Lavender Cupcakes with Butter Cream Icing

I have been wanting to bake with lavender for quite sometime, but hadn't really had the opportunity. So when my friend Megan offered me some of her stash of dried lavender, I knew exactly what I was going to whip up! It was right around my husband and my birthdays so I decided I would have these instead of a cake (my husband is not really a baker and I didn't want a store-bought cake). 

BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES!

Lavender is perfect for baking. It's not a flavor that a lot of people have had before and the fragrant, floral taste isn't for everyone. Most of the recipes I had seen for lavender cupcakes had paired a cream cheese icing, but I thought a butter cream would let the lavender stand out a bit more. I was not disappointed. Enjoy! 

(I apologize in advance, there is a spot on my camera that I am unable to get off. It's on ALL the pictures, grr..)

Those are carrot cake cupcakes in the back. I'll do a post on those soon.

Lavender Cupcakes
½ cup butter (room temperature)
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons dried lavender (I used a pinch more)
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey (I used champagne honey)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cups milk
2 teaspoons Wilton Violet food coloring (add more if you so desire)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, lavender and salt. Set aside. In stand mixer using paddle attachment (or bowl using hand mixer) beat butter until cream (this is why it needs to be room temperature!). Add sugar, honey, and vanilla mixing until combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk to the stand mixer, and mix until batter is completely combined. Add food coloring slowly until you get to your desired color. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 way full. 

Bake for 16-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

I did not intentionally match my nails to the cupcakes...

Butter cream Icing
2 cups unsalted butter (room temperature)
½ cup milk 
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
4-6 cups confectioners' sugar 

Combine butter, milk, salt and vanilla in stand mixer and beat until combined. Add the confectioners' sugar a half a cup at a time, mixing well between each addition. Pipe the butter cream onto cooled cupcakes and add any embellishments. I used fondant flowers from my local kitchen store in the Italian Market.

And finally, a little snapshot from my birthday dinner with Kyle. My present was a fully planned long weekend down the shore, and this was his way of telling me. :-) 

I will definitely be sporting these shades on our trip

xo
Alison

Nesting: Before

It is just so difficult to find time to blog these days! I'll try to get better now that we're almost settled. I say 'almost' settled because it really still feels like we're surrounded by boxes and excess crap. Anyways, we've officially been in the house for about three weeks and we're still really enjoying it. We hired movers which was a lifesaver, so all the big things are unpacked and the space is quite livable. 

What we immediately discovered is that we had too much stuff and not enough space for it. No problem right?! It's not like we are pack rats, we just had 2,000+ square feet worth of stuff and now only 1,500 square feet or so. HUGE adjustment. We've taken a few steps that are helping us figure it out:

• If it's not useful or beautiful, it's gone. We're being ruthless.
• CONTAINER STORE! Oh how I love thee. Every storage space, cabinet, drawer, closet is organized within an inch of it's life. Fabulous - and I wanted to do that anyway :-)
• Kitchen Reno. Minor one. Our current kitchen only covers one wall with a peninsula island, leaving another wall just blank (the back wall is sliding glass doors to the patio). The plan is to add a narrow pantry with about three more feet of cabinets and counter space. I'm toying with the idea of an appliance garage. 
• New Grill. Kyle was thrilled to pick out a small Weber for our tiny back space. Suited me just fine since it means he's pick up the cooking several days a week.
• Functional new furniture. All of our new furniture will fit the space or have some extra place for storage. We just bought a day bed from Ikea that pulls out to a double bed AND has storage underneath. Score!

Link

Now we're just in the nesting phase. Decorating, deciding on furniture and just loving our little home. We're loving our neighborhood and have just been thrilled with our decision to stay in the city. I thought I'd share the 'before' pictures of our house from when it was staged. To be fair, I might be stealing some of her design ideas! 

The main floor from the front door

Living Room

Kitchen from dining room (I loved her dining room set-up)

Love this white kitchen!

Basement: This will become Kyle's office and a media room. There is also a laundry room and powder room.

Guest bathroom. I love the marble and chandelier, perfect for Jacuzzi baths!

Guest room: This room will double as my office with the day bed I mentioned earlier. I'm doing mint and butter yellow in this room - nice and calming.

Upstairs hallway with skylight

Master bathroom

Master bedroom

As we finish various rooms I'll post the after pictures as well. Next step: paint and new furniture!

xo

Alison

Moving is Exhausting

We officially closed on our house on Thursday and the moving trucks arrived on Friday. Ever since we signed on that dotted line (or hundreds of them) it's been a flurry of activity. We actually didn't find the house buying process/moving to be that stressful once we found the house. It's actually been pretty painless. Likely because we have an amazing Realtor and mortgage broker. They have been so patient, explaining every last thing and making the whole process relatively enjoyable. 

