Yum Yum Yum!

If you know me at all, you know that I love LOVE LOVE to bake! Although, my increasingly growing belly would disagree. But thats okay, because baking and all baked goods bring me joy. And I can always go to the gym later to work it off right? Riiighhtt....

Anyhoo, nothing makes me quite as happy as cupcakes!! 

Image from: http://glutenfreeinsandiego.blogspot.com/

Let me break this down for you....

A cupcake brings all the gloriousness of a cake right to the palm of you hand. But there is something about the cupcake that is 2987398347 times better then a slice of cake. In my opinion, the cupcake brings the perfect cake to frosting ratio that a cake just cant give you. You may disagree, but I am not ashamed to say I love cupcakes!

So, I love finding new cupcake places in different cities. I just recently moved to La Jolla, and found a place called Cups to try out! 

How exciting is this?? I decided that I must go immediately, and off I went! Let me tell you, I fell in love!

Image from: http://secretsinsandiego.com/category/la-jolla-2/

Image from: http://korporatekelly.wordpress.com/category/giddy-cosmetics/

Although I am not partial to modern design, Cups is pulling it off! It brought the feel of swanky lounge and combined it with the deliciousness of cupcakes. They even had a DJ playing music when I walked in! I loved the concept of this place, and had never seen anything like it before. Good job, Cups! I approve!

Now, lets get down to the nitty gritty...

Image from: http://www.ucsdguardian.org/focus/site-seen/cups/

Image from: http://spoonandchair.com/2010/08/19/cups-cupcakes-la-jolla/

First of all, Cups has hundreds and hundreds of interesting and amazing flavors. I suggest going to the website, Cups La Jolla, and looking through all of them. They have a few classic flavors that they have every day, and then they have new flavors that they make depending on the day of the week. 

Here are the flavors I decided on:

Old School Vanilla: 

Vanilla cup topped with sweet vanilla American buttercream

Nuts Over Chocolate (v): 

Chocolate cup topped with peanut butter frosting, chocolate syrup and peanuts

Not-so-Red Velvet: 

Southern style chocolate buttermilk cup topped with sweet cream cheese frosting

Better with Bacon: 

Vanilla bean cup flavored with rich maple syrup topped with maple buttercream and crisp maple sugar-cured bacon

Yup, you read that correctly, Bacon!! So me and fellow cupcake judge Nicholas give Cups an A+! These cupcakes were DE-LIC-OUS!!!!!! My favorite was surprisingly the vegan cupcake, Nuts Over Chocolate. The peanut butter frosting literally melts in your mouth. 

Not that I have any certification, but as a self-proclaimed cupcake expert, I would definitely Cups La Jolla!

Until Next Time. :)

Doldrums

It's officially YUCKY outside. That, among other things, has put me in a state of doldrums. I am just "blah", "eh", "ack", "ugh"....shall I go on??




Since my monetary problems have not improved, and I still haven't found a job, and its bad weather outside, I supposed I have to be somewhat creative. Usually, I just go shopping when I am in in a "blah" mood...but I'm broke. And the whole filling a Cart up at the Forever 21 website, but then not actually buying anything is starting to get a wee bit depressing.




So, I can either sit here and pout (lets not glaze over how tempting this sounds...), or do something about it! But, what you ask? Well, I will tell you...


I need a change..something new...so my decision to get me out of my doldrums was a new haircut!


drumroll pleeaassee.....

Alright, alright! Hopefully this will kick me out of this yucky state of mind, and push me to do something new and exciting. I will let you know!

Until Next Time. :)

La Jolla Cove!

Do you know what I realized today?
I live in SAN DIEGO!!!
Life sometimes get so hectic and glum that I forget to look around and smell the metaphorical roses. So, I made a vow to myself to appreciate this B-E-A-UTIFUL city that I live in. I mean, seriously though, if I took a second, I would realize that San Diego is the place to be, and there 2874745983329408378 things to do here.


This recent realization has inspired to me to *GASP* walk outside and *GASP* explore the city! First stop, La Jolla Cove!


So I turned to my fellow adventurer and love of my life, Nicholas, and told him were going exploring! And off we went....

