Friday Favorites...Short & Sweet

Hi friends! How the heck are we more than halfway through February??? This week just flew by... which is awesome, because today my kiddos kick off their Winter Break week and we are in search of warmth & sunshine!

But before we take off, I am linking up with three of my favorite blogging friends, Erika, Narci & Andrea to share some of my favorites from this week. It's a short & sweet list!

one

My first favorite this week was watching this girl in her first every play performance. She has been practicing so hard the last 6 weeks and they put on an amazing show!! I could not have been more proud of those kids!!!

two

A few weeks ago I shared my Trader Joe's favorites. One of the reasons I went to TJs was for this seasoning.... that they were sold out of. I finally got my hands on some and well... I understand why they were sold out.

I could put this on everything!

three

If you are still celebrating Valentine's this weekend, I shared my Red Velvet cupcake recipe this week. 

And well... they are really pretty delicious. So I think you should make them this weekend😉

That rounds up my favorite things this week... pirates, spices and cupcakes! A random list of things that made me smile this week.

Hope you have the best weekend friends!

See you on Monday with another plant based meal! There's always room for one more at our family table.

xoxo

Genevieve

A Little of This & That

Oh my goodness this has been a whirlwind of a week! I wasn't sure what I was going to share today, and had a bunch of random pictures in my phone, so I thought I would share a little of this & that!

We are heading somewhere warm very soon and I had Ella try on some of her Summer clothes.... and well I think she has grown 6 inches! Her shorts were so short! But really, the ones out in the store were not much longer. 

We shopped and shopped. It is not easy to find what I will call "appropriate" shorts for a 10 year old girl. But we persevered and hit the jackpot at Target!

They had some really cute stuff , at great Target prices. I will share some of our favorite finds next week. 

This picture popped up as a Facebook memory. Look at how little my Luke is. Paul took him to the auto show to meet Iron Man. He was so excited to bring along his Iron Man action figure and Ill never forget he wore his Iron Man underwear too! 

Last weekend we took Maddie for a run through the farm behind our house. It was a perfect day for a snowball fight and Maddie loves to chase snowballs. 

 I love the barn and property behind our house. It is a great place to explore and the perfect place for pictures!

 

I think I have done our Christmas cards back there three different times! 

 Paul went skiing on Sunday and the kids and I got a bunch of things checked off our list. We went to church, Target, and Wegmans. The kids love lunch at Wegmans, so we stopped for sushi.

Then we hit up Barnes & Noble for some books for our trip. So happy my crew loves to read!

Ella has been practicing really hard for her school play and put on 4 great performances this week!! 

And last night we had a sweet treat after dinner to celebrate Valentine's Day. 

I don't know where this week went....but it was a fun one!

See you tomorrow for Friday Favorites. There's always room for one more at our family table. 

xoxo

Genevieve

How We Wednesday.......

Hey friends! Gosh somehow it is already Wednesday! This week has been so busy, it is just flying by! Excited for today's post, as this year I am linking up with Shay & Erika for How We Wednesdays. Some fun topics on "how we do" life!

So be sure to check in the second Wednesday of each month for a little peek at "How We....." do life!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Valentine's Day is tomorrow and well I thought I would share the most requested flavor this time of year. When we owned our cupcakery, red velvet was "the" flavor this week. It's a really moist cupcake (thanks to lots of butter) and there is no special ingredient that makes it red. Just red food coloring!
This recipe will make 24-28 cupcakes, but you could easily make this into two 9" rounds if you wanted to make a layer cake.

Ingredients

3 sticks unsalted butter (room temp)

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp red food coloring

4 TBSP cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

3 cups cake flour

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350.

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes)

Add the eggs one at a time, blending after each addition. Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula as well. Add the vanilla and blend.

Mix the cocoa powder and food coloring together and add to the the butter mixture. Blend until combined.

Add the buttermilk and blend.

Now add in your flour and mix until smooth (don't overmix).

