Winter Wonderland Cupcakes

So this weekend my nephew turned 5! Where has the time gone!?!

It's one of my favorite things to make a pretty exciting cupcake creation for the birthdays of my niece and nephew. I don't usually do fancy things, but my niece and nephew are worth some sprinkles and fondant frustration anytime!

My nephew requested vanilla cupcakes, so that's what he got, plain and simple. I made 36 cupcakes and then squished them all onto a 16 inch cake round that I had. They BARELY fit, it was a close one. 

After that I frosted them with a buttery cream cheese frosting. To do this I went around the edge with my piping bag and then squeezed the rest of the frosting over the middle. Then I took my spatula and spread it all out. The beauty of making a winter wonderland is that it doesn't have to be perfectly smooth! (I was a little short on frosting, I was worried but it ended up working out just fine!

I then used some white sugar sprinkles and COVERED the frosting (I'm serious here, I COVERED the top of that cake). My nephew got the special birthday honor of helping me put the trees on. He did a great job! He did keep putting them into lines, but we had plenty of trees and I would just fill in around his to make it look more natural. Then we placed a snowmobile toy (his grandparents own several snowmobiles and mountain property where we ride them, my nephew loves his snowmobile!) and the masterpiece was complete! It's always really fun to push the boundaries of my decorating skills and see what I can come up with. This one is my favorite so far.

Vanilla Cupcakes

makes 24

2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two cupcake pans.

In a large bowl whip together the room temperature butter with the sugar until they get nice and fluffy, it's best if you let it beat for 2-3 minutes.  Add the 2 eggs, one at a time and beat for another minute. The mixture should be a light yellow color. While the eggs are mixing in, add the vanilla and the salt.

Next, measure out your baking soda, baking powder and flour in a medium bowl.  Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just combined.  Add half of the sour cream.  Follow that with another 1/3 of the flour, the remaining sour cream and the last of the flour, beating well after each addition.

Scrape the bowl, give the batter one last power mix to get everything well incorporated (about 10 seconds on medium-high).

Scoop into the cupcake pans using a 2 oz ice cream scoop, or filling about 2/3 of the way full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool.

Buttery Cream Cheese Frosting

2 sticks butter, room temperature

1 8 oz block cream cheese, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon heavy cream (optional)

3-4 cups powdered sugar

In a medium bowl combine the butter and the cream cheese with a mixer until it gets a little fluffy, this will take about 3-4 minutes.

While the cream cheese and butter are mixing add in the vanilla and heavy cream (make sure to turn your mixer on to low!).

Now slowly add the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, keeping the mixer on low to let it mix in.  Once you have the right sweetness, scrape the sides and mix on medium for about 20 seconds to make sure everything is smooth.  Don't be afraid of over-beating this.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, pipe or frost the frosting onto the cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Love, 

Keely

Baking for love

So I bake a lot (in case you haven't been paying attention), and most of the time I love it, but there are days where it's not my favorite thing to be doing. Days when I would rather just lay around and watch TV, days when I wish I wasn't "the baker."

Friday was one of those days. I left work, went to dinner with a friend and then headed to the grocery store to gather ingredients. I wanted some festive Christmas cupcake liners but the grocery store didn't have any (side note: WHY NOT!?!). It was quite a situation that was happening. I needed sprinkles and festive liners, so I headed to Target.

At Target I learned that they didn't have the sprinkles that I have bought for my entire life! My variety pack of Christmas sprinkles now came with blue and white sugar instead of red and green. I was getting grumpy about the whole situation, and I hadn't even started baking yet!

When I finally get home I'm dreading the baking, I don't want to have to deal with it, I just want to curl up in a ball and watch TV. In the end it only takes me 45 minutes to bake off 36 cupcakes and make three colors of frosting. At this point my begrudging attitude seemed a little silly. I wrapped everything up and called it a night.

The next morning I got up and gathered all of my baking from the night before and loaded everything in my car. I went to my church office and started setting up. I put the frosting in several bowls, shook my blue and white sprinkles into bowls and then everything changed. My favorite little girl showed up, and she decorated a cupcake with a huge smile on her face.

My church puts on a camp with an organization called Royal Family. Every year we take 24 kids from the foster care system to the mountains and give them a week of camp, plain and simple. They're some of the greatest kids you will meet. Then, around Christmas time we throw them a Christmas party, and I bring cupcakes and frosting and sprinkles for them to decorate, and it's always worth it.

