Holy Cannoli

Guys, I have found the indisputable champion of all Chocolate Cakes. I was reading Nie's blog and saw a post about how she was really wanting the perfect chocolate cake to fatten her up (I should email her and tell her she can have some of my fat. My love handles should be sufficient.) and so the sweetest girl ever made up the perfect chocolate cake recipe for her. Nie's Mud Cake Magnifique. Really though, it's chocolate buttermilk cake with marscapone mousse and ganache bittercream. It just sounds amazing. And the pictures of the cake, let me tell you I was drooling by the end of the post. So I said to myself, I must make this immediately. I didn't have marscapone cheese, but I really wanted that cake so I used cream cheese instead. I didn't have unsweetened chocolate, so I used semisweet chips. And I didn't have any bitter chocolate for the frosting, so I used milk chocolate chips instead. And I dare say it was the greatest convection to ever come out of my humble little oven. Literally, stop whatever you are doing and make this cake IMMEDIATELY. It is that good. Kudos to Conversations with a Cupcake for creating this masterpiece and I cannot wait to try another of your gorgeous recipes. I think Nie's sister CJane's devoted dessert Mountainous Angel Food Cupcakes with Burnt Butter Icing and a Halo of Sugared Fruit. I'm starting to drool again. Looks like a birthday cake breakfast is in order.

Dear Cousin Jordy

Dude, I'm an idiot and deleted your email. I read it first though, and tried to go to your blog to send you a message, but for some reason its not working. WTH? Anyway, let me address your questions here publicly.

A) Of course you can copy my piano. Why would I care? That's why I put up my stuff on the blog anyway, to spread good (actually great) ideas. We used a custom celery green color from Sherwin Williams, but if you go through some Pottery Barn magazines from the last year, the green they use on their furniture is the same color. They use Benjamin Moore paint (which is more expensive) so if you can find a place that carries Benjamin Moore you can get the Pottery Barn color samples there, or look for the names online at Potterybarn.com

B) Braden painted it black first, so when he went through and distressed it and sanded the edges, the black as well as the wood tone shines through. The whole process goes like this:
1. Sand down all the wood parts to get rid of all the grime from the last century and give you a more even canvas to work with.
2. Wipe down, then paint all black. If you can rent a sprayer or know someone who has one, it will make your life so much easier. Old pianos tend to have a lot of intricate carving and detail & it is a bitch to try and hand paint all that.
3. After the black, spray the green. I think Braden did maybe 2 thick coats to get that rich green color & cover all the black.
4. Seal with 1 coat of satin topcoat or glossy lacquer . We used satin polyurethane.
5. Go though & pound the thing with screwdrivers, hammers, chains, ninja stars, whatever you have. Although, depending on where you got your piano, you may be able to skip this step. If its from a church, you probably need to distress. If it's from a saloon, you're good.
6. Once we finished all that, Braden sanded the edges down to get a burnished look, glazed the whole thing with some Sienna brown stain, and then did 3 or 4 topcoats to protect it from my sweet baby angels' constant state of destruction. But really, the more it gets banged up, the cooler it looks.

C) Other color ideas for furniture: I like to look on Country Living a lot for ideas. I also love the standby Pottery Barn of course, but really Pottery Barn Kids has more painted furniture. I have a lot of kids though, so their stuff is practical for me. Decor 8 always has great ideas, and the Farm Chicks vibe is lovely. Basically I just blog hop until I find a person I really like, then try to figure out what her house looks like.

D) Bridal Shower dessert: This one is a little tricky, since I don't know the theme of the shower. If you are trying to get an autumn feel at the party, try the peachy keen tart. It is soooooooooo easy and quick and people will die, it's so good. Late summer fruit is perfect for this time of year. Make a bunch, and pull out the vanilla ice cream. Cupcakes are also a great option for showers, but a little more work. Berries are on sale this time of year, so you can substitute the strawberries and make raspberry cupcakes. Also, Magnolia's vanilla cupcakes are also a big hit. But I always say, if you're gonna be a bear, be a grizzly so if you feel up to a challenge, make Nie's chocolate cake. People will ask you to divorce Cart to marry them to make them cake. Hell, just make it for Cart, and you'll get whatever it is you've been begging for. How do you think I got these last babies?

Love you & Miss you guys & can't wait to see you again. Are you coming to the reunion?

Sugar Comas all around

I think I have creative ADD. It's really really hard for me to finish an entire project before starting a new one. Yesterday I worked on my pettiskirt, but there's soooooooo much fabric, I start to get bored. So, I decided to try out some cupcake recipes for the kids birthday party. After many trials, I decided on mixing 4 different recipes to make.....wait for it.........



What are Carnival Cupcakes you ask? Well, let me introduce them to you


Hello Dolly!


These babies are Rainbow vanilla cake with marshmallow frosting. With sprinkles. And cupcake flags, naturally.

