cinnamon toast crunch cupcakes

My favorite cereal growing up was Cinnamon Toast Crunch, so I was ecstatic when my friend found a recipe for cinnamon sugar cupcakes, filled with pieces of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal!

As I've mentioned before, I'm a huge chocolate lover so these didn't make my top favorite cupcakes, but all my friends loved them. They have the consistency of a muffin and could even make a quick breakfast if you want to grab one running out the door.

The cake is a vanilla cake with pieces of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, frosted with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting, and garnished with of course, a piece of cereal.

RECIPE:

Cinnamon Sugar Cupcakes

When my friends and I made them we didn't crush the cereal pieces up enough in the frosting, so make sure it's a fine powder, not just tiny pieces of cereal or else the frosting will be chunky and who likes that?

Happy baking! 

slutty brownies

Warning: if you're trying to get your bod into spring break mode, don't make these. Slutty brownies are the the most addicting, delicious brownies you will ever make, I ate half the pan the last time I made them...opps.

Anyways, Slutty Brownies are called this because they're so easy to make! (get it...haha.) They consist of a chocolate chip cookie dough base, double stuffed oreos, and a layer of brownie on top.


This recipe is the easiest thing you'll ever make, even easier than the oreo truffles, and only requires baking mixes, nothing from scratch!


INGREDIENTS:
Bag of chocolate chip cookie mix
Box of double stuffed oreos
Box of brownie mix

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to the temperature on the brownie mix box

Prepare cookie mix and press into the bottom of a greased brownie pan

Place oreos in rows on top of the cookie dough 

Make brownie mix and pour over entire pan

Bake according to the brownie mix instructions, it may take a few minutes longer than the box says because the brownies are thicker, so periodically check the brownies by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the pan, if it comes out clean, they're done!

YUMMM. 

Enjoy<3

oreo truffles

My life has been MIA but I haven't stopped making delicious desserts! If you're challenged in the kitchen then this is a recipe for you, it requires no baking and only uses a few ingredients.

I found this recipe for oreo truffles in a Cosmo a few years ago and totally forgot about it till last week. The truffles have an oreo and cream cheese filling, are dipped in milk chocolate, and drizzled with white chocolate.

Ingredients:

16 oreos
8 oz (one small container) cream cheese
milk chocolate chips
white chocolate chips

Directions: 

Crush oreos into crumbs, I break an oreo into fourths and toss about 6 at a time into a blender and puree until they're fine crumbs.

Heat the cream cheese in a microwave so that it is soft and mix the crumbs and cream cheese to form the filling. There shouldn't be any white from the cream cheese left when it is all mixed together, I microwaved the entire bowl of crumbs with the cream cheese in it to make it easier to stir.

Allow mixture to cool in fridge for about 10 minutes, then roll into small round balls and place on a cookie sheet. Once you have all the balls formed, let sit in the freezer for an hour to harden.

After an hour melt about half a bag of chocolate chips in the microwave for about 1.5 minutes then just drip the hardened cream cheese balls into it and replace on cookie sheet. The entire ball should be coated, don't worry if the chocolate sticks out in funny places, it just makes it look like there's a cool texture. Warning it does get a little messy! I'd suggest an apron.

Melt about 1/4 of the bag of white chocolate chips for about 1.5 minutes in the microwave. Dip a fork in the chocolate and shake on top of the chocolate coated balls to create the drizzled look I did above.

Put in the freezer for about 2 hours and enjoy!

Instead of drizzling white chocolate you could add crushed peppermints, sprinkles, oreo crumbs, crushed nuts, the possibilities are endless!

Warning; they're addictive. Happy truffle making!

pumpkin cupcakes

In honor of Halloween and my friend's birthday I decided to make pumpkin cupcakes!

This recipe is super easy if you're not an experienced baker and they taste delicious. If you've ever had the pumpkin bread from Starbucks, this is what they taste like except with cream cheese frosting on top!

Please excuse the grainy camera phone picture, I didn't bring my real camera home with me this weekend.

Recipe:

1 package pound cake mix

1 cup LIBBY'S 100% Pure Pumpkin 

1/3 cup water

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking soda 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine ingredients into a large bowl mixer and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.  Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. 

So easy!

For the frosting I used the cream cheese recipe from the oreo cupcakes I made in May, see that post for the recipe link! 

