Caramel Mocha Cupcakes...oh my!

This weekend was a fun time! I went to the coolest girls night out party you have ever heard of. It was a "Pity Party". It was hilarious. When you can sit around with some other 'mom' friends with out your children in tow you know it's going to be a glorious time! We played games, shared our 'pity party' stories, and even had a dessert competition. I had the best time getting to know these ladies better. I feel so blessed to be able to call them friends. There are rumors of another one in June so I am really praying this pans out because I had so much fun at this one!

I wanted to share with you what I made for the dessert competition. Never have I ever...made fancy cupcakes and practically had heart palpitations while doing it before now. I know how amazing these ladies are with their cooking and baking skills so I knew I couldn't just make a tray of brownies and be done. Anyone who knows me knows there are certain things that are just me.

1. I do not enjoy baking nor am I good at it. I love to cook. I guess I have never really been a 'sweets' person.
2. I love chocolate.
3. I love coffee.

These are the three things you really have to know about me. Yes I admit them. That's the first step. (o;

Well I found this blog that had this amazing cupcake recipe that sounded like I might be able to pull it off. Caramel Mocha Cupcakes...WHAT?! Coffee AND Chocolate in the same recipe. It didn't even just call for any chocolate. It was dark chocolate. I know. Amazing right?! Ok...I'm making it. Done deal.

Well I was so stressed out about making this since I had to make the icing from scratch and the last several times I tried that, my icing got all drippy. It was not pretty and I was very discouraged. It also called for homemade chocolate ganache to be put on top the cupcake before adding the icing. Oh boy...what did I really get myself into this time. I decided if I was going to do this I was going to do it right and get a decorating kit for the first time in my life so I could make the frosting look some what cute. I don't know if it was all the chocolate covered espresso beans or Dove chocolate caramels I was munching on that was making me shaky all day but holey moley. I kept blaming it on the sugar but I really think it was nerves.

BY THE WAY...this is a little embarrassing or I guess maybe it should be since the hubby cracks up at me each time. He brought to my attention that I pronounce espresso as 'EXpresso'. Whatever! I know what I am talking about. It's not the only thing I mess up. I still have a very difficult time pronouncing 'Psalm' correctly. I pronounce it 'Palm' and that is not correct. It should be pronounced as "Salm" but I am sure you already knew that. Oh well. It gives my husband something to crack up at me about (although there are myriads of things he has the opportunity to laugh about with me in his life). 

Anyway, here is the finished product...

Not too bad, right? I was pretty impressed and felt like I could definitely try and make 'fancy' cupcakes again sometime. I added some chocolate sprinkles and a chocolate covered EXpresso (lol) bean to top them off.

I did not win the competition however the girl who won definitely deserved it. She made a canoli cake creation that was to DIE for. I never heard of or had that before and it was amazing. I am really hoping I can get that recipe. Oh it was heavenly. YUM!

If you want the recipe and full tutorial click here. I am pretty sure you can substitute one of these for your morning coffee. LOL

Maybe I CAN bake after all...but my heart will always belong to cooking.  (o;

I hope you have a blessed day! †

·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ Rebecca ·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ

L.O.V.E

Here's a little project I worked on for Valentine's Day. It's pretty simple. Just the letters L O V E. I found them at the craft store already white so there wasn't even any painting involved. I feel a little like I cheated but I'm ok with that. They were about six dollars for the letter and then about 50 cents for the Valentine's Day Scrapbook paper I found. The other paper and ribbon I already had in my stash.

All you need to do is trace the scrapbook paper with the letter you want to use. Cut it out. 

Then use Mod Podge to paste it to the letter. Go over it a couple times with the Mod Podge and then you have pretty letters. I was going to let mine just stand all separate but realized it would look really cute in a box shape like this. 

I just used hot glue to attach the letters together like I did. I still felt like it needed something else so I just added the pink ribbon and done! It makes the shelf above our couch look so…well…LOVED!

I hope you have a blessed day! †

·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ
    Rebecca ·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ

Playing catch up!

It has been a while since my last post. I guess being a stay at home mom with three young children will do that to you!

Here's a wrap up since I last blogged…Christmas has come and gone in our house. We had a great time with friends and family. The New Year has come and gone as well. Right in between the Holidays I had hurt my neck and was inoperable for about almost a week and a half. That was not fun. I was in tons of pain and totally stressed about not being able to do anything around the house. My wonderful husband pitched in as always and helped tremendously with everything. I am so thankful that God blessed me with this man. In a way, hurting my neck was even a blessing. Jared told me he really appreciates me even more when I am not able to do all the things I usually do. Sometimes I wonder if anyone notices that I cleaned the TV screen from all those tiny little hand prints, sanitized the door handles, magic erased the black little scuffs from the walls or inside the fridge (Yes…I am that mom & yes it really does work extremely well actually!), etc but I guess they would notice if it was not done and anyway who cares. The REAL boss sees it all and that's all I really need. It does help to keep telling myself that though while I am doing those mundane tasks that keep me busy and from doing things I would personally rather be doing. After the neck thing, the kids and I were sick with various strains of colds. It has been QUITE a year so far. Is it 2012 yet?! LOL

I can definitely say that I have loved and maybe even become a little bit obsessed with the craft blogs. There is just a couple on my side bar if you love finding some new crafty inspiration. I do have to say these women are genius! I love it. I love it when someone is so creative like this and is kind enough to share how they did it so you can do it, too! Especially when it's a thrifty craft. If I can keep it cheap but still make something pretty…how awesome is that?! I think it's great and I have definitely been taking advantage of being able to get great ideas from these wonderful blog sites and I hope you do, too.

I think I might make a list of projects I would like to accomplish in this year. I only stay on task if I have a list of some sort that I can cross off as I go. That will be super helpful. There are many things I want to do around here and things I want to organize. I guess maybe everyone gets that itch when the new year hits. That is my goal within the next week or so to try and compile some sort of list to be able to follow. We'll see how that goes! (o:

    I hope you have a blessed day! †