Kelsey's Wedding Cupcakes

This summer our sweet friend from church, Kelsey, got engaged.  She only had a matter of weeks to get things planned and organized before making a move down to Florida, but she knew she wanted me to help with making cupcakes.  200 cupcakes (red velvet, white, and chocolate) to be exact, and to make Grandma happy, a BIG cupcake that could be something to cut.  (Gotta keep that cake cutting tradition, ya know.)  So, this was all before I began working, so I thought, hmmmm.... 200 cupcakes... that is something I've never done before.  I'm pretty sure I could handle that.....

Oh my good golly, that is a.lot.of.cupcakes!

Then add that monster of a cupcake.

That thing made me nervous.

Like a nervous wreck to be exact!

But while I was at work, my mom was over watching the kids and did a little research for me and learned we could make the base out of white almond bark.  Not sure how she did it... but it turned out great.  Then after a disaster of a first attempt using red velvet cake, I made a white cake, kept it in the freezer all day while I was at work, came home, shaved off the top with a serrated knife, popped it out of the mold, and that seemed to be the trick.  I stuck the bottom part in the almond bark mold, trimmed off the top, and then put a layer of buttercream on it before applying the top part of the cupcake.  I think it turned out better than I had pictured... and Kelsey loved it, so that made spending hours in a kitchen that looked like a cupcake exploded everywhere all worth it! 

Congrats Kelsey & Jordan!

May God bless your new life together! 

Queen Bee by CJM Apron and YUMMY Recipes!

 

So, you may notice that I've been a little (ok, a lot) MIA lately from blogging.  This new part-time co-hosting job has really taken a lot of time out of my schedule, even though it's only 4 hours a day.  But, one of the cool perks about being on TV is that I get to do really fun cooking segments, learn new recipes, and wear super cute aprons, like this one from Queen Bee by CJM.  I LOVE this apron!  Not only is it so stinkin' CUTE, it's really practical and functional as the bottom part is made out of a kitchen towel.  One of my FAVORITE college professors from Harding University, Dr. Carroll, is designing and crafting these aprons with her daughter and they have quite the variety over on their etsy site, HERE. 

Here are some of my favorites!

Cute, huh????  

You need to go LIKE her fan page on facebook HERE and show her some PnP LoVe!

(please & thank you!)

Well, yesterday on the show we had Chip from 5 Flavors on cooking up some marinated flank steak, fall ratatouille vegetables, and their house potatoes.  

You can watch the segment HERE!

But, I just had to share the House Potatoes recipe with you all!  

They were DELICIOUS!  I can totally see why they were his "house" specialty!

5 Flavors Signature Potatoes
-serves 10
Ingredients:
10 large Idaho potatoes
1 quart of heavy cream
Salt and pepper
Peel potatoes and using sharp knives carefully slice potatoes and keep them in their original shape.  Place in large casserole dish side by side.  5 potatoes on one side and 5 on the other.  Pour quart of heavy cream over the potatoes and heavily salt and pepper.  Using your hand, gently press and spread the potatoes out evenly. Immediately place in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour or until brown and bubbly on top, may garnish with parmesan if desired.

Step Over Oprah...

Well, I promised a BIG announcement today on the blog....

Drum roll please...

I'm going to be a co-host on the new ciLiving.tv show starting this Monday from 4:00-5:00 on WCIA!

Here I am with my fellow co-host, Drew.

This guy is a lot of FUN!  Very quirky and I'm so excited to be working with him!

So, a little back information...

Back at the end of July TJ & I were watching tv and a commercial comes on about this new show coming this fall.  They said they were looking for someone with pizazz and energy and immediately I felt like they were talking to me through the tv.  I knew this was MY job for the taking and I had to go for it!  So, with the help of my sweet mama and hubby, we made a little audition video, featuring me with cupcakes (what else?) and we sent it in.  About a week or so later I got an e-mail from one of the producers telling me they'd like to get to know me better and tell me about this new show.  EEeEEeeKKK!  So, in I went.  It was never really called an "interview" but that is exactly what it was.  After hearing about the show and it's concept, they wanted to do some test interviews with me on camera.  Yowzers.  Ok, I can do this... So, we role played a few interviews, bombed the first one and by the third one I was feeling a bit more comfortable.  So, then it was a waiting game.  I finally heard back from them a couple weeks ago wanting to meet with me again, and this time it was to offer me the J-O-B!  Super excited.  Super nervous.  They put me right to work, and let me tell you.... it.was.work! (j/k)  One of our clients, The Studio, was having a grand opening celebration with celebrity hairstylist, Dean Banowetz, and wanted me to come in and get a celebrity makeover.  Shut.the.front.door.

It was AMAZING!  

 

Meeting Dean.  This guy is awesome!

He does Simon Cowell's hair every 10 days,

was the stylist for American Idol the first 6 seasons, and

Ryan Seacrest's stylist the past 9 years just to name a few of his clients.

 Consultation time...

 Time to color those "more mature" hairs as Dean likes to call them!  LOL!

 Now, any guesses on whether or not I've been able to re-create this look....

Nope.

