Cupcake Friday!

Since I am completely obsessed with cupcakes, it seems only appropriate that my son's Halloween costume would be inspired by one:

cupcake image taken from Hello, Cupcake!

I was flipping through one of my cupcake books and came across that fish bowl cupcake.  Right then I knew I wanted to somehow make it a costume.  I emailed my husband at work as soon as I came up with the idea and he replied with:

Get it all out of your system now because once he turns 13 he is not going to want to be anywhere near you.

He is probably right.  So away I went with this idea.  Here is how my brain works:

1.  The cupcake.
2.  Draw a picture of how I envision it as a costume.
3.  Make a sample using paper towels, of course.  :)
4.  Make a larger version with poster board to get the sizing right.
5.  Sew a tiny version to make sure it is really possible.
6.  Make it happen.

I mentioned a while ago that I wanted to conquer my fear of my sewing machine I had begged to have for Christmas a few years ago.  Well...I did it!  The details are far from perfect, but for a costume for a one-year-old...I think it is just fine. I sort of followed this concept when I couldn't quite decide how to actually do this.  My dining room table looked like this for a few days and made me crazy...so I forced myself to get it done in three days.

Talk about a disaster!

It was definitely a learning experience, a few bad words left my mouth, but most importantly, I overcame my fear of that machine and actually made something (complete with a 'fish food' bucket for trick-or-treating)! 

A pretty random post...

my husband and my son this past weekend

I try not to post too many personal family photos, but this time of year just gets me so happy (happier than usual) and I feel the need to share.  This week, I have been bursting with excitement for the holidays and I feel like we were really able to embrace fall this past weekend when we spent the afternoon at a local farm.

And then came this part of our trip.  My post on Monday of our delicious breakfast kind of made me sick when we saw these baby piggies...born on 10/17.  :(  Seriously thinking about becoming a vegetarian.

The cuteness breaks my heart!

So for the incredibly random part of all of this...This song has been in my head for weeks ever since I heard it in the car awhile back.   On our way home from the farm, it came on and it was all just too perfect. It is so catchy and you can't help but dance around like a loon to it or at least bob your head like we all did in the car that day.  It just makes me happy.  :)  I love the video too...Actually I am kind of obsessed with it. 



Hey, Torrie...great song to play while dancing around the house, cleaning! :)

Happy Fall!...can't believe October is almost over!

Lesson learned...

image source

Back in college, my friends and I were completely obsessed with glasses like the ones to the left.  We all had non-prescription pairs and wore them often just for fun.  I lost my pair and happened to see some on a table at a party a few months later.  I took them!  I have no clue why, but I did.  I liked them and just figured they were some cheap pair like the ones I had prior.  I started wearing these glasses a lot...I loved them.  I felt like I could see better with them on.  Hmmm...do you know why I could see better wearing them??  Because they were prescription glasses!!!  I can't even believe it, but they were and apparently I needed them.  I was so ashamed of myself and quite honestly could not even remember from where I had taken them, so I had no way of returning them.  :(  Why did I keep wearing these glasses instead of going to the eye doctor for a much needed appointment?

absolutely fantastic eye chart prints by Etsy seller ohkayk found here!

So fast-forward a year or so...one of my very best friends came to visit us when we lived in New Orleans.  We were out on Bourbon Street at some bar (or maybe a club?), got up to dance, returned to our table to find that my bag had been stolen.  Ugh...it ended up being found and returned to me, but I was missing my driver's license, some make-up (who steals someone else's make-up? gross!), and my GLASSES!  I remember thinking, "Who steals someone's prescription glasses??"...and then remembered duh...I did!  Bam..karma!!  Anyway,  I had to go get a new license the next day and had to take the vision test.  I thought that since my vision wasn't that bad, I could just squint, pass the test, and then go get new contacts later.  I struggled reading the first line to the lady something like this, "A...F...D...E?"  She said, "Honey...those are numbers."  No joke.  Oops...off to the eye doctor my poor friend and I went to get contacts so I could see well enough to pass the test.  He was such a trooper!!  :/

Perhaps...

...I should pick up this kit:

 Kit to Thwart Writers Block:  Elizabeth Dilk

...because I have absolutely nothing to write about today!  I feel like my mind is 100% blank.  :/

Zucchini Bread French Toast!

We had the best fall weekend, including a yummy breakfast on the patio we made on Sunday.  Now here I thought I was creating something cool, only to do a quick Google search and find out that no...I did not invent zucchini bread french toast.  I just knew it had to already exist, but whatever....I didn't read any of those other recipes or blog posts before making our breakfast (which also included bacon and scrambled eggs with Gruyere), so in my mind, I came up with it.  Ha ha.

I used the following recipe for zucchini bread from my Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book .  I omitted the nuts because I hate nuts in bread.



Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 beaten egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/4 cooking oil
1/2 chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted (again, I omitted this part)

1.  Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan; set aside.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg.  Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.
2.  In another medium bowl combine egg, sugar, zucchini, and oil.  Add zucchini mixture all at once to flour mixture.  Stir until just moistened.  Fold in nuts.  Spoon batter into prepared pan.
3.  Bake at 350 degree oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Remove from pan.  Cool completely on a wire rack.  Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

That last sentence sounds ridiculous.  I sliced that thing about ten minutes after it was done.  I had to have a taste.  :)  Anyway, I don't have a real recipe for making french toast since we rarely follow recipes, so you would be better off using what ever technique you use when making it.  I just sliced the zucchini bread into about 3/4 inch slices, made a mixture of egg, milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg, dunked the slices, and then put them in a pan with a tiny bit of butter over medium heat for about 6 minutes on each side...I think.

I plan to try it again with pumpkin bread, banana bread and maybe with apple bread.  I am drooling just thinking about all of the possibilities and wondering why I didn't try any of this years ago.  It is seriously so good, so if you are like me and have not tried this, you must!! 

Have a great week!!

Cupcake Friday!...Halloween Inspiration

Happy Cupcake Friday!!  Since Halloween is approaching, how about a little cupcake-decorating inspiration!  Here are some of my favorite finds for this time of year:

witch cupcakes  (go to photo 4)

spiderweb cupcakes (go to photo 6)

yummy mummy cupcakes

spider cupcakes

bat cupcakes

little witch cupcakes

creepy cupcakes

Halloween Glam Printable Party Collection

The witch with the icecream cone hat is seriously killing me.  I think it is my favorite.  :)

We have a fun-filled weekend planned...I am so excited!  I hope you do too!!...or a relaxing one, if that's what you want. :)  Have a great one!!

Having a moment...

(image source)

I am having another moment where I want to be really girlie.  It's kind of funny because as a kid, I hated dressing up.  I remember going to dinner at my grandfather's golf club and having to dress up.  I wore a white cotton skirt and a yellow t-shirt (a t-shirt!!!) and talked about how I was "so dressed up."  Having to get dressed for church was a chore because I hated wearing dresses and skirts.  I am not sure when this changed because now I LOVE it.  I love pink and ruffles and flowers and jewelry...I could go on and on..

For now, here are a few things I am dreaming about (not necessarily worn together):

 
1.  karen headband
2.  pleated fan tank 
3.  vintage single brass ginkgo leaf necklace (my favorite of the group!)
4.  nest egg clutch

I hope you're having a great week!

In a "design" rut at home...

I have design in quotes above, because I know I am far from a designer.  I do, however, have very strong likes and dislikes when it comes to how I want to put our home together.  Our style is far from "safe", we love color, and like unique pieces.  Lately though, I just cannot seem to get it together.  I have a long list of projects I want to get working on and I have been feeling uninspired.  Whenever I get in that funk, I flip through all of my old Domino magazines and instantly get re-energized and re-introduced to some of my favorite designers who I had completely forgotten about.

Rediscovering the work of Palmer Weiss has pulled me out of my slump and has made me want to get working on some of the items on that long list of mine.  Here are a few of my favorite spaces of hers:

All of the images in this post can be found here!

Palmer Weiss Interior Design, Inc.
1808 Wedemeyer Street, Suite 180
San Francisco, CA 94129 

Honestly, there is no major work that needs to be done in our home, but just a few things that we have wanted to change since we moved in three years ago.  We have just sort of learned to live with some of the things we once hated and have now almost forgotten why we initially wanted to change them.  Oh well...time to spruce things up a bit.  Thanks to Palmer Weiss for giving me just the boost I needed!  :)

Chocolate Principles to Live By...

Two Christmases ago, my cousin gave me this book and I re-read parts of it every so often when I need a little pick-me-up.  After reading The Secret and A New Earth:  Awakening to Your Life's Purpose, this is a lighter take on the principles of a contented life and how those principles can relate to the enjoyment of chocolate.  It's really a great comparison, if you love chocolate as much as I do!  :)

Here are the seven principles (discussed in great detail in the book) as described by the author, Theresa Cheung:

1.  Discover the Sweet Center:  Positive change takes place from the inside out.
2.  Let It Melt In Your Mouth:  Make your life extraordinary.
3.  Chocolate Makes You Feel Good:  Stop feeling guilty.
4.  No Need to Eat the Whole Box:  Have the strength to say yes to what is important and no to what isn't.
5.  A Little Chocolate Goes a Long Way:  Expect nothing less than the best.
6.  Pass the Chocolates:  Give and receive in equal measure.
7.  Chocolate Heaven:  You can heal your life.

I just love the message!  So I found it only fitting to make brownies!!  I cheated again and used these.  I also added bittersweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips.  Seriously, they are the best brownies I have ever had.

When I received my November issue of Real Simple and saw this tablescape, I was in love and so inspired:

I plan to have our Thanksgiving table look similar this year...but because I am impatient, I used what we had around here for a brownie photo shoot in a similar color scheme.  :)

Have a great day!!...and some chocolate.