My heart was overwhelmed on Saturday, these kids are so joyful, so deserving of love. Sometimes I get grumpy about baking, but when the result is like this, it's always worth it.

Love,
Keely

How to support yourself, be better and change the world.

*Sigh* I apologize if I have mislead you, you see, there is no 5 step list here, no guidelines that have been miraculously given to me in a dream that you should listen to. There is just honesty, fear, and a girl who is overwhelmed.

I often get this strong feeling that I'm not doing "enough," that there is "more." These mystical words lead to a place of discontent in my life. I feel stuck, lost and unguided. It's hard to feeling like you need to do something but to have no direction as to what that something must be.

These days it feels like wanting to change the world is a required state of mind. I do desperately want to make a difference, even just in one person, but I always feel like I'm somehow missing the boat.

In some of the darker moments (like when my car dies for the third time in a month) I feel as though I just need to leave, to just move overseas and start living a missional life. Lucky for me, God and I have a pretty solid communication stream in which he blatantly says NO to these crazy ideas. While someday I would LOVE to live overseas, that day is not now. For now there is still much that needs to happen. For now I need to fix my car, pay off debt, build relationships and improve on ME.

The thing is that there is now and there is then and all that I can do is deal with the now. For now my car is dead, and that might set back my paying off debt plan, which will in turn set back my "I would love to move overseas so I should start saving" plan. If I try to do it all at once I will fail, it will not work because I would burn out. 

Here's to the now, to living outside of the pressure of the world and focusing on the steps that you need to take.

Love, 

Keely

Cupcake Tuesday-Eggnog Cupcakes

I know, even the title of this just blew your mind! And I apologize because these are about as unhealthy as it can get (eggnog, butter, sour cream...). But bear with me, because these are SO GOOD. I don't often boast about my own baking creations, because I always think they could be better. But these, these delicious little cups of goodness are about as good as it gets. The eggnog changes the texture and makes the cupcake so...smooth (is that a strange way to describe a cupcake?)

(For now let's pretend that there's a final product picture here...I may have forgotten about that part due to the excitement of the flavor proceedings!)

These cupcakes make me sad that my birthday is in May, because there is no eggnog in May. They make me contemplate the sustainability of celebrating my birthday in November, a time of eggnog.

So I know eggnog is more Christmas-ey, and that this post may seem a little premature, but I just want you to get the full experience of eggnog before it is lost and gone forever!

Eggnog Cupcakes

makes 24

2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup eggnog

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two cupcake pans.

In a large bowl whip together the room temperature butter with the sugar until they get nice and fluffy.  Add the 2 eggs, one at a time and beat for about another minute. The mixture should be a light yellow color. While the eggs are mixing in, add the vanilla, nutmeg and the salt.

Next, measure out your baking soda, baking powder and flour in a medium bowl.  Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just combined.  Add the eggnog.  Follow that with another 1/3 of the flour, the sour cream and the last of the flour, beating well after each addition.

Scrape the bowl, give the batter one last power mix to get everything well incorporated (about 10 seconds on medium-high).

Scoop into the cupcake pans using a 2 oz ice cream scoop, or filling about 2/3 of the way full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool.

Eggnog Cream Cheese Frosting

2 8 oz blocks cream cheese

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup eggnog

3-4 cups powdered sugar 

In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese and the butter with a mixer until it gets a little fluffy, this will take about 2-3 minutes.

While the cream cheese and butter are mixing add in the nutmeg and eggnog (make sure to turn your mixer onto low!).

Now slowly add the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, keeping the mixer on low to let it mix in.  Once you have the right sweetness, scrape the sides and mix on medium for about 20 seconds to make sure everything is smooth.  Don't be afraid of over-beating this.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, pipe or frost the frosting onto the cupcakes.

Enjoy the delicious goodness that you are about to put into your mouth, and when you end up eating all of the cupcakes, just make more tomorrow, no judgement here.

Love, 

Keely

No Spend November-Mid-Way Link Up!

What an interesting couple of weeks this has been! I've learned a lot about myself as I've powered through a month of (attempting) to not eat out.

Here's what I've figured out.

