Currently Crushing: Strawberry Delight Cake

While reading the latest Woman's Day Magazine, I came across a yummy recipe for a cake topped with blueberries and a frosting made of sour cream and cream cheese.  Although I totally love sour cream and cream cheese, not everyone in our house is a fan.

It also happened to be a special little someone's 6th birthday, and she had requested a strawberry cake.  I decided to change up the recipe, first opting for a box cake to save on time.  I baked the cake in 8" round cake pans.  After cooling, the cake was set in the refrigerator overnight.  This allowed for us to easily cut each cake through the middle, creating the layers.

Just before the party, the cake was layered with cool whip and strawberries.  This is a fun and festive spring cake that everyone is sure to enjoy.  Other thoughts would be to poke the cake and pour jello over it before refrigerating.  Although I chose to skip frosting the sides, cool whip and strawberries could have also been added.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

"May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light, may good luck pursue you each morning and night."  Irish Blessing

Essie: Alice & Olivia Fall/Winter '14 Style

Today's look is all about dressing up the nails, and fortunately with sites like Pinterest we can learn how to create many of the styles without leaving the house.

There was a strong focus on the nails during New York Fashion Week, and I am happy to be able to share the many looks by essie.  

Stacey Bendet’s fairytale inspired Alice + Olivia collection was filled with textured metallic fabrics, exotic fur pieces and oversized knits. To complement the bohemian glamour vibe, Miss Pop Nails for essie created two dark, gold accented nail looks. 

essie nail products used:
first base base coat 
good as gold licorice 
good to go top coat


How to get the look:

1. Apply first base base coat to clean, filed nails
   
2. Next, apply two layers licorice
   
3. To apply the gold dots, dip a nail dotting tool in good as gold and carefully apply a
   medium-sized dot at the center tip of the nail and two smaller dots on each side
   
4. At the base of the nail, dip the dotting tool in good as gold and apply a medium-sized
   dot at the center edge of the nail and five smaller dots surrounding it
   
5. Finish with good to go top coat
   

Tip: If you don’t have a nail dotting tool, use the end of a bobby pin!