Cupcakes, an Inside Man, and a Very Bad Thing

I visited my eldest and her hubs this weekend for a (slightly) belated birthday celebration. We decided to go to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park instead of browsing art shows, and that was a lot of fun. We were lucky enough to see all four types of the big cats they have there: tigers (mom, baby, big brother), lions (all girls), a cheetah, and the cutest little sand cat. Then we had lunch at a fabulous place called Stone Brewery ~ we all shared a giant Bavarian pretzel (they had cheese dip; I had mustard), and my daughter and I also shared ahi "nachos." What a clever and delicious creation that was! Tuna sashimi chunks, crispy rice chips, tangy pickles, seaweed, spicy sauce, etc. Later we shared the cupcakes I brought from Sprinkles. Here is my ranking:

1. Pumpkin with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Bursting with flavor!

2. Glimmering Witch Strawberry ~ a nod to Wicked. Their classic strawberry/strawberry. Full of noms.

3. Emerald Witch Red Velvet ~ also a nod to Wicked. Their classic red velvet with the cream cheese frosting colored bright green. Yummy.

4. Salty Caramel. Good, natch, but not that interesting compared to the others.

I do plan on seeing Wicked this Friday.

We watched the first two episodes of A Man on the Inside on Netflix Saturday night, and I watched two more last night. It's a funny show with an unusual premise ~ a dapper widower gets a job with a PI and goes "undercover" at a retirement community in order to find a jewelry thief. Ted Danson stars, and he is perfect for the role. Sally Struthers plays his love interest ~ it was fun to see her again. (I know she has been in other stuff, but I haven't seen her much since All in the Family.)

I finished reading A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison. First, I hate the title. Second, the book really held my interest during the first quarter, but then the plot became too convoluted. Third, I didn't enjoy the last quarter at all, but powered through because I was almost done. Two stars. The basic premise was too preposterous for me to tolerate and the twists at the end were even more absurd. Oh well. Onward! I have tons of books in my TBR pile...