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Monday, November 19, 2012

nyc: the upper west side

on saturday we took a trip to nyc for the day.  manhattan is one of our absolute favorite places, and we love to visit there often.  lately we have been so busy, and we haven't had a chance to go in a while.  so, we were long overdue for a day in the city.  the weather was a bit cool, but we still had a great time spending the day around the upper west side.

while we were in nyc . . . we had lunch at shake shake, went to the museum, ducked into levain bakery for their famous cookies, ate dinner (and some of the best hummus i have ever had) at whole foods, admired the gigantic christmas stars at the time warner center, saw the christmas lights and the ice carvings in columbus circle, picked up two cupcakes to go from crumbs bake shop, and grabbed jamba juice before heading home.

until next time, new york . . .
love, laurie

Friday, November 16, 2012

happy friday!

the sun is shining today and it's friday.  yay!  

yesterday afternoon i was watching the blog inc. live virtual chat on joy cho's blog "oh joy!" and i nearly fell off my desk chair when joy and naomi answered my question live during their virtual chat!  joy and naomi are two of my favorite bloggers, so it was absolutely amazing to hear them respond to my question.  after i caught my breath, i called ryan in and made him re-watch it with me.  so cool i tell you!  if you missed the blog inc. live virtual chat yesterday, you can watch it here.  

this weekend we're looking forward to taking a little trip to nyc.  i sure hope that the weather cooperates with us while we are there.  fingers crossed!

have a great weekend!
love, laurie

ps: have you seen these pictures of the flooding in venice, italy?  it's crazy, right?

Thursday, November 15, 2012

mini vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting


yesterday i had one of those moments.  the kind of moment where you realize that you have just done something so incredibly stupid and there is no way to undo it.  i was drafting an email which was supposed to be saved for the next day in my "drafts" folder.  however, i was distracted while i was writing the email, and instead of clicking "save now" i clicked "send."

within a split second i realized what i had done.  in an immediate moment of panic, i picked up the phone and called ryan and said: "epic fail."  of course, he knew exactly what i was talking about because he was one of the recipients of the email.  in between laughing at me, he said: "you never put email addresses in the address line of an email that you are drafting, it's a cardinal rule."

i know, i know, i know.  i never do that normally, but i was trying to save myself a few seconds and instead ended up with my great "epic fail" moment of the day.  i ask you, why is there not an "undo" button after you have just sent an email.  can't they at least give you a 5-10 second delay to see if you in fact really meant to click send?  at least i gave everyone in my office a good laugh.  no major harm done i guess.


theses cupcakes however are not an epic fail.  in fact, they are an epic success.  they are golden and buttery.  they are light and fluffy.  they are covered in sweet vanilla buttercream frosting.  they are perfect.  of course, everything is just so much cuter in miniature too.

these mini vanilla cupcakes are a crowd pleaser.  i made them last night while i was wallowing in self pity, and then brought them into work this morning for my co-worker's birthday.  i've mentioned before (here and here) how i am the designated "birthday girl" at work.

so, the next time you need a recipe which is not an epic fail (unlike my email disaster) be sure to try these cupcakes!  they are sure to make you smile and to forget all about whatever you did stupid that day.


mini vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting
prep time: 10-15 minutes
baking time: 15 minutes
yields: 24-26 mini cupcakes

cupcake ingredients:
8 tablespoons salted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup skim milk

frosting ingredients:
4 tablespoons salted butter, softened
1 tablespoon milk or cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 cups powdered sugar

directions:
preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line mini cupcake pans with mini cupcake liners.

to make the cupcakes: in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and the sugar together on high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).  mix in the vanilla extract.  add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  in a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour and the baking powder.  add half of the sifted dry ingredients to the batter along with 1/4 cup of the milk.  beat well.  add the remaining sifted dry ingredients and the remaining 1/4 cup of the milk.  beat well to combine.  spoon 1 tablespoon of batter into each of the mini cupcake liners.  bake for 15 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.  once baked, allow the cupcakes to cool in the pans for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.  allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

to make the frosting: in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter with a whisk attachment.  mix in the milk, the vanilla extract, and 1 cup of the powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  add more powdered sugar gradually to achieve the consistency of frosting that you desire.  spread the frosting over the cooled cupcakes.

enjoy!
love, laurie

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

salsa, tacos, and enchiladas . . .

on monday night we decided to go on a little date for mexican food in order to satisfy our craving for salsa, tacos, and enchiladas.  there's nothing quite like a little date with husband after a crazy day at work!

love, laurie

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies


ryan's family loves snickerdoodles.  so, when ryan's parents came up to visit over the weekend we decided to make snickerdoodles for dessert.  instead of traditional snickerdoodles, we made pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies.  the addition of the pumpkin was a fun twist on the traditional snickerdoodles.

they weren't overly sweet, and they had just the right amount of spice in them too . . . a fun and easy dessert for the fall!


pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies
prep time: 10 minutes
inactive time: 1 hour
baking time: 12-15 minutes
yields: 2 dozen cookies
adapted from annie's eats

cookie ingredients:
8 tablespoons salted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

coating ingredients:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

directions:
in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).  beat in the pumpkin puree.  once incorporated, mix in the egg and vanilla.  in a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  add the sifted dry ingredients to the batter and mix only until incorporated.  chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  in a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the sugar and spice coating.  remove the dough from the refrigerator.  roll balls of dough (approximately 1 tablespoon in size) between your hands until they are round.  then, gently roll the balls of dough in the sugar and spice mixture until they are evenly coated.  placed the coated dough balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  use the flat bottom of a drinking glass to flatten the dough balls slightly.  bake for 12-15 minutes, until cooked throughout.  once baked, allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

enjoy!
love, laurie

Monday, November 12, 2012

the weekend.

saturday morning pumpkin waffles with turkey bacon.

play time with kitten.

laundry galore.

pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies baking in the oven.

our nearly bare tree.

leaves raked up into a pile.

one lonely flower left on our very sad mum plant.

pulled pork tacos, pepper jack sliders, and fries from the food truck.

an impromptu family photo.

a sunday visit with ryan's parents.

last week was a doozey.  after several mini meltdowns and one really major meltdown, we welcomed the weekend with open arms.  (except for the fact that i had to go into work on saturday morning for a presentation . . . yuck.)  overall, we had a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend, which was also rather productive.  hope everyone had a great weekend too!

happy monday!
love, laurie

Sunday, November 11, 2012

a love, laurie giveaway! (closed)

today i am participating in a group giveaway 
over on amanda's blog "for love of a cupcake."  

for my giveaway contribution 
i am giving away a pair of beaded earrings 
(handmade by yours truly)
and two months of ad space.

for a chance to win my handmade earrings and ad space,
enter the giveaway on amanda's blog here.

good luck!
love, laurie

. . .

update 11/25: our winner is announced here

Friday, November 9, 2012