Happy Fall!

think pink!

I'm not talking about the Victoria's Secret PINK line, I'm talking about breast cancer awareness. My favorite store, forever 21, has created a line that donates 10% of the purchase to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. 

As you know, I'm all about shopping for a good cause, so I picked up one of the t-shirts from the line this weekend.

$14.95

I got it a size bigger so I could wear it off the shoulder. super cute with leggings or yoga pants!

Cheap prices and helping suport a cure? That's what I call a good deal.

Rugged Wearhouse

Attention bargain hunters! I've rediscovered an amazingly cheap store, Rugged Wearhouse! 


Never been there before? It's like a Ross meets a thrift store and sells clothes marked down to about 70% of their original price. I can't take credit for rediscovering it, I went out with some friends and one of the girls had on a super cute black cold shoulder dress (cut out shoulders) and told me it was from Rugged Wearhouse.

 I totally copied her and went out and got the dress, for $7.99. I also found some killer wedges for $9.99. An entire outfit for under $20? That's pretttty awesome.

You do have to dig a little to find good things, but for prices like that it's definitely worth the time. They also had combat boots for $15.00, tons of heels, purses, even men's clothes. They have brands like Betsey Johnson, Steve Madden, Dickies, Jessica Simpson, and when I was in elementary school I used to get Abercrombie clothes from there too!

I think that every store has different products, but check out their website to find a store close to you!

http://www.ruggedwearhouse.com/main.php

Happy bargin hunting :)

little yellow dress

You know I love a little black dress, but sadly, sky high heels and short hemlines aren't exactly appropriate for day time.

Solution? The little yellow dress!

I got this $44.00 Lush dress at Nordys the other day and have fallen in love with it. It's hard to tell from the picture, but it has a sweetheart neckline, pockets, and is actually yellow and gray stripes. 

I know what you're thinking, how many times can you wear a yellow dress? $44.00 is a lot to spend on a rather memorable colorful dress! Wrong!

I've only worn it once but I've already thought of three different outfits that I can do with this dress by combining it with items I already had in my closet! Check out my grainy attempts to recreate an In Style outfit layout for ideas on how to change up a colorful dress you may already own!

The Casual Outfit

This is the outfit I would go to if I was just running errands or going to the mall. To me it says "I just threw this on but I still cute as anything." My fedora is my favorite summer accessory so of course I had to sneak it in one outfit! Denim is a huge trend for fall, and a jean vest is lighter than a jacket for summer, pair it with old school sneakers and you're comfy and cute.

Fedora - Nordstorm, Belt - Nordstrom, Jean Vest - American Eagle, Converse - Journeys 

The Concert/Class Outfit 

Cowboy boots are my favorite shoes to wear with flirty dresses, and this outfit just screams summer country concert. On campus I do a lot of walking and I've had my cowboy boots since 9th grade so they're super comfy when I go to class. A studded belt and leather accessories like the watch make the look a little more pulled together. Don't mind the million different shades of brown, blame it on my totally unprofessional lighting and camera flash, promise it looks better in real life!

Watch - Picket Fence, Belt - GAP, Satchel - Dooney and Burke, Boots - Rampage

The Housewife Outfit

This is my favoriteee outfit combo. I call it the housewife outfit because it reminds me of old tv shows where the moms would vacuum in pearls and heels. I wore it to work yesterday and murdered my feet but it was worth it! Pops of color make the dress look totally different than the other looks. If I was wearing this to class I would ideally pair it with red flats but sadly I don't own a pair yet :( (hint hint future Christmas present)

Handbag - Kohls, Sunglass - Rayban, Nail polish - CoverGirl, Belt - my mom's, Cardi - Hollister, Shoes - Aldo 

I hope this gave you ideas on how to mix up your favorite sundress! Happy outfit creating! 

feather earrings

I know you've seen them everywhere and I wasn't feeling it at first, but feather earrings are now one of my new favorite accessories for summer. They're a little tribal meets Steven Tyler but I love the natural trendy vibe they give off!

I got short black and white ones from Nordstrom and wear them with either plain t-shirts or sundresses and I loveee the way they look with my fedora!

(Nordstrom $10.00)

If you have longer hair the more dangly, the better! Rock just one so it looks like it's part of your hair, or if you have short hair, just one looks super edgy. If you want a more glam look, go for ones that have rhinestones or metal feathers woven into the actual feather. 

