Floral Frenzy

I’m going to let you in on a secret, I love dresses. I don’t know if it is because I love the girlie aspect of them or the fact that they are so comfortable. I can’t tell you the honest truth, but I can tell you that I love dresses. When Kati and I walked into Old Navy a couple weeks back, I absolutely fell in love with this strapless floral print dress. It had to be mine and when I picked it up, it was on sale. Score! Yep, that is going in my bag. Since then, I have worn it out and fell in love with it. The floral print is dainty and girlie, but the dress itself is so comfortable. It is a win/win in my book!

I am off enjoying the weekend in North Dakota with my boy. I hope you all enjoy your weekend as well. If you live in Utah; enjoy your Pioneer Day Weekend.!

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

I came across this recipe a few years back. It has always been of those “Go-To” recipes for when I am craving something sweet and tangy, yet I don’t want to spend a ton of time making something. The ease of the recipe is what caught my attention, other than the obvious, Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake. After making them a few dozen times, I still consider this one of my favorite cupcakes to make. What I love most about this recipe is how easy it is to tweak it and it still turns out delicious.  

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CUPCAKES

INGREDIENTS

Chocolate Raspberry Cake:

21 oz. can Raspberry Pie Filling

¼ cup Sour Cream

3 Eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla

Devil’s Food Cake Mix

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

½ teaspoon Baking Soda

Raspberry Buttercream:

8 oz. Cream Cheese

½ cup Butter, softened

3 cups Powdered Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1/3 cup Frozen Raspberries, thawed and strained

DIRECTIONS

Cupcakes: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line your cupcake pan with cupcakes liners; this recipe yields 24.

In a blender, combine Raspberry Pie Filling and Sour Cream. Puree until smooth.

In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs with vanilla. Then add the Raspberry/Sour Cream mixture. Mix together lightly.

Add Cake Mix, Cinnamon, and Baking Soda. Blend batter until you have reached a smooth consistency, but make sure to not over mix.

Fill liners ¾ full and bake for 12-14 minutes. These cupcakes bake faster than others, so please make sure to not over bake them. Check with a toothpick, if you desire.

Buttercream: 

In a bowl, combine Cream Cheese and Butter until smooth.

Add Powder Sugar, Vanilla, and Raspberry Puree. Combine.

Adjust the consistency by adding Powder Sugar and/or Puree. When you have reached the consistency you desire, place mixture into Piping Bag.

Pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Top with Fresh Raspberries and/or Chocolate Pieces if your heart desires.

 

As you can see in the pictures, I have changed mine just a bit. I didn’t make the Raspberry Buttercream and I actually topped mine with Blueberries. I had Raspberries, but that is what I get for leaving them in a fridge, where my family devours Fresh Fruit. Oooppps, my bad.

 

The Creative Closet - Mixing Patterns

I have loved being able to link up with Jana and Maegan for The Creative Closet the last couple of weeks. It has really gotten me to thinking about the different kinds of outfits that I can pull straight from my closet and/or get for a steal! This week the girls have given us the theme of Mixing Patterns.

First let me say, this week’s theme was extremely hard for me. The thought of mixing patterns gives me anxiety and doesn’t mesh very well with my OCD. Yes, I have extreme OCD when it comes to my outfits. Things have to match, absolutely have to be perfect in colors. If there is a mixed pattern on the article of clothing, that is fine; because it was made to be like that. But, putting Polka Dots and Stripes together or Floral and Stripes or whatever, gives me extreme anxiety.

So, as you can see this week’s outfit was extremely hard for me to decide on what to put together. I finally found something that I could put together without sending my OCD through the roof. I found this Trial Print Skirt at Express a while back and I have always wanted to put a scarf with it, especially for the fall and winter months. Then the idea hit me, my pink leopard print scarf would be perfect. It scarf has the same pink color in it to put my OCD at ease and it isn’t too crazy of a print since the entire scarf are different hues of the same color.

The two pieces work perfectly together, creating enough of a contrast to spark texture, but not so much that it is a distraction. This outfit is the perfect compromise for me, when it comes to mixing patterns.

Skirt // Tank // Scarf // Shoes - old (similar // similar)

Tour Your Town - Ahi's

AHI'S TASTE OF ASIA

If you haven’t noticed, I am a lover of food. Yeah, I typically call myself a Food Junkie. That can’t be a bad thing, right? Well if it is, I don’t want to be good then. I have honestly tried almost every single restaurant in the City of St. George and if I haven’t, I assure you. They are on my list of places to go. I recently (within the last year) found a new favorite of mine. It’s called Ahi’s Taste of Asia. I found out that it has been open for around 5 years and I was blown away that I haven’t tried it before.

Ahi’s has the best staff on earth, I can assure you that. The second you walk in the door, you are greeted with a warm welcome and a friendly hello. You get to choose on of the entrée items that they have on their menu and then sit down while you food is being prepared. One thing I love about Ahi’s, is that everything is prepared fresh. That means that you will always get a freshly made entrée to enjoy! Seriously, nothing is better than freshly prepared food!

Beef with Broccoli

I don’t think I will ever be able to pick a favorite item on the menu though; it is a toss up every time I go and I end up staring at the wall for like 10 minutes in confusing of what I want. I love their Spicy Teriyaki Noodles, Kang Pao Chicken, Beef with Broccoli, Coconut Curry, and the list continues. I took my friend Ashley to enjoy Ahi’s for the first time last week and she is in love with it just as much as I am! You can never go wrong with Ahi’s!

Kang Pao Chicken

We couldn’t decide what either of us wanted either. So, we picked a few and shared all of it. In true family dinner style! Wonton Soup, Spicy Teriyaki Noodles, Kang Pao Chicken, and Beef with Broccoli. It was delicious as always!

Have you tried Ahi’s?

How was your experience?

What is #touryour town? 

If you happened to catch this post a couple of weeks ago about #tourdeutah then you are all caught up with what I am doing here. If not, here is a little insight. A blogger friend of mine, Aubrey, decided to take a day and tour her town. I thought it was so much fun, that I planned to make a little series about it. #tourdeutah - St. George Addition... So, here are the details: Place, Restaurants, and Activities. All the things that you would do as a tourist in your town, or take a friend whom is visiting.

Where would you go if you decided to tour your town?