maple bacon cupcakes

make something a little different for thanksgiving this year. you know you want to. these cupcakes combine flavors that i used to believe should never be combined. gross. bacon and cupcakes? what is the world coming to?

welp, turns out it's delicious - so, don't knock it till you try it.

as a birminghamian, i had to make this recipe, included in southern living's big book of cupcakes. this recipe was provided by jan moon of dreamcakes, birmingham's local cupcakery (they've even got a cupcake truck!) holy perfect, right?!

for the cake:

1 cup butter, softened 

1 1/2 cups sugar 

4 large eggs 

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon salt 

1 cup milk 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

for the maple frosting:

1 cup butter 

1 (16-oz.) package dark brown sugar 

1/2 cup evaporated milk 

1/4 teaspoon baking soda 

1 tablespoon light corn syrup 

4 cups powdered sugar 

2 teaspoons maple flavoring

for the toppings:

12 cooked bacon slices, broken to pieces (super crispy!)

preheat your oven to 350 degrees. combine butter & sugar and beat until light and fluffy. add in eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. in a separate bowl, sift together flour, tabking powder and salt. slowly add flour mixture, alternating with milk, starting & ending with flour. add vanilla extract. be sure not to overbeat! spoon batter into cupcake tins & bake the cupcake for 15-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

for the frosting, melt butter in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat.  add brown sugar, stirring constantly, and bring to a boil. add evaporated milk, baking soda & light corn syrup. bring to a boil. remove from heat and let cool (this could take a while, but it's important! the caramel mixture needs to be 100% cool before you move on). once cool, beat in powdered sugar with an electric mixer. add maple flavoring. this frosting firms up quickly and is much easier to work with that way, so you may want to wait a few minutes before icing.

fry up some bacon, break into pieces for your topping, and voila!

i'm very excited to head to my parents house in fairhope for thanksgiving - it's going to be a wonderful weekend catching up with a few friends and family members. and nah, i'm not doing the black friday thing this year. i'll stick to online shopping, thanks.

i'm taking a little blogging break the rest of this week to enjoy the holidays - see you in december!

recipe via my recipes.

an adventure to little river canyon

if you haven't visited alabama, you may not know about some of the beautiful places we've got in our state. northern alabama rests at the foothills of the appalachian mountains, giving us gorgeous, sloping scenery with a symphony of flora, fauna and color. you can drive south and sink your toes into sugar white sand at gulf shores, float down the cahaba river near birmingham, or drive up north of gadsden to visit the beautiful little river canyon.

it was my first time here, and i was speechless. i had no idea we had a canyon this large that stretches for miles in alabama - and i've lived in this state my entire life. the waterfalls are spectacular, and the views are magnificent. unfortunately i missed the bulk of the autumn leaves changing, but i'm sure this place is just as glorious in spring as everything begins to bloom, which is probably when i'll go back.

just when you think you've seen all there is to see around you, look again. occasionally you'll find a hidden gem.

5 lessons i've learned from running a blog community

over coffee at o'henry's in early 2014, i spoke with beth & molly about starting a group called birmingham bloggers. months later, we're having a blast and have loved meeting so many amazing people along the way. we've also got an amazing workshop brunch coming up! i've learned a lot about social media, event planning, and most of all, i've finally been able to flex my marketing muscles that i don't get to use at my day job. it hasn't all been easy, and i've learned a lot of lessons along the way - but most of all, i've learned what i'm capable of with a little determination and a willingness to step outside my comfort zone.

birmingham is full of innovators & amazing writers/bloggers. i've been so inspired by the community and the successful, ambitious people leading it (javacia, wade & countless others!). so if you're in an area lacking a community, keep looking, and reach out to everyone to make it happen. good luck!

if you create it, they will come

i started birmingham bloggers in april 2014. i figured hey, maybe i'd get a few members. i'd be super happy if i got 10. well, here we are, not even a year later, and we're approaching 100 members. i never in my wildest dreams imagined we'd have that many people in this community, and i also had no idea there were that many bloggers in birmingham. the point is, if your area lacks a community, don't hesitate to create it. you will fill a need, even if it is only for 5 other bloggers.

staying organized is key, and saves you a headache

i organize all members of birmingham bloggers into a spreadsheet in google docs. i used square space to host our site, and each 'new member' form is automatically routed to the spreadsheet. i've got everyone's email loaded into mail chimp, and i keep a running tally in my brain of who likes to blog about what, how often and what their "voice" is - i can't tell you how many times i've talked to someone and they've asked, "oh, does anyone blog about xyz?" i'm super type a, so this may not be first nature for everyone. find a way to utilize apps and technology to keep it simple. keep your member data up to date, and jot down ideas constantly.

events don't plan themselves

depending on your community "goals", you may anticipate to host several blogging meetups and events. if this is an aspect of community you'd like to cultivate, be prepared to enlist some help depending on the scale of your event. send out a general interest survey to your members about which day of the week they're available for meetups, or what type of meetups they'd prefer. don't forget to ask this question! after all, they're the ones attending. announce your events at least a week or two in advance to give people time to plan. and don't take it personally when they don't show up. life happens. or sometimes, someone just didn't feel like sitting around and chatting for a few hours after a long day (hello, totally guilty here. introvert problems).

branding matters. always has, always will

if you're looking to create a larger scale community, focus on your community's "voice". what makes you different than everyone else yelling on twitter and facebook? what's your community's niche? always invest in good graphic design and aesthetic - don't be afraid to reach out to your member base and see if anyone would like to help out. decide what the goals of your community are, and remind yourself of those during every event and social media post. positivity is a voice that looks good on everyone. 