What my challenge really should have been was to not eat out for lunch, or maybe even to not eat out alone. The thing that I always forget is how much time I spend with my friends/family/community around a table at a restaurant. I've cheated a couple of times (and tried to make up for it...)

This past Monday I had a free session with a personal trainer a.k.a. the most insane workout I've had in a LONG time. As I was leaving the gym, barely able to lift my arms, I knew just what I needed, a beer and a burger, and my friends. So sent out a text to my two most reliable friends and we got just that. It was needed, it was an hour that I got to spend with two of my favorite people. To make up for it, I brought my lunch to work on Tuesday (and passed up on the food truck, which was my pre-determined cheat).

There have been a couple other moments. I'm still on the fence about pastries, but considering that I never bought them all that often I've let myself have a few. It's been a fun experience.

My sister and I went to concert this week in a super cute part of Denver called The Highlands. I don't make it up there very often, so we stopped at a place across the street and grabbed a quick dinner. How could you say no to this decor!

I learned that bringing my lunch to work is SO much less stressful than eating out on my 30 minute lunch break. I was never able to relax because I was also so concerned about making it back on time, it was ridiculous. Now all I have to do is walk down the hall and I can take full advantage of all of my 30 minutes, so much better!

I hope to be a little better in the next two weeks about eating out with friends, we can really have just as much fun at one of our houses, however if it happens I'm not going to feel guilty. Community is incredibly important to me and if community is happening around a table full of pizza/burgers/beer/etc. I will be there with a smile on my face.

I hope you join our link up! If you missed the one at the beginning of the month, it's not too late to start now! 

Are there any changes you might make to your "fasts" in the rest of the month?

Welcome back everyone!  

Painting the Sunflowers Yellow

This post has been brewing in my head for a little while now. It all starts with the question:

Why is it more socially acceptable for us to hate ourselves than for us to love ourselves?

I was at an event a little while ago with my sister and mom, and 220 other women. We were learning how to paint. (It was at my mom's church, they called it Canvas and Mocktails, a quite silly spin on the trend in Denver that started with a company called Canvas and Cocktails, check 'em out!)

So here we are, 220 women strong, and then we start painting, and then it happens.

Out goes the happy go lucky charm, and in comes the self-criticism.

All of the women at my table start talking about how bad their painting skills are, about how they need to find the nearest trash can so that they can throw it away on their way out. The fun is gone, and it has been replaced in a hurry with hate.

Here's the deal. We were painting, this was nothing of any consequence! Who cares if you suck! This isn't brain surgery, we're not repainting the Sistine Chapel! We're painting, just for fun, just let it be fun.

And then I realized that this is FAR more common than just this particular setting. This happens in groups of women, even between just two women, daily. Let's think about this. How does it make more sense for us to outwardly hate ourselves than to outwardly love ourselves? What has gone so wrong that has led to this!?!

It makes my heart break. I was so saddened by this mask, this shield that women were using. Here I was enjoying myself, sipping on my grape juice (let's just be honest people, "virgin" sangria is pretty much just grape juice) focused on my painting, proud of the fact that I was creating, grateful for having the ability to create!

I've fought over the past several years to remove the voices telling me that I was weird, that I needed to change, that I wasn't good enough. I have learned that I am funny, creative, awesome and most importantly fun to be around, and I'm not ashamed to say it! The night was more about community than painting, and when you shield yourself behind your own negative comments there's no way that community can be fed. Dissing yourself is hurtful to those around you. Talking down compliments is hurtful to the givers.

I hope that you take the time to "paint the sunflowers yellow." Enjoy your abilities, and enjoy yourself! And don't be afraid to remind your friends of how great you are!

Love, 

Keely

Cupcake Tuesday-Honey Berry Cupcakes

I was inspired to make these cupcakes recently after suffering from a terrible sore throat. I drank SO much tea with honey, lemon water with honey, etc that it was just really on my mind, and I figured, why NOT make a cupcake?

Thus was born the honey cupcake. I frosted them with a berry cream cheese frosting, but you could do lemon, orange, chocolate, pretty much whatever you would like.

Honey Cupcakes

makes 24

2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup honey

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two cupcake pans.

In a large bowl whip together the room temperature butter with the sugar until they get nice and light.  Add the 2 eggs, one at a time and beat for about another minute. The mixture should be a light yellow color and not the dark color of egg yolks. While the eggs are mixing in, add the vanilla and the salt.