After it was all over, we did a little interview with Dean.  I'm telling you, nicest guy ever.

Here's a link to see the interview and a fast forward version of my makeover that The Studio put together.  Check it out HERE.  It's really fun!

So, that was a tough first day on the job, let me tell you!

But, since then it's been rehearsals and making sure I'm comfortable on set and doing interviews, because this show is LIVE, no take twos!  Eeekkk!

We went on the morning show today to promote the show, so in case you missed that, here's the link to go check it out.  Click HERE!

Meet and greet luncheon today, premiere party Wednesday and Thursday and then one last rehearsal Friday and then SHOWTIME!  I hope you'll tune in and support me in this new adventure, it's going to be fun and I promise to keep it real and exciting.  (Now if anyone has a cure for the butterflies, send the antidote my way!)

Cupcake Monday - Princess Cupcakes

So, remember awhile ago back on facebook when I said I just got done making some super cute princess cupcake toppers????  Well, here they are.... Cute and sparkly, huh???  I tell you what, having a cricut makes making cute cupcake toppers a breeze!

And I know these white cupcakes are nothing new to the blog, but they are my sister-in-law's favorites, so that's what we went with for my sweet niece's 3rd birthday!  (Stay tuned for party pics, hopefully up this Friday!)

So, I also know that I have been about MIA from the blog for awhile, but it's only because I've been super busy and have a BIG announcement coming tomorrow!!!!!  I've been dying to share it with everyone, but haven't been able to, that is, until TOMORROW!  So, stay tuned!!!!  It's BIG, I promise.

XOXO

(and NO, not pregnant!)

Cupcake Monday - Pina Colada Cupcakes

 

While wasting a lot of time on facebook one day, I ran across a cupcake shop featuring their pina colada cupcakes.  They looked soooo good, so I figured, I best try making some myself since I don't live anywhere close to this cupcake shop.  I asked on facebook for some recipe recommendations and got a few good ideas.  I still have one more recipe I want to try, which is from scratch, but I went with this one which is a box mix jazzed up a bit.  They turned out really good and moist!  I think next time I'll be adding a little more rum, since I went with the real stuff and not the extract.  I topped them with a coconut rum buttercream and it was de-lish!  These were definitely a hit and you should give them a try!!!

Pina Colada Cupcakes

Recipe via Betty Crocker - with some alterations

 Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1

  box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix - I used a Pillsbury white cake mix

1/3 

cup vegetable oil

1/4 

cup water - I used 2 C. coconut milk at room temperature

1

  teaspoon rum extract- I used 1 T. coconut rum

1 

can (8 oz) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

3

  eggs - I used 3 room temperature egg whites

1 

teaspoon coconut extract 

Then I added a box of coconut instant pudding

Frosting:

1/2 C Butter - I used unsalted

4 C powdered sugar

3 T. coconut rum - I wish I had used more, but I ran out!

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all of the wet ingredients and then add the cake mix and pudding, beat just until combined.  Scrape down sides as needed.  Fill muffin cups and bake for 16 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Directions:

Beat butter and rum until creamy, gradually add in powdered sugar 1/2 C at a time until you get the right consistency.  Top with shredded coconut and garnish with a cherry. 

Back to School Segment

 Yesterday I had the pleasure of going on the Morning Show on WCFN to share some cute back to school ideas and cupcakes.  In case you missed it, click HERE to watch the clip.

 I found the idea for the pencil vase over on Shindig Parties TO GO.

It was super EASY and turned out really cute.

To see a tutorial, you can get all the details over on Shindig's blog HERE.

 Can you really go wrong with oreos and melted chocolate?

I found this idea via Shindig's blog, too!  

To see a tutorial on how to make these you can find it HERE.

She also has some FREE back to school printables you can download, too!

 I found these cute cupcake liners and toppers at Williams-Sonoma.

 These "I'm So Lucky to Have You" tags are so cute! 

I found them via The Girls at Eighteen25.  

You can download your FREE set HERE.

 My grandma passed two chalkboards down to me when she was doing some cleaning awhile back, and as soon as I got them I KNEW what I was going to do with them.  I'd seen back on Living Locurto last year that you can put what grade your child is going into and the year, and have them pose with the chalkboard on the first day of school each year for a picture.  It would be a fun tradition each year and would make for some cute photos to display at the high school graduation party!  I've had a few people ask me where to find these chalkboards, and I actually saw some today at Hobby Lobby so look there!  :)
For the high lighters, I found this cute tag that says, You are the Hi-Lite of my day!  Super cute and what teacher can't use some new high lighters?  To get your FREE printable, head over to One Charming Party's blog HERE.

I love these cupcakes!

They turned out so cute.

I had seen the idea in my Martha Stewart cupcake cookbook and have also seen them on pinterest, where they linked back to Betty Crocker.  They are super easy to make and very kid friendly.  To get a demo on how to make them, go watch the clip!  :)

Willow Designs WINNER!

Congratulations to Dorie!!!

You are the $15 Willow Designs winner!!!

I will be sending your contact info on to Kasey.

Thank you to everyone who entered!

Don't forget, you can still check out Kasey's cute hair bows and clips HERE!