I'll get to a longer post at some point, but in the meantime, this will have to suffice!

Us in front of the house and a sweet gift from our Realtor!

Were able to use our Mr. and Mrs. flutes from the wedding!

xo
Alison

I'm Back!

Oh for shame! I haven't blogged since February!? Yikes! Life has certainly gotten in the way, however, that means tons of things to share. I have been working, enjoying/adapting to married life, with a little bit of travel weaved in. So here is a quick recap of the last 3 or so months:

March:
We started off March with a fantastic trip to Copper Mountain in Colorado with my whole family, including my 6 year old niece Zoe for her first time skiing! It was a fantastic vacation. My parents rented a three bedroom condo right on the base and we spent the days skiing/snowboarding, hot tub-ing and enjoying each others company. 

We all took lessons the first day even though we were all pretty proficient and it was great to learn all the things we did wrong! Ha! But really, it was great to learn new skills and improve on old ones. Kyle and I had a private lesson and our instructor was perfection. He was 40-ish years young, had quit his corporate job in his 30s for the powder and pot lifestyle. He was really funny and was very patient with us.  

This trip will definitely be repeated next year. Hopefully for 2 weeks this time! Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

Kyle and Me

Zoe in her gear!

My parents dancing in the lodge <3

Horrible picture of me, but somehow the only one I have with Rosie!

Later in March, my best friend from college, Krista, and her husband came to visit us. We had a great time, dinners, brunch, brewery tours. I always love having them down, but just wish they lived closer.

April:
April was a fairly uneventful month to be completely honest with you. We had a couple of really big technology deployments that I was responsible for at work, so that took up most of my days, evenings and weekends! We did, however, get to go up to Canada to visit my extended family for Easter. We don't get to see them very often, as it's an 8-10 hour trip, but it's always so wonderful when we do. The last we had seen everyone was at the wedding! There were five of us going up, so we decided to rent a van and all go together. Loved visiting with the extended family, but also really enjoyed our car ride. Lot's of laughs.

Some of the extended family at dinner the night before Easter dinner

May:
Now, I know May has just begun, but it's already been eventful because...

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

Finally! We actually close tomorrow and move in on Friday. This has been such a long road, but we are so happy with our new home. It's just a few blocks from where we currently live, right in our desired neighborhood. It checked all of our boxes and we just fell in love when we walked in. I'll share an update about the house and my struggles with decorating I'm sure.

Thanks for catching up!

xo
Alison

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! This was our first as a married couple, but we HATE going out on Valentine's day. We love eating out usually, but on Valentine's they jack up the prices, pile in tables close together and usually the food leaves something to be desired. We prefer to stay in and Kyle cooks. It's intimate, romantic and far less fussy than going to a restaurant. 

We decided not to do gifts this year and get goggles for our snowboarding trip instead. But Kyle of course went above and beyond. I woke up to roses and breakfast before work, hen he came home from work he got busy in the kitchen and then he surprised me with chocolates and a beautiful locket! What a guy. My contributions paled in comparison, but he was still pleased. I picked up some of his favorite beer, got a nice card, made some cupcakes and set the table with our new china from the wedding. Really wonderful day. 

Re-purposing a vase from last Valentine's day

Now I'm sitting on the couch having just watched the USA hockey team win in a crazy shootout versus the Russians, nursing my champagne headache and thought it would be the perfect time to share my cupcake recipe. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 ½ cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons Wilton red food coloring (I didn't have time to get this so I had to use grocery store food coloring - hence the pink cupcakes)

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In your mixer, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla. Slowly add the wet mixture into your stand mixer with the dry ingredients. Mix until thoroughly combined. The batter is so velvety!

Only fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 20-32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting. 

Cointreau Ganache
½ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon Cointreau liquor 
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I eyeballed this measurement, so I may have used more)

In a saucepan, bring the heavy cream and Cointreau to a bowl. Reduce heat and slowly add the chocolate chips stirring continuously to avoid burning. Add to piping bag or some other injecting mechanism and inject into the center of the cupcakes. If the ganache spills out the top of the cupcakes, don't worry about it - it will be covered by butter cream.

Cream Cheese Butter Cream
1 package cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar 

In mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar a half cup at a time, mixing well between each addition. Mix until very light and fluffy. 

Pipe the butter cream onto cooled cupcakes and add any embellishments. 

Chocolate Embellishments
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt chocolate in double boiler. Add to piping bag and create the designs of your choice on parchment paper (we had just run out that morning so I used plastic wrap). Let the designs harden in the refrigerator for as long as you can before adding to cupcakes.

Of course I had to do some fun Valentine's nails! For more of my crazy nail designs click here.