Next, measure out your baking soda, baking powder and flour in a medium bowl.  Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just combined.  Add the honey.  Follow that with another 1/3 of the flour, the sour cream and the last of the flour, beating well after each addition.

Scrape the sides of the bowls and mix one last time to make sure it is all combined.

Scoop into the cupcake pans using a 2 oz ice cream scoop, or filling about 2/3 of the way full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool.

Berry Cream Cheese Frosting

2 8 oz blocks cream cheese

1 stick butter, room temperature

2 Tablespoons mixed berry jam/preserves

3-4 cups powdered sugar 

In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese and the butter with a mixer until it gets a little fluffy, this will take about 2-3 minutes.

While the cream cheese and butter are mixing add in your jam.

Now slowly add the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, keeping the mixer on low to let it mix in.  Once you have the right sweetness, scrape the sides and mix on medium for about 20 seconds to make sure everything is smooth.  Don't be afraid of over-beating this, you're going for a pretty light frosting here. 

Once the cupcakes are cooled, pipe or frost the frosting onto the cupcakes.

To make them extra special and sticky, drizzle some honey on top!

Enjoy!

Love, 

Keely

Going back

Going to the gym in and of itself is really nothing to be all that proud of, although some would argue that every step you take should be celebrated, no matter how small.

But this week when I went back to the gym, it was worth celebrating.  You see, I hadn't gone for the past couple of weeks, which sucks.  I felt different, I was losing confidence, didn't really care as much.  I missed the soreness that I had become so accustomed to.  I let life get in the way, and that's allowed.  (There was also some mild illness involved, I allowed my body to recover.)

The important part of this story, however, is not the excuse that I found day after day or the illness that sidelined me, no the important part of the story is what happened this week.

I WENT BACK.

This is just barely short of a miracle.  You see I'm oh-so-good at going to gym, until I'm not.  I'll go months and hardly miss a day and then all of a sudden I get sick, or I have to work late, or my friend needs help moving, so I miss one day.  And I'm bad about allowing flexibility, so one day turns into two and then it's been months since I've made it to the gym.

But now, after a short, understandable two weeks, I made it back.  And I made it back because I found a workout that I LOVE.  And, on my first day back, I squatted my max weight THREE TIMES (which really just means that now I have to increase my squat weight which I have a love hate relationship with because I HATE SQUATS but that's really neither here nor there.)

So here's to finding something that you love.  Here's to being motivated and having a desire to be healthy.  Here's to exercise providing joy and confidence.  I hope that you can find something healthy for you that you love too.

If you're a woman and have tireless pounded on the treadmill with no desire behind it, I would highly encourage you to branch out and try lifting.

If you've never stepped foot inside a gym but would love to do something that energizes you and boost your confidence, I would suggest weight lifting.

Seriously people, it's awesome.

That is all.

Love,
Keely

Cupcake Tuesday-Double Chocolate

Happy Tuesday everyone!  I made you something special, some DOUBLE chocolate cupcakes! Most of you should be excited, however I have a little secret to share.

I don't really like chocolate cake.  I mean I'll eat it, but the issue is that I'm SUPER picky about it.  It has to be perfectly moist, just the right level of bitter, and yeah it usually just isn't worth it in my book.

But for you, these are going to be worth it!  Because the chocolate frosting is going to keep them moist, and the yogurt/sour cream in the batter is going to make the texture to die to for.  It's going to be exciting.

Look at these little cupcakes, standing at attention looking all proud.

Chocolate Cupcake

makes 24
2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
vanilla
salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two cupcake pans.

In a large bowl whip together the room temperature butter with the sugar until they get nice and light and fluffy.  Add the 2 eggs, one at a time and beat for about another minute.

When the eggs are fully incorporated add in the vanilla, salt and cocoa powder.  Mix well.

Next, measure out your baking soda, baking powder and flour in a medium bowl.  Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just combined.  Add the sour cream.  Follow that with another 1/3 of the flour, the yogurt and the last of the flour, beating well after each addition.

Scrape the sides of the bowls and mix one last time to make sure it is all combined.

Scoop into the cupcake pans using a 2 oz ice cream scoop, or filling about 2/3 of the way full.  My rule with chocolate cake is that it should look like chocolate ice cream before it bakes

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

2 8 oz blocks cream cheese

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/4 cup cocoa powder

3-4 cups powdered sugar 

In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese and the butter with a mixer until it gets a little fluffy, this will take about 2 minutes.

