Firecracker Popsicle Cupcakes!

I can't believe that the 4th of July is this weekend!!! I feel like June just started. I have Friday-Monday off of work and I can't wait. I decided to make a fun trial cupcake this weekend. Nothing says 4th of July like sunshine, popsicles and fireworks. Am I right?

My sister and I made Firecracker Popsicle cupcakes! The cupcake is vanilla with fresh strawberries and the frosting is my favorite crusting buttercream, perfect for decorating! (I will share the recipe in my next post.)

We made one batch of frosting and kept 1/3 white, dyed 1/3 red and dyed the last 1/3 blue. We layered the frosting like the popsicle and stuck half of a popsicle stick directly in the middle. We used big craft popsicle sticks instead of the actual popsicle sized ones. I liked the over-exaggerated look.

To pipe the frosting, I used the biggest start tip I had. (No. 172 Open Star Wilton) For the red and white layers, I used my favorite tip, the 1M Wilton. For a closer match, you can use the Open Star tip for all three layers and it would match the popsicle perfectly! I didn't use it for all three because I wanted it to look like a cupcake and I didn't want the frosting to be too much or too heavy.

These were so fun to make and they are perfect for your celebration!

What's your favorite 4th of July dessert?

Bath and Body Works Semi Annual Sale Haul

I received an email warning me of this AMAZING sale. They were bringing back Flashback Fragrances. Cucumber Melon anyone???

I may or may not have walked into Bath and Body Works yesterday and blacked out. When I came to my senses, I had two bags full of stuff and was skipping happily out the door.

I spent $44 and saved $113. Did you catch that???? I saved almost 3 times what I spent. THREE TIMES.

Some of this is for my darling mother, buuuuuut here's what I got:

• 4 Cucumber Melon body washes
• 1 Country Apple body wash
• 1 Pearberry body wash
• 1 Cucumber Melon body spray
• 1 anchor wall plug in
• 1 pineapple coin pouch
• 1 Sweet Tangerine foaming hand soap
• 1 Grapefruit foaming hand soap
• 1 Caribbean Escape candle
• 1 Georgia Peach candle
• 2 Merry Mistletoe candles (THESE ARE MY FAVORITE)

Along with the super low prices, I had a $10 off $40 coupon.

Why are you still reading this? Go go go! 

What's your favorite BBW scent or product? I would love to know!

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Yoghurt Bark

I've been on an easy snack kick lately. After making my Red, White and Blueberry trifle, I had some Mountain High yoghurt leftover. I couldn't let it go to waste! I wanted something easy, fun, and delicious....that wasn't fries from the drive-thru.

Here's what you need:

• Mountain High Fat Free Vanilla Yoghurt
• Honey
• Chocolate Chips
• Oats
• Raspberries 

What you put in your bark is totally up to you! I love options, so I'm sure I will be coming up with a lot of different variations.

Here's what you do:

• Mix your yoghurt with the honey - the amount depends on how sweet you want it

• I mixed the chocolate chips in at this time as well
• I pour the mixture onto a foil lined baking sheet to desired thickness
• I sprinkled the oats and raspberries on once the mixture was spread out

• Place it in the freezer for 2 hours at least!

Eat this quick or it will start to melt :)

If you are interested in trying Mountain High Yoghurt for yourself, you can get a coupon here.

For other great recipes, you can visit Mountain High's Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.

PS. They stick to the old school methods of making yoghurt and the old school spelling ;) 



 

June Goals

Remember that one time I wrote out a bunch of goals and completed them all? Yeaaaah, me neither. I actually have to be productive this month. I. Have. No. Choice.

We will be moving soon! Eek! J and I are leaving Monterey and heading to the East Bay Area. Instead of splitting rent four ways, we will be splitting a MUCH more expensive rent between just the two of us. Stressed doesn't even begin to cover it.