Ummm cave? Yes where do I sign up? We went to explore and discovered that it cost money to go into the cave...disappointment....

Unstable cliff? Sweeet.... You will observe that the picture is of Nicks back because I was to terrified to go to the edge of the cliff. I will stay back on the part where I can't die thank you very much!

We went down to the beach part of the amazing Cove to see all the cool sea life! Little did we know we would be getting a work by skipping from rock to rock, trying not to kill ourselves. 

This guy has it all figured out, fat and lazy, and everyone still thinks he's cute!  

The deadly rock-maze, oh yeah, the moss covered ones are slippery too..ggrreeaattt....

We got to walk through a mini-cave!

There were so many little tide pools! It was so exciting what cool creatures were lurking in each one!

Pondering all of the lovely exploring adventures we just had!

SO moral of the story was that San Diego is kind of amazing, and I can't wait to explore more parts of this city!! Next up, Nick and I have some lovely Halloween-esque plans coming up this month...pumpkin patches, Scream Zone, Costume shopping, etc. 

Until Next Time. :)

Respect!

As some of you might know, I am the youngest child in my family. Not only am I the baby, but I am the only girl with two older brothers. If you ask my brothers, they would say these two traits had proven to be quite beneficial to me growing up. Due to pride, I will NOT admit I was spoiled!


I have recently come to appreciate the other benefits of having two older brothers, that I didn't realize before. So today I will take the time pay credit to my brothers who educated me in music and entertainment at a young age. I would not have come to appreciate half the things I do now, if it weren't for you.


Here is a list, in no particular order, of all the things I love because I have older brothers:


1. Michael Jackson

Alright, I know he is an international superstar, but there is no way I would have loved M.J. like I did if it weren't for Bryn and Shea. I am pretty sure I was listening to Michael when I was a baby. And I still remember the first time Bryn made me watch the "Thriller" video, even though I was way to young and it scared the S&*! out of me! So, I thank you bros for teaching me how to moonwalk and dance battle to the tunes of good ol' M.J.




2. Comic Books

SO I will admit that I am a HUGE nerd. I get equally psyched whenever I hear that a new comic book movie is coming out, and I have my bro-skies to thank for that. I still remember going to the comic book store with them every week when the new comics would come out. I never bought any, but I would always sneak in their rooms and read all of them....even the ones that were in "mint condition", that I wasn't supposed to open...oops....

3. 90's Hip-Hop

Hip-hop and rap today doesn't even compare to what I listened to growing up in the backseat of my brother's Rocky, with the ridiculous sound system built in. If you disagree, you can go ahead and stop reading right now. Nothing can beat the sounds of 2Pac or Biggie, old school Jay-Z, Dupri, heck I will even take Will Smith "Summertime"....the list goes on and on....and I would never appreciate it without the help of my brothers.

4. The Classics

Before there were remakes, remastered, sequels, or prequels, there were The Classics. Those movies that define your childhood, that make you want to learn karate, fight ghosts, or master the force. Those were the movies I grew up watching with my brothers. 

5. Video Games 

Although I never beat Super Mario Bros., and I could never quite make it past the guy whose pants dropped in Punch-Out!, I still loved playing all your video games. If it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't have had the newest video game console at my disposal to practice for hours.....and yet still never beat you! Grrrr!

So thank you Shea and Bryn, from taking me for taking your spoiled little sister, and teaching her how to be a little bit cooler. While, some might see it as being a little unorthodox to let an 8 year-old listen to 2 Pac, I give you nothing but respect....I love you both!

Until Next Time. : ) 

A Little Bit of Sunshine!

The sun was out in San Diego, just about two months late of summer, but I'll take it! I decided that tonight would be a baking night, and gave Nick the decision as to what were going to make. Then I got his message saying that he wanted to make Lemon Cake! How appropriate...a little bit of sunshine right there in the kitchen!

Nick had a recipe from his mom. Here are a round up of the ingredients:

Lemon Cake

                              - Yellow cake mix (I used Pilsbury Moist Supreme)

                              - Lemon Jello      

                              - Powdered Sugar

                              - 4 Eggs

                              - 3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

                              - 2 Tablespoons Butter

                              - 2 Lemons

                              

Thats it! Easy ingredients! Now you will be on your way to Lemon Deliciousness!!

