Im ready to Paaaartey!

Cue one of the funniest movies of all time...Bridesmaids. If you haven't seen it yet...go now!

Recently, I went to a baby shower, housewarming and a bird themed get together. Due to southern hospitality I know to never show up empty handed. Here is what I brought:

Read all about the baby shower here.

Housewarming: My friends Grant and Amanda recently bought a house and had a BBQ. I wasn't sure what they needed and I had never been to their house before so I opted for something general. I bought a glass measuring bowl, slapped on a bow and filled it with cupcake liners, sprinkles, measuring spoons, icing flavoring, and two spoon spatulas. Here is how it turned out:

Bird Themed Party: While exploring/spending all of my money at World Market one day I had the idea to not only wear something bird related but also bring something to the party. But what? Luckily, World Market was doing a big owl themed sale during this time so I figured, why not owl cupcakes?

You will need: 

• Yellow Cake Mix:  If you're Betty Crocker you can make them from scratch but i am not
• Chocolate Icing 
• White Vanilla Icing 
• Candy Corn 
• Edible Eyes 
• 2 Icing Piping Bags 

Directions: 

• Bake cupcakes following directions on mix
• When cooled, pipe an upside down "V" on the bottom of the cupcake. This will be used to separate the chocolate icing and the vanilla icing 
• Pipe in the rest of the chocolate icing, I then smoothed the icing with a knife
• Pipe the vanilla icing to fill in the upside down "V"
• Cut the yellow section off of the candy corn, set aside 
• Place the rest of the candy corn upside down in the middle to create the nose of the owl 
• Cut the yellow section of the candy corn, you set aside, in half. Make feet from the two pieces at the bottom of the cupcake
• Add two edible eyes to the chocolate section
• Pipe chocolate ears at the top of the cupcake
• Enjoy!      

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Pretty In Pink

This past weekend I had the pleasure of co-hosting a baby shower for a good friend. Ashlei is having a little girl, due November 25th.

Baby Shower Hosts

We had the shower Sandy's gorgeous house beautifully decorated by her daughter Jordan.

This table displayed the super cute invitation picked and mailed out by Ashley 

Sandy made the food for brunch and it was delicious! I loved the pink hydrangeas in the middle of the brunch table and the framed K that Jordan made out of buttons on the dessert table.

Brunch Table

Dessert Table 

For games I turned to Pinterest. I did not want to play the crushed up candy bars in a baby diaper game or make anyone taste baby food. Ashlei also wanted to open gifts during the shower so we wanted to leave time for her to do that. As guests walked in they came to a table. At that table they first signed a photo matte with well wishes for the mom to be. This matte will be put in a frame and will go around a photo of the baby once she is born. Next, guests grabbed a pink close pin to wear on their top as we played the classic 'don't say baby' game.

Sign in photo matte and pink close pins 

On the other side of the table was a large vase filled with baby items. As guests were visiting and eating they were asked to guess how many items were in the vase. One person guessed exactly right and won a prize. The last game was the Tummy Measure Game. Each player cuts the length from the paper strip with decorative "inch" lines. The person that cuts the length closest to the actual mom to be's tummy circumference wins!

Guess how many baby items are in the vase game

We all had a wonderful time showering Ashlei and baby with gifts and love! Cant with until November 25th!

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All Bad Things Must Come To An End...

D and I are huge Breaking Bad fans! BB is one of the few shows that both D and I like and can watch together. If you haven't watched it please jump on the bandwagon via Netflix ASAP. Sadly Breaking Bad aired its last episode on Sunday. I hopped on Pinterest to find some blue "meth" treats for a little watch party we had at our house.

The Drink: 

I mixed 1 part Blue Curacao, 1 part Squirt Soda and a splash of pineapple juice to taste. If I had time I was going to dye sugar blue for the rim but that didn't happen. My drink was delicious! ...until our dog Princess knocked it off the table with her tail. Oh our crazy beautiful life! 

The Cupcakes: 

These cupcakes are vanilla on the outside but oh so bad on the inside. HA!

Step 1) Start with vanilla cupcakes, either homemade or your favorite box mix. 

Step 2) When cupcakes have cooled cut a cone out of the top of the cupcake. Drop in crushed up blue jolly ranchers. 

Step 3) Pipe vanilla icing onto cupcakes with an icing bag. Use a homemade recipe or your favorite pre-made icing. 

Step 4) Drop Wilton Sugar Gems on top for the "blue meth" look. I saw that people were making their own sheets of rock candy to crush and drop on top. I'm not THAT creative. 

