Weekend Fun!

Weekend Fun!!

Marshall and I had a great weekend!  It kind of started on Thursday night when we went out to my favorite beach to watch the sunset and have a bonfire.  Wood is really hard to get in Malta so we had to buy two of the firestart logs and use though.  :(  They worked well, you just can't cook anything on them.  So no s'mores this time around!  The view and the company was just perfect, so I was a happy girl!

Our sweet friends at the embassy had a going away party for us on Saturday.  We were blown away with all the thoughtful gifts, kind words, and friends surrounding us...wishing us well.  It's always a bittersweet feeling, leaving behind what you have come to know and love, and the excitement and curiosity of what's to come.

They wouldn't let me bring anything to the party but brownies.  So I remembered this delicious recipe I made before for cupcake peanut butter brownies.  Let me tell you, if you are a reese fan... you need to make these. 

Super Easy.  Freaking Delicious.

This is all you do.  Make any brownie mix.  Stir in like 1/2 cup or so of peanut butter chips.  (Could leave out if you do not have them.)

Pour the brownie mix into a muffin tin 3/4 full.  Bake.  Try and take them out of the oven before they are completely done.  If you stick a toothpick in it and it comes out a little wet, thats perfect.  

Once you take them out of the oven, you are going to melt like a cup or so of peanut butter in the microwave for 45 seconds.  Stir it well.  

Then you are going to want to like punch down the center of the brownies.  I use a tablespoon and just rotate it around and press down a little.  Since they are warm they will go right down.  Then you scoop a full spoonful of the peanut butter into your little pocket.  I like topping with mini m&m's for color, but you can use peanut butter and chocolate chips, or just one or the other... or really whatever you have on hand!  Let the peanut butter set up a little so it isn't liquidy and you are finished!  Incredibly easy and seriously amazing!

Here are all of our cupcakes!!  The funny looking ones are a result of my lack of creativity.  I was trying to make different designs but they definitely did not come out like what I pictured in my head.  Regardless, it was fun to play around!

Hope you all had a great weekend!!  I have a bunch of new cupcakes and cookies I have to make this week so check back later to see how they turn out!!  XOXO

What I'm Loving Wednesday...

I'm loving lots of fun things this week!  The first one is a trick from this awesome video.  It shows this little secret to do when frosting cookies or cupcakes with multiple colors.  It saves you a huge mess and is much quicker!  LOVE it...  The basis of it, is that you lay out a big piece of saran wrap and put your frosting in the middle (however much of whatever color you are using).  Fold the saran wrap over the frosting and continue to fold/roll it up.  Hold onto the two ends and twist the middle multiple times in a circle.  (Might need to see the video to understand.)  It creates like a tight pocket.  The ends are thin and tight and you tie one end and stick the other through your tip/coupler.  When you are finished with that color, you can just pull the bag out and rinse out the tip.  It's amazing!  She uses it with pastry bags, so you could use whatever you want.

I'm loving that we hosted a Mexican Food & Game Night the other night with our friends.  It gave me a reason to play around with some cookies.  I wish I could have ran to Walmart to pick up real cookie cutters, but this worked for now!

My taco dip that is super easy and super delicious!  Always a hit...  If you want to give it a try, here is the recipe:

Bottom Layer:  Blend together about a 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup cream cheese and spread it on a pan...any will work.

Next:  Pour some taco sauce on top and try and shake the pan around to cover the first white layer.

Then:  Cook 1lb of taco meat and sprinkle it around next

Chop:  Lettuce and then tomatoes and layer on top of the meat

After:  Cheese is next...the more the better I think :)

Finally:  Pour more taco sauce on the top.  I always do it in lines up and back but you can do it however you like!  Serve with nacho chips!  Yummy!

Loving Scattergories... except when someone ALWAYS picks the same words as me!! :)

Something that I've always gotten extremely frustrated with is the driving in Malta.  It annoys the poop out of me!  Even after a year, I still get lost.  Well, the other day I was riding with my friend Cyd and we were leaving a home store and heading to lunch.  She punched the restaurant in her GPS and we started following the hectic directions.  All the sudden we were on this small dirt cart path out in the country a little bit.  We thought it might be a shortcut or something but the road eventually ended with this grassy picture.  I laughed so hard and loved the fact that for once I wasn't driving and that we could just laugh at the situation and enjoy the scenery.  