Add in the cocoa powder and briefly mix until combined.

Now slowly add the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, keeping the mixer on low to let it mix in.  Once you have the right sweetness, scrape the sides and mix on medium for about 20 seconds to make sure everything is smooth.  The secret to this frosting is to beat it like there's no tomorrow, don't be afraid of over-beating.  People are always surprised that a cream cheese frosting can be so light.  That's one of the main reasons to add the powdered sugar so slowly while letting the mixer run.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Love, 

Keely

No Spend November Link Up!

A Dose of Paige |  The Life Unexpected  |  The Lovely Sisters  | My Pending Life 

Today marks the first day of No Spend November, so I certainly hope that you have your done your grocery shopping, grabbed that adorable shirt that you had been contemplating buying and just generally prepared your self for this grand adventure we are about to take.

One quick little caveat, I'm adding a cheat day for myself.  There is a food truck that comes to my office every Tuesday, and in the name of supporting local business, I will continue eating there on Tuesdays for lunch, but that's it.  Outside of that there will no more eating out (there will however be lots of stops at the grocery store...)

I'm excited for this!  It's always fun to challenge your self, and for me I find that it's easier to give something up cold turkey than to try to moderate myself against it.  Once I say "no more eating out except for the food truck on Tuesdays" then that's that, no more eating out except for that food truck on Tuesdays.

(If you're local to Denver, you should try to hunt down Mike's 2 Kitchen, it's pretty stinking delicious, definitely worth the cheat day.)

So let's get going!  Link up to tell us what you're giving up November! We're so happy you're here!

Apple Bread

This is a great recipe, I was able to make it with ingredients I have around my house (it's just standard baking stuff and some applesauce, which I always have around, exclusively for baking because applesauce is gross awesome for baking.)

Considering that fall is still in full swing, I am loving baking with spices!  This is the time of year when I plan on making apple bread and realize that I'm out of nutmeg (and then wonder if "normal" people have this issue as often as I do.)  It has such a warm feel to it and it just makes my heart smile!

I always try to keep cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice in my pantry.  They are great together when baking with pumpkin or apple, or you can use just ginger and cinnamon when baking with molasses, they are all around spices!

So let's get going on this bread, we gotta get it in the oven! (PS don't start making this at 10 pm when you have to be at work at 8:30, you will be made at yourself.)

Apple Bread 
Adapted from My Baking Addiction
makes 1 loaf

1 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/2 of a granny smith apple

Preheat oven to 350.

In the bowl of your mixer add the applesauce, eggs, vegetable oil, water, vanilla and sugar.  Mix these  on medium-high until just starting to thicken.

In a small bowl mix together your flour, baking soda, salt and spices.  Turn the mixer to low and add in about half of the dry ingredients.  Allow to incorporate and add the remaining flour mixture.  Mix until just incorporated.

Scrape down your sides.

Spray a loaf pan with pan spray, I use a spray that contains flour, but if you don't have that then you should also flour the pan.

Pour the batter into the pan.

Cut the granny smith apple into wedges, making them as thin as possible.  Then toss these with about a tablespoon of sugar, a tablespoon of flour, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg.  

Lay the slices on top of the batter, making whatever design you would like.

Put into the preheat oven and allow to bake for 60-70 minutes.

Introducing: No Spend November!

Instead of celebrating our men's beloved "No Shave November" because let's face it, a woman not shaving can get pretty scary, November is officially "No Spend November."

Don't worry, we're not taking away all your freedom to spend.

The idea is to just work on one area of your spending.

So, select your area (mine is eating out) and stop your spending for 30 days.

And it's okay, because a few other people are going to be doing it with you. Your hosts Paige from A Dose of Paige, Heather from The Life Unexpected, Olivia from The Lovely Sisters, and Kenya from My Pending Life (and of course me!) are doing this all right along with you!

So how does it go down? It's pretty simple.

On November 1st, come to one of our blogs and link up a post about what you're not spending money on in November. It could be anything from not eating out to not buying anymore books. Tell us why you're not spending money on it and tell us what you're going to do when you're tempted to go spend the money. Like, when I'm tempted to go shopping, I'll go play with my dog instead.

