Thursday, April 12, 2012

{Recipe} Champagne Cupcakes

I saw these on Pinterest - shocking I know! 
BUT the for real shocker is that they are from Betty Crocker! 
I can honestly say I had no idea all the wonderful recipes and concoctions I found existed on BETTY CROCKER! Some of them are SO innovative!! 

Last night I had a hankering for some cupcakes! 
We didn't have many eggs and ZERO oil AND I wanted something fun and NOT boring. 

(should be PINK but this girl doesn't have food coloring)


Champagne Cupcakes
1
box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix (I used Vanilla cake)
1 1/4
cups champagne
1/3
cup vegetable oil
3
egg whites

Buttercream Frosting
1/2
cup butter or margarine, softened
4
cups powdered sugar
1/4
cup milk
1
teaspoon vanilla



  • 1
    Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
  • 2
    In large bowl, mix dry cake mix and champagne. Add oil and egg whites. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
  • 3
    Bake 17 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
  • 4
    In medium bowl, beat frosting ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Frost cupcakes. Sprinkle with garnishes. Store loosely covered.

OK NOW I followed the frosting directions. It was THICK! 
so I decided I needed to add some milk...this was my frosting outcome:


When you are finished laughing, NOTE that this frosting was administered VIA A PIPING BAG! 
No, no, I'm not joking.
Seriously - SADDEST attempt EVER. 

I went back and added some more powdered sugar to thicken up the frosting.
VIOLA! Sheer perfection y'all!!! 

AHHHH! Much better! 
I LOVED these! The champagne gave the cake a fresh/crisp flavor.
These would seriously be perfect to take to the beach.


Because I had so many, I took pretty much ALL of them to work today.  
I plan on making a pretty good amount for Saturday night, with some variety so we'll have leftovers this weekend. 


SO what did I learn from this?? Use frosting from the tub - it is PERFECT for decorating...
Seriously people, they perfected cake in a box and frosting in a jar. Take ADVANTAGE.
Just sayin!

Happy almost Friday!!
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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Three Years Ago Today

I can't believe how fast time flies now that I am an adult! It's seriously SO crazy!
Three years ago today, an amazing man proposed to me.

You can read the proposal here
 
This is one of my all time favorite photos of the two of us. We should totally wear cobalt blue more! =)

My gorgeous engagement ring. The Husband did such an amazing job picking it out all by his lonesome!


So much has happened in the three years since I said 'yes'. 

We planned an amazing wedding.
We got married.
We have struggled financially.
We have overcome financial struggles.
We found The Husband a new job. 
We have both been promoted.
We have bought a house.

The MOST important aspect of all those statements is WE. 
WE have done all these things together; as a couple. 
I have loved every moment - the ups, the downs, the good, the bad. 

I'll never forget the day he proposed and asked me to be his wife. 

Happy Tuesday!! 
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Monday, April 9, 2012

Where Did My Weekend Go?!

Hey hey!!

I couldn't believe last night when I laid down in bed that my weekend was OVER! I was bummed but my weekend, while FULL, was a LOT of fun!

Friday night, we didn't do anything and The Husband was asleep on the couch by 7:30.  He woke up around 9 and decided we should watch a movie.  We have had one of our Netflix movies since JANUARY.  It was Twilight and he actually sat through the whole movie with me! =) I saw it in theaters right after it came out - to be honest, I thought the movie was atrocious...like almost walked out of the theater terrible.  This go round, it was definitely more tolerable. I just would NOT have cast Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan...I think she is terrible but whatever...I do believe I am like 1 of THREE people who feel this way lol. 

Saturday, we were up bright and early to shop with my mom.  Dad had a presentation to work on, so it was just Mom, The Husband, and I. We had an absolute BLAST.  My parents agreed to re-stock my wardrobe for my birthday so Saturday morning that is what our shopping list was for = YAY birthday! =) I had such an amazing time!! We laughed a LOT and I am getting some amazing items! I can't wait to share.  My mom took the clothes with her to show Dad AND so she could wrap them; yes I LOVE unwrapping gifts =) 

Saturday night was spent at Senor Frogs for a friend's birthday.  
Have you ever been? The two times I have cruised, I have never made a trip into a Senor Frogs. I will tell you that initially I was overwhelmed by the noise and everything that was going on. We had such a great time; lots of laughing, drinks, and dancing =) 
 

Sunday, we tried a new church that both The Husband and I LOVE! We will definitely be going more regularly which makes my heart happy =) 
We spent time with both parents/families and suddenly our day was over! 
 

