...And may the odds be ever in your favor!

Well, I did it. I waited in line, outside and excitedly stayed awake for a midnight showing of a movie. (check one more thing off the list...)

Yep, that's right. I was right there with all of the teenie-boppers, crazy college kids, and random smattering of adults to be some of the first of the non-celeb people of the real world to see this movie. And I am happy to say... it was really good. Obviously, I know they cannot include every detail from the book into the movie. And I've for sure been analyzing all of the things they missed. But I thought it was over-all a GREAT book-to-movie translation of the story.

Now, I can't wait until the next one! Have they started filming that yet?? I just might have to go to another midnight showing...

2 years...

Tuesday marked my second wedding anniversary. Two years that I have been spending my life with the same person. Having adventures, laughing, crying, fighting our selfishness, loving fiercely, and walking with the Lord.

 

We have lived a lot of life in these two years. In reflecting on our life so far, I am reminded of how much I love this man and all of the reasons why I'm so glad he is in my life. I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else. I'm excited for what God has in store in the years to come. 

If given the choice to go back, I would pick him and do it all over again. 

 

 

New Baked Good: March

So this is the one really meant for March. (I bet you couldn't tell, though, right?) My sister, who probably loves to bake more than I do, found this recipe on Pinterest and sent me the link. I knew I had to make these. Not only are they super cute and festive for St. Patrick's Day, they are exactly the kind of fancier good I wanted to make this month.

These fun little cupcakes are Lucky Charms cupcakes with marshmallow buttercream frosting. The original can be found on a site Just Call Me Maria. I took her suggestion and made mini ones- which made like 72 cupcakes.

Lucky Charms Cupcakes 

1 box white cake mix

3 eggs

¾ cup sour cream

¾ cup milk

1/3 vegetable oil
½ tsp vanilla extract

½ cup finely crushed Lucky Charms (cereal pieces only, no marshmallows)

~25 drops green food coloring

Marshmallow Buttercream

4 ½ cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup room temperature unsalted butter

1 (13 oz) container marshmallow fluff

Optional: Green sprinkles

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with liners.
2. In a large bowl blend cake mix, eggs, sour cream, milk, oil, and vanilla extract.
3. Mix in drops of green food coloring until desired color is achieved.
4. Mix in finely crushed Lucky Charms crumbs until combined.
5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter and bake 18-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.
6. Take cupcakes out and let cool completely.
7. In a medium bowl beat room temperature butter with an electric mixer.
8. Add two cups of the powdered sugar, the vanilla, and the marshmallow fluff and mix until smooth. Continue to add the powdered sugar, a half cup at a time, mixing between each addition. 
9. Pipe onto each cooled cupcake. Top with green sprinkles and a Lucky Charms marshmallow (do not top with Lucky Charm marshmallow until ready to eat*).

Tip: Marshmallow buttercream may become difficult to mix. If it becomes too stiff, stop adding powdered sugar and finish mixing by hand. *The Lucky Charms will get mushy and loose their crispness if they remain on top of the frosting too long before eating.

Voila! 

 

The only thing I wish is that I had used more green food coloring. We only had the gel stuff, so I wasn't sure of the equivalent to drops. They were a lot of fun to make and SUPER delicious! I took them to work and didn't have to bring any home! This recipe was definitely a great find. Thanks, Linds!

New Baked Good!

So... I failed at baking something new in February. Obviously, now that it is March 10th. To make up for it, I am baking TWO new things in March. The first one I made today. 

My sister loves to bake, too, and she's always sharing fun recipes with me. She shared this one a while ago and I immediately knew I had to try it. Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies from the recipe blog Lovin' from the Oven. 

• 1 stick softened butter
• 6 Tablespoons sugar
• 6 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ¼ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 11 broken pieces Oreo Cookies
• 1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter, and sugars until well combined. Add egg and vanilla until mixed well.

2. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl, stir to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients then stir in oreos and chocolate chips until just combined.

3. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop onto baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until cooked, but still soft. Let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

They are SO delicious!  Though I think next time, I would break up the Oreos a bit more. They are definitely a make-again cookie!