Late Late Late ..tsk.

Fill in the blank...Saturday! Woo...sorry for not being punctual. Enjoy your Saturday :)

1.   If I could get away somewhere for the weekend I would go       to Santa Barbara   and I would bring      sundresses, taylor, michael and an appetite for cheese and wine and I would NOT bring my crackberry blackberry   .

2.  Something I often rant about is    all the things I want to do in my life. the list is endless! also, how I think every person should have to work a customer service job at some point in their lives. it would help make people kind, patient and respectful  .

3.  One item I need to have in my fridge at all time is     hummus. for the crackers in the cupboard  .

4.  My "life-saving" product is   chapstick. without it i would perish  .

5.  A friend is someone who     still answers your phone calls after you have ignored theirs for a week cuz you are too busy. and someone who knows how weird you really are and still wants to hang out with you anyway  .

6.  If I could write my own blank it would be       the best desert i have ever had was...   .

7.  My favorite kind of art is       definitely photography. its so real and the world is such an amazingly beautiful place and when it is captured in great photos - its perfect. i can relate to photos much more than a painting.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!! 

I promise I am getting a USB cord this weekend!!!!

Broken USB Cord

What can chew up everything in sight and still be precious? 


Puppies. That's what.


I am sitting here trying to figure out why my Mac is telling me that my USB is using up too much power and is being deactivated. What in the world?!


Looking down I realize that Taylor chewed up my USB camera cord sometime in the last few days and it no longer works. It is a goner.  I hope she enjoyed chewing on wire and plastic (soo not good for her!).


Anyway, I have a bunch of new pictures I wanted to show you but now I can't. They are prisoners in my camera and until I go buy a new USB hook up.  *tear*


In honor of the little monster destroying my wonderful blog post that was supposed to be about banana oatmeal muffins (check back for that later this week..) here are some of her latest photo opts and adventures.

Until I get a UBS cord...

Fill in the Blank...Sunday..!?

Ohhh I know I'm bad. This shows my true procrastination skills but in my defense this has been the busiest two weeks I have had in a looong time! Tomorrow is my first day off work since Mother's Day. So can you cut me some slack? Thanks friends :)

So here are my Friday fill ins on Sunday. Oh, and congrats on making it through the "end of the world" today. I am glad we are all still here.

1.   People always tell me I look like      Melissa from the Bachelor. I won't complain she is a cutie!   .

2.  Friends don't let friends    go it alone  .

3.  A sunny day is perfect for     everything! the beach, running, picnics, drinking, hiking...oh the list goes on!   

4.  My favorite accessory is   my two $8 rings and my necklace...I pretty much never take them off  .

5.  If I could afford it I would     start a bakery and travel the world  .

6.  The cure for boredom is       baking! duh   .

7.  I am currently "in like" with       teaching Taylor new tricks! She is a fast little learner    . 

Marscapone + Strawberry Filled Cupcakes

Who says cupcakes have to be topped off with a mound of frosting? Not me.


These simple cupcakes are light, fresh and delicious. No flavor overpowering the other...harmony :) 


So much so that they are completely acceptable to eat for breakfast..I know from experience.


Slightly Vanilla Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup granulated white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature (cut into pieces)

1 large egg, room temperature

2 large egg yolks, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (ie: light and fit vanilla yogurt)

Combine all dry ingredients in your stand mixer.

Mix in butter, eggs, egg yolks, vanilla and yogurt. 

Mix until combined.

Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until firm.

Cupcake Filling

1 cup marscapone cheese

1/2 cup strawberries

1/4 cup white sugar

Combine in food processor until smooth.

Cupcake Glaze

1 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

4 cups confectioners' sugar

Mix sugar and water over the stove until dissolved. Bring to a simmer and then pour into a bowl with the confectioner's sugar and mix until smooth. (Don't prepare glaze until the cupcakes are cooled and filled, it hardens somewhat quickly)

Once the cupcakes have been cooled, fill a pastry bag fitted with a small tip (ie: #4) with the strawberry filling.  Insert the tip into the bottom of the cupcake and fill until you feel the cupcake plump.  Then pour glaze over the top of cupcake and let cool completely.  Add sliced strawberries for decoration.

Baby Bissin has Arrived!!

Remember a while back when I shared the story about Cameron and the miracle of his girlfriend carrying on his legacy and life through a little baby?  Well she has finally come into the world!  


She is beautiful and already looks like Cameron.  God knows she will be the most beautiful girl when she grows up and she will be told so many stories of her father and how much him and his mother love her. She will be so deeply loved and cherished and is lucky to be born into such an incredible family of people.




