I’ve got a few items of “business” before we get to the party…
(although, on a dessert blog, pretty much all the business is a PLEASURE)
Item #1: What is your favorite ingredient (that can be shipped)?
Let me know in the comments.
Item #2: I guest posted on Friday Night Date Night this week.
If you want to get to know a little bit more about my personal life (or a lot-a-bit more), CLICK HERE for all the cheesy, romantic details on how I met and married my husband.
Item #3: What is YOUR drawn-line for sourcing a recipe to another blogger?
If all the ingredients are exactly the same?
If they’re different recipes, but you know the idea came from their post?
Just wondering what your thoughts are on this gray-area “intellectual property rights” issue.
Ok. Done with that!
Now features 
I’m especially, especially excited about this week’s click pick.
Like oh-my-gosh excited.
(and no, it wasn’t mine
Many of you know that I’m designing blogs these days.
One of the services that I offer is a “Start-Up Consultation.”
Meaning: I design the blog to set you up for success, as well as walk you through the process of Link Parties, utilizing Social Media to generate traffic, Gaining and Growing a GFC following, posting tips, Blog Etiquette, etc… plus all the Q&A you need.
I’ve done 2 1/2 start-ups, and those blog(ger)s are kind of like my blogging-world babies.
Which means: I will beat you up if you pick on them, they get their good looks from me, and I LOVE it when they get noticed by YOU!
Which is exactly what happened last week…
Today’s Click Pick is:
Guilty Pleasure Choco-Toffee Caramel Bars from Kristin at Grateful Belly
(who is my blogging-world baby 
(Kristin is brand new to the foodie blogging world–
so drop by to say HI, drool over these bars, and become a follower!)
Alright– now some of my favorites from last week:
(and even though you gals aren’t my “babies,” I’m still excited to feature you
I need to work out some kind of an advertising deal with Dorothy from Crazy For Crust. I could pretty much feature her every day of the week and feel pretty good about it. I mean, take a look at these Cheesecake Truffle Pops! The best part is, they’re rolled in grahams before they’re dipped. Y-U-M.
Coconut is sort of a hidden passion of mine. I could bathe in it.
*awkward*
Er… or I could just eat this Almond Joy Popcorn munch from Inside BruCrew Life all day long.
I cannot make Hi-Hat cupcakes for the life of me.
I think Susannah’s kitchen deserves a medal for how beautiful these Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes turned out! Teach me!?!
And guess what!
I have BUTTONS this week!
If you were featured– grab one!
And if you’ve been featured in the past gazillion weeks that I haven’t had one, grab one too.
And if you just want to update yours, because you still have the very first one I ever made (which was about 20 million buttons ago)– you can grab one too
I’M INTERESTED TO HEAR EVERYONE’S THOUGHTS ON ITEM #3, TOO!!!!! THANKS FOR HOSTING THIS YUMMY PARTY! XO
Thanks for hosting! I’m drooling over here…
For got my favorite mailed sweet: caramel
Wow, Ashton–I’m way excited about my dessert being the Click-Pick this week! See what a talented blog designer you are? I don’t know how you do it all, but I’m glad you do!
1. Chocolate, for sure!
2. Cheese is good, I like cheese
3. I’m just a newbie, but you can’t go wrong with the Golden Rule, right?
All of those features look so very yummy! Thanks for hosting.
I think its nice to give credit to someone if I use their recipes or ideas even if what I end up making isn’t exactly what they made. I like to show the inspiration for my work.
I’ll have to say chocolate too.
I’ll check out your guest spot:)
If I arrive at an idea that started by looking at something specific of someone else’s, I usually mention it. I just like to trace the process of where the inspiration came from.
Hi Ashton
I often get ideas from looking and reading other’s recipes but I don’t follow their recipes. Sometimes I change it a bit, and sometime I change it a lot. I like to give credits because I think they deserve it. When I put lots of changes i write “inspired by”
I’m sharing today my “Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Mousse”
Thank you for hosting this wonderful party (so many great desserts!), and wishing you a wonderful weekend
Winnie
Thanks for hosting Ashton. Loved your story on Friday Night Datenight. Tell Chris I said, “Go Wolfpack!” My husband and I are both NC State grads as well. We actually got married out of highschool and will be married 17 years this fall. Yay!
Hey, girl!!! First off I love the new headers and buttons…the banners are just too cute!!! You do awesome design work. Thanks for sharing my Almond Joy popcorn…I like coconut that much too:-) Thanks for the fun sweets every week.
1. I don’t usually have any ingredients shipped…maybe I should look into that?
2. I can’t wait to read how you met your hubby:-)
3. Uggggg such a tricky and touchy area:-( I think it is important to source where you find a recipe…even if you just get an idea. Winnie is right…you can always say where you get your inspiration. And by sourcing you should include a very visible link to the other blogger, not just a tiny bi-line. I also think that if you adapt someone else’s recipe it should be included in their printable recipe. I have seen some of my recipes “adapted” and linked but then if you click their printable link it shows that it is theirs.
You crack me up! I love reading everything you write! Thanks for hosting, I love all your features, and will go check them out after I’m done “talking.”
