Lookout Ladies!

My nephew McCoy knows how to strut his stuff!

Seeds of Faith

It's almost General Conference weekend, and just like you can depend on inspirational talks and spiritual guidance from LDS leaders, you can also depend on a touching documentary from KSL's Carole Mikita.

Every six months Carole does one or two documentaries, usually an hour long, that have something to do with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Six months ago I made my first "doc promo", and I guess they liked it because I was asked to do it again. I was even referred to as the "Doc girl".

Working with Carole Mikita is an huge honor. There are few people more respected than her at KSL. She is a Utah staple, like green jello and fry sauce.

In 12 years, she has produced more that 30 documentaries. And trust me, she puts her entire being into them.

When I showed her this promo, she started tearing up, and then I started tearing up. It was a girly moment, but it just goes to show how much these stories mean to her.

Check out my promo and tell me what you think, and if your watching Conference on KSL 5 this weekend, stick around for "Seeds of Faith" Sunday at noon. You won't be sorry.



*Updated* Carole's documentary was unfortunately not put online. In order to watch it, you would have to contact KSL directly and find out how to get a copy.

Welcome to "Ad-nalysis Sundays!"

(The day of the week where I spare my husband from listening to me blab on about clever ads and share my thoughts with the blogging world instead.)

My first Ad-nalysis is Big Red - the Verizon Version!

Remember these commercials from the 80's and 90's?





Imagine my surprise when I saw this commercial come on T.V.



Different product. Same song!

I'm still wondering how Verizon got the rights to do this, but hats off to them. My mouth instantly starts watering for gum every time I see it.

Oh wait, that wasn't the point of the commercial? Dang.

Another fail on Verizon's part is when the "Big Red" song gets stuck in my head, I'm singing, "So kiss a little longer" lyrics, not, "So browse the web much better."

Mind you, there are some brilliant lyrics in the Verizon version. Like "You’ll watch YouTube on a Horse..." Cracks me up every time because it's so random.

Over all, this could be an ad for toilet cleaner and I would still like it. It's clever, without actually being original. The ultimate lazy-but-still-good promotion, and I certainly can appreciate that. (Because, you know, I'm a promotions producer.)

What do you think of Big Red - the Verizon Version?

You know you care.

Here's a glimpse into the Harker life over the past few weeks...
Want to go to Paris? Come on over! We just bought this HUGE picture from IKEA to put on the HUGE wall above our kitchen.Seriously. It's huge. These pictures do not do it justice.Did I mention we got it 50% off because the box was ripped? That's what I call a STEAL!
We had some family over for dinner. My niece and I had matching outfits, although you can't see it very well in this picture. But who cares! She's adorable!
We had a joint birthday party for a couple nephews. Tom's sister made this awesome cake with a Lego man cake pan. She turned it into Robin from the Lego Batman video game. Clever eh?
Our little niece Kate was happy as a clam at the birthday party!
Remember my gorgeous friend Mallory? I had so much fun making a cake with her, last weekend we made truffles!
Well, Mallory made them, but I helped roll them!

Yes, they are as delicious as they look.

While Mallory made the truffles, I played with her dog!

That is, until he licked my nostril. Seriously, make the picture bigger, you'll see his tongue attacking my face.

I know this is another random picture, but I had to put it in because it's the prettiest present I've EVER wrapped. I had to document the beauty. (It was a baby shower present for Tom's cousin.)

Studio 5 Promo

One of the best parts of my job is making the commercials for Studio 5.

(I love that I get a sneak peak of their projects before anyone else.)

A few times a year I make what's called a POP (Proof of Performance) spot. This is when we highlight all the awesome things Studio 5 has been up to lately (and the things that make Studio 5 "Utah's number 1 lifestyle show").

Here is the POP for spring! It will be running all this week on KSL Channel 5.



Side note: You'll notice we highlighted the Rose Form project by local blogger Shelly Smith. Along with everyone else in Utah, I fell in LOVE with her project and even made a rose ball at home. (Once I've made a few more I'll post some pictures.)

I commented on Shelley's blog to tell her how much I loved her project and to my surprise she e-mailed me back!

I'm happy to report we are now BBFFs (Blogger Best Friends Forever)!

I WON! I WON!

Last weekend when I had my truffle giveaway, I visited this blog. Every Saturday the author lets you link your giveaway on the blog and then you can enter other people's giveaways. (There's usually a few hundred giveaways listed by the end of the day.)

I noticed a few blogger friends of mine were also having giveaways, so I entered a bunch. One was for my friend Sue from Navel Gazing at it's Finest. She was giving away a $50 Amazon gift card. There were already over a thousand entries, but I entered anyway.

A few days ago I got an e-mail from Sue telling me I WON! By the deadline, there were over 2,300 entries, and I WON!! Me! Little Ol' Lesli! I've never won anything!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my friends, my amazing hubby, my family, everyone who's been there for me on my way up to the top...

