Mani Day

After my gardening session yesterday, my nails needed some serious help!

Spring Repotting

I've been meaning to replant my little green children for a few weeks now. Jon and I stopped by Home Depot last night and picked up a few gardening necessities and I woke up to a SUPER sunny day so the timing was perfect! Drilling holes into the bottom of the new and much larger planter proved to be a slight obstacle, but mission accomplished after charging my power drill. Getting some of the more spiny succulents out of their previous homes was a bit challenging as well, but after much delay, a few splinters and wrestling a bag of potting soil, my plants are finally settled into their new homes.

Now, to tidy up this little home of ours. There's yarn bits everywhere and my kitchen needs some attention! Enjoy your Thursday everyone!!

My Little Hatter

Yes, I made her another hat. She just looks SO cute in a tiny top hat!!!

Headphones

Some days are all about the music <3

Cupcake Noms!

Today I decided to take on the task of baking cupcakes from scratch. Now, having baked cakes and caked goods from a box my entire life this was a bit daunting. I really should have attempted this sooner. Not only was it fun, but they taste AMAZING! I really had no idea there was such a difference in taste!

First came the preheat(350) and cupping of the muffin pan.


It's a huge deal that my mise en place is fully prepared before I cook/bake anything. I get easily distracted while cooking so if things aren't measured out and ready before I start tablespoons get confused with teaspoons and amounts become easily skewed. I'm a spaz, what can I say?

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (113 grams)butter, room temperature

2/3 cup (130 grams) granulated white sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups (195 grams) wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup (60 ml) 2% milk



To make my batter I use a KitchenAid Mixer, which btw is a magical device! I beat the room temperature butter and sugar together until fluffy(nearly doubled in volume). Add eggs one at a time and make sure each is completely mixed in before you add the next. After that, add the vanilla and mix until completely blended.

Separately whisk the flour and baking powder together in a bowl.

With your mixer on low alternately add the flour and milk in three intervals. I always start and end each interval with the flour (flour/milk/flour, flour/milk/flour, flour/milk/flour). Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go so you make sure to mix everything.



Now it's time to fill up our cups and bake our cupcakes! I fill each cupcake cup a little over halfway to make sure they don't overflow and cause a cupcaketastrophy! Bake them for about 16 minutes or until you can push a toothpick through the center and it comes out clean.

After they're baked I put them on a wire rack to cool while I made the frosting.

Frosting was a breeze!

Ingredients:

2 cups (230 grams) confectioners sugar or powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 cup (113 grams)butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons 2% milk

1/4 cup cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (for thickness)

I creamed the butter in my mixer then added the vanilla until it was completely blended. Mixed that on high for about a minute just to make sure none is seperated. Then, with the mixer set to low, I added the powdered sugar gradually. Scrape down the sides and add the milk and mix on high for about 3 minutes. Add the cream cheese and cream of tartar and mix on high another 3 minutes. It should start to whip up a little. I put it in the fridge for a little over an hour to get nice and cold before I frosted the cupcakes.


So there you have it, my cupcake adventure!

Cheers!!

Million Dollar View

Too pretty to stay in this afternoon so we took a quick drive over to Cougar Mountain. Clover gladly posed for a few pictures. Here are the rest!

Clobbs

Expected rain today so the sun was a pleasant afternoon surprise! We took Clover to Alki Beach, watched people fight with kites and met some other cute pups (:

Fridge Cleanout

Went TJ shopping last night and noticed too many things that had to go, so mr. chilly lost a few pounds today!

Happy Earth Day!

Hug a tree, plant a seed, love your world!

Clover in the Park

A day late, but yesterday was pure chaos! All of the windows in our apartment were replaced and thankfully it wasn't raining so we could escape to the many parks in our neighborhood. We left for a little over an hour and walked to Kerry Park, Marshall Park and Parsons Garden. I would have stayed out longer but it began to get cold again and Clover was in desperate need of water and a blanket to snuggle into. Our windows are SO much better as far as city noise and keeping the heat in but they don't open up like the old ones so I'm pretty sure summer is going to be stuffier than we'd hoped. I'm so glad it's done as they've been talking about window replacement since we moved in last October. I absolutely hate workers in my apartment!

