It recently occurred to me that I never posted about our engagement. It happened over 3 years ago and was one of the happiest days of my life. At the time this blog wasn’t very personal so here I am with photos even though it’s old news.

We got engaged on June 29th, 2007. I saw this amazing ring at an antique shop the week before and while watching fireworks along with some very sweet words there it was. A 1950′s alexandrite in a gold setting. Even though there were plenty of people around it felt like it was just the two of us watching the sky light up. Now every time we go to the fireworks it is our special thing and it will always remind me of that day. We aren’t married yet but we are finally well into the planning stages.

How beautiful is this Pyrex ad from 1955? I love the bright colors and the model’s dress is to die for. The ad shows a little bit of everything including the primary mixing bowls, bakeware, primary refrigerator set and the colorful dinnerware! Click on the image to see it in all of it’s full size glory.

image via peppermint kiss kiss

This picture pretty much sums up my life right now. I’m on a soft food diet so I’m living on ice cream, yogurt and soup. Trying to simplify my life, find a way to relax and get rid of this awful tmj pain. The muscle relaxers were fun at first but feeling drunk all day is getting old. Tomorrow I will be making an appointment with an acupuncturist and hopefully that will fix me.  To occupy myself tonight, the mister and I went to an auction. It was kind of a bust but we did find a few things that I will post about tomorrow. Goodnight.

I baked these delicious red velvet cupcakes yesterday while I was impatiently waiting for Mad Men to come on. That makes two weekend in a row spent in the kitchen baking my heart out. Last week was whoopie pies in case you missed them.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz. red food coloring (two bottles)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.  In a small bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go.  Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.

4. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda.  Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Fill cupcake cups with cake batter 2/3 – 3/4 full.  Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Cool cupcakes in tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting :

3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter

1. Blend into a small saucepan the 3 tablespoons of flour and the cup of milk. Add the milk to the flour slowly, avoiding lumps.

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture resembles glue.

3. Cool completely.

4. Cream together sugar, butter, and vanilla until fluffy.

5. Add to cooked mixture. Beat, high speed, until very fluffy. Frost cooled cupcakes.

1. Thrift stores of course

2. Pretty braids

3. my dream bouquet

4. I LOVE this Tea & Sweets dress from Anthropologie so much I want to get married in it!

5. I can’t think of a better way to display my polaroids.

6. This organic tea towel by katherinejlee would go perfectly in our kitchen

7. I would love to add this Mikasa pattern to my collection of vintage plates

8. Stacks of Pyrex in original boxes!

9. A good reminder

10. Summer walks in pretty dresses

images via weheartit

Today was a long day. I had a doctor’s appointment (diagnosis TMJ) and many errands to run. After dinner we went on a much needed ice cream date. This place is so cute and filled with vintage decor. They have lots of formica tables as seating and the one we sat at had adorable apples printed on it!

I’m off to relax (doctor’s orders) and veg out to Bethenny Getting Married? I can’t help it I love that show!