Fake it and Make it

Everyone loves a good cupcake recipe. You know what else everyone loves? A drink.

Well, I bring you both...COMBINED with SAMMIE'S MALIBU CAKES!

Now I know after work not everyone has time to come home and whip up some cupcakes from scratch - so I've modified this recipe so you can also make it with a box mix as well! 

From Scratch:

 (yields 12 cupcakes / 24-30 babycakes)

What you'll need:

DRY

1 cup sugar (sifted)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (sifted)

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder 

WET

1/2 cup butter (room temp)

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons Malibu Rum (I prefer Coconut Rum but you can use what you like!)

Pre-heat your oven to 350 (or warm up your babycakes)

combine all dry ingriedients thoroughly

Cream together butter and sugar - add in vanilla and rum.

Add dry ingredients to your sugary rum mix.

Stir in milk until smooth.

Cupcakes - 20/25 minutes ----- Babycakes - 5/6 minutes

Wondering what Babycakes are? 

They're literally BABY cakes! 

Rather than fool with the oven I prefer to use this: 

With help from Duncan Hines:

(yields 16-20 cupcakes / 30-40 babycakes)

What you'll need:

1 Duncan Hines Classic White cake mix

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons rum

2 tablespoons veggie oil

1 1/3 cup water

Combine together until smooth 

cupcakes 20/22 minutes ---- babycakes 4/5 minutes

****** NOTE: If using babycake maker or something similar make sure that if you're not going to change the papers between each use that you spray it EVERY time***********

For your frosting: 

3 tablespoons icing

1 teaspoon Sunny D (adjust to fit taste)

1/2 teaspoon rum (adjust to fit taste)

The icing is many people's favorite part! Remember, you can always put more in but you can't take any out. I would start off with these recommendations and then taste it, see how you feel, and adjust from there. In the end you should have a glazey consistency that is perfect to dip the cakes in like donuts.

If you prefer to do a home made frosting feel free! I would suggest just a plain butter-cream frosting that you can use orange liqueur or orange extract and rum. This would give you a nice consistency to pipe the icing onto your cupcake with an  826 or an 806 tip (Wilton) and rim with some toasted coconut.

If you go with the dunk-n-done icing like I did make sure that once you coat the cake in the icing you pop it in the freezer for at least 2 hours so the icing hardens enough for you to transport the cakes (these babies are going to my co-workers!) 

ENJOY!

milkshakes

cupcakes

same thing right? 

close enough.

Better Business Bureau

I'm an independent woman. I don't answer to my husband-I discuss with him. He doesn't "control" my actions or have to take responsibility for me. If anyone has something to say to me, positive or negative, I'd much rather they just say it to me. We're two separate people who have separate relationships with friends, family and acquaintances.  No one can speak on my behalf, and as much as I love him, my battles are not his to fight. I put on my big girl panties a few years ago and I don't plan on taking them off. This works both ways - his actions and opinions are not reflective of me, my ideas or my opinions and same goes for mine reflecting on him. I feel very disrespected when told or made to feel like I can't handle my own business. This girl can handle some damn business!

So can these women - who says you can't have a throwback Monday? 

Nailed It

Lets face it - when we go to the nail salon we're expecting miracles. I'm expecting to communicate my exact vision to you and have it replicated on my nails. Now back in the day we didn't have a problem - you get the same square shape and maroon shade at each fill in appointment. With the development of the internet, people in Japan and Pinterest we have so many more crazy ideas to express ourselves. It's hard to find a nail salon fully equipped to meet any idea we come up with so our choices are pretty limited.

I'm going to show you some simple nail ideas that are simple enough any nail tech (or even yourself) can execute but still different enough to set you apart. The key is mixing and matching color and textures!

What we wish our nail tech could do:

  

Ideas we can really get:

1.) Super Tips

Tips are a great way to switch up your nails. Back in my prom days the thing to do was to match your tips to your dress-ADVISE: I am NOT telling you to do this! If you're going to do tips I suggest you switch it up by adding something else. Either a separate colored line underneath the tip ( see below) or a full color nail with a separate color tip (see below) Some other recommendations would be a rhinestone on the corner of the tip, or even a zebra print tip. Something fun and something funky. 

2.) Mix and Match

Another fun and easy way to switch it up is mix and match your colors. Sadly all my picture examples are in the same color family but I have also done a full hand of pink with one neon yellow, a whole hand of teal and one coral...so many options. 

Now you can do this on any finger, I of course, favor my ring finger. This is also a great look to do with the thumb..especially if you add on a little rhinestone to finish the job.

