Music to my ears

I have been hearing amazing songs lately.. whether they are on videos I watch, on tv shows, or little blurps in commercials.  Mike laughs at me because I constantly get these jingles stuck in my head. I have heard so many songs lately that have made me say "I need this!" Most times it is something new, but the iphone has the best app for this. The app is called Shazam. I totally recommend getting it! All you have to do is open it up and press "Shazam!" and it identifies the song and the artist for you. It's so great. It also provides a little link that connects directly to your itunes in case you want to download on the spot! Anywho, here is what I've been digging lately:

 LP
Must listen: Into the Wild

Florence & the Machine

Must Listen: Cosmic Love

The Jezebels

Must listen: Easy to Love

Naked & Famous
Must listen: Young Blood

images from google

Feel free to shoot me some new tunes, bands or share your thoughts!

Happy listening! 

xo

my mantra

images from Pinterest

Happy weekend! 

Enjoy all the little moments! 

little pieces

Lately.....

 Read.

 Eat.

 Love.

 Snug.

 Sush.

 Friend.

 Latte.

 Best.

 Collect.

 Surprise.

 New.

 Bubbles.

Smoothie.

Grey skies

Feeling totally uninspired lately... with taking pictures, with blogging... 

If you have some words of motivation, I would love if you sent them this way! 

xo

food for thought

One option is to struggle to be heard whenever you're in the room... 

Another is to be the sort of person who is missed when you're not.

The first involves making noise. The second involves making a difference.

- Seth Godin




Happy Tuesday!

happy 2012!

{image from etsy}

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end."

I love new beginnings. I know it's a little cliche, but I really love the feeling of starting anew, making a list of new things I want to do/try, and making a note of the things I want to achieve in the new year. This year, I am not going to set any crazy goals... I feel like sometimes setting certain goals can set you up for failure. All I want is to continue to incorporate positive things (actions, people, etc) into my life and be the best version of myself that I can be. 

I also think it's important to look back over the past year and remember all the great things about it, however big or small. For me those things were: becoming an auntie, getting my Master's degree, a new job that fulfills me more than I could have imagined, and being a part of my friend Amanda's wedding :) Of course, we all have tough times and "bumps" in the road, but it's important to remember the good things!

And I will share with you a few things I want from 2012......

1. Travel within (and if I'm lucky-outside) the U.S.

2. Read more books

3. Incorporate exercise into my schedule

4. Take my vitamins!

5. Give myself time in the mornings before work

6.  Buy a house or condo!

7. Indulge in my crafty side

8. Spend more time outdoors

9. Spend time with good friends, keep in touch

10. Turn the negative into positive!

What are your ideas & goals for 2012? 

Cakepops Galore!

So I decided I really wanted to make cakepops for Christmas! Little did I know, they are quite a process to make! They took 3 days!! They came out really yummy! They weren't perfect looking, but they tasted mmm mm good!

 I have shared the recipe below in case you want to attempt them! 

Enjoy :)

Cake Ball Mix

What you need:

1 batch of cake (I made vanilla cake, but you can do whatever kind you want!)

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 cups confectioner's sugar

4 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon milk (or more, as necessary)

Bake the cake and let it cool completely on a rack. This is a very moist cake, which is ideal for this recipe. It's best to let it cool overnight at least. When it is completely cool, break the cake into a large bowl. Crumble it with forks or your fingers until it is in fine crumbs.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and milk together until smooth. Pour into the cake crumbs and mix with a spoon. Then continue mixing with your fingers, kneading and mixing until fully incorporated into the cake. Check to see if it will roll into a ball. It should: this makes a very malleable, easy-to-handle cake mixture. But if it needs a little extra moisture, add milk a spoonful at a time.

When the mix is completely done, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm. You can leave the mix refrigerated for several days at this point. I left mine in the fridge for about three days before making the balls. You could probably also freeze this.

Making Cake Pops

What you need

Lollipop sticks (found at Michael's, JoAnn's, or other craft stores)

12 ounces chocolate chips

12 ounces white chocolate bark

Edible wax, optional

Colored sugars, candies, and other decorative sprinkles

How to make the balls

 Prepare two large baking sheets by covering with wax paper or parchment. Take a bit of the cake mixture and roll it into a smooth ball. If you want to use the lollipop sticks, stick one into the end of each ball, pointing upward, as you put the ball back down on the sheet. [Note: I cut the long lollipop sticks in half; they seemed a little long for the size of the balls.] Repeat until you've used up all the mixture. As each sheet fills up, put it in the freezer so that the balls harden.

How to decorate the cake pops
Melt chocolate or white chocolate in a double boiler on the stove. If you want to make the coating a little more resistant to melting, add a small square of wax to the pot and let it melt too. Stir well. Dip each ball into the chocolate until covered.

Dip in sugar, coconut, sprinkles, or anything else you'd like to decorate with. 

Put it back on the sheet to harden.

Don't refrigerate these; it will cause the coating to weep or melt. They can be frozen, however.

Enjoy! :)