New Favorite Chocolate Frosting

As these uneven cake layers tell you, I would not consider myself a serious pastry or cake baker.

I am not precise, and generally rush my way through the steps so as to get the finished product in my mouth sooner. 

Think Kevin from The Office.

All that being said, I have found that my favorite cake personally is not from scratch but store bought boxed cake. 

Gasp. I know. 

It just tastes better to me, is more moist, and the crumb is something that has yet to be beat, in my book. Duncan Hines Classic White is my all time favorite. 

HOWEVER, you could hand my a $10 bill and a free tub of store bought icing and I still would not frost my boxed cake with it. I can't stand the thought or the taste of the stuff. I also feel like it rips your cake super easily anyways. 

I will say once you start making your own buttercream it becomes simple. I have stopped measuring when making the basic recipe I use, and just go by texture and sight. 

Chocolate Frosting however is another story.

 I've never quite found a good Cocoa Powder one that I have just loved.

Two weeks ago while flipping through Pinterest looking for a Chocolate Buttercream,

 I came across Barefoot in The Kitchen's Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

The concept of melting chocolate chips for your cocoa base sounded so good.

Again I am not a perfectionist when it comes to baking and cake decorating but the flavor made up for it entirely. The texture was so creamy, it tipped on the verge of a whipped cream frosting. 

I did swap out a 1/2 cup of the butter for room temp Cream Cheese just to see.

It was out of the World fabulous. 

I creamed the butter and cream cheese a ton per her instructions, and at that step alone I had to fight the urge to dip my finger in for a taste. :D Gross haha. 

 Baby Boy seemed to approve. I shared a slice with some fam and they said it was the best ever. I didn't pry and ask if the meant that as a figure of speech or if they like really, really meant it. :D
I kinda really, really mean it though when I state it IS my new favorite Chocolate Frosting!

My Current Coffee Set Up

This is my second model of this brand. I loved the first model and it packed a great punch for such a budget friendly gadget. I mistakingly thought I would replace it with a Nespresso, and while i like my nespresso it is not the same as a good ole fashion shot of creamy expresso.
So when I received Christmas money from the Hubbs I righted my wrong and bought the newer version of this model De'Longhi

When buying my first expresso maker I put at least a month of research into which brand I wanted. I looked through reviews, watched videos, flipped through pictures. I settled on the Delonghi because of the price and the amazing reviews. Also since this was my first expresso maker I figured if it was a flop and not something I was into I wouldn't be out much cash.  I ended up getting pretty into making a good pull and trying out all the drinks. 
I thought I would share some of information with you in case you were thinking of buying one for your home. While its not something I use daily, I do get tons of use out of it and make Lattes or Iced Lattes 4-5 times a week. It makes such a great ha-time indulgence.*cough: Pick-Me-Up*  My only complain so far with the newer model is the steam wand. The old model had a dial that gave better control of the amount of steam being released. The newer model basically has a med high setting and high setting. Not a deal breaker but also a bummer.

Here is my favorite Expresso Grounds *Expresso and Coffee grounds will be different in darkness and the actual grind. Expresso grinds are ground more fine.

This is my all time favorite syrup brand. It makes me more comfortable to know that the ingredients are real and simple. The flavor is the best also. My husband who is not interested in all natural foods or "health stuff" haha notices a difference when we run out and I switch to the major coffee chains brand (starts with Star haha), he says he has to use more to get the flavor he likes. 


I used this TUTORIAL from a gentleman to teach me how to run my machine and such. I was starting from scratch and reading through a manual is not my thing. He breaks down every thing quickly and explains things well. Plus if you don't think this old man is adorable than we can't be friends. :D

Emmet Lee

“He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”

Isaiah 40:11

This verse held me together during labor. I knew God would be gentle to me.

I also reminded him that I was formed of dust.

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.”

Psalm 103:13&14

The photos below are placed in the order of them happening.

 Transition. Feeling like labor would never come to an end, as if it would never crescendo, as if the urge to push would never be felt.

Squating/ leaning against the birthing tub.  With this end of labor I felt a lot of pressure on my tailbone. There is no way I could've sat and placed any pressure on that area. 

With my last birth my eyes must have been clenched shut because I do not remember him being placed on my chest. It really is a bummer because he was born encaul. 

This birth however after his head emerged I watched the rest of his body being birthed. 

Seeing him be born was amazing.

So Much Cleavage. Pregnancy boobs, am i right? Haha

God kept me present and grounded through my slow then fast labor. 

My husband kept me sane. He was so selfless in his care for me. He ran off absolutely no sleep for two days.

I was able to cut this babies cord myself. A first!

Don't Miss Out On The Fun!

As you may have already figured out I am the assistant over at Lilac Lane Patterns.

Melissa does such a great job designing fun and unique patterns.

Her patterns range from purses and quilts to her specialty girl clothing's! <3

She is having a H-U-G-E Launch Party to celebrate not only her new

website but her 50th pattern being released! 

All week you have a chance to be entered to win all 50 of her patterns!

Today you can enter to win my top 5 favorites from her.

And all week there will be other fun things so be sure to visit the new website daily!