Then, stop your spending, unless it's a necessity. Like, if you start a new job and need a new uniform, but you're not spending money on clothes, obviously, buy your uniform. I promise we won't come after you with pitchforks.

On November 15th, come and link up a post on how you're doing. Maybe you're doing fantastic and want to brag about all the money you saved or maybe you're really struggling, maybe even went out and bought a few things/spent money on something and need some encouragement. Either way, we want to hear about it!

Finally, on November 30th, come back one more time and tell us what your experience was. Maybe it was awful and you hated it, even with all the money you saved. Or maybe you're super excited and realized you don't need the thing you stopped spending money on anyway, you love all the money you saved. Maybe you've realized that you can't possibly ever go without the thing you stopped spending money on or maybe it opened up your eyes.

Even if you stop partway through, please link up and share your experience on November 30th!

Whew, that was alot I know but I wanted to make sure you had all the details.
 
So tell me, are you coming back on November 1st and participating?! Sound off in the comments about what you're not going to spend money on!

You Look Great

Last night a friend of a friends told me "you look great, you've lost so much weight!"  This is likely a true statement, I've been lifting, gaining a lot of muscle, muscle increases my metabolism.  The thing is though, that I haven't been getting on a scale weekly.  

You see, I was pretty content with my body, it wasn't perfect but I liked it.  I started lifting because I wanted to be healthier, to feel better.  I still eat pretty much whatever I want, for the most part I try to be good, but that doesn't stop me from having the occasional cheeseburger, with fries, and likely bacon. 

I know that when people comment on how much weight you've lost they're trying to be kind, to be encouraging, and I'm not upset with this acquaintance of mine.  It can be encouraging to hear that.  Here's the deal though, here's what really weighs on my heart.  Do we really have be "skinny" or "thin" to look great? 

I spent a lot of time hating myself.  I hated myself for how fat I was, how I couldn't hold a conversation (not a true statement), how I said such awkward things.  None of this was worth my time.  I eventually realized that, I gained confidence.  I would throw on a pair of heels and stomp around in them like nobody's business.  I was getting to know myself and I decided that I was a pretty cool person. (Fun fact, it helps to have friends around who love you, and don't knock you down all the time.) 

So all of that to say, I don't think I have to be skinny to look great.  I don't mind that one of the affects of lifting is losing a little weight, but it's not really the main goal here.  The main goal is the be strong, gain confidence, get healthy.  Next time you have a friend who has been losing weight, just stop at "you look great."  The weight doesn't matter, it's probably just a new found confidence shining through.

Love, 

Keely

Cupcake Tuesday-Caramel Apple Spice Cupcakes

When the weather starts to get cold I always get really excited.  While the bright sunshine of the spring/summer is certainly beautiful, I just love the cold and DESPISE the heat.  I love being able to wear cardigans and big puffy sweaters.  I love cuddling up with a warm drink and a blanket.  I love the beauty of the snow as it blankets our trees and yards.

The finished product.

All of this to say that I also love the flavors of the fall and the winter.  The smell of cinnamon and nutmeg, the warmth of a spiced cider.  It's all so lovely.  So I made it into a cupcake, because really what else would I do.

Apple Spice Cupcakes
makes 24 cupcakes
2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter, sugar, vanilla and salt.  Beat on medium until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and continue to beat on medium for about a minute.  (I learned the hard way that if you let this go too long it will severely affect the texture...oops!)  While the eggs are mixing in add the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice.

Once the butter mixture is smooth and just fluffy add 1/3 of the flour.  Mix on low, until just incorporated and add the applesauce.  Beat gently.  Add the baking soda and baking powder.  Add another 1/3 of the flour and continue mixing on low.  Add in the sour cream, followed by the last 1/3 of the flour and mix until everything is combined.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix one last time.

I use a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop to fill my cupcake pans, but you can also use two spoons and fill about 2/3 of the way full.  With this batter it's hard to tell because it's pretty thick, which is why the scoop is a good call.

Scoop into lined cupcake pans.  Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow to cool.

Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 8 oz blocks of cream cheese, softened
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup salted caramel sauce*

In a stand mixer, or a bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and the cream cheese until smooth, about 3 minutes on high.  With the mixer on low, start adding the powdered sugar, slowly.  After you have added about half of your powdered sugar, add in the caramel sauce.  Mix thoroughly.  Add the remaining powdered sugar until you have reached your desired consistency. (For me this differs every time, make sure to keep tasting as you go so that it doesn't get too sweet.)  You can add more salt if desired.