I found this recipe from the famous Magnolia Bakery in NYC for the vanilla cake. Once mixed, I separated it into 6 mugs (use mugs, it's so much easier to spoon into the muffin tins using the handles.) and added a generous amount of food coloring in each color. I found this gel food coloring at Walmart, and I swear they are the best. A little goes a loooooong way. I got the idea for the rainbow cupcakes from this blog


I followed this recipe for the marshmallow frosting
These are regular sized cupcakes, but for the birthday party I think I'm gonna do minis or we're going to have some hyper kids running around with sugar highs. I found this recipe for adorable hi hat cupcakes that top these little tasties with chocolate (who doesn't love chocolate covered marshmallows?)

To top them off, I added sprinkles and cupcake flags to finish the perfect birthday cupcakes for my sweet baby angels (who deserve nothing because they have been screaming at each other since 4:30 am and now I have a wicked headache).
Here's the recipe all in one so you don't have to go bouncing around.

New Years Resolutions- Part 1

Is it just me, or by December are you pretty much stretched too thin? With me I lose a lot of the happiness and passion of being a mom/wife and it becomes a repetitive and boring job that I have little will to spice up. I'm sad to say that most of December for me was spent on the couch in sweats and my husband t shirts with no bra, no makeup, and my hair pulled up in a giant knot on the top of my head. My kids pretty much watched tv all day and I feel like there was no excitement in our lives until Christmas came. This may all be due to the fact that I am 6 months pregnant with twins, but it made me seriously depressed to feel so blah. So even though my energy and range of motion is significantly limited, I have vowed to get out of my funk and celebrate life again. I'm going to make my family breakfast instead of pulling out the cereal or yogurt (as I type this, Braden is dishing out yogurt for our kids out of habit.) I'm going to turn the dang tv off and read some books to my kids, and I am going to actually get dressed in the morning and maybe even put some makeup on my face every once in a while. Sounds easy, but it's actually a pretty big deal for me.

One big thing is that I want to cook more and try new things. So, I have searched around and found a handful of food blogs that I am going to share with you all so you can start the New Year with a ton of new recipes to try out and impress everyone with. Hooray for cooking!

Smitten Kitchen is an awesome one that has insane recipes from Homemade Crackers to a Make Ahead Brunch Menu to an evil looking Butterscotch Sauce. She has even made a Kitchen Guide so you can start stocking up on all the tools it takes to make your own Smitten Kitchen. I love lists like these, even if it is going to take me months to save up for her chefs knife. I really love her because she cooks seasonally, so you always have the perfect recipe for things that are in season and they are always practical, like a winter fruit salad and pear bread.

Of course, I love the Pioneer Woman's recipes (I have her cookbook signed, by the way!) since they are so down home and delicious. I have made her cinnamon rolls, garlic mashed potatoes, and steak recipes over and over and over, but I really want to venture out and start making some of the staples she has listed in her cookbook. I mean why haven't I made the Chocolate Sheet Cake or the Braised Short Ribs yet? What is the matter with me? I think I have to make a vow to cook at least one thing from her cookbook every week and cook through the entire book by next year. Yes, I will do it.

If baking is your thing, and you haven't checked out Tongue In Cheeky yet, where the hell have you been? Brooke is darling and her recipes are fun, delicious and well, cheeky. Perfect for kids too. Some really fun recipes I want to try are her Breakfast Syrups & Elixers, and her Triple Decker PB & J's. I'm not even going to go into her cakes & cupcakes (but I will remind you that the Nie Nie Chocolate Mascarpone Cake is her creation.)

And if you really want to get crazy, (I know I do) you can check out Steamy Kitchen's recipes for some delicious looking Asian fare. I have never cooked asian food, and I have promised myself to branch out and be brave. She doesn't just do asian food, but her Broccoli Beef Noodle Stir Fry and the Chinese Chicken Salad look like good starter recipes for my Asian Adventure.

Also, I really want to start getting organized with my cooking and being prepared for my week ahead of time. Braden is only going to tolerate running to the grocery store 3 times for a certain recipe I'm making for so long. I want to have a well stocked pantry so I can whip stuff up whenever I feel like it and have things prepared ahead of time so we can all eat well even if I'm tired. So if anyone knows of any other food blogs that will help us all get more efficient in the kitchen, send them my way!

HELLOOOOOOOO October!

Hooray for Fall! Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, I've been too busy kicking ass and taking names. My mother in law's birthday was Monday so I made her (& my family-TWO batches) homemade chicken noodle soup and a chocolate birthday cake with chocolate buttercream frosting and fresh strawberries on top FROM SCRATCH. The soup was Paula Deen's recipe from her restaurant The Lady & Sons in Savannah. Killer. It has white wine and heavy cream and parmesan in it so you know its wicked. Mmm. And the cake was Martha Stew's recipe. First time I ever made it so I was nervous about how it turned out, but it was awesome! Braden is a great food critic because he's always honest (but always kind, even if he doesn't like it) and he said it was a definite keeper. AND it was beautiful, even though the top layer kind of slid off the top of the bottom layer. But I did use Jaimee Rose's trick of freezing the two layers overnight to make it easier to frost, and it worked great. Thanks Jaimee! So, in addition to these treats, I also made Ashlyn a peachy keen tart since she has pneumonia and I brought her some soup. THEN, on the same day we had her and Allen, and Ashly over for dinner. Braden grilled steaks and I made Claudio's notorious mashed potatoes, Kathie's fabulous asparagus, and Paula Deen's garlic cheese biscuits. Best eating day evah!

