Add to Your Bookshelf: Color Board Books

One of my favorite things to do on Instagram is to talk about books I'm reading, and I realized it was high time I brought it over to the blog! Welcome to "Add to Your Bookshelf." I'll be posting throughout the year some of my favorite books on a particular topic, for kids and grownups. These will be a mix of books I own plus ones I've checked out from the library. I don't believe you have to own a book to enjoy it, but I do buy my kids a whole lot of books!

Clockwise from top left: Big Book of Colors, Alice in Wonderland, Pantone Colors, ABC Color

Today we're talking all things colors! I grew up with a creative, artistic mom, so I love books that foster creativity. A few years ago I realized I didn't have a lot of books specifically on colors, so I've sought to change that. Now my kids (and I!) are learning about tons of new colors. Bonus? It's hilarious when your four year old tells his teacher that cerulean is his favorite color.

First up, Usborne's Big Book of Colors. This book has one page for each of the colors of the rainbow, plus lots of fun extras like a color wheel. It also lists specific colors like "caterpillar green" or "deer brown" and uses an incredibly large variety of hues for each color. This book is very large and very sturdy, making it feel more preschooler than toddler, which Tessa (almost 4) really likes. I've linked to the book on Amazon so you can see it, but the best way to buy Usborne books is through a consultant! Ask around to see if you know one, or ask me and I can put you in touch with the one I buy from.

I bought ABC Color for Tessa last Christmas because it combines her love of the alphabet and colors. I was not disappointed! This book runs through unusual colors that correspond to the ABCs. The illustrations are darling, and it's just the right length for a shorter attention span. Similar to the Usborne book, the pages are sturdy but not quite board-book style.

Pantone Colors is brand new to our bookshelf. I ordered it for Theia for Christmas this year. I have to be honest, this book might actually be more for me! I love Pantone colors, and have always wanted a book or art print with a few. When I found this board book, I couldn't pass it up. Pantone Colors includes one page spread per color-- on the left is a grid of Pantone color swatches, on the right is a picture using multiple shades of the color. This is a visually exciting book that is perfect for little eyes learning to appreciate new colors. There is no story to read, so I like this as a reference book or what we call a "look at it book" more than a story time choice.

Finally, Alice in Wonderland: A Babylit Color Primer. BabyLit has been a long-time favorite of mine. (As you can see from the photos, this book has been well loved!) They take classic books and turn them into board books. We have a number of these that cover everything from counting to emotions to flowers. Alice is their color book, and it's filled with delightful illustrations. It might be especially fun if your children enjoy the Alice in Wonderland movies.

Share your favorite colors book in the comments. I'd love to add it to my library!

Christmas Cards with Basic Invite

The holidays are almost upon us, which means it's time for one of my very favorite things: Christmas cards! Friends, I adore Christmas cards. I spend hours each year choosing the perfect card for our family to send out to our loved ones. When friends and family send me cards, I hang them on a wall throughout the Christmas season and them save them in my holiday scrapbook. I've begun telling friends that the best Christmas gift you can give to me is a holiday photo card.

This year, I've had the privilege of working with Basic Invite to create a beautiful holiday card. Over the years, I have used many different websites to create Christmas cards with photographs. I've had years where I loved my cards and the ordering process, and years where the process and the results were disastrous (don't even ask me about 2014!). Basic Invite made the process of creating and ordering my cards easy, and the results are stunning.

Here are a few of my favorite Basic Invite features:

Almost Unlimited Colors - Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers almost unlimited color options with instant previews online. Once you select a design you can change the color of each element on the card to over 180 different color options so you can make sure the card is exactly how you want it down to the littlest detail.

This year I used a photo from my brother's wedding where all three of my kids are wearing a specific shade of burgundy. In the past, I would have spent hours looking through card styles to be absolutely sure the colors matched. This year, I simply chose my favorite card and then edited the colors to match. It was such a timesaver and my cards look stunning!

Customizable Card Back - Basic Invite offers a number of options for the back of your card including solid colors, patterns, and photo layouts. As you know, my family moved this year. I was hoping to include some information about our move in our card, and Basic Invite did not disappoint! As you can see, my cards have a "new address" graphic with all our moving information for friends and relatives.

