Creme Brulee Cupcakes

I loooove creme brulee and I know I am not alone.

Today, I'm sharing my creme brulee cupcakes with you guys. BUT! I'm sharing the super easy version for all you non-bakers.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of vanilla cake mix - I usually grab French Vanilla
• 1 box of creme brulee mix -
• + the ingredients listed on both of those boxes - eggs, oil, water, milk, heavy whipping cream
• brown sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

• Bake the cupcakes according to the directions on the box of  cake mix - usually yields about 16
• Make the creme brulee according to the mix - it sounds scary, but it's easy

• Once cupcakes are cool and creme brulee is cooled and set (about one hour), core out the centers of your cupcakes - use a cupcake core if you have one, if not a spoon or knife will work just fine
• Spoon a small amount of creme brulee into the center of the cupcake. I usually over fill and then smear some of the creme brulee on the top

• Sprinkle small amounts of brown sugar over the visible creme brulee
• If you have a culinary torch, use that to brown the sugar. If not, you can broil the cupcakes in the oven until the tops are golden brown. (I know I pulled an Ina Garten with the whole culinary torch thing, sorry)

Tip : Don't close the oven door all the way while broiling - and keep a CLOSE eye on them.

YOU ARE DONE! So easy! I usually make the cupcakes and creme brulee from scratch, but figured I would spare you the hours of intense labor.

Tip #2 : I keep these in the fridge. The whole dairy thing sitting out creeps me out.

Happy baking!! :)

Tutu-torial

TUTU TUtorial on TUesday. Okay, I'm done now.

My niece Endsly just turned 1 and I got to help with the party prep! This sweet thang got to wear a Nanda Original. (My nieces call me Nanda) Tutus are so easy to make and you probably don't really need this tutorial since there's 58,000 others ones, buuuut what kind of blogger would I be if I didn't include one!?

You Will Need:

• tulle - I used about 1/2 a yard in each color for this tutu, but she's little. It's only like $1.50 a yard, so don't be afraid to get too much!
• elastic for the waist band or ribbon - I used elastic
• scissors
• measuring tape or ruler
• LOTS of table or floor space

How To:

1. You must put your hair in a ridiculous bun. People will know you're serious.

2. Have your pretty colors and supplies ready!

3. Cut your elastic to the correct size. I used 17 inches for Ends.

4. Fold the elastic in half. Put a dot of glue a little bit away from the edge - like where my fingers are pinching.

 

5. It will look like the picture above. You want to take the flap and glue it to one side of the elastic. Put the dot of hot glue right in between where you are pinching.

Now the elastic should look like that! ^^

6. It's tulle time!!!! I used a half a yard of each color. Make sure you cut your tulle to the correct size. Lay it out flat on your work surface and start rolling!

Rolled!

7. Your ends will be all cray cray and you want to cut them so everything matches up.

pretty pretty!



8. Now! Cut your tulle in 3 inch sections - give or take - it isn't a big deal.

 

9. Once you have the first color done, go back and follow the above steps for the other two colors. I like to have all of my tulle cut. It's definitely the most tedious part.

10. Take a looooong piece of tulle, fold it in half, and cut on the fold. One loooong piece will end up being 2 shorter pieces. Do this for allllll of your pieces.

11. Make sure you have something to stretch out your elastic while you are tying on your tulle. I was able to use my thigh for this one. I've used cardboard, binders, etc in the past.

12. Take your small strip of tulle and fold it in half, pinch about an inch from the fold to create a loop.

13. Slip this under the elastic. Now just pull the hanging pieces through the loop. You'll have to adjust it a little to lay right. I like to alternate my colors in some sort of pattern.

 

**You have a choice here** You can use one strip per loop or two strips. The picture shown above is one strip. I will show you what it would look like with two strips. I prefer two. It gives a more solid, full look.

 

The picture above is with two layers. See the difference?

 

14. Contine on all the way around. I like to push my colors together so when the tutu is being worn, you don't see any elastic.

