Today I am so happy that jewelery designer and blogger Megan Lane of Pretties by Meg and Meg’s Musings is here to share a delicious recipe for cupcakes! Thanks again, Meg, for contributing a guest post while I spend time with Lucy girl 🙂

back in august, i hosted the bridal shower for my sister amanda, who is now very happily wed. for the dessert, i tried my hand at cupcakes for the very first time. and to my astonishment, they were probably the tastiest i’ve ever had. but i cannot credit myself; the recipe comes from the brilliant pioneer woman. if you haven’t checked out her food blog, you must. now. your taste buds will thank me later (though your thighs may not follow suit).

the cake in these cupcakes comes from her chocolate sheet cake recipe, and it is seriously the best cake ever. it is SO incredibly moist and fudgy. it would be incredible on its own, but why not top (or rather, bottom) it off with a bing cherry and add a gooey, chocolaty, center, with the help of a good old-fashioned Hershey kiss (Ree Drummond, you are a genius!)

i followed Ree’s cupcake recipe to a tee, with the exception of putting only one cherry at the bottom of each cupcake. also, in place of ganache, i used buttercream frosting because it is my sister’s favorite, and it turned out to be an exquisite combination. i didn’t completely smother the cupcakes with the frosting; this way the cake had room to shine.

CUPCAKES (makes 18) ::
♥  2 cups sugar
♥  2 cups all-purpose flour
♥  1/2 tsp kosher salt
♥  1/2 cup buttermilk
♥  2 large eggs
♥  1 tsp baking soda
♥  1 tsp vanilla
♥  2 sticks (1 cup) butter
♥  4 heaping tbl cocoa powder
♥  1 cup boiling water
♥  18 Hershey kisses
♥  canned pitted cherries
♥  18 cupcake liners 

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING ::
♥  4 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
♥  1 1/2 cups butter
♥  1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
♥  3 tablespoons whipping cream


In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, whisk together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well-blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for another minute, adding cream if necessary for spreading consistency.
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go on, treat yo self!

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Gingiber is now reopened for business. I closed it for a week since I had a baby. Oh the timing of life, having a baby due on Black Friday did serve as a bit of a challenge for a handmade online artist.

Lucy was so considerate to arrive a couple of weeks early (kidding, but seriously….) I may be a bit crazy to be open for business again. I’ve already sold 7 items in the past 24 hours, so I had better get busy with making things!

So be sure to drop by my Gingiber Etsy shop soon to get some goodies for gift giving 🙂

p.s. Lucy and I are doing quite well. Life is exhausting, but my girls are the priority here! Just gonna try to keep up until things settle down come January.

-Stacie

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I hope that you all have been enjoying the guest posts while I take a little maternity leave 🙂 Today my friend Rachelle of Kenziepoo and La Petite Magazine is here to share some great decorating tips for your kiddo’s room!

I am so excited to be a guest blogger today! A huge congrats to Stacie on her new little baby Lucy!

I am in the process of re-doing my 3 1/2 year old daughter Kenzie’s room. It is almost done and I am very pleased with the results! I have had so much fun browsing through fun kids rooms to get inspiration for her space.

You might be like many people out there that have a hard time decorating your child’s space. Decorating a room provides a great opportunity for your child to express themselves & their personality, and can be a great opportunity for you as a parent to learn more about your kids.

Here are a few tips on decorating your child’s space:

• Get inspiration by browsing the internet and bookmarking your favorite kids rooms
• Ask your child questions- like what their favorite color, items etc…
• Only follow the trends if they work for you.
• Do consider built in-ins

These are just a few tips that have helped me in the decorating process with my daughter’s room. I hope these tips help you too!

Thanks for letting me be apart!

Congrats again Stacie on your little Lucy!

Rachelle xo

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Hi! I’m filling in for Stacie today while she is enjoying her newborn! It should only be a matter of a few weeks until my baby is born too, how exciting!

A little about moi… my name is Sandy, I blog over at Sandy a la Mode, and ramble multiple times a day over on Twitter. I blog about my adventures in DSLR photography, delicious recipes I have tried or invented, fashion, inspiration, and most recently my baby bump and cute baby things (well really, anything in miniature size is just adorable, don’t you agree?). Some things I love are bubble tea, cupcakes, frozen yogurt, dim sum, dresses, shoes, jewelry, Skittles, shopping, and my husband of course. I like to host giveaways every week on my blog and sharing with my readers cool shops I come across! What’s not to love about a chance to win free stuff? But anyway, enough about me, over the past 8 months as I’m preparing for my baby to make his appearance, I’ve scoured the web and stores for the cutest baby stuff to dress my baby boy up in. Of course, once in awhile, I’ll come across some ADORABLE baby girl items in my search. So, since Stacie just had a new baby girl, I decided to help her out with some of her shopping, that’s what friends are for, right?

1 It’ll probably be awhile until your baby can wear these adorable glitter Toms, but I say stock up and another pair will be sent to a child in need!