Congratulations to the Bissins! I am so happy that healthy little 7 pound 1 ounce Payton Cameron Krysteen Bissin has come into the great big world!


I can't wait to watch her grow :)

Payton and Grandma <3

How to Kill Time

Play around with photobooth.  It will not only make the hour pass by but you will burn some calories from laughing your little butt off! I swear...this never gets old.




Enjoy our family photos, friends :)


PS- I can't believe I am actually showing you these pictures. I must be losing it.

Oh Ikea, How I Love Thee

I am down $150 but don't even care because that money bought me my new obsession and some motivation.

Money can definitely buy a teeny bit of happiness :)

Friends...behold my new kitchen cart! It may look modest but don't be fooled - it is awesome and fits perfectly in our teeeeny little apartment (aka: Harry Potter's cupboard). That is my new nick name for the apartment the last few days.

So hopefully this will help me bake more often because - let's be honest, I have majorly been slacking lately. My apologies everyone :(

Happy Friday the 13th! Anything suspect happen to you today?!

Cake Class Week #4

Practice makes perfect...

Practice

Practice

Practice

I lived these sayings at this class.  We learned and conquered the beautiful and some-what pain-staking art of making buttercream roses.

I have tried to teach myself how to make these via youtube and instructions on websites and they both failed me. Actually, roses was the main reason for me wanting to take this class.

So I was determined to make a good one by the end of class.

So, pastry bag in my exhausted and sore hand and feeling a good amount of frustration from the amount of "roses" I had thrown right back into the frosting bowl...SUCCESS :)

I am SO excited to finally know how to make pretty roses! I can't wait to have an occasion to use them. This was also the last class but don't you worry I am already enrolled in "intermediate" decorating. I start again in one week! Just can't get enough!

It's Friday...

...Fill Em' In!!

With a little shout out from Taylor! She hopes you have a great weekend! :)

1.   What I love most about my home is      relaxing and watchin' flicks on the couch with the family. Home really is where the heart is!

2.  I'm excited because,    it is getting hot outside...that means summertime is coming!!  .

3.  My preferred method for blowing  off steam when I'm frustrated is     depending what is wrong either running or crying...depends if Im mad or sad   .

4.  Currently I am craving   not to go back to work!! also, a nap  .

5.  The thing I love most about my mom is     she cares about everyone and everything more than I thought possible. She is an amazing friend and care taker and sometimes she can even be funny ;)  .

6.  If I was going to write a book about my life, the title would be       "How to be Awesome!"  ....umm...ya I'm serious ;) wink face again   .

7.  If I were to eat one thing for the rest of eternity it would be      OH man..thats so not fair!! Chocolate something and/or turkey avocado swiss sandy...

Ooh, Stagecoach

You are a fleeting weekend. 

Another year, more amazing memories of friends and music.  Every artist was outstanding (as usual) and I definitely belted it out and sang along all weekend.

DAY ONE:

Poolside

Coronas

People Watching

Hot 90 Degree Sunshine

Chris Young

Darius Rucker

Kenny Chesney

Cheeze Its

DAY TWO:

Sleeping In

Eggs Benedict

Jack Daniels?

More People Watching

Hot 95 Degree Sunshine

Jack Ingrahm

Josh Turner

Carrie Underwood

Rascal Flatts

Pizza

I would sum that up as a successful weekend with some of my greatest friends.

I look forward to next year for round #4 :)

Birthdays and Baseball

Two of my favorite things! If you don't know already my family and I are huge Angel's baseball fans. Thanks to my dad we have season tickets and do our best to take advantage of that as much as possible.


So, naturally we go to the Angel's vs. Red Sox game for my brother Ryan's birthday.  


HALT!


Let me just put it out there now (and I apologize if I offend anyone reading this!) but I can NOT stand the Red Sox! BAH they just drive me crazy! Okay..phew I feel better that I got that off my chest :)


Anyway, back to the story..


Going to the game (my first of this season) was super fun. Hanging out with my little brother and sister and the BF. My sibs are pretty entertaining - I'll give them that.

What made the day even better is that we got Howie Kendrick's autograph too! Granted...we waited in a 2 hour line in the mall. Its okay though, tots worth it :)

Ryan and Howie (we got a blinker!)

 Jenna and Howie

 My turn!!

So it was an Angel's filled day and I am SO okay with that. I even made my brother a birthday cake that was all about them Angel's.  GO HALOS :)

Next Post: Stagecoach and how amazing it was!!