Pipe or spread on top of the cooled cupcakes.

*Salted Caramel Sauce
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt.
3/4 cup heavy cream, room temperature

In a medium sauce pan, mix together the sugar, water, corn syrup and salt using a wooden spoon.  Bring to a gentle boil and allow to cook over medium heat until the sugar begins to turn the color of caramel, about 15 minutes.  Make sure to keep an eye on the mixture as it is heating, it can burn very quickly.  Once the sugar is golden in color, remove from heat and slowly pour in the heavy cream while stirring quickly with a wooden spoon.  Transfer to a squeeze bottle or just use a spoon to drizzle onto cupcakes.

My "sneak peak" of the cupcakes that I shared via Instagram.

To finish off my cupcakes I cut thin slices of granny smith apples and coated them in lemon juice (this helps prevent browning).  I then dipped them in the caramel and put them on top of the frosting, letting the caramel drip down.  To be honest, the original plan was to let the caramel stiffen before putting on to the cupcakes, it would probably look prettier and be less messy, but I got tired, and this worked great!

Enjoy!

Love,

Keely

Working on Coming Back

OH MY GOSH!

What a year this has been so far, 2013 you have certainly made me a stronger person.  Here's the major bullet points.

I never expected to be so happy to leave my house after the sun came up.

• January
• My contract for my job at the television production company ended and there weren't any other shows to jump on to, leaving me unemployed.   I got a nice little six week "vacation"
• March
• I started a job in retail, making significantly less money.  My feet hurt a lot and I was very tired.  RETAIL IS HARD PEOPLE.  Anywho, the pay cut leads up to April.
• April
• Due to my paycut I got a second job as a baker.  I went in at night after closing up at the store I was working at, leading to many 10-12 hour days.  I would get to the store at 9:30, leave at 6:15, get to the kitchen around 6:45 and bake until 10.  Sigh. There were a lot of tears, I was alone in the kitchen so it made it easy to let down my guard.
• May
• I started POWERLIFITING? What!?! Yeah, I learned that pointless picking up over 100 pounds off the floor is really fun for me.  These days I'm benching 110, squating 95, overheading 70 and deadlifiting 185.  It's a fun time.
• August
• After working both jobs for a very long time, the owner at the kitchen I was working at offered me a full time job, working from 5 am -2 pm.  I accepted, I just couldn't work many more of those REALLY long days.  Also, after 6 months in retail, it was time for me to get out.
• September
• The job at the kitchen may have been the worst job I have ever had, but I showed up everyday and I work HARD.  I made some great friends, we did our best to have fun in a bad situation, and overall it was still better than working two jobs, however I was still on the hunt for a "better" job.  In my mind this involved a chair, and office, and a computer.  I landed a job as a receptionist with my dad's real estate company (hooray nepotism!)  I started working the new job in the afternoons after finishing up at the kitchen, again working 12 hour days, from 5 am - 5 pm.  At least this time it had an end date, I powered through for 2 weeks, and then it was October.
• October
• I started full time as a receptionist.  I put my heels back on, gussied up my hair and hunted down some blazers.  I get in to the office and throw on my headset and do work.  I really enjoy the new job.  I grew up in the real estate world, it's fun and face paced and always changing.  Also I have great bosses who always encourage me and teach me.  I really want to keep learning and see where this job takes me!

So you see the blog kind of fell by the wayside, well, it fell away quite a long time ago, and I'm sorry.  I was in a bad place, and I didn't want to spread that bad place around the interwebs.  

I'm happy to be back, I'm going to take it slow and try not to overwhelm myself.  I'm not going to stress out if I miss a post, or don't post for a week.  This is supposed to be fun and I'm going to try to keep it that way!

Anywho, here's a bit of what I've been up to.

110 pounds.  Boom.

My friends and I went to a chili festival in Pueblo, got chili?

SADDLE SHOES! Only 7 dollars, in my size at Savers.  YES!

My church turned 20.  My friends and I made dessert, it's how we roll.

Too many of my days looked like this, but NO MORE!  Thank goodness, I now wake up with the sun.

I'm happy to be back, we'll see where this takes us!

Love, 

Keely