 



the inside of the elastic

Making a tutu is actually really easy. The cutting takes the longest, but once you are done, throw on a movie and start looping!

Every baby girl needs a tutu. I also may have made a Halloween one for my dog once. I have no shame.

Tips for a Successful Garage Sale

I don't necessarily like having garage sales, but I do love making money off old stuff. I usually only last for about 3 hours before I get bored and decide to go inside. I had a garage sale on Saturday - one of many in preparation for my move - and made $150!!!!!!! In 3 hours. That's like a $50 an hour job. I'll take it! Oh and my goal was $150. WOOT.

I'm no garage sale expert, but here's what helps me!

• HAVE HELP. Seriously. You cannot do it alone. I like to have at least one other person besides myself. One person at the money box and one helping customers. My dad is always in charge of putting the signs up, while me and my garage sale partner set the stuff out. This time it's Jarad. First garage sale together. Awwww.
• Make your signs stand out! I like to use neon poster board. Write big and write clear. Use arrows! Don't try and fit too much information. Just SALE and your address.
• Put a price tag on everything. It avoids confusion and will keep you sane. A lady told me if something isn't priced, she won't ask about it.
• Decide whether the 25 cents is more important than getting rid of the junk - hagglers gonna haggle.
• Price items a little higher. Like I said before...hagglers gonna haggle!
• Group like items! I like to group all of the items that are similar in the same spot.
• Do not leave your money box unattended! Too many horror stories out there. I've heard of people using fanny packs. This might be a good idea if you are having a really big sale.
• Keep all "valuables" near you and the money box. I keep small items like jewelry right next to me.
• Utilize social media and Craigslist. Post on Craigslist a few days in advance. I had 3 people waiting in their cars outside of my house before I was even finished setting up. They saw my ad on Craigslist.
• Have change. You might get a random garage sale baller that pays with a $20 or above. I like to have plenty of 5's and 1's just in case! 10's wouldn't hurt either!
• Have bags. My family keeps the plastic grocery bags in a cabinet in our house. I bust them out when I'm having a garage sale. It makes people happy and dwindles the stash down.
• Use a clothes rack if you have one. I bought a $10 clothes rack from Target to hang up the nicer things. Almost everything sold on it!

These are in total random order, but I typed them as I thought of them.

So...when are you having your next garage sale?

My Favorite Pop-Up Shops

Before I started with this whole budgeting thing, I was an online shopping addict. I love good deals. I love small businesses. I love supporting small business by purchasing those good deals. It's a vicious cycle.

I've mentioned before that I unsubscribed from all shopping emails except for my favorite pop up shops. I just couldn't part with them. Introducing the faaaaabulous :

Pick Your Plum:
MY FAVORITE. My go to shop for a lot of things. This is a crafters dream. I often buy cupcake liners, resin flowers, and shabby chic flowers from here. The prices cannot be beat. Seriously. Oh! Your items are shipped quickly and they give you a Laffy Taffy in each package :)

Jane.com:
Oh Jane. How I love thee. They have deals on crafty things, clothes, jewelry, you name it they have it. I love their selection of accessories and scarves. I did a lot of my Christmas shopping through them! Shipping is super quick here too, but no Laffy Taffy.

Brickyard Buffalo:
BB is hit or miss. Sometimes there is cute stuff for an amazing deal and other times there is cute stuff for EXPENSIVE. My heart breaks a little each time I get my hopes up for an item and realize it isn't a really good deal. I'm also sort of cheap, so this could be a personal problem. Oops. Either way, the stuff is so cute!



You should definitely sign up for one - or all of these. Unless you're budgeting like me. Then just don't do it. Spare your heart and your bank account.

*these images are not my own. they belong to the owners of these shops.*

Budget Update : $5,000

$5,000 baby!

For those of you just tuning in, I'm trying to save up $10,000 by my Caribbean vacation / move to Monterey in June. I started in January.