Thanks for visiting!

xo
Alison

Engagement Feature on Delancy and Penn

In trying to locate something else related to Kyle and my wedding, I came across the blog Delancy and Penn only to discover they had done a feature on our engagement session done by Faith West Photography! I had no idea! The blog editor did a nice little write up about the history of the landmarks, Elfreth's Alley and Rittenhouse square where we had our photo shoot. Anyway, this was a nice little surprise to come across, so I thought I'd share. 

My favorite from the day that wasn't included on the blog

From Delancy and Penn:

AUTUMN ELFRETH’S ALLEY ENGAGEMENT SESSION BY FAITH WEST PHOTOGRAPHY

Elfreth’s Alley is one of the crown jewels of Old City Philadelphia, serving as a wonderful reminder that our city truly is the “Birthplace of America.”  The street, with it’s 32 row houses, is nestled between Front and 2nd Streets, just north of Arch Street.  Since the first home was built in 1728, Elfreth’s Alley has been home to over 3,000 people, and it is one of the last intact early American streetscapes in the nation {learn even more about Elfreth’s Alley here}.  One of the coolest things about this street is that, other than the two houses used for a visitors’ center and museum, it is still a residential street, and the houses are homes for families just as they were almost 300 years ago.  This is certainly something special for couples that have their engagement pictures taken in Elfreth’s Alley.

Alison and Kyle are one of those couples and, as always, Faith West Photography perfectly captured this moment.  Included with this sweet couple are the most important fall staples:  pumpkin spiced lattes and pumpkins on the front steps.  After some shots in the alley, Alison and Kyle took a trip to Rittenhouse Square – another historic staple in the city – rounding out the shoot with another one of the best locales Philly has to offer.  And we couldn’t help notice that ‘perfect’ color combo on Alison!!  Best of luck to you both, and we can’t wait to see your wedding pictures from Greenville Country Club!

ENGAGEMENT SESSIONSTAGS: ELFRETH'S ALLEY ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS, ELFRETHS ALLEY, OLD CITY ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS, OLD CITY PHILADELPHIA

Super Bowl XLVIII Cupcakes

For the Super Bowl this year we went to a party at my brother and sister-in-law (elect)'s house and had a really fantastic time. I didn't really care about who won the game, but I did have some Block Pool and prop bets going, so that kept it interesting. 

Rosie did a really nice job hosting and there was quite the extensive spread: tons of dips to look like a football stadium, wings, nice cheeses, sandwiches, and enough booze to take down an army. Really great event. 

I couldn't even get a picture before everyone dug in!

When I asked her what I could bring, she suggested cupcakes which I couldn't have been happier about! But of course I couldn't just make any old cupcakes, they had to be themed some how. So enter way more blue, green and orange food coloring than I'd ever seen in my life.

I found a blue velvet cupcake recipe that would be perfect for both teams and had some bros help me find the perfect color for both the Broncos and Seahawks. The first batch was a total bust, unfortunately. The batter was a lot thicker then I am used to so I accidentally over-filled the cupcake tin and the end result was top-heavy yet collapsed cupcakes. They were still delicious so I persisted with the second batch. Success!

Blue Velvet Cupcake Recipe:

2 cups sugar

½ pound (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

2 eggs

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

2 teaspoons Wilton Navy Blue food coloring (add more if you so desire)

2½ cups cake flour

1 teaspoon salt 

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In your mixer, cream the sugar and butter, mix until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time and mix well after each addition. Mix cocoa and food coloring together to form a paste, and then add to sugar mixture; mix well. Sift together flour and salt. Add flour and salt to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Blend in vanilla. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture.

Warning: Batter will be very thick. Only fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting. 

Cream Cheese Butter Cream
1 package cream cheese, softened and halved
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (1/2 for each batch)
5 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (2 1/2 for each batch - or more to your taste)
1 teaspoon of Crystal Colors powdered food coloring for each color choice (I used Tahitian Sun for the Broncos and Moss Green for the Seahawks)

In mixer, beat half the cream cheese, half the butter and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar (2 1/2 cups) a half cup at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the food coloring until you get to your desired color and mix until completely incorporated. Increase the speed on your mixer and mix until very light and fluffy. 

Repeat for the other color choice. Pipe the butter cream onto cooled cupcakes and add any embellishments. I used royal blue Sanding Sugar and football decorations to go with the theme. 

I'm working on a full wedding post, but I went to upload the pictures and my thumb drive wasn't working - Yikes! Luckily we had already loaded all of the pictures on my mom's computer. Crisis averted. So here is a little teaser (and one of the only ones I do have on my computer).

End of the best night ever

I hope everyone enjoyed the Super Bowl!

xo

Alison