Favorably Ombre: 

My favorite look currently is the ombre look. Lets be real - it's good for your hair, your clothes and your nails! This is a red to cream ombre I opted for for Valentines Day and I'm thinking that if you go for a blue/teal ombre you'd be super adorbs...or even a purple for Easter would work. This is one of the easiest by far, each nail gets it's own color! The hardest part of this look is picking out the right colors - make sure to test the colors on a paper at your salon before you commit. 

As always - make sure you choose a good brand. I always prefer OPI.

Ey Bay Bay

Pregnancy? Exciting and Overwhelming all at the same time. 

Sometimes it's good to have a game plan before you set out to get any and everything your baby may need after it's born-and with so many options out there it's easy to get frustrated.

Here's a list of some of the things I found most helpful during my babies first year of life (Some of these are so good he still uses them.....and he's 2)

Boppy Pillow:

Babies R Us / Wal-Mart $29.99

These pillows are sold in their "bare naked" state which gives you the option to buy Boppy Covers ($10.99/piece) and customize them to fit your nursery theme, gender or preference. These are so helpful especially for those constant feedings-rather than hold your baby and risk a tired arm during feeding time just lay baby in their boppy and feed away. Advice: Don't use for every feeding! You'll miss out on some great snuggle time while they actually are still young enough to want to snuggle.

Children's Place Footy PJs:

Children's Place $8 - $14.50

These are fabulous! I can not tell you how many pairs of these we have bought over the past 2 1/2 years. Not only are they reasonably priced but they're adorable, cumfy and last through many many washes. They hold up so well we have kept almost every pair for our "pass down" pile. I prefer the cotton ones, but they do make fleece as well! (prices may vary for fleece selections)

MAM Pacifiers:

Babies R Us / Wal-Mart $5.99/2 pack

If you decide (or your baby leaves you no other choice) to use a pacifier these are the way to go. A little pricey for binkys but if you take care of them properly and cautiously stalk them so as not to lose them-they're amazing. Until recently my son refused to take anything but this brand. 

They also come in a variety of colors and designs for boys, girls and gender neutral.

Some of my favorites include the glow in the dark and pirate versions. (prices may vary)

Graco Travel System:

Babies R US  $199-$299

This is an all in one set that will last you for years. It not only includes your new born car seat and stroller-but they hook together for all stages of baby development. So easy to assemble and disassemble and fits in any car (trust me- we have a Chevy Cobalt)

Storage room on the bottom is great as well as an adjustable seat that reclines.

Best part? All of the cute color combos they come in!

So with a few key products it's easy to shake off some of the worry and stress associated with having a new baby and to just relax and enjoy-these products make nothing easier than relaxing and baby bonding! Enjoy.

Abort Mission

Legalizing abortion was not the start of women having abortions, it was the end of women dying from home abortions.

DON'T GO BACKWARDS!

Common Home Abortion Methods:

• recieving punches, kicks, or other blows to the abdominal area
• bellyflopping onto a hard surface
• attempted removal of the fetus with a coat hanger or similar device inserted into the uterus through the cervix
• attempted piercing of the fetus with a knitting needle or similar device inserted into the uterus through the cervix
• suction through the insertion of a rubber tube into the uterus via the cervix
• hypothermia

Prior to Roe v. Wade, as many as 5,000 American women died annually as a direct result of unsafe abortions. Today, abortion is one of the most commonly performed clinical procedures in the United States, and the current death rate from abortion at all stages of gestation is 0.6 per 100,000 procedures. This is 11 times safer than carrying a pregnancy to term and nearly twice as safe as a penicillin injection.

Currently, 219 women die world wide everyday from an unsafe abortion.

Common Reasons Women Consider Abortions:

• contraceptive failure. Over half of all women who have an abortion used a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant
• Inability to support or care for a child
• To end an unwanted pregnancy
• To prevent the birth of a child with birth defects or severe medical problems.
• Pregnancy resulting from rape or incest
• Physical or mental conditions that endanger the woman's health if the pregnancy continued
• Pregnancy of multiples due to fertility treatments

The NAF Hotline is available to answer any questions you may have about abortion, unintended pregnancy, or related issues. The Hotline is free, completely anonymous, and offers services to everyone, regardless of their individual situation.

For unbiased information about abortion and about other resources, including financial assistance, call toll free- 1-800-772-9100

Weekdays: 7:00 AM - 11:00 PM (ET)

Weekends: 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM (ET)

Stand up for yourself and your bodies ladies-it is yours and yours alone. Don't ever let a man, no matter how important to you, dictate or shame you into doing something you don't want to do. You're in control.