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Available June 1st! Martha Stewart's Cupcakes: 175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone's Favorite Treat (Paperback) By: Martha Stewart Living Magazine Dessert lovers and bakers alike are craving cupcakes. From specialty shops and baking products to television specials and blogs, the must-have dessert has continued to grow in popularity and has become one of the most searched-for terms on marthastewart.com. Now, Martha Stewart and her team of editors at Martha Stewart Living have created Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes, featuring 175 ideas and recipes for cupcakes, frostings, fillings, and toppings, along with a trove of suggestions for tastefully decorating and embellishing them. From classics such as devil’s food cupcakes to sweet surprises like peanut butter and jelly cupcakes, and from elegant delicacies like tiny cherry-almond tea cakes to festive showstoppers topped with piped buttercream blossoms or meringue bouquets, each cupcake is accompanied by a gorgeous color photograph. They wil...

It's been a while. I know. But I just haven't had the time to do a darn tootin' creative thing. That's why I am so glad I still design and write articles for Scrapjazz. It forces me to actually sit down and make something. :) Here's what I've been up to: SuperFan I created this for an upcoming baseball article. It was from my son's birthday party last year. Good times. :) Pumpkins This is for my monthly assignment. I had to use Pink Paislee and Petaloo. I am in love with the Pink Paislee chipboard. It is adhesive! just peel and stick it wherever you like. LOVE it! Wonderful A card I made for a friend to wish her a wonderful birthday. This is all Stampin' Up products. China This is for a fun series of color combination challenge articles that I am writing for Scrapjazz. Thanks This is a card I made from the scraps form my China layout and it uses the color combination as well.

or should I say spending update. :O I tried my hardest not to spend a dime on Thursday but it didn't work. Natty wanted hot lunch again and I had to go to the p.o. I think I am their best customer. But, both of those trips only set me back a few dollars. Spent: Hot Lunch: $2.50 USPS: $6.43 Now Friday was a whole nother story. :O I realized quickly that I would not be able to pull together an album for my Mom for Mother's Day so I went shopping and got her linen capris, a tunic and sandals to match. Everything was on sale! While I was there, I also picked up some gym socks for myself. With all of this working out going on, I realized I do not have enough sweat socks. Total was $68.18. Then the grocery store for supplies for pizza night and some staples. Total was $63.39. Again, everything I bought was on sale and by using my shopper's card I saved $14.38. And by using 3 reusable grocery bags, I saved an additional 6 cents. Friday Totals: Spent: $131.57 Saved...

A few years ago I started sending picture birthday party invites to my family. The first one I did was when Dylan was 8 and it said something like Dylan is 8 let's celebrate. Then for his 10 year old birthday party I had him hold up ten fingers and had the fabulous Libby Weifenbach design a digivite. So, now his 11th birthday is coming up and I must admit I was perplexed as to what to do. But, Suzie Bee came to the rescue and this is what I got.... I love it!!!!! Thank you Suzie!!!! You ROCK!

Wednesday's Totals: Spent: Stamp at USPS - $.42 2 donuts at Dunkin Donuts - $2.15 Monthly Totals: Spent: $142.12 Saved: $16.84

In keeping with the whole money saving and eating healthier theme here is a link for free grilled chicken from KFC. You must download the coupon before 11:59 tonight. It is valid until May 19th. And the only exclusion is on Mother's Day. http://www.unthinkfc.com/KFCPdf.pdf Enjoy! Mo

Just to clarify some things, we are trying to do this as a family however, my hubby is thee worst offender. He eats out for lunch everyday in Manhattan where it costs like ten buck for a slice of pizza and a drink. He is much more aware on the weekends when I am around to hound him. LOL! But, since I am really the main money manager in the house, I took this on myself. In response to April's bread post, I did make my own bread last week and it was delish. Yes, I own an automatic breadmaker. ;) The kiddos devoured it. So, we plan on making a loaf or two a week. This should help cut down costs and be healthier too. I am trying to eat cleaner these days and eliminate all the processed foods that we put into our bodies. And, I can see and feel the difference already. On another note, I am experimenting with the all cash theory. I was one to never every carry cash around but that has gotten me into trouble. With credit cards and debit cards you really never know exatly how mu...

