strawberries & cream Valentine cupcakes

Our work week around here is crazy. We get up long before the sun peeks out and by the time we get home it's time for supper, a little cleaning and then we relax on the couch with a tv show or 2. Then it's off to bed early since we have to start the day all over again in about 7 hours.

So This year I wasn't able to do any valentine's day cooking/baking till the weekend. That didn't stop my amazing husband though from cooking an amazing romantic supper for us on Valentine's Day. I still melt when I think just how amazing it was.

This morning I woke with a need to do some creative baking. My husband and I love watching cupcake wars, and that is where I got the inspiration for these Strawberries & Cream Valentine cupcakes. So here is what I did this morning:

I combined 2 cups of strawberries + 1/4 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon lemon juice. On to the vanilla cupcakes with red sprinkles inside. After letting them cool, I cut a hole in the tops and added the cooled strawberry compote. 

After letting them cool, I cut a hole in the tops and added the cooled strawberry compote. Now onto the frosting. For those of you who don't have a frosting piping bag, don't fret. I don't have one either and I still made them look somewhat professional. My trick is to transfer the frosting, what ever type you choose {I so happen to like cream cheese frosting the best} into a plastic bag and pop it into the fridge for about 10 minutes. This way it will hold it's form a little better when you pipe it on. I snip a small hole and spiral it on, starting from the outside and working inward.

My husband and I couldn't keep our fingers off of them. We try to stay away from too many sweet treats but around the holidays, that tends to go out the window.

What will I make next? Any cupcake suggestions?

St. Patrick's day is coming up next, and trying a tart lime cream cupcake seems like a great way to kick off spring.

on the 9th day of Christmas....

Today was the perfect day for baking some Christmas joy. We made cream cheese sugar cookies and decorated them with some necessarily Christmas sprinkles. Another reason why I love the holidays, everything has a theme and I don't even feel guilty for delighting in these wonderful treats.

It was also the perfect afternoon to send an e-mail to each of our grandparents and see how they are spending their Sunday afternoon.

I know at least for my grandparents out in California, they certainly aren't having the crazy weather that we are having here. So far we have 10 inches of snow, but it is still falling. I can't wait to slip on my boots, bundle up in a scarf and mittens and capture some pictures of our snow covered atmosphere tomorrow. It makes this time of year oh so much more magical.

on the 4th day of Christmas....

My hard working hubby got home last night to a candle lit dinner of salad with grape tomatoes, sliced red onion, and shredded sharp cheese. I also made 3 cheese spinach ravioli in a garlic tomato cream sauce.

We turned on a little music and had a relaxing candle lit evening after his exhausting day. 

on the 2nd day of Christmas....

Nothing says Christmas spirit like sipping a on a hot cup of jo to start out your day. My hubby and I headed to Starbucks after church and enjoyed a wonderful start to our day. I had a gingerbread latte and Brian a vanilla latte.

Just a suggestion for those who don't like coffee, try the peppermint hot chocolate or hot chocolate with a shot of hazelnut. It's like Christmas in a cup!!

dread to delight

My palms were sweating, my hands shaking, and I felt that my brain would explode with the information that I had been cramming into it for the past few weeks. I was way more nervous then I let on to the lovely ladies at the front desk who made me turn out my pockets and lock my purse away for the next 3 hours. Even those closest to me, my family and friends, I tried not to show just how terrified I really was.

I was terrified of failure.

I had been dreading this particular day for about 1 1/2 years and it was finally upon me. It was upon me in a very official way as I sat down at the computer that was reserved for me with a camera eyeing me for the next few hours while answered the 4 sections of tedious questions.

As the exam wrapped up I thought I would feel relieved, but as it grew closer to the end I got more and more nervous. I entered in the final answer and sat there staring at the blue screen for the longest 6 seconds of my life. As meaningless words filled the screen, there was only one word that I was looking for: 'pass' and I found it nestled in the bottom corner of the screen almost hiding from my eyes just to make the process more nerve racking.

I had passed. I had passed the longest exam of my life to become a Certified Medical Assistant. It still wasn't sinking in. I returned to the front desk to gather the papers I would need to prove that I had passed this exam that left my head sore and tired, but at that point I didn't care. While I haven't had any exams for school in months, this particular one {being the largest of my career} was the final stamp on my education. It was the final stroke that pulled me into the medical world.

