Oh, Baby!

I am not an aged scholar but if I had to guess, I would say that at the end of my life I will only be able to name 10-15 people who I truly cherish. 10-15 people who changed me and my life for the better. 10-15 people who I will never forget and always look back on fondly. Of course, that number doesn't include family members because I now have two fairly large families that I love with all of my heart, but I do know that Erika T. will be on that list if I had to make it today, tomorrow, or in sixty years.

I first met Erika in tenth grade. We were both new to our high school but she seemed like she had it all figured out on the first day. Calm and cool. I however, was a wreck. I missed the first few weeks of school because I had been in the hospital and on bed rest. Not a fun time. By the time I was able to attend a full day of classes I thought that everyone had figured out who they were going to be friends with and that there wouldn't be room for me. Man, I could not have been more wrong. Within what seemed like hours, Erika, JooJoo, Erica B, Alyssa, and I were inseperable. We had sleepovers, we danced on the side of a busy road in Gulfport, we got sent to the principle's office for a number of things, and on Erika's 16th birthday, we wrecked my first car doing donuts on an abandoned gravel road.

From left: Erika T, Erica B, Alyssa, Joo Joo, and Me years ago.

Our lives changed as lives always do. Erica B moved to Texas with her long time boyfriend, I got married and moved to Chicago, Alyssa married a solider who is stationed in South Carolina, JooJaroo (whose real name is Julianne but we basically call her everything BUT her real name) lives in Indiana, and Erika T works and goes to school full time in Gulfport. Despite our distance Erika and I have remained close, if not become closer as the years have gone by. We were the first of our group to discover how much gas prices affect your life or how your paycheck doesn't last that long and bills just continue to pile up. We bonded over adulthood.. And how overrated it all is :) Kidding... 

Erika is one of the strongest people I know. She doesn't wait on anyone or anything, she is going to do her thing, regardless of what everyone else is doing. She was raised by her grandma and last year when "G-Ma", as Erika affectionately called her, passed away it was the saddest time in Erika's life to date. I cried for days because I was in Chicago and not with her. Did she need me? No, Erika doesn't NEED anyone... But I needed to be there for her.

Erika works a full time job and goes to school full time because she is not the type of person who sits around and feels sorry for herself. She is a go getter and she won't stop until she gets what she wants. Or what is best for her. The most valuable lesson that I have learned from Erika is that it doesn't matter your situation, life it what you make it... And boy, is she making her life a beautiful experience.

So, why am I telling you all of this? Well, if you read the post from earlier this week you know that two of my best friends are pregnant and by this time, you have probably figured out that Erika is one of them. I can't think of anyone more capable or deserving to bring life into this world. Having a child is such a beautiful honor that not everyone gets the chance to do and I know Erika won't take that for granted. She will teach her children everything they need to know to succeed in life and instill her hard work ethic in them, I am sure of it. You may have noticed in that last sentence I said "children"... In case you didn't catch that, allow me to clarify: Erika is pregnant with not one, but TWO healthy babies!

I couldn't be more happy for her and Kevin. They deserve all the happiness this world can afford them and 2 babies may mean 2x the diapers and 2x the bottles but I am sure it will also bring 2x the happiness and joy into their home.

What's Baking?-Vanilla Cupcakes

This is my first month participating in the What's Baking Challenges! The challenges are decided by different members of the group each month and February was chosen by Dunne at With a Cherry On Top. The theme is "Baked With Love" and these cupcakes were baked with plenty of it!

I also really loved eating them. :)

Recipe from: 250 Treasured Country Desserts

Vanilla Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter- Room Temp

1 1/2 cup sugar

4 large egg Whites

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1. Preheat the your oven to 350 degrees and prepare your muffin pans by putting a liner in each cup. You will need two 12-cup pans as this recipe makes 24 cupcakes. You can use the same pan twice, it will just slow you down a little bit. 

2. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg whites, one at a time, until well combined and light. Beat in the vanilla. Scrape the bowl.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and add, a little at a time, into the butter mixture. Mix for around two minutes. Add milk gradually and beat at high speed until fluffy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Taste the batter. It is delicious. Don't take my word for it, go ahead, try it for yourself.

4. Spoon half of the mixture into a large pastry bag. Cut off the tip of the bag and twist the top, making sure the air is out of the bag. Use the pastry bag to neatly and uniformly distribute the batter into the paper liners.

5. Bake for about 20 minutes. Oven times vary but mine were done at exactly twenty minutes, exactly like the book said. 

6. Cool the pan on a wire rack for ten minutes. Using a small spatula  or knife, remove the cupcakes from the pan. Finish cooling on wire racks.