Step 5) Enjoy! 

WARNING: These are made to be enjoyed right away. If placed in the fridge the Jolly Ranchers will stick together and you will have one Jolly Rancher blob in the middle that isn't so jolly as some of my guests found out. An alternative would be to use Wilton Colorburst Batter Bits instead. 

As I try to figure out what I am going to do on Sunday nights with out Breaking Bad, keep pinning and...

Muffin Tin Madness...

Let's get crazy people. Muffin tins have been my go to dish lately. They provide perfect portions and easy clean up so hey why not?

Pepperoni Pizza Balls: You will need 1 can of Grands Jr Biscuits, 1 package of pepperoni (I used turkey pepperoni), shredded mozzarella, and pizza sauce for dipping.

Step 1) Spray muffin tin with cooking spray
Step 2) Use kitchen scissors to cut the biscuits into four pieces
Step 3) Cut pepperoni into small pieces
Step 4) Put 3 biscuit pieces your hand. Flatten them out a little bit.
Step 5) Put pepperoni then cheese on top of the 3 biscuits in your hand
Step 6) Place the forth biscuit pieces on top and roll all ingredients into a ball
Step 7) Place into muffin tin. I sprinkled Mrs. Dash: Garlic and Herb on top of the pizza balls

Step 8) Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes
Step 9) Dip in warm pizza sauce

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes: You will need-Butter, Eggs, Vanilla Wafers, Cream Cheese, Sugar, Vanilla, Cherry Pie Filling, and Cupcake Liners.

Crust-I took half a box of crushed vanilla wafers and mixed them with melted butter. I started with one tablespoon of butter and added a little bit more until the crumbs would stick together. Scoop this mixture into regular sized cupcake liners and mash it down with your fingers to create the crust of the cheesecake.

Cheesecake-MAKE SURE CREAM CHEESE IS AT ROOM TEMP or it will clump. Mix 2 packages of 8 ounce cream cheese with 3/4 cup of sugar, 3 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, a dash of lemon zest and 1 Tbsp lemon juice (I just squeezed the lemon i used for the zest) in a large mixing bowl.

Scoop the mixture on top of the crust in the lined muffin tin. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Once cool spoon cherry pie filling on top and cool in the fridge. Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pies: I fell in love with these little beauties.

You will need:

• 2 cans of Grands Jr. Biscuits
• 1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup 
• 2 cups of cooked diced chicken 
• 1 cup frozen mixed veggies 
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 1/2 Tablespoon of dried thyme
• 1/2 Tablespoon of dried basil 
• 1 teaspoon onion powder 
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt 

Step 1) Place the Grands Jr. Biscuits into each muffin cup and mush the dough down so moves up the sides.
Step 2) In a large bowl, mix the chicken, cream of chicken soup, veggies, cheese and spices
Step 3) Evenly spoon out the mixture into each cup
Step 4) Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes

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This has a Moreish Taste...

To quote my grandfather when eating something amazing my grandma cooked (who am I kidding everything she cooked was amazing) "this kinda has a moreish taste, makes me want some more." I couldn't help but remember this little gem when making this treat.

Dipped S'mores: Who doesn't love S'mores by the camp fire? Here is a less messy version of this classic treat. Spread marshmallow fluff on a gram cracker and put another one on top to make a sandwich. Place in the freezer to minimize the marshmallow fluff coming out the sides. While the sandwiches are cooling, pour 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a bowl with 1 cup of chocolate chips. Microwave in 10-20 second intervals stirring each time. Once chocolate is melted, dip the sandwiches in the chocolate a little more than half way, shake sprinkles on top and place in the fridge to harden.

Princess's Collar: I have 3 dogs so I need to minimize the amount of collar tags jingling as much as possible. I found these cute tag-less collars and got them for both Princess and Texan from Flying Dog Collars.

Leg Scrub: I know summer is almost over but I live in Texas so it will still be hot for at least another two months. Hints my need for a leg scrub. This one is made of only 3 ingredients that you prob already have in your house. Mix the following in a small bowl and stir well: 1/2 cup of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 1/4 cups of sugar. I shave before I use it then shave again after and wash off the extra oil for super silky legs.

Quesadilla Casserole: This meal has been a go-to for awhile now. I used to buy the McCormick Recipe Inspirations kit but now that I have the recipe I use the spices from my spice rack. The recipe comes with the kit and you add corn, beans, green chilies, tortillas, meat, tomato sauce and cheese. Great for when you need a quick yummy meal! Serves 8.

