Couples Shower Cupcakes

One of my oldest friends, Cyle, is getting married in November and I am so excited for him. His bride, Julie, is so much fun to be around and I'm so excited for her to join our group. Last weekend, Julie's sister Lindsey hosted a Couples Shower for the bride and groom. Of course I wanted to make the cupcakes!

My Mom recently gave me a new Cricut Cake and I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to try it out. I made Margarita Cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese frosting. Then I made a couple dozen of these cupcake toppers:

The "c" is for Caplinger, the bride's new last name.

Here is the happy couple with their cupcakes:

Practicing for their big day!

On a side note, here are their gifts that I decorated with my regular Cricut:

The shower was a huge success!

1st Anniversary Celebration at our Aquarium Shop

Last month, our store Reef Remedies, had it's first anniversary. Alex and I opened the shop on July 1st, 2009. Time flies and things have gone really well for us. I decided to have a celebration for us and as a thank you to our awesome customers.

Our refreshment table. We had pink lemonade, iced tea, nachos (Alex's pick!), cookies, and cupcakes.

I made these cupcake wrappers using my Cricut machine. There is a new cartridge out that has over 50 different wrappers. I love it!

My Mom and I made goody bags for the kids. We have quite a few little kids that come in to our shop, especially on Saturdays. I love how they get so excited looking at all the fish tanks.

The celebration was a huge success. So many of our friends and family stopped by to see us, and I was full of joy on that day. Owning our own business is definitely a challenge, but I wouldn't give it up for anything. :)

CSN Stores Review: A Great Experience!

I recently had the pleasure of doing a second review for CSN Stores. By now you have probably heard of CSN Stores, they literally have everything from cookware to a new bathroom sink.

I tried out the Le Creuset Stoneware baking dish and I LOVED it. I already own a big Dutch oven from Le Creuset, so I wanted to try out some of their other products.

I had a question about the ordering process, so I called customer service on a Saturday afternoon. The gentleman that I spoke with was incredibly polite and answered all of my questions. I was impressed that their customer service was available on the weekend, most companies don't offer that kind of service.

My order arrived quickly and packed very well. CSN Stores does a great job of insuring that your purchase arrives in its intended condition. They also use recyclable materials, which is good for the environment, too.

I decided to make roast potatoes in my new baking dish, and they turned out great. This baking dish was the perfect size for our household, since I usually only cook for two.

I also loved the fact that this bakeware cleaned up SO easily. Thank you CSN Stores for the awesome customer service and great products!

Disclaimer: These words are my own. I was not compensated by CSN Stores for this review. I was provided with the bakeware seen above.

MSC: Triple Citrus Cupcakes

For the month of August, Marthe from Culinary Delights chose the Triple Citrus Cupcakes from the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book. I saw Martha make these on her TV show quite some time ago and I remember being shocked at the amount of butter in these bad boys. But hey, at least you are getting some vitamin C! :)

These were very simple to make. I used key limes instead of regular limes, and they turned out great. I liked the fresh taste of these cupcakes, but I could definitely taste the egg in them. I halved the recipe, and even with the recipe halved, it still required 4 and a half eggs!

Alex and I went over to his grandparents' house today, and these cupcakes were perfect. Alex's grandfather is a big fan of anything orange flavored.

The book recommended that these cupcakes be served the day they are topped with the glaze, and that is most certainly the case. Overall these were a good pick, especially in comparison to my failures from the last couple of months. Check back next month...we are making the Cookies and Cream cupcakes. These sound amazing!

MSC: Citrus Cupcakes Coming Soon

I haven't had an opportunity to make these yet due to my big cupcake project yesterday. More posts coming soon!