When we FINALLY got home Sunday evening, we watched Robin Hood with Russell Crowe.  I LOVE him - I think he should ONLY do period movies! I really really enjoyed the movie; I think tonight we will watch Gladiator =) 

Today - I am suffering from a food hangover.  
When I eat a LOT more than I normally do, I feel like I do every want to eat again. 

Yesterday was one of those days. I missed breakfast because we were running late for church.
THEN when we finally ate at The Husband's parent's, I ate way too much, only to repeat the same mistake a mere 3 hours later. 



Hopefully, by this weekend, I will feel more up to eating lol I can't WAIT to celebrate my birthday this coming weekend! 


How was your Easter?
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Friday, April 6, 2012

I Confess I Only Have a Second...

Hi Hi Hi!!!

Happy Friday Y'all!!!


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I confess - I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO busy at work!! I seriously fly through my day like a mad woman and then BAM it is time to go home. I get home, work out, have dinner, and then I either pass out or I am WIDE AWAKE until well after midnight!  That is SO annoying! But I get to read until I make myself sleep or I pass out.
Either way there is passing out in my life lol

I confess - I got my hairs cut on Wednesday.
I was actually VERY excited about it - which is a FIRST.

I confess -- NORMALLY if I make a hair appt in advance, I cancel a couple days later.
I HAVE to make a hair appointment within 2-3 days of getting it cut.
I'm weird, I know.

I confess - I have had a TON of really horrible hair cuts.
I love my girl here and she is SO affordable!

I confess - When I got home from my hair appointment I went running.
I had to put my hair up and proceeded to jump around, shaking my head, like a loon (a la metal head banger style!), to see if any hair would fall down since she cut the bangs shorter.

I confess - this is totally a normal routine for me!

I think that covers it for me today - short and sweet! 
What are your confessions!?
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Wednesday, April 4, 2012

WILW - Birthday Edition

So I saw Miss K over at Love, Lipstick, and Pearls did a birthday wish list today. I thought it would be fun to share some of things on my list this year. My birthday is LITERALLY right around the corner: Tminus 9 days! I'll be sharing some of those things AND playing along with WILW. 
 

I'm Loving the new packaging for Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion.
I really didn't like the tube with the want AT. ALL. It was sort of awkward to use. Thankfully they took a cue from Too Faced and their primer packaging. I fell in love with this BEFORE the Two Faced brand so now that they have switched to a squeeze tube, I'm going back to them.

I'm LOVING the Naked eye shadow sets. 
No I don't have either but after reading tons of blog reviews and seeing the colors ON some lovely ladies, I DEFINITELY would LOVE to own the first edition of the sets. Seriously - LOVE. 

I'm Loving gray shoes! 
 
These are from JCPenney. Before you go hating, I LOVE JCPenney. Everything is affordable and I generally find all sorts of things I want or like. AND these cute little thangs are $22! SCORE! 

I'm Loving this Solia Straightener
I LOVE this straightener - I had it for 6 years before it quit
I had one for like 6-7 years before it kicked the bucket. it is amazing and I love the heat settings it has. Seriously, this thing is amazing! I wanted one for Christmas and didn't get it. If I don't get one for my birthday, I am buying it myself lol! 

I'm loving these bracelets!
 Sideways cross bracelet Bracelet
I also ADORE the stacked bracelets/watch trend. It is so cute and I love having various accessories =) 


I'm Loving that The Husband and my parents are BOTH taking me on little shopping sprees for my birthday presents! EEEEE!! I'm SO excited! I badly need some new tops, maybe a new pair of dress pants, and a skirt or two =) SO excited! I don't know when I am going on said spree BUT I will be sharing with y'all =) 

I'm Loving my DARLING birthday invitations that were sent out yesterday!! Yes, I'm that girl that sends birthday invitations. It is happy =) and besides, who doesn't LOVE getting happy mail =) I can't wait to show them to ya =) 

I'm LOVING instagram for android!! Come find me =)
lifeaftertheaisle

I'm loving the amazing relationship I have with The Husband and my family.