2 Into handmade? Noah and Lilah has some of the CUTEST baby clothes, foreals moms.

3 I don’t know about your baby, but my baby has a good chunk of vintage wears in his closet and TwitchTots is one of my fave places to get them!

4 Ruffles bums are SO in. Cute Little Toosh sells them!

5 I wish I could dress up my little boy in this Moriah Makes headband, but not sure he’d appreciate it, HA! But I’m sure your little girl would look GREAT in pictures with this on.

6 Nursing just got a whole lot more glamorous with this For The Love of Joy boppy cover, my niece has one!

7 And finally, your nursery just wouldn’t be complete without a personalized print from Livy Love Designs.

Congrats again Stacie! Enjoy these first few days of your oh-so-good-smelling newborn, watching her grow and change every day, and your beautiful new family!

-Sandy

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Hi friends! I am taking some time off now that little Lucy has arrived 🙂 But don’t worry, I’ve lined up a great group of bloggers to guest post in my absence! Today Faith from Ordinary Mommy is going to share with you a yummy recipe. Thanks, Faith!

Hello, GingiberSnap readers! I’m so thrilled that Stacie asked me to be a part of her blog and guest post while she and her family are taking some time to welcome little Lucy.

While I am certainly no gourmet chef, I do love to cook my own way, and with three wee ones running about I need to create recipes that are simple and to the point. As such, this definitely deviates from the traditional Monte Cristo sandwich, but it’s still quite tasty and rather easy. It’s perfect for when the kiddos want French toast and I’m looking for something a little bit more filling that has a good dose of protein.

If you are planning a brunch for any time during the holiday season, this recipe would be just the thing. Sometimes with all of the wonderful busyness during this time of the year it’s nice to have something simple to fall back on. Either cut the sandwiches into quarters, or slice them into strips, and place on a serving tray.

MONTE CRISTO SANDWICH RECIPE.

INGREDIENTS.

8 pieces of French toast
12 slices of ham (1/2 pound should be more than enough)
4 slices of cheese
maple syrup or raspberry jam

Prepare French toast as you normally would. Put two or three slices of ham and a slice of cheese (Swiss or provolone is best) between two pieces of French toast to make a sandwich. Return to the pan for a few moments to allow the cheese to get a little melty. Serve with maple syrup or raspberry jam for dipping!

Recipe makes 4 sandwiches.

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Meet Lucy Emmeline. Born on 11.11.11 at 6:19 PM. 6 pounds 6 ounces! We are so in love 🙂 Still at the hospital, so I will post her birth story soon.

-Stacie

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I have been searching for a lovely changing pad cover for Lucy. Alas, all I found at target were fluffy polka-dotted pastel pads. Not really my taste. Then, I decided I would grab some of the scrap fabric I had lying around my studio and just whip one up for her! I winged it and did not follow a tutorial, but rather used one of Violet’s old covers as a pattern.

After the fact, I remembered that Prudent Baby has an much simpler tutorial (which can be found here) for making a changing pad cover. And I am thinking of trying it out for the next 2 that I am making.

This fabric is rather bright and busy.With all of the other patterns I have going on in the room, I need to exercise some caution with anything else I bring into the room. But this was a great little afternoon project. Oh, and do you see the little diaper pale for Lucy’s cloth diapers? It is actually a $15 air tight dog food holder from Lowes! A girl at a local baby store recommended getting one if I was using cloth diapers.

Which I am still totally confused about but determined to try.

That will be a whole other blog post for sure.

Stacie

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I’ve made it to 38 weeks! It is so funny when your doctor and body convinces you that the baby will arrive early. I have had more painful contractions and misc. symptoms that delivery was imminent, yet here I am, still pregnant.

Don’t mind the no make-up face. I am actually sick with some illness that has been traveling around the office. I stayed home from work so that I could go get some medicine for that, as well as have my 38 week check-up. Today, the doctor said that she doesn’t think I will make it another week without having this baby! Crossing fingers and toes that she is right!

I am so excited to say that my maternity leave will begin on Monday! If baby stays put for a little while longer, I am definitely looking forward to a few days of recharging my batteries. If you follow me on twitter, my tweets have probably sounded a bit like a Debbie Downer. I have been having a lot of hormonally induced anxiety. I have not set limits in my life, and am beginning to feel burnt out. And this is no bueno when you are set to deliver a baby within 14 days!

December will be a hectic month. But, once the holidays settle down, I think that I will really enjoy the new rhythm of life with my family of 4.

Plus 2 dogs.

Thanks for still reading, friends,

Stacie

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Hi everyone! So in addition to running Gingiber, I am also privileged to serve as the Design Editor for La Petite Magazine, the most amazing online magazine dedicated to kids.

This is now my 3rd issue with La Petite, and I can honestly say it is the best yet! A big shout out to Rachelle, Jennifer Lee, Elly, and Melanie. What a fantastic team to be a part of.

I hope that you browse this issue and love it!

-Stacie

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