Happy Birthday Lincoln!

Our precious pup turns 3 today! I can't believe how time has flown, but am I ever so glad he no longer wets in the house or chews my shoes. Each birthday we make a big deal out of the day for him, and he gets plenty of new treats and toys to celebrate. I'm sure he doesn't get why we are spoiling him so much, but he always gets a cupcake with a birthday candle (this ones a little girlier then normal) and we sing to him.  

The Strawberry Cupcake I made yesterday. Yum! 

Lincoln devouring his Strawberry Cupcake.  He made a little mess but he made sure to eat up every crumb. 

Are you as crazy about celebrating your pets birthday as I am? If so what do you do to celebrate? 

Strawberry Cupcakes

This weekend at the grocery store Andy and I found some monster strawberries that we couldn't pass up - and what better to make they Strawberry Cupcakes with them. I've used a few different Strawberry Cupcake recipes in the past and would say this is one my favorites because it is not overpowering in flavor and not too sweet. Here's what you'll need: 

Ingredients - Cupcakes: 

1 Box French Vanilla Cake Mix

1 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

3 Egg Whites

1/2 Cup Pureed Strawberries blended in blender

Mix and Bake for 18 Minutes at 350 Degrees

Ingredients - Strawberry Frosting: 

5 Cups Powdered Sugar

2 Tsp Lemon Juice

1/4 Cup Pureed Strawberries

1 Stick of Butter

For the icing - First beat the butter until creamy, then add the lemon and already pureed strawberries. After they have blended, add the powered sugar slowly giving the icing time to fluff and then get stiff. 

Voila! Nothing fancy but the perfect cupcake for those who want a little something light for those upcoming warmer days.  Enjoy! 

Wedding Preview: Invitations

This past weekend, we finally began to stuff our wedding invitations from Shine Invitations. Our wedding is still 5 months away, but being that it is during a popular holiday weekend and it's 4 1/2 hours away from home we wanted to make sure our guests have enough time to set up hotel accommodations. 

We went with a simple and elegant invitation in just black and white. Although colors of pink, coral and mint will make appearances at our wedding. We wanted to keep everything simple and felt black and white was the easiest.  

While most people complain about stuffing their wedding invites - we had fun. Everything was super simple to put together, and Shine Invitations did a great job getting proofs and changes made within minutes. It took less then a week to receive them and I would highly recommend them if you are looking for someone to do your wedding invites, save the dates, or any other stationary for your day. 

*Note: This post was not sponsored by Shine Invitations and is strictly opinion.

Black & White Stripes Round 2

Jeans: 7FAM | Shirt: Loft | Jacket: Lauren Conrad | Shoes: Steve Madden | Bracelet: Francescas | Watch: Michael Kors | Necklace: Etsy | Sunglasses: Target

Was it me or did this past weekend just fly by? As mentioned yesterday, my Dad came over with his new pup George. Andy and I both went out with our friends, it was nice to see everyone and better yet spend a night away from each other. Saturday night I went out with the girls and he went out with the guys. His ended a little rougher then mine did, but It was nice to have Lincoln to myself and snuggle up with him alone. Sometimes it's just great to have space, and do our own things. 

I wore this outfit Saturday just relaxing at home and quickly turned it into something to wear out with the girls by adding some heels. 

Meet George

Meet George - My Dad's new Bassett Hound. He is absolutely the sweetest little thing in the world.  This past Saturday he came over to hang out with Lincoln, Andy and I and it was fun to see how Lincoln reacted to the possibility of having a sibling. Needless to say I don't think we will be adding another pup anytime soon, but it was fun to have a cute little pup to play with all afternoon.  Here are a few photos of George. He is only 11 weeks old in these photos. 

For those that have more then one puppy, how have you introduced a new dog to one you've had for quite some time?

Thin Mint Cupcakes

I was so excited a few weeks ago when my bosses' daughters came in looking to sell Girl Scout cookies. Something about those amazing little cookies can brighten anyone's mood. I only purchased two boxes (which I quickly realized wasn't enough), but lucked out when a colleague of mine mentioned he wasn't planning to eat them because he's on a diet.  I ended up with 6 boxes total. I had to hide them from Andy only giving him a few cookies at a time (as he'd eat a box in a sitting.)  

I decided to make some Thin Mint Cupcakes - which ended up being extremely delicious and a huge hit at our household.

To save on time I used pre-made cake mix and frosting that I already had but any personal favorite recipes you might have for either would work just as well. 

Ingredients:  

1 Box Devils Food Cake Mix (Betty Crocker Brand) 

1 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

3 Eggs

1 Can of Whipped Chocolate Frosting (Betty Crocker Brand)

1 Sleeve of Thin Mints (12 for cupcake bottoms,  save 4 for cookie crumbs) 

1 Teaspoon Peppermint Extract

First line your cupcake pan with cupcake cups and then place one Thin Mint at the bottom of each cupcake.  Then mix together the cake mix, eggs, water, and oil in a large bowl. After all the ingredients are mixed, fill each cupcake liner to the top and placed in the oven at 350 degrees for 17 minutes or so or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Next let the cupcakes cool for 20 minutes or so. I personally toss them into the fridge or freezer to speed up the process. 

Then mix the can of whipped frosting with the peppermint oil. I choose to go a little light on the peppermint oil so if you love mint I suggest adding to taste.  

At first I was going to garnish each cupcake with a 1/4 of a cookie but when they didn't turn out so well I started turning them into crumbs. 

Once cool begin icing cupcakes with chocolate whipped frosting garnishing with cookie crumbs. Enjoy! 

*Note I only wanted to make 12 cupcakes - so they were larger then normal, but if you would like to make more only fill each cup halfway -  you should be able to get 20-24. 

Rainy Day

 After experiencing some amazing weather last week in Florida and some sort of unexpected snow storm last night - I'm so ready for spring but in order for spring to arrive I'm gearing up from some not so fun rainy weather. But hey, April showers bring May flowers right? 

I'm slightly obsessed with Hunter Boots my favorite in Black and this North Face Rain Coat is super cute- not like those yellow rain coats our parents made us wear.  The Kate Spade umbrella makes for a fun and is playful, making rainy days not so bad. So if you decide to crawl out of bed and brave the storm, what is your go to rain wear?

The North Face north faced / Hunter socks / Kate Spade / Kate Spade logo umbrella / Lancôme waterproof mascara / Kiehl's kiehl s / Tall Rain Boots | Original Wellington Boots | Hunter Boots