Weekend Wrap-Up

I had Friday off of work because I worked the previous weekend.  So a 3 day weekend for me!  My best friend and I left Friday at 11 on a road trip to the lake.  It was also my county fair.  Our plan was to lay out Friday afternoon, then go to the concert at the fair (The Band Perry preformed!), then lay out again all day Saturday before he headed back home to our husbands and puppies.  Well, plan failed.  It was raining all day Friday.  So instead of laying out, we went to the fairgrounds and tromped around in the rain and mud....actually, it was kinda fun! :)  We had a snack of gyros, tacos, carmel apples, and cotton candy.  YUM!  Even though it is horrible for you, I LOVE fair food! 

We continued to walk around to look at some exhibits and pet some sheep and hogs.  As a kid, my friend and I were both in 4-H and had livestock at the fairs.  I was a sheep person, she was a hog person.  So we farm girls like to re-live our days in sheep/hog barns.  Actually, I have mixed feelings about the memories because at the time, I hated all the work that went into the animals and I just wanted to be off running around the fair with my friends rather than giving a lamb a bath!  But now, I like to think about those days and they were good times.  We also saw a donkey...my all time favorite animal!  (Odd, I know.)  Anyways, we also went and watch a hypnotist with my grandparents. 

We came back into the fair in the evening for the concert.  It was still raining, but luckily we had reserved seats in the grandstand, which has a canopy over it.  So we had perfect seats, but most everyone else was standing out in the rain and mud.  Yuck.  The Band Perry was so good!  I have their record, so I was familiar with most of their songs.  We then finished the night with more food: fruit kabobs and grilled potatoes.  Mmmm mmmm mmmmmm!

Saturday I woke up to a beautiful sunset on the lake.  It was chilly until about noon, so we didn't get as much sun in as we wanted, but we still got golden baked tans! :) 

Now it's Sunday, a day of rest and cleaning.

Carry On

Case Study, Lady Like, Carry On, Power Clutch

It's here! Essie's Fall 2011 Collection, Carry On.  I LOVE fall.  Fall smells, fall foods, fall colors, fall leaves, and fall nail polish collections!  I picked these colors up at Walgreen's.   I love that Walgreen's now carries these mini-collections (Apparently, drugstores do not recieve the entire collections, just a few of the shades.  Fair enough.)  Naturally, I grabbed all they had to offer off the shelf.  Here's my mini review on each of the 4 shades I got.

From left to right in the photo:
Case Study: This is a camel colored hue that is creaming and opaque with two coats.  I'm not sure how I feel about this shade on my skin tone.  I wore it yesterday and I'm just "ok" with it.  I feel it's a little too brown-y for me and not enough of a "nude" look.  But I do love a nude colored nail, so we'll see, I'll try it again.

Lady Like: Possibly my favorite.  I love it on my fingernails.  It's a dusty pink color that is neutral enough on the nail, but still a pretty color.  I like wearing crazy colors on my nails, but at work, I feel like it's a bit over the top.  So I find this a perfect shade that is a fun color, but still not totally whack-o for a professional environment.  I've worn it a few times already--and I'm wearing it right now!  It reminds me of my very first "high-end" nail polish, OPI's Not so Bora-Bora Boring.  Except OPI's has more sheen/shimmer where this one is just strictly creamy.

Carry On: Well, this is the big one...the one the collection is named after.  And I do like it.  This is more of a toenail color for me and I am wearing it on my toes right now.  Once we get further into fall/winter, then I tend to wear darker colors like this on my fingernails, but for now, it is happy on my toes:)  It's a very deep plum color.  No shimmer (like all of them I own from this collection).  After two coats, this color appears darker than what's in the bottle.  Some might think "black" if they don't look too close.  (Which, being on my toes, I kinda hope they don't look too close!  That might be awkward.)

Power Clutch: Dark grey and like nothing else I own in my collection.  I've read on other websites that this color has a "green" tone to it.  I do not see it, but maybe in the right light.  To me, it looks straight up dark grey.  This is pretty and dark on the nail after two coats.  Again, more of a toenail color for me.  I'll probably apply this one to my toes after Carry On starts to look rough and a pedi is needed.




