Wednesday Night Randoms...

~I got a work assignment for my new job on Monday.  I received an Excel file that I had to go over and verify some things.  I worked on it Monday night and Tuesday morning.  Tonight I finished one more thing on it and went to send it via email to my boss. It was missing. I looked everywhere for it.  I posted on Facebook for help.  I googled about it.  Nothing worked.  I had to re-do the entire thing.  The light at the end of the tunnel as far as this goes is that it didn't take me as long the 2nd time, I really feel like I "get" this process for my next assignment, and I will be 110% sure to save save save my files the next time.

~Madison wanted Eiffel Tower cupcakes for her 12th birthday.  I ordered the candy molds and melted purple chocolates to make little Eiffel Tower candies to use as toppers.  It wasn't until they were finished and I shared them on Facebook when someone mentioned and I kind of realized.... they also kind of look like something else stuck on top.  Thankfully nobody mentioned that to Madison when she brought them in to school today... they did however mention it when Chris brought in a dozen to work today.

~Tomorrow I am working at the book fair for four hours at Madison's school.  It will be good to get out of the house and to be social for a little bit.  I wasn't very productive today.  I wasn't feeling well. I pretty much just caught up on my shows from my DVR while Chris and Maddie were at work and school.



Crazy About Cupcakes

I finally placed my order tonight for the Scentsy July Warmer of the Month.  I love it...cupcakes...pink...and green... all of my favorite things.  I cannot wait for it to arrive.  I am also thinking of selling Scentsy... anyone sell it and have any opinions?

I have started to work on my etsy bake shop - Betty Ray's Bakery and hope to have it up and running my mid-August.

I have a super generous giveaway coming soon from an online store that sells the cutest baking mixes for cupcakes and whoopie pies...  You won't want to miss this giveaway.

A Super Sunday

Today was our last Sunday in Virginia Beach.

We met Kara and Connor from Happy Go Lucky at California Pizza Kitchen for a super tasty lunch.

Then we wandered around the fabric store.

Then I took Madison to the mall.  We stopped first at Barnes & Noble... $53.00 later she picked up two books, I picked up two books for my nephew, and this book I have been wanting to read since I read an excerpt in People magazine.

Then we headed to Old Navy to use up a Groupon.  Madison ended up with two pairs of denim capris and a shirt - and I only paid about $7.00.

Then we went to Macy's...where we found this in the juniors department... so INAPPROPRIATE!! Who would buy this for their teenager anyways?

Then on our way out...because it is soooo hot here we stopped and each got a shaken passion fruit tea lemonade at Starbucks.

In a little bit I am going to bake pineapple carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  Madison's French teacher had a baby who we are going to visit tomorrow and we are going to bring them a half dozen.

Then I am going to read and work on a few things around the house.

All and all it has been a great final Sunday here.

The Details of my First Baking Job w/ Lots of Photos

Back in late June I was a little surprised/flattered when I received a text from my friend Amy asking me if I would be willing to do her cupcakes for her July 16th wedding.  Amy and I were roommates our sophomore/junior years in college and have kept in touch ever since.  She actually attended my wedding last summer with her then fiance.

Amy and I planned a time in early July to meet for a taste test.  She really enjoyed the samples and she decided on 3 flavors for the cupcakes and for her cut cake.

My mom's kitchen table set up for the taste test.

I then set out to get everything together.  I had to shop for all of the ingredients, purchase the cupcake liners, purchase ribbon to decorate the cupcake display boxes, and order boxes to transport the cupcakes.  See... I currently live about 3.5 hours from the wedding site.

I baked all day Thursday.  I ended up making 2 batches of pineapple carrot cupcakes (which later would be covered with cream cheese frosting), 1 batch of almond coconut cupcakes (which later would be covered with butter cream and coconut) and 3 batches of chocolate buttermilk cupcakes and a 3 layer 6 inch wedding cake (to later be covered with cream cheese frosting).

Madison was a great help and was in charge of the cupcake liners and assembling the boxes I ordered from Bake a Box.  Let me just say... I totally forget where I heard about this NC based company, but their customer service was top-notch, the boxes were so high quality, and the shipping was super fast.  I will definitely be ordering again.

My little helper... who incidently had on a cupcake shirt.

Friday we loaded up the car with 150 cupcakes and the cake to travel to my mom's where I would make the frosting and frost and decorate everything.  The ride was supposed to take 3.5-4 hours.  It took 6.  The highway shut down at one point after we had been sitting there for 2 hours.  I wanted to scream.

My car packed and ready to go.

We got to my mom's.  After I rested for a bit I dove into frosting and decorating.

I opened up a tutorial on frosting a layer cake that I had pinned on Pinterest to follow.

