Cupcakes Take the Cake

                                            
I think these are so neat! every day I find myself more in love with Karen Tack's 

cupcake designs (and cake designs for that matter). These ones are Zesty Lemon 

Cupcakes with Marshmallow Butter Cream Frosting, do you see a pattern here? Im so in love with lemon flavors and i love the way yellow frosting looks on white cake but im going to attempt to re-create them today on chocolate just to mix flavors and see how they turn out!

if you would like to try them out for yourself heres the recipe-

INGREDIENTS-

1 1/3 cup(s)	cake flour
3/4 teaspoon(s)	baking powder
1/4 teaspoon(s)	baking soda
1/4 teaspoon(s)	salt
1 stick(s)	(1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup(s)	granulated sugar
2 large	eggs
2 teaspoon(s)	lemon zest, grated
1/2 cup(s)	buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon(s)	lemon extract

BAKING-

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a small bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Gradually beat in granulated sugar; beat 2 minutes until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time until well blended; beat in lemon zest and lemon extract. Beat in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, just until smooth. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
4. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly pressed. Let cool. Top with frosting.

Frosting-

Ingredients 

1 lb. of butter (no substitutes)
2 jars marshmallow creme
1 lb. box confectioner's sugar
2 t. vanilla

Directions 

Beat butter until creamy.
Add marshmallow fluff and incorporate into butter.
Slowly add confectioner's sugar and vanilla.
Continue beating until light and fluffy.

$aving for vegas!

I've been working a ton these past few weeks and saving every penny i can spare for my little girls vaca in honor of my 21st! i did however spend a whopping 12 dollars on 2 books today. the first is a book called "Because She Can" its one of those easy reading girly books about a woman who gets married then divorced, moves to NYC, gets a job at a fashion mag and then takes over meanwhile she finds herself totally in love with this author she meets. its a lot like "The Devil Wears Prada" but still fun to read. the other book i got is a poetry collection by Emily Dickinson-i have a soft spot for romantic poetry so i hope i like it! 

Matt and i haven't really had any extra money lately besides our savings and so we had a very small anniversary but still really sweet! he knows that I've always wanted to have the perfect little garden but we cant afford a house yet so Matt's gift to me was a little potted plant and a little porcelain bunny. he told me "i know i cant get you your prefect garden just yet but here's the first step in the right direction". it made my eyes get all teary because i haven't said anything about wanting a garden in about a year and i was so surprised her remembered! he also got me a card- the front was blue with two dalmatians sitting on chairs facing each other with their noses touching and there was a little heart over their snouts- inside it read "I've loved you sense the second i spotted you." 

how did i get so lucky to find someone who loved me as much i love them?? and how in the hell did i find someone who can deal with my crazy attitude?

oh and lastly up top is a little picture list of things i asked Matt to get me for my birthday- some of them are old, some of my friends own certain ones but i still don't care! I've wanted them for a while and I'm crossing my fingers for them!