I've gotten some negative comments - mostly from people I know - about my whole saving money thing. Just to clear things up... I have been working my butt off. I work / commute Monday through Friday. I craft and bake at night time and on the weekends. I've been selling old clothes and not buying new ones. I've even cut back on my addiction to the Target dollar section. GASP. Negative comments are not neccessary. Everybody is in a different situation and I work hard to save my money.

I knew this goal was going to be tough, but I knew I would be getting my tax return in March, so I went for it and I exceeded it! What what! I am a little worried that I won't meet my end goal of $10,000 in June though. I guess we'll see how it plays out!

I've seen more and more of my readers talking about budgeting, so please check out this post and print out the budget sheets! Cut back on temptation by ending your subscription to shopping emails, steps found here.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! I am NOT a budget or financial expert in any way - just a girl trying to chase her dreams! Cheesy, but true.


OMG GUESS WHAT? I just got my pay stub for this week and I actually paid attention to the numbers for once. I've saved just about 75% of what I've earned so far this year. I AM SO EXCITED.

April Goals

I cannot even believe it's APRIL! Where did the time go!?

Let's recap my March goals, shall we?

• (edit) exercise minimum of 3 times a week
• have $5000 saved up by April 1st
• sell another batch of clothes
• learn to make a button for my blog - so I can start sponsoring you lovely people
• sponsor at least one blogger
• launch the Mermade Moments re-vamp
• finish one book and post a review
• apply for school in Monterey

7/8 not bad at all! I suck at exercising. The end. No excuses. I saved up the $5000, what what! I sold another batch of clothes at Hut No 8! If you have one, go and sell your clothes there! I finally attempted to make a button - took me long enough. I am currently sponsoring THREE blogs - Raewyn and Amanda and Casey. I'm an over achiever, I know. The loveliest Victoria Strader from Happily Ever Strader did my blog design early this month and I LOVE it. I feel like a real blogger now :) I read Where We Belong by Emily Giffin. My review is coming soon. Lastly, apply for school in Monterey. I have the application all finished and they were supposed to open up enrollment in March, but that has been delayed. Not my fault, I'm counting it! All I have to do is press submit anyway! ;)

• have a moving sale
• sell another batch of clothes
• show more love to my Etsy shop
• post more cupcakes!
• make Jarad's golden birthday spectacular! (he'll be 28 on the 28th)
• save up $6000 by May 1st.
• work toward the 1800 minute challenge
• actually complete the squat challenge
• complete the push up challenge

The 1800 minute challenge is something that Living in Yellow is doing. From April 1st - May 31st you should complete 1800 minutes of being active. It averages out to 30 minutes a day. No worries if you don't do 30 one day, add on extra the next! Just make sure you have 1800 minutes total at the end and you can win a grand prize - besides being healthy!!!

My squat challenge will definitely contribute to the 1800 minute challenge. I think setting these loose goals will help me stick to them! I think...


What are your goals for this month? Let's hold each other accountable!

Drop It Like A Squat

APRIL FOOLS!

I have a love hate relationship with squats. Mostly hate.

I've realized I cannot complete the 30 day squat challenges with 4,000 squats in a row. I just can't. I get bored. My legs break off. Ain't nobody got time for 4,000 squats or legs breaking off.

In case you were wondering, 69 days until my Caribbean vacation. My thighs are staring up at me like "SHRINK US!!!!!!!!!!!" That's actually a really weird image, but whatevs.

I have compiled a whole list of squat motivation, including a squat challenge that does not require 4,000 of the same type of squat in a row. My attention span is thanking me already.

 

PLEASE do this with me, so I don't have to be miserable fit and fabulous alone.

 

 

Hmmm. Interesting.

 

 

I needed this lovely piece of motivation.

 

 

Toned please!

 

 

If I was your boss I would accept this excuse.

 

I need this.

 

 

So...who's with me??? I'm starting this today. No April Fools jokes here!

 

*None of these pictures are mine. I found them on Pinterest and the links were dead ends. So credit to whoever owns them*