The chocolate buttermilk cupcakes packed up for delivery.

One of the chocolate buttermilk cupcakes

Saturday afternoon my husband and I delivered everything to the country club the wedding was being held at and started to set up.  We were lucky in that we got to return a few hours later to attend the wedding.

The three of us about to leave for the wedding.

I made this sign to let the guests know the different flavor choices

A close up of the coconut cupcakes.

The bride and groom about to cut the cake.

The cake after the cut a little piece to feed to one another.

It was an amazing success.  The bride and the groom loved the display and the taste of their cake and the cupcakes.  It was nice to see other guests reactions to the display and to see how much the enjoyed the cupcakes.  I am so thankful for the opportunity Amy and Scotty gave me to do this.  I wish them a lifetime of happiness.







My First Wedding {Baking} Job = Success

This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to make the wedding cake and cupcakes for my friend Amy's wedding.  It was my first major paid baking job to help launch my baking business and it was a huge success.  I will be sharing more about the process...the recipes...and the fabulous comments I overheard (because we were also guests).  But here is a sneak peek of what I created -

A Baking Frenzy

Today I am a crazy baking lady.

I am doing a wedding this weekend.

Yesterday I picked up of these jumbo sizes baking items at BJ's.

I still had to go to the regular grocery store for some other items I needed in small quantities.  On Tuesday, Kara, from Happy Go Lucky, came over and helped me re-decorate the cupcake tower I am going to display them on.

I am baking 48 Chocolate Buttermilk cupcakes, 48 Carrot Pineapple cupcakes, and 24 Coconut Almond cupcakes, as well as a 6 inch Chocolate Buttermilk cut cake for the bride and the groom.  I am also going to do a seperate 6-pack of cupcakes for the bride and groom to enjoy when they leave the wedding or the next day since they are not leaving for a week for their honeymoon. 

I am honored they selected me to do the baking for their wedding.  I am also fortunate enough to attend the wedding.  My former college roommate, Amy, is getting married.  I hope I hear only positive remarks from the other guests about my cupcakes...

Tuesday Randoms

Here are some things going on in our lives...

I painted this monogrammed canvas this weekend to match with the new fabric I bought for our new living room. I love how it turned out -

I also painted these blocks and stamped letters on them to spell out words.  These will also end up in the new living room -

 

I have my first real baking job this weekend.  I am going the wedding cake and cupcakes for my former college roommate's wedding.  I am so thankful for the opportunity she has given me and feel honored to be baking for her wedding.  They chose to go with a chocolate buttermilk cake with cream cheese icing for their cake to cut.  Guests will be served a choice of three cupcake flavors - chocolate buttermilk with cream cheese frosting, coconut cake with butter cream frosting, or pineapple carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  I have a lot of grocery shopping and baking ahead of me in the upcoming days.

 



I am trying to get as much time in as possible at our neighborhood pool before we move.  It is never crowded and we are usually the only guests there...like today.  Madison and I went for a few hours yesterday with her friend Nikayla.

 

Can I once again proclaim my un-affiliated love for Groupon.  I had a not so hot experience with a recent Groupon I purchased from a place that turns photos into canvas (Picture it on Canvas).  It was my second time ordering from them.  The first time I had a great experience...this time not so much.  Think unanswered emails, false promises, and a super long time to receive my canvas...  I emailed Groupon and within a few hours I had a full refund for the price of the Groupon.  They have fabulous customer service at Groupon and therefore I will continue my obsession with buying Groupons.  All I wanted was to get this photo put on canvas in a timely manner --

 

I cannot even count how many times Madison and I have dined at Moe's since my husband has been working out of town...probably way more times than we ate there when he was here.  Back when I was a single mom...we ate there all of the time.  It is one of her favorite places.  It is affordable and we like the food...plus I don't have to cook.  I am trying to get my fridge cleaned out so I can store cupcakes for this wedding.  Tonight the burritos were only $5...so I had mine in a bowl.  They had a sign up today that said on July 20th...you get a free cup of queso with your purchase.  I texted my husband to share and he said "I guess I know where you all will be on the 20th".  Ummm...yep.

 

Recipe - Homemade Pineapple Carrot Coconut Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

Amazing...is a great work to describe these awesome treats.  This morning I woke up and had two for breakfast...straight from the fridge.  I love them cold.  Since they are filled with carrots and pineapple... I figured they would be great for breakfast.  I think what makes them amazing is the homemade cream cheese frosting which is to.die.for.

The carrot cake recipe comes from one of my favorite go to blogs for amazing recipes - Keeping Up With the Joneses.  I tweaked the recipe just a bit by adding a cup of coconut to the recipe and omitting the nuts.  I also made the batter a bit differently.  Kendall's recipe can be found {here}.

