DIY Cupcake Stands

I've got to bake two dozen cupcakes for a bake off at my mom's church in a couple of weeks and I thought I would make (by I, I really mean my boyfriend) a really cute cupcake stand for the occasion. I've been searching the web for some great ideas and I've found a ton and wanted to share some of my favorites with you.


picture via giverslog.com




Picture via sweetcharli.blogspot.com

Pictures via Punky & Me

picture via MarthaStewart.com

I will post all about the cupcake stand and bake off in a couple of weeks. In the meantime I hope you are as inspired by these adorable clips as I was.

Beer Review Wednesday ~ Tallgrass IPA

So I ventured out and about this past weekend and went to the Nook Tavern in Huntsville. This place is so awesome and probably has the best beer selection in North Alabama with over 300 beers to choose from. They just expanded their deck area and it was a great night to sit out on the deck for the first time and have some great beers.

This is my first time reviewing a beer while I was out so this one will be short and sweet.

Tallgrass Brewing Company, Kansas- IPA
Serving type:  Can poured into a Pilsner glass by a very nice bartender. By the way the can thing really threw me for a loop. If you go to the Tallgrass website they tell you all about the pros of cans versus bottles. I honestly couldn't tell the difference so of course on a pure packaging/marketing stand point I thought it was pretty cool!

Appearance: Amber/copper color. Clear with medium head and no sediment.

Smell: Nice citrus/hops smell with a little malt. Good aroma, ready to give this one a try.

Taste: Mild, crisp with good hop flavor but not overwhelming. Slight bitter aftertaste but not too bitter.

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation, medium to light body.

Overall: Very easy to drink and a pretty good IPA! The hops flavor isn't overwhelming so if your really into hops this might be too mild for you. I think this is a great intro beer for those wanting to venture into discovering IPA's. The can again I thought was really neat. Of course the packaging was my favorite {Love the ROLL TIDE elephant} but I purely chose this beer because I wanted to try something new, I had no idea what it looked like. Maybe I should stop judging books by there covers? Naaah.

I bought my Tallgrass IPA at The Nook in Huntsville, AL. To find a Tallgrass IPA in your area, visit http://www.tallgrassbeer.com/maps.html

 Happy Wednesday,

Roll Tide Wreath!

Some of you that follow me on Pinterest are going to be so sick of seeing me craft everything that I pin! I saw these adorable yarn wreaths on Pinterest recently and knew I had to make an Alabama one!

Myblessedlife.net via Pinterest

thesimplylivingblog.blopspot.com via Pinterest

I used a Styrofoam wreath that I bought at Michael's, a skein of yarn and some felt for the flowers. The banner I made with some houndstooth wrapping paper I had left over from Christmas. I will give ya'll one really big tip, please get the straw wreath with the plastic wrapping on it. I spent about 2 hours wrapping that stinkin' wreath! It turned out to be worth it but my arms hurt afterwards.

Happy Crafting!

Beer Review Wednesday ~ Dirty Blonde Ale

I've been totally MIA on my beer reviews because I honestly haven't found any amazing or spectacular beers lately that I haven't already reviewed. BUT I know not every review is supposed to be FANTASTIC so here's one that I wasn't over the moon for. Of course I picked this because of the label :)

Atwater Block Brewery, Michigan - Dirty Blonde Ale
Serving type:  Bottle poured into a pint glass.

Appearance: Orangey, amber color. Clear with small head.

Smell: A slight citrus smell, doesn't have much of an aroma.

Taste: Label suggests orange peel and coriander? I did detect some orange/citrus but not sure about the coriander. It was a little watery to me?

Mouthfeel: Fair carbonation, light to medium body.

Overall: Very easy to drink but I was underwhelmed. I would like to say this would be a good beer to drink on a hot summer day but you can just as easily reach for a Bud Light Lime if that's the case. This beer just screamed average. Nothing too exciting.

I bought my Dirty Blonde Ale at Stone River Total Beverages in Murfreesboro, TN. To find a Dirty Blonde Ale in your area, visit http://www.atwaterbeer.com/beer-finder/

Have a great Wednesday!

