Among the Young

Fathers Day

June 18, 2013 by Kaylynn Zoe · 2 Comments

Fathers Day can be a little overwhelming in our house because it’s paired with Handsome’s birthday. And I’m a classic overachiever. He’s the kind of guy that would prefer the day passed by like another regular day and I’m the exact opposite: everyone is going to know it’s my day!

So every year I fight to find a balance of what he wants (nothing) and what I want (over the top huge party). This was our in-between this year.

He woke up Sunday morning to a note that told him his golfing tee time and where to go. I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t more creative, but he loved it! We got a friend to go with him and they spent 18 glorious holes outside on a perfect day.

These cupcakes may look pretty awesome, but don’t be fooled. They’re a box of yellow cake mix with Pastry Pride on top.

My favorite part? Those chocolate rocks. First, they’re delicious. And second? They really do look like rocks! (Big shout out to Blickenstaff’s for having the coolest candy selection around!)

Did I go overboard on the whole “rock-and-roll” and “rocks” thing? Maybe. But I loved it and it looked fabulous.

The frosted cookies were my other favorite. My dear friend gave me a recipe and I 10x the recipe to create the amount I needed (again, don’t be fooled. Her recipe makes a half cup!) I’ll include that just in case you feel the desire to make some insanely awesome sugar cookies:

10 c. powdered sugar
6 (and 3/4) TB milk
6 (and 3/4) TB light corn syrup

I skipped the extract (because it was already so sweet!) and added food coloring later. Beat it all together and use the “10 second rule” to be sure. (Totally follow THIS tutorial. It’s amazing – and the butterfly cookie? Incredible.)

*I used a size 7 icing tip for the black and a size 4 tip for the red. Just fyi.*

Happy Fathers Day to all of the amazing men out there. Thank you to my dear husband who puts up with me and supports my crazy ideas. Hope you felt loved, spoiled, and appreciated because we definitely do love you.

Filed Under: Uncategorized ·

A Day at the Park

June 13, 2013 by Kaylynn Zoe · 4 Comments

Ok, so I’m sure you’re sick of me talking about Expressions Vinyl… right? Well then fine, I won’t talk about how awesome her new shirt {that I made} is. Instead, let’s talk about our day at the park.

We’re rarely ever social – not that we don’t like to, but life gets in the way. We had a great time seeing friends – and when I say “we” I mean Handsome. I made sure he went and saw his friends because little Miss T was demanding my attention at the park. She played. NON-STOP. I mean, look at her little face? Red, hot, and sweaty. I’m not even lying – she did not stop for a second. It was intense.

Do you remember how stoked I was with the idea of DIY screen printing? I found the idea on Pinterest, made THIS shirt and was so pleased with myself. Except, it was kind of a fail. The paint rubs off and smears and this shirt needs to be delicately hand washed so the paint doesn’t come off. Um… excuse me? I hate hand washing toddler clothes – it’s like washing them in air – it DOES NOTHING!

Again, I’m singing praises to Expressions Vinyl

. Thank you for making a product so fabulous that it can withstand a day at the park with a hot, sweaty toddler. Thank you for allowing me to put this shirt in the washing machine. Novel concept. I know. Who has time to hand wash things anyway?

Filed Under: DIY, Friends · Tagged With: crafts, diy, friends, vinyl

Iron on Glitter Vinyl {take 2}

June 12, 2013 by Kaylynn Zoe · 8 Comments

I told you – I’m obsessed with this glitter vinyl from Expressions Vinyl and I MEANT it! I just can’t get over all the cute colors of glitter they have – so in love. You should definitely check it out because I am pretty sure your mind will be blown. Ready, go.

Since we call our little one “Tab” I have always wanted to make her a “TAB” shirt … as in the Cola TAB. Anyone??? Come on guys, I’m NOT that old (late 20′s!) and I remember what this pop is. How is it that some people don’t know what TAB cola is? It was a popular drink in the 80′s. Handsome even said you could even buy it at our high school in some of the select vending machines. Who knew? I actually think it is kind of nasty, but to each their own.

Anyway, the saying “Tab’s Got Sass” rings true for our little T as well. She’s got some serious pizzazz. I had wanted to do a screen print shirt and have come pretty close to having one custom made several times, but I’ve never gone through with it.

Intro glitter vinyl…. YES!

It would’ve been SOOOOO much easier to cut this out using my beloved Cricut, but, being the over-achiever that I am, I had to make life difficult and use the actual slogan (which was a serious pain in the rear to find). Nevertheless, I persevered and cut the blasted saying out by hand. Thus, the imperfections are obvious, but I don’t care. The glitter vinyl hides a lot of my mistakes, and unless you know where you’re looking (or you’re super critical like me) you can’t see where it connects.

