Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts

DIY Christmas Ornaments


Making Christmas ornaments is a must! So easy, fun, and full of potential.

I adore books; reading them, trying to write them, decorating with them, looking at them, etc.

Taking that love and finding a way to incorporate it into the holiday I cherish most thrills my heart.

Definitely doing this again soon.

I find so much joy in simplicity and creativity... it provides so much peace for me. We can all use more of that, right?

'Tis the season!



Painting... and Pushing Past the Fear


Happy Mother's Day!

I'm not a mama yet, but one day.

Right now, I'm a gal who adores my husband, my puppy, my nieces and nephews, and all my friends' and their kids that we've adopted as our own.

God's made my life beautiful.

Despite the disappointments and difficulties, it's pretty great. 


I've learned what's important, who matters, and that doing things that make your heart happy is what's up. This stepping out of my comfort zone has produced some pretty amazing things. Pushing the fear of failure aside and going for it anyways has been the biggest accomplishment in my life.

Does is always work out? Nope. But a lot of times, it does! Maybe after trial and error. Stains. Spills. Mess ups that require loads of help recovering... 

Like this beauty!

I'm so happy with it. Truly.


But you know what? When I first sat down at the canvas, I almost said, "Not today." I didn't think I had it in me. Had practically already convinced myself that it wouldn't turn out right. 

Still, I picked up a brush. I dabbed it in some paint and made that first swish. And I kept swishing! 

It was fun to play around with all those colors, shading, lines, highlights... even though I had to cover and start over a time or two at certain parts. (Sounds like life a little, huh?)



Now, I can' t quit looking at it. It makes me smile. Pretty big. 

Can't wait to see what beautiful prize awaits us through our adoption process, too. Am I'm a little scared of disappointment? Yes. Terrified at the possibility of heartbreak? Absolutely. Because we've been through it all before! 
But, we sat down at the table again and picked up the brush... So, I'm trusting this process. Well, trusting God to handle it. 

One day, I fully believe we will have the most incredible little human to pour ourselves into.

I'm going to cherish every single moment. Getting there... and when we're right in the middle of it.






Easter Egg Cupcakes



Happy Easter, friends!

Huge thanks to @cake_me_home_tonight for their perfect vanilla cupcake recipe!

They paired perfectly with this little bird's nest idea for the top.

Light, fluffy deliciousness, crowned with buttercreamy goodness, and Eastery cuteness to bring it all together for the day!

Cupcakes:

1 egg, room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
2 tbsp sour cream, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 parchment cupcake liners.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine. 
Add in milk, vegetable oil, sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined with the dry ingredients. Do no over mix. 
Portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners using a large cookie scoop, about 3/4 full. 
Bake for 20 minutes, until the tops of the cupcakes bounce back slightly when touched. 
Remove the cupcake pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. 
Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.




Buttercream Frosting:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp heavy cream

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, add in room temperature unsalted butter. Whip the butter for 5 minutes on medium-high speed, scraping down the sides occasionally. The butter will be light, fluffy, and pale in color. 

Add one half of the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed setting until fully combined. Add remaining powdered sugar and continue to mix on low until incorporated. 

Add vanilla extract and salt and mix on low until combined. Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream. 

Turn the speed on the mixer to medium-high and whip for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally to ensure the frosting is well mixed. 

If desired, switch to a paddle attachment on the stand mixer and mix buttercream on low speed for 2 additional minutes to remove air bubbles to create smooth frosting. 

Pipe onto the cupcakes with a pastry bag and desired piping tip. 

(Cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To serve, bring them back to room temperature.



To keep up with my Easter theme, I shaved chocolate from a Hershey bar using a cheese slicer. I did this directly over the top of the cupcake, already topped with frosting, and let the shavings fall wherever they wanted. (You may have to rearrange a few to get the full effect.)

I topped my little nests with MnM eggs. (Cadbury was sold out!) These colors were perfect, though!

This whole experience was fun. It was a lot of work, honestly, but worth every minute. I was so proud of these babies. They looked incredible and tasted delicious. The family was impressed, and the littles thought they were the coolest things ever. 

Mission accomplished. 











Bah Humbug - @silverlininglessons



Merry Christmas, everybody!

My gift to you today is sharing a new thing I wholeheartedly adore.

This loaded tea recipe is so simple, affordable, and beyond delicious!

Huge thanks to my friend for introducing this new venture to me. @silverlininglessons has a bookoo of recipes, so check them out!

They're all so incredibly satisfying to create and beautifully yummy.

This drink is called the "Bah Humbug..." but there's nothing dreary about this guy!

Dissolve:

1 tsp 4c berry energy powder
1/4 tsp black tea powder
1/8 tsp Guarana powder
1/4 tsp Starburst blue raspberry drink mix
in 6 oz hot water. 

Pour into a 32 oz tumbler. 

Insert straw. (Pack with ice.)

Coat with 2 oz of aloe vera berry juice.

Dissolve:

1/2 tsp Koolaid tropical punch drink mix
1/2 tsp GV blackberry lemonade drink mix
in 8 oz cold water.

Pour over ice and drink up!




 

Gingerbread House Party



Looking for a fun, different, easy Christmas get-together idea? I was, too!

So.... 

Let the first annual Gingerbread House party commence!

We’re all about starting traditions.

I used to say “wait until we have kids...” but, I don’t wanna!

I want to enjoy every aspect of life, especially holidays, to the fullest! And by golly, I will.

And, when our sweet baby B’s arrive, they can just join right in!




I love this idea so much, because you can make it creatively festive. It can be set up however you prefer... conveniently without removing anything from their original packaging... or if you're like me, you can arrange a super cute display that will require a little prep and clean up time. 

Either way- still simple and so fun.  

Everyone had a blast! Kids went first. Once they were done, it was the grownups' turn!

There was so much creativity going on at that table, y'all. We were all showcasing some hilarious talent.




I'll admit- while I wanted all kinds of pretty colors and textures, I wanted to think somewhat technically, too. So... off to Google I went. 

Regular frosting seems to work best... and Wheaties don't work that great for the roof! 

 



Cinnamon Toast Crunch, though... perfect!





One thing I will recommend, take the easy way out on the house. I wanted to see what I could do with graham crackers... and well... I did. And it wasn't pretty!

Premade houses are the way to go. They don't taste great, but do we really eat them anyways? 

Nah, just eat the left-over treats from the decorating!




Twizzlers were fun for fencing around the house... Took some effort, but with some toothpicks, anything is possible!




We'll for sure do this again. Great time with friends and their kids. 

Cute, creative, festive, and fun. 

Perfect for Christmas time, right?!

Christmas Truffles - @laurenslatest



These things are not only beautifully festive... they're delectable! 

They're extremely easy to make and yield about 24-30 truffles.

Perfect for a Christmas party treat. 

1 cup white cake mix
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp Christmas sprinkles, plus more for decoration
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips or vanilla almond bark

In a large bowl, whisk cake mix, flour, and sugar. Stir in melted butter, vanilla, milk, and sprinkles. The mixture should be moist and be able to hold its shape easily when formed. 

Using a cookie scoop, form mixture into even balls and refrigerate 20-30 minutes. 

In the meantime, melt chocolate in a double boiler or slowly in the microwave. Using a fork, drop one of the cake batter truffles into the chocolate and roll around to coat. Tap off the excess gently and transfer to a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

Top with more sprinkles if desired.