Key Lime Cupcakes

Kevin and I are going on almost 5 weeks of NO sugar. So of course I am dreaming about my first indulgence. It might have to be one of these little guys.. Key Lime cupcake recipe (printable version) from Bon Appetit. It looks so tasty that I had to share. If you get to try it before I do, be sure to let me know how fabulous it is.

KEY LIME CUPCAKES
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
1/4 teaspoon neon-green food coloring
3/4 cup buttermilk

FROSTING
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation

CUPCAKES
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Whisk both flours in medium bowl. Beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then next 3 ingredients (batter may look curdled). Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Spoon scant 1/3 cup batter into each liner.
Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool.

FROSTING
Beat all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. Spread over cupcakes

Sasha Baby Wrap Give Away

So my very lovely, and very sassy friend Jessica is hosting several give-aways on her entertaining blog over then next few weeks. Today's give-away is a fabulous baby wrap from Sasha's Impressions. I'm thinking it might be just the thing for Ava. She's like an extra apendage...but oh so adorable.

Click HERE to enter Jessica's give-away. I have to warn you though, once you find her blog, you'll be hooked!

Dumpster Diving and an Unexpected Visitor

Germany has an interesting garbage removal and recycling system. Basically, you have recycle just about everything except dirty diapers, seriously, I'm not kidding. It is a good thing though. I feel as though I am doing my part to be a little kinder to our planet. When we moved to Texas after four years of a very Green life, I had a hard time with all of the waste that our family threw in the trash. Actually, we just received info that our old community in Rockwall, TX is beginng a recycling program. Go Rockwall!!

Anyway, in Germany, they basically don't have a service for getting rid of large pieces of furniture or unwanted household items. Instead, they have "Junking Days". I wish we had our household goods and I could take pictures of all of the fabulous things that we have found over the years through Junking Days....Kaden's bedroom night stand (which we refinished), the red chair that I use to have in my entry way, the solid wood round table that was in my living room, the two cute chairs in my bedroom (which my mom helped me make slipcovers for).....just to name a few.

So a few days after we moved into our home, we noticed that our neighbor had a black leather sectional outside on the curb infront of her home. Not wanting to be too presumptuous, I asked if she was getting rid of it and if so, if I could have it. It was perfect for our game/toy room in the basement. She said, "Yes", and I couldn't wait for Kevin to get home to help me haul our treasure home.

We had kind of a busy evening, and by the time that we got the kids in bed and had time to get the sectional it was about 11 p.m. Although we share a fence with this neighbor, to get to the front of her house was about a two block walk. Now two blocks is a short distance to walk, unless you are carrying a heavy leather sofa. Luckily, the sectional came apart into three pieces. The first piece Kevin and I carried home together. However, half way there, I started laughing hysterically (must have been the hour) and it took me about 10 mins. to regain my composure enough to muster the stamina for the rest of the journey back to our house. Kevin threw the middle section over his shoulder and huffed it home by himself as I was still laughing. What a stud I'm married to. Finally, we realized that we had a wheelbarrow at the house which proved to be quite handy with the last piece of the sofa.


So we had all three pieces infront of our home, we just needed to carry them into the house and down the stairs. Kevin had a brilliant idea to bypass the stairs, take the furniture through the backyard, down the slope, and into the house through the walk out basement. On our way down, we found this little guy rolled up tight in a ball and sleeping in the grass. Lucky for us we didn't step on him first. We lovingly nicknamed him "Hedgy" and Kevin was as giddy as a kid in a candy store. He loves little critters.

This picture shows Hedgy unrolling a little bit. He was so cute. We learned that hedgehogs hibernate during the winter. Sometimes the young ones don't find a very safe place for their long winter nap, and Germans will rescue them, put them in a shoebox, and keep them safe in their basement all winter. Seriously, they do this. I guess it's pretty common.

Kevin was so excited, that he insisted on waking up Kaden to show him what we found in our backyard. Kade is a little dazed in this picture, but he thought it was pretty cool. How many kids can say that they have actually held a hedgehog? Good thing that Hedgy slept through it all, I'm not sure how aggressive they can be. Come to think about it, we probably should have checked into that before bringing a wild animal into our house and waking up our slumbering son insisting that he touch it.

After Hedgy's photo shoot and play date, we carefully set him back outside and continued to carry our sectional downstairs. Ahhh....finally finished. What a night!

Free Grilled KFC Dinner

I read about this on my friend Rachel's blog. She is the queen of great deals and I wanted to pass this one along. I seriously never thought I would use the words grilled and KFC in the same sentence.

Compliments of KFC and Oprah. You can print up to 4 coupons and they are good until May 19th.

Here's the link! http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090430-tows-kfc-coupon-download

For All of my Military Friends

You may or may not have heard of the wonderful incentive Disney is offering to military members through the end of the year. I found the following article here.

This year, through "Disney's Armed Forces Salute", a family vacation just may be within your reach.

From January 4, 2009 through December 23, 2009, all active duty or retired members of the US military are eligible to receive a free five day pass with park hopper and water park options! The ticket is valid for five days of admission into the four Walt Disney World theme parks, plus a total of five visits to a choice of a Disney water park, DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive Theme Park along with a few other attractions.

During this time period, active duty and retired military members can also purchase up to five companion tickets for family members and/or friends for $99 each plus tax. The park hopper and water park option can be added to this deal for an additional $25 per ticket.There are also deals for military families this year at Disney's Moderate Resorts, up to 40% off of the advertised rate. Don't forget that Shades of Green is a resort on the Disney property in Florida that is available for all military at a reasonable rate as well as the Armed Forces Vacation Club nearby.

If you have always wanted to take your family on a Disney Vacation but couldn't afford it, don't let this opportunity pass you by!

The Royal Treatment for your Little Piggies

I was shopping at Sally's Beauty Supply the other day and came across the best little invention that I have seen in a long time. The PegEgg promises to leave you with silky smooth heels after your first use. Years of ballroom dancing and barefoot froliking have taken their toll on my little piggies and I couldn't wait to try it out. I only wish that I had discovered this little gem at the beginning of summer instead of towards the end. I was not disappointed. I highly reccomend this little baby!

Website propiganda: "The PegEgg contains precision micro-files that gently remove calluses and dead skin to give your feet the incredible baby soft look and feel that everybody loves. Two high quality emery buffing pads are included for the ultimate finishing touch. The unique “egg” shape of the PedEgg is ergonomically designed to fit perfectly into the palm of your hand for easy and convenient use. Best of all, PedEgg™ has been designed to collect all the skin shavings in a convenient storage compartment allowing you to use it anywhere with no mess."

http://www.pedegg.com/