I don't think it really set in until yesterday morning when I strolled into work, only focusing on trying not to fall as my boots slid over the slick icy covered sidewalks. There waiting for me at my desk was a symbol of celebration in the form of a wonderfully colored cake with the words "Congratulations Emily CMA." I fought back the urge to burst into tears as I realized how much my co-workers wanted to celebrate this accomplishment with me just as much as I did. It totally made my day!

my latest obsession

I used to think that all teas where alike, from Lipton to Celestial Seasonings {which was my favorite till now} but my opinion totally changed when I stepped into a local tea shop called Infinitea Teahouse. This tea shop contained tin upon tin of various types of loose leaf teas. It was more than I even knew existed and I instantly knew I couldn't wait to try some. After we {B and I} looked through the mile long list we picked out a few to try. I bought a few accessories {the picture below: loose tea infuser basket, thermometer, and piggy timer} to add to my new collection of tea along with a clear latch jar to keep everything together.

I love sweat drinks. Just follow me around in the morning and you will see just how much coffee {with creamer} I drink, or the sweet alcoholic drinks that I would pick any day over the bitterness of beer. So when it comes to tea, I always thought that honey was a staple in any cup of tea to cut the bitterness. Little did I know that it was bitter due to the inaccurate way I was steeping my tea. Not with Infinitea though, they give you the specific instructions so that you can maximize the flavor, and in my case leave out the artificial sweeteners. So with each variation of tea, comes it's own specific instructions, for example the Coconut Truffle black tea {B's favorite} steeps for 3 minutes at 212 degrees while the Wild Cherry herbal tea {my favorite} steeps for 5 minutes at 212 degrees.

You can check out their website for more information. I don't think I will ever go back to boxed tea again!

XOXO Emily

sick supplies

When you are running around and keeping busy with life as usual, taking a day off seems like a pretty good thing. Taking a day off to sit on the couch, eat soup, and watch movies doesn't seem too bad, pretty good infact, even if you had to be sick to get onto that couch for the day,

This is how I had felt for the past few weeks when a few people around me were sick with colds. I thought if only I had an excuse to take a break, and this week I got what I was asking for, I got that dreaded cold but with none of the "benefits". No lying on the couch and sleeping all day, no watching my favorite shows on tv, no diet of saltines and soup. No there is no such thing with a 8-5 job, the days of just staying home from school are long gone. The real world is here to kick me when I'm down again.

When I get a cold it always starts off with the painful and dry sore throat and eventually moves to the head/sinus congestion and finally the cough and chest congestion. This is how it goes for me at least, so according to my "sickness schedule" I still have a day or 2 to finish out my first cold of the season. Gotta love the fresh batch of fall colds.

Even though I couldn't spend my days on the couch and eat nothing but soup and juice I still made a run to the store to get "sicky supplies" and stocked my drawers at work for the winter months ahead. Have you gotten sick yet? If so, you have my truest condolences.

30 day blogging venture: Day 18

Day 18: something you crave a lot
There is something that is always good, that I never get sick of, that I couldn't live without, and that I always crave: ice cream. No matter what the day or the weather outside, ice cream is always my favorite comfort food.

30 day blogging venture: Day 10

Day 10: a photo of your favorite place to eat
Honestly, I am a pretty simple girl.

Don't get me wrong, I love to go out to a fancy restaurant once in a while, but I am most content in my sweats with mac & cheese or some pizza. When I am in the mood for a fancy restaurant though, Red Lobster always comes to mind. Growing up in California I was raised on seafood, so you can see why I would love Red Lobster so much! It's making my mouth water just thinking about it.

sushi.sushi.sushi

When I first heard of sushi {back in California when I was still a little girl} I was instantly grossed out, to say the least. I never gave it even the smallest chance of being good. This all changed when a close friend informed me that not all kinds of sushi have large chunks of raw fish on it. There are so many variations, my favorite being the California and Philadelphia rolls {I haven't tried to many other kinds}. With some soy sauce and a spoon full of wasabi this is quickly becoming one of my favorite dishes.

Just a little tip, don't attempt to drink a Vente coffee and follow it with an assortment of sushi. I learned the hard way that even though they may be 2 of favorite things, don't think that you have an iron stomach. It wasn't so pretty.

Anyway, This has been a staple theme in my cuisine for the past few weeks, but I am anxious to branch out a little. I would love to try some new types and am thinking about buying the tools to make it. Have any of you ever tried to make sushi? I can't wait to give it a go.

Easter weekend

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!

