Happy St. Patty's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! I'm not Irish, but Chips mum was....and this holiday always reminds me of her :) I made these yummy cupcakes for the kiddos and some friends...



I fished out all of the marshmallows from our traditional box of Lucky Charms cereal I get every year....



...and tried this can of Color Mist too. It worked great!!! I like the way it gave a hint of color, letting some white show through too.... Enjoy this wonderful day everyone...Erin Go Braugh!

Favorite Friday

Happy Friday! I had an easy time making my pick for my favorite thing this week. My new Batter Pen. I got it at Sur La Table in SoHo on my recent trip to New York City. (I know, I know! I am planning on doing a post of my fun weekend.....be patient :) My sister was browsing for clients and I was tagging along.....when I spied this wonderful thing. I knew instantly I had to have it....and that is saying a lot for me. That normally doesn't happen....I am a thinker, and have to process most everything before I make a purchase....even a little one like this :) Mostly because I don't have much storage space in my kitchen, so everything has to be very useful, and I have to love it...because at this point I usually have to get rid of something to make room.

I'm making cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow...so this was my first time using my Cupcake Pen...the label says "Batter Pen"...but we all know what I will be using it for :) NO more drips across the pan or down the sides. It holds the perfect amount of batter for 24 cupcakes...and can easily be used for muffins and pancakes too. I'm so happy. Really. It doesn't take much for me. I give it two thumbs up.

Shamrock Shakes

I can hardly contain myself on how excited I am about this Shamrock Shake. Because you see, I am SHAMROCK SHAKE CRAAAAZY at this time of the year. They hang out a big banner on the fence at the McDonald's near to my house when they arrive....I swear it's just for me :) I try soooo hard to be good...trying just to have one or two, but the closer it gets to St. Patrick's Day I start to get a little panicky...knowing they will be all gone for another year. I've been known to cruise the 3 local Mickey D's in my area buying up the last ones and storing them in my freezer so I can pull one out well past the season.....

Well......no longer!!! I am thrilled that I found out how to make them myself! I came across the recipe on Pinterest...and couldn't wait to try one out and put it to the test. Let me just say they are PER.FECT. Yep, PER.FECT. And let me also say I feel like a complete DUMBO that I never figured this out for myself?????? Or maybe it was just as well.......because now I have access to them whenever I want??????

Anyhoo......Here is what you need to make a Shamrock Shake for your lucky little leprechaun:


(This will make enough for two shakes)

3 cups of your favorite vanilla ice cream....I use Kirkland's from Costco
1 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 tsp. of peppermint extract
green food coloring...a few drops, or however green you want it to be.

Combine all ingredients int the blender until smooth. Divide between two glasses, then top with whipped cream.

YUM.

I'm linked up to Jennifer Junipers Tutorial Tuesday over at Hope Studios....It's the best linky party around....go check it out!

Favorite Friday

Okay.....I'm on a roll over here......three days in a row, WhooHoo!! I have soooo many things I would love to feature this week because it's been a while since I did a Favorite Friday post....but I'm going to start with these Pop Chips. LOVE THEM! I have seen them around for a while and was hesitant to try them. I can't stand wasting calories on dumb crunchy snacks that taste like cardboard. Well, when I was in New York City last weekend....I saw them in a little corner market and finally decided to try them. I bought them to have as a snack on my flight home. I don't even think they had finished boarding the plane and I was finished with my bag! I got the barbeque ones....they were sooooooooo good!!

I looked for them at my Walmart when I got home....and couldn't find them. But when I was at Costco the other day they had the mega-sized bag of the plain ones. I was a little leary of getting such a HUGE bag....fearing the plain ones would be terrible...but the kids all gave them two thumbs up. I originally thought they were made of popcorn, but they are really potatoes...just not fried or baked......Popped! I have no idea how they do it, but they are very tasty and a much healthier choice for our family. Let me know if any of you have tried them....Have a terrific weekend.

Two Tidbits While the Kids Were Away....

Honestly, I am still on cloud nine from my second honeymoon while the kiddos were in Vail a few weeks ago. It was sooooooooooo nice! We didn't have a whole lot planned....and I like it that way. Just enough to keep us happy and re-connect. I just love it being the two of us doing stuff here in Pittsburgh that we never get a chance to do. And one of those things is going to the movies. We always make a day of it and head down to the Waterfront. There is a cute little shopping area and tons of restaurants. Also, there are 20 movie theaters and it's the best place in our area to see one. We really didn't have a plan as to what we were going to see. When we walked up to get our tickets hubs wanted to see Safehouse....and, me not so much. I don't like scary, thrilling ones....AT ALL. When I saw This Means War...I remembered Chelsea Handler talking about it on her show....she makes a debut with Reese Witherspoon. Chip was pretty easy going...so that's what we picked.

It was GREAT!!!!!! I'd see it again in a heartbeat!! Lots of action.....a cute little story, cute guys and Chelsea is completely herself and hysterical....I give it two thumbs up....and I quote Chip...."That was cute". We had dinner afterwards at Bravo and it was the perfect date night.




We had dinner reservations at a wonderful restaurant in downtown Pittsburgh to celebrate our anniversary....but at the last minute we got a call from a friend to join them at the Heart Ball.....a huge charity event in our area. Sure....why not???? A wonderful cause, a chance to get dressed up...dinner, dancing and a glass or two of wine. It was such a nice night!!

I Can Explain....

Seriously.....it's felt like just a week, or two at the most since I last posted here at Treatgirl....but when I started having people emailing and texting me to see if I was okay...I realized it's been waaaaaay too long. I'm so sorry!! My kiddos were away on their visit to my sister's out in Vail, Colorado for six days and the hubs and I were very busy having a second honeymoon because it happened to coincide with our anniversary and Valentine's Day. Then....they came home and I left for New York City for a long weekend with my mom and sister. Sooooooo nice!!!!! I got home last week and got the house and everyone's lives back in order. And in the middle of all of it I was A.DD.ICTED to Friday Night Lights on Netflix. Every spare moment I had was spent in Dillon, Texas with Coach Taylor and Tim Riggins. I just finished up all 76 episodes yesterday and I miss them all already!!! Soooooo.....there it is. My formal apology of why I haven't been hopping around to all of your lovely blogs and have neglected mine. I will jump back in this week and try to turn things around over here. I've missed you all!!!!

Happy Heart Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Look at my new super adorable cookie jar! My Dad's girlfriend gave it to me...She of course knows how much I love cupcakes AND Valentine's Day! Of course I go busy baking these sweet sugar cookies to fill it with :) I have a special dinner of red and white heart shaped ravioli I found at Costco...and a big heart shaped brownie too. I make it all special by eating in the dining room with candles..... Do you have any sweet things planned???? Best wishes for lots of hugs and chocolates to you!