Close, right? (Also, use an exclamation point, not a question mark. My bad.)

And finally, a little more easy lettering, and one more shot at being artistic.

FifG Game of the Week: New Orleans Saints vs. New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints [10-0] vs. New England Patriotst [7-3] (Monday 8:30 p.m., ESPN)

Why it’s good football: This is easily the game of the week. A potential Super Bowl match-up. Two high-scoring offenses. Great coaching. Top QBs in Drew Brees (NO) and Tom Brady (NE). It’s going to be a shoot out, and it’s going to be fun!

Why you might care: I know you have an opinion on Tom Brady. So if you are all about the hot dude who’s expecting a baby with his supermodel wife, this is your chance to cheer on the Pats. And if you think Brady is an overrated pansy, or have issues with the fact that he dumped his pregnant girlfriend and then started dating a supermodel, who claimed to mother his ex-girlfriend’s baby, well, then it’s your big chance to root against the Pats.

Love? Hate?

Football is just like Pop Culture!

If this game is Tough Love on VH1, then the Patriots are Taylor, who had success in previous seasons and was down at first this season but is making a big comeback and is a real contender for winning the heart of a man at the end of the season. (Which would be the Super Bowl in this semi-metaphor.)

Of course, that’s if she can get past Rocky, the fierce “rocker” with a heart of gold. Or maybe silicon. And probably it’s not her heart, actually. So Rocky would be the Saints. Playing hard. Rocking out. Ready to face off with Taylor in her quest to find a good man.

Um, ok, so once again this connection totally sucks, BUT who else loves Tough Love? Best. Show. On. Television. Seriously, what is it about this show that sucks me in every time? Who is everyone’s favorite? I think I like the reeeeeeally old and washed up bartender (who’s 31). Or maybe the stripper who doesn’t pay attention to her dates.

I really don’t like the fat-girl-gone-thin. It’s like, boo hoo, I have no self-esteem. Boo hoo, keep telling me how beautiful I am so I can feel better about myself. Need-y. (Ok, that’s mean, but I firmly believe that low self-image is best kept to oneself and sometimes close friends and family, but NOT the viewing public. Because then it comes across as fishing.)

And, also, has anyone else noticed that the adorable blonde Southern belles always ends up in a serious relationship within 2 days of arriving at the house? How does that happen? I mean, do they really need this show? I think  not.

Steve is all about Tough Love. And sculpted eyebrows.

Oh, and what does everyone think about the host being all like, hey, don’t hurt guys’ feelings because they won’t like you anymore. But don’t give them a hard time if they hurt yours, because it happens. 

Ok, that is all.

Boyfriend/Husband/Dad/Other will be so impressed!

Conversation Starters:

-Who do you like for MVP this year? Drew Brees? (Brees has a 105.8 QB rating in 2009, 22 touchdowns, and only 9 interceptions.)
-What was up with that 4th down play Belichick called against the Colts 2 weeks ago? Is he getting senile, or is the defense really that untrustworthy?

Fun Facts:

-The Saints are now 10-0, and only 6 games away from a perfect 16-0 season. The only team to ever accomplish that feat? The New England Patriots, of course. (The 2007 Patriots won all but 1 game that season/post-season: the Super Bowl. Oops.)
-This week’s NE Cute Football Player of the Week, Wes Welker, had a career game against the Jets last week, catching 15 passes for 192 yards. Opposing defenses have to find ways to cover both Welker and Randy Moss.

Player Pronunciation:

Junior Seau (NE): joon-yer say-ow
Jabari Greer (NO): juh-bah-ree greer

Cute football player(s) of the week:

Wes Welker, New England Patriots

 

Ha.

Darren Sharper, New Orleans Saints

 

With Melanie Fiona. Whoever that is.

FifG Game of the Week: New Orleans vs. Atlanta

New Orleans Saints [6-0] vs. Atlanta Falcons [4-2] (Monday 8:00 p.m., ESPN)

Why it’s good football:

The undefeated Saints are blazing their way through the season. They’ve had a power offense for years, but the defense is finally catching up. As for the Falcons, they had a breakthrough year last year with a rookie QB and rookie coach, and many thought they would take the NFC South this year. This could be their big chance to stake a claim against the Saints, if they are good enough…

Why you might care:

Well, if you don’t live in the South, you might not. But this is the first shot the post-Katrina Saints might have to win one for the city of New Orleans, so maybe you want to get on board with that. If not, well, this could be a high scoring game, and those are fun.

Football is just like Pop Culture!

