Eat: Beer Cupcakes

Here is a fun spin on your favorite dessert- Chocolate Beer Cupcakes with Salted Carmel Icing.  These would make a fun sweet addition to your Super Bowl party spread.  I mean, they have beer in them and they sound delicious!  

Here is the full recipe from The Brooklyn Kitchen Blog via The Kitchn.  

Sweet Photos

What is better than yummy sweet treats?  Gorgeous photos of yummy sweet treats by Elizabeth Messina!  Well, maybe eating the treats is better, but the photos are a feast for the eyes.  Happy weekend.

Celebrating

Today is my birthday, and I'm celebrating with my honey, the baby in my belly, and sweets...

Photo by Elizabeth Messina

French Garden Wedding

I am IN LOVE with this wedding I spotted on the Ruffled blog.  It is equal parts romantic, pretty, and fun. The bouquet is my favorite and I think the color palette is perfection.

Photos by Darla Roze Photography

Signature Cocktail...Snow Cones!

Want a fun idea for a summer wedding?  How about snow cones!?  And not just your old school snow cones, but snow cone cocktails.  People would have the option for non-alcoholic versions as well, because they would make their own snow cone at the snow cone bar.

Spotted on Wiley Valentine and posted by Jesi Haack, I think this is a great idea for a summer wedding or party:

If you want to see more, head over to Wiley Valentine and check out the full feature.

Chanel Inspired Bridal Shower: The Desserts

To wrap up the weekly posts of our Chanel inspired styled bridal shower shoot, I am featuring the desserts.  All I can say is yum!  That cake by Sweet and Saucy is a work of art, and the desserts by Jay's Catering look delicious...

And don't forget to check out my posts of this shoot from earlier this week, and the feature on Style Me Pretty!

I mean, look at the detail on that cake!  The buttons are edible.  (from Sweet and Saucy)

All images from Jasmine Star

Chanel Inspired Bridal Shower: The Details

Miss Type-A that I am, I am a sucker for details!  And the details from our Chanel Inspired Bridal Shower Shoot are AH-MAZ-ING!  Remember, this was a styled shoot, not a real bridal shower.  So it is meant to inspire only...

Invitation by Tilde Designs

Desserts by Jay's Catering

Cake by Sweet and Saucy

All florals by Heavenly Blooms

The shoot was planned by myself and Jaclyne from Heavenly Blooms.  The event planning and design was carried out by Jaclyne and In The Now Weddings.  It was shot by Jasmine Star, located at the Richard Nixon Library, and the furniture was provided by Luxe Event Rentals and Classic Party Rentals.

To see more of this shoot, see this week's previous posts, or the feature on Style Me Pretty.  And check back tomorrow for more!

Inspiration Board: Pink, Feminine, & Romantic

The new issue of Martha Stewart Weddings is entitled "Pretty in Pink," and it really is!  Taking its inspiration from ballerinas, it features some of the softest, fluffiest, and most romantic gowns I have ever seen.  If I didn't know I would look ridiculous, I would wear a pink tulle tutu everyday (at least in the privacy of my own home), so I absolutely loved the theme.  So, as I often do when I am inspired, I made a board based on the new MSW issue:

Top Row:  tulle flowers by Emersonmade, head piece by Twigs & Honey, necklace from flickr via The Sweetest Occasion, bride and groom from MSW, florals from flickr, 
Middle Row:  florals from flickr, stationery by Hello! Lucky, bouquet from Wedding Style Guide, both floral photos from flickr, pink bridesmaid dress via Wedding Style Guide, 
Bottom Row:  menu by Tilde Designs, pink gown photo by Amy Squires, bride from MSW, desserts by One Girl Cookies, Setting via Wedding Style Guide

A Winning Oscar Party

I've seen some great Oscar party ideas on the blog circuit recently, and I'm passing them along here hoping someone will use them and throw a fun party.  My husband and I take watching the Oscars very seriously...we have a ballot competition, make treats, and have seen most (me) or all (him) of the nominated films.  But this year I'll be watching the Oscars alone, because husband is working at the Governor's Ball after the Oscars and leaving me to compete with myself.  "No I don't mind watching the Oscars alone while you're hob-nobbing with the Oscar attendees at the most glamorous party of the year...have fun!"

