Birthday Cake

Hey everyone! Hope you guys are doing well! I've been really busy trying to juggle school, work, and well, more work. Two Fridays ago was my birthday! It was absolutely fantastic. On Friday I had a nice lunch with the girls and at night I had my family party with my best friend, Shardi, her fiance, and my boyfriend. It was wonderful! Friday night, Ben told me to pack a bag because we were going somewhere for Saturday and Sunday. Creepy, right?! Hah only kidding! He took me to Indianapolis in the morning, which is about a 2 hour drive from home. We went shopping and walked around the city, and he told me we were going to P.F. Changs for dinner! My favorite! To my surprise, six of my friends showed up! All at different times too, so naturally I cried with joy multiple times. It was a great and yummy dinner, and I was so happy to have everyone there. Ben also surprised me with a necklace. It really was the best birthday ever :) I didn't have a cake for my birthday, because I requested turtle brownies, but I found these really cute cakes online! Take a look!

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The Blushing Bride!

Hey everyone! Today I wanted to share with you my best friend of FOREVER's blog! Shardi and I have been attached at the hip since high school. People even stopped referring to us as two separate people, combined our names, and we became one, Rashard. Ha! This is Shardi and I in High School. Now we both have brown hair!

Shardi is getting married to Brandt in September of this year and she has chosen me to be her Maid of Honor! I'm so excited! Without Shardi, I would not have this blog. She was the one who inspired me to start one, and she got me all set up with my very own blog :) Shardi has her own AWESOME wedding blog, which you must check out! She has all of the latest and best wedding inspirations and ideas. Below is a recent inspiration board she did for Valentines Day. Trust me, you won't be disappointed! Even if you aren't getting married anytime soon, you can find ideas for your friends and inspiration for outside things! Show her some love and let me know what you think! Click here! The Blushing Bride

Super Bowl Football Food

Hey everyone! I'm sorry I haven't been blogging much lately, I've been busy! Right now I am in Cincinnati visiting my cousin Laura, her husband Tony, and little baby Wendy! Laura, Wendy, and I are having a wonderful day together! As most of you know, Sunday is the Superbowl! And it's in my home state! Even though the Colts didn't make it, it will still be a fun show! I'm excited for the commercials and the half time show, but mostly....the FOOD! Superbowl food is the best! It is usually a variety of appetizers and snacks. I like to make the foods festive and fun too! I picked a bunch of snacks in the shape of footballs for you all to make! Pick your favorite and let me know what you think! Click the caption to get your recipes!!



Football Whoopie Pies

 

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Football Pizza Pockets

 

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Footballs

 

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Football Bites

 

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Chocolate Covered Strawberry Footballs

 

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ENJOY!!

Mug Cake

Hey ladies! I hope everyone has had a great week so far. I got totally snowed in last weekend! I have absolutely no tread on my tires and my alignment is way off, so I was not driving anywhere. That's what boyfriends with new cars are for! I've known that I need new tires for a few weeks now, but knowing I have to pay over $400 for them, I keep putting it off. It is also so cold outside, I swear I can never get warm. Every night I crave watching a movie under a big warm blanket with fuzzy socks on, eating or drinking something warm. I have been hearing a lot about something called a "mug cake". These are cakes that are cooked in the microwave in a mug! Genius! Not only is it a quick fix, it is a delicious and cute fix! Why have I never heard of these?! Oh well, I'll just have to make a bunch to make up for lost time! Let me know what you think!

2 Minute Chocolate & Salted Caramel Mug Cake

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What you’ll need: {makes 1 mug cake}
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg – beaten
3 tablespoons skim milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 salted caramels

What to do:
1. Into a small bowl add: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt, egg, milk, and vegetable oil. Mix to combine.
2. Pour mixture into a regular sized coffee mug. Drop caramels into center of mixture one at a time.
3. Microwave on high for one minute and 30 seconds. If needed {if cake batter is still gooey}, microwave on high for up to an additional 30 seconds.


Nutella Mug Cake

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Ingredients

4 tablespoons self rising flour

4 tablespoons white granulated sugar

1 egg

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

3 tablespoons Nutella

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a largecoffee mug. Whisk well with a fork until smooth. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 – 3 minutes. (Time depends on microwave wattage. Mine took 1 /2 minutes.) Top with whipped cream and a little chocolate sauce if desired.

2. Top with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Enjoy!

Strawberries & Cream Mug Cake

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Ingredients

1 egg

2 tablespoons strawberry yogurt, well stirred

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons granulated sugar

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup fresh sliced strawberries and whipped cream for serving

1. Coat the inside of the mug lightly with cooking spray and set aside.

2. Mix the egg, yogurt, vegetable oil, baking powder, extract, sugar and flour in a small bowl until completely smooth.

3. Fill the mug to halfway full and place it in the microwave. Bake it for 3 to 4 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Top with strawberries and whipped cream and serve.