Ingredients -

2 cups of all purpose flour

2 cups of sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

3 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups shredded carrots

1/2 c. drained crushed pineapple

1 cup sweetened coconut

Directions -

1. You need to chop the carrots up more finely.  I used my mini food processor.

2.  Combine the eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl mix the sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little bit at a time until it's all incorporated.

5. Add the pineapple, carrots, and coconut.  Mix until combined.

6. Bake at 350 degrees. 

Cupcakes - 19 minutes

8x8 square cake pan - 35 minutes

Check to make sure it is done before cooking on a wire rack.

The Best Cream Cheese Frosting - via Southern Living Magazine - October 2010

Beat 8 ounces of cream cheese and 3 Tbsp. softened unsalted butter at medium speed until creamy.  Gradually add 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt, beating until blended.  Stir in 1 tsp. of vanilla.  Frost the cooled cupcakes/cake.

Seriously... I could eat this frosting with a spoon...it is amazing and pairs perfectly with this cake recipe.

I like to store this treat in the fridge.

Madison's Pool Party

Our neighborhood has a great little pool and cabana area you can rent out.  We decided to let Madison throw a small end of the year pool party with some friends.

I designed these super cute invitations for the party -

Then I purchased scrapbook paper, gum balls, and plastic baggies from the local craft store.  I used a template and made a topper using PowerPoint which says "Have a BALL this summer"...get it? I filled the bags with gum balls :) , printed it out, and assembled these little goody bags for the girls who attended.  I arranged them in a small green tin I already had.

Then I made these super cute cupcakes for the girls -

I made homemade almond cupcakes and butter cream frosting.  I tinted the butter cream frosting and used it to frost the cupcakes.  Then I used my food processor to finely chop up and handful of Teddy Grahams.  Then I dipped half the cupcake into the crumbled Teddy Grahams to give the effect of sand..  Then I stuck a Teddy Graham (Madison helped with this part) inside a Gummy Life Saver and put it in the blue section (water).  I finally stuck a little paper umbrella into the sand.  They were a huge hit, tasted great, and looked super cute.

Only four girls ended up coming...we had Pizza Hut pizza (I forgot how tasty their thin crust pizza is), sodas, and tortilla chips and cheese dip.  They played in the pool for hours and were singing songs and making up games.

By the way, I just love these little collages, they were made on my IPhone with an app called Diptic.  I read about it on a blog.  It was only $1.99 and I love it almost as much as I love my Instagram app.

We're Hosting a Pool Party

I agreed to let Madison host a pool party to celebrate the end of 6th grade.  The neighborhood we lives in has a pool and a room they call a cabana you can rent for parties.  So this week I reserved the cabana.  Tonight I designed the invitations.  I just need to print them and have her pass them out.  Here they are {with our personal information blacked out thanks to Picnik}-

I have been busy searching Pinterest for all sorts of ideas to make the pool party amazing. I have been filling up a board with pool party ideas.  

 Here is some of my pinspiration...

I am definitely going to make these cupcakes.  I just love them.

Then I am going to make these popcorn paper cones...except I am going to use bright and fun colors for the paper.

Then I am going to give these out for favors...except I am going to make a bright and colorful topper and I am going to include bright colored gumballs.

I still have some more planning to do and definitely some crafting...but wanted to give a sneak peak of what I have in the works.

Also, don't forget to enter my fabulous Print Candee Giveaway!!

Sunday Ramblings...

First of all, I have a great giveaway going on here... check it out.  It is for Print Candee digital clip art/papers.

I booked my very first real life baking job on Friday night.  I am going to be doing wedding cupcakes for my college roommate.  I am honored to be working on this job.  I have been busy browsing Pinterest for ideas and checked out some things today at A.C. Moore.  I cannot wait to share what I come up with.  It will be a great starting point for my baking business.

I have been doing some small jobs for the photographer who shot my wedding in exhange for photos she took for me the other week.  On Saturday I assisted her with a boudoir photo shoot.  She booked a fabulous hotel room.  She shot three different ladies.  It was a lot of fun.  I cannot wait to see how the photos turned out for these ladies...as well as to see my photos which will be finished this week.  Here is the living room in the suite we had as well as the food set up I did {photos using the Instagram feature on my IPhone}.

Made From Scratch Cupcakes

I love to bake, yet I have never made a cake before totally from scratch. Saturday evening I attempted it for the first time. I made white cupcakes and they turned our fabulous. I used my friend Angie's recipe from her blog, Angie's Simple Cooking.

I used the buttercream frosting recipe from the back of the confectioner's sugar box and added pink food coloring to chage the color. I totally recommend these cupcakes - they were light and moist and a hit at Madison's Back to School Pool Party that we hosted today.