~14 carat cupcakes~

You may or may not know, but I am on a low calorie diet plan

{I hate that word diet!}

Anyway, I am always looking for new low cal recipes because I love to bake and I am addicted to sugar!

I found this recipe and made them today, they are very yummy!

My kids even like them!

14~carat cupcakes

Picture, not recipe, from here,

Ingredients:

4 oz. fat-free cream cheese, room temp.

1/3 c. plain fat-free Greek yogurt

1 1/4 c. no-calorie sugar substitute, granulated

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 c. moist-style yellow cake mix

(1/4 of a 18.25- oz. box)

3/4 c. whole wheat flour

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 c. canned pure pumpkin

2/3 c. refrigerated egg product

1 1/2 c. carrots, shredded

2/3 c. canned crushed pineapple in juice, undrained.

1/4 c. raisins

1~ Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a med. bowl, combine cream cheese, yogurt, 2/3 c. of the sugar substitute, and the vanilla. Using a whisk or fork, blend until smooth. Refrigerate until cupcakes are ready to be frosted.

2~ In a large bowl, combine cake mix, flour, the remaining sugar, the brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and baking powder. In a med. bowl combine pumpkin9n, egg, and 1/4 c. water. Add pumpkin mixture into the large bowl. Using a whisk or fork, blend until mixed. Stir in carrots, pineapple, and raisins.

3~Line a 12 cup muffin pan with baking cups and/or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Evenly distribute cake mixture among the cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

4~Allow cupcakes to cool completely, then evenly distribute frosting over the tops. Refrigerate until frosting has set and your ready to serve!

makes 12 servings at 133 calories per serving and 1 gram fat!

Enjoy!

xoxo

~pretty pretties~

I'm in LOVE with all of these photos! That trunk reminds me of my new coffee table!

super sweet!

Love the lighting and the chippy white paint on the sideboard.

You know how I LOVE huge walls of chalkboards!

Loving this pale blue and white chippy cabinet!

A collection of white dishes always gets me.

The ruffled chair slips are to die for!

I love the wood moulding shelves too!

Love, love, love, everything about this photo.

I am in the process of re~doing my craft room and this photo is a huge inspiration!

Think of all the time and love that went into each and every one of these paintings.....

I would love to wake up in the morning

and have breakfast in this kitchen!

Aren't these spaces lovely?

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

xoxo

Photo credits

p.s. if you haven't already done so, check out my giveaway here!

~a chair makeover~

I picked up 2 of these caned back

armchairs at an estate sale last

month for $40.00 a piece. As you can see the peach fabric

is really outdated and while the dark wood is nice,

it doesn't fit in with the color scheme in our home.
So, I got out my handy dandy can of heirloom

white spray paint and sprayed away!

Yesterday I made these slips for the seats out of vintage

cotton feed and grain sacks.

I am very happy with how they turned out.

I made a 5" ruffle on each slip,

because you know I love ruffles!

The fun thing about these is the gorgeous colors
and the mix and match feed sacks.
I made the seat of this one from an old rice bag.
I think since they are dining room chairs it is appropriate
that they are made out of something related to food!

The other one I used a heavier Bemis sack as the seat,
complete with a few rust spots!

Here is a close up of the Rice sack seat.
I love the crown and the fact that it says Regal
is perfect since it is a head of the table chair!


I mixed up about 4 different sacks to make the ruffles.
This one has a large rose on it with some fun wording.

There is no rhyme or reason to the ruffle.

I figured the more grain sacks I used, the more eclectic it would look.

I made ties for each arm out of leftover grain sack scraps.

These can easily come off and be thrown into the wash.

They are very informal and fun.

Now that I have made these,

I may make 2 more sets out of plain

white or off white fabric for more formal occasions......

but formal doesn't happen too often in our home!

Happy Friday friends!

xoxo

~what time is it?~

It's giveaway time!

Just to let you know how grateful I am that you all read my blog and leave me the sweetest comments, I'd like to give one of you these weathered clock hands from Wisteria! Here is how Wisteria describes them!