What are you loving? 

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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

That Feeling of Insecurity Can Be All Consuming

EDIT: this is a LOOOOONG post - oops! =) 

I am sure that we have all felt like this at some point. 
No one does it to you intentionally...well they HOPEFULLY haven't.
Sometimes you just get that feeling - thinking "yeah, maybe I should have stayed home"

I feel like this more often than I would like to admit to others. I think that is why I rely so heavily on the relationship I have with The Husband. 

My relationship with my family is so important (I have talked about this before) and I think that comes from being in a military family, who moved a lot when it came time to make real relationships in life; friends to 'hold on to'. We moved when I was 13 for my freshman year of high school. THEN we moved right after my freshman year to a different state, where I was for three years. I moved again for college.  RIGHT. AFTER. high school.

I didn't have many relationships with most of the people I went to high school with - because at the time we were young, and a lot of them were already designated to a group. It is hard (and intimidating) being the new girl; you have cliques/groups, etc. to contend with in high school and if you aren't part of it, no one REALLY talks to you even if you have half your high school classes with them. 

But that's high school: who your parents are, where you live, who you know, and where you're from.

I came out here from Texas... for a LONG time, people moo-ed at me....  As in made the cow noise - AT ME - I know it wasn't because I looked like a cow; it was just their ignorance, I suppose. Never leaving their tiny corner of the world to realize that Texas is a BIG state and, while there are country towns, there are also big cities. 

Back to the point 

All the people I know now - or MOST - have all known each other forever. The Husband has friends from T-BALL! Isn't that like 5 or 6 years old?! 

My longest friend, with whom I STILL talk to regularly, who I actually hang out with and call is a girl I met when I was a freshman in college... That means the person I have known the longest, my closest friend, met me as a young adult. 

There is something about a bond that people create from knowing each other in elementary/jr high/high school forward versus meeting after the age of 20. 

THE OTHER MAJOR THING:: I'm nosy. 100%  - not because I want gossip but because I'm REALLY curious. I want to KNOW the people in my life - I want to know A LOT about them; all aspects - past, present, future.  Apparently, that can come across as rude sometimes, especially when I don't know where 'the line' is...you know what I'm talking about. That line between normal questions and going too far. I tend to cross that line. out loud. all the time. 

I don't mean to cross it - usually is happens because I don't know that line exists. I am pretty open about things - I'll tell you just about anything. That tends to push people away too - I don't have much of a filter. I think things that are 'inappropriate' are REALLY funny. and I'm LOUD. like REALLY loud...

a couple weeks ago, while I was bowling with my team, my friend and I were talking and together it is RIDICULOUS how loud we are. The OTHER TEAM was annoyed because we were so loud. OOPS! Not that I cared - you're in a BOWLING ALLEY for Pete's sake! It is loud ANYWAY!

I digress...

Sometimes I feel like I'm on the outside looking in - through an open window, waiting for acknowledgement -- like Tom in Cougar Town. Or like a puppy in the rain, just waiting to be let inside.  Ha! That is pathetic imagery right there!  I know that this is TOTALLY inadvertent - having someone feel like they aren't REALLY part of it; you click with someone and then, all of a sudden there is an inside joke, followed by knowledge of one another no one else has; and a super close friendship/bond/group/etc is formed. 

I was feeling all these things and so many more yesterday. Then I read this post from Megan at Mackey Madness. I started reading through the confessions/lies that so many are struggling with. Some of mine coincide with some of theirs. 

