Fried Chicken Dinner Cupcakes

My husband Cody loves fried chicken, but I just can't seem to perfect it! So for his birthday treats, I made him these Fried Chicken Dinner cupcakes. I saw them on Paula Deen and just had to try them myself. They are so easy and so cute!

The fried chicken is a donut hole frosted and covered in crushed graham crackers. I used a toothpick to adhere it on the cupcake that was covered in graham crumbs too. If you have time to make a little bone out of melted white chocolate-by all means do it! I didn't have time so you will have to use your imagination here! The peas and carrots are green Skittles and orange Starbursts cut into little squares. For the mashed potatoes and gravy, I took just a little of the center of the cupcake out with a melon baller and frosted it. The pad of butter is a yellow Starburst and the gravy is caramel! To really make them even better, set them in a disposable muffin tin! Aren't these fun?!

Cody wasn't as excited about these as I was, he would have rather had the real thing! But all the guys at work just loved them! I even took some to my work and they were a hit! I hope you give these fun cupcakes a try!

Here is where I am linking up to:
Sweetology: Tea Party Tuesday
Sugar Bananas! Sweets this Week
Mouthwatering Mondays
Just something I whipped up!
Tempt my tummy Tuesdays

Hoosier Homemade: Cupcake Tuesday

Happy Birthday to my Prince Charming!

Tomorrow, June 1st, is my wonderful husband Cody's 34th Birthday! He doesn't like to be reminded that he is getting older, but I can't let such an important day pass without celebrating him!

If you would have asked me in high school the kind of guy I would want to spend the rest of my life with, I would have said a cowboy/doctor. Cody is not a cowboy nor a doctor, but he is everything I never knew I always wanted. We are complete opposites but I think that is what makes us work so well together!

When my friend Tera was first telling me about her husband's cousin that she wanted me to meet, I admit I was less than interested. She said he had tattoos and big holes in his ears. I was scared! But I had a deep down feeling that the next guy that I met was going to be the one I would marry. And boy was I right! From our very first date we were pretty much inseparable and have been for 4 years now!

Cody is the most gentle, loving person. He may look rough but he is so kind and affectionate. He loves his nieces and nephews and is a wonderful daddy to our furry babies. I know someday, if God chooses to bless us with children, he will be an amazing dad to them too! I honestly could not ask for a better husband or best friend!

I always tell Cody that I don't know how I got so lucky. He says I am not the lucky one, he is! I just love him so much and am so thankful that I get to spend the rest of my life with him!

Happy Birthday to my Prince Charming! I love you with all my heart! XOXOXO

Wishing all of you a wonderful week!

Waiting for warm weather and green grass

We are still waiting for Spring to really come into full bloom around here. It seems as if Spring gets here later and later every year to the point where Spring never comes and Summer hits us in the face full blast! So while I wait for the nice weather and green grass to get here, I am looking at some of my pretties from last year that are outside.

This bird house with the door knob perch as well as this heavy ironstone candle stick is from Gatherings at the School. If you are ever in southwest Idaho when they are having one of their sales, YOU HAVE TO GO!! I promise it will be well worth it!

My parents built this picket fence lattice for us last year. My husband built a bench to go in front of it. We love sitting there around the fire pit in the middle of the summer, roasting marshmallows and making s'mores!

Last year for my husband's birthday, my parents gave him this rustic birdhouse! He built a perch to set it on. I brought home this very cute cast iron bird bath and he built a pedestal for it too. He wanted his bird friends to have deluxe accommodations in our yard! The picture below is a close up of the bird bath-I just love it!

Even though we haven't had the best weather, I can't complain. My thoughts and prayers are with those in other parts of the country and world that have been affected by the devastation that Mother Nature has created.

I am happy to be linking up to White Wednesday over at Faded Charm. So many BEAUTIFUL whites for all to enjoy!

My first White Wednesday

La Tache in French means "To Try".

I have been drooling over all of the White Wednesday posts at Faded Charm for a very long time, but haven't had the guts to post anything of my own until today. Since this White Wednesday is the 100th White Wednesday, I thought it would be a great time for me to get up the nerve and show some of my white stuff!

Here is a little vignette for some of my pretty whites. A frame that I painted and distressed really helps pull it all together. I love the frosty white roses at opposite corners of the frame. I strung some small pearls in the frame to hold up the lovely wedding cabinet card and vintage BINGO card. I just used plain clothespins to attach them to the pearls.

The pretty little ballerina dressed in ivory sits overlooking everything. I added a pretty crystal necklace to one side of the frame.

These heavy candle holders were found at Goodwill and were perfect just the way they were. I have placed the boutineer that my husband wore in our wedding on top of one. At the foot of the candle holders is a vintage beaded necklace.

I made this pretty white rose with a simple coffee filter and placed it in a glass flower frog. I think it would look really pretty with a whole bunch of these coffee filter roses.
This vignette sits on top of my very favorite white cabinet. The bread dough roses on the front add a very romantic and shabby touch to it. You can see how I transformed this cabinet here.
Here is one last look at my very first white vignette for White Wednesday. Thank you for letting me join in and please go take a look at all of the amazing white posts. There are some VERY TALENTED ladies out there that truly take my breath away with their decorating!
Happy White Wednesday to you all!

Snickers Cake

Do you have an Albertson's Grocery Store where you live? If so, you have hopefully tried their delicious Snickers Cake from their bakery. It's full of chocolate and caramel and Snickers...who wouldn't love it? In fact, I love it so much, I decided to try to make my own Snickers Cake. I am not going to lie, mine is pretty darn good and maybe even better than theirs. But why don't you make one and tell me what you think!!