Microwave: I had some free time on my hands this Labor Day weekend so I thought Id tackle some projects around the house like cleaning the microwave. Please don't judge me by the BEFORE photo. I lived with 3 boys for awhile. Mix 1 cup of hot water and 1 cup of vinegar in a microwave safe bowl and heat it for 6 minutes. The pin I saw said the food would just wipe off. These stains did not wipe off but my microwave was a lot worse then the pinners was. I scrubbed the dirtiest parts and then heated up the water and vinegar mixture again. The rest of the stains did wipe off so I am pretty sure if you clean your microwave as often as a normal person it wont be any trouble at all.

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Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny...Pies

Pies: How cute are these itsy, bitsy, little pies? These are easy to make and I love any opportunity to whip out the icing bag. I made these to take to a Memorial Day party and I def didn't have any left overs. Red, white and blue fit the theme perfectly plus you can make these ahead of time and store in the fridge. Find the full recipe here.

Corn Dogs: Four ingredients and dinner is done? Count me in! Open a box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix and follow the directions for adding milk and eggs. Cooking temp and time are also on the box. Pour mixture in a muffin pan with liners and stick 1/3 of a hot dog down in the middle. I substituted hot dogs for turkey franks. Best served with ketchup or mustard. (My mom pointed out that they look like boobs, thanks mom!)

Strawberries: In our house, these strawberries are a Valentines Day tradition. They are much easier to make then they look, i promise! See my a 4th of July edition of chocolate covered strawberries here.

Step 1) Wash strawberries. They must be completely dry before they can be dipped
Step 2) In a microwave safe bowl add 1 cup of while chocolate chips
Step 3) Pour 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over the chips
Step 4) Microwave in 20 or 30 second intervals, stirring each time
Step 5) Stop heating when most, but not all, of the chips are melted. Stir until chocolate is smooth and chips are completely melted. BE CAREFUL not to overcook.
Step 6) Hold a strawberry by the green stem and dip in chocolate, let extra chocolate run off
Step 7) Hold the strawberry until no chocolate runs off
Step 8) Place on parchment paper or a waxed paper lined pan
Step 9) Once the strawberries have dried I melt white chocolate chips using the same technique and pour into a bottle. Squeeze the chocolate over the strawberries. This is optional but I think it makes the strawberries taste and look even more delicious.
Step 10) Cool in the fridge then enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup: I am a big fan of crock pot recipes. Mix a bunch of stuff in a bowl and leave it until its done? I'm sold. I couldn't wait until fall to try this out but now I cant wait until it cools down outside and we can enjoy a bowl by our fire pit. Find the full recipe here.

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Ice Ice Baby...

Vanilla Ice: I have mentioned before that I love iced coffee in the morning. I tried using coffee iced cubes so my coffee wouldn't get all watered down. I decided I wanted to step it up a bit and make vanilla ice. These cubes are only 3 ingredients and I was able to use left over beans from making homemade vanilla extract. See the full recipe here.

Meatless Egg rolls: Talk about a cheap dinner! In our last Bountiful Basket we got cabbage, carrots, celery and mushrooms. I don't cook with cabbage or mushrooms often so I didn't really know what to do with them until I came across a pin for meatless egg rolls! This recipe made a pan and a half of egg rolls that I ate on for days! The best part was I already had the produce, soy sauce and garlic so all I needed to buy was egg roll wrappers, ginger and water chestnuts. The recipe did not call for celery or water chestnuts but I like them so I tossed them in. Find out how to make them here.

Grandmothers Pin: When my grandmother passed away my mom gave me one of her pins. I don't wear pins but I thought this one was beautiful. I have kept it safe in my jewelry box until I found a way to display it. I bought a cheap frame from Target, cut up and old T-shirt, wrapped the fabric around the glass and stuck the pin to the fabric. The frame now sits on top of my jewelry box in our bedroom.

Cake Batter Cookies: Looking for quick, moist cookies? Look no further! Cake batter cookies were a big hit in my house last night. I whipped up these strawberry cookies combining the best of two different recipes I found. I plan on making chocolate cake batter cookies next.  

Strawberry Cake Batter Cookies: 
1 Box of Strawberry Cake Mix
2 Eggs (Even if the box says 3)
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of coconut (optional)

Mix all in a large bowl. Spoon out one tablespoon for each cookie on a greased cookie sheet. Cook for 9 minutes at 350.

Icing: 
2 cups powered sugar
5 teaspoons of milk

Mix milk and sugar together in a small bowl. I used a squeeze bottle to apply to cookies. Can spoon icing into cookies instead.

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