Salted Carmel Cupcakes

Salted Carmel Cupcakes...

this just screams Starbucks doesn't it?

I'm pretty sure coffee flavors were what my Starbucks-lovin' husband was thinking when he was parusing my 'sweet treats' Pinterest board for his birthday cupcakes and came across these. 

It took all of 1/1,00 of a second for him to decide as soon as he saw them.

(Do you remember the Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino Cupcakes he requested two years ago?)

My first thought about the Salted Carmel Cupcake pick?

Good choice. 

And indeed, it was.

Amber over at CrazyLittleProjects shared this recipe and I am so glad she did.

I love that the cupcake recipe uses a box cake mix to make it a little easier. You could very easily substitute your favorite chocolate cake recipe.

I was a little nervous about the homemade carmel sauce but it came out perfect. (Confession: I did buy a jarred carmel sauce... you know, just in case. I've had a few very unsuccessful carmel attempts in the past!)

The only change I made was to use flaked sea salt rather than kosher salt to sprinkle on the cupcakes. I just love seeing those pretty little flakes sitting in the sticky carmel sauce. 

Flaked sea salt on dessert just happens to be my new favorite thing.

Especially when they are sprinkled on these cupcakes!

Happy 31st Birthday to my favorite person.
(I can't wait to see what cake he picks for next year!)

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Sriracha Dipping Sauce

Sometimes you just crave a grilled hamburger.
Well, if you could see the snow that is surrounding our grill, you'd know that a grilled hamburger is not currently possible.
This past weekend, I decided a pan 'grilled' hamburger would have to do until it warms up about 60 degrees outside. To make up for the fact that it wasn't going to have that
 'summer-hot-outside-Daddy-grilled-it' taste, I splurged on pretzel buns.
On my.
A good decision!!!!

I was excited to try a Sriracha dipping sauce I found over at The Hill Hangout.
It was EASY, super delicious and the perfect dipping sauce for our sweet potato fries!

All you have to do is mix the following ingredients:

1 cup of mayo

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika

3 Tablespoons Sriracha

(More or less Sriracha depending on how spicy you want it!)

And to keep it real....

You know that 'OH NO' moment when you forget about the bread you are just going to 'lightly toast' under the broiler? 

Well, it's an even worse feeling when it's Pretzel Rolls you were so looking forward to!

It's great to have a husband that says, "It's okay, you can give me the most burnt one."

Thankfully, after some scraping, they were salvageable. 

And topped with some sauted onions and mushrooms, melted cheese and dipped in the yummy Sriracha dip, they were delicious!

Happy grilling (if you live in Florida). 

For everyone else, making this dipping sauce to accompany your hamburger and fries will help you forget that you weren't able to grill outside!

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Celebrating the 2014 Olympics

I love the Olympics. Winter. Summer. It doesn't matter, I love them. 

There are some events that aren't as exciting of others, of course. {But I'll watch any of it.}

In preparation for the beginning of the Olympics a few weeks ago, I wanted to get the kids excited about watching the games.

Opening night, we had an Olympic mini-party.

We talked about the 'Olympic symbol' and made our own Olympic symbol flags with card stock, empty toilet paper rolls and paint. 

Did you know all the countries that compete in the Olympics have at least one of the 6 colors of the Olympic symbol (Blue, Black, Red, Yellow, Green, and White) in their flags?

Time to feed my Olympians!
(My Olympic ring colors were a little off. I couldn't think of anything blue that would be tasty.)

  Torches for all the athletes to carry....

 And of course, Gold Medals for all the winners!

The torches were a hit, and it quickly became apparent that my 4 year old was Olympic deprived.

We held our own little 'Olympic' games. All easy, Minute To Win It type games.
Moving an Oreo from your forehead to your mouth without dropping it, racing to pick up marshmallows with chopsticks, etc.

Watching the Opening Night of the Olympics, we learned one important thing:
Record the games so the kids can watch them the next day.
They were soooo excited about watching the torch light up, but someone couldn't stay awake long enough...

Joel and I stayed up late every night watching Primetime Olympics. Then I would watch it again the next day with the kids (fast forwarding to the good parts for them). Some days we could watch Olympics all day!
#olympicjunkie

And last night, we grabbed our torches to watch the closing ceremonies!