Our weekend was jam-packed, from the time school ended on Thursday to the last movie we watched on Sunday night it was a crazy weekend filled with family fun. Here are just a few shots from our Sunday celebrations. We {my mom, dad , sister, and cousins} took a hike at Hoffman Hills and enjoyed the wonderful weather, perfect hiking weather.
We grilled our own shish-kabobs along with appetizer kabobs filled with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil. It was our first time with these new recipes, including a delicious dessert pizza and I must say, it was amazing. There's nothing like a cook-out to enjoy the wonderful weather. Wouldn't you agree that everything tastes better on the barbecue?

my last 1st day of school

Yesterday was a historical day in my academic life. It was the last 1st day of school that I will ever have. Call me crazy if you you wish, but I always enjoy the 1st day of school with all the new books, a clean slate of grades, and reading over all the schedules for the classes to come. I'm sure some of you out there can agree with me on this strange satisfaction.

If you didn't know I am attending Globe University to become a Medical Assistant and after this quarter I will be done with my schooling and so excited to move on to my clinical internship. Wow, done with school, it sounds so good to say that! I'll be putting the things I have learned from my associate degree to use in a clinical setting. I am both scared out of my mind and so excited I almost want to jump up and down.

So in celebration of our family all being back under one roof and back in school my lil sis, mom and I pulled our talent together and made some homemade pizza. We got the crust recipe from our Chicago deep dish pizza book and after a few hours had some pretty amazing pizza. Next time we will know better about it taking 2 hours of separate rise time, and we'll start the preparation a little sooner. Hope you all are having a fabulous week so far!

what I'm lovin in march

So I have seen this done on a few different Vlogs {video-blogs} that I follow so I thought I would start this project on my blog. Each month the Vlogers that I follow video tape themselves with all their favorite products/songs/foods/books of the month. Since I don't really video too much, I will pick out a few favorites from the month and show you. I'm really excited for this new little project and can't wait to see where it takes me!! If you want to join in just link my to your post and make sure you let me know, because I would love to see other people try out this little project with me!

Since this was a month of crazy vacationing, spring coming, and many new experiences, there are so many to choose from. I think I will stick to 9 different things per month because that seems like a doable number, and I'll start in the upper right corner, working my way across and down.

Lypsyl Lip Moisturizer in HoneyBerry
My Grandma game me this product on our trip to Mexico, so I'm not sure where she got it, but it is amazing! It has a SPF of 15 in it and it's made with pure Swedish beeswax.

EOS Lip Balm in Summer Fruit
I love the packaging on this lip balm. It's so cute and it's so different from any other lip balm that I've ever used! Plus it not only makes you lips really soft, but it really does smell like refreshing summer fruit!

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri nail color in Grape Going
The moment I saw this color I knew I had to have it. It is an amazing purple color with blue shimmer in it. Depending on if you wear blue or purple I feel like it will sort of change color and I love that versatility. Another thing I love about this line is the tapered brush that is flat on one side and narrow on the other. Love those types of brushes!

Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in Peach Satin
I found out about this product through a Vlog that I follow. It's my first stab at cream blushes and I am loving it. It's the perfect shade for my skin and great for the upcoming summer months!

Life As We Know It
I first saw the preview for this movie last year and I couldn't wait to see it. My sister and I watched it during the week before our vacation and I totally fell in love with it. It was only a 1 day rental, but I still managed to watch it 2 times. I love both the main actors in it: Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel and in my opinion it was very well done! Pretty clean for the most part and how could you resist that little baby girl, what a cutie!

Beach Boys Music
Ever since I started getting ready for my trip to the beach I have been listening to the Beach Boys. They are a band that I listened to religiously as a kid and love their up tempo summery music! I never get sick of them and they are a big part of my new summer playlist on my iPod.

Persuasion
Whether it's the movie {the 2007 version with the oh-so-yummy Rupert Penry-Jones} or the book I love everything about Persuasion. I am one of those girls who loves old romantic novels and I took this with my on my vacation last week. I finished it in Mexico and started a new one, so that might be in my next What I'm Lovin for April, we'll have to see.

Avocados
I have become sort of obsessed with Avocados lately. In Mexico they seemed to be in in every dish and I am planning on making an Avocado hair mask tomorrow because my hair is in need of a little TLC after being in the sun for so long. It also seems like any product that I seem to run across that has avocados in it, I can't resist at least giving it a closer look if not snatching it up! I can't wait for summer when these are more in season and much more accessible.

Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds
I seem to go through phases with cereal, and this month it was this one. I have always been a fan of this as a kid, but hadn't had it in quite a while. It's go go to cereal in the morning with ice cold 1% milk splashed over it. It's the perfect start to my day!

comfort food

Stress. We all have it in our lives, but how we deal with it is all up to us. Some people draw, some take a walk, for me it's cook. Cooking is a way to forget about what's going on around me and create something new and not to mention very yummy. This week has so many different things going on at once, but I took the afternoon to make a little comfort food.Comfort food for me means pasta, cheese, potatoes, chocolate....just about any sort of carb. This afternoon I made a yummy dish filled with some of my favorites. I would share the recipe, but there is none, I made it up! I will give you the low down on what's in this dish though: onions, chicken, cream sauce, garlic, chicken broth, green beans, bow tie pasta, corn, cheese, and a mix of spices. What's your comfort food?

ten on ten {march}

So I can't believe that March 10th has already come and gone! Sorry it's a few days late, it's been topsy-turvey-crazy around here. While it might be a little depressing that spring is just 10 days away and our city is still covered in snow, we can still embrace all of our wonderful blessings, like spending some time with an adorable little girl, who is almost 2! She certainly has grown from the last time I blogged about her.
Fresh strawberries and starbucks for breakfast, does it get any better?For lunch I enjoyed a black bean, turkey, wrap filled with peppers, salsa, and cucumbers. Found the idea in a magazine and added it to my cookbook, which has been steadily growing.I have been busy creating in the kitchen this week, and Thursday was no different, so this ten on ten has a theme of the foods I've been creating. That we had Chicken Marengo in a red white sauce with....
whole wheat bow tie pasta....
and steamed broccoli.

Not the best shot, but this is Jackson's new hobby: watching the toilet swirl around. I think my sister and I wasted a few gallons of water entertaining him last night.

the Oscars

After all the events that happened this weekend, it certainly lived up to how busy I thought it would be. It was filled with hugs and celebrations, cakes and dancing, laughter and reminiscing to the old days. It was so nice to catch up with friends and relax in good company.
On Sunday, us girls {including the cake I promised I'd show you} celebrated the Oscars together, giving our opinions on who had the best dresses/make-up or who should win certain awards. I thought about sharing some of my favorite fashions of the night, but we'll leave that up to Amanda, who brought over an Oscar Bingo activity that kept us all on our toes.
Just in case you were wondering, that table cloth under the Oscar Bingo is one of my latest purchases from the after V-day discount isle at my favorite store, Target. At an amazing bargain of $1.24, I also got an adorable stripped one. Can't wait for spring when I can pull that out! Anyway, Jenny brought a lovely array of veggies and Shannon brought some of her homemade eclairs. I forgot to snap a picture, but the food was delicious, and the company even better.

for the birthday boy

Has anyone out there ever tried to make a Baked Alaska? Let me say, it was not what I predicted. One of my girlfriends, Megan, had made a promise to a friend many moons ago that she would make him Baked Alaska. She made this promise not knowing exactly what the dessert was, but with a little help from the internet, we found a recipe and spent a few nights experimenting.

While there may be many different variations of this recipe this is the one we used, making a few alterations:

1 layer sponge cake {or in our case angel food cake}
1 qt. ice cream
4 egg whites
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Beat egg whites until nearly stiff, beat in sugar gradually, add vanilla and beat until stiff
2. Place a wood board at least 1 1/2 inches thick and cover top with waxed paper {if you use a regular baking sheet the metal will heat up too quickly, where the wood will absorb some of the heat}
3. Place round of sponge cake on board, heap ice cream quickly on top leaving a 1 inch margin of cake all around; cover thickly with the meringue
4. Brown quickly in very hot oven {450 degrees} and serve at once!

We decided to make a few mini Baked Alaska's for his roommates and making one large one for the birthday boy himself. For the main cake we used an angel food cake instead of sponge cake {which is what the recipe called for} and it turned out pretty delicious!
It was Megan's idea to add cherries {to the birthday boy's cake} before the ice cream was heaped on top. After the ice cream was added and refrozen for a few hours we added hard shell chocolate sauce {just before we added the meringue} and let me tell you, that was totally the way to go.

whole wheat blueberry muffins

With an inspiration to bake this morning, I whipped up some muffins, and not from a box which is usually what I opt for. Normally Saturday mornings consist of me rushing off to work or an event of some sort, but with the added bonus of having guests over, it was the perfect opportunity to spend a little more time in the kitchen that just grabbing a bowl of cereal. I paged through one of my favorite cook books and settled on the whole wheat blueberry muffins and just couldn't resist sharing my new favorite breakfast treat.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lemon zests
1 cup blueberries {fresh or frozen}
1 cup milk
1 egg
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

-Preheat oven to 425. Grease muffin pan or line them with baking cup liners.
-In a bowl stir flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon zest. Add the blue berries and make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
-Combine the milk, egg, and cooled butter. Pour into the well and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Batter should be lumpy.
-Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full with batter and bake for 20 25 minutes or until the tops are lightly brown, rotating them half way through the baking time.
-Remove muffins from the pan immediately otherwise the moisture condenses on the bottom of the muffins and they will become soggy. Makes 12 muffins.