First, start out with a whole bunch of yummy Snickers cut up. I used about 30 minis, but you could use 3 regular sized bars (or more if you want).

While you are baking 2-8 inch round Devils Food cakes, start on your whipped butter cream caramel frosting. To make whipped butter cream, start out with 1 stick of soft butter, whipped until fluffy. Gradually beat in 4 cups of powered sugar, 1-2 teaspoons of milk and then add caramel.

I used Hershey's Caramel Syrup, but any will do. I added about a cup, but you can adjust it depending on how caramely you want it.

As soon as your cakes are done baking, remove the rounded tops. Here is a little trick for cutting the tops off of your cake. Take a serrated knife and follow the edge of the pan to cut it off. This will give you an evenly trimmed top. Save the tops...I will show you what to do with those later! Turn the cakes out onto a plate and freeze until cooled all the way through.

Once the cakes are cool, take a chopstick and poke wholes all over the cake. Then pour some more caramel syrup on the cake, making sure it goes into the holes.

Then frost the bottom cake with butter cream, add half of the chopped up Snickers and then put the top layer on. Repeat the process-holes, caramel, frosting. Before you sprinkle the Snickers on top, drizzle a little caramel and chocolate syrup on top. Then sprinkle the remaining Snickers on top. Oh yummy yummy! I made this one for my husband to take to work for a buddy's birthday. I wanted to taste it but didn't want to cut a piece...here is where those cake tops come in...just save a little frosting and Snickers and make yourself a sampler!

Trust me when I say this cake is good. Maybe a little too good because you will want to eat it all! Go ahead and make this and see how you like it. I would love to hear from anyone that has tried the Albertson's version to see how they compare...obviously not exactly the same but still very comparable!

Really wishing I had some of this right now because chocolate and caramel sound so good on this rainy, cold and dark night! Have a great week everyone!

A rose for a non-mom

At the restaurant we took my mom to on Mother's Day, they gave all the mom's roses. At first the waiter didn't give me one and I will admit that it made me sad. I really wanted a pretty rose of course, but mostly because I am not a mom. We have been trying to get pregnant since January but haven't had any luck yet. I know that is only 5 months (but I have not been on birth control for almost 2 years) and it can take years for some people to get pregnant, but I have this deep down feeling that we won't be able to no matter how long we try.

At dinner last night with some girlfriends, we got on the subject of having babies. All of them have children. Some of them are done and some are still planning on having another soon. Then they asked me if we were going to have any babies. I told them we were trying now and then I broke down crying after telling them that I didn't think it would happen for us. I have never cried about it before because I try not to think about it too much. I don't know what came over me I just got really emotional about it. I know that God only gives you what you can handle, so maybe He knows that we can't handle a baby at this particular moment. I hope that is all it is. We can't afford to do anything special-no fertility treatments, no surrogates, no donors, no adoptions. We may not ever need any of these things, but if we did, we wouldn't be able to anyway.

The point of this post is not to feel sorry for myself. I think I just needed to let it out, that I am worried and unsure. I have been keeping that doubt bottled up inside and I think that is why I broke down. Maybe by posting this, some of you can give me advice, share your own stories or offer words of encouragement and prayers. I have always wanted to be a mom, to carry a baby inside of me, feel it growing and moving. I have always wanted to give birth to a human life created by me and my husband. And as that baby grows I want to be able to say, "he looks just like you" or "she has your eyes". I hope that I do get to experience all of that just as I have always dreamed of.

Thank you all for your love and friendship and for giving me a place to express myself. You listen and that means so much to me. Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

Vintage Embroidery Love

I have always loved things that were embroidered. One of my favorite pillow cases when I was a little girl had a pink mouse embroidered onto it. I wish I still had it. My mom also has a collection of tablecloths and napkins that were embroidered by her grandmother that I have always loved. I hope that some day she passes them down to me. Until that time comes, I have started my own collection of pretty embroidered things. I found all three of these runners at yard sales and didn't pay more than 50 cents for any of them. That makes it even better!

This blue runner has this pretty design on either end and the small design runs all the way down both sides. It is a little stained, but I still like it!

This one does not have any embroidery on it, but I love eyelet lace so of course I love this one! It has round edges and is very pretty.

This runner has a simple pattern of flowers embroidered on both ends. It also has a nice lacy trim all the way around it.

These pillowcases are some of my favorites. Again, all of these were found at yard sales and I literally paid pennies for them!

I love pansies. They represent thought for others and I just love this pillowcase. There are pink, yellow and purple pansies on this. There is also a pretty purple trim.

The design on this pillowcase is small and simple-a basket of flowers. It is very pretty!

This pillowcase has very intricate pink flowers on it. Someone spent a lot of time on this one between the flowers and leaves.

Not only do I love the pink flowers on this one, I also love the detail on the end of the pillowcase.

I think I have started a new collection/obsession! Now I am on the lookout for even more at every yard sale and thrift store I visit. I really don't think it's a bad thing...do you?!

Did you notice what I had my runners and pillowcases on? It is a twin sized head and foot board that I found at a yard sale on my lunch yesterday. I paid only $10 for it-score! When I told the lady I didn't need the rails, she was very concerned that my rails wouldn't fit. I told her I wasn't going to use it for a bed and then she was curious. This will soon turn in to a bench like this one that I will put on my front porch. As soon as my amazing husband gets it built, I will get it painted and definitely have some pictures to show you!!

Wishing all you wonderful mother's out there a very Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Pink Saturday!