I Am Back & Cupcake Convo

Yesterday I attended Erins (Sister in law, Anths lil sis) bridal shower. While there a couple of peeps discussed how I have been m.i.a....blog wise. We even discussed me making up some story so I would at least have something to blog about. I have missed blogging, quite a bit actually. I just don't want to get out of control again. I get lost in blogs, and I get depressed with them as well. As we went around and gave Erin some advice for her impending marriage, a smart relative told her to not get caught up in blogs and facebook. It is easy to think that you are the only one with a less than perfect life. She was so wise! I have gone through that time and time again and it was so refreshing to hear someone else say that.

Yesterday was completely nuts. It actually starts with Friday night. I got off work an hour early and came straight home to shower. After that I blew out my afro and straighten my hair. Then I had to make 3 dozen cupcakes. This is where it gets overwhelming. I am a perfectionist when it comes to baking. I can't just make cupcakes, I have to try something new. I do this all the time and it irritates me because I always think I can get everything done. After I got them all baked Anthony came home and I got dressed and we went to the temple. We didn't get home til about 10. I was exhausted and collapsed in bed. {Don't you love this play by play of my life!}

Saturday morning I got up at 6:15AM (boo) and got ready for work. I worked until 9:45ish. Ran to the store. Ran home and I then had an hour to decorate 3 dozen cupcakes, put Erins present together and get dressed. Needless to say it was chaotic. There was frosting everywhere and I was running from one cupboard to another trying to put everything together. I wish I would have taken better pictures but I had zero time. Here is what I created in an hour. They are fuzzy but it really goes to show how fast I was trying to be. They look fancy but in reality anyone can do this in under an hour. They are super easy!

These were my favorite. They taste like those chocolate orange sticks around Christmas time. It was so easy to make. Just a basic devils food cake box mix. I then added a tablespoon of orange extract and a bag of chocolate chips. I think it could have used some orange zest in the batter as well but I didn't think of that until it was baked. I baked them in a mini bundt pan. I bought some cream cheese frosting. Homemade would have been better but oh well. No time. I put some more orange extract in the frosting and then piped it over the cakes and shredded some zest over them for a pretty contrast. They taste really good!

These did not turn out the way I wanted them to. I have a cup shaped pan that I haven't been able to use much but I knew I wanted to for her shower. The cake is strawberry. I wanted it to be like a strawberry short cake style but when I got to the point of putting whip cream in the cups I knew it would be a disaster due to it being warm outside. By time they got to Debbies they would have been melted and gross looking. Inside I put some frosting in the bottom of them and then added strawberries and a piece of chocolate. Of course it needed a little drizzle of syrup to top it off.

These looked pretty. I love LOVE these cupcake holders. I have had them for a couple of months and was so excited to discover them in my cupcake supplies yesterday. I know I ordered them online awhile back but I can't remember specifically where I got them. If you google "fancy cupcake holders" you will easily find them. Here is a website that sells them. I hate regular cupcake holders because they make the liners look greasy. These stay beautiful from start to finish. The one downfall is they hold almost double a regular cupcake holder does so anticipate needing more batter.

This was strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting. I added a tablespoon of fresh strawberry jam for a surprise in the middle. I cut the strawberries on an angle so they had a fun point to them. Very classy looking. It would have been fun to put a couple of curled chocolate shavings on them as well.

These were just some quick cupcakes. FunFetti boxed mix with frosting piped crazily on the top. I hate smearing frosting because it is easy to see errors. If you pipe it quickly with wiggly hands then it looks messy on purpose. I then added fancy pearl sprinkles to make it look nicer for the shower.

All in all I got everything finished and arrived 30 minutes before the shower to help Debbie with one or two last minute things before the shower started. It was a beautiful day for a shower and I got to see lots of relatives that I haven't seen for awhile. I have said this before but I absolutely love Debbies family. They are so hilarious and welcoming and I love visiting with them.

Thanks for reading! There will be lots more to come!