Flashback Friday!

Today I introduce my daughter to the blog, her name is Laila, she is my world.

Halloween 2009 "Laila bug"

This year I was able to reuse the red tutu I made two years ago for Halloween - without a single adjustment!

Halloween 2011 "Olivia the Pig"

So what if only one person knew who my child was dressed up as, without us explaining it to them (if you don't know, google it, it's a cartoon pig with very big ears)! My kid is cute and that trumps the fact that her pig ears resemble bunny ears any day.

We had a lot of fun taking Laila trick-or-treating for the first time. Our community has an older median age range so we were disappointed in the amount of people giving out candy. We got the scoop from some neighbors and we're prepared to go where the action is next year. This year served as a good warm-up.

For now I'm glad there isn't more candy in this house. Laila asks for candy several times a day, most requests are denied. The good thing is that she is dealing with rejection more and more positively.

TGIF, loves!

New name, new look... Still me

Through my own assessment I've embraced the fact that I've been blogging with only my big toe in the pond instead of jumping right in. Blogging can be intimidating. Should I post this or that? What will people think?

There will always be a bit of me who desires to be liked, but I'm getting more comfortable that I may not be everyone's cup o' tea.

I've changed my title because I felt that the last title gave an air of pomp that doesn't resemble what I am about. Part of me would like to be considered a Charlotte York type who has a spotless NY penthouse but I forgo all that for a day of baking in our messy galley (fking tiny) kitchen with our daughter and then saving the mess for tomorrow because we have important things on our agenda, like going to the playground.

Bottom line is that I plan on sharing more of my life and will always be genuine.

XOXO

Stacey

{Wordless Wednesday}

There are no words besides, "GIMME!"

Running Playlist Link Up

Hi there! I know it's been a while since I've posted and I want those who follow this blog to know I appreciate you hanging around. I have some changes that are in the works and once I figure out the logistics of it all I will be revealing a whole new look, name, and I'll be featuring more of my personal life.

Enough on that for now...

I've been meaning to link up with Brandy of mannlymama on a couple of passions we both share: running & music, but thoughts of changing my blog kept me lagging and I also took a running hiatus due to an injury. I finally set an appointment with myself to get back on the pavement while I was dragging ass through work today and I "let" myself download some songs I had been tagging through Shazam (app for iPhone, if you don't have it, GET IT - it will change your life). Running is the best medicine for me and my playlist really kicked my run into high gear. I usually run closer, if not over 11min/mi when I'm getting back into my groove after time off but tonight my average pace was 10:09, with my first mile being sub 10's. So without further ado, the jams that kept me pumping:

Linkin Park - "Waiting for the End," "When They Come for Me," & "Wretches and Kings"

The first song reminds me of things that make me angry and I'm pretty sure I look like I'm running to beat someone up while I listen to it but it gets my adrenaline pumping so hard. The latter two songs have crazy beats that are fun and make me feel badass, and again, I probably look a little nuts.

AWOLNATION - "Sail" {New Download}

This is a song my husband and I both reached to crank up in the car last night, it's just recently got play on the radio and I've only heard it a couple times but it's addicting and unique.

Dev - "In the Dark" & "Bass Down Low (feat. The Cataracts)" {New Downloads}

I typically want a running song to evoke either anger, badass, or sexy feelings. Dev's songs are blatantly sexy and for that, I thank her. Oh, I'm also thankful that she doesn't just say "it's The Cataracts" for the hell of it in her song "In the Dark," I was very confused by that for the longest time.

Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne & Eminem - "Forever" {New Download}

I'm pretty sure I'm late on discovering this song because I've heard bits and pieces for a while now but I finally heard the whole thing on my way to work last week and HAD TO HAVE IT!

New Boyz - "Better With the Lights Off (feat. Chris Brown)"

This is a guilty pleasure song for me, I really wanted to hate it but the cheesy 80's beat has me hooked for life (maybe not, LIFE, life). The song is about telling a girl she "looks better with the lights off" which is just rude, but I do believe they spend the rest of the song explaining why that's a good thing and she's "actually more poppin.'"

I hope ya'll  enjoy and please link your favorite running playlist as well!

Simple Baby Shower

I hosted a baby shower for one of my coworkers and dear friends last week. It was a small get-together of close friends and fellow coworkers so it was held in a little cafe here in town. The cafe is already so quaint and perfect in and of it's self  so I didn't do any decorating but I adorned the tables with treats to snack on before, during, and after our meal. I also included chocolate covered pretzels for each guest as a thank you for attending.

I really appreciate the new trend of "build a library" showers because I'm not a fan of greeting cards but I am a fan of the message they can send; therefore, why not give a child a book that you loved so they can make new memories? After I knew I would hold a library shower I was in search of a vintage-y feeling invite to match the ambiance of the cafe the shower would be held in... Etsy to the rescue, once again! I came across lil Mop Top and had to have these invites! Jen was amazing and made sure every aspect of the invites were perfect, I'm positive I squealed when I got them in the mail. Jen also has a lil Mop Top blog, stop by and leave her some love!

I was in love with these invitations from "GO!"
They've been edited by me for privacy purposes.

Fancy two-bite brownies & mini red velvet cupcakes

Favors

"The Daddy Cake"

I'm starting a new trend for baby showers (at least the ones I host) in what I call "The Daddy Cake". Let's face it, we don't want men at our baby showers (any more than they want to attend any kind of shower) until it's time to haul everything home but I think it's nice to show appreciation to the father of this new bundle he helped make possible : )

Ceramic Egg Cartons Make Me Happy

...that's basically it. I bought two of these ceramic egg cartons at Ross this week for $2.50 each. I would have bought more but two is all they had. There is no name on them and I couldn't find a version like them when I checked eBay and Amazon.

I just love looking at them in my fridge or on my counter.

I was making EatingWell.com's vegetable fried rice when I took these pictures. The recipe is fantastic, a couple of my omissions include: the ginger & the hot red pepper sauce. I used less garlic and I will use less soy sauce next time (coming from a lover of soy sauce).

Fancy Two-Bite Brownies

Cheap & Easy!

I went to good 'ol Wal-Mart looking for a silicone brownie-pop maker I saw just last week, to my dismay it was nowhere to be found. Instead of the brownie-pop maker I settled for a mini muffin pan that makes a whopping 24 "muffins". I'm really happy that I couldn't find that flimsy silicone pan because this mini muffin pan makes a perfect little two-bite brownie, it makes twice as much as the other pan, and it cost half as much (right around $5)!

I chose the easy route for batter

Dollop 1 heaping Tbsp in each 

I had to adjust the bake time for the brownies to about 22 minutes. Just keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't burn. Remove the brownies as soon as you can insert a toothpick in the middle of one of the brownies in the middle of the pan and it comes out clean. 

During bake time you can melt almond bark and then add oil until you get the consistency you desire. Thanks to my friend Kristy for giving me that tip : )

I made my chocolate runny enough to drizzle easily

Let the brownies sit for a few minutes after removing them from the oven, then take them out of the pan and transfer them to a piece of wax paper on your counter. Now you can drizzle your chocolate over them or dunk their tops in the chocolate... I did a little bit of both.

If you were only going to do one kind of topping you could just put the brownies in the fridge for a little bit to harden the chocolate. Since I did some with vanilla topping on them as well, I used the freezer to harden the layer underneath quicker. The freezer worked fast but that also meant that the brownies got a little hard and had to thaw back out. I would just suggest to take them out of the fridge an hour or so before you plan on serving them so they aren't cold or hard. I plan on serving these at a party next weekend and since my husband (the pickiest person alive) likes them, I think they'll be a hit!