Honestly. Look at how stinking cute!! Again with the modeling pose – I’ve gotta hook this girl up with some of my fashion blogging friends – she’s got some fashion skills. (Cue everyone saying, “I wonder where she gets it…” har har har. Hilarious.)

These don’t show her shirt off very well, but I couldn’t resist that face. Smiling and everything.

She’s in this phase where she loves to pull out grass and throw it everywhere or place it on me. Silly Tab.

And again with the running. The child never stops, but we love her. Bless people who take pictures of toddlers for a living – it is a serious challenge!

Dear Tab, you’ve definitely got way more sass than your little body can handle – stay strong my little babe. You’re awesome.

Filed Under: DIY · Tagged With: craft, diy, vinyl

Iron On Glitter Vinyl

June 11, 2013 by Kaylynn Zoe · 2 Comments

Um… excuse me, is that a HOLE in the middle of that t-shirt? UGH. Yep it sure is. I pulled Tab’s little Down East shirt out of the washing machine to find it had a hole in the most ridiculous spot. Seriously – how does that happen? Iron on glitter vinyl to the rescue….

I had seen some iron-on vinyl glitter at SNAP! and couldn’t wait to get my mitts on some. Hello – this girl LOVE anything that sparkles. So the ability to create my own stuff with iron on glitter vinyl? The possibilities were endless. Expression Vinyl and I became instant best friends. They have SO many different options of glitter vinyl that my mind was literally blown. (They call their iron on vinyl “heat transfer vinyl, just fyi.)

This project was a little challenging because I knew I had to cover that blasted hole but still create something cute. It took me a while, but I finally decided on making a Peter Pan collar with little dots.

I was SUPER pleased with my result! Initially I only had the green collar, but after I ironed I JUST WANTED MORE. It was lacking something. So I added the blue scallop and VOILA!

Check out my model – she’s even looking away like all the great fashion bloggers do! What a little pro. Watch out world!

Trying to get a decent picture of a toddler outside on a beautiful day? Almost impossible, but hey – at least she looks pretty dang cute! Thank goodness for my camera that can capture this quick little toddler!

Filed Under: DIY · Tagged With: craft, diy, vinyl

Browned Butter Nutella Stuffed Sea Salt Cookies

June 10, 2013 by Kaylynn Zoe · 6 Comments

Guys! Today I’m guest posting at the Cupcake Diaries! Check it out!

Browned Butter cookies – tried it? Love it? Hate it? I was introduced to the idea of browning the butter from my friend Chloe. That was my first experience with this fabulous idea. Let’s just preface this by saying the first time we made them, my chocolate hating, handsome husband loved them – chocolate and all.

Not only does this add a nutty taste to the cookie, but I loved the idea that I didn’t have to wait for butter to be softened. Because when I want cookies – who has time for butter to soften naturally? Then I try to microwave and I end up MELTING the butter instead of SOFTENING it…what a nightmare. Guys. Problem solved.

This recipe inspiration came from Pinterest – of course. I followed the recipe and found the Ambitious Kitchen. What a win. Seriously. The best cookies EVER!! She has such wonderful photos of the process. (Check them out HERE.)I made a few changes to her recipe (she added a TON of chocolate chips) by subtracting some of the chips and adding some toffee bits. Mmmm…

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup Heath toffee bits
1 jar of Nutella
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions:
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Gently fold in all of the chocolate chips.

Chill your dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator, or place in freezer for 30 minutes if you are super eager, although I cannot promise the same results if you do this.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once dough is chilled measure about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the dough ball very thinly into the palm of your hand. Place 1 teaspoon of chilled nutella in the middle and fold dough around it; gently roll into a ball — it doesn’t have to be perfectly rolled! Make sure that the nutella is not seeping out of the dough. Add more dough if necessary. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart and flatten with your hand VERY gently. (Really only the tops need to be flattened a bit!)

Bake the cookies 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Cool the cookies on the sheets at least 2 minutes. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Sorry there aren’t any pictures of the middle of the cookie with delicious Nutella OOZING out of the middle. There was no chance I was going to pause my eating frenzy to take a snapshot! Maybe next time? Probably not…

Filed Under: Dessert · Tagged With: browned butter, nutella, sea salt

Fathers Day

A Day at the Park

Iron on Glitter Vinyl {take 2}

Iron On Glitter Vinyl

Browned Butter Nutella Stuffed Sea Salt Cookies

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