give bloggers a benefit

regardless of the size of your community, take a look at what you offer your members. a cute button for their site? weekly happy hours? monthly workshops, discounts or promotions? think about what you'd want out of a community, and capitalize on that thought. even if your benefit is just knowing other local bloggers and having friends to turn to when the blogging seas get rough, make sure your members know that. remind them. or, make koozies. because everyone loves koozies.

kickin' chili

so in the past few days, it's gotten super chilly here in birmingham. i was craving something comforting & warm, so my first thought was to this low carb chili recipe i've made once before. it's perfect for breezy autumn nights, so bring out the crockpot & make it asap. you won't regret it. this recipe has no beans and quite a kick to it, but of course, you can scale back on the spice if needed.

click here to visit peace, love & low carb for the recipe. i promise it's worth it! to see some of my other low carb favorites, click here to read a compilation post i made a while back. enjoy!

insta-style: fall edition

here are a few shots of what i've been wearing lately. it's only just now cold enough for scarves, boots & sweaters here in birmingham, but i've really been loving it! on my trip to austin, it was in the lower 70's, so i got to wear my floral asos midi skirt for the first time! but of course, back in alabama i'm busting out the blanket scarves. i got mine on amazon for $20 (the price has dropped to $14 now, so go snag one! you won't regret it!). i think i'm going to need to invest in more coats this winter - we're supposedly in for a super chilly one.

follow me on instagram for more! what have you been wearing so far this fall?

an austin adventure

here are some shots from my long weekend trip to austin, texas. i flew out early friday morning and was in by 10am - i honestly feel like i could have stayed there another week! there's so much to do and austin is such a vibrant place, i basically fell in love with the city. my cousin is interning there for the semester and so graciously invited me to come visit. and what an awesome choice it was!

friday

7am flight, woohoo! i grabbed lunch at diner 24 (holy yum), stopped by the baylor art wall, and then to the top of mt. bonnell for a fabulous view and mayfield nature preserve for peacocks! we then ventured to south austin to my cousin's apartment. that night, we went to firehouse bar for a delicious cheese plate, and then hung out and listened to some live music at guerro's before heading to dinner at south congress cafe (warm goat cheese + prosciutto salad, need i say more?).

and, of course, we had to hit up the bar scene - we stopped by c-boy's and then finally got hauled over to 6th street to go to buckshot. everyone says you can try to avoid ending up on 6th during a night out, but you'll inevitably find yourself there.

 saturday
i was so excited to go to hamilton pool! this natural pool is about 30ish miles west of austin, and oh my gosh, is it worth the drive! there's a short, steep hike down to the pool, and honestly photos don't do it justice. if you're in the area, you must go here.

after our day excursion, we headed back to austin to get ready for fun fun fun fest! i didn't take any photos here (lots of snapchats) but it was an awesome festival. and i crossed seeing modest mouse off my bucket list.

sunday
on this day, we explored south congress a bit and had sunday brunch at blackbird & henry. i got a lamb leg grilled cheese with goat cheese and some grits (plus a mimosa, of course) and was about ready to die afterwards because it was so damn good. then, we trekked to walton's fancy & staple per molly's recommendation for some macarons! i also explored UT's campus a bit before we drove all the way down to salt lick for bbq. there's a vineyard on site, so of course, we picked up some of their wine! afterward, i had my first experience at alamo drafthouse to see 'st. vincent'. loved it. why aren't all move theaters this way? they should be.

on monday, my cousin returned to work, so i stopped by patika again for a vanilla latte, then toured the zilker botanical gardens, which were a perfect way to wind down before my flight back to birmingham.

have you ever been to austin? did i hit all the good spots? the foodie scene is so overwhelming there! i can't wait to go back!

recent beauty favorites

01. nivea kiss of care & color - this. stuff. is. my. favorite. oh my gosh. i am not a lipstick girl. i'll put it on, but it's a struggle for me. these add a hint of color and feel exactly like a lip balm - they're probably even more comfortable than revlon lip butters. i have them in a few shades, and i wear them non-stop!

02. juicy couture's viva la juicy la fleur - i am a huge, huge fan of juicy couture's perfumes, especially viva la juicy. my friend got me viva la juicy la fleur for my birthday, and i'm obsessed! i wear it every day, and i'll probably run through the entire bottle before the year ends.

03. mary kay eye cream - i've never tried any mary kay products prior to this one, nor have i used a dedicated eye cream. i do like this product, and i wake up every day with my skin buttery soft. as far as help with dark circles, i'm not sure. however, i really need to keep this in my routine, because there is no such thing as too much moisturizing, especially around the eye area.

04. opi polish in 'keeping suzi at bay' - this has been a wonderful fall color that i've worn on my hands and feet constantly. it's a slightly darker, rich toned navy that looks gorgeous with fall color palettes.

birmingham bloggers + kendra scott

last wednesday, october 29th, birmingham bloggers held it's october event at the new kendra scott location at the summit! we were so excited to host this event, meet new members & sip champagne! beth, molly and i had been anticipating this event for over a month, and we were overjoyed that it was a success. we've had so many ideas for future events, and we're looking forward to making 2015 the year for birmingham bloggers.

thank you so much to sarah at kendra scott for your hospitality! the store is gorgeous, everyone be sure to go check them out on november 6th for their grand opening celebration!