Tulip Festival!

Skipped yesterday because I was exhausted and didn't feel like editing. We spent yesterday at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival about an hour north of Seattle. It was a beautiful day and though a million people were crammed into Skagit Valley it was gorgeous! I even got to sneak over to one of the closed fields (thanks parking lot guy!) and shoot some of the chopped fields. You can see the full album on my Flickr Tulip Festival Set!

Sweet Potato-Pie Cookies

Baked these tonight while a Just Cause 2 session played in the background. Sweet Potato-Pie Cookies with Orange Glaze. That's my southern baking for the week. They're still cooking but they smell AND look super-yummy!!

Best if Frozen

I never liked peeps at all as a child. My little sister put them in the freezer with all the other Easter candy when I was in high school and now, they're my favorite. ONLY as frozen like little sugar coated rocks though.

Wellness

Finally reached 100 on my daily photo! After a month of severe back pain, spring allergies, skin allergies and discomfort from other issues I'm finally feeling better. Today I actually got out of bed without having to brace myself, which is AWESOME!

Cupcakes Over the Rainbow

Made this mobile over the past few days and listed it on Etsy today!

Rainbows and Cupcakes

Working on another mobile with rainbows this time :D

Stay Spring, Please!

Warming up again, hope it sticks around for a bit. I'm all about it being 70 degrees for months on end.

My Little Nomlet

Had a very relaxing Sunday: napped on and off until late afternoon then had the best cheesy enchilada Seattle has to offer. Picked up some doggy treats, poo bags and a much needed comb because Clover's fur seems to think spring is the perfect time to clog the corners of every room. We went to Carkeek Park to see if the sunset was watchable but ended up with a cloudy light drop. Going to the beach with Jon, despite what nature feels like doing, is always worth it. I love living this close to such gorgeous coastal scenery. Upon arriving home our little nomlet was in high gear so we wrestled with her and a favorite pig part until she passed out. More pics on my Flickr if you want to see the ultimate in Boston adorableness!

Whidbey Island Sunset

Spent the day at Whidbey Island with Jon and Clover. We say tulip fields, a lighthouse and played on a coastal fort called Fort Casey. Such a fun day, but after the long drive, ferry ride home and picture editing I'm pooped. Pictures of the trip are on my Flickr. G'night!!

Pastel Seattle

Discovered pastels last week and planned on doing something with them. Was inspired by the sun and skyline today so I made this (:

Easter Containers

Mom sent the Easter Bunny allllllll the way to Seattle and these arrived on my doorstep this morning. Probably the cutest little containers I have now! I'm so in love with these little guys <333

Tired of my face

I'm almost 100 portraits deep and growing tired of my face. Thinking about switching up the 365 to more of a photo project instead of a daily portrait. Maybe I'll go back to self portraits after awhile but I think I'd like to focus more on the photograph itself instead of incorporating me into every one. I'll still do portraits occasionally, but I think I've reached my limit on pictures of me for awhile. Any thoughts on this are appreciated, especially from people that have done or are in the process of a year long project like this.

The Pits

to make baby trees with!

Sparkle Deerface

Superhero persona creation à la boredom (:

Sunshine Seattle

The sun came out to play today. Hope it sticks around for longer than a few hours (:

Easter Pie

No Easter baskets or eggs this year. Instead I spent the afternoon making this fudge brownie peanut butter pie and a yummy dinner for my boyfriend. We were both a little homesick, but this helped some :D

Messy Markers

Got new markers that smear and smudge like whoa. O well, fun all the same.

Love You Big As Dinosaurs

I've been working on a crochet/art/video project all week. I've never made a video before but I had a lot of fun making this one so I think I'll make more. Anyway, check out what I did and let me know what you think!

Click here to view on You Tube!

12 Inches