Have you ever wished time could stand still? Well okay, you can’t really stop time, but you can commemorate a particularly special moment in your life with these rather large clock hands. Replicated from an antique tower clock, these clock hands are made of iron with a weathered zinc-like paint finish. Place the large and small hands of this clock on a wall in any position to immortalize a specific time. Hardware included.
A bold addition to any room
Inspired by an antique tower clock
Made of iron with a zinc-like finish Dimensions: 53”-79.5”l x 12.5”w Includes hanging hardware, hands can be positioned then secured to desired shape.

Did you see those dimensions?

They are huge!

OK, here is the drill.......

1} become a follower, this will give you one entry.

If you are already a follower, leave me a comment stating that you are.

2} If you want a second entry, post about my giveaway on your blog, face book, or twitter account. Leave me a comment letting me know that you posted about my giveaway.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

I will be using the random counter and picking a winner on April 13Th at 12 p.m. Pacific standard time.

Good luck ladies!

xoxo

~feeling honored~

My blog is featured in this fabulous magazine along

with some other fabulous blogs.

I am feeling so honored! And,

there will be a featured article soon in this wonderful magazine,

on My Sweet Savannah!

I am beyond excited!

xoxo

check out their website here!

~friendships~

"Yes’m, old friends is always best, ‘less you can catch you a new one that’s
fit to make an old one out of."- Sarah Orne Jewett

I have made so many wonderful friendships through this little old blog of mine.

One of my most recent friendships is with Maria.

We have spent several occasions laughing hysterically on the phone,

she is such a sweetheart, and she's funny too!

{not to mention an incredible decorator!}

You are the best Maria!

Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you to all of my wonderful readers, I have a special giveaway coming shortly to express my gratitude!

all photos found here.

Happy Monday!

xoxo

Whos Your Pick!

Barely a month to go before the welterweight clash between compatriots Sugar Shane Mosley (46-5-0, 39 KOs) and Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather Jr. (40-0-0, 25 KOs), boxing pundits still don’t have a clear consensus about who has the upper hand in this very intriguing bout. Here, we are going to examine closely the possibilities, as well as the positives and negatives of either fighter. Hopefully after reading this piece, you, my beloved readers could come up with an educated guess as to who will come out victorious.

Let’s start our discussion with the tale of the tape. The undefeated Mayweather is listed at 5’8” with a 72-inch reach. Throughout his entire professional boxing career, the man they call “Pretty Boy”, “Money”, and at times “Chickenjoy” or “Gayweather” has enjoyed the effective reach advantage in all but one of his bouts. Six-division champ “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya was his only opponent who had an effective reach advantage over him. “Sugar” Shane Mosley, on the other hand, stands 5’9”, with a 2-inch reach advantage over Mayweather. Judging from the tale of the tape alone, not to mention the fact that Mosley is a relatively far more established welterweight than Mayweather is, then common sense dictates that the 38-year-old fighter out of California should have his hands raised at the end of the bout. But before all you anti-Mayweather fans start rejoicing, take note that the key word there is “alone”. There are still several factors to consider, which we will tackle later on in this piece.

Speed is another important parameter to reflect on. Mosley is known for his incredible hand speed, but his opponent is not bad in this area, either. Conversely, Mayweather is known for his vast foot speed, which is however not among Mosley’s strong points, especially at this point of his boxing career. Both pugs are accurate punchers, but Mayweather’s uncanny ability to elude his opponent, together with a knack for creating angles for his counterpunches, the flamboyant Grand Rapids, Michigan native should have an advantage in this department.

The line separating victory and defeat generally depends on Mosley’s ability to cut the ring and impose his will on his very elusive opponent. Mosley’s jab will also prove to be a crucial factor to keep Mayweather at bay and give him problems unloading his own offensive. Mosley has two choices. He can basically rely on his effective reach advantage and wait for Mayweather to come in, hoping that the judges will grant him the benefit of the doubt if exchanges should ensue… or he can bring the fight to Mayweather and perhaps go for a knockout, not leaving any chances for the judges to take the fight away from him, knowing fully well that these people would certainly want the much anticipated Pacquiao-Mayweather encounter to push through.