7. Frost as desired.

The frosting I used was a simple chocolate frosting recipe from allrecipes.com.

• 
  
• Ingredients: 
• 
  
• 1/4 cup margarine, melted
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 
  
• Directions:
• In a large bowl, beat margarine and cocoa together until combined. Add milk and vanilla; beat until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until desired consistency is achieved. Adjust with more milk or confectioners' sugar if necessary.
• 
  
• 
  

Favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe

This post should be entitled "Forget Perfection Part 2". It could also be titled "Last Christmas Post Until Next Year". As you can see though, neither of those made the cut.


A little news before we get started, my blog will be getting a face lift. I am so excited about it I could scream!I contacted Jumping Jax Designs and I am confident that they are going to produce something that is exactly what I want. This will be my first custom design for my blog. Exciting stuff. Unfortunately, she is really busy right now so my request is on a wait list until February 4th. I am not sure I can contain my excitement until then but I will try! One of my new years resolutions is to get serious about blogging and this will definitely give me motivation.

Anyway, on to what you came here for!

My absolute favorite sugar cookie recipe comes from My Mom. I don't know where she got it from, so don't kill me if your Mom has the same one. :)

These are the cookies that my sister's made during our Christmas baking sessions. Yes, royal icing produces a more professional, perfect kind of result but kids don't really care about perfection so we used a glaze. Plus, paintbrushes are easier for them to use then pastry bags. The glaze is super simple to make, just add milk to powdered sugar and tah dah, you have a glaze that you can color using gel food colors.

Sugar Cookies: 

1 Cup Butter

1 Cup Sugar

3 Eggs

1 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla

3 1/2 Cups Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 Tsp. Salt

Cream the first four ingredients together. Mix the last three ingredients together in a separate bowl and pour a little at a time into creamed mixture. This will make a stiff dough.Use immediately in a cookie press or refrigerate for at least 3 hours to roll dough and use cookie cutters. Bake at 350 Degrees until firm and the edges are golden brown.

Picture of the glaze.

Here are some cupcakes we made as well. They did these all on their own with no help from me. They even designed them alone.

Forget Perfection, Let's Have Some Fun

             

Who are these sweet faces, you ask? They are lovable little monsters (Not Lady Gaga fans) exploding with creativity. They are my sisters and they love to bake and decorate. On second thought, anything they can make a mess with is right up their alley. From left, AB (age 10), MC (age 7), LB (age 2), and EG (age 6). Notice the flour on MC's Ole Miss t shirt! We're pretty real.

Our Christmas is a little late this year since I had to work (sixteen hours) on Christmas Day. That obviously delays plans a little bit. My brother and I flew home from Chicago yesterday so that was our Christmas Eve. My sisters and I got straight to baking... Well, after I took a four hour nap.. What can I say? I didn't sleep at all before our 6am flight. Before I got there, they took care of a little of the dirty work by baking the cupcakes in their silicone cupcake liners.

 

Finished product!

They are decorated with buttercream icing and candies.

I also have to brag a little bit about their skills outside of baking.

They each made one of these foam gingerbread houses that are totally adorable. This is what EG is working on in the top picture of her. It took them hours but I think they look awesome!

Merry (late) Christmas Everyone!

Cupcake Timer

A few months ago DH and I were shopping for a suit jacket for him to wear to work. We decided to check out TJ MAXX and see if they had any good deals. While he checked out the jackets I wandered into the housewares section and found this guy:

A cupcake timer!

It was only six dollars but when DH is on a mission for something specific, there is no talking sense into him :) He couldn't understand why a cupcake timer was important when his favorite suit jacket had just been ruined and was forced to consider new ones. Well, things don't last at TJ MAXX and by the time I was able to get back there, it was gone. I thought "Well, my kitchen will never be complete, there is no way anyone else will have a cupcake timer". A bit dramatic? Perhaps, but that is not the point. :)

I don't know why I never thought to google it but today while in Blicks Art Supplies I saw cupcake stationary with a cupcake on it that looked exactly like this timer! That little timer instantly came back in my mind and I thought "What an excellent birthday present to me!" I came home and googled it and TA DAH, I found it. Granted, my birthday isn't until November 19 but I have found exactly what I need! DH is not the type of person that likes surprises for his birthday and he doesn't understand why anyone else would either so he prefers me to tell him what I want and he tells me what he wants. Romantic? Not exactly, but it is what we do. At least I know I won't ever get a present that I don't like.

He recently got me a Kitchen Aid Mixer so I would feel bad if I asked for something expensive so soon. I think this timer (and maybe the Beauty and the Beast Diamond Edition DVD) will be just perfect. Here is the link if you are interested.