Valentine's Day Decor

Ok......don't kill me I waaaayy late with this post, but I had to post it. I recently added working out to my already hectic schedule and literally pass out even faster, lol. I wanted to share my holiday decor with you guys. I switched up my gallery wall a bit and added a few new pieces. I love it, I think I may add a few more things but I have to be inspired.

Valentine's Day was great! I took Croix out on a a date to this really good Mexican restaurant, I made homemade heart donuts for my co-workers and Croix made the cutest card at daycare. What can I say I'm a lucky mama :)

Here is old layout

 

and here is the NEW layout

 

and WHAALLAA......

 

 

 

I made this Valentine's Mailbox, so we can make Valentine's and "send" them to each other, lol! :)

 

isn't my little card cute!!!

 

in the words of Croix "Mmmmmm YUMMY"

 

 

 

xoxo ;)

 

 

 

Random Acts of Kindness : V-Day Style

Valentine's Day is approaching.........I hear a few "YAAAAY's" and some "BOOOOOO's" lol! But lets look at this in an universal way shall we.....Valentine's day isn't just for couples, its for everyone. Why not take this opportunity to do a random act of kindness?? Kindness is best and most genuine when it's least expected. Surprise someone in your life or a complete stranger with fun random acts of kindness and watch how excited they become. I listed a few things and pulled a few things together that I saw online just for some examples:

Give valentine cards anonymously. Everyone loves being loved. Bring cheer to someones day by mailing or secretly handing out valentine cards, but keep it to yourself whom it's from.

Donate time to a local charity. Those who hurt the most need the most encouragement. Use Valentine's Day to volunteer for a local community charity, nursing home, soup kitchen, or homeless center. (Also consider donating money or unused items.)

Send flowers to a stranger. If you have someone in your office, group, or organization that needs a boost up but you don't know personally, why not send them flowers to brighten his or her day?

Buy (or bake) for someone else. Are you planning to go out to eat at a restaurant or shopping for groceries for a nice Valentine's dinner? Buy someone else's meal or pay for the person after you in line at the store. If you know someone in need, cook a dinner or bake a treat and hand-deliver it.

Hug (or call) a family member. Hug a relative you know has been struggling lately or is lonely. Are you not geographically close? Call them and tell them you are thinking about them. Offer to help or just be a listening ear.

Show extra consideration. Give up your spot in line. Offer your seat to someone else. Explain something twice graciously. Forgive accidents. Compliment a friend or loved one. Help an injured or elderly person.

Take out an appreciated person. Treat someone you really appreciate on a daily basis to a nice dinner out on the town. Tell him how helpful he is to you and how much he matters.

Babysit for a busy couple. Help give quiet time to a married couple or SINGLE PARENT (single parents need love too, lol) you know by offering to babysit on Valentine's Day. They'll likely seize the opportunity and be very grateful!

Thank a teacher. This applies to a school teacher, daycare provider or even the basketball coach. Send a friendly email or letter of appreciation to them. Better yet, give them a call to say thank you.

Of course, the list of acts of kindness is endless. You are only limited by your imagination when showing love and care to others around you. True kindness comes from the heart. Think of ways you can help others, and put the needs of others first this Valentine's Day. As the saying goes, "It's better to give than to receive," so I say lets try it out.

I did a Random Valentine's Day Act of Kindness today for my neighbor. I made her a goodie bag of Hersey's kisses and hung it from her door knob so she will be surprised when she gets home. Take a look below. I made a cute little card and BAM!!! Random act of kindness :)

 

#RandomVdayActofKindness

What will you do? :)

 

Cookies n Cream Cupcakes Recipe

As promised here is the recipe for my Cookies n Cream Cupcakes. I got this idea of these cupcakes from Pinterest (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE PINTEREST). Pinterest is just a happy place to be, HAHA! These cupcakes are SOOOOOOOOO good and the icing is just EVERYTHING!! I can't even explain how good the icing is, you just have to make them. A lot of you have asked me for the recipe so here it is. I made these for my potluck at work and they were a hit! Hope they are as good for you as they were for me, lol.

 

Cupcake Ingredients: 

24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk
20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped

Icing Ingredients:

8 oz. whipped cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar sifted
2 tbsp. heavy whipping cream
Oreo cookie crumbs
24 Oreo cookie halves

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Cupcake Directions:

Preheat the oven 350F. Line the cupcake wells with paper liners. Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner cream side up. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir together with a fork and set aside. In another large size bowl combine butter and sugar and beat together on medium speed until fluffy for about two minutes. You can use a mixing spoon for this too if you don't have a mixer, but I promise you your arm will get TIRED, lol! Blend the egg whites one at a time, beating or mixing well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients just until you incorporate everything together pretty good. Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Gently fold in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over mix.

Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting Directions:

Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium size bowl and beat on medium-high speed until smooth for about 1-2 minutes (or you can use a mixing spoon but again your arm will be TIRED, lol....TRUST ME). Add the heavy whipping cream to the bowl and beat on low speed or mix just to incorporate the cream, whip or mix until creamy.

Frost the cooled cupcakes as you like. Sprinkle the Oreo crumbs and garnish with an Oreo halves and BAM!!!!! Your done......ENJOY!!!

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Take pictures of your creations and send to llovescinc@gmail.com and I will post them on my blog. Can't wait to see them :)

YO GABBA GABBA!!!!

YO GABBA GABBA, YO GABBA GABBA, YO GABBA GABBAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.........Ok now that I got that out my system, lol. Croix and I went to see Yo Gabba Gabba : Get the Sillies out and it was a GREAT SHOW!!! Highly recommend it to all parents. It was colorful, the music was fun, there was lots of dancing. We went to the Modell Performing Arts Center in Baltimore, MD. They had paper confetti shooting from the ceiling, bubbles being blown. It really was a great show. All the kids were super excited including Croix. I can't wait to take him to see other shows like this. He really enjoyed himself and so did I, seeing him happy makes me happy :).  Enjoy a few photos from our show.

Posing for mommy in his Yo Gabba shirt

 

Getting settled waiting for the show to start. Pretty good seats huh?

 

 

HEYYYY DJ LANCE!!!

 

Can you see the confetti?

 

 

 

Check out Croix getting is groove on

 

 

 

 

HAPPY "LATE" NEW YEAR!!!

Ok, I know I'm late, but I've been unvoluntarily busy.....this is my first official post of 2013......HAPPY NEW YEEAAAARRR and all that good stuff, lol. Didn't do anything fancy for New Years. I had a New Years party right at home with me and Croix, lol. Then I tried to keep him up till Midnight, and he gave it a fighting chance. But he crashed at 11:45 pm. He tried, lol! So I made a few resolutions this year for myself and they go alittle something like this:

1.  Start back working out on a consistent schedule.
2.  Start my very own Event Design business.
3.  Play in a recreation basketball league.
4.  Take a REAL vacation somewhere with Croix.
5.  Devote more time for myself to have an actual social life.
6.  Celebrate my birthday (sounds wierd, but I really never do anything on my birthday)
7.  Continue steps to become a homeowner.

........Thats about all I got, nothing to fancy, lol. Check out a few photos of our NYE EXTRAVAGANZA!! Lol

 

 

 

 

Hope your NYE was just as fun as ours! :)