Honestly, I am suffering from post-Europe trip jet lag. Meaning my brain is unable to come up with anything clever. Anything at all. Which is why I will just remind you that the Saints’ Reggie Bush is something of a pop-culture fixture. Like, seriously, this is news?

So long as things are "awesome" with Kim K, Reggie will be in pop news. Which, based on the above, is ok.

Boyfriend/Husband/Dad/Other will be so impressed!

Conversation Starters:

-Why do you think Michael Turner is slumping this year? Too many touches last season?

- What effect do you think it will have that New Orleans fullback Heath Evans was placed on injured reserve this week? (Heath had 10 catches for 70 yards this year and 3 touchdowns.)

Fun Facts:

-The Saints’ defense has forced 18 turnovers and scored six touchdowns so far this season. Of those touchdowns, new Saint Darren Sharper has scored 3.

Player Pronunciation:

Marques Colston (NO): mahr-kuhs cohl-stuhn

Ovie Mughelli (ATL): oh-vee muh-hay-lee

Cute football player(s) of the week:

Lance Moore, Wide Receiver, New Orleans

FifG Game of the Week: Bucs vs. Patriots

Tampa Bay Bucs [0-6] vs. New England Patriots [4-2] (Sunday 1:00 p.m., CBS)

Ok, so it’s not really the Game of the Week. In fact, it will likely be a terrible game. But! The game is in London! And FifG is heading to Paris tonight! So it’s proximity to me qualifies it for the honor.

Want to learn more about the awfulness that will be going down in this game? Read my Chicks in the Huddle post here.

Want a souvenir from Europe? Tell me in the comments section. (None of my friends want souvenirs, which I get since souvenirs tend to be kind of lame, but I am so happy to be traveling to a souvenir-friendly place that I will probably end up forcing some Eiffel Tower figurine or bronzed Belgian waffle on all of them. Be forewarned, friends.)

FifG Game of the Week: Atlanta Falcons vs. San Francisco 49ers

Atlanta Falcons [2-1] vs. San Francisco 49ers [3-1] (Sunday 4:05 p.m., FOX)

Why it’s good football:

Well, mostly because there are a lot of really, really bad games this weekend. It’s a little early to tell how well the Falcons will play the year after a surprisingly good season for rookie QB Matt Ryan and rookie coach Mike Smith, but playing a game against the maybe-surprisingly-good 49ers will put the NFC into better perspective.

Why you might care:

You loved The Super Bowl Shuffle. Mike Singletary is the coach! Fun!
(See 1:23)

Football is just like Pop Culture!

Anyone watch the new 90210? I never watched the original, but somehow the idea of Beverly Hills 90210 made me nostalgic enough that I decided to watch the new series. Which is odd, if you think about it, but that’s neither here nor there.

Anyhoo, I watched every episode of 90210 last year, even though I thought the show was dull as dishwater. Like, nothing happened, the characters were all annoying and whiny and not even hot enough to want to watch based on looks alone. But so propelled by the memory of knowing that the original show aired when I was younger, I continued watching.

Apparently the execs at CW understood that the show was bad, too, so mid-season they hired a new executive producer Rebecca Kirshner (Gilmore Girls, Buffy the Vampire Slayer). With the new producer at the helm the show got rapidly weirder (Silver is a manic depressive who secretly films a sex tape with her boyfriend and shows it to the entire school?), hotter (Liam!), and if not much more enjoyable at least more compelling.

FifG is pro-Team Liam and Team Dylan.

But then this year? This year the show is good! Not, like, Friday Night Lights good or Lost Season 1 good, but like trashy, soapy good. Which I value highly. I actually look forward to seeing Annie mope and stew over killing a homeless man. And Adrianna’s love triangle pitting adorable Persian school-journalist Navid against the 30-year-old-not-so-convincingly-playing-15 Ken Doll lookalike. I even like bitchy Naomi this year, despite the fact that she might not be the most gifted actress ever.

Last year, the 49ers hired Mike Singletary 7 games into the season. The team had been floundering in past years, but last year they started improving under the wacky coach. (Who, it should be mentioned, dropped his pants at one team meeting to show that they were all in it together or something. Not all in his pants together, but in the team.) And this year, well the team is playing pretty good football. Last week against the Rams, the 49er defense alone scored 3 touchdowns. Running back Frank Gore has rushed for an average of more than 6 yards per carry (though he’s injured now), and 4th year tight end Vernon Davis has 3 touchdowns already and seems to be fulfilling his early promise.

