Music Video Night

Alright, these two songs have been running through my head the last couple days, and now, I plan on plaguing your brains with those same songs as well. You can thank me later.

*This brainwashing courtesy of the musical talents of Anberlin and Breaking Benjamin*

Feel Good Drag by Anberlin

The Diary of Jane by Breaking Benjamin

Both are amazing songs, and both are amazing bands. That is why they plague my iPod and takeover my Pandora account when I am busy working on work. Hope you all enjoyed the brainwash!

Wacky Wednesday: Threadless.com

The graphic designer in me says, "BUY IT DANGIT!"
And for $12? I just may!

Threadless.com has some of the most AMAZING t-shirts, hoodies, and even baby clothes! Personally, I have already gotten my surrogate nephew (I call him Cheese Doodle for personal reasonings) a couple one pieces, which my best friend proceeded to send me a picture of him in one of his new pieces of clothing when she received the package.

The designs are submitted by people (mainly art students or someone with some artistic ability), and then they are screen printed onto the items that the site sells.

Some consist of just type with different colors and in unique font faces, while some are colorful and awesome drawings. Realistic, or playful.

And with the clothes being fairly cheap to begin with (most go for about $12 for reprint t-shirts), it's a wonder I haven't spent half of my paychecks on this site yet!


Visit the site to start looking at some of the items they sell!

PS: They have a $12 T-shirt sale going on right now, so GO GO GO!!

Tasty Tuesday: Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

Personally, I love zucchini bread. Even more, I love chocolate chip zucchini bread. And Ms. Paula Deen, the queen of anything decadent, has a recipe that sounds as good as it looks.

You can watch a video and read the recipe here




Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon orange zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease 2 9x5 inch loaf pans.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices, and baking soda.

3. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended.

Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, pecans, chocolate chips, and orange zest. Stir in sifted ingredients.

Pour into prepared loaf pans.

4. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove

loaves from pans and cool. Chill before slicing. 

Serve with whipped cream and ribbons of zucchini (optional).

Definitely tasty, and definitely worth the time it takes to bake. Putting it together is pretty easy. The only thing that is tough is waiting out the time it takes to have the loaves cool before digging in!

City Sunday: Raleigh, NC

Raleigh, NC

Raleigh, North Carolina: a city of just over 400,000 people, it is the second largest city in North Carolina (following Charlotte obviously). Once the state capital, this city is still bustling, and one of the major go-to places in the state. With an international airport, as well as several private airports, the city is always getting new visitors.

So what is there to do in this city??

That's what I'm here for. Not just for the historical aspect of the city, but also for what other touristy things you can do, what the locals like to do, and- better yet- what is there to eat in this southern city??

-Take a Tour of the City

Whether by foot, trolley, or even Segway, there is no better way to get to know a city than by exploring around it.

Yes, it seems touristy, but when you have locals giving the tours, they will give you a history on the city, as well as point out big landmarks. Being on a tour will also help you to learn the streets of a city, so that you are less likely to get lost.

Here is a list of different tours that are offered in the city of Raleigh. So why not give one of them a try?

-Visit a Museum

Yes, it may still be summer (at least for most of you in the north), but going to a museum can be a lot of fun! At least for this art student.

With a good few galleries and museums in the city of Raleigh, you can choose from a bunch to go visit!

Here is a list of different art galleries that are just in the city itself! That's not counting towns AROUND the city!

And now *drum roll please*:

What to actually eat in this town!

The Pit

You want barbeque? They've GOT barbeque! This place has been around for a good long time, and has some good, down home North Carolina style barbeque.

Definitely worth the trip to it!

Here is their website, so you can go check it out yourself!

The Roast Grill

Like hotdogs? Then go visit The Roast Grill! They have been serving up hotdogs to the residents of Raleigh since 1940. Just remember one thing- they don't believe in ketchup here. Don't even try to ask!

But pop on in, and chow down on some tasty dogs.

Saturday Night Sweets: Creamsicle Cupcakes

Remember that delicious treat of orange and cream that was usually found in a paper wrapper on a stick? Also usually found in your freezer? Well, it's back- but in cupcake form. I don't know about you, but this is definitely one that I see myself making a good few times over the next couple months.

Hopefully you all enjoy them as well!

This recipe is courtesy of Katie Farrell on Dashing Dish.