I LOVED that Megan did this - talked about lies and insecurities and gave others an outlet to share theirs - even if they were private/anonymous. Seeing that I am not the only person to feel insecure at some point, actually made me feel better; to know that EVERYONE feels some form of insecurity at one point or another. My heart goes out to those who poured their hearts out and who struggle daily with their own insecurities. Megan did an awesome thing for people yesterday. She's amazing! =) check it out - that post makes me cry every time I read it.

At the end of the day, when I lay my head on my pillow, I think about my day. The Husband and I play the  highs and lows game. As I drift off to sleep, I think about how lucky I am;
how incredibly blessed I am:
to have my best friend next to me every day; 
to have an amazing group of women who support me;
to have an incredible and supportive family;
to have a job and life I love;
to have been able to meet awesome people here in blogland;

Everyone in my life makes every day amazing. I love y'all so so much!
When you are feeling insecure, make a list of happy and know that you have people who love you for who you are 100% - they don't care if you're loud, or having a fat day, or being a HUGE brat (guilty!). They just want to be in your sunshine. We will all have our days of insecurity - but you only get like a HALF DAY to feel like that; then FORCE yourself into the light and come up for air.

I am working on embracing my flaws and conquering my insecurities; are you?
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Monday, April 2, 2012

After a Relaxing Weekend, Let the Stress Begin

Good Monday to y'all! 

I spent Saturday on the lake. It was amazing! The Husband and one of his friends fished the entire time while I lounged around, catchin' some sun and reading Catching Fire. I LOVED it! I was so excited to start Mockingjay that as soon as we got home, I downloaded it to my Nook and started reading! 

I watched the sunrise - and believe it or not, I was in jeans and a sweatshirt.  It was CHILLY out there that morning and a bit breezy. AND I had gotten soaked from the ride out there.  The Husband thought it would be fun to race/outrun the bass boats. yeah - that's how he flexes his muscle sometimes lol. Nevertheless - it was still beautiful

During one of our stops, we saw two very small gators swimming together. Apparently, when they are young, they are insanely curious. Drew kept flipping his plastic bait towards them and they would swim to it. He got one of them to bite down on the bait and he lifted the gator out of the water. The Husband grabbed a hold and let me touch him!!!
I was a bit intimidated but it was SO cool to touch it!! We saw some other much larger gators but we didn't mess with them....one was REALLY big - so I tucked my toes into the boat, instead of hanging over the edge like I started lol! 

Yesterday we went to a Mexican restaurant and it was delicious!! So so good =) The people working there weren't great =/ We went to check out and they kept telling me my card wasn't going through because their system wasn't working...apparently they ran my card FOUR. TIMES. I paid cash and we left...yeah ALL. FOUR. CHARGES. showed up on our bank account by the time I got home. I called and spoke with a manager and today I am going to the bank to talk with them about canceling the charges. Ugh! So frustrating! 

We had a REALLY busy weekend - I was able to watch the Final Four games on Saturday night! So so fun! I found a beautiful Royal Blue nail polish on pinterest by Revlon so guess what THIS girl did after work on Friday - yep, I found the nail polish! I didn't take a picture of what I was wearing on Saturday but it was white and royal blue! I was cheering for KY and KS! 
Revlon nail polish


I had so much fun watching the final four this weekend and tonight it will be a battle of the blues! can't wait to watch!! .... that is if I can stay awake haha! 

My week is already off to a rough start. We are supposed to be kicking off this new program that I have been up to my eyes in since the beginning of December. Today is Day 1 of implementing. At 7:30 when I got in this morning, it was already NOT working. Something about the update they ran this weekend...ugh! I don't know. I just know that I am stressed ALREADY and I can't do anything to help with the problem, I have to wait for SOMEONE ELSE to get up and fix it because I am not the I.T. specialist. 

I was also supposed to be sending out invitations to my birthday party BUT on Saturday I realized that I had my AGE wrong - yeah, that was awkward ESPECIALLY because I didn't notice, my sister did. Ugh so I have to remake them which is whatever but it is just one. more. thing. and they'll get out and most people know by word of mouth anyway but what GIRL doesn't LOVE getting happies in the mail?! I know I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting mail...well HAPPY mail - bills are lame =)

Needless to say I will be getting in a couple miles after work.

How was your weekend??
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