Mix the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will fizz and expand, so be sure to have a bowl to acocommodate) and add to the flour mixture, blending until just combined.

Scoop into paper lined pans and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through cooking.

For the frosting

2 sticks of unsalted butter (room temp)

16 oz cream cheese (room temp)

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until well combined

Add the vanilla and blend.

Mix in the powdered sugar while the mixer is running at the lowest speed. Add in half a cup at a time.

Once the sugar has been added & combined, turn the mixer to high and whip the frosting until it is light and fluffy. Be sure to stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl a couple times to avoid any lumps.

Frost the cupcakes using a larger round piping tip, or you can just spread on a thick layer with a knife.

I like to crumble one of the cupcakes over a plate for the topping.

Then just sprinkle some over all the cupcakes...an easy fun topping!

A sweet treat to make for your loves!

See you tomorrow, there's always room for one more at our family table. 

xoxo

Genevieve

Something New for Your Family Table #5...Lentil Tacos

Hey friends! Another Monday, another plant based meal for you to share with your family.

I love the whole Taco Tuesday concept. But then again, I could eat some sort of Mexican inspired dish every day of my life.

I saw this vegetarian version of Taco Tuesday from Brittany over at A Healthy Slice of Life and they looked so good.

Bonus...it's a slow cooker recipe! Yes friends, you can dump all the ingredients into your slow cooker for 8 hours and dinner is done.

Friday Favorites

Oh Friday I am so, so happy to see you. Not sure about anyone else, but this has been a LONG week. 

#thankyouoprah
It was a long one, but we made it! So pour a little more coffee in that cup and join me as I link up with three of my favorite blogging friends,  Erika, Narci & Andrea to share some of my favorites from this week.

one

Well one of my favorites for sure this week was the Superbowl.

My team won, my favorite guy performed and I ate lots of good food. 

I shared some of our Superbowl fun this week.

two 

And speaking of my favorite guy performing, Monday he announced a tour date here in Buffalo. Well that is obviously a favorite part of my week!

I saw him here a few years ago, and you can bet I will be back again😉

three

Another favorite this week was this great website one of my girlfriends told me about. At  Running Warehouse, you can get some great deals on running sneakers (if you go with last years colors).

I am looking forward to running while we are on vacation and ordered some new sneakers and paid about $100 less than I would if I got the current year's color! Asics Nimbus are my favorite shoe to run in.

 Add in free 2-day shipping and I am sold!

four

In 7 days we will be in warmer weather. Beach, pool and lots of time to read. I stopped by the library this week to pick up a few books. 

Two from authors I really love and two that were suggested from of my reading friends! 

My February book review is going to be a good one! If you missed January's, you can catch up here.

five

So Target launched their new line this week, Universal Thread. I have found some really great pieces online and thought I would share a few of my favorites.

I love the look & color of  this denim shirt. A great piece you can wear so many ways!

This  sweater looks perfect for Spring!

And the perfect  little white tee!

I love my dark denim jacket and wear it all the time. I have been on the lookout for one in a lighter wash and I think I have found it with  this one!

And loving  this scarf for Spring!

Ok one more thing.  These shoes?? Love them...and they are less than $35!

six

On Wednesday I shared a fun post about love. If you missed it you can catch up  here. It got me thinking about Valentine's Day and I thought I would share  my post with some  sweet Valentine ideas. 

And you will want to check back next Tuesday. I will be sharing my recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes... the perfect Valentines' dessert!

seven 

The Olympics! I am so excited to watch!

 I do love the Summer games a bit more, but Winter is fun to watch too!

I am so, so ready for the weekend. We don't have a lot planned, but have a lot to do! I want to get everybody packed for vacation, because next week is a busy one.

But before we can pack we have to shop....I think Ella grew 6 inches since Summer. Everything she tried on from last Summer was so small! So she and I will be doing some shopping this weekend, which she is pretty excited about.

Have a fun weekend friends! 

See you next week, there's always room for one more at our family table.

xoxo

Genevieve