A Side of Sweet

Ultimate Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

After several rounds and taste-testings by over 50 bakers, this recipe is truly the ultimate chocolate cupcake. You’ll never need another recipe!

Photo courtesy of Stef from The Cupcake Project

I’ve mentioned before that I was selected by Stef from The Cupcake Project as one of the blogger/baker recipe testers for her search for the ultimate chocolate cupcake! It has taken seven rounds of baking, of which I participated in 7 out of 7! The majority of testers agreed that the most recent recipe was indeed the ultimate chocolate cupcake…. Read More »

Road Tripping to San Francisco

….And we’re back! Or we’re here I should say! We finally got internet set up last night and it’s so good to be back online. It’s a little sad how heavily we rely on the internet, for everything from communicating with friends and family to shopping, but c’est la vie!

We did the drive from Wisconsin to San Francisco in an intense four days and three nights. Pat is a road-tripping champ and he averaged about 10-12 hours of driving per day. Because we were pulling a trailer, I didn’t get behind the wheel at all! I’m such a lucky gal to have a hubby who loves to drive. Plus he did it without a review window. Check out our back seat!

Our first stop was Badlands National Park in South Dakota. The park is full of beautiful buttes (har, har) and rocky landscapes.

Some of the rocks are lined with beautiful colors.

And then we were back on the road!

Our second day, we headed towards Yellowstone National Park. We hit a winter storm (in May!) on the way. Luckily, the roads stayed ok and we passed through the storm quickly.

We crossed into Wyoming, which was still cool but at least less snowy.

Wyoming is also the home of Yellowstone National Park – the highlight of our roadtrip. Stay tuned for photos in the next post!

Decorated Honey Jars Party Favors

One of the best things about our wedding if that all of my friends and family came together to bring all of my DIY wedding ideas to life. These decorated honey jars party favors were a last minute DIY after my dad, who is a beekeeper, surprised me with these mini honey jars with his own honey! He even created the cute/hilarious labels that say “Pat + Kelly, Meant to Bee” with our wedding date on them. Thanks Dad!… Read More »

Life is Happening

The last four days have been a whirlwind. Pat and I got married on Saturday (!) and we just packed all of our belongings and are headed out on a five day road trip. Our final destination is San Francisco, CA where I am starting my new job at a hospital there. It’s so exciting to know at the end of the drive we e are going to be building our new newlywed nest in one of the most amazing cities on the planet.

The wedding was incredible. I can honestly say it was one of the best days of my life. It was special and beautiful and it was the perfect ending to our time in Madison. I laughed and cried and spent the night surrounded by our friends and family and the man of my dreams. I feel so privileged to abe surrounded by the amazing people I come to love and to be joining Pat’s incredible family. It was truly magical.

Photo by Holly Matthews

Photo by my new sister-in-law, the original Kelly H.

More pictures and stories from the wedding and from the open road to come soon!

Check Me Out on the Brooks Blog!

Today I’m sharing some tips for running in extreme weather – both hot and cold. I’m also sharing one of my favorite running recipes for Homemade Energy Chews! This is part two of a four part series on busting some running myths. You can check out my first post here and the latest post here.

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Check my post out here!

Tiramisu Ice Cream Recipe

Rich and decadent tiramisu ice cream recipe. Made with ladyfingers and fudge folded into a creamy custard. Enjoy eating this delicious ice cream recipe!

I know I get myself worked into a mini-frenzy for almost every dessert I post (why share recipes with you that I don’t absolutely love?), but this tiramisu ice cream recipe is beyond amazing.

I don’t know what possessed me to make it – perhaps the lifetime supply of ladyfingers I accidentally purchased on Amazon? I am trying to be mindful of my sweets intake given the whole fitting into a wedding dress at my impending nuptials. Regardless, it was completely worth the calorie overload and with the help of a few friends, Pat and I inhaled the entire batch in just a few days time.

Just like the actual dessert, tiramisu ice cream is delightfully boozy and caffeinated at the same time. I soaked the ladyfingers just briefly in a mixture of amaretto and coffee so that they would be flavorful but still retain a bit of their crunch when they were mixed into the ice cream.

Surprisingly, the ