Lemon Cupcakes!

Last weekend we picked the prettiest lemons out of KB's grandma's garden. Originally, I was planning to make fresh-squeezed lemonade with them, but then I realized the opportunity to bake and guess which one won! So with the excuse of "I'm baking them for Mother's Day," I pulled out my KitchenAid (the real reason I wanted to bake) and made some SUPER lemony cupcakes.

I have never baked lemon cupcakes or really lemon anything before and I don't know why I thought of it, but these were a big hit! I have to give credit where credit is due, though. These are the two recipes that I started with and then added to, to make them my own. The cupcakes were a Real Simple recipe and the cream cheese frosting was from All Recipes, but I changed them both quite a bit to achieve the really tart lemon flavor I was hoping to achieve.

So let's cook these tasty little guys!

What you'll need: 

1 1/2 

cups

 flour

1 1/2 

teaspoons 

baking powder 

1/4 

teaspoon 

sea salt (I couldn't find mine, so I had to use kosher)

1/2 

cup 

unsalted butter (take it out of the fridge in advance to warm up) 

3/4 

cup 

granulated sugar

2

 eggs

1 

teaspoon 

pure vanilla extract (I'll probably skip this next time, to get rid of the extra sweetness)

1/2 

cup 

1% or fat free milk

The zest from 2 large lemons

1 box of lemon pudding mix

Juice from 2  large lemons

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. 

Put your warm butter and sugar in the mixer and mix on medium-high speed until fluffy. 

Add in your eggs and resume mixing until the yolks are completely combined. 

Slowly pour in your flour mixture. You might need to scrape the edges of the bowl to keep the dry ingredients from building up around the edges. Mix until the dry ingredients are completely combined. 

Pour in the packet of lemon pudding mix. Mix until combined. 

I had never baked with pudding mix, but I always heard that it made your baked goods really moist and it really did!

Pour or squeeze your lemon juice into the bowl and add the lemon zest. If you squeeze the juice directly into the mixture make sure to watch out for the seeds! 

I don't like super sweet desserts and adding this much lemon juice and zest made the cupcakes really tangy and delicious.

Line your cupcake tin and spray the paper cups with your choice of cooking spray. I always use Pam, but that's just because it's easy. 

Fill the baking cups almost to the top to get a really nice cupcake shape. Place in the oven and cook for 22 minutes or until you can stick a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. 

Time for the icing:

It's super easy! Seriously, it's a one step process!

What you need: 

1 package low-fat cream cheese (8 oz)

1/4 cup butter

5 1/2 cups powdered sugar 

Juice from 2 lemons

Zest from two lemons

Put everything in the mixer and mix until there aren't any clumps. I wanted the icing to be really zesty, so the icing wasn't as stiff as I would have liked. I didn't want to add more powdered sugar because the flavor was where I wanted it, so I chose flavor over presentation. To thicken the icing, either use less lemon juice or add in more powdered sugar! Ta-da icing.

Take the cupcakes out of the oven. Let them cool completely before icing them! 

Use a knife or a piping bag to ice the cupcakes. I used some lemon rind to garnish the top, but you could also sprinkle some zest over them!

I hope these sunshine-y yellow cupcakes bring some sunlight to your day! 

Love you all, 

MONDAY WITH MATT! 10-minute Full Body Workout!

Grab your gear and crush this workout! Do it once all the way through with us as we talk you through the exercises and enjoy the short breaks, then go through it again without stopping! 

You can do it! This was one of the best ten minute workouts I have ever done and will definitely be adding it into my regular weekly workout routine. It's only ten minutes, take it one minute at a time and prove to yourself that you can do it!!

Have any questions? Comment down below and Matt and I will answer! 

I hope you have a beautiful Monday! Don't forget to go out and spread a little bit of sunlight!

Love you with all my heart, 

Mama Knows Best

We sometimes hate to admit it, but Moms usually know best and my mom truly knows best when it comes to fashion. She's the reason that I am so interested in it and why I own too many shoes. She's helped hundreds of people with their closets over the years and she gave me a few tips to share with you!

This is your checklist to create the most perfect closet. With these key pieces hanging there, you will always look good, you can add in the new trends, you can mix and match, but these are the essentials that everyone needs.

1. Spanx || 2. Calvin 

Klein || 3. BP || 4. J Crew

 || 5. J Crew (or this one) || 6. J Crew (or this one) || 7. Kate Spade || 8. 

Brahmin || 9. Joe's ||

And a few other links to items from the list with notes from my mom!

• Express has the best affordable suiting for someone starting their career- Jacket, pants, skirt
• You need these tank tops in every color!
• You're LBD needs to be versatile. You should be able to wear it to a work function or out with your girlfriends! 
• An extra black jacket is great if it has a little something extra to offer! This flyaway front looks great over dresses and jeans! 
• For summer, you need a pair of great-fitting Khaki or White pants. 
• These Levi Slim Cut Jeans are the best!
• Everyone needs a trench coat! You can splurge or save, just make sure it fits over cold-weather wear and still looks flattering. 
• Get a neutral-colored cardigan. It seems boring, but you can wear it with everything. 
• An evening bag is a must, especially in a fun metallic! 
• Black pumps, you only need one pair of classic black pumps, but you have to have one.  
• Vince Camuto has the cutest black riding boots!

Thanks mom for all of your help! I think I need to go work through this list and figure out what I'm missing. I definitely need that Brahmin travel bag ;)

Thanks everyone for reading! Go spread some sunlight on all the amazing moms in your life today and tell them how much you love them!

I love you all, especially you mama!

Basketball Booty!

So ... we are well into the second series and my Spurs have finished their season early. (I still love them all, though!) But tonight and tomorrow are sure to be great games and I propose that instead of drinking heavily and eating a plate full of hot wings you take on this squat challenge! It's a drinking game, but with squats. I promise it can get just as competitive as drinking yourself silly and you'll feel much better in the morning!

I'll be half-heartedly cheering on the Warriors and Klay Thompson tomorrow night. (I'm still too wounded to cheer for my fellow Sooner alum Blake and the Clippers.)

Get yourself a basketball booty! And let me know how it goes!

Squat it out and spread some sunlight! 

Love you and and sorry for the sore quads in advance, 

Fit and Fabulous!

1. Top: Z by Zella || Bra: Under Armour || Shorts: Under Armour || Shoes: ASICS

2. Top: Nike || Bra: Champion || Leggings: Lulu Lemon || Shoes: Nike

3. Top: Madewell || Bra: Victoria's Secret || Pants: Gap || Shoes: Adidas by Stella McCartney

I have really wanted to go shopping for new workout clothes recently, so I went ahead and compiled a few outfits that I plan to add to my closet in the very near future! 

I love to run and now that it's warmer I can't wait to start running more often! ASICS are the only running shoe that really works with my high arches, so those are the only shoes I will hit the pavement in, but I'm an athletic shoe addict so I wear a lot of super colorful Nike's to the gym to lift in. 

I'm also loving that workout clothes are becoming so trendy! I mean Stella McCartney's line for Adidas doesn't even look like workout clothes, they're so pretty! 

Spread some sunlight today!
Love,

Summer Strolls and Tennis Skirts

Top: Chelsea and Violet (Not the same color/print but similar cut!) I also love this one and this one! || Skirt: BCBG  || Shoes: Francesca's (mine are old, but these are so similar) || Necklaces: Baublebar, Sparklepop (sold out, but there are a lot on Poshmark), Etsy   || Watch: Michael Kors || Bracelets: Pavé Cuff, bangles || Nail Polish: Sally Hansen Creme de la Creme

I love chambray and I love white so basically this outfit kind of just fit together perfectly. I think the tennis skirt is a super fun and preppy way to dress up an outfit. The top is from Chelsea and Violet, they have the cutest stuff! Plus, the sleeveless style allows be to wear chambray even when it's hot and sunny outside! The skirt is BCBG and I got it a few years ago to take on a trip to Paris, but I found a really similar one!

I would also love to pair this top with some white skinny jeans, but I don't really like the pair in my closet at the moment! The hunt for the perfect pair continues! Do you guys have any suggestions? 

I added a pair of tan wedges and some gold jewelry. The shortest necklace is an arrow from Baublebar (Unfortunately, it's sold out, but they still have the matching bracelet! Still, I linked to a similar one above), the middle necklace was a great find at the Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco and the longest on is from a super cute Australian company called Sparklepop! Seriously, look at their website it's so cute and they ship free to the U.S.! 

Use today to go out, spread some sunlight and brighten someone's day! 

So much love, 

                                   

CINCO DE MAYO MANGORITAS!

What you need: 

Tommy's Margarita Mix (I found it at Whole Foods)

Tequila Blanco

Citronge Triple Sec or Cointreau

Frozen Mango (I like the Trader Joe's brand) You can use fresh mango, also!

Fresh Limes 

Jigger

Shaker

First, puree the mango in a food processor. 

Now fill your shaker 3/4 full of ice. Put 2 spoonfuls of the puréed mango, 2 oz. of tequila and 1 oz. of Triple Sec into a pint glass. Flip the glass into the shaker and press down to create a seal. Now shake it up (really hard!) for about 10 seconds.  

Smack the side of the shaker to loosen the pint glass, then separate the two until there's a small crack - pour out the liquid into a margarita glass (salted or not)! Add a slice of lime to make it pretty and ENJOY!

Spread some sunlight and make these for you and your friends! 

Love love love,