Jet Set!

Last week Hubby and I headed to sunny Santa Barbara for a little getaway/work trip.

We looked at office space for our California office! (I didn't take the CA bar for nothin'!)

We found an adorable, newly renovated office right off of State Street (the main drag, filled with shops, shops, and more shops). Now I just have to wait for bar results to come out...

We also did some networking, caught up with old friends, and enjoyed the perfect weather!

Enjoy a few photos from our trip!

French Toast and Eggs Benedict from Jeannine's in Montecito - my favorite place for breakfast!

We perused the Farmer's Market...

I love the colors of all the fresh veggies!

Butterfly Beach is always gorgeous!

I love everything about Santa Barbara; the sounds, the smells, the people, the food, the stores! 

It really is (in my humble opinion) the most beautiful place on earth! 

We love that the Coast Village Inn offers complimentary beach cruisers! 

Cruisin' by the lagoon at the Santa Barbara Zoo!

I love walking around the harbor! 

No trip would be complete without a trip to Crush Cakes! 

Lemon drop for me! Red velvet for Hubby! 

I can't wait to officially open a new office in Santa Barbara! It is going to be so fun to have a jet set lifestyle, traveling back and forth! I'd better learn how to pack better, lighter, and more concise! :)

XOXO

Meg

5 Unique Mother's Day Gifts

Mother's Day is exactly a week away! Have you decided what you'll be getting or doing for your Mom?

Here is a list of five unique gifts that any mom is sure to love!

For the baker... 

fancy cupcake mixes

For the green thumb...

a gorgeous terrarium

For the tech guru...

a designer iPad case

For the jewelry lover...

a fresh twist on an old classic

For the one who needs some pampering...

soap of the month club

Have y'all done your mother's day shopping yet? What did you pick out for your mom?

XOXO

Meg

Spring To-Do List Update #2: Cupcakes & Back Swings

Hey Y'all! 

If you've been following along, you probably know that I made myself a little Spring To-Do List! (If you missed it, click here!)

Since my last update, I have been able to cross two more things off of my list!

1. Get cupcakes from Bird Bakery. 

6. Dust the cob webs off of my golf clubs.

I am kind of a cupcake snob! Having lived in Santa Barbara, I ate my fair share of Crushcakes! When I moved to San Antonio, I wasn't sure I could fill the cupcake void in my heart - until I found Bird Bakery! The store is whimsical and romantic and reminds me of Anthropologie! The attention to detail is remarkable and the staff are polite, helpful, and as sweet as frosting!

Oh! And the cupcakes! Oh my what delicious cupcakes! I treated myself to the fresh coconut cupcake! The cake was soft and moist, while the frosting was sweet and creamy! The hints of coconut reminded me of a sipping pina coladas on a beach side patio somewhere warm! 

Hubby ordered the red velvet and the carrot cake! (He couldn't make up his mind!) I snuck a few bites to report back to y'all! You can never go wrong with a classic red velvet, the carrot was unbelievable and both had incredible cream cheese frosting! My mom is flying in today to spend a few days with us and I will definitely take her here!

To check out the entire cupcake menu from Bird Bakery, click here!

 

Last weekend, Hubby and I went to visit his folks for Easter. On Saturday, we played a round of golf! It was a little windy, but we could not have asked for better weather! We hadn't played since Thanksgiving, when we played with my Dad, but I did surprisingly well! It was so nice to get outside and wear my cute golf clothes! :)

Hope y'all are having a fabulous week!

XOXO

Meg 

Boston Cream Pies

One of my favorite things to bake is dessert! Of course...whose isn't?! Unless the answer is breakfast, please don't answer that. I found this recipe in a fun little cookbook about Jello and Cool Whip. I have no idea how I got it, or why I got it (not a huge fan of jello), but this recipe has become one of my favorites to not only devour but to make!!! It can be as simple as you want to make it! Trust me! 

The only thing about this recipe is that it does take time and a couple items that I usually don't have in my cupboards, like: instant vanilla pudding, cool whip, baking chocolate squares and yellow cake mix. Surprise...I have yet to make these little Bostons from scratch (making the cake from not a box!!!). Oh well....life has been busy and I am making these for my husbands birthday this week! We are bringing them to youth group to share with the children and also he is going to bring some at the end of the week to work. This is one of his favorite recipes, which is probably why he requested it for his birthday! 


Ingredients:
Yellow cake mix (or you can be super cool and make it from scratch)
1 cup cold milk
4 oz box instant vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cups cool whip, divided (a little bit thawed helps too)
4 squares of semi sweet baking chocolate

Now let's bake:

Prepare the cake mix as you would according to the directions for cupcakes (these can be made either regular size or mini). After they are baked, cool in pans for about 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack until completely cooled. 

While your cute little cupcakes are cooling, combine your pudding and 1 cup cold milk and whisk! Let sit for about 10 minutes. 

After your cupcakes are cooled, next you need to cut them in half. It helps to use a serrated knife!

Once all of the muffins are sliced in half, add 1/2 cup of the cool whip to your pudding mixture and stir in until all combined. Then spread on that mixture evenly over all of the bottom cupcake pieces and top with cupcake tops! 
*I have always had extra of the cream mixture afterwards, so don't be afraid to pile these guys high with the pudding goodness. 
Once all of the cupcakes have their pudding filling and have their hats on, microwave in a small bowl the chocolate and the 1 cup of cool whip for a minute. Your chocolate won't be completely melted but stir stir stir quickly and it will finish melting and combine with the cool whip. Let sit for 5 minutes to harden a bit. 

Next, frost your Boston Cream Pies and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. 
These are best served cold!

Enjoy a taste of Heaven!!!
-Kir

Happy [belated] Valentine's Day

I hope y'all had a wonderful Valentine's Day! 

Hubby and I have a fun Valentine's Day tradition -- we always make a batch of red velvet cupcakes together.

The Valentine's Day we were engaged we decided to create a tradition that we could always partake in, regardless of our bank account. And, if we do decide to have children in the far (far far far)  distant future, it is something we could all do together as a family.

I always use boxed cake mix for cupcakes or cake -- I can't really tell the difference (don't tell my mom) and it is so much easier to just dump a box mix in the bowl. 

But -- I always make homemade frosting! I CAN tell the difference between canned frosting and the real deal!

We used Duncan Hines Most Red Velvet Cake Mix and whipped up our own cream cheese frosting, which was AMAZING!

 

Frosting Recipe

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) at room temperature

8 ounces of cream cheese, at room temperature. 

2-3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

With an electric mixer, combine the butter and cream cheese. 

Slowly add in the powdered sugar and vanilla to the butter/cream cheese mixture.

Mix on high until frosting is smooth and all ingredients and thoroughly mixed.

Spread on cooled cupcakes. 

As evidenced by the photo, we (okay I) made a huge mess with the powdered sugar. Hubby doesn't like to see what goes in some of his favorite foods, so he did not help with the frosting. Ha ha! 

Do y'all have any fun Valentine's Day traditions? I'd love to hear about them!

Yum!

Megs 

PS: Recipe adopted from http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/cream_cheese_frosting/