Good Luck! 

My Hummingbird Dress

So I finally jumped on the Hummingbird bandwagon. She was having a 50% off

sale so I basically was forced to. Right? Thats how 50% off sales go?

Even though my daughter lately has not been digging what I make her I thought I 

would just go for it. She always likes dresses. Well mostly always.

My only complaint is the bodice is a little revealing, I think shortening the straps a 

hair will remedy that though.
Photos did not turn out the most crisp this day but no body is perfect I guess and the sun sometimes hides.

*note; I lengthened the dress since it is winter. When the weather 

warms up ill raise it.

Cannot wait to make a new one and tweak it by widening the straps and adding flutter sleeves.

Fabric line from a V. & CO. Moda line.
Labels are my design from spoonflower.com

Modest Swimsuit List for 2015

Every year its the same story. I search for hours for a new one piece. Well almost every year.

Last year I bought a Rey Swimwear one I had been wanting for like two years, only to be able to wear it twice. Why only twice? It was stolen. :'( I'm so over it though, can't you tell?

I know I'm not the only one who has trouble finding a swimsuit let alone one they feel covered and comfortable in so I'm sharing my list of cuties I've come across.

You're Welcome ;)

Looking for a trendy a Peplum?

Want bright and colorful 

Want sleeves? 

Like a halter? 

Don't like wedgies?  

Looking for a one piece?  Add underwire for extra

Not a smaller size? Extended size? 

Stretch Marks on upper thighs or want more coverage on your legs? 

 Big chested or like to be able to bend down and tend to your kids?

Still uncomfortable and want even more coverage? How about a swim dress?  

Foamed Milk Without Leaving The House

Foamed Milk At Home

What you need: atleast one arm, milk, mason jar, and microwave

Directions:

Fill mason jar half way up with milk.

Screw lid on, tightly.

Shake vigorously for 30-40 seconds.

Unscrew lid and pop in micro for 25 sec.

Pour foam into cup of coffee using spoon to hold back the top of the foam (unfoamy milk settles on bottom), then scoop desired amount of foam ontop of your coffee.

Sprinkle with cinnamon if you like that sort of thing.

Bam, done!

Vintage Soured Heavy Cream Sugar Cookies

I recently have started attending MOPS

and have really enjoyed it. A friend I recently made from there, named

Jessica, was talking about this recipe. She also spoke a little bit about her husbands ancestry 

and needless to say I was rather enthralled. I also just had to make these cookies. 

These cookies were her Great Grandmother-in-laws recipe.

I just love things with a little history. Not too long ago Jessica was looking through a book of her husbands genealogy and noticed that down the line one of the Great Great Great(?) Grandparents, when coming over from Germany started a candy store. Jessica apparently couldn't help but giggle because they are all wonderful bakers with a bit of a sweet tooth. 

Now that you have the back story here are these dang good cookies...

Vintage Soured Heavy Cream Sugar Cookies

My Notes: 

1) ITS 2 Cups Sugar NOT 2 cups of SUGAR Cookies haha

2) This recipe makes around 6 dozen cookies so I cut when making I 

cut in half

3) The flour you end up adding is around 6 cups

4) Feel free to sour your heavy cream yourself with mixing 1 TBL of vinegar to your cream, let sit for 15 minutes

5) mix your softened butter and sugar first for one minute or two (AKA cream your butter and sugar), then add wet ingredients, lastly mix dry ingredients separately then add little by little to wet ingredients in stand mixer

6) you must chill your dough in the fridge for 4-6 hours or overnight to make rolling easier

This is the texture of my dough before I chilled it for 4 hours

I made some fun alligators with my daughter :) and then some more traditional ones 

For the frosting I used BHG Butter Frosting 

 which was so yummy and creamy. I did substitute cream for the milk because I am naughty like that. creamy...

My husband could not keep his hands off of these things and he is a self proclaimed anti-cookie and cake person. These babies are a winner

DIY Floating Ledge Shelf

Heres what we started with. Just a salvaged piece of wood from my FIL's farm.

Roughed it up by hand with a sander

Measured and chopped to size

Found and marked our "Studs" aka wood boards that run vertically in your walls, usually around every 16".

Then Drilled a hole in both. Then placed a larger bit on the drill and drilled again, until reaching the size of the "lag bolts" we screwed into the wall that hold up the shelf.

We then got the longest lag bolts we could find, 6", and chopped the head of the bolt off with a grinder.  Install into the stud with a pair of pliers or vise-grips.  Try to get the bolts as level and straight as you can to make sliding the shelf on as easy as possible.

Measure your lag bolts spacing then drill into your wood where needed. 

Vwallah! I love it. Perfect for coffee cups! No too much work either. 

My kitchen is nothing special now but it's mine so I love it. Just ordered a new faucet yesterday though!

Decked out for Christmas

New Make Up Fun

I hate posting pictures of myself, especially selfies but I enjoyed this product enough I had to share.

Note the mascara in the corner of the left eye. I bought this tool from Walmart but I've typically only ever seen ELF products sold at target. $3 and very precise. I like it much better then the ole Qtip 

To watch video click HERE

cleaned up :D