A Beautiful Song, from a Beautiful Person

Beyonce - Halo

Hello, Cupcake!

I just love cupcakes. They are cute and yummy, and they always put a smile on your face.

Here's a recipe that I love for my favorite, the Red Velvet, from www.foodnetwork.com:

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 15 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour

• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt

• 1 1/4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

• 13 ounces granulated sugar

• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk

• 3 eggs

• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons red food coloring

• 1 1/4 teaspoons vinegar (white or apple cider can both work)

• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1/8 cup water

For the cream cheese frosting:

• 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature

• 1 pound butter, room temperature

• 2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven 350 degrees F.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a bowl and set aside.

In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix oil, sugar, and buttermilk until combined. Add eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and water and mix well. Add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time and mix on low, scraping down sides occasionally, and mix until just combined. Be sure not to over mix, or the batter will come out tough.

Line a 16-cup cupcake pan with paper liners, scoop the batter into the liners and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

For the cream cheese frosting:

Whip the butter and cream cheese together in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until creamed. Gradually add powdered sugar to the mixture and scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.

The frosting can be used right away, or stored in the refrigerator up to a week.

Frost cooled cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting.

Enjoy!

Flower Power

This beautiful, effortless ensemble is from the H&M spring collection. I am a huge fan of this Swedish brand, which along with Zara is one of my favorite places to find beautiful but affordable pieces from.

If you want to be happy, be

Too often in life we blame external reasons for our discontent.

We tell ourselves that our unhappiness stems from our jobs, relationships, money issues, you name it. The amazing thing about life though is that if you look around, the happiest people you know, the ones who seem truly happy and content about themselves, are the ones who have either lost the most, or suffer from any of the 'reasons' that you have just listed to blame for your own unhappiness.

If you want to be happy, be happy. It is only a state of mind. All you have to do is to decide that you will enjoy every moment in your life, regardless of the circumstances.

Be grateful for what you have. And remember that life is full of beauty. Just open your eyes and you will notice it.