Boyfriend/Husband/Dad/Other will be so impressed!

Conversation Starters:

-Do you think rookie DE Peria Jerry’s injury will be the downfall of Atlanta’s d-line?

-When do you think Michael Crabtree will start playing? What kind of impact do you think he will have on the 49ers offense this year?

-Do you think Atlanta running back Michael Turner is worn out this year after his 376 carries last year?

Fun Facts:

-Speaking of Michael Crabtree, this rookie just signed his contract this week, because his advisors told him to hold out for top-5 draft pick money, despite the fact that he was picked 10th. Not what you might call a “savvy business move.”

- The Falcons averaged 152.7 running yards per game last year and only 92.3 so far this season.

Player Pronunciation:

Jonathan Babineaux (ATL): jon-uh-thuhn ba-bih-noh

Dre’ Bly (SF): dray blie

Cute football player(s) of the week:

Zak Keasey, Fullback, San Francisco 49ers

John Abraham, DE, Falcons

With former Cute Football Player of the Week, Matt Ryan

FifG Cute Football Player of the Week: Kellen Winslow

Ok, I have been an FifG slacker. But, we finally have a new cute football player of the week.

Congratulations, Kellen Winslow, new Tampa Bay Buccaneer.

Yay Winslow? Winslow is being paid big money to be the new Buc tight-end/maybe 3rd wide receiver, so hopefully he will put his past issues in the past. Past issues which include:

-ranting about being a murderous soldier on the football field while at the U of Miami, which was not met too favorably by those in the actual armed forces

-sitting out his entire second season after getting into a motorcyle accident (motorcycles are no-nos for football players) and after missing all but 2 games of his first season due to injury

-telling the press he was better than 90% of tight ends in 2006 after not doing soooo much in previous seasons (See above.)

This doesn’t even cover the mystery illness (turns out: testicular staph infection–ouch).

Kellen works with Tampa youth. That's a good thing!

Yay Winslows! My dad’s friend lived in the Tampa house that Winslow and his wife now inhabit, and apparently Kellen’s wife is way smart and has her act together (and Kellen’s, too). So that should help him become the more reliable player and teammate that he wants to be.

Aww

Ah well. In conclusion, I’m nervous, but Winslow is still very cute. So that makes him a winner. Of the Cute Football Player of the Week.

Which is your favorite Kellen? Dressy Kellen...

...or Shirtless Kellen?

Weekly Wrap-Up

Today was the first snow of the year. I love the first snow. I tend to hate every snow thereafter, but the first is wonderful. Especially when you remember to wear your boots in the morning, which I did.

That is the good news.

The bad news is the Bucs lost this weekend. Again. Miserably. I won’t go into it too much, but rest assured my hope is floating for next year already. Granted, the Bucs will make the playoffs if they win their last two games, but I just don’t see that happening. Clearly my hope is sunk for this season. I’m either a pessimist or a realist. I’ll let you know in a couple of weeks.

Here’s what else happened in football:

• The Cowboys won the Game of the Week. Surprising! Especially considering all of the in-fighting that went on before the game started. The announcers kept saying that winning will solve any problem, but I’m just not so sure those guys can pull it together with all of the ego fragility going on in Dallas. But who knows? Never say never.
• As for the Giants, two losses in a row at the end of the season is not a great sign for their Super Bowl aspirations. Is the loss of Plaxico going to keep them from a second trip to the Super Bowl? The game this Sunday night against the Carolina Panther will be huge. The Panthers are hitting their stride at just the right time, and if they beat the Giants they just might end up the NFC’s number one team in the playoffs. Game of the Week? Potentially, but maybe it’s too repetitive. Are there any Giants left whose name need pronunciation keys? I doubt it. Then again, everyone loves the NFC East.
• Tennessee has been losing, too. Bad timing, folks. You’re supposed to start winning at the end of the season. Remember?
• The Redskins’ coach is having self-esteem issues. Maybe he needs a hug. (Though perhaps fans in the DC area would disagree.)
• Despite the loss of his father earlier in the week, Matt Cassel led his team to a win. To put it mildly. Very cool for him.

