Menu Monday – Favorite Desserts Spotted on Pinterest

So we’re currently galavanting around the Michigan countryside, so no need for our usual Menu Monday post.

Instead, I thought I would gather my favorite, drool-worthy dessert recipes from Pinterest.  I’ve made all of these myself, and can attest to the Yummy Factor of these recipes!

Homemade Hostess Cupcakes – Recipe from Browneyedbaker.com

I made these cupcakes for the first time for an Olympics Opening Ceremony party.  There are MANY steps to this, but the payoff was absolutely delicious!  I’m definitely making these again the next time there’s an ‘Merica themed party!!

Mint Oreo Brownie Ice Cream Cake – Recipe from lifeloveandsurgar.com

I was so intimidated when my husband said, for his birthday, he’d like a homemade ice cream cake!  I had never made one before.  When I found this recipe on Pinterest, I thought it looked easy enough.  So right!!  And the combo of brownie and Oreo was so yummy!

Homemade Buckeye Candies – From cookscountry.com

Unfortunately, like most Cook’s Illustrated & Cook’s Country recipes, you must be a “subscriber” to access them…. so obnoxious. This recipe is similar.  Anyway, these Buckeyes are so delicious!! I make a huge batch of these for the holidays, or when my husband wants a tasty treat.  I keep these in the freezer when it’s just us consuming them.  They’re actually really good frozen!  Plus, since  I’m from Ohio, these make my heart smile.

Angel Food Cake – From Martha Stewart

I am a sucker for Angel Food Cake.  I love the light, airy texture.  Not to mention the fact that it’s fat free.  I make a simple sauce with strawberries, and drizzle over top of the cake.  I usually just make an angel food cake from a box (always a winner!) but decided to try a good ol’ Martha Stewart version, just for kicks.  It was fab!! Now, in a pinch, the box version works as an easy dessert!  But if you’re wanting to roll up your sleeves and make one from scratch, try this one!  (I didn’t make the elderberry sauce the recipe describes.  Please, Martha Stewart – where does one find elderberries when you don’t live in Maine?)

I’ll be back to the regular Menu Monday next week.  In the meantime, if you’re looking for other yummy dessert recipes, check out my Desserts Pinterest board!

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Hey Hey! It’s Friday!

Friday! Can’t believe it.  And a Friday the 13th to boot!  It’s going to be a great day!

Here’s what I was up to this week:

1. The Little Girl and I went to the Durham Life & Sciences Museum with some friends on Tuesday.  It was fun, but man… I hate southern summers.  It was only 10:00 am and I was sweating up a storm!

2. We’ve had a few thunderstorms this week, which, next to fireflies, are a summer staple for me.  Pop up storms make summer delightful (since hot temps don’t do it for me).

3. Miss Elizabeth turned 8 months this Wednesday!  And since then, she’s taken to sitting up in her crib (need to lower that mattress!), saying “baa baa baa baa”, crawling a little, and pulling up to stand at our coffee table!  Phew!  She decided 8 months is the time to check things off her to-do list!

4. Speaking of checking things off, I got super excited to check off two BIG posts that have been cooking for a while!  If you didn’t see my May Favorites post OR my kick off to my Style Challenge – 30 Outfits in 30 Days, check it out!  I’m pleased.

5. Oh!  Almost forgot!  Found my favorite Panera Bread Hazelnut Creme coffee in my local grocery store!  I’ve been running around like an Energizer Bunny all week!

Hope you have exciting plans in store for Father’s Day!  We have a Food Truck Rodeo in Durham this Sunday, so if the hubby gets off of work early enough, we’ll be there, stuffing our faces!

Let me know what you’ve been up to in the comments below!  Have a great weekend!

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May Favorites | A Little Summer + Beauty + TV

Yes – I’m not afraid of weird pictures of me on the internets.

I cannot believe another month has come and gone.  Holy moly. But that means it’s favorites time 🙂  This is a collection of things that I have been obsessed with this month.  Some beauty items, some entertainment.

If you missed last month’s favorites, you can check it out here!

Here’s what I’m loving! You can read (boring) or watch (fun!) below!

Fireflies – This is what Summer means to me.  I love those little twinkling bugs.  It’s a rare thing these days that I’m actually awake when it’s dark outside to see them (I’m lame), but they just make my heart sing.  Some of my favorite Summer memories as a kid are my sister and I running around, catching fireflies, and putting them in jars.  We also used to shake them up (lightly!), and put them down in our “Firefly Hospital” and try to help them fly away.  Man, I’m itching to open up an NC branch of the Firefly Hospital.

Favorite Nail Polish – NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in Lexington Lilac – I’ve talked about finding a lilac or lavender nail polish for months now.  I have been searching forever.  I finally bought this one at Target (for $0.89!!!!) and the color is perfect! It’s not too light, not too neon.  I feel like, as a lady approaching the big 3-0, I can wear this color and get away with it.  In fact, it’s been on my nails almost every day for the last month.  As you know, I bite my finger nails, so you don’t want a close up.  This blog has some good snaps!

