Wilton's Cake Decorating Class- Course 1

Yayy! So tonight was the first class to the first course of cake decorating classes that Wilton's offers. Near me, they are offered at both Michael's and Hobby Lobby, which are conveniently right across the street from each other, so it all came down to which one was a better deal. Hobby Lobby won. Anyways so Mary, her sister Carly, and I all made our way out to Hobby Lobby for the first class tonight. I'm really excited about this class! It's something I've been wanting to do, and I'm now getting the chance to do it! Yayy!

We didn't do much in today's class, we basically went over all the tools we would need and what we needed for the next class. I'm really excited...especially becuase this month the classes were offered for 1/2 off, with a 40% coupon to buy the kit...not a bad deal at all! Next week we are going to be decorating our first cake...hopefully it goes well! I'll keep you updated!


Also, today I have decided that I am going to start eating more healthy by trying to eat more organically, and less crap food. I know that I can do it becuase during my stint of wanting to be a nutritionist I ate really healthy, and actually when I'm at school I eat a lot more healthy than I do at home surprisingly. So therefore tomorrow I am headed to the grocery to buy my organic fruits and veggies and probably some good sweets to bake my next delicious treat :)

Oh and I've also decided that on my grocery adventure tomorrow I am going to hunt down the new starbucks flavored ice cream...Java Chip!
It's seriously my favorite frappuccino flavor, and I'm so excited to try it in ice cream flavor! They also come in mocha frappuccino, caramel macchiato, and coffee. I'll let you know if they are as good as they look!

Happy Almost Hump Day!

One last thing I swear, I'm new to this whole blogging thing (obviously) so please subscribe to my blog, or pass the word around! It would mean a lot to me becuase I am clearly clueless how to get started getting subscribers...

Cupcake Soap

Okay so I am a soap snob. Yes I said it. I like to have bath and body works soaps in my kitchen and bathrooms...and they are currently having a big sale so I figured I would stock up while they are so cheap.

Okay so point of this post is that while I was browsing their website I found these absolutely adorable bubble bath cupcakes.


They are on sale now for 50% off, and although I can't remember the last time I took a bath, I'm still tempted to order them.

The caramel incident.

Ugh. I don't even want to type this out it was so horrendous. I was in charge of bringing dessert to our Fourth of July party, so I thought I would get creative and try making homemade twix bars...worst idea...EVER. So I started out wtih the shortbread for the bottom layer...It baked perfectly and was the perfect golden brown color so I was getting excited about this! The caramel layer was a whole other story. I had never made homemade caramel before but it didn't seem like it would be that hard, and its probably not I just can't figure it out. The first attempt NEVER thickened on the stove. I made soupy caramel...great. So I tried a different recipe and this time it hardened and it looked like everything was going great, it thickened and everything so again I was getting excited! I poured it over the shortbread like I was supposed to, and put it in the fridge to harden...somehow the corn oil seperated from the rest of the layer and it was just nasty. I threw it away and called it quits.

Ugh...we will never speak of the caramel incident again.

I ended up just making chocolate chip cookies, a favorite of everyone, and I was crunched for time so it was really the only option.

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! It was crappy weather here :( rained all day, and was actually kind of cold. We still had a good time though, we grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs...we had the typical pasta salad, chips, condiments, skyline dip, cookies, cupcakes.

Not a single picture was taken the entire night, which is really sad. I was slacking on my camera duties haha

Yoga

I don't know if there is a way to expess my love for yoga. Seriously. If you have not done it, please give it a try. I know alot of people say they might not have the patience for it, but it is the most relaxing form of excercise I have ever done. I recently started doing 2 constant routines, and sometimes a random one spread throughout the day. The first thing I do every morning is my AM yoga routine. It is such a pleasant way to wake up. It is nice to not have to worry about anything...not know what the day ahead holds, and its more upbeat (as upbeat as yoga can be) so it definitly helps wake me up. Then every night I do PM yoga which is a much more relaxing routine that just stretches out the body before bed.

Seriously. I'm obsessed.

We have excercise tv on demand at my house and there are multiple different yoga sessions you can try ALL FOR FREE! I don't know what I'm going to do once I go back to school and no longer have my exercise tv on demand. Luckily though our RecPlex offers yoga classes :)

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

A summer of unemployment...every college student's dream...not. Seeing as the economy sucks, and I hate working crappy jobs, I have chosen to take the unemployment route this summer. It's true I may not have looked hard enough for a job, but whatever, its probably better this way. Some say I'm too picky when it comes to employment...this may be true, but I prefer to think of myself as just knowing exactly what I like to do. Trust me, stupid, meaningless jobs are NOT for me. I cannot work retail. I cannot spend hours folding clothes that have already been folded 3 times within the past hour. Abercrombie...lasted 2 shifts. My favorite job was at this small locally owned pottery shop, but then I quit that when the manager was more or less fired. I tried working at another locally owned pottery studio, but that fell through because it was a half an hour away from school, and I kept missing class because my fellow employees did not know the concept of being on time for their shifts. At school I work at the bookstore. It's a pretty pointless job, there are two busy times each year: the beginning of school when everyone is buying their books, and the end of school when everyone is selling their books back. I like the managers, I like my co-workers, and I love the atmosphere...plus the 25% discount is lovely :) Therefore, this summer I decided I was going to stick to babysitting...a nice easy, laid back, job perfect for a college student...unless it only lasts a month.

Anywho, where I was going with that rant about my employment or lack there of is that this summer I have now dedicated myself to baking and crafting. My absolute dream in life would be to one day own my own bakery...preferably a cupcake shop. I'm new to blogging so bear with me and any advice would be lovely :)

Every monday night my girlfriends and I have a bachelorette viewing party complete with dips and other goodies. Last night, my friend Eliz made 2 different kinds of chocolate fondue, and brought lots of fruits, pretzels, and cookies to go with it. I made one of my favorite cupcakes: Cookie Dough Cupcakes. If you have never tried a cookie dough cupcake I suggest you try making them...they are seriously delicious but very very rich. I normally make these homemade, but yesterday I didn't have the time so I made them Pillsbury style.

Ingredients

1 package Pillsbury Cookie Dough (Break and Bake works best

1 Devils Food Cake Mix

1/3 cup melted butter

1 1/3 cup Water

3 eggs

Before you begin, it is important that the cookie dough be frozen. Some suggest freezing it for 2-3 hours, but I only froze it for a little under an hour and they still turned out great.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Make the cupcake batter by combining the ingredients above, not the ones listed on the box.

Line 24 muffin cups with liners, then add the cake mix evenly to each cup. Don't fill them as full as you would a normal cupcake liner though. Place a frozen cookie on the top of each cup, no need to push down, the cupcake will still bake around it.

Place tins in the oven and bake for 15-16 minutes. The time is less than ordinary cupcakes as you have much less batter to cook, and the goal of these cupcakes is to have cookie dough, not fully baked cookies. Mine actually baked for a little longer like 18 minutes, but be sure to pull them out before the cookie dough actually turns to cookie.

Frost with your favorite icing (I did chocolate) and enjoy! :)

A view of the top of the cupcakes with frosting...
The cupcakes from the side with frosting...

The cupcakes from the side and the inside without frosting...

Note to self: work on photography skills.