And this has nothing to do with football:

• My friend and I got coffee this evening, and the (sorta kooky) lady sitting next to us asked if one or both of us was in love because, she claimed, it sounded like we were. (I blame my obnoxiously loud laugh for that.) She told us she was about to ask us what kind of shoes “he” likes to wear, because she was so sure there was a special “he” to ask about. Then she told us a story about how when she was in college she was in love, or her friend was in love, or maybe it was a friend of a friend, and she and her friends went to the lover boy’s dorm and saw his shoes outside his dorm room, and they immediately left. Because they didn’t like the shoes, I think. Or maybe because they liked the shoes too much? I couldn’t really follow. But I do know that she said you can tell a person’s quality by the amount of wear and tear on the shoes and whether they walk on their heels or the sides of their feet. I didn’t think to ask her which one is better. Shoot. Maybe the ideal man is flat-footed?

Also, it snowed today!

 

It took me like 7 tries to take this picture without the lightpost snowflake lights blurring.

This one is artistic. You can see the snowflakes in the light! Sorta.

 

Ok, so there's not that much snow yet.

Weekly Update

Well, this week didn’t go exactly as hoped for me, and it didn’t go as hoped for a few others. So, with a heavy heart, I bring you this weeks updates:

• The Bucs lost. But they didn’t just lose, they lost badly. But they didn’t just lose badly, they lost badly on national television. Oh, those Buccies. The thing about this team I love is that they tend to be under the radar (early Felicity-style), but whenever they have a chance to bring their sometimes-awesome selves over the radar, well, it doesn’t really happen. Frustrating! As such, I’ve decided the Bucs need a new mascot.

(For those of you non-Michigan J. Frog people, he unleashes his song only for a few people, who then seem crazy because no one will believe a frog can sing.)

• Guess who else lost? The Dallas Cowboys. Apparently they were supposed to be the team to beat heading into the wild card playoff race. Hmm. Now, the man at the bar last night who felt free to laugh at me every time the Carolina Panthers ran through the Bucs defense and every time Steve Smith made a fancy catch is a Dallas fan, and so I don’t feel bad saying that I am happy the Cowboys faltered. I’m not happy that Marion Barber is hurt, because I don’t wish anyone ill health, but still, it feels karmically good that they lost. And to the guy at the bar: You are the pot to my kettle.
• The Giants lost this weekend in the aftermath of the Plaxico Burress self-shooting, but I’m guessing the loss didn’t have too much to do with that mess of a situation and that they’ll be ready to go next week.
• I made sweet-potato cupcakes with goat cheese frosting for my friend Kristy’s birthday last week, and it went very badly. Don’t make goat cheese frosting. Or else, use the correct amount of butter when you make it. Also, if you forget to use the right amount of butter in the cake itself, it becomes dense. So what I actually ended up making were sweet potato cupfins (cupcake/muffin). However, the sweet potato butter, which I made from scratch, was delish. That is the single victory. Care to make the cupfins yourself? You will likely do a better job. (And a happy birthday to Kristy.)

FifG Game of the Week: Tampa Bay Bucs vs. Carolina Panthers

Tampa Bay Bucs [9-3] vs. Carolina Panthers [9-3] (Monday 9:00 p.m., ESPN)

Why it’s good football:The playoffs are nigh, and the NFC South is still up for grabs. Who cares about the NFC South, you ask? The NFC East is way more interesting and exciting, you say? Well, the Giants basically have the number one seed in the NFC covered, and there’s really no way the Cowboys or Redskins or (ahem) Eagles are going to be able to take that away. The NFC South? There are still three teams with a legitimate shot of winning the division. Three good teams. Who could be the second seed in the playoffs. And currently the Bucs and Panthers are the teams on top, with tied records, and a season-so-far record of Bucs 1, Panthers 0.

Why you might care:

Because you are so devoted to this blog and this blogger’s happiness, which will be helped entirely much by a Bucs’ win this Monday.

Also, you will really impress football types if you tell people you prefer a defense-heavy game. Because most people prefer to watch lots of touchdowns scored. By the offense. You may not see that much this game.

Football is just like Pop Culture!

Remember when Felicity followed Ben to New York to attend the University of New York, even though she was on course to attend Stanford as a pre-med? Me too. Man, I loved that show.

Annnyway, here was this girl who was clearly the prettiest nerd ever in the history of the world, but despite the fact that she was probably cuter than the rest of the girls in her class, she was virtually ignored by everyone. And it was kind of believable that she would be ignored, honestly, because college frosh Felicity wore all those enormous sweaters and those corduroy pants that were five sizes too big, and she put her awesome curly hair up in a pony tail, and she stayed home and studied, and she was oddly intense and kind of socially stupid, honestly. Of course, the people who lived in her dorm knew that Felicity was awesome, and R.A. Noel fell in love with her almost off the bat because he saw beyond those woolen sweaters–in a figurative sense, but also that one time when he accidentally walked in on her in her night shirt.