Ok! So first you mix the Yellow Cake Mix with the Vegetable Oil, followed by the 4 Eggs (which should be mixed together in another bowl before hand), and lastly add 2 Tablespoons of softened butter. 

Then you mix 3/4 Cup of hot water with the Lemon Jello powder.Pour that Jello concoction in with the other mixed ingredients. 

While mixing them all together until no lumps are left, slice one lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the batter.

It's starting to look more and more like sunshine!

This recipe is supposed to be for a bundt cake, but we have no bundt-like cake containers to cook in, so I had to improvise. I used and 11 X 7 baking dish instead, and it worked out just fine.

Anyways, stick that sucker in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees! 

Now the icing! Yum!! And get ready to be shocked by how easy it is. All you do is mix together Lemon Juice and Powdered Sugar! However, there are no measurements here, so just eyeball it until the frosting becomes thick and delicious looking! 

Drizzle the frosting on the cake when it gets out of the oven....annnnnd YUM

Ok, so we had a MINOR sinking in problem in the middle of the cake. I have this problem making things look as good as they taste. But lets just ignore that and move on...Let the cake cool and then cut in and enjoy!!

Let me just say thank you to Nick's mom who gave us this amazing recipe!!! It was sooo yummy. Try it yourselves!

Until next time. :)

                                                                                      

Fall Obsession!

So my mom came down for a weekend to check out my beautiful new apartment, and what is a mother-daughter weekend without a shopping??? So off we went to Bloomingdale's (dangerous...), and what was everywhere? FUR (Faux of course)!

I have fallen in love with the fall fur trend! So of course I tried on tons of jackets and vest, channeling Rachel Zoe of course. I died! It was such a major moment! (I hope someone picked up on that quote) I made the decision right then and there that I absolutely MUST have a faux fur jacket and vest, and figure out where on earth I would wear them some other time....

Observe the fabulousness!

I loved the plush feel of this jacket. I was obsessed as soon as I put it on. So luxe!

Image from: Bloomingdale's

Give me a bow on anything and I will be a happy girl!

Image from: Bloomingdale's

This vest is from Aqua, Bloomingdale's exclusive brand. Fashionable but affordable.

Image from: Bloomingdale's

Love the combo of the long-sleeved basic tee with the over-the-top fur!

Image from: Bloomingdale's

I love the details added to the fur!

Image from: Bloomingdale's

This is the jacket my mom walked away with. So boho-chic!

Image from: Bloomingdale's

Image from: Bloomingdale's

I walked away with this leather and shearling jacket! I have been in the market for a leather jacket for a while, but I still incorporate the trend by purchasing one with a shearling neck-line. I didn't want to commit to fur just yet, maybe when it gets a little colder I'll take a second look. Any excuse to go back to Bloomingdale's is fine with me. :)

Until next time.

Long time No Post :)

I have returned from my hiatus! This summer has been a whirlwind of working, tennis, children (NOT mine!), moving, cleaning, moving, unpacking, etc.....

I am finally moved into my new apartment, and am officially in love! Don't get me wrong, the Missouri Mansion was a crazy-beautiful-hectic home, and I loved it! BUT I am now a resident of La Jolla, in an beautiful recently remodeled apartment!!

So, now I am focusing on using my new GREY and YELLOW inspiration to create my dream room!My mother helped me with putting the look together, and we just bought my comforter today, have my eye on some sheets, and looking for cute "nic-nacs" to create the look....For now, I will show you some rooms I am using as inspiration, and things I am looking at to add to my own!

Here is the bedding I got! Love love!

Image from: Restoration Hardware

I'm thinking about this for the wall in my room 

Image from: Ork Poster

Inspiration! Love the walls!

Image from: Martha Stewart

More color combination ideas!

Image from: Martha Stewart

Image from: Home Decorators

Image from: Apartment Therapy

I have my inspiration, not it is just time to bring it all together! Getting a good start....

Until Next Time :)