Though the recipe tells you to use sugar free and diet, you can definitely substitute in the high sugar stuff (personally, I prefer the regular orange soda to the diet, as well as the full sugar vanilla pudding).

Ingredients
-For the cake
1 box Vanilla Cake Mix
1 (12 oz) can Orange Soda

-For the frosting
1 (8 oz) container Cool Whip
1 sm. box Vanilla Pudding Mix
3/4 c. Milk (whatever kind you prefer to drink or mix with)
Orange food coloring (or mix 3:1 yellow to red food dye)
Juice of 1 orange (and/or 1/2 tsp. Orange Extract)

1 orange to decorate (opt.)

Directions

1. To make the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350, and line 2 (12 muffin tins) with cupcake liners. Beat cake mix and pop together until batter is smooth and creamy. Pour cake mix into lined muffin tin, filling each cup about half way full. Place cupcakes in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes.

2. While cupcakes are baking, mix together Pudding Mix, Milk, Cool Whip, and Food Coloring.

3. Squeeze the juice of one orange into the frosting mixture. (I like to squeeze my orange upside down, so I don’t get seeds in the bowl!) (Add in the orange extract for a stronger citrus flavor).

4. Beat until smooth.

5. When cupcakes come out of the oven, let cool completely before frosting. When ready to frost, turn a large ziplock bag inside out, and scoop frosting into the corner of the bag with a spatula. Turn ziplock bag right-side out, squeezing frosting down into one corner.

6. Snip the corner of the bag off with scissors.

7. To pipe frosting, begin by making a large circle on top of the cupcake, followed by smaller circles, and simply pull up at the top!

Store in the fridge until ready to serve!

Yummy yummy. Have fun!

Music Flashback: Nsync

Alright, this is some ancient stuff right here, but one of my friends on Facebook (thanks Pete) posted some lyrics from this song, and now it is running through my head, and won't leave.

SO, to pass this boy band song onto your minds (since my ADD brain is crazy right now), let us enjoy a fun little throwback:

Yeah, we all remember this song. Enjoy kiddies!

And I just threw this one in for good measure.

Tasty Tuesday: Banana Split Cupcakes

Just because it's Tasty Tuesday, and I think this comic is hilarious.

Anywhos, in the spirit of trying to cool down in the southeast, why not give these yummy Banana Split Cupcakes a try? Courtesy of Annie's Eats!

Banana Split Cupcakes

Ingredients

-Cake

2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2½ cups sugar
6 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. buttermilk
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana

-Filling

1 lb. strawberries, hulled and diced small
2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
12 oz. crushed pineapple, drained

-Frosting

1½ cups heavy cream, chilled
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
½ tsp. vanilla extract

-Ganache

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. light corn syrup

For Garnish, use multi-colored sprinkles and maraschino cherries (gives you that authentic banana split feeling.

Directions

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt; whisk together and set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Reduce the mixer speed to medium low and add in eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Mix in 1 the mashed banana until well combined.  With the mixer on low speed alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing only until just incorporated.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about 2/3 to ¾ full.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-22 minutes.  Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the strawberry filling, combine the strawberries and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl.  Toss well, smashing slightly with a fork.  Allow the berries to macerate at least 20-30 minutes.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a small cone out of the center of each cupcake with a paring knife or small biscuit cutter.  (The excess cake can be discarded.)  Add a teaspoon or two of the strawberry filling to the center of each cupcake.  Top with a teaspoon or two of the crushed pineapple, filling to the top of the cupcake.

To make the frosting, add the heavy cream to the chilled bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.  Whip on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.  Add the powdered sugar and continue to whip until thoroughly combined and stiff peaks form.  Be careful not to over-beat!  Blend in the vanilla extract.

Add the whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip.  Pipe a swirl of the whipped cream onto each filled cupcake, covering the filling.  Transfer the filled and frosted cupcakes to the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes.

To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  Bring the cream to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Remove from the heat and pour the hot cream over the chocolate; let stand 1-2 minutes.  Whisk together until a thick, smooth ganache forms.  Blend in the corn syrup.  Let stand at room temperature at least 10 minutes so the ganache is not hot.

To finish the cupcakes, pour a spoonful of the ganache over the whipped cream topping of each cupcake.  Garnish with sprinkles and maraschino cherries before the glaze sets.  Chill the assembled cupcakes until ready to serve.