Sophia's second birthday and then some...

So the week before Sophia's birthday party was my cousin's wedding. It was so beautiful. I made the cake, and am happy to say that it came out great! We had such a blast, and Sophia spent the entire night on the dance floor.Then it was finally party time! I think I put my body under so much stress between work, school, the wedding cake, and the birthday party I ended up sick! I spent the week getting ready for the party sick as a dog, but thankfully by the time it rolled around I felt better.
Here are the mouse ears I made for the boys and girls attending the party. They were really easy to make. I bought some plastic headbands on etsy.com and got felt and ribbon from Joann's. A couple quick stiches and I had these cuties. They were super cheep too!

Here are the napkins and holder's I made. Used my cricut for the mickey heads. These also took basically no time to make.
Mickey cookie suckers! I used my cricut to cut out the shape of the face and free handed the eyes, nose and mouth. I love the way they came out. Black wasn't such a good choice for the kids though...they were covered in black frosting!

We had planned on an outdoor party, but the weather was terrible. So we moved everything indoors, and I think it worked out wonderfully. We were kind of jam packed, but it allowed for some more bonding time between the families.

Here is the goodies table! I am so happy with how everything turned out...

This birthday sign was a snap to make. Just got some scrapbooking paper and used the cricut to cut out the letters. Cost about $3 and looked very cute.

I wish I would have got some better pictures of the pinata that I made. It was pull string since it was mostly young children. It was in the shape of mickey's head and only cost a couple dollars to make. I used balloons, newspaper and found a paper mache recipe online. Then I cut up a black table cloth and glued it onto the paper mache. Cut it open, filled it up and then taped it shut along with taping strings to the bottom. I think the kids enjoyed that!

I think Sophia enjoyed the party, along with the other kids. It was hard to get them out of the bounce house for longer than the pinata and cake, but they had a really good time. Now, I can get back to regular crafting and baking...and maybe some sleep!

-Stephanie

Happy Easter!

I love holidays. I love the way my daughter just lights up with excitement whenever something magical happens, like santa leaving presents, or the easter bunny leaving baskets and eggs. At our house, the bunny drops eggs in a path to her basket. She loves picking up the eggs all the way to her basket. She looks pretty cute doing it. And, as any mom would, we used it as a learning experience to practice her colors.
Here's a blue one! Then the Easter bunny took her to the garage, where her lovely basket was waiting for her. Her favorite thing was her umbrella.

She spent a lot of time emptying the eggs the bunny left for her. She wasn't interested in the candy at all, which made mommy and daddy very happy.

Mommy and Daddy also got a very full Easter present from the Grandma bunny. I think well have enough chocolate to last us a long time...

After a fun breakfast, of just us three, I made some yummy cupcakes to bring along with us to the family dinners. These were okay cupcakes. It was my fourth martha recipe, and not the best. They were her vanilla buttermilk cupcakes. Very dry and dense. I have some changes I will be making for Sophia's birthday party, and will post that recipe in about a week. At least they looked pretty...

Overall, we had an awesome Easter. Good time with family, and a magical day for our baby girl. Now back to real life, with school, work, and a wedding cake to make for this Saturday...
-Stephanie

Our First Time Gardening

This year my husband and I decided we wanted to plant a garden. We wanted fresh fruits and vegetables, and plus we wanted some pretty flowers as well. We really had no idea how to go about starting, but we just decided to go for it. I am lucky that someone in my program is an awesome gardener. She gave me some really good tips, like to plant things, such as tomatoes, right now inside the house.

We haven't really decided completely what will be in our garden, other than what we have already purchased seeds for. We picked up onions, tomatoes, watermelons, beans, sunflowers and some morning glorys. I've already planted the tomatoes and watermelons inside, and started to think they would never grow! Then this morning I woke up and found this...

They've sprouted! I am so excited to see we did something right. So we have just decided to do this and learn from all our mistakes. I can't wait to enjoy some fresh vegetables...

-Stephanie

My newest obsession

Life is really tough money wise right now. My husband and I are young and are still in college, so it is difficult to find a decent job without a degree. Luckly, I am a server and can make a good amount of money (above minimum wage at least...). Even besides the fact of money problems, I have always been a thrifty person. If I can get something on sale for a good deal, why not? I've always used coupons (my husband calls me an old lady, if he only knew how much I usually save!), but I have never even thought of using coupons the way A Thrifty Mom does. Her blog is amazing! Go check it out at athriftymom.com . She posts all the deals on her blog, including coupons and what you will save. Plus, she has some great links for online coupons. I can't believe some of the savings she gets!
So after listening to her advice and getting my couponing in order I have already saved so much money! Plus I got some great gifts for Easter baskets. Like Target has Connect 4 for $7, plus the newspaper had coupon for $4 and Target had one for $3 off. Yes, that's right, I got Connect 4 for free. Plus, 10 bottles of Sobe Lifewater for free as well. Just go check out her blog and trust me you won't regret it!
-Stephanie :)

Working my butt off...

