March Eats: Lazy Double Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Lazy Double Chocolate Chip Cupcakes 

(based on a recipe from the book 101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 minutes)

Ingredients:

1 box of chocolate cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Super Moist Butter Recipe )
1 cup sour cream
1/2 stick of unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 [10 oz.] bag Ghirardelli semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (I used about 2/3 of the bags contents)

1 can chocolate frosting

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, sour cream, butter, eggs & vanilla with a hand mixer. (Do not over mix.)
2. Fold in chocolate chips. (The batter is supposed to be thick so don't worry)
3. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way. (an ice cream scoop is the best tool for this)
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 15-19 minutes.
5. Place on cooling rack, frost, and enjoy!

(*The butter and chocolate chips can be omitted to cut down on calories but what's the point)

print recipe

I had originally planned on making pina colada cupcakes for my sister-in-laws March 1st birthday but the recipe I found was a dud (I'm still not over it) so I had to come up with a fast and easy back up plan. She's a chocolate lover so I wanted some kind of chocolate flavored cupcake. I found a basic recipe for chocolate cupcakes here and tweaked it a tiny bit to suite my needs. I added the mini chocolate chips and butter. The cupcakes are based on a recipe from Wendy Paul's book, 101 Gourmet cupcakes in 10 minutes. I usually like to make my cakes from scratch but I was really impressed with this recipe and now I for sure need to add this book to my wishlist.

I did not break out one pastry bag because I was, well. .lazy! They aren't beautiful but they were super moist. They almost tasted like a cupcake version of a chocolate costco muffin. I would not lie and I would never waste your time with a recipe that didn't deliver.



   Verdict: Easy, great flavor, and very moist. I will make them again and again. 

March Eats: Goat Cheese

I have been obsessed with fresh goat cheese lately. I had it at a wedding in San Francisco two years ago and it was heaven. I love cheese but there is something about fresh goat cheese that is special. Maybe It's the tangy almost lemony extra something that it can add to the blandest of foods. This month I bought some on a random trader joe's trip and I'm trying to figure out new ways to eat it. When I eat it with crackers I grate some lemon zest and add the tiniest bit of pepper and olive oil. I've mostly been eating it with salad. I'm on the lookout for a goat cheese pasta recipe.

(Trader Joe's Goat Cheese, Walnut & Red Pepper Salad)

Verdict: I enjoyed the salad but I didn't like the dressing because it tasted like pickles. . Yuck! I don't think I'll get it again but I might try and make my own version one of these days because I liked the idea of the salad.

Anyways, while I was trying to figure out different ways I could prepare goat cheese, I came across several recipes where it was breaded and then fried. I used this youtube as a reference for the breading process but I didn't have all the ingredients so mine is not as fancy. My salad is just a basic romaine with apple slices and homemade balsamic vinaigrette with two breaded goat cheese medallions. It was simple and delish!

(That's not grease it's balsamic vinaigrette)

Verdict: I would be crazy not to make it again! I would use more complex ingredients next time though.

Okay enough goat cheese speak let's move on to the cupcakes in the next post!

How to do "vintage inspired" hair with conair candlesticks (hotsticks)

I already posted this to a vintage hair community that I'm a part of on livejournal. It's a couple months old but I thought it might be helpful for some of you who are too lazy to do pincurls. I got these for Christmas because I needed an extra set of hot sticks for all my hair. The candlesticks are super cute and they have flecks of silver glitter in them. This was the first time I had successful results with this type of roller. I was thrilled to get a bit of a wave pattern.

The hotsticks and candlesticks are both pictured below. I mostly used the light pink/grey ones. They’re made by Conair and they’re called candlesticks for some reason. They are basically the same thing as hotsticks but more of a jelly texture and a bit larger size in circumference. I think they work a little better than regular hotsticks but they generally do the same thing.

The orange/hotpink ones are hotsticks, also made by conair. I think I got the hotsticks at walmart and the candlesticks are from Ulta.






What I did:

1. Spray dry hair with setting lotion (I used diluted lotta body) or some type of mouse.
2. Make a deep part. (I have "bettie bangs" but I make it work)
3. I curled mine downward in rows - from the part down.
4. Wait for them to set.
5. Take out and let cool
6. Brush curls to form wave pattern. (It will look poofy at first)
7. My brushed curls are always super frizzy so I use a smoothing product and hairspray as I go along.
8. I used pin curl clips to define my wave pattern and keep the ends curled. (this step flattens the frizz)
9. Do your makeup while you're waiting.
10. Take out pin curl clips. (that's what I'm doing in the blue shirt)
11. It should be done when you take out the clips but you might need to fuss with it a bit more.
12. Finish with hairspray.

Tip:

*Endpapers will keep the ends of your curls uniform. I used press'n'seal wrap on my ends but I don't even want to go into explaining that.


How to blend short bangs into this hairstyle:


 I just part my hair to the side and blow dry (the side with more hair) back with a with a brush. It creates a poof. I use a pomade type product on any fly away hairs and hairspray. I try to hide them as best I can but the edge of one side will always kind of show. I sometimes bobby pin that side flat. If you look really closely at the 2nd pic, you can see a bobby pin close to the part. It's really fast and easy if you can live with a little imperfection!

It sounds like a lot to take in but it's pretty simple once you get the hang of it. Experiment and don't give up.

Peach Cakes for my V-day B-day!

Peach Cakes and Peach Champagne

My bestie made these for my birthday! I love anything peach flavored, ANYTHING (even milkshakes). I’ve never seen something like these before. The cake was peach flavored, the frosting too. It’s freakish. They have cinnamon stick stems, an almond for a seed, and mint for leaves. I'll try to track down the recipe later.

Personal Photo Spam #1

 The debut of my face on this blog + a blatantly annoying picture of myself

 meet my dog Chest

 Jalapeno Bagel, Egg and Jack Breakfast Sandwich that I made one morning


 my tokidoki brushes

 leftover tissue paper pom poms from my nephew's birthday hang in my room 




Yummy Dulce de Leche Churro Cupcakes I made using this recipe from all the trimmings food blog


I have an obsession with cheap Mexican candles! They line my windowsill  A lot of these pictures are months old but they are new to you. I have no clue what I am doing with a camera as you can see.  This was fun I hope to do more of these personal photo spam posts.   *updates below* I have been working a lot on my swing coat this week. I just need to attach the lining, make a trip to the fabric store, and do the button holes. Hopefully I will have it done by next week. I have been very inspired by Colette Patterns Blog. It's right up my alley. I drool over every post. Finally a sewing blog with visual directions and stuff I actually would want to make. It really encourages me to get on my sewing and takes away a lot of my fears - so inspirational and encouraging. I could not rave on all day about it. I enjoy learning to do things by hand so I really want to try to do hand-sewn buttonholes for my coat instead of machine holes which I still have a serious phobia about. Take care.-Mary

I forgot I wanted a Sailor Perry Shirt for my birthday

[Source: Buy at lovelifelong.com]

A TOUCH OF COLOR

(CHRISTIAN LACROIX S/S 2009)

(RODARTE S/S 2008)

(ODD MOLLY S/S 2011)

(ZAC POSEN S/S 2010)

[Credits: Photo 1 by Alice Crosara, Photos 1-4 feature Christian Lacroix, Photo 5 unknown, Photos 6-7 feature Rodarte, Photos 8-9 feature Odd Molly, Photo 10 unknown, Photos  11-15 by Talaya Centeno feature Zac Posen, Photo 16 by Arvida Byström, photos with unknown sources may have come from Style.com, Weheartit.com]

Inspiration for a project I'm working on. Colored hair can be elegant and stylish.