Insta-Muffin

Here I am again...attempting to get back in the swing of blogging. There are several reasons as to why I haven't kept up with it lately...
1. I'm lazy
2. I don't have anything to say
3. I'm lazy
All legit reasons right?!

For my first post back in awhile I have a short collection of some Instagram photos taken lately.

 Willie and Livy hanging out in Wilmington. Willie just loves the camera. 

Map of Birmingham found in a book at work.

Tiny and I signing a petition at Lush against animal testing. 

Family reunion = sunburn. First sign of summer.

On a very exciting side note, my friend Cheri is opening a furniture, jewelry, and clothing store in the Kernersville area called Accent Prone! The website is still in the works but until their June 2nd grand opening go "Like" their Facebook page. Glad someone's actually putting their Entrepreneurship degree to good use! Congrats Cheri! :) 

More posts to come, PROMISE!

xoxo,

Your Muffin Top Mistress

Homemade doughnuts...donuts?

While it's debatable how exactly to spell doughnuts donuts whatever...what's not debatable is how stinkin delicious they are. It takes all the will power I possess to not order a dozen donuts every time I get coffee from Dunkin Donuts. The only thing stopping me is the fact that my mid section has started to take on a similar round shape...the name "muffin top" was definitely chosen for multiple reasons.
In my life I go through phases, from a health phase to a baking phase and back to a health phase because the baking phase took over my bod and you get the gist. With the purchase of a new doughnut pan I would say I am on a baking phase full force.

I made my first batch of homemade donuts the other day and for a first attempt I would say they turned out pretty swell. Since I didn't use yeast and they were baked instead of fried, these donuts took on a more muffin-like consistency. In fact, because of my inability to follow the "fill 2/3 of the way" direction, many of the donuts even came out looking like a muffin.
Call me a glutton.


Recipe: (background YouTube mix optional)

Mix together:
4 tablespoons room temperature butter
1/2 cup of sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla (I used Trader Joe's Bourbon Vanilla)
Sift together:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp spice (whatever you prefer, I used pumpkin pie spice which contains cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg)
Icing: 
I followed Alton Brown's recipe. 

Preheat oven at 350°F.
Spray doughnut pan generously.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture a 1/2 cup at a time and alternating with a 1/2 cup of milk. (This makes the doughnut extra fluffy.)
Fill the pan 2/3 of the way. I repeat, 2/3. Not overflowing as I previously did.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until donuts are done.
Remove from pan while still hot and drizzle with vanilla glaze.
I chose to add some cinnamon sugar on top to give it a little something extra. 

and VOILA!

Doughnuts! Donuts! Ra ra ra!

Now I am going through a few cupcake recipe books to draw flavor inspiration for my next batch :)

Happy Fat Tuesday Wednesday!

xoxo,
Your Muffin Top Mistress

Be Mine.

Valentine's Day is tomorrow and in order to celebrate, I've collected a few of my favorite Valentine's themed items!

Pink polka dot cake with Valentine's Hershey's Kisses

"LOVE" earring set purchased last year from Forever 21 (doy!)

XOXO and Love dish towel that's on display more than just February 14th

New hot pink tea pot from World Market! Probably my most favoritest purchase. 

Yes, most favoritest.

And of course, snuggling with my baby!!

I also put together a few date appropriate outfits, whether your plans are fancy or more casual. 

A red dress is of course an obvious choice, adding a lace detail gives it a little something extra.

The little black dress is always a staple and turquoise will make everything pop.

Green may seem unconventional but will guarantee you stand out on your date!

 For anyone with more casual plans, here are a few more cute ideas.

You can trade out the heels for flats or even booties. Considering I never wear heels, this would probably be the best option for myself. 

Though the sequin shirt may seem pretty fancy, slouchy boyfriend jeans and oxford style booties dress down the outfit. 

So there's my Valentine's Day post for you guys! I'll be spending mine eating that entire cake. 

No joke. 

xoxo,

Muffin Top Mistress

Keep Calm and Eat Donuts.

You know you're a fat girl when you cut up Dunkin Donut coupons and store them in your car for those "just in case" moments. You never know when a donut craving is gonna hit and it's best to have that "free donut with the purchase of a medium beverage" handy! So I just googled "Dunkin Donuts" to post a picture that will send you drooling and running for the closest donut shop and instead I find a sketch of a naked lady sitting on top of a donut...WHO in their right mind wants to be naked while eating a donut? Let alone eating in general but a donut? She's also very tiny-now that's just false advertising. Instead I'll post this picture taken of some donuts purchased over Christmas break.