I had high hopes for not spending a dime today. They were quickly dashed as soon as my daughter woke up and informed me that she wanted hot lunch today. So there goes $2.50. Then my hubby tells me we need juice and if we are having pasta tonight he wants bread and salad. And, there went another $11.88. I did use my shopper's card and reusable bag at the grocery store so I saved $1.05. Tomorrow is not looking good either because it is horseback riding and I always get Dylan a donut at DD as a treat for him waiting for an hour for his sister at a smelly farm. LOL!!! Thursday will be the day I spend nada, zip, zero, zilch. I hope. ;) Tuesday's Totals: Spent: $14.38 Saved: $1.05 Monthly Totals: Spent: $139.55 Saved: $16.84

Sunday: We went out for dinner at our favorite Chinese buffet and spent $48.37. Not bad for a family of 4. Then Stew bought a cd that he has been wanting at Borders because they were all 50% off. He spent $9.63. Total for Sunday: $58.00 Monday: Spent: USPS to mail a gift: $2.19 A&P for bananas and 2 more boxes of Shredded Wheat: $5.91 Girl Scout Leader gift: $10.00 Savings: $5.98 at A&P using my shopper's card. .42 for postage stamp on Mother's Day card. I used one I took off a card I received thatwasn't cancelled. Totals for Monday: Spent: $18.10 Saved: $6.40 May Totals to Date: Spent: $125.17 Saved: $15.79

Baseball Update This is the face of a boy whose team is 3-0 and just won their last game 14-0. It was a perfect day for baseball. It was sunny and 69. Dylan walked twice, stole twice, scored a run and flied out. Baseball is going well. :) Money Saving Update Since we had back-to-back sporting events, I packed lunch, snacks and drinks for everybody. That avoided numerous expensive trips to the food truck. :) I had to fill up my car today but this will last me for the entire week if I don't make any unnecessary trips. Total cost: $25.00 We are eating in tonight, shrimp over linguine with hot sauce, garlic bread and salad. I had everything but the hot sauce. So, I headed out to the A&P to pick up hot sauce, fat free milk, which we finished yesterday, orange juice, since we are low and to see what killer sales they had. I ended up getting Post Shredded Wheat for Stew for $2.00 and a couple of boxes of 100 calorie snack packs for $2.00 each to put in the kids' lunch ...

Money Saving May It's May 1st and this month and I have joined Karen's challenge to see how little I can spend...of course things like the mortgage, electric, etc, are a must so I'm not going to count those expenses here. I think I'm a pretty good saver already but I know I could be saving a lot more each month if I tried a little harder. I thought I'd share some of the things that I plan to do to save and maybe you can too. 1. Post my goals...to spend less and account for each and every thing I spend. 2. No bookstores. On the weekends, we used to live at the bookstore but now we are going to use our local library exclusively. As a matter of fact, we just made a trip there yesterday after school. 3. Shop sales. Every week the supermarket circulars come in the mail. I go through them and decide which store has the better sales and shop there. I also try and limit the amount of non-sale items I buy. I love seeing the bottom of the bill where it shows the ...

Flower Rice Krispie Treats. YUM! And pretty too. :)

Grilled Salisbury Chicken serves 6 1 tablespoon olive oil 3 tablespoons butter, divided 2 cups of sliced button mushrooms 1 medium onion, sliced thin, about 2 cups 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 3 tablespoons flour 2 cups beef stock 1/2 teaspoon sage 1/4 cup cream 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise for thin cutlets salt and pepper olive oil 8 ounces of noodles such as Klusksi egg noodles, cooked and drained chopped fresh parsley for garnish In a large saute pan over medium high heat, add olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. When the butter has almost melted, add the mushrooms and onions and saute for 6 - 8 minutes. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and the balsamic vinegar and stir to combine. Stir in the flour and cook for about a minute. Stir in the stock and cook until slightly thickened, about 3 - 4 minutes. Stir in the sage, cream, salt and pepper. Turn heat to low and keep sauce warm while the chicken is c...