1. I like to order my vanilla beans online, and recently bought vanilla bean paste (CAN YOU
SAY AMAZING!!!)
2. Again, love everything you write.
3. By saying where you were inspired, or what recipe you adapted you give the proper credit. I don’t understand why people don’t do this! It’s not like it will take traffic away from you (after all, they are visiting your blog)…it’s not like people won’t like you (after all, at some point we all use others for inspiration).
Although it has to be said, sometimes people truly do have the same recipe idea. Happened to me about 3 minutes ago. The brownie bites above with the green frosting and the chocolate clover…I just made those this week, haven’t blogged it yet, and I’m sure our recipes are VERY different, but the idea is the same!!!
Aimee
fave ingredient is Cocoa Barry Extra Brute cocoa powder which I buy online
I always link back to any source recipe if the idea originated there and state adapted in my blog post
I always post where i adapted the recipe from. When typing the recipe is there a rule about changing the wording? I once posted where the recipe came from, then the recipe and was asked to remove the recipe and provide their link. I assume because they wanted more traffic? Thoughts on that???
I’d say my favorite ingredient that can be shipped is either vanilla beans, or vanilla bean paste. Thanks to Step at Cupcake Project I’ve been able to find great deals on both of them.
As far as Item # 3, that’s a very interesting question. When I find a recipe that I want to blog about, and I know that I’m using the recipe just as is, I post it. Just as it is and link to their page (I figure that’s how we help each other out in this blogging community). If I find a recipe that inspires me and I’m going to change it up a little bit, I mention and link where I found it and then post the recipe that I use and note how it was changed from the original. I have come across a couple of pages that have disclosure statements and they specifically state that you are to ask the “owner” of the recipe for rights to post their recipe. I did this in one case, and she was very nice about it. I emailed her a simple request asking if I could use her recipe to blog about. She said that was fine, only asked that I link it back to her page.
Well, Samoas are shippable, aren’t they?
I do have a thing for vanilla extract, though. It seems I’m always running out. Crazy!
And as far as “intellectual property rights” I feel like if someone took my entire recipe, ingredient for ingredient (and same amounts) and didn’t have the audacity to say “This recipe in it’s entirety is from The Domestic Rebel” with a proper link, I’d have to unleash my inner beyotch. She comes out when I’m really mad and I would be pretty really mad then. I know I’ve featured other blogger’s recipes wholly, but I always give credit where credit is due! I hate copycats and plagiarists
On a happy note, I am sorta OBSESSED with both Jocelyn’s popcorn and Dorothy’s Cheesecake Pops… drooling! And I have to say: #1 Those bars look melt-in-your-mouth FANTASTIC and #2 The chocolate on those high-hat cupcakes is so smooth and phenom. Beautiful!
HELLO Guilty Pleasure Choco-Toffee Caramel Bars. You will be baked in my oven tonight!
Hmmm… favorite ingredient? probably really good vanilla extract! Or chocolate chips =o)
Thanks for everything Ashton!
Hmm…ship-able ingredient…really good vanilla. Or candy. Peanut butter cups? As for how I cite – I err on the side of caution. I try to use inspired by or adapted from, or if lots of others have recently posted similar things, I’ll say, “like so-and-so.”
Those cupcakes? I need one! Thanks for the feature, too. Love the new look and buttons!
I have yet to order an ingredient online (other than gel dye colors, does that count?!)
I have only been blogging for a few months, but I always give credit to recipes I’ve both recreated or have been inspired by. I include both the blog’s name and a link back to the recipe I recreated. I found one of my recipes on someone’s blog slightly changed and they even copied the post name *I* used….and the credit was “inspired by pinterest”. So maddening! Giving credit is just the right thing to do.
Thanks for hosting each week – have a great weekend!!
Ashton!
I’ve never ordered anything, but after reading your comments, maybe I should!?! Especially vanilla beans – which I will if it’s true it’s better – for ice cream this summer
#3 has me thinking: For instance, this week I made Lemon Spaghetti by Giada DeLaurentiis {her Everyday Italian cookbook}. I sourced her name and cookbook in the post and included her name in the title. But do you ever wonder how all recipes can be “sourced”? I’m sure she’s not the first person to ever think up lemon spaghetti, right? It’s basically just spaghetti, lemon, olive oil and basil. And if I make something truly from scratch, on my own, then how do I know someone else out there in this big wide world hasn’t thought of the same thing? It’s really tricky. BUT…right now I haven’t posted anything that I have made from other bloggers. I rely on magazines and cookbooks {my own, the library} because it’s so much easier to source and less for me to worry about.
Happy Weekend to you!
#1 For ingredients, I was going to say vanilla extract, but then I saw the previous commenter said vanilla beans! Beans sounds less potentially messy than extract, and being rarer would be more appreciated.
#3 I think if the idea came from somebody else’s post they should definitely be mentioned! I see all these recipes online that don’t credit anyone, and I’m doubtful they were all original. A simple “inspired by so-and-so” with a linkback would be enough, and fair.
#4 Thanks for hosting!