And most of all, I'd like to thank Sue (and Emily, since she was hosting the giveaway and picked my name.)

I just think it's cool that the same weekend I gave something away for free, I got something for free.

I guess what goes around, comes around, eh?

Any ideas what I should spend the $50 on?
www.amazon.com

A new blog to stalk...I mean follow.

I randomly came across this blog today, called Live It, LOVE it. After reading one post. I am hooked. I don't know who this girl is, but she's hilarious.

I stole this from her.

Taylor Lautner looks like a llama.

Really. He does.

Truffle Winner

And the winner is....ANDREA!!!

Wondering what you won? You are the proud owner of one dozen Oreo truffles AND one dozen Oreo mint Truffles. Wow, that's a lot of truffles! Aren't you glad you read The Harker Herald and leave comments? (The truffles will be ready to pick up on Wednesday.)

I swear there was no favoritism. The number was chosen by Random.org.

Andrea said, "Ok. And now I am a public follower. (And I better get some chocolate outta that one, because stalking yours privately was so delicious before...)"

Mwahahaha! My plan worked. I am happy to report I have THREE new public followers thanks to this giveaway.

So thanks to my lovely readers and thanks to the lovely Mallory for playing along.

Cakes and Giveaways!

This is Mallory.
Mallory is a good friend in my neighborhood.
Not only is Mallory GORGEOUS, but she's also super creative.
But I've managed to get past my jealousy so I can share some of her talents with you. In pictures and with a GIVEAWAY! (Details at the end of this post.)

One of the things Mallory makes is cakes.
Impressive fondant cakes.
You can check out all her creations here on her blog.
Here's a little taste.
(Click on any of the pictures in this post to make them bigger.)

I've always wanted to know how fondant cakes are made, so Mallory showed me.
This is not a tutorial, because there's no way I can remember everything she did.
Rather, it's a glimpse into the magical world of cake-making.
And it's supposed to make you drool, then order one of Mallory's super-amazing, super-inexpensive cakes.
Mallory charges next to nothing for her cakes because it's like therapy for her. She loves it.

First things first, did you know the fondant is made from marshmallows?
I didn't until this moment.
But it totally makes sense.
Now that I think about it, it does taste like marshmallows.

I should rephrase that.
Fondant is made from marshmellows and LOTS and LOTS of powdered sugar.

When you keep adding sugar, eventually the white blob turns into a white play-doh-like ball.

Did you know fondant cakes are make with more than one kind of icing?
Here Mallory is making a sugar icing.
It works as a glue to hold the cake all together.

Then Mallory gets out her trusty little cutting tool to cut the cake.
(She made the cake the day before and froze it.)
Pretty cool gadget, eh?

The cake Mallory is making is for a missionary farewell party.
The missionary was called to Omaha, Nebraska, so Mallory cut the cake into the shape of Nebraska.

This is me eating the scraps from cake.
Holy cow was it delicious!
Quite possibly the best cake I've ever eaten.
It was lemon and white chocolate flavored.

Next Mallory fills the cake with pudding, adds the top layer, and ices it all over.

Then she gets the ball of fondant out again (it was in the fridge), rolls it out, and places it over the cake.

After cutting off the excess fondant, Mallory gets out another cool gadget.
I call this one the "smooth operator" because it smooths the icing all over.

With the fondant scraps, Mallory balls it up again and adds brown food coloring.
She is making a belt for the cake.

Yellow food coloring for the belt buckle.

Here Mallory is making Rice Krispy treats.
This is one of her little secrets.
For specific shapes on top of her cakes, Rice Krispy treats work really well because she can cut it into what ever she wants and it will hold its shape.
Today she is making a tie.

She covers the tie with blue and red fondant.

Mallory adds the tie to the cake. Adds a pocket and a missionary tag...

And viola!
A fondant cake in the shake of Nebraska (with a star over Omaha).
The cake is also a shirt with a tie!
Perfect for a missionary!

GIVEAWAY TIME!!

Mallory doesn't just make cakes, she's also amazing at making truffles!
Need proof? Okay!
One lucky reader will win a batch of her delicious truffles.
All you have to do is leave a comment on this post.
Want a second entry?
Follow my blog publicly and tell me in a second comment that you are doing so.
I know this is a cheap way for me to get more followers, but whatevs.
It's my blog and I can do what I want!

What? You don't live in Utah County or Salt Lake County?
You can still enter!
If you win, I'll throw a party with your truffles, then e-mail you pictures of us eating them.
It'll be like you were there too!

Make sure you leave your e-mail in your comment so I can contact you if you win.
The winner will be expected to come and pick up his/her prize.
Trust me, they're well worth the drive!

The giveaway ends this Sunday (March 14) at 10 p.m.
Plenty of time to enter the giveaway and tell all your friends to enter!

Good Luck!