Just be sure you don't accidentally brush them when you're brushing your hair or else you'll damage them :( 

For some reason all the websites I wanted to use were being testy with pictures but stores like Urban Outfitters, Claire's, and Forever 21 all have great selections of feather earrings!

Go channel your inner indian princess! 

vanilla bean cupcakes

I had the day off, so of course that meant cupcake baking :) Nordstrom is currently having its annual Anniversary Sale, where its fall product comes in on sale and then goes back to full price at the end of the month. As you can imagine, it's been pretty busy and everyone's been working super hard so I wanted to bake something for the girls in my department.

I decided on vanilla bean cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting, and did the frosting in the colors of the Anniversary Sale logo.

The recipe called for a real vanilla bean, and they are probably the strangest thing I've ever baked with. When you eat vanilla ice cream vanilla beans are what cause the little black flecks in it. Incase you want to make these yourself, look for something packaged like this in the grocery store:

It took ten minutes of wandering around Giant with a lost look on my face before the store manager eventually came over and helped me find them haha.  This is what's inside:

So weird. Anyways, the cupcakes turned out okay, the batter was super thick and I prefer thicker batters to runny ones but I'm not in love with this cupcake. 

I ate three, of course, and in two of them I could definitely taste the salt, I'm not sure if I didn't mix the batter enough or added too much salt by accident, so if I make these again I'll either skip the salt or add an even smaller amount. 

The colors in the frosting didn't turn out as I wanted them to, but since I had to split the frosting into four different bowls I was hesitant about adding more food coloring because if there's too much you can taste it in the frosting. Below you can see the colors I was attempting to imitate and clearly did not create but I tried :) 

Overall, I wouldn't make this cupcake again because I'm not a huge vanilla fan but here are the recipes incase you want to try them! 

Cupcake: http://annies-eats.net/2010/01/05/vanilla-bean-cupcakes/

Frosting: http://annies-eats.com/2008/03/08/happy-21st-birthday-bro/

40% off!

I'm addicted to shopping for going out dresses, what college girl isn't? One of my new favorite websites for dresses is beta.amiclubwear.com and today everything is 40% off!


you're welcome. 


These are my two favorite dresses from there, let's say they're not for the conservative, but the red one was for my birthday so I figured I could get away with it and hey, we're in college and we'll never look like this again!

(black lace one shoulder)

Happy online shopping! 

double chocolate raspberry cupcakes

Today my boyfriend was visiting so I let him choose the kind of cupcakes he wanted me to bake and he decided on double chocolate raspberry, yummm.

I'm a devoted chocolate lover so this cupcake was a huge hit with me. It has a super moist chocolate cake, but the recipe calls for coffee, which gives it a kind of mocha flavor, a raspberry jam filling, and is topped with chocolate ganche and a fresh raspberry. 

I've never made a cupcake with filling before, so it was a little messy and not a lot of filling got inside the cupcake, probably because I was using an icing tube to insert it, so my next kitchen tool will definitely be a filling injector! We used fresh raspberries instead of the frozen ones the recipe called for and didn't filter out the seeds (due to laziness) but the filling still turned out delicious! 

I'd also never made a ganche before, but it isn't hard at all! We found that it spread better on the cupcakes  after being refrigerated for about 15 minutes. 

They turned out absolutely delicious and I can't wait to remake them once I get a proper filling tool! 

Here's the recipe, http://annies-eats.net/2010/07/07/double-chocolate-raspberry-cupcakes/

(Notice the cupcake apron from my very first post! Thanks mom<3)

Happy baking!

basic to bling

I've done it again, tried on something I shouldn't have at work and fallen in love with it only to be totally turned off by the price tag. This week's love interest is a pair of SteveMadden satin pumps, with the heels blinged out in rhinestones. Obsessed. 

Perfect height, platform, and comfortable? Hellooo my perfect party shoe. Ironically, this heel is called "Partyy-R" and comes with a $129.95 price tag. Then I got to thinking, I could totally make this myself! I had a pair of satin black pumps from Wet Seal with bows on the back that are a little bit too low for my taste and I couldn't bear to possibly destroy my favorite platform pumps so I decided to recreate these $139.95 SteveMadden heels instead:

Supplies:

hot glue gun

glue sticks

black heels

rhinestones

lotsss of patience 

Before:

(Don't mind the leftover mud from Halloween)

Glue the rhinestones in the middle of the bow first:

Then I just started on the inner edge of the bow and kept doing rows! 