Over 40 Different Colors of Envelopes - Basic Invite is just as colorful with their envelopes and envelope liners as with their cards. Customers can choose from over 40 different colors when it comes to their envelopes so that they can make their card stand out even before it is opened. All of the envelopes are peel and seal so the envelopes can be quickly and securely closed without licking a single one because really, who wants to do that?!

Address Capturing Service - Basic Invite offers an address capturing service that allows customers to simply share a link on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other form of social media to request their friends and family’s addresses which will be stored in the customer’s account and can then be selected during the design process. Talk about a time saver! Basic Invite offers recipient address printing at no cost on all Christmas card orders.

Foil - Foil holiday cards are available in gold, silver, and rose gold. Customers can choose flat or raised foil on all of Basic Invite’s foil designs. My holiday card includes raised gold foil. It looks even more stunning than it sounds and is such a lovely way to add some extra flair our cards.

Custom Samples - Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers the ability to order a printed sample of their actual card so they can see exactly how it will print as well as feel the paper quality before they ever have to place their final order.

Not sure what style you like? Basic Invite offers over 500 Christmas card and holiday card designs for you to choose from. They also offer custom holiday cards for businesses and holiday party invitations. 

I know many of you love to receive and send Christmas cards. Right now Basic Invite is offering 30% off with coupon code: holi30. Run over and start your holiday card now, and don't forget to send me one!

Thank you Basic Invite for partnering on this post.

Adult Cupcakes for the Win {Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes}

Have you ever come across that one recipe that is more than you ever dreamed of? It never disappoints, always turns out well, and tastes like heaven. My friends, I have that recipe for you today. Let me introduce my favorite cupcakes in the entire world: Irish Car Bomb cupcakes. 

For those of you who might not be familiar with it, an Irish Car Bomb is a drink that combines Guinness beer, whiskey, and Bailey's Irish Cream. These cupcakes take each drink and turn it into a part of the cupcake: Guinness chocolate cake, whiskey chocolate filling, and Irish Cream frosting. These started as my go-to St. Patrick's Day dessert, but have become our favorite all-occasion treat.

Let me preface all this by saying that these cupcakes are an enormous amount of work. They take me ALL DAY. But never has a day been better spent. The moment you taste your finished product, you will never be able to go back to a regular cupcake. Let me also say that while alcohol does cook out, the frosting is not cooked so these are not suitable for children. Please share them only with your adult friends.

I found this recipe on See Dani Bake. and made only a few tweaks. The only difference for me was slightly increasing the liquid and sugar, plus decreasing the baking soda for high altitude. I've noted my high altitude tweaks below.

Ingredients

Guinness Stout Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup Guinness (I added an extra 2 T for high altitude)
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar (reduced by 2T for high altitude)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (reduced by 1/8 tsp for high altitude)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Jameson Whiskey Ganache Filling
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 ounces bittersweet dark chocolate (Something around 70% is good)
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 to 2 tablespoons whiskey (Ben said I couldn't steal his Jack so I used Canadian whiskey)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
4oz unsalted butter, softened
5 cups powdered sugar (cut back or add more depending on how much Bailey's you add)
4-6 tablespoons of Bailey’s Irish Cream (or other Irish Cream. I used Brendan's.)

Directions


Cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cupcake tins with liners. (These gold ones would add something extra!)
2. Bring 1 cup Guinness and 1 cup butter to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. (I find melting the butter first then adding the Guinness kept it from burning.)
3. Take the mixture off the heat and add the cocoa powder and chocolate chips and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly. (I threw mine in the fridge for 5 minutes.)

4. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt together in large bowl.
5. Using a stand mixer, beat eggs and then add sour cream in another large bowl and mix well.
6. Add Guinness-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and mix in mixer to combine--don't over-mix.
7. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined.
8. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way (I have a fabulous cupcake scoop from Pampered Chef similar to this one).

9. Bake cake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely before coring for filling. 

Ganache
1. Heat the cream until simmering and then add in the chocolate chips and dark chocolate. Stir rapidly until smooth while on the heat.
2. Add the butter, whiskey, and vanilla. Stir until combined.
3. Take the ganache off the heat and let it cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (I put mine in the fridge, but make sure to stir it every 10 minutes).
4. Meanwhile, use a 1-inch round cupcake corer (I used a baby spoon and it worked perfectly) to cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom, so aim for 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon will help you get the center out. Either toss the scraps or eat them while you finish up the cupcakes. (I find if I set the bowl of centers out, my husband will take care of them!)

5. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top. (I just put the ganache in a quart size zip-top bag and cut one of the corners.) 

Frosting
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment mix the room temperature cream cheese and butter on low to medium low speed until well incorporated. 
2. Slowly add powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy on medium speed.
3. Drizzle in the Bailey’s, depending on how prominent you want the Irish cream flavoring to be.  Mix until completely incorporated.
4. Use a piping bag with tip of your choice and frost the cupcakes. 

Melanie's tips for successful cupcake baking:

1. Follow the directions. FOR REAL you guys- I like a shortcut as much as anyone, but that bit about whisking the flour and hand stirring the batter is there for a reason. You will be much happier with the result if you take the time to do it right.

2. You might be tempted to do something productive while your cupcakes bake, like clean your house or pay bills. Don't. This is your golden hour- eat as much cupcake batter as humanly possible and shop on Amazon to your heart's content. (I bought these shoes today during my 17 minutes.) Trust me on this one, you'll thank me.

3. Call all your friends. This recipe makes an incredibly large number of cupcakes and while you will want to eat every. last. one. you probably shouldn't. I've been there. And after that three-steps-to-success formula, you want some solid appreciation if you can't devour them all yourself. Your friends will all die of happiness as they bit into these, so don't deprive them of this opportunity.

Pink and Gold Baby Shower

There is something so wonderful about a baby shower. The celebration is so exciting! And as the mama of a little boy, girl baby showers have a soft spot in my heart.

My friend Joy and I had the opportunity to throw a shower for a dear friend of ours who is having a baby girl in April. We decided on a princess theme, and created a pink and gold color theme. Both of our houses are covered in glitter, but it was worth it! Here are a few pictures of the day:

I think it turned out beautifully!

Beginning the Week

When I begin Eli's first Monday nap by cleaning up the front rooms of our apartment, I always feel better about life. It's funny how a quick vacuum, sweep, dust and a delicious Yankee Candle (a favorite at our house!) really make such a difference in my mood. Add that to some comfy yoga pants and it's going to be a good day! What do you do on Mondays to start your week off right?

We had a fun weekend with family and friends- did you all enjoy the Superbowl? I loved Beyonce and the commercials! I'm not really a football fan, but spending time with some good friends made it a great day. Our friends have a 3 and 5 year old, so Eli was absolutely delighted. He crawled around chasing after the two kids and they were sweet enough to play with him. I'm pretty sure he woke up with a play hangover this morning!

Also over the weekend, we took Eli's 10 month pictures. It's hard to believe how big that little guy is getting. This year has flown by. I'm beginning to plan his first birthday party and thinking back to all this year has held. Time has flown, and yet our life pre-baby seems like an eternity ago. I love that little guy and I'm so grateful he decided to come change our lives.

The Wedding!

The wedding was beautiful! The bride was stunning and we all had such a good time. Here’s a few great… and interesting… highlights of the day.

Awkward:

- The drum line that played in the background during the whole ceremony.

- Ben’s grandpa who kept asking me when a good time was to take pictures during the ceremony.

- The girl in the long white dress that was not the bride.

- The bride's uncle who came up as the families were exiting to tell her grandparents they had picked up their name cards.

- Ben and I dancing. We're not very good at it. We have a lot of fun though!

Wonderful:

- The bride, of course! She looked incredible.

- The grey suits with the yellow bridesmaid dresses.

- The father-daughter dance. My father-in-law took dance lessons with my sister-in-law and their dance was so sweet.

- The mother-son dance. I barely know the groom, and I just met his mom, but as I stood there holding Eli I couldn't keep the tears in.

- Eli in his bow tie and suspenders. He looked pretty adorable.

- Being at the wedding with my love. I always fall more in love with him when they talk about love and marriage during the ceremony.

Pictures will be coming soon!

Father's Day and Wedding Week

Happy first Father's Day to the most amazing man I know! I love you my dear.

In other news, Ben's sister is getting married on Wednesday, so we are in full wedding mode this week! Over the weekend I got to attend the bachelorette party, and then yesterday we met the groom's family. I've got some flower girl dresses to alter and a few other things to do before Wednesday. It's going to be an exciting week!