Controlling the TV with My Mind

Phew.  Where did the weekend go?  I spent Saturday shopping in Naperville, Il with the ladies of Nate's family.  I didn't find a ton of house bargains (more clothes).  I did pick up our new dining room chairs though.  Super exciting.  That post will be coming soon.

Yesterday my family was in town for lunch.  It was a quick trip but it was good to see them.  I then played Nate's photography assistant as he took some family photos.  As fun as it all was, my hermit self longed for my couch.

So, I'm not much a tv person.  I have a few shows I DVR but I could go days without turning the tv on.  Nate, on the other hand, turns the tv on the second he walks in the door and doesn't shut it off until the second before he falls asleep.   

For his birthday he got the Logitech Harmony Remote from his parents. 

via Logitech  

Nate wanted this remote because it has closed cabinet control.  Meaning you can control devices behind cabinet doors.  (Fancy!)  This will come in handy when we build our living room cabinets.  He also wanted it because you can control the tv, Roku box, etc with your smart phone.  What?  He hooked it up and showed me.  I was like, "Eh.  That's cool but the remote is sitting right there.  I don't get it."  He then tried to impress me by not shutting the tv off until we got all of the way upstairs or down the hall. I told him to stop being weird.

The other night I felt like watching tv.  I asked Nate to hand me the remote.  He said "no", as most loving husbands do.  I whined. He told me to use my phone.  I whined because I didn't know how to do that.  (Do you see why I don't watch tv?)  He hooked it up for me and HOLY COW, I CAN CHANGE THE TV WITH MY PHONE!!!!   My life is changed.

Ike is impressed too.  Nate has our favorite channels stored so I just the HGTV button and bam! HGTV appears.  Super cool. You can adjust the volume, change the channel, anything.  Crazy. Ike loves it. 

That's today's pointless point.  I seriously can't get over how cool it is to turn the tv on with my phone. I'm sure the novelty will wear off but I'll keep telling everyone I know until then.  The only problem is that I can't call Nate weird anymore.  At least in regards to the phone remote business.   I also can't wait to get into a channel war using our phones.  Mwah ha ha.

Boy Pennant Quilt

I am a quilting fool. Or is it just a fool?  I don't remember.   I can never get that one straight.

I made this quilt for a co-worker's grandson.  This co-worker is also my source of all things awesome.  She also has a love for junk furniture and antiques.

"Hey, I love this buffet."  "I have one of those you can have for free in my garage."  (See it here.)

"Nate and I are looking for some barn wood to build a table." "I've got a whole garage full of it.  How much do you need? "

And she won't let me pay her.  So I asked if I could make her grandson a quilt for his 1st birthday.  Nate is also going to photograph her grandchildren.   Still not a fair deal on her end but I at least feel a little better about the situation.

Enough chatty mcchattersoning, here's the quilt!

I wanted to make this one a little larger than some I have made in the past.  It turned out much larger.  That's not all bad. 

I took these photos on a dark and rainy morning.  Ike was still sleepy.   Probably because he was up at 4:45am.  He was claiming that he was "too cold" and needed to sleep in the bed.  He's not a furry dog, sleeping in a 70 degree house with 2 blankets and a pillow.  Nope.  He's lucky he's cute.

I picked a dot chevron on the back.  It looked nice and boy like.  Or something. 

I am now working on a different type of quilt for my college roomie's triplets. I promised the quilts before they get to college.  I'd better get to moving...

World's Best Cupcake

It's that time of year again.  The time where I incessantly quote the movie, Elf.  Coincidentally it's also the time of year that Nate starts looking for his next wife.  Weird. 

Today I'm going to share with you the World's Best Cupcake recipe.  Picture me running into your home yelling "Congratulations.  You did it.  World's best cupcake!!!"

That's funny for two reason. I don't really yell or run.

Anywho, I've been baking a lot.  Part of my baking is mastering the cupcake.  I think I finally did it.  The cupcakes are ridiculously moist (sorry for using that word) and delicious.  The buttercream is what dreams are made of.  Delicious and the consistency is great for making pretty cupcakes.

World's Best Cupcake

Chocolate Cupcake:

1 cup buttermilk  (most important ingredient in tasty cupcakes)

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil  (I've used both and didn't really notice a difference.)

4 eggs

1 (18.25 oz.) box Betty Crocker's Super Moist Devil’s Food cake mix

Buttercream Frosting: 

• 2 cups salted butter, softened
• 5 1/3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/8 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 7-8 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions: 

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease cupcake pan.

Beat cake mix, buttermilk and oil until moistened (~30 seconds). Add eggs one at a time, until the batter is well-mixed. Beat on high until thick (~2 minutes).

Scoop the batter into the cupcake pan until they are 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven.  Cool cupcakes on a wire rack.

Once cooled, top with the world's best buttercream frosting recipe.

For the frosting, beat the butter until it’s fluffy.  Slowly add the sifted powdered sugar a cup at a time. Once all powdered sugar has been added, beat on medium-high until smooth.

Add the vanilla and almond extracts, and beat in to combine. Add the cream a bit at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency.

Increase mixer speed to medium-high, and continue to beat frosting until light and fluffy.

Frost cupcakes.  I use a 1M tip.  

EAT ALL THE CUPCAKES! 

Do you like cupcakes, Michelle?  Do cupcakes have sugar in them?  Then why yes I do. 

Do you have a favorite cupcake recipe?  Do share!  Who's pumped to watch Elf 1 million times in the upcoming months?  Too soon?