Ohhhh pretty bottles

I'm hoping to get my hands on the remaining colors in the collection.  I definately don't need them, but ooooh I want them!  Here's a picture of the display and two other colors that are in the collection.  The names of the other two are Very Structured (burnt orange color) and Glamour Purse (nude color).


Eeeeeee :) This just makes me happy!  Like I said, I love the fall time!

Red Velvet Cake

Red Velvet Cake is my absolute favorite.  There is a real yummy cupcake store in my town that make the best Red Velvet.  I decided, "Heck, instead of spending $4.00 per cupcake, I can just make my own!"  Well that is false, but this recipe comes the closest (and I've tried a few).  I got this recipe from another blog and give them full credit, but I did make a change to the recipe.  This recipe called for a frosting that is cooked on the stove, not the typical cream cheese frosting we now associate with red velvet.  So I did a little research.  Turns out, waaaay back in the day, red velvet cakes were not made with cream cheese frosting, this developed some time later.  So historically, red velvet cake was made with this other cooked frosting.  Personally, I prefer the cream cheese frosting and will be making it that way instead next time.  This frosting is still yummy, but to me, red velvet and cream cheese are the perfect match.  Another fun fact: The red color of the cake use to come from beets!  Ewwww

Ingredients

• 1 cup Shortening
• 1-3/4 cup Sugar
• 2-1/2 cups Cake Flour
• 1-1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1 cup Buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Vinegar
• 1-1/2 ounce, fluid Red Food Coloring
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Cocoa Powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large (18 x 12) sheet cake pan with nonstick baking spray. Be sure to get in all the corners of the pan.  Sift together cake flour and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, stir together buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda. Add vinegar and stir. Set aside.

In a separate small bowl, mix together cocoa and red food coloring. Set aside.

Cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk/egg mixture until all combined. Pour the red mixture in and beat until combined.

Pour batter into prepared sheet cake pan. Use a large offset spatula or knife to even out the surface. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and allow cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Allow cake to cool completely before icing.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

For options, here is the other frosting that was recommended:

Ingredients

• 5 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 cup Butter
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

Instructions

In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (I put mine in the freezer to cool while I prepared the next step and that was the perfect amount of time.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.
While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don't want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat it  until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.

ENJOY!

Green Thumb

I love flowers and plants.  They do not love me. 
My mom is master gardener....literally, she took classes and earned the title "Master Gardener".  She always has beautiful, colorful flowers and knows how to put pretty combinations together.  So, naturally, I think this trait should be passed on down to me.  Not so much the case.  I'm being hard on myself; I'm not that bad.  But I have had to re-plant and re-pot many a flower.  So when something works, I'm very proud of it!  Here are a few photos of cute arrangements I've made lately:

These are succulents.  I've thrown away the little name cards, so sorry, I can't tell you their scientific names.  I love the pots they are in.  Too cute!  (FYI: This is my second attempt at succulents in these pots.  The first ones were dead within a few months.  I blame over watering and lack of sun.  So I've moved the new ones to the window sill and I will not be watering them.  Think they will live?! )

(Double FYI: Succulents are suppose to be extremely hard to kill.  Greeeeeeat for my self-esteem.)

This is my other little gem.  Again, I threw away the card, so I don't know the name of this plant, but one look at it and it stole my heart! So little and cute.  I found the container at a small gift shop and I bought the green moss to stick in the bottom for more color. 

As of now, everything is looking green and healthy....But I just planted them about two days ago.  Keep your fingers crossed for my little plant's lives!

Hello There!

Well, this is my very first blog post! I'm excited and nervous at the same time.  I started this blog simply because I love reading other blogs and learning about other people's lives and opinions.  This blog will be a place where I can post about anything and everything that happens in my everyday life.  That can include being a newlywed, baking, decorating, favorite make-up products, my cute puppy, or anything else my heart desires.  So that is where the blog name comes from: I'm just a normal "everyday" girl who wants to blog about a whirlwind or "twirl" of topics!  Make sense?? Hmmm...well it does in my head anyways!

So, for your enjoyment, I will end this first post with a cute picture of my puppy the first day we got her.  (She is a year old now, so this picture is a throwback.)