12.12.2008

Cranberry Vanilla Coffeecake Cupcakes

(thanks to Stephanie, my lovely hand model)



Cranberry Vanilla Coffeecake

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 3/4 cups sugar2 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries (6 ounces)
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened, divided
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
Garnish: confectioners sugar


Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Generously butter a 9- by 2-inch round cake pan. Line bottom with a round of parchment paper and butter parchment.
Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into a food processor with tip of a paring knife (reserve pod for another use if desired). Add sugar and pulse to combine. Transfer to a bowl. Pulse cranberries with 1/2 cup vanilla sugar in processor until finely chopped (do not purée).

Whisk together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat together 1 stick butter and 1 cup vanilla sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down side and bottom of bowl. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour mixture and milk alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour, until just combined.

Spread half of batter in pan, then spoon cranberries over it, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edge. Top with remaining batter and smooth top.

Blend remaining 1/4 cup vanilla sugar with remaining tablespoon each of butter and flour using your fingertips. Crumble over top of cake. Bake until a wooden pick inserted into cake (not into cranberry filling) comes out clean and side begins to pull away from pan, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan 30 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely, crumb side up.

Yummy!

12.10.2008

It's freakin' Snowing!!

I can't believe it, it's really snowing! I can only remember it snowing twice before. This is such a treat!


It's begining to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!

Boy am I loving this cold weather! I mean, it's COLD! Now it feels more like December. (I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt yesterday) It gets me all in the Chrismas mood. I'm even going to bake some Cranberry Coffe Cake Muffins later!
We went and picked out a tree last week and we decorated it with lights. Jacob tried the ornaments, but Jackson went behind him picking them all off. So we just left it at lights. It still turned out very pretty.


Although I still had a hard time keeping the lights out of Jackson's mouth. He tried to bite throught the smaller bulbs... crazy kid! But I put him in time out for a while, which he did not like at all, and he hasn't done it since.


I also made a few Christmas cards and gift tags.


And I thought I'd share some cute pictures of Jackson and his favorite doll. Haha! It plays the Monday Night Football song and he just loves to dance with it!
He's such a cutie pie!

12.03.2008

"Sew Happy"

Last night I made myself a Boppy slipcover. It was actually a lot easier than I thought. I printed out a pattern I found online, but that was a no-go, so I just winged it. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. I love the fabric. I have some leftover, but I haven't decided what to do with it yet. And the back is a pretty green too. I can't wait to make more... who wants one?

Then today I made a shirt for my neice Madison. It's my first. I have no idea if it's going to fit her, but I figure I can always add a strip of fabric to the bottom if I need to. That girl grows taller everytime I see her. I hope she likes it.



So now I have the sewing bug. I want to sew all kinds of things, but I'll have to wait 'till my little monkey goes to sleep. He likes to "help" me =). Maybe I'll take a break from sewing and do a little scrapbooking. I'm so close to finishing Jackson's first year album.... so close!


Oh yeah, and this baby has not stopped bouncing around all day long! =)

Jack got a haircut


Sunday night I finally let Jacob TRIM Jackson's hair. It was getting pretty long and Jacob had been asking and asking if he could cut it. So I finally said okay and this is what happened. He's the spitting image of his daddy now!

11.29.2008

I got the blanket!

Today we celebrated my grandfather's birthday. We went to lunch at a Chinese restaurant and ate lots of noodles. The whole family was there and everyone had a great time. I was bummed that I forgot my memory card in the computer so I couldn't take any pictures.


After lunch, we stopped by the cemetery to visit Pau Pau. Everyone misses her dearly.
Then I headed to Galveston to hang out with the family a little more. Jacob insisted that he and Jackson were going to stay home and watch the football game, so I didn't argue. I spent the next few hours baby free and relaxed =)


On the way home, I stopped by Target... go figure. I finally bought that green and white baby blanket I've been eyeing for the past few months. It's so pretty and soft, I'm so happy I finally got it. Yes, it's something that simple that makes me happy.

11.28.2008

Pregnancy


I love being pregnant. I'm just about 30 weeks now, which means only 7 more weeks to go. Time flies when you have a 16 month old!

This pregnancy has been so different than my pregnancy with Jackson. With Jackson, I gained a whooping 50 lbs! Keep in mind that I'm only 4'11 or as I like to say, 5 ft. So far, I've only gained 25 lbs. this time around and I'm still in my normal jeans. I don't mean to brag, but I'm super happy about that. I haven't had any morning sickness and besides the normal aches and pains, I feel great. And no acne this time around... that has to be my favorite part. I hated the acne.

When we first found out we were pregnant, Jacob and I couldn't wait to find out the sex of the baby. But as time went on and I started thinking about it, I thought that it would be the most wonderful surprise to wait until the big day to find out if this little baby is a girl or boy. Jacob, on the other hand, wanted to know. But after talking him into it, he thought it would be nice to wait too. Which is a good thing because there's no way he could keep that secret from me.
I've managed to go 7 months without creating a whole gender neutral wardrobe for this baby. I must say, I am very proud of myself. But there were a few so cute outfits that I just couldn't resist.





We've decided on a girl's name, but we can't commit to a boy's name. If I like a name, he doesn't and vice verse. Hopefully we can decide when the time comes... if we need to.

I can't wait to meet this little baby. It's going to be bittersweet for me. I'm going to be thrilled to finally hold this baby in my arms, but this may be my last pregnancy and I'm a little sad about that. I love feeling the bumps and kicks, and I may never experience this again.
I am nervous about having two children so close in age. I imagine that Jackson isn't going to be too pleased to have to share his attention with another baby. I am a little worried about how he's going to react to the change. Hopefully he'll adjust well... we'll see.

But anyways, I'm going to enjoy the next 7 weeks to the fullest and take in all the Jack Jack that I can =)

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