Then, Tuesday & Wednesday were Halloween decorating days! I'm still not finished yet (I'll probably keep adding to it all month) but I'll post some pics once my little sections are done. I LOVE decorating for holidays. Everyone should come over to my house and we'll bake Martha's cookie du jour (It's the cookie of the day. Mmm, that sounds good. I'll have that.) Yesterday was the Mini pumpkin Whoopie pies so I think I'm doing that today and sugar cookies with La la & Iz.

Tagged by Ali (Rodgers) Cash

Ali tagged me so here it goes: ABC's
A) Age: 23 (Braden insisted yesterday that I was 24, but he's wrong as usual)
B) Birthday: December 27th, 1984
C) Candy or Cake: Cake fo sho. Cheesecake. Crap I want cheescake now.
D) Dessert you love: My mom got me hooked on Paradise's Chocolate Chip cookies for a while there. But I also LOVE Neilsen's Brownie Delight with pecans and carmel. And fried ice cream. And those crunch cones from Dairy Queen. And pistachio ice cream. I could go on for days.
E) Easiest person to talk to: My mom & Kathie. I swear I spend about 97% of my time venting to them about my life, and I'm never mad at them so they get to hear it all.
F) Favorite Song: Right now its Blackbird by The Beatles. Thats what I sing to my kids to put them to sleep at night.
G) Gold or Silver: I like both equally, but my wedding ring is white gold
H) Habit: ICE. I eat Sonic crushed ice like it's my job. Braden got me this fabulous Victoria's Secret Pink water bottle for mothers Day (along with a bunch of other awesome pregnant things) and fill that baby up like 4 times a day with ice at Sonic. Its ridiculous
I) Instruments you play: None. I just dance.
J) Job title: I am a web designer, a marketing director, an entrepreneur, a freelance decorator, a dance teacher, a human reproducer, a wife and a momma. Hardest jobs by far are the last two, no joke. I would love a day off sometime soon.
K) Kids: Olivia (almost 2), Landen (almost 1), and Penelope (almost born).
L) Love or Lust: Love by a landslide. After you do lust for so many years, you totally get over it and realize the benefits of love.
M) Married or SIngle: Married to Braden Watson. I always feel gay saying nice things about Braden, but right now I'm not mad at him so I'll go ahead and say he's a pretty cool cat. Most of the time.
N) Next to you: My kids & Braden. Yeah, we all sleep in the same bed. It's ridiculous.
O) One wish: That my kids would stay little and sweet and never leave me.
P) Person you called last: Ashly to find out who got kicked off So You Think You Can Dance
Q) Quotes: Like from myself or a quote I like? I got a funny one. So my mom was looking through the ads in the Sunday paper and she comes across an ad for Dick's Sporting Goods (they're putting up a huge one at San Tan Mall) and she literally yells " DICKS!?! What the hell?" I literally peed my pants I was laughing so freakin hard.
R) Reasons to smile: Braden is going to finish painiting the kids rooms this weekend! Hooray! Now we'll be ready for Penelope
S) Steak or pork: My mom makes the most amazing pork ribs you will ever eat. When I die and go to heaven, that's whats going to be for dinner every night.
T) Turns you on: I am 8 months pregnant. Absolutely nothing. It's really hard for me when my stomach literally sticks out a foot and a half, my bones ache all day, its 110 degrees and I am 20 pounds heavier than I should be, and I'm getting kicked in the rib cage all day long. Sorry Braden
U) Unique Talent: Making babies. I swear I am most fertile person on the planet. I should start a business or something. I feel like getting pregnant is all I do.
V) Veggie: I like potatoes WAY too much. Especially the french fry variety
W) Woke up at what time: 1:53 am. It is now 4:17 am. This has been my life for 3 years straight now.
X) Xrays you've had: None. Just ultrasounds
Y) Your favorite color: Peacock blue right now. I'm trying to convince braden that our bedroom needs to be peacock blue & celdon green but he's not buying it.
Z) Zodiac: Capricorn

I'm gonna tag Calli, Jesse, & Kelsey (Kelsey you REALLY need to update your freakin blog sista)

Mint chocolate goodness

This has been a crazy week. I've ran Gilbert High's cheer clinic all week and now I have tryouts to judge today. Eryn's Euporea concert is tonight & Friday night (you should come!), and tonight is my friend Megan's bridal shower. I was asked by her mom to make mini chocolate mint cupcakes for the occasion, and here they are: 200 mini cupcakes boxed up nice & pretty.


Here is the recipe:






Here are the labels for the cake boxes


And here is a template for the cupcake flags I made.


I just cut them all out (by hand), then glued them together onto a toothpick. If anyone needs custom cupcake flags made, I'm your girl.

Happy Birthday Princess Pea

It's Peepers Birthday! Hooty Hoo! After enjoying some chocolate chip mickey mouse pancakes, we're off to find a birthday dress, and make a strawberry birthday cake. (Yes, I ditched school for P's birthday :)