Purse Cupcakes!

Last year, I made this cake for a co-workers birthday because she is a purse fanatic! She asked me if I would please make her another purse cake this year, so I began plotting, and came up this this... LOTS of Purse cakes (or cupcakes I should say) . I saw this idea on Pinterest, where every cupcake was topped with a cute little purse of its very own.
This black sequin purse was one of my first, and my favorites.

Followed by this green one. It was fun to finally get out some of the fondant tools Matt bought me for Christmas last year.

Every girl has a red zebra print purse in her closet, right? :)

Some more of these fun little cupcakes...

...and just for kicks, I added some high heels on a couple.

One of my latest Pinterest Success stories. Saw these cuties and knew I had to make them for my fam this week. Lasagna Cups! Super easy, super cute, and super for those of us trying to control our portion sizes. I really need to practice my food photography I know, but here's the recipe if your interested. Sauce:
1 lb ground beef
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
spaghetti seasoning
1/2 onion, diced
garlic powder to taste

Brown the beef, adding the onion in at the same time. Then add everything else, and simmer. This is great to start in the morning, and let it simmer throughout the day. The flavors get better as it sits.

Cheese Filling

2 cups Italian blend cheese
1 1/2 cup cottage or ricotta cheese (I happened to have cottage cheese, so that's what I used)
8 oz cream cheese

Soften cream cheese and whip it till its smooth. Then had cottage cheese and Italian blend and mix till combined.

Line large cupcake tins will parchment paper... roll cooked lasagna sheets into the cupcakes to line the inside, and cut a smaller piece to put in the bottom. Spoon some sauce into the cup, followed by a spoonful of the cheese mixture. Then another piece of lasagna on top, followed by a small spoonful of sauce, topped with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese. Delicious!!!!

A Fair is a Fair....

We did our annual trip to the fair, and thanks to Matt's boss, we didn't have to buy tickets, or pay for parking.  In fact, we were even given another premium parking tag.  These are more precious than gold if you've ever had to hike 2 miles from the parking lot, stand in line to get your ticket, and then hike further into the fair where all the good stuff is.  With premium parking, you park right behind the Erwin building where all the action is.  In fact, several times while we were there, we ran stuff back to the car, or went back for a jacket or something and it was no big deal.  Our first stop, food of course!  The kids all shared a brick of fries, Matt indulged in a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich, and Chandler bought a big bag of cotton candy for them all to share.  I of course had to have the fried zuccini.  Yummmm.

Morgan being our cute little Eskimo girl                                      

The petting zoo is always a must when we go as a family.  The line was long but moved fast, and before we knew it we were chasing baby goats and piggies around with all the other kids and parents  in that zoo.  This little bunny was funny.  He kept jumping up to Chandler, trying to get him to pet him.  And when Chandler was done, he'd stand up to walk away but the bunny would hop over to his leg and put his front legs up on Chandler.  Too cute.

Morgan's dream came true as we rounded the corner and she saw the pony ride line wasn't very long.  What little girl doesn't love the pony rides, hu?

Gabriel Kail

Gabe is our middle child, and like most middle children, is often overlooked.  Chandler is the oldest, and has required more attention where his education is concerned.  Then there's Morgan, the typical baby of the family.  Not only that, but a girly girl and total princess to boot.  Gabe has been the best middle child we could have asked for.  He has been good at school, a joy for all his teachers, respectful, kind to others, and a great help at home.  Just last week, he was at Cross Country practice after school, and they were running hills.  Apparently another kid leaned forward going down a hill, and took a pretty bad fall.  Gabe stopped where we was at, and went back to help the kid up and walked back to the school with him.  Now, I'm not a delusional parent.  Gabe does have his faults, for sure.  We often refer to him as our blind child because we'll give him specific directions to go find something and he can walk into the room, have the item right there in front of him, and he still can't find it.  But by and large, he's a really good kid, and a blessing in our family. 

Its Fall Ya'll

 Gabe looks so pained in this one.

 Don't you just love sunny fall days?  We had a hum dinger of one today, and loaded the kids and grandma and grandpa up to go take some pictures for our Christmas card this year.  These are a few of the contenders.  And yes, the frame was definitely a theme this year. 

 I really wish Morgan would have opened her eyes a little more in this one.  Grrrrrr

 Grandma and Grandpa.  Aweee.  Aren't they cute?

Best in Show!

This was definitely a Jam making year. The strawberries were amazing, and our Raspberries did surprisingly well this year too.  I made Strawberry jam, strawberry lemonade jam, raspberry mango, Pear, Mango, Apricot, Tropical Strawberry, mom made a batch of Lemon Curd, and my new addition to the jam family this year, was Carrot Cake Jam.  Major yummy, and on a dare from a co-worker, I entered several in the State Fair this year, and was so surprised when I actually did pretty well.  The Strawberry Lemon took first place, Tropical Strawberry third, and my Carrot Cake Jam took Best in Show.  I also took 1st place in the C&H category and won 5 bags of sugar.