{Cupcakes: Disney's Peanut Butter Cupcake}

I have caught the itch for the trend of cupcakes.
I love how each individual cake looks nice as opposed to when you cut a cake it looks awesome as a whole but the individual pieces do not always look so stellar when they are being served.

This winter I have really taken seriously my love of cupcakes and have started to learn how to frost/decorate my own as well as bake my own from scratch. {I know they probably don't taste all that much different and maybe not even better, but I love knowing I created something from square one} Pinterest has a TON of fun ideas, the problem is some of them are just pictures while other include the entire recipe. I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to cupcakes. I {and my mom} are always pinning different cupcakes, some people are ridiculously creative.

A couple weeks ago Lucy, Marc, Dakota, and I met up with Cubby {my brother}, Al {Cubby's girlfriend}, and my parents in Minneapolis to celebrate my Mom's 60th birthday. I offered to bring the cupcakes {what's a birthday party w/out cake?!}.

I found THIS pin on Pinterest, which lacks any directions just has a picture.
They claim to be Disney's Peanut Butter Cupcake. {I would LOVE to learn a ton of Disney parks recipes}

I made a chocolate cake from scratch
Put mini peanut butter chips inside the cake
Baked them
Made a homemade buttercream frosting
Sprinkled with a few mini peanut butter chips
Drizzled melted peanut butter chips {I add a tiny bit of oil to my melted chips}
Drizzled melted chocolate chips  {I once again add a tiny bit of oil to my melted chips}
Added a mini Reece's Peanut Butter cup to each cupcake

In retrospect: the pin put the peanut butter cup on then added the two drizzles


We brought a dozen to Minneapolis and a dozen to a St. Patty's day party
We had zero left at the end of the weekend, so I am calling it a success

Do you like to bake?
What do you like to bake?

Welcoming a new decade

Today I enter a new decade of life. Good bye 20s and hello 30s.

My 20s were great. The highlight reel:

• I earned my bachelor's degree
• I earned my masters of divinity
• I was ordained
• I took my first call to full time ministry
• I got married
• I traveled the globe
• met amazing people and heard their stories
• smelled and tasted things beyond my wildest imagination
• took thousands upon thousands (literally) of photographs
• I learned more about myself 
• I ran my first half marathon (and have continued to run them)
• I bought 2 houses and sold 1
• I got my a golden retriever, Dakota
• I got pregnant (yep, you read that right, Baby Marshall is arriving early August 2014)
  

Hopes and Dreams for my 30s: (in no particular order)

• deliver a baby (eeeeeek)
• raise a wonderful child who lives to love and serve God
• Travel the globe
• payoff Marc's student loans
• finish the basement of our house
• go on a sabbatical (after 7 years in ministry at my current ministry site I am allowed a 3 month sabbatical)
• continue to run half marathons
• and other races - and place in the top 3 of my age bracket for some race (yes it can be a small race) - now that I am out of the 18-29 age bracket (seriously, how is that age bracket fair to those of us in the upper part of that bracket) it seems like this goal may actually be do able
• Grow in my photography skills 
• also in my photoshop/lightroom abilities
• live in the moment more often
• and live simply
•  keep up on my shutterfly books - I love looking through them when they are finished 
• read lots and lots of books
• crochet beautiful things

This list is only the beginning, as life always goes, we have NO CLUE what we are doing. However, I look forward to the years to come, good-bye twenties, you were good to me for sure. Hello, thirties, bring on the adventures.

"O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." (ELW pg 304)

South Dakota Trip

me and a couple of my favorite people

I just think this is a funny picture of me
Marc too 

 This pa This past weekend, Marc and I took a quick trip back to South Dakota (weekend fun is hard when you are a pastor and don't get your Sundays off, while four Sundays off a year may sound like a lot, when everything happens on a weekend it never seems like enough.), we ran home late Thursday night and made it back on Saturday so I could work Sunday morning. While we were home we stayed with my parents, saw my BFF Hartj, spent a little time with some old roommates, spent time with my grandparents, aunt, uncles, some cousins, my brother, and his girlfriend. IT WAS WONDERFUL.
Home does the soul good. We spent Friday doing all sorts of great things: eating at a yummy burger join in downtown Sioux Falls (J.L. Beers - I had never heard of it), walked around the falls, took pictures of geese (not picture of Marc playing with my good camera), talked, talked, stopped by at a friend's school, took Dakota to the dog park, saw what will hopefully be my parent's new house in the beginning of November, and most importantly got to go to my Grandfather's 85th birthday party!
   It was so delightful to be back home. I love Brainerd, but it is hard to be so far away from family.st weekend, Marc and I took a quick trip back to South Dakota (weekend fun is hard when you are a pastor and don't get your Sundays off, while four Sundays off a year may sound like a lot, when everything happens on a weekend it never seems like enough.), we ran home late Thursday night and made it back on Saturday so I could work Sunday morning. While we were home we stayed with my parents, saw my BFF Hartj, spent a little time with some old roommates, spent time with my grandparents, aunt, uncles, a cousin, my brother, and his girlfriend. IT WAS WONDERFUL.
Home does the soul good. We spent Friday doing all sorts of great things: eating at a yummy burger join in downtown Sioux Falls (J.L. Beers - I had never heard of it), walked around the falls, took pictures of geese (not picture of Marc playing with my good camera), talked, talked, stopped by at a friend's school, took Dakota to the dog park, saw what will hopefully be my parent's new house in the beginning of November, and most importantly got to go to my Grandfather's 85th birthday party!
   It was so delightful to be back home and it was wonderful to be back in Brainerd sleeping in my own bed. It was a great time! Perhaps soon you will get a photo dump with a ton of pictures of geese (why? - good question - however some of the pictures are kind of fun so we'll see when I actually get around to getting them off my camera).

