Very Jane

I'm so excited to be involved with this new company "Very Jane"!

We had a meeting a few days ago to discuss some details.

It's going to be amazing!

I'll post more details as soon as I can...

Keep checking in to find out more about Very Jane!

Meet the Munchkins...

Thing One:

Saxon - age 4

spunky. imaginative. funny. loves art. loves swimming. loves being outside. loves rice krispie treats.

Thing two:
Bridger - age 2
busy. creative. honest. loves balls. loves friends. loves water. loves books. loves heros.

And not to be outdone by the Cat in the Hat...

Thing Three:

Dalton - 7 months

sunshine. happy. yummy. loves attention. loves puffs. loves his brothers.

And those are my kiddos.

Aren't they cute!

Meet Nate and Cait

Since I'm going to be writing this blog, I thought I might as well introduce us...

I'm Cait,

and this is my husband,

Nate.

We got married in Los Angeles in 2005,

and now we have 3 munchkins who I will introduce tomorrow.

I'm the artist, he's the carpenter.

I'm an organizer, he's a hard worker.

I was born in Chicago, grew up in California, and moved to Utah to go to BYU.

He was born in Utah, grew up in Nevada, and moved to Utah to go to BYU...

Where we fell in love and lived happily ever after!

Ha ha, ok, not quite yet.

We're still on the road to "happily ever after", but we try, and we're a pretty good team!

Lately we've been teaming up to raise our boys and run an etsy shop!

(Nate's dream come true!)

Thanks for visiting us!

I hope you keep coming back to see what we're up to and what we're creating :)

Weathered Wood

 I found an ad online for "weathered wood" and sent my husband straight over :)

I love projects made from repurposed wood!

I can't wait to get started on this:

Newest addition to the shop:

Since white with black lettering seems to be the most popular style for this sign, I decided to make one in reverse, and I LOVE it!

It looks crisp and clean and bold.

What do you think?

Little fish...

Here's the cupcakes I mentioned yesterday:

Aren't they fun?

My friend's twin boys turned one and we celebrated with fishy cupcakes :)

Cupcake Wars

One thing you should know about me, is that I LOVE cupcakes!

I love to try new recipes and experiment with new flavors.

I saw some pictures from a bakery online last week that caught my attention.

They had some fun flavors like:

Peanut Butter & Jelly

Peanut Butter & Chocolate

S'mores

Banana Cream Pie

Lemon Cream Pie

etc.

Since it was a bakery, they didn't list the recipe.

So, I searched around online and found some recipes that sounded good.

I settled on trying 3 new flavors:

S'mores

PB & J

PB & fudge

I made them all in my BABYCAKES...

And here's the verdict:

The graham cracker cupcake was AMAZING!  Exactly like you would pictures a "graham cracker cupcake" to taste like.  They looked perfect until I tried to toast the top to give them that "toasted marshmallow" look.  All of the frosting melted off.  Oh well, they still tasted good.

The PB & J cupcakes were good.  So good, that they tasted just like PB & J.  So much so, that I actually didn't really like them because I don't like PB & J.  My kids loved them though.  My husband LOVED the frosting since I used fresh strawberries in it.

Peanut Butter and fudge?  How could you go wrong with that combination.  They were wonderful, but not quite as original as the S'mores.

In case anyone is feeling ambitious and wants to host their own cupcake wars, here are the recipes:

Martha Stewart Peanut Butter Cupcakes:

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Make cupcakes as directed in Basic Cupcake How-To, adding peanut butter before adding eggs. Use sour cream and vanilla as wet ingredients. Once cupcakes are cool, frost tops with peanut butter frosting. Place a dollop of jam in center of frosting. Decorated cupcakes will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 days.
   

 Graham Cracker Cupcakes:

GRAHAM CRACKER CUPCAKES
Read more about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1713,157183-244194,00.html Content Copyright © 2011 Cooks.com - All rights reserved. 1/2 c. butter (1 stick) 1 c. sugar 2 eggs, separated 1 c. chopped nuts 1/2 lb. graham crackers (crushed) 1 c. milk 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. vanilla

In one bowl mix butter, sugars and egg yolks. In another bowl mix together graham cracker crumbs, milk, baking powder and vanilla. Combine ingredients in the two bowls and add chopped nuts.Then fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Place in paper cups in muffin tins and bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Frosting:

Marshmallow:

2 sticks of butter

1 pound of powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

16 oz. marshmallow fluff

Fudge:

8 oz. cream cheese

1 stick butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup cocoa (I like Hersheys Special Dark)

Jelly:

8 oz. cream cheese

1 stick butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup pureed strawberries

(I divided the cream cheese frosting in half and added 1/4 cup of cocoa to one half and 1/4 cup of strawberries to the other, that way I could make just one batch of peanut butter cupcakes but still try 2 flavors).

My advice on cupcake making:

-Get an oven thermometer and see if you oven is actually cooking at the temperature it is supposed to.  It affects baking time.

-Mix the eggs really well to get them light and fluffy!

-I always bake for a few minutes less than the recipes says and then let them sit in the cupcake pan on top of the oven for a while.  They keep cooking in the pan so if you cook them perfectly, by the time you eat them, they sometimes seem a little dry.

-Have fun, experiment, and enjoy!

FYI:  Right now I am in the middle of making "perfect vanilla cupcakes" from Cheeky Kitchen and decorating them with a design from "What's New Cupcake?"  I can't wait to post pictures...

Garden Sneak Peek...

Here's a sneak peek at some of the items that are just about ready to list in my shop:

Obviously I have gardening on my mind lately :)

Since it's a little too early in Utah to start planting the garden, I've started a few things on my balcony just to get underway.

Herb garden markers:

Herb and Flower Garden Markers:

Once I recruit my favorite photographer (Brittany), we're heading to the local greenhouse to take some beautiful shots of my garden accessories with all of the spring plants and flowers.  I can't wait!