If you haven't noticed I have a special place in my heart for whimsy, particularly when it comes to plants. I found these guys today while I was trolling around the web (seriously, can one do anything besides troll when they're on the internet?) and they're soo soo cute. Called Plant-Me Pets, these little guys are made of natural latex rubber and their eyes are made from seeds. They can hang out on your desk and when you get bored. Ploomp! Plant them in the ground by burying them head first (seems a bit wrong doesn't it?). Add some sun, water and voila! The rubber will decompose, the seeds will sprout and you'll have a plant in no time. Available in three varieties (cantaloupe, tomato and pumpkin) for $20 each.

So you've decided that you don't really want a traditional wedding cake, but you're not so sure about cupcake wedding cakes either. Well how about one made from Hostess creations? That's right, I'm talking about a cake made from Twinkies, Ding-Dongs, Ho Hos, Suzy Q's, Sno Balls and more. Last year, Readymade magazine's editor Shosana Berger featured a ding dong cake at her wedding.

However, chef Phil Delaplane took his to the next level and incorporated a ton of different
Hostess creations into his wedding cake.

If that one is too over the top for you, then be sure to check out these surprisingly elegant wedding cakes and favors made from Twinkies. You have to admit, those bride and groom Twinkie favors are pretty damn cute.

If you're interested in making them for your wedding, Hostess even has instructions on how to achieve the look.

Jones Soda Co. has a new line of carbonated candy, but you can find something similar at the Dollar Store. Check out this review of Soda Can Fizzy Candy - they'd make a great decorative touch at a kid's party or a themed party. - Candyblog

If you are looking for a way to cut costs on your wedding think about using a favor that doubles as a decoration like these fabulous frosted beaded tea light holders. They come in a variety of colors and can add a touch of glowing light to a table. Place each one on the guests' plates and they will know that when the night is over they can blow the candle out and take the votive home. A useful favor that both you and your guests can enjoy. Or if you prefer to give out other favors arrange these candles around a vase filled with flowers on top of a mirror for a beautiful and simple yet stunning centerpiece. Can't afford tons of flowers for each table, create the same effect with the mirror and votives and scatter rose petals (which you can get day old from the florists) in between the votives.

We all know and love Top Chef (well at least I love it), but would you watch Top Sous-Chef? The folks at Food Network are hoping you will - they've posted an ad on Craigslist looking for sous-chefs.

“Chopped,” a Food Network cooking competition is currently casting sous-chefs, who want to test their culinary skills against those of other sous-chefs. The show begins with four competitors and ends with only one as the winner.

Four competitors? Doesn't seem like too long of a run, could be interesting though... maybe.

But speaking of Food Network and Craigslist, I accidentally ran across another ad I think you might be interested in. If you live in the Bay Area, are a fan of Tyler Florence (who recently moved here, btw) and are a terrible Thanksgiving day cook, then send in your questions and a Food Network camera crew might stop by your house (no Tyler though, boo!).

And finally, I'm really sorry I didn't catch this one sooner, but Food Network fans in Denver, you just missed out on some live show taping.

Top Link Source: They Cook - We Dish

My gal BuzzSugar sat down for an exclusive interview with 30 Rock's Jack McBrayer (aka geeky page Kenneth). He's not exactly a foodie - although he has previously said that he will do any job that pays him at least in some part with food - but I love this guy so I forced her to ask him what was in his fridge.

"Not much. Carrots and hummus, and blueberries - which are good for putting in yogurt."

The rest of the interview is fantastic, and you can learn why his character Kenneth eats chick peas out of the can, so be sure to check it out. - BuzzSugar

Yesterday I introduced you to San Francisco's most innovative event planner, Stanlee Gatti who I had the delightful pleasure of interviewing last week. He has an amazingly positive visual outlook on life that he applies to parties. On the day that I chatted with Stanlee, he had to rush off on his shiny purple vespa to the Fairmont Hotel to check on the progress of a dinner he was designing that night for the San Francisco Opera. To my sheer and utter joy, he invited me over to the hotel's Gold Room to take a few insider pictures. Everything was done in shades of gold, cream, and white - creating a hazy, warm, glowing feel to the space. Long rectangular tables with fruit and floral (roses and pears) arrangements ran down the tables, along with strategically placed gold pillars and white candles in hurricane lamp glasses. The place settings were elegantly simple: white with gold trim and the table was covered in a delicate gold lace. The room itself greatly added to the decor and I advise following Gatti's lead by examining the location of your party or wedding reception before you conceptualize the theme. A man after my own heart, Stanlee was full of interesting fun facts during our conversation.

For his fun facts and a large gallery of images from the set up of the opera dinner, read more

You may be wondering why I'm writing about something so seemingly trivial as toothpicks, but think about it, toothpicks are essential to a bartender. More importantly, toothpicks are a crucial component to my favorite cocktail, the vodka Classic Martini. The olives float chicly on the side of the angular glass. Without toothpicks the martini is incomplete. Vital to creating cool, stylish garnishes, your bar is not complete until you have a small box of toothpicks. Toothpicks come in about a million varieties and it's fun if you are hosting a party to get a set that go along with your theme. However for everyday use, plain old wooden toothpicks work fine as long as you have a sleek little toothpick holder. I love this silver one by Target that runs for the moderate price of $9.80.

For more picks, read more

I wasn't really sure what I wanted to bake this week, I thought about baking something from the amazing book Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson, but wanted to take some time and really do the recipes justice (I'll talk about the book more in the near future, but really it's amazing). However, I did get inspired by a cookie recipe in which she uses leftover quinoa (hopefully I'll try this one soon) and decided to just throw stuff together and see if rolled oats, couscous, and crushed/toasted almonds would work out. Turns out they're not bad all mixed up, especially if you add a bit of chocolate. Although my end result wasn't so much a cookie as it was a bread/muffin creation. In fact, they ended up looking so much like muffin tops, that I have inventively decided to call them: Top of The Muffins To Ya - a name which I have stolen from Seinfeld.

The couscous was leftover from dinner (only 1 cup, but I wished I had used 2), and the almonds could have been more consistently crushed, but the end result was pretty decent. They didn't turn out at all like I expected, but the folks around here seemed to like them. They're comparatively high in fiber, so you could convince yourself they're good for you, but they're still made with two sticks of butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar, so they're not... To check out what I did with couscous (yes couscous and I'm going to try it again someday) and rolled oats, read more

I guess it only makes sense that budding kitchen mad scientist, Marcel "I was almost Top Chef" Vigneron, would be featured in Wired magazine. They have an online slideshow of three of his creations - The Cyber Egg (which I really want to try, but then again you all know how I feel about eggs), a Potato with Truffle Espuna and Coffee Caviar. And say what you will about Marcel, but you have to admit, it sounds intriguing. - Wired via Chow