Pink Cupcakes and Another Beach Layout

PW made cupcakes so I tried to make some too, icing and all. I used PW's chocolate sheet cake recipe and the cupcakes turned out really nice. This recipe was soooo easy to follow and absolutely delicious. You don't need a mixer to make this one. Try it! This is my first time to do a buttercream icing which I found so yummy. DH though found it a tad too sweet. Pardon the icing but I'm a novice here. It's the best I can do so far. Just have to keep practicing.

Good thing Cocoapantry is just outside our village. That's where I got the icing tip I used for decorating the cupcakes. It's a nice, cozy little store that sells baking stuff. They sell boxes of all sizes & shapes, cupcake liners, baking ingredients such as chocolate, sprinkles and just about anything that concerns baking. They even have vanilla bean pods! The good thing is that you don't have to buy by the dozen. I had planned to send a few cupcakes to my DD's friend as a birthday gift so I also got a box from them. Hmmmm.... I guess I' won't be buying cupcakes anymore soon since I can make them.... If (!) I have the time though! lol!

And here's another beach layout I made of my DS. I used yummy Collage Press papers from Lasting Impression. Sigh! DS is not a baby anymore....

Happy summer to all of you! Where are you off too this summer?

Please check out the gallery of Lasting Impression for materials used for this layout. Check it out for inspiration from April Lim, Pia Lopez & Ria Mojica.

Another Baking Attempt....and Some Pictures

My DS was around again to help me make Oreo Cheesecake. I dumped some Oreos into the blender and gave DS specific instructions.

Ready....

Set.....
Go!!!!

DS jumped up & down and made like he was shaking inside the blender hence the blurred image. I was laughing awfully hard and tried to keep my hands as steady as possible while I took these shots.

Oh and I took some pictures of these lovely flowers outside.... Just makes me wants to sing...
You are my sunshine...
My only sunshine...
You make me happy....

Now back to my cheesecake...

We Made These Today.....

For this brand new year, I told myself I'd spend more time in the kitchen. Aside from scrapbooking blogs, I also regularly visit food blogs and have been inspired by all the baking & cooking these talented people have been doing. I've actually been baking since I was a child. Learned mostly by reading recipe books and watching & helping my mom & aunt bake. There are a few tested recipes I've kept for years and going over them sure brought back good memories.

Today, I tried a peanut butter cookie recipe I found at smittenkitchen.com. We always have chocolate chip oatmeal cookies at home so I decided to try out this one. My youngest DS was my able assistant and made the whole process even more enjoyable. His job was to roll the cookies into small balls & put chocolate chips on top. And his reward for all the hard work? Of course, he got to lick the bowl and spatula!

The verdict? I found them quite delicious, DD & youngest DS gave the thumbs up & eldest DS found them just "ok" because he says he didn't like peanut butter in his cookies (lol)! Try it! Of course, I had to take pictures of these lovelies.