Sadly this is also my phone background.

Currently I am on my porch sitting in my new free dump rocking chair. Yep, I said dump. For all I know it's infested with termites but until it falls apart, it's nice to actually have something on our porch aside from a burnt piece of toast and a dead lettuce plant. Inside the apartment is nice and cozy and the outside is a trailer park. The poor apartments around us are probably filing complaints as we speak...It's hard to justify spending money on patio furniture when it's too cold to even go outside. Now that it's February 1st and oddly mid-60s out, patio furniture is all I want to buy! But knowing this weather, tomorrow will be back to freezing so any purchases will have to wait till Spring actually arrives instead of this teasing back and forth.

Today I will post some creative ideas I've found on Pinterest (of course.) that I plan to one day attempt.

I saw an idea similar to this back on one of my favorite blogs (the original idea was to stack several old suitcases on top of each other to form a side table) but this idea looks more put together and purposeful. 

I've become obsessed with chandeliers and have been looking into different DIY techniques, this one being my favorite. Even though it's a Do-It-Yourself project, this one still costs a few hundred dollars. Creating one on a smaller scale would be more inexpensive and still gorgeous. 

This idea is probably my favorite. Using cut up old toilet paper rolls you can create this funky wall decoration. I would probably spray paint mine a mustard yellow to give it a more finished look. I have already been saving my used rolls in preparation for a possible bracelet holder idea but will now use them for this even better idea! You could even use it as a centerpiece or candle holder.

On a completely different note, I found this awesome 5k that will be held in Charlotte next October. I know, it's forever away but it looks SO fun! The Color Run Look it up yo.

Definitely going to sign up once registration opens! 

Now go cut up those Dunkin Donuts coupons - you'll thank me one day!

xoxo,

Muffin Top Mistress

Pinteresting.

Pinterest has been my newest obsession-I still don't quite understand it but it's perfect for just browsing and getting DIY ideas and tips.
My latest project is spray painting old wine bottles and recycling them into new shiny vases for around the apartment.

I used a chrome finish to give the wine bottles a shiny, mirror effect.

 Make sure to lay down newspaper around the surface area since spray paint can tend to have a mind of its own. 

Process make take a few coats (this was only after one)

Final product! May have to do another coat later today but unfortunately it decided to downpour about ten minutes after I finished the first coat so I had to quickly bring the bottles inside. 

Just an easy and inexpensive way to reuse your old wine bottles! I know you all have them...or maybe that's just me.Whatevs.

xoxo,

Muffin Top Mistress

Polyvore, oh how I adore.

I recently discovered a website called Polyvore that lets you create a graphic collage of sorts dealing with interior design, art, and fashion. It's kinda like the new paper dolls or barbies-minus the paper cuts and add the better clothing.

Since I'm too broke to shop and too sick to even get off the couch, these two sets I created are a good alternative.

xoxo,

Muffin Top Mistress

"In cadence!"

It has been two days since I completed the 60 minutes Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Boot Camp dvd-holy. moly. Muscles hurt that I never knew existed, definitely should have started out a little slower but at least now I know the dvd works!


Pros: Worked a lot of my trouble areas such as the inner and outer thigh as well as my batoots!
The idea of having a DCC bod.


Cons: The instructor: If I have to hear "in cadence?" "in cadence!" one more time I may scream.
Down time: While I definitely needed the breaks, the video was a little slow and drawn out.

Summary of my day:

• Showered using my new Lush Ro's Argan Body Conditioner - this stuff is beyond amazing. Thanks to the recommendation of my sister Caroline, I now have the softest, most amazing smelling skin. I don't typically go for Rose scented items but this shower lotion is heavenly and lasts throughout the day. 

Body Conditioner found here! 

• Made my typical Glowing Green Smoothie for breakfast.
• Tried out one of Kimberly Snyder's recipes for Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes"

 I didn't end up using the oregano but I did use waaay too much garlic - A taste I found impossible to get out of my mouth despite brushing, Listerine, gum, and even coffee.

• Went to Michael's and purchase a few items for an upcoming DIY project using old wine bottles as well as this necklace display.  

I usually keep my jewelry scattered throughout several random bowls and boxes and often forget just what I own. For the past few weeks I've been displaying my most worn necklaces with the help of my bathroom shelves. 

This new display is a much less crusty way of showing off my favorite necklaces.

Next jewelry project: Organizing my watches and bracelets!

xoxo,

Your Muffin Top Mistress

WARNING: The word "loaf" is used below.

Today I made my first loaf (ew.) of gingerbread! It wasn't exactly "homemade" but using the Old Mill's Gingerbread Mix made it seem a little more special.

