July 2011 | Page 4 of 5 |

Hot Pink Surprise Cake

July 11, 2011

This weekend I wanted to bake something FUN!

I have seen several pictures of the rainbow cake that Martha Stewart made. Mine is a little bit funkier that is for sure….I did a hot pink icing…..

And in the middle I did purple and green 🙂

It sort of looks like a mardi gras cake or something. It’s definitely NOT perfect, but it was fun and tasted great! I always like to add a little bit of almond extract to my icing and cake. It makes all the difference 😉

This weekend has been CRA-ZAY!!!

I am behind on announcing the contest winners from last week so here they are :

The winner of the jewelry organizer is Shannon @ Milk & Cuddles

The winner of the Bumbo cover is Lindsey @ Connor Chronicles

Please email me @ beckylbranch@gmail.com with your info gals

Hope everyone had a BRIGHT weekend! LOL!

Kitchen Gadgets Part 2

July 10, 2011

I got this cool sandwich/food keeper for Connor’s lunches. One side is for a sandwich & the other is for fruits & other snacks. I also got this at Sur la Table. I think it was like $6 bucks or something!

Nifty huh?

Another thing I like is this knife/cutter. My mother in law got it for me. I am trying to think of the first time I saw these, I think it was in Alaska??? They are cool because you just rock back and forth and it makes cutting easier on your hands. Connor likes cheese cubes….so this is how I do it.

Mini cheddar biscuits

They are teeny tiny…the perfect size 🙂

I love this towel. It was a gift from Summer and I think of her every time we use it! It shows all the major buildings around NYC. Isn’t it so neat!!! Just wanted to show her that I was using her gift & I LOVE IT!

Smokey Eyeballs

July 8, 2011

I love to play with makeup. Who doesn’t??? I got a new eyeshadow/blush palette from Stila the other day. When my friend Ellen was in town a couple weeks ago I asked her what were her faves and Stila was one she had mentioned.

I also love a great smokey eye. I have had issues in the past getting the look just right. In fact I still have issues…but whatever…..

So I’ll show you how I do it, and if you have any tips for me feel free to leave a comment!

1. Bare eyes (I have no makeup on…so ugh….sorry about that)

2. Put the darkest shade on the corner crease of your lid

3. Here is the finished look with 3 colors blended in

4. Eyes open…Usually I’ll put liner/mascara/and makeup on…but I was too lazy for these photos!

(You can see how it really makes your eyes POP even without liner or mascara on)

DOES IT LOOK LIKE THIS :

I think there is a fine line between going too dark though…I don’t want to look like I have a black eye!

TOOLS:

1. Chanel #4 liner brush

2. Chanel #12 contour brush

3. Clinique true black cream eyeliner

Stila beach palet $14.00

And this has nothing to do with makeup, but everyone is obsessed with PINTEREST right now and I found this Nikon cake. I LOVE IT! Of course I am obsessed with my camera sooooo this makes me happy 🙂

(If you need an invite to Pinterest just email me at beckylbranch@gmail.com)

We wish you a happy weekend!!!!

Don’t forget to enter the BOW GIVEAWAY below!

And Bonnie is giving one away on her blog too 🙂

Miss Prissy Bow Giveaway!

July 8, 2011

Miss Prissy Bow Boutique is the cutest site for hair bows, hats, clips, and pettiskirts! I don’t have a little girl to wear bows, but if I did Terence would sure be in trouble because her site has some adorable things for your little princess 🙂

Miss Prissy Bow Boutique has a “Bow of the Day” every day on her Facebook page. They are really great prices too!

Abbie, the owner of Miss Prissy Bow Boutique is allowing a reader to win a bow of their choice!

TO ENTER :

Go to Miss Prissy Bow Boutique’s Facebook page and “LIKE” them.

Then leave a comment telling her Becky from The Branches sent ya! Then come back here and tell me you did so.

That’s it folks! Good luck and I know one little princess is going to look so cute in a beautiful bow!

Contest Ends : Friday, July 15th

Chocoholic Much?

July 7, 2011

I’ve been in a baking mood lately….

Not to mention I just wanted a reason to use my cute owl cupcake liners.

I love chocolate.

I love DARK chocolate.

And you know the cupcakes were good when you took them all to work and didn’t come home with a.single.one!!!

So I was searching for a recipe for a good chocolate cake and dark chocolate icing. I did find a dark chocolate cake mix, but I wanted it even MORE chocolaty, so I added about 1/3 of this :

Here is the recipe I used for the icing :

6 Tbsp butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups powdered sugar

3/4 cup dark cocoa powder

1/3 cup milk

The icing turned out a bit gritty. I wanted something to make it creamier so I added about half a pad of cream cheese and it was perfect & creamy in consistency. I still need to practice more, but for the most part it was delish!

I meant to add these cute pinwheels to the top of the cupcakes :

We found these on our trip in NYC at a Chinese paper store…..I forgot the name??? It was a really cute store though 🙂 I’ll save them for next time!

And just because I know Nana & Poppy are checking this blog to see what Connor is up to……

He’s been inseparable from the lawnmower that Poppy gave him. Which reminds me of Poppy every time he pushes it around the house because it makes a loud POPPING noise!!! Thanks Poppy 😉

(Don’t mind the macaroni and cheese all over his face and hands….he was bathed shortly after this photo!)

Our 4th

July 6, 2011

We had a great HOT 4th of July!

My Dad drove from Arkansas to come see ~~Connor~~ us. My Mom is in Vegas visiting my sister right now for a couple of weeks. So my Daddy was all by his lonesome and came to visit 🙂

We made several trips to Braums for ice cream. That’s Dad’s favorite. We also ate some delicious Mexican food. I cherish our relationship so much and I love my Daddy. He’s the best EVER!

Connor is trying on Poppy’s “geezer glasses”

And reading the books that Nana sent….

Poppy brought us a beach ball that squirts water. Connor LOVED this! It also doubles as a sprinkler for your lawn *wink* *wink*

“It’s waaaaay too hot out here!”

On Sunday night we went over to Terence’s parents house and brought all our water toys for the cousins to play with. I think the kids had a great time splish splashing. It had cooled down a lot and was a beautiful afternoon.

Terence was the grill master. He grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone and his Mom made homemade vanilla ice cream! YUMMM……