Seriously though, how cute are these Oscar ideas, courtesy of the always creative Twig & Thistle and the amazing Amy Atlas!

To download the ballots go here and to download the popcorn bags go here and to see the full features at Twig & Thistle, go here.

To see the full feature and for recipes from Bakerella for the cookies and brownies above, go here.

So download, bake, pick your winners, and have fun!  I'll be rooting for The Hurt Locker (although I loved Avatar and Inglorious Basterds too!), Kathryn Bigelow, and Jeff Bridges myself...

Let them eat...cupcakes!

I know, I know, cupcakes in lieu of cake is no longer a revolutionary concept.  But, I still think it is a fantastic idea and fun way to show personality, especially if you LOVE cupcakes like I LOVE cupcakes!

My husband and I had a cupcake tower instead of a cake.  We had a favorite bakery for a couple of years (big shout out to Vanilla Bakeshop!)  and we were lucky enough to get to have that bakery do our cupcake tower and for our venue to waive our cake cutting fee and allow it.  Our guests went nuts over those cupcakes.  Plus we picked our favorite flavors and it was easier to feed to each other during our "cake cutting."  And it allowed us to make adorable signs that told guests what flavor of cupcakes were on which level and cute little flags with our monogram on them.

So for all of you brides out there who are considering cupcakes instead of a traditional cake, I say go for it. They make for yummy treats and great pictures!

Cupcakes and tower design by Vanilla Bakeshop, Signs and flags by Tilde Designs, bird cake toppers by Cotton Bird Designs, and photos by Jennifer Roper

Think Pink

Remember that spring florals post I did last week featuring beautiful florals from The Bride's Cafe? Remember how I promised an inspiration board featuring those florals? Well, here it is, spring pink goodness! If my husband's one caveat about our wedding wasn't "no pink" I might have done something similar myself.

Top Row:  Umbrella photo by Jennifer Davis, place card via Dolci Odille via Once Wed, bouquet by Janie of The Bride's Cafe photographed by Katie Stoops, bride and groom photo via Martha Stewart Weddings

Middle Row:  Ice cream via Martha Stewart Weddings, calligraphy by Crystal Kluge, balloons photo via Martha Stewart Weddings

Bottom Row:  girl holding peony photo by Elizabeth Messina, cotton candy via Martha Stewart Weddings, Peony by Janie from The Bride's Cafe photographed by Katie Stoops, table setting by Lisa Lefkowitz, shoes by Christian Louboutins by Net-A-Porter

DIY Valentine Cookies

I couldn't resist posting pics of the yummy cookies I made for my husband for Valentine's Day (yes, I sampled one and they were quite good if I do say so myself!)

My mom and I used to make these every year for Valentine's Day.  She would roll out the dough and I would stamp the heart shaped cookie cutters and dab milk on them so the sprinkles would stick.  It is a tradition I definitely want to continue for my family.

Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Then dip in milk and enjoy!

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Sweets for your sweet (or yourself)

Cupcakes & Cookies from Better Homes & Gardens

From William Sonoma via Snippet & Ink

Cakes from Perfect Endings

From Twig and Thistle

In continuing with my Valentine's Day posts, here are some yummy treats to bake for the occasion.  The last photo comes from a DIY project to make those adorable brownie bags.  Find the full DIY post here and download the template for the bags here.  Hope this inspires some baking...

~UPDATE~

Amy Atlas posted a great Valentine's dessert board today...head over there and check it out!  Here is a little preview:

Photography by Bethalee Photography, via Sweet Designs by Amy Atlas