Eggnog Pound Cake with Crystal Rum Glaze

It is New Year's Eve morning and I spending it putting away the Christmas decor. As I take one last look at all the beautiful and thoughtful holiday cards that were mailed to me, nostalgia hits. Memories. Magic. Love.

Yes, New Year's Eve is a day of enchantment, glamour, and the possibility of a kiss. There is a wonderful quote by Nora Roberts that seems to capture my sentiments about New Year's Eve, love, romance, and magic. "...Love and magic have a great deal in common. They enrich the soul, delight the heart. And they both take practice."

I do believe in magic; magically finding the one, falling in love, and living happily ever after.

Then there is my friend G.G. (Yes, he has the same initials as me.) who not only believes in magic but can also, do magic.

G.G. enjoys performing magic for entertainment, as an ice breaker when meeting new people, or just to make a stranger smile. He does all the standard magic tricks: making a quarter appear from one's ear, is this your card?, and the disappearing scarf. He has mastered his tricks by practicing, practicing, and then practicing some more.

I asked G.G. why he devoted so much time to his hobby. He replied, "...Magic gives me confidence, an openness to meeting new people, and freedom. It has no language barriers. It is a lot like falling love. Except with magic one falls in love with the mystery and illusion of the trick. It is a love composed of learning and secrecy".

I find what G. G. said to be true. There is magic in falling love, being open to meeting new people, and so on.

For instance, if I had not loved D., I would have never discovered how much fun rock concerts and running down the Indiana Dunes could be.

If I had not loved J., I would have never discovered how entertaining drinking beer, peeling peanuts, and watching a baseball game is.

If I had not loved R., I would not have had the motivation to finish school and become a healthier person.

G.G. ended our conversation by stating that every single person we care for brings a little magic into our lives. That magic being in the form of love, gives us strength, enjoyment, and prepares us for our soul mate.

Which brings us back to New Year's Eve ...a night where a single magical kiss at the stroke of midnight can turn into a world wind romance ...or have I had too much eggnog pound cake with crystal rum glaze?

Wishing all my friends and readers a magical 2010! Happy New Year!
Love, Gigi

Print: Eggnog Pound Cake

Bacardi and Coke

This cupcake actually started off as joke between my boyfriend and me. He said it couldn't be done. Ha!

It's just a basic chocolate cake recipe that calls for coffee. The recipe I used called for 3/4 cup of warm coffee; I used 1/2 cup of warm coke and 6 tablespoons of rum.

Those were the only two changes I made to the recipe. I replaced the milk in the buttercream with rum. I did search for a recipe and found a lot of inspiration; but the deciding factor was that (BF) does not like lime.

I opted instead for a faux lime instead of lime juice in the recipe. The cupcakes were tasty, and BF was shocked when I presented his favorite drink in the form of a cupcake!