Favorite Make Up – L’Oreal Visible Lift CC Eye Concealor – I am a loyal user of both the Bobbi Brown Corrector and the Creamy Concealor.  I’ve been using them for 10 years.  But I’ve had an itch to try a new concealor.  The L’Oreal concealor is great!  It blends and builds really easily.  It also blends into a powder finish.  But my favorite part is that it has a metal rollerball application.  Love that.  Why can’t beauty manufacturers make a metal rollerball tool without product? Rolling that little guy under my eyes is simply delightful.

Favorite Hair Product – L’Oreal Volume Filler Thickening Shampoo/Conditioner – I love any shampoo or conditioner that claims to thicken, volumize, plump… you get the picture.  I enjoy swapping out my shampoo and conditioner a lot, and I decided to try this set.  My hair feels so soft AND volumized!  I normally have a hard time with conditioners.  They weigh my hair down, so I tend to just put conditioner on my ends.  With this set, I can condition my whole head and still have bounce!  I’ll definitely be repurchasing these!

Favorite Styling Tool – Curling Wand – I’m still getting the hang of it, but I’m loving my new curling wand.  I got a 1″ non-tapered curling wand, but there is also a 1.5″ version.  My hair doesn’t hold a curl well, so I opted for the smaller barrel to get a tighter curl.  My hair stays curly all day!  Not super spiral curls (that’s not the look I’m going for), but even when I finger comb all the curls right after curling, I still have waves all day.  Quite lovely.

Favorite TV Show – Breaking Bad – I know, I know…. I’m late to the game.  My hubby and I started the series on Netflix, and we quickly got hooked!  We’ve only been watching for a few weeks and we’re on Season 3 already!  I’ll admit, at first I felt like I shouldn’t like it.  I mean… it’s about drugs!  I shouldn’t find it entertaining.  I shouldn’t be rooting for the drug guys.  But, I’m addicted! (Ugh… wrong word choice) The show is obviously drama-filled, but it’s also hilarious!!!  Check it out if you’re behind the times like me.

Favorite YouTube Channel – Grav3yardgirl – I’ve been doing some serious YouTube channel cruising.  There’s some good stuff out there!  My newest obsession is Grav3yardgirl.  She. Is. Hilarious.  I can’t stop laughing when I watch her videos.  First of all, she’s quirky.  Her mannerisms are awesome.  And she does this video series of reviews for As Seen on TV products.  I seriously bing watched them all one morning.  If you haven’t seen her before, check it out!

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Hey Hey! It’s Friday!

Hello hello! Another Friday!  Yippee skippy!  I hope you had an amazing week.  Let me know all about it!

I’m looking forward to Mother’s Day on Sunday. It seems a little strange, though, being a mother during Mother’s Day… that’s usually my mom!  I don’t know, it just seems weird. Hubby has to work (boo!) on Sunday, but we’re going to try to sneak out for breakfast before he needs to leave.

Here are my week’s highlights!

1. We had a pretty lazy weekend because we were recovering from our vacation.  So that was nice!  I also had a quiet morning, to myself, at Target.  Target + Starbucks – kid = Bliss!

2. I’m so pleased I FINALLY got my April Favorites video up.  I recorded this video before April ended, but it took me several weeks to get it edited and up.  You can check out the blog post, or view on Youtube.  Let me know you stopped by if you visit at Youtube!

3. I made scones on Wednesday.  The scones are delicious, but what I’m really pleased with is how they look on the table!  (HD pics means you even see the crumbs on the table!!!!!)

4. Elizabeth had her 6 month pediatrician check up Wednesday.  All’s well.  I love her pediatrician!  I could schedule an appointment just to chit chat!  Maybe next time I should bring coffee?

5. Elizabeth and I stopped at a consignment shop on Thursday because she’s needing some size 9 month clothes.  We found a small selection of clothes that will work, BUT we scored a fun toy!  I have one similar in my shopping cart on Amazon to purchase new, but this is much better (and cheaper!). It has suction cups on the bottom, so Elizabeth can’t knock it off.  She loves it!  (My little ham.  The minute she sees my phone come up to take a picture, she stops, looks, and smiles)

So what were you up to this week??  Share! Share! Put a link in the comments if you have a similar post, and I’ll swing by and say hi!  Spread the blog love!

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The Lauren Elizabeth

The Good Life Blog

April Favorites – the “You’ve Never Seen These as Favorites Before” Edition

I’m really pleased I finally got this video edited and uploaded.  I recorded this before April ended, and JUST got around to getting it finished.

Mom problems.

Anyway, these are the things I’ve been obsessed with during the month of April!  It’s mainly food, but there are a few beauty-related items that rock my socks.  Check out the video for general chatter.  I saved some bloopers for the end.  They all make me laugh – and it’s Authentic Katie.

Items mentioned:
Roasted Brussel Sprouts recipe  from Ina Garten/Barefoot Contessa – um, these are delicious.  I could eat an entire bushel of brussel sprouts, as long as they’re prepared this way.  Divine!

Trader Joe’s French Vanilla Yogurt & Just the Clusters Chocolate Granola (Too bad TJ’s doesn’t have proper product links!)

Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Pretzel Slims (They’re so good, they have their own Facebook fan page!)

E.L.F. Eye Primer in Sheer – (Bought at Target, but not sold online at Target.com)

Sinful Colors Professional Nail Enamel in Cream Soda

Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear in Lacey Lilac