And I don't even have anything to post! My daughter's 2nd birthday is in less than a month and I am in overdrive! Not to mention Easter is right before...
Here is some of the things I am working on, and I promise I will post as soon as the party is wrapped up. But there will still be an Easter post, I've got some awesome cupcakes that I plan on making.
The party is a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme. I started with just wanting something simple for the party. I just wanted to buy everything and just make her a cute little Minnie dress. Yeah, right! Once I started shopping for this dress, I got so many ideas. I decided on a tutu, with the Minnie polka dot pattern on top of all the tulle to make a big poofy skirt. Then I am going to sew a Mickey head onto a white t-shirt with a red polka dot bow to make it Minnie. This wouldn't be complete without her own set of Minnie ears, made of felt and a plastic headband. Which I decided to make for all the party guests. Then I had to make personalized gift bags. And decorations (Hello Mickey cricut cartrage..). And a pinata. Yes, a pinata. I don't know why. I just started and couldn't stop. So everything is started and not finished. I have to get it done well in advance because I am also making a 3d mickey cake, along with mickey sugar cookies on a stick, and cupcakes. So I think it's safe to say, my life is put on hold until this party. If it was only that simple...
I can't complain, I love it! And I can't wait to post the pictures and some directions...
-Stephanie

Whole Wheat Brownies

These babies are scrumptious! I wasn't so sure about whole wheat brownies, but after tasting these I have changed my mind. My family loved them, and I'm sure they will become a staple in my household. They are nice and dark, and are more fudgelike than cakelike. The perfect match for a tall glass of cold milk. I picked up a copy of this recipe at work, and I have no idea who the author is, but I'd like to give her many thanks because these are awesome!

Whole Wheat Brownies

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder (Special Dark is best)

7/8 cup oil

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup unbleached flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 to 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Eggs should be at room temperature. Beat until yellow and fluffy. Cream in sugar. Add oil, vanilla, and cocoa powder. Mix dry ingredients and add to egg mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 350º (325º if it's a glass dish) for 28 minutes. IMPORTANT: Grease only the bottom of the pan and take out at exactly 28 minutes!

Hope everyone enjoys! Unfortunately, my mixer has broken. My kitchen aid broke at Christmas (1 month out of warranty!) and my hand mixer broke last week. So looks like I won't be making any more goodies until I get a new one. Hopefully that is soon! Looks like I can spend a little more time with my sewing machine :)

-Stephanie

Mini Cheesecakes with Heath bar topping

So I have been searching for a mini cheesecake pan for 6 months, and I am so happy to say the search is over! I was wandering around the mall when I decided to go walk through Sur La Table, a cookware store. When I started looking through the bakeware I thought about that mini cheesecake pan I've been wanting, and I instantly knew what I walked in their for. Sure enough, they had one! I was so excited to get home and put that baby to use. So I made these little babies...

They were so delicious! My husband and daughter ate them all before I even got home from work. I decided to place chopped up heath bars on top, but pretty much anything could be placed on them. Here's the recipe:

Mini Cheesecakes (Makes 1 Dozen)

1 8oz package of cream cheese

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup melted butter

3 tbs. sugar

Your choice of topping (You can use fruit, carmel, chocolate, candy bars, ect. I used chopped up heath bars.)

Preheat oven to 375º. Lightly grease pan. Mix cream cheese, eggs, vanilla, and 1/4 cup sugar. In another bowl mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter and 3 tbs. sugar. Divide graham cracker mixture evenly. Press crumbs down to create a crust. Evenly distribute the cream cheese mixture. If using some type of candy bar or chocolate chip distribute evenly between cups. Bake for about 12 minutes. Allow to cool for 20 minutes, then remove the cheesecakes by pushing the handle of a spoon through the hole at the bottom of each cup. Disks should easily slide off bottom of cheesecakes, if not use a knife to cut them off. If placing a fruit filling, carmel or chocolate sauce, then now is the time to add them. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

They were so easy to make, and I will definitely be making them again soon! Today is a snow day for my family, so looks like I can finally get some things done around the house. Hopefully I'll be able to get some sewing done too...what can I say I've got high hopes :)
-Stephanie