• tour apartments/find one we like
• sort through my rooms (plural. as in 3) rooms at my Dad's house.
• sort through our room in Monterey
• have a garage sale? maybe, depending on how much junk treasure I find
• attend my company picnic
• attend my step sister's high school graduation/party
• celebrate/host my niece's sixth birthday! don't even get me started on all the feels I'm having
• save allllllllll my money - as much as possible anyway 
• make better food choices - prioritize, lady!
• move dat a**. no excuses. I have a pair of goal shorts I want to feel comfortable in by fourth of July. 

Those first four goals might carry over to July, depending on how things go. Hopefully they won't need to and everything will work out juuuuust perfect. ;)

What are your goals this month? I would love to know!

Minnie Mouse Cupcakes!

This is possibly the cutest and easiest tutorial I will ever share with you guys. These cupcakes were so stinking cute! I just had to post them! (Sorry about the photo quality. It was night time.)

One of my coworkers ordered Minnie cupcakes for her daughter's birthday. I love Disney. I love cupcakes. Hellllooooo! I said yes...obviously.

She wanted classic red, white and black Minnie. I used black and white polka dot liners that I found at Michaels. I used mini oreos for the ears. I just stuck them right into the frosting! If you are making your frosting from scratch, make it a little stiffer than usual that way it can stand up to the weight of the cookies. I found these cute little red bows in a Wilton pack. They are supposed to be for "nerd" cupcakes, but I am all about repurposing. Soooooo easy. You have lots of bow options. Plastic rings, paper, frosting, whatever works!

Quick summary:

You will need:

• frosted cupcakes
• mini oreos
• bows

All of my coworkers loved them! They are so simple, but really classic and adorable.

Red, White & Blue Trifle with Mountain High Yoghurt

I've been trying to make healthier food choices lately and I've been really good about packing my lunch...for the last three days ;)

One of my staples has been yoghurt. I've been making myself a parfait every day for a snack. Layers of fruit, yoghurt, and almonds. Yummm!

When I was presented the opportunity to work with Mountain High Yoghurt, I was all about it. I decided to put a healthy spin on a classic treat! Red, White and Blue Yoghurt Trifle with Fruit!

For this recipe, I used:

• Mountain High Yoghurt - Fat Free Vanilla
• Angel Food Cake (sliced and those slices cut in half)
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Raspberries

I didn't use specific measurements at all. I grabbed a small glass bowl (where's a trifle dish when I need it???) and layered the ingredients. I started with Mountain High Yoghurt, a piece of angel food cake (cut in half) and then threw all the berries on top/ I repeated this a few times, ending with the Mountain High Yoghurt. It looked a little plain on top, so I sprinkled some angel food cake crumbles on top.

I love Mountain High Yoghurt. Vanilla is my favorite. It's smooth, tangy, and has 10 grams of protein! It's the perfect snack and can be the perfect treat.

This would be perfect for 4th of July or any summer party. It's all the deliciousness, without the guilt!

Visit Mountain High's website for a coupon to get your own yoghurt. They also have tons of yummy recipes to look at! 

Curious as to why they put the 'H' in yoghurt? It's spelled that way in Europe and they are using old school European methods of making this yoghurt still today!

For more info, check out Mountain High Yoghurt's Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. 

#bluejellyfish

note the tumbler filled with pink champagne

This last weekend, I was at the beach. (surprise!) and allllll over the sand were these little blue jelly like creatures. After talking to my Marine Science major BFF, we concluded that they were blue jelly fish. Duh!

this is the under side - pretty blue!

I did a quick google search and found out that these babies are actually washing up onto shore all over the west coast! Cray cray!

I took a few random pictures just because I thought they were cool. I wish I would've taken more for the sake of this blog post. I also wish I would've taken a better picture of the crazy fin they have. You can kind of see it in the first picture.

I actually felt bad for them - just laying there all dead and stuff. I tried to put one back in the water for good measure. It didn't come back to life. (although I knew it was a lost cause)

They even have their own hashtag. That's how you know you've made it in life.

PS. this is near Monterey, CA if you are tracking where these little jellies wash up.

if you have amazing eyes and can see all the white specks to the right of us - those are washed up, old jellies.

Have you seen any? Where? I would love to know!