Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes

I just posted a new recipe over on Wonderland Kitchen and wanted to be sure to share it with you all as well. This was probably the most creative I have gotten with decorating them, and I LOVED the way they turned out!

You can check them out here!

The Art of Entertaining

...a 3 year old.

I have been working as a nanny to save up some money while I'm on the hunt for a job that actually utilizes this degree I spent the last four years picking up. I mainly watch a 3 year old on the week days, and sometimes his older brother and sister after school or on weekends.

It's probably not hard to imagine that a lot of three year olds are pretty curious and need something going on at all times to keep busy. This one loves movies, but I try to do some kind of craft or project on most days with him and not rely totally on the t.v. to do my job for me when we're not playing outside.

One of his favorite things involves making things with construction paper. It started with a dinosaur themed week suggested by my aunt who teaches preschool. I usually will cut out the basic shapes ahead of time and a bunch of random shapes from the construction paper and clearance scrapbook paper for him to glue wherever he wants. I also bought a little pack of googly eyes and some glitter glue (which he usually just wants to use AS glue, and not glitter...) to add at the end, and let him use crayons to color whatever else he wants on the pages.




He LOVES it and always gets really excited when there's some "NEW" project to do. We have also done fish, butterflies, and most recently a few little rainbow/leprechaun scenes for St. Patrick's day. Overall it's really not much of a mess if you keep everything organized, pretty cheap, and can keep them entertained for a while. The older kids even liked making their own, though since they can actually use scissors they cut most of the embellishments out themselves.


I'm not going to lie... I kind of love getting paid to do crafts, puzzles, and play outside all day long. It's certainly not the worst job in the world!

A Summery Spring

Temperatures have already hit the mid 80's here in Southern Indiana, and it's becoming apparent that our extremely mild winter is transitioning straight into summer. This means tights and leggings are largely out of the picture and sandals are being dug out of the closet!

Outfit
Dress, Sunglasses: Target
Cardigan, Flip Flops: Old Navy
Bracelets: Charlotte Russe

Lipstick: Revlon Colorburst in True Red

I have definitely been favoring coral this spring for everything from lipstick to shoes. Are there any spring trends or colors that you are in love with this year?

Some Nights

This album, by the band Fun, has been one of my latest album obsessions. That is, when I can pry myself away from Lana Del Rey and the Cold War Kids. Sometimes it happens.

You may have heard the song "We Are Young" featuring Janelle Monae on the radio, or a commercial. I can't even remember where I first heard it but I almost immediately loved it. I'm here to tell you that the rest of the album as just as amazing. If you have Spotify, or want to check them out on Youtube, give it a listen and let me know what you think!

Tina Fey's Bossypants

I just started reading this last night, and I'm already half way through the book. This should tell you something because, even though I am somewhat of a fast reader, I was sleeping a majority of the time between then and now.

I was especially interested in reading this because I have recently become hooked on her show 30 Rock thanks to Netflix. There are certainly many similarities between Liz Lemon and her actual life, and I have yet to go more than a few minutes of reading without laughing aloud. It can be a little crude at times, but always in the funniest way possible.

Here's a brief excerpt from her commentary on the "ideal American body image":

“But I think the first real change in women’s body image came when JLo turned it butt-style. That was the first time that having a large-scale situation in the back was part of mainstream American beauty. Girls wanted butts now. Men were free to admit that they had always enjoyed them. And then, what felt like moments later, boom—Beyoncé brought the leg meat. A back porch and thick muscular legs were now widely admired. And from that day forward, women embraced their diversity and realized that all shapes and sizes are beautiful.

Ah ha ha. No. I’m totally messing with you. All Beyonce and JLo have done is add to the laundry list of attributes women must have to qualify as beautiful. Now every girl is expected to have: Caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, a classic button nose, hairless Asian skin with a California tan, a Jamaican dance hall ass, long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, the arms of Michelle Obama, and doll tits. The person closest to actually achieving this look is Kim Kardashian, who, as we know, was made by Russian scientists to sabotage our athletes.”

If you're looking for a fun, funny, easy read, this is a must. If it doesn't have you laughing or at least smiling ridiculously to yourself by a few pages in, something might be wrong with you.

(Or you might just be a little classier than I am, so I guess that's ok too.)

Revlon Lipstick & Lip Butter

When I'm on the hunt for new lip color, I'll admit that I'm usually less concerned with the brand and instead after a specific color. However, it has occurred to me that I have a clear preference for Revlon. This started unintentionally with the purchase of the Moon Drops Creme Lip Stick in Love That Pink, followed by the Colorburst Lip Stick in True Red when I needed a replacement for a lost red lip stick.

I love both of these, for their awesome color, creamy feel, and their usually long lasting wear. After my most recent discovery of the Colorburst Lip Butter, I think I'll be sticking with Revlon for a while.

I came across the Lip Butter through a friend's new tumblr account (You can check her out here- but I'm warning you, you'll probably want to buy ALL of the makeup she posts about... I know I do!) and went out to buy some almost immediately. I love that it is so hydrating but also has that great color. I went for the Tutti Frutti, a coral color shown in the center below, which has the perfect pop of orange without being TOO much. I got mine for $7.49 at CVS, a price that is absolutely worth it for such a moisturizing lip color. I'm sure I'll be back for more soon!