Personally I think they turned out adorable! The shoes cost $26.00 originally, plus $21.00 for all the supplies, equaling a grand total of $47.00.  Compare at the orignal price of $140.00? Sorry SteveMadden! Plus now I get the bragging rights of saying I made them all on my own :) Happy bedazzling!

red velvet cupcakes

I wanted to make a festive cupcake for the 4th of July because it is my favorite holiday, so I decided to do a red velvet! Red velvet are great cupcakes to make if you're not sure of someone's preferences because the cake flavor doesn't really fall under vanilla or chocolate, and who doesn't love cream cheese frosting?

The recipe called for two tablespoons of red food coloring, so I thought that one little bottle would be enough, but that only gave me one tablespoon of coloring. Hence why the cupcakes are a little more on the pink side instead of the rich red I was hoping for. 

And I topped them with an obnoxious decorations from Giant, but I like to pretend the raspberry makes them a little more classy :) The raspberry goes really well with the cream cheese frosting, it reminds me of cheesecake a little! 

Happy Fourth! 

http://annies-eats.net/2010/09/17/red-velvet-cupcakes/

to splurge or not to splurge?

As you know, I love a good bargain, but with a fantastic price doesn't always come great quality. How many times have you bought something from forever 21, only to wear it twice and then have the zipper break? Don't get me wrong, I worship forever 21, but there comes a time when you're shopping for basic staples that you actually want to last, and that's when you have to ask yourself, to splurge or not to splurge?


Here are my dos and don'ts of splurging, because when you try to stretch your paychecks as far as they can, this kind of stuff really matters.

DON'T Splurge On:

1) Workout clothes - yes, I know, you want to look cute everywhere you go, but at the gym? if people are paying attention to what you look like then clearly they aren't focusing on what they went there to do. Yes I don't want to to look like a total slob when I workout, but I don't need to drop $45.00 on a cute workout top to achieve that.

Soffe shorts are like $7.99 and come in every color imaginable, pair them with a free t-shirt you got on campus, and hello, that's all you need to work out in! If you must, cut the t-shirt to be off the shoulder and match your sports bra to shorts!

But I do have an exception, you NEED a good pair of running shoes to prevent injuries, skip the ones that are mainly to look cute and make sure your arch and ankles are supported. 

2) Going out clothes - this is why stores like forever 21 and charlotte russe were invented! when you go out, you take lots of pictures and go to crowded parties where people spill things on you. Thanks to facebook, what you wear every weekend is documented and no one wants to be called an outfit repeater,  so instead of spending around $70 on a hot dress from Bebe, get three from forever! Plus if your $22.00 dress gets ruined due to sloppiness, who cares? you were really only going to wear it twice anyways :) 

3) Swim suits - see "don't underestimate wal-mart" post for a bikini that was $12.00 and is adorable. swim suits stretch out, fade in the sun, get all fuzzy from sitting on the edge of the pool, you get the picture. target and wal-mart have adorable swimsuits that are $30 and under and at that price you can get three new ones every summer for the price of one designer or victoria's secret suit. 

DO Splurge On: 

1) Good jeans - When you find that pair of jeans that makes your butt look amazing, is the perfect wash, and doesn't give you muffin top? go ahead, buy them. Good jeans are something you KNOW you'll wear and you want ones that will actually last you. I tried on a pair of J-Brand jeggings at work the other day, instantly fell in love and when I put my $17.00 forever jeggs back on, I thought I was actually wearing sandpaper. Yes, the jeggings are $118.00 (originally around $160.00 but marked down for the nordy's anniversary sale!) but I know that they'll last and that I'll wear them twice a week in the fall and winter. Look for ones in a dark wash and that are boot cut, you can wear boot cuts with heels and boots (duh) and they look great with flats and will never go out of style. 

2) Handbag - you can tell a lot about someone from their handbag, I'm not going to lie, when I see someone with LV stamped all over their purse I automatically think, oh they have a lot of money, and instantly see their outfit as expensive, when really they could be rocking a dress from american eagle. a well structured, basic handbag can really make an outfit look more expensive and when they're made out of study material, they'll last forever. I'm craving this longchamp bag, it's only $145.00 which to me is a lot to part with, but compared to other designer handbags is nothing, and I know it'd be great to tote my books to the library in.

