Musical musings for June

I cannot believe we are halfway through 2014 already. I have to say I just don't like it, time needs to stop ticking over because I have so much I want to do and I am not making it happen. One thing I am definitely trying to keep up doing is listening to new music even when I am still loving stuff already in my iTunes library. This helps me to not overplay the songs I love so that I don't get sick of them. My music choices are usually a combination of artists I already listen too and new ones. With this in mind, the five additions to my playlist were:

1. I Don't Dance - Lee Brice
2. Dirt Road - Kip Moore
3. Fallin Over You - Chad Brownlee
4. Whiskey in My Water - Tyler Farr
5. Give Me Back My Hometown - Eric Church

Yes it is all country music and I have no plans to shock you with a new genre anytime soon. 

June's musical musings can be found on these albums (images courtesy of iTunes)

Leggings galore

We are officially in summer, but the weather is still being quite temperamental including lots of rain today before the sun finally came out. This works well for me when it comes to my wardrobe as I seem to have become a little bit obsessed with American Eagle/Aerie leggings. It all started back in February with some online shopping as mentioned here. From here my collection has more than tripled with no end in sight as I still have my eye on a few more pairs and may make them mine before the weather definitely turns into summer. It doesn't help that they keep bringing out new ones. The different patterns are so appealing and make it easier to wear them by themselves with long tops. It is a pretty affordable obsession so I just need them to stop tempting me with new designs.

Perfect oatmeal cookies

Sometimes baking doesn't need to involve every dish and utensil in the kitchen. This is especially true when it is a spur of the moment decision to bake on a weeknight. I had suggested baking cookies, but as soon as the words came out of my mouth I started to think about what this would mean so late at night. I didn't want lots of dishes and I definitely didn't want to use any electronics. With these things in mind I found a recipe here. It is a simple, easy and delicious recipe that didn't take long to whip up especially with some assistance. Even better was the fact that the recipe didn't produce too many cookies so the more I shared the less temptation for me. It just goes to show that delicious baked goods can come from a spur of the moment decision. All you need is to find a recipe to suit the occasion and have all the ingredients on hand.

Foot fetish

Yesterday I allowed myself to go a little bit shopping crazy and pick up a few things I needed and/or wanted at the mall. I literally spent the whole day there and thankfully did not come home empty-handed. When it came to shoes, I set myself a somewhat measly budget of $100.00 with the hopes I would be able to pick up two or three pairs of flats. I am happy to say that I was successful with this challenge because that kind of budget may seem unrealistic. I picked up three different pairs of shoes from Call It Spring including a pair of boots, which I definitely was not in the market for seeing as it is summertime now. The boots were too cute to resist and who doesn't love additional discount on a sale item. Strangely the shoe sizes I brought home weren't my norm so I hope my feet don't swell and I live to regret my cute new purchases. 

Instagram

Social media isn't really my thing and I am 99.9% sure I will never return to Facebook, but I couldn't resist the pull of Instagram once I got my iPhone last year. It quickly became a regularly used app and now I admittedly access it daily. I would like to say I just use it to check in with friends and give them a snippet into my life with random photos because of being on the other side of the world and all, but I also like to follow bloggers, celebrities and randomness. It does help keep me in touch with things and occasionally it inspires me in life and what I get up to. I think in this day and age it is hard to avoid being a part of some fad or craze, but anything in moderation doesn't hurt.

Chocolate cupcakes with mint chocolate chip frosting

Surprisingly, it took me over a month to christen the new kitchen with some baking, but I think it was worth the wait. What better excuse to bake then my housemate Corinne's birthday this past Tuesday. It had to be cupcakes over a cake as I have yet to perfect the art of basic cake decorating without it looking like a child did it. When you live with someone I think it gives you a good idea of what they like so with this in mind I decided on the cupcake recipe including frosting that I found here. As part of the baking process, I was really excited to be able to use a couple of items I got in a house warming present - some very cute liners and a cupcake scoop that is one of a set of three. The liners were great because of the height they had and the ease in which they peeled away from the cupcakes. I may have been a bit heavy with the scoop as I only churned out twelve cupcakes, but this was perfect.

I did two things differently with the recipe. I used milk instead of heavy cream and I sprinkled the cupcakes with dark chocolate and mint chips as opposed to putting mini ones in the frosting itself. 

The cupcakes turned out really well, which always makes me happy when it comes as a result of trying out a new recipe. I know the birthday girl enjoyed at least one of them and that also made me happy.