(I also just stumbled across a deal on Ulta's website where you can buy 2 and get one free! I definitely recommend taking advantage of that one.)

What are your go to's for lip stick or lip color? Do you have any favorite brands or colors?

Spring Time Floral

I made a stop by Target today and am so glad I did a quick peek at the clothing section because I ended up coming home with FOUR of the dresses. Isn't it always when you least expect it that you end up finding something you really love?

I had to get multiples of this first dress (I also bought the second pattern shown) because I LOVED it. It was very similar to another dress I have from Target that I have absolutely worn out. The fit is really flattering, so I felt justified buying three of them. Not to mention the fabric patterns were all so different that they practically look like different dresses as it is.

I bought this one, but I'm still thinking about it. I love the overall fit and the feather pattern on the dress, but it definitely accentuates your back side because of the gathering and I'm not sure my butt needs any more accentuation. Haha. We'll see, but I'm guessing I'll end up keeping it.

These next two are dresses that I tried on but didn't end up getting. The first one was just a bit too tight in the chest and the second is probably better for those of you who don't have much of a butt. I did love the details on both of them though. The back of the first one is SO cute and it's more of a turquoise color in person.

I skimmed through the Jason Wu collection and there were definitely some cute items embracing the spring florals, but nothing really stuck out at the fit of dress I was looking for. Have you bought any of the Jason Wu or current Mossimo dresses? I'm looking forward to giving my daily wear a little dose of spring!

TOMS Ballet Flats

At one point I practically lived in ballet flats, but I have found that it's hard to find a good pair that is totally comfortable without requiring much "breaking in". I was really excited to hear that TOMS would be rolling out a line of their own ballet flats! I have yet to own a pair of TOMS, mainly due to not being able to decide which pair I would want, and was curious to see what styles would be available for this new line.

The ballet flats, which were debuted this week, range from $74 to $84 and are available in 13 colors/patterns. I'm interested to hear feedback from anyone who has purchased a pair. With pricing so high for a pair of flats, I'm hesitant to even consider it without knowing the quality and comfort is worth it.

Has anyone already ordered a pair? Do you plan on doing so? I would certainly love to hear any feedback about them. I think for now I may try to narrow it down to a pair of the classics for Spring.

You can check out the new line of TOMS ballet flats for yourself here. Which style would you pick?

Love: Lana Del Rey "Born to Die"

This album has been a MUCH ANTICIPATED release for me. Even more so with the fact that the few tracks available on Spotify mysteriously disappeared a few weeks ago, leaving me with YouTube as the only source for any of her music.

Lana Del Rey first came onto my radar with a feature of the song Video Games in an episode of Gossip Girl, but a lot of people are now familiar with her due to her not-so-inspiring performance on Saturday Night Live. I certainly don't think it was TERRIBLE, but for anyone who already knew her music it was clear she was nervous and not performing as well as her other live performances available on YouTube. For those who didn't, many brushed her off and criticism spread like wild fire.


I don't know why everyone has such a strong opinion about her, be it positive or negative, but believe me when I say the album is ABSOLUTELY worth buying. Her vocals are hauntingly beautiful, and I'm quickly finding that each song is more addicting than the last. I have half of the new songs already saved as favorites just after a first listen on Spotify and am now on my way out the door to buy a physical copy. My only complaint might be that some of the songs I have come to love from her YouTube releases didn't make the album. This, however, is easily overcome by the new material.

You can pick the 12 track album up at Best Buy, currently on sale as a new release for $8.99 with a normal list price of $10.99. A deluxe 16 track version is available on iTunes for $11.99. If you're not ready to fully commit yet, check her out on Spotify by searching "Born to Die". I have a feeling that if you like it, you'll love it.

Steve Madden Spring Picks

I don't let myself wander to the Steve Madden website often, but it has been a while so I decided to take a peak and see what was in the works for Spring. Here are a few that caught my eye:

CHIEEFF in Coral Suede
$89.95
The perfect simple & cute spring/summer wedge!

TASSAL in Cognac Leather
$69.95
One of my favorite colors in shoes because it goes with everything.

IROQUOIS in Cognac Leather
$179.95
These wild little things caught my eye pretty quickly... if only I had the money laying around!

RIOTTT in Pink Multi

$99.95
I love this eye catching color combination.

And of course the sale/clearance section:

My MADIEEs in Stone Leather!

ONLY $59.99
This shoe in the Cognac Leather has been a wardrobe staple of mine, and you can currently get them for nearly a THIRD of the original price in the Stone Leather. Jump on it!

TEXXIE in Cognac Leather
$64.95
Also on sale from an original $159.95, this was another one of my top picks back when I bought my pair of MADIEEs, with just a little extra detail on the side.

It might be safe to say that I want any shoe that's available in Cognac Leather- it's just such a great color that goes so well with black, patterns, or just about anything else you can mix up. Are you dying to have any of these or any other Steve Maddens this season? Or is there another pair of shoes out there making your mouth water?

If you just can't resist, use the code SMFREESHIP on any purchase over $75 to get free shipping from SteveMadden.com!