'tis the season for: tradition

Traditions. That is what's on my mind today concerning Christmas. Traditions are such a fun way to celebrate the Christmas season, each family having their own. Well, this afternoon I am sharing a few of mine with you.

Cinnamon rolls. Every Christmas morning, ever since I can even remember there being a Christmas holiday, has been spent opening up our presents from Santa with a warm plate of homemade cinnamon rolls. My mom, sister and I make the dough, roll it out and add our favorite ingredients to it: caramel, nuts, cinnamon, raisins....

Nutcrackers. I was 4 when I got the first Nutcracker of my growing collection. Each year after that my sis and I have received a Nutcracker from my parents. Usually they are tied in some way to the year before. For instance one year my sister was the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz, so my mom found a Tin Man Nutcracker. Another year the theme of my banquet at school {like Prom for our school} was Pirates of the Caribbean and my mom managed to find a Pirate Nutcracker. Didn't think that was possible.

Elf + Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer + Muppet Christmas special. These are probably 3 of our favorite Christmas specials. I have seen them too many times to count and take so many of their quotes into my every day Christmas banter. I mean, "Don't slip on the icy patch!" and "Son of a Nutcracker!" and just 2 of the most delightful phrases ever. Where would we be if we couldn't quote such classy movies as these!

PJ's. This is the attire for our Christmas Eve events {after the children's program of course} and also the attire for our Christmas day events. Staying at home all day and relaxing with family is the best present of all.

Seafood. This is our tradition for Christmas Eve supper. We don't bother with the traditional food, but have a little treat that reminds us of home {California}.

Gift exchange. A gift exchange is a great way for our family along with my cousins, uncles and aunts to celebrate Christmas. We're gathering together a few days after Christmas to celebrate the festivities before our family jets off to Chicago for a few days.

Baking. Pies are my favorite to bake {as my cousin J knows}. It's my tradition to bake the pies, and I do it with pleasure. A few of my favorites are: triple berry, caramel apple, and pumpkin spice latte cheesecake. I'm always looking for new recipes, so if you have a favorite, please let me know!

Puzzles. When I think of Christmas puzzles I always think of the relatives of my mom's side, especially my Grandma Drews. She seems to be the queen of puzzles, staying up into the late hours of the night to add a few more pieces to the festive puzzle.

Pictures. Capturing moments of the celebrations is something we do in abundance and I'm sure many others do as well. Pictures are a timeless keepsake that can instantly put you back into the atmosphere of that particular event.

events of thanksgiving

6:54 am
thanksgiving and christmas morning are 2 of the best mornings to awake to. i can never sleep in very late because once i'm up. my mind is busy racing around with anticipation and i always have to check and see if we were blessed with any more snow. every holiday seems to be more different from the last, and this year is no exception. so many things have changed in the past year, and with the trials and hard times there have been abundantly more blessings. blessings for our family and for yours.

9:00 am
for the past 5 years or so my family has participated in the turkey trot on thanksgiving forming. well this year the price has risen exponentially making it not really worth while for our family to participate. the phrase "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" could not be truer in this situation. so we thought of making our own 'turkey trot', and instead calling it the 'cranberry crawl.' {courtesy of my mom & sister} we sent out e-mails to the neighborhood and gathered a small group together to make a 3 mile walk together in the first annual cranberry crawl.

{missing a few cranberry crawlers}

cranberry muffins were made in the morning {by yours truly} to munch on after our "grueling exercise." our thanksgiving morning couldn't have been complete without out the macy's day parade and the traditional thanksgiving episode of gilmore girls!

11:40 am
this year S and my sis took on the job of naming the turkey {Gilbert Norman Rockwell Jr.}, stuffing it, basting it, carving it and tending to it's every need.
with 'while you were sleeping' on in the back round J was busy at work in the kitchen making batches and batches of Lefse {a Norwegian family tradition}.

2:21 pm
by this time, i was busy with the pies {my little tradition}. this year i made a quadruple berry {raspberry, cherry, blackberry, blueberry}

{my precooked berry pie}

a traditional pumpkin, and a new recipe that will be added to my cookbook. i am a devoted fan of the pumpkin spice lattes at starbucks, and when i saw this recipe i knew i had to try it! it was a hit and a new favorite of families.

4:12 pmwe munched on appetizers throughout day {trying to save room for the big meal} and sifted through the piles and piles of ads, seeing which stores had the good deals.

6:14
by now Gilbert Norman was done
the table was set and decoratedand we were so ready to eat and give thanks for the abundant blessings that the Lord has blessed us all with!