Looking forward to the Summer Olympics in 2016!
Until then, we will try to talk the kids out of snowboarding and ice skating lessons!

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A peek into our Valentines weekend

As my days get busier I am constantly reminding myself that

it's the little things that make special days extra special. 

Heart hair was one small thing that put a BIG smile on my second graders face.

Happy Valentines to me from my best friend. (Pink and red roses, although BEAUTIFUL, not pictured).
My hast tag for this photo was #hetotallygetsme.

Every time I see this quote, I LOVE it even more.

We were getting ready for company that night so Joel helped me by bringing dinner home.
The kids LOVED it!

I LOVE giving my kids little gifts for the 'small' holidays.
They get so excited to see what prizes they will receive!

Saturday, we boarded a train with some sweet friends and spent the day in The Windy City.
This was little Buddy's first train ride. And, of course, he was an angel the whole day.

{We all had fun at the Aquarium.}

We LOVE time spent walking in the city. This is how you do it in February!

He keeps my heart warm.
So glad he is mine.

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Salsa

Some of my favorite recipes come from a friend, of a friend, of a friend....

Here's a good one from a friend of a friend.

Salsa

Yeah, not the red kind you were thinking.

It has beans. Which I love to use but don't very often.

It has corn. Sweet corn. Yum. (Indiana is rubbing off on me.)

It has red onion. (CONFESSION: Not a huge fan, but finely diced, they are great in this recipe.)

Cilantro. (Again, not a huge fan, but something about it in this recipe.... good!)

Green onion. Yes.

Lime Juice. YES!

It's quick and easy. And tastes even better the next day. And the next. And the next.
{Except, there won't be any left after day 1!}

Other than a big 'ol bag of chips, here's what you'll need:

Salsa

1 can sweet yellow corn, drained 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed 2-3 green onions, chopped 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion (I used a little less than 1/4 cup) 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 1 Tablespoon olive oil Juice of 1/2 lime Juice of 1/2 lemon Kosher salt to taste

Add and omit ingredients according to your taste!

Mix all the ingredients together.

Cover and chill.

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Favorites of 2013

These are a few of my favorite (2013) things....

1. BARE MINERALS Prime Time Foundation Primer

You won't believe how soft your skin will be in the matter of seconds. 

Your face will feel like satin. Try it. (I promise you'll love it.)

2. Sephora Instant Moisturizer

A great everyday, light, moisturizer. It works great and my favorite thing about it, the smell. Fresh and clean. (I can't stand stinky moisturizer.)

3. Stella by STELLA MCCARTNEY
My favorite smell. And it comes in a gorgeous bottle.
There's something so feminine about perfume. (And lipstick!)

4. Sandra Boynton Board Books
I have purchased these books in the past and they are well loved....

I added to our little collection this year by purchasing several more books. So cute! Rhyming stories that all of my kids love reading! Snuggle Puppy is an old favorite. The Going To Bed Book is a new favorite.

I have a soft spot for buying my kids books.... they are catching on to this.
(Maybe bookshelves will be on my Favorites of 2014 List!)



5. He definitely doesn't come in 5th place, but my MOST favorite thing of 2013 is this guy.
I can't tell you how many kisses I give him everyday. (I'm addicted.)

(These reviews are my opinions on products I purchased and used in 2013 without financial compensation.)

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8 Months!

8 months ago- 

Seems like yesterday....

To celebrate, I decided to take some last Christmas pictures of Tagg with our tree.

(Yes, we are those people… we like to savor Christmas as long as possible!)

For photo ideas, of course, I turned to Pinterest and found Meg at Snap Happy Mom and I love her!

I changed my camera settings exactly like she said to get the bokeh look of my Christmas tree.

You can read all of her tips {here}.

Too focused…..                   too unfocused….

Perfectly blurred lights!

Then a brilliant tip Meg shared: Practice taking pictures on a stuffed animal so your kids don't have to sit while you get your lighting right.
Tagg was interested in what I was doing with his toy….

And when I was setting up the Christmas lights…. he was just too curious!

Happy 8 months Baby Tagg!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from today….

I saved my favorite for last. I love everything about this photo….
his 'ready, set, go' position,
his curled fingers,
his pudgy feet,
the way the hat is pushing his ears down,
and how his whole face lights up with his little smile.

I just can't get enough of this little buddy.
So thankful for the last 8 months!

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