Valentine's Day Crafts

Hello lovelies! Besides Chinese New Year, Valentines Day is also coming up! For some people, this is an exciting holiday, and for others, it is not. Some like to make a big deal out of Valentines Day, but my favorite part is the cute stuff that goes along with it! I love pink and I love an excuse to decorate and make everything all girly and pink. It doesn't really matter to me what my boyfriend and I do for Valentines Day, but I'm going to have fun making all of these crafts and decorating my room pink and full of hearts. For those of you who don't have a significant other, you can throw a Valentines Day party, or even an Anti-Valentines Day party for your friends. It's a great excuse to get together with a fun theme. For Anti-Valentines Day, decorate in all green, because its the opposite color of pink. You can hang up broken hearts, voodoo dolls (fake ones please), and cut heart confetti in half for a table decoration. Whatever you plan on doing, just have fun with it! That's what Valentines Day should be about! Let me know what your plans are for V-Day, I would love some ideas! Happy crafting!

Below are some crafts I found for Valentines Day. Click the links underneath for your DIY instructions!

    1. Paper Heart Garland: Sparkle & Hay

    2. DIY Heart Glitter Nail Polish: Delighted Momma

    3. Origami Heart: B.loved

    4. Heart Bookmarks: Craft and Creativity

    5. DIY Origami Heart Cupcake Topper: Omiyage

    6. Sweet Heart Sugar Cubes: Craft Passion

    7. Candy Heart Rings: Blue Moss Girls

    8. Paper Quill Heart Pendant: Craftzine

    9. Valentine Snow Globe: Whipperberry

   10. Fabric Valentine Card: The Purl Bee

   11. Valentine Popcorn Invitation: Eat Drink Chic

   12. Candlestick Topiary Tutorial: Stay-at-Home artist

   13. Miniature Hand Embroidered Note: Cornflower Blue Studio

Here's a cute little table set up you can use for an Anti-Valentines Day party!

radmegan

Chinese New Year Recipes

Hey hey! I hope everyone had a great weekend! In my previous post I told you guys a little bit about the Chinese New Year coming up January 23rd. Today, I want to give you some Chinese recipes that you can make for your own party, or for a date night! I guess it doesn't really matter what you use them for, but you should try them out! Here you are my lovelies :) Click on the links below each picture for the recipe!!!

Steamed Chinese Dumplings

First Look, Then Cook

Baked Crab Rangoon

Tracey's Culinary Adventures

Chicken Egg Rolls

Annie's Eats

Pineapple Tart

The Little Teochew

Egg Drop Soup

Blog Chef

Fried Rice

Kayotic Kitchen

Orange Chicken

Blog Chef

Get Cookin' Ladies!

Chinese New Year

Hello lovelies! I don't know if many of you know, but January 23rd marks the day of the Chinese New Year. It is considered the biggest holiday in China! This year marks the year of the Dragon. (Click HERE to discover your Chinese zodiac). There are many cool, unique traditions that go along with this holiday. For example, the giving of the red bags. This is when parents give their children money in a red bag that signifies good luck for the year. Parents also give their own parents the red bags to signify a longer and fuller life.  My boyfriend's family is from China, so I get the privilege of celebrating with them! They go all out! His grandma makes dumplings the night before and puts pennies in some of them (after they've been boiled and cleaned, of course), and whoever has a penny in their dumpling, gets a dollar. The goal is to eat as many dumplings as you can, to get the most money! Fun, huh?! You can read more about Chinese New Year HERE.  I love learning about Ben's family's culture, and it is so fun to be a part of. Everyone should celebrate Chinese New Year! It would be a fun themed party and a good excuse to get all of your friends or family together. Today I'm going to show you some crafts you can DIY for Chinese New Year, and in later posts, I will be giving you recipes and good ideas for decorations! I will also be posting pictures from last year's Chinese New Year celebration. I hope you'll be just as excited as I am! Click on the sources below for your DIY tutorials!

Sources for DIY projects!!!
Row 1, Picture 1: All About Ami
Row 1, Picture 2: nifty thrifty things
Row 1, Picture 3: forty weeks...and then some
Row 2, Picture 1: forty weeks...and then some
Row 2, Picture 2: Fairy Fox (No DIY tutorial)
Row 2, Picture 3: Kaboose
Row 3, Picture 1: Omiyage
Row 3, Picture 2: Kaboose
Row 3, Picture 3: Creative Kismet