I looooove celebrating.  Anything and everything!  One of the marine's had a birthday yesterday so we got to celebrate with a little dinner!  He picked lasagna which I was thrilled about because it's my favorite!

I always make my momma's recipe.  We loved it growing up and I still love it now!  

I'm loving this recipe I found on Pinterest. for these Pepperoni Crescent Roll-Ups.  It's so incredibly easy and actually really really good!!  I made them for an appetizer last night and they were gone in like 30 seconds.  It also could have been because there were a bunch of guys around... but still :)  

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls

40 slices turkey pepperoni (I used regular)

4 pieces of mozzarella string cheese, cut in half

garlic powder

pizza sauce

Preheat oven to 375.

Unroll crescent rolls and separate into 8 triangles.  Place 5 slices of turkey pepperoni on each crescent roll.  Top pepperoni with string cheese half and roll up.  Sprinkle crescent rolls with garlic powder.  Place rolls on baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Serve with a side of warm pizza sauce.  

I'm also really loving this week how God always shows that He is near, and that He cares.  For example...  I've been missing my nieces and nephews like crazy.  Like going insane miss them so much.  Well one of my great friends in Malta just happens to have two adorable kids.  Her little boy was born 2 days before my sister's little boy.  Here is a picture of me holding her son...

And a picture of my precious nephew that I can't wait to meet!!

Here is a picture of their daughter who is turning 3 and makes me smile and laugh every time I am around her...

And my niece Carrie who is also a little blonde headed 3 year old that lights up my life...

So even though I miss them more than words can ever express... I'm so grateful that God has placed two children in my life here in Malta that are so similar to my family that I can love on and spend time with.  I adore my friend's kids to pieces and they really are so amazing... but it makes me smile thinking that even sometimes in unfortunate circumstances... God still has a way if you are open to receiving it.  

Happy Leap Year Day!! (still is so weird to me :)  xoxo

Maltese Homes...

We had an absolutely beautiful day the other day.  After a few days of rain and crappy weather, I was thrilled to go for a walk.  Marshall and I really haven't spent much time walking around the area we live in, so we decided to go and check out some of the houses around us.

Malta has a lot of restrictions and guidelines when you build a home here.  I am not sure if it's because the country has a very distinct feel and style... so for tourist purposes, they aim to maintain that?  Regardless... the homes are really beautiful.  Some are pretty modern and unique and others are really old farm houses.  Enjoy the pictures!

Today I'm linking up with Nicole and her Thursday 5!!

Outstanding

Refreshing

Cheerful

Memorable

Cool

I think it is Outstanding that there is a "National Margarita Day."  So in honor of this day, we celebrated!!  Marshall even let us use his beloved Patron.  I also made a taco pizza to finish the day off right!  Delicious!  If you have never made one before its super easy...  Make your dough... spread a thin layer of pizza sauce on top.  Taco meat.  Cheese.  Bake it...  When it's finished, add your toppings:  lettuce, tomato, onion, more cheese...whatever.  Then top it off  with taco sauce!   

It is so Refreshing to FINALLY have found a banana bread recipe that I really like.  Growing up, my mom always made the most delicious banana bread.  The top had this like goey kind of banana-y top.  If you know what I mean.  And neither my sister or myself have been able to make it.  My mom thinks it weird that we use the same recipe but cannot for the life of us duplicate it.  Anyways, we have been on a hunt for awhile for a new recipe and I think I found one.  Its from this site and uses twice as many bananas as usual.  

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Marshall loves nuts so I threw in some walnuts too.  It came out amazing!  The amount of bananas is like 6-7 so plan on having that many if you want to make this recipe.  I definitely recommend it!!

So my momma sent me a gift card to Express for my birthday.  I'm so stinkin excited!!  When I started browsing their site, I came across these Cheerful earrings.  Aren't they so awesome?!  I'm definitely getting them.  Oh, and since they are buy one get one 1/2 off... I definitely need to get the same pair in coral and purple! :)

The other day it was absolutely beautiful out, so Marshall and I decided to go for a walk around our neighborhood.  Walking and talking is always so Memorable for me, and the view wasn't too bad either!  I'm going to post tomorrow some pictures of the awesome houses around us!  It's crazy what you miss when you are driving a car!

 I'm so in love with this girl.  My sister sent me this picture the other day of my niece Carrie in her Cool, new hat.  She is just the most precious, tender-hearted little princess.  I'm dying to get home and snuzz her little face!  Love you CarrieGirl!

It's almost Friday!!  XOXO