 

Game Day Nails

IT'S COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON! Yes, finally my favorite time of year is here! I have recently been OBSESSED with Pinterest. It's been occupying entirely TOO much of my time {hence no posts lately} I have been pinning everything and anything that has to do with tailgating, houndstooth and crimson. Here are a couple of examples.

photo via http://sarabakescakes.blogspot.com/

photo via Etsy

Roll Tide by jackieturner featuring a black shawl

While I was pinning, I stumbled across the new (well at least to me) nail trend where the middle finger is painted a different color then the rest of your nails. I LOVE this but I wanted to put a little BAMA twist on it. So, I was in CVS over the summer and this houndstooth pattern caught my eye.

 Sally Hansen makes these nail polish strips that come in a houndstooth pattern {LOVE}! So I grabbed a box and took it home. I thought about what the heck I was going to do with it. I just couldn't see myself having all my nails in houndstooth so when I came across this new nail trend I knew what I was going to do.

First I applied the strip per the instructions and then I painted the remaining nails with Fishnet Stockings by Essie.

So far the strips have already chipped a little but this was my first try.

Have a very happy Friday and Roll Tide Roll!

Your Help is Needed!

I've been missing from the blogosphere for the past couple of weeks for two reasons 1. I had a vacation hangover and 2. I've been working on helping my brother raise money for a friend of his.

My brother on the left and Justin on the right

Justin doing his job as a mine sweeper

As many of you know I have two brothers that are in the Army. One is stationed Italy and the other is stationed in North Carolina but is currently in Afghanistan. Four weeks ago one of his team mates took a gunshot to the head while on a combat operation. Emergency brain surgery was performed in Afghanistan and he was then immediately flown to Germany. He was then transferred to ICU in Bethesda, MD. He quickly was released from ICU and had feelings on both sides of his body and was able to complete small tasks when asked. This alone is amazing! He is now in Richmond, VA for physical therapy. The beginning of this week he was actually able to get out of bed by himself and walk with some assistance. The physical therapist says that he should be walking on his own by the end of the month! I am in total shock that all this has happened so quickly! Justin is still not able to speak but everyone is confident that he will recover his speech.

Although Justin's recovery is coming along quickly, no one knows how long it will take and his family wants to be by his side every step of the way. His family has had to leave their home town in Idaho to travel to Germany and now the East Coast to be by their son's side as he recovers from this traumatic injury.

A Facebook page has been created to help Justin's family with their travel expenses. Please take a minute to visit the Facebook page and share it with your friends. If you would like to make a donation, please click the Paypal link.

These guys risk their lives for us everyday and I can't even begin to imagine the things they've seen and gone through. They do this because they can't think of anywhere else they rather be than serving their country and doing what they love. As a sister of a Wounded Warrior I can tell you that this is an extremely stressful and intense time for this family and if we can just give them some sort of relief, I know it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

French Manicure made EASY!

I absolutely love the look of a french manicure. I think it just looks so professional and lady like. I love painting my nails but the polish always chips off in about 3 hours (I'm hard on my hands) and I don't have the patience much less the precision to make that perfect moon shape line of a french manicure. So the other day when I was in Sally's Beauty Supply picking up another bottle of Batiste Dry Shampoo (btw this product is AMAZING as well) I came across this little jewel from Nail Bliss Pro called the French Wrap and thought I would give it a try.

This product is awesome and super easy to apply. I mean if I can do it, it's easy! It comes with everything you need: 13 different sized French Wrap applications, the base seal, top seal, brush on glue and a mini buffer. Essentially you glue on the smile line (as they like to call it) and then apply the base and top coat. These will make you nails strong and super shiny just like a professional manicure. I'm not much for artificial nails because I hate how weak all the filing makes my nails. This process only requires a light buffing and I'm working on day 5 of my flawless manicure.

The best part of this is that this only cost about $12 and the box says that there are about 10 applications in this kit. I'm not so sure there are 10 true applications but even with at least 3 you are definitely getting your money's worth.

I obviously have not tried to remove it yet but according to the directions you can remove it with acetone based remover (keep your fingers crossed). I'd love to hear from you if you have ever tried this product. Please leave a comment below!

Happy Monday!