But then, as Felicity became more independent and started embracing New York life, she began dressing nicer and leaving her hair down and wearing tank tops. And then the hot artist came out of the woodwork, and then Ben started pursuing her, and then basically every male character in the show decided that he had to have Felicity. Which at first was like, wait, what?! Like it would ever happen in real life that every guy would want her all of a sudden! And then you start to think about how, oh yeah, she’s beautiful and smart and an artist, apparently, and not socially anxious anymore, and then it’s completely realistic and you have to just say, you know, good for Felicity for coming into her own.

So this is the Bucs’ and the Panthers’ chance to show that even though the national press has been ignoring them in favor of the glossier, more touchdown-scoring NFC East lo these many months, they really are hot enough for everyone to want to sleep with them. Or, um… Well, one of the teams should be up for some more good press as of Tuesday morning.

This Felicity was less popular...

...than this one.

Boyfriend/Husband/Dad/Other will be so impressed!

Conversation Starters:

-Who do you think is more likely to have three teams in the playoffs: the NFC East of the NFC South?

-I thought Jonathan Stewart would be Carolina’s main running back this year, but DeAngelo Williams has had quite a year, no?

(For the record, I have Jonathan Stewart on my fantasy team. Not that I’m bitter.)

Fast Fact:

-Carolina’s Julius Peppers was named November’s NFC Defensive Player of the Month and has had 11 sacks already this year, after managing only 2.5 sacks last season.

-Tampa’s Clifton Smith was named the NFC’s Special Teams Player of the Month for November for his 11 punt returns for 199 yards and one touchdown and 16 kickoff returns for 498 yards and one touchdown. It took the Bucs more than 30 years to get a single kickoff return for a touchdown, and Smith registered the second this year.

Player Pronunciation:

Barrett Ruud (TAM): bair-uht rōōd
Jake Delhomme (CAR): jayk del-awm

Cute football players of the week:

Barrett Ruud, Tampa Bay, Inside Linebacker (Vote for him for the Pro Bowl at nfl.com!)

Barrett deserves solo honors this week.

Weekly Wrap-Up

I hope everyone had a great holiday and spent lots of time with family and ate lots of food and watched as much of the putrid football games as you could bear!

I was supposed to be traveling during the games yesterday, but as this was not the best weekend for travel,  it turned out I got to see lots of football. In honor of the Bucs’ win being the one highlight of my nightmare day of travel, I’m dedicating this update to them.

• The Bucs won! Yay! That means we are second in the NFC to the Super Bowl champions and sitting (precariously) at the top of the ultra-competitive NFC South. A quick hooray before…
• … the worrying begins for this Monday’s game versus the Carolina Panthers. Though the Bucs and Panthers are both at 9-3, the Bucs beat the Panthers handily first time around so they’re currently at the top of the division. But this could be the defining game of the season for both teams. I wonder if I should get my lucky t-shirt lined with gold or something…
• Also, when I moved to my apt 2.5 years ago I signed up for the starter cable package, which includes tons of channels, just not a few of the most popular ones. Like I don’t get Bravo (I watched Housewives of Atlanta on Lifetime), and I don’t get ESPN. That’s right, no ESPN. Which means no live Monday Night Football for me. But I have to watch next week, of course. So I guess I’ll be heading to my regular Brooklyn sports bar, but I’m not sure anyone else will be there. Does anyone know of a good Monday Night Football bar in NYC? Preferably close to Brooklyn? And with lots of Bucs fans? And delicious food? And bathrooms that sparkle with cleanliness? Ha.
• Stupid Lane Kiffin (recently axed Oakland Raiders coach) is going to be the head coach of the University of Tennessee Volunteers. And he’s allegedly taking his dad, Bucs’ defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, with him. Monte Kiffin is like the Zeus the gods of Tampa football. (Or whatever. I’m tired. Go with it.) And, sure, it’s nice for him to work with his son, and yes, he’s been with Tampa for about 12 years already. But I don’t want him to leave. So I’ll blame it on the Lane, yeah yeah.
• Does anyone else think The Hills has become excruciatingly boring lately? And, let’s talk my least favorite Gossip Girl couple ever for a moment: Is Nate really that shocked about Jenny’s behavior when she was acting totally immature and bitchy when they “fell in love”? I mean, come now, people, we all know no one would watch that show without Chuck and Blair.
• Did you know that Blair is a natural blond? Weird, right? Look:

Blond Blair. Blah.