All I had to do was add boiling water and oil then bake. The bread turned out daaank if I do say so myself! 

Excuse the unflattering knife pokes in the center. 

And of course the most obvious of directions-using your crazy cat lady oven mitt! It's essential to the fluffiness of the bread, I swear.

So now I will go sit my lazy butt down, force my cat to nap beside me, and enjoy an enormous slice of gingerbread. 

xoxo,

MuffinTopMistress

Resolutions commence!

I have too much free time these days. I really should be looking for a full time job but what's a girl to do when she loves her part time job so much?! I get to look at beautiful clothes and work with amazing people. And the 40% off apparel ain't so shabby either!
So for now I will rely on checking off some of my 12 Things To Do in 2012 items!

1. A new recipe: Quinoa Stuffed Peppers found here! This yummy looking recipe is from Kimberly Snyder's blog (the nutritionist who wrote The Beauty Detox Solution I spoke about in a previous post)
Pictures and post of this recipe to come!

2. New work outs: Monday I purchased several work out dvds from Amazon.com that I am BEYOND excited about! During the winter I find it extreeemely hard to force myself to go to a gym, especially when it gets dark at 5 o'clock and all I wanna do is cuddle on the couch. Having dvds gives my flub no excuses!
List of videos:
Skinny Bitch Fitness: Booty Bounce (Read the Skinny Bitch book my junior year and very interested to see what the work out dvd is like-anything to do with bouncing a booty sounds right up my alley!)
Core Fusion Cardio - Pure Intensity
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Boot Camp (Honestly, who doesn't want their bodies??)
Look Better Naked  (Self-explanatory.)
They should be arriving tomorrow so I will have full reviews of each dvd after completion (hopefully completion...)

3. More DIY crafts: I have two empty wine bottles (soon to be 3) and I'm looking for a fun project to use them in - anyone have tips or ideas?

4. Eating clean 2x a week: This will probably prove to be THE most difficult resolution of all. If you know me at all you know my affinity to all things fat girl and the high I get from baking. Thankfully the tips and recipes from the Beauty Detox Solution book are very helpful and really motivate me to whip my everyday diet into shape!
This is my personal favorite: Glowing Green Smoothie, nom nom nom!

Recipe found here!

I leave out the celery because it's disgusting and substitute in cilantro.

Please leave any wine bottle/cork ideas in the comments below! 

Favies Favies Favies!

Since I just spent an obscene amount of time revamping the layout and design of the blog, here's a quick post on my current obsessions.

 

My list of 12 things to do in 2012: perhaps posting it for the world to see will give me more motivation!

New favy candle in Sugar Blossom ($10 from Target)

Cute mug collection on display 

I HIGHLY recommend this book-only 1/4 of the way through and I've already learned so much! 

Sally Hansen Smooth and Perfect nail polish in Sea

Roasted Chickpea Tacos (my version of this Peas and Thank You recipe)

Next post I'll share some of the tips I've learned from The Beauty Detox Solution book so come back sooooon!

xoxo,

MuffinTopMistress

The natural progression of resolutions to cheeses.

Thanksgiving has been devoured.
All the Christmas presents have been opened.
And New Years Eve was its typical failure.

With the holiday season behind us work as gotten MUCH slower, many more on call shifts and unfortunately many less dolla dolla bills. So what's left to do but blog!
To say it's been awhile would be a vast understatement and knowing myself my next post will probably be another 6 months from now. I apologize in advance.
and now on to New Years Resolutions. Typically I opt for the traditional resolution, to "work out" and "eat healthier" knowing that it always turns into "bake more" and "watch Paula Deen marathons."

I just can't help myself! Once I get on a sugar kick (which is always) I just can't stop. It's a monster and as am I when I can't find chocolate. Yesterday I went to Target in hopes that trying on bathing suits would be enough motivation to jump start my spring bod. Instead I left the dressing room depressed and heading for the cookie aisle. And what did I leave Target with? A Cosmopolitan magazine, candle, and double chocolate chunk cookie mix...For heavens sake Sarah! I managed to purchase the most girly and pathetic items all in one swoop! Did I mention that I also ate the cookies and read Cosmo WHILE watching The Bachelor?
Top notch,
I hit my fat girl peak as I shrilled with delight when I thought Bachelor Ben was taking Kacie B. to a cheese factory.

A simple walk around Sonoma? What a let down Ben...And what evil camera man zoomed in on a cheese factory sign that had nothing to do with the date?
How did I digress from resolutions to cheese? Typical...

xoxo,
Muffin Top Mistress