This picture just makes me laugh, I don't think anyone is looking in the same
direction - and Grandma's face is enough to make me laugh aloud

Grandpa and Grandma with their kids
my dad is the one on the far right

I realize this picture isn't perfect, however it just makes me smile

Today is Grandpa's 85th Birthday! So here is Happy Birthday to the best Grandpa in the world (he'll never read this - he isn't all that tech savy - don't worry I already called him to wish him a Happy Birthday this morning)

How was your weekend?
Are your grandparents still alive?

2 Years Old

Dakota - Fall 2012
photo credit: Vicki Foss (she's a rockstar)

Dear Dakota,

   When you came into the world two years ago I had no idea, I didn't know you were born until I saw your sweet picture of you and your siblings. I had no idea what you would mean to me. As I looked at the pile of puppies I thought how could I even begin to choose, you were one of nine. I sorted through the pictures and instantly knew I wanted a female, which left five of you to choose from. There were lots of pictures, finally I settled on one for no particular reason other than something tugged at my heart strings, although I am not certain how looking at golden retriever puppies one couldn't have their heart strings tugged. So I waited, for what feels like forever (eight weeks) for you to wean yourself from your mother. 

    I met you in a parking lot, you were the sweetest little ball of fur I had ever set my eyes on. Seriously, you were such a snugly puppy. We had a lot of transition and changes in your first year and you were a tough puppy at times. Your first year, was great, but this second year was even better. You have quit bitting on anything and everything in eye range, you are fully house broken, you walk and run like a champ on a leash and you are even learning quite a few commands. You have sit, stay, come (most of the time), wait, and down amazingly well. You are even a rockstar off leash, you love the ability to run and run and run some more.
   You have recently gotten accepted in the Morris Animal Foundation Lifetime Golden Retriever study and passed your initial grueling physical with flying colors. Everyone at the vet clinic loves you and you ham it up so that they just keep giving you treats upon treats. We get close to the vet and your tail starts wagging like crazy because going to the vet means treats, several people's undivided attention, and lots of love.

   Your best friends are Luther and Gus, as well as your cousin Nala. You love to play with the orange chuck it ball, swim in any lake and sometimes even sit in the bathtub and beg for me to fill it just so you can play in the water, you love going for a good long run and get antsy when I start to put my shoes on. You love love love food and any food, you lay so nicely at the table if it is just you, Marc, and I at home, when others are over it gets a little bit more challenging. You have Marc trained to give you the last few licks out of his blizzard cup and some of nearly every meal he eats. You also love going for a ride in the car and snuggling on the couch. You still sleep in your crate with your blanket and your zebra buddy and we haven't dared leave you out yet while we aren't home for you are persistent at getting into things if given the chance. 

   You love to be outside when the weather is warm and watching the kids at the school across the way at the school. You also love when we go visit kids or they come to the house, you wag and wag your tail and let them pet you until they don't care any more. You have finally caught on the the sleep gig in the morning and never make a peep until I come to let you out of your crate, you are amazing.
    I think you have finally stopped growing, you are a wonderful size, not too big and not to small. Up here in northern Minnesota you are the odd dog out because you have such light colored fur, most golden retrievers up here, like your bff's Gus & Luther, have dark red fur. You were weighed not too long ago and weighted a solid 66 pounds. Both your mom and dad were huge, so I wasn't sure what you would turn out like size wise, and even color was sort of a guess, a couple of your siblings were really dark as puppies. There is a piece of me that wishes we could gather you and your siblings together just to see if you remember each other and compare what you all look like. 

   When I got you I had no idea what you would me to me or how much I would love you. Thanks for letting me come home and vent to you, snuggle when all seems wrong or right in the world, thanks for demanding I am not lazy all of the time and accompanying me on countless walks, runs, and hikes. Thanks for being the ball of energy you are and for loving me unconditionally. Thanks for being you! Thanks be to God for you and pets everywhere who are more than merely pets.

I love you tons and tons,

   Sarah

Birthdays

Marc and I have birthdays two days apart, Marc's is 4/3 mine is 4/5 it makes it interesting. We are learning and trying to learn how to celebrate both. Last year and this year we opted for the 4/4 celebration and split the difference, it seems to work out so far. Neither one of us are huge into birthdays, we like to go out to eat or something along that line but by no means expect the world to stop and celebrate with us. It works out well. It didn't help that Marc's birthday fell on a Wednesday (crazy crazy busy for me) and mine on a Friday when we had house guests - we actually are really enjoying having birthdays near one another. Although it would be fun to have a reason to celebrate in another month - maybe we'll start celebrating our half birthday's too just because we can. We did grill this yummy deliciousness last night which was delightful!


How do you celebrate your birthday?
Should your birthday be considered a national holiday?

Happy Birthday Brother

It seems sort of cruel, Mom & Dad, and I are out in California on vacation and you are in vet school, however I feel it all too appropriate to still write an ode to you while we are gone. Cubby and I have always gotten along fairly well but over time we have really gotten to be much better friends. Junior high wasn't the best of years for either of us (although is junior high ever good for anyone). Either way Happy Birthday baby brother! Love from California to you!