Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Salted Carmel Cupcakes

I don't bake. I try. But I don't do it often. So, you could imagine my shock when my husband asked for "Salted Caramel Cupcakes" for his birthday. It was a challenge and I was willing to take it! First off... there is no way that this non-baker was going to start from scratch (there are perfectly good box mixes in the store that are just waiting to be used).  Anyway... these cupcakes turned out AWESOME and I am so excited to share the how-to with you all!

I started with a basic cake mix. Why reinvent the wheel... (actually this helped limit the steps that I could possibly mess up). I added an extra egg because I read in some cooking blog that an extra egg makes them a bit more "cake" like. Sure.

I loaded all of the cake batter into a plastic bag and cut off a corner. This was very helpful in loading up all fo the cupcake tins! To store the bag of batter, I placed it in a bowl to hold the hole upright.

Once they cooled, it was time to get fancy. I filled a pastry bag full of caramel flavored topping. I "injected" it into each cupcake. For those of you that actually do bake, I am sure your are cringing at this step. I am sure there is a better way to fill a cupcake, but for someone who does not bake, my $1.99 pastry bag did the job!

Once they were all filled, I took to flavoring the frosting. I bought vanilla frosting, emptied it into my mixer, added some caramel sauce and mixed it up. It had a very mild carmel flavor but more importantly, I liked the color ;) (Or should the flavor be the more important part....??? Hm.)

I then took my nifty $1.99 pastry bag and filled it with frosting. I frosted all of the cupcakes, then placed a small piece of caramel on them (I cut the caramels into smaller pieces for the mini cupcakes), and put a pinch of sea salt on the top.

Wow. They were good.

Yep.  We will be making these again. :) 

Versatile Blogger Award

I am ecstatic to tell you all that Kelly at Corner of Main  has awarded me “The Versatile Blogger Award”! How fabulous is that!?

 The rules of the award are as follows:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave the award to you.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Send it along to 15 other (new/newer) bloggers and let them know you have awarded them!

So, I got a little carried away here... I could not narrow it down to just 7... so we'll just double that and go with 14. Like Kelly said @ Corner of Main... have to be versatile since that's what the award is for anyway! (these are in a VERY random order). 

Here we go....

Anthro: Favorite store. Ever.

Kalimotxos: This Basque drink was introduced to me by our Basque friends in Idaho... it's now my favorite! If you haven't tried one... I recommend you give it a whirl (or I guess, swirl).

Pugs: I love pugs. Our pugs. Other people's pugs. Fat pugs. Skinny pugs. I simply love pugs. Our two pugs are rescued pugs so I also love Pug Rescues (well, dog rescues in general) and all they do for these lovable animals.

Porter and Winston

Photography: Love browsing creative photography! One day I might learn how to do this. For now, I just love to browse.

Daughter: Simply put... she has changed our world.

Yoga Pants: Who doesn't love yoga pants?! Seriously.

Coffee Creamer: Oh I am a sucker for coffee creamer. Love the stuff!

Bend Oregon: I love this town and all of it's crazy seasons.

Husband: I married the nicest, funniest, most supportive, loving, and kind man I have ever met. He makes me breakfast every day, makes us laugh, supports all my crazy projects, takes amazing care of his family... he is just downright awesome. I am a HUGE fan of this guy... HUGE!

Frye: I feel like this one is a bit of a confession. I look at Frye boots daily. Love them. (These just happen to be the "Jenna" boot... I think they know how much I love them so they named a style after me ;)

Family: I am one lucky gal. I have an amazing family who I love and cherish.

My brother, sister-in-law, parents, and us at our wedding.

Themed Parties: Who doesn't love a great themed party!? We just had a "Chicken Wing Cook Off" for my husbands birthday. So fun.

The ironic thing about this photo.... I don't like chicken wings ;) 

Our Home: I am a self proclaimed homebody. I love our home. I love everything about it. I love how all of the rooms have different meaning. I love how easy it is to entertain yet how cozy it feels. I love how we were able to put our own touch on it... and I really love who I share it with.

Artichokes: Yep. Love these things!

Well... there it is! 14 invigorating things about me ;) 

It's these amazing bloggers turn to cherish and accept this award! (I had a hard time finding that *new* of blogs so I just went with some of my favs....)

Abby @ AbbyandAdam.blogspot.com


Jamie @ iamnotthebabysitter.com


Talia @ taliachristine.blogspot.com


Jess @ balancingthedream.blogspot.com


Whitney @ tyandwhitneyulrich.blogspot.com


Pam @ ouradventuresinhomeimprovement.blogspot.com


Erin @ healthybranscoms.com

Make sure to follow the rules (or not... like I did). Have fun with it! I can't wait to see what you all have to share!

Nice Legs!

I bought this beeeeeeeauty off of Craigslist with this bench for $60 all because of it's amazing legs! I fell in love with "The Nester's" office over at The Nesting Place and have used her office as my inspiration for my own office/craft room. My husband thought I was crazy when I looked at the guy and said "we'll take it"!   The previous owners attempted to redo the table by sort-of sanding it down then putting a few layers of stain on it. In the end, it was a sticky mess! I simply loved the beveled legs!

Table Before:

Nate helped me by sanding down the multiple layers of stain:

Then I sprayed a few layers of primer (I did it the lazy way and used a spray can):

After a few layers of white paint, my table was done!

The table was the final addition to our formal dining room converted into a usable den/craft space. 

All of my craft supplies are stored in the armoir (that I scored on craigslist for $0!). 

I brought down a desk from our guest room. This is where my husband works.

We love this room for many reasons...

1. Nate has extra space to spread out work if needed.

2. I can do crafts in there and leave them for a few days until they are complete (and not on my dining room table)

3. When we need an extra table, it can be converted back into a dining room table using the 2 chairs and the bench (which we did this past weekend for Nate's birthday party)!

4. Forget that formal living room that never got used! This room is used all the time!

Oh and just for the fun of it.... here is the "before" photo of when we bought the house :) 

Burlap Wreath

My door (and entire porch) is lacking in the fall decor. Tomorrow night we have my husbands birthday party at our house in which we are expecting 30 people for the 2nd annual Chicken Wing Off (I will post pictures of the party). My front door needed some help...and quick! Last week, Abby sent me a photo of a burlap wreath she had seen at a craft store. I loved it (especially because I am loving burlap these days). This was one of the quickest, cheapest, and cutest projects I have done. It honestly took me less than 30 minutes to do. Here is how I did it....

Supplies:

1yd of burlap

1 metal wreath base

flowers or decor of your choice

 1. Cut the burlap into strips (the strips depend on the size of metal wreath base you are using). Play around with different sizes to decide what size strips you want. Burlap makes such a mess so I always put a sheet under my burlap project (or just do all of the cutting outside).

2. Tie the strips around the metal base...and tie...and tie...

and tie...

3. Once you are done, add your choice of decor! Simple, huh?!

I am planning on changing the decor on the wreath for the different holidays.

Remember to send me a photo if you make one!

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