3) Hair styling tools - Chi straighteners. once you've used one, you never want to use your con-air $24.99 flat iron again. Around $100.00, chis are expensive, but I've had mine for over 3 years and it still works just as perfectly as it did the day I got it. cheap hair tools can ruin your hair, look for ones with ceramic plates that help protect hair from heat damage, because if you're like me and have been trying to grow your hair out for the past two years, you want all the protection you can get. 

Be smart shoppers<3

too fresh

I ran into a friend from school at a party the other weekend and he was super excited to tell me about a new project he and some of his other friends have started. It's called Too Fresh Clothing and their new products just came out on the 21st! 

My friend is a graphic designer and an amazing artist so he put his talents to good use and created fun logo t-shirts for an inexpensive cost! 

On their website the boys state  "Too Fresh Clothing is more than just a clothing brand, it's a life style. Inspired by New York City and the urban environment we strive to provide our customers with the latest fashion and trends. What started off as a basement operation grew to a successful brand. With plans to expand to hoodies, hats and many other products in the near future be sure to check back for updates."

I especially like the clever NY skyline/bar code t-shirt $14.99, 

Imagine it paired with black leggings and chucks, hello cute comfy outfit to hit the stacks in! 

Ever heard of the naked undie run? Where people run a mile in their underwear? Well the boys are going to create t-shirts for the event and I think I might have talked my friend into making boyshorts for the girls. Undies that say Too Fresh on your cheeks? I'm sold. 

Check out the ambitious and talented boys' work at http://toofreshclothing.bigcartel.com/

I think they're worth a look and keep an eye out, I think they're on to something! 

mint chocolate chip cupcakes

This mint chocolate chip cupcake turned out to be the best cupcake I've ever made. The cake was super moist, the frosting fluffy, and the chocolate and mint balanced each other out perfectly.

If you like mint chocolate chip ice cream, this is going to be your new favorite cupcake.

I learned today that you CANNOT use the same baking powder your mom keeps in the fridge to keep it smelling clean to bake with, thanks to my little brother who was intelligent enough to read the label on the box before I added the teaspoon and 1/2 into my cake batter. Thanks Al<3 

I added 5 drops of green food coloring and 2 drops of yellow into the frosting mix to make the buttercream frosting the mint green color, these pictures don't do the color justice. I also added a little bit of extra mint extract than the recipe called for to add more kick into the frosting. 

Finally I topped it off with chocolate chips and an Andes chocolate mint candy for garnish. 

Although they're chocolate cake based, the mint frosting makes these a perfect summer cupcake because the flavor is so light! 

I adopted the recipe from

http://traceysculinaryadventures.blogspot.com/2011/03/mint-chocolate-chip-cupcakes.html

one for one

TOMS has done it again! Given us an excuse to shop for cute stuff that supports a worthy cause!

TOMS unveiled its new one for one product last week and surprise! It's sunglasses! (If you aren't familiar with their shoe line, check out my post a few days down and learn about their adorable footwear.) While the company donates a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair you buy, their sunglasses have a totally new program.

For every pair of sunglasses you buy, TOMS will help someone in need who has poor eyesight by either

1) giving them medical treatment 

2) providing eyeglasses

3) paying for sight saving surgery

The generosity of the company seriously amazes me. As someone with terrible eyesight, I'm a -7.5 in one eye and a -6.75 in the other, I know how terrible it is to not be able to see with corrective vision. Eye surgery, medical treatment, even just glasses can truly change someone's life. Imagine if you weren't able to see when you woke up, we take so much for granted everyday and just one pair of sunglasses can change someone's life.

The sunglasses are a little more than I would usually spend on a pair, ranging from $135.00 to $145.00 but I honestly think it's worth it just because of the cause. I haven't tried a pair on yet, but I'm planning on getting the aviators with my next paycheck.

They come in three classic styles but in a variety of tints and frame colors.

Wayfarer 

Oversize 

Aviator 

I hope that TOMS charity inspires you to either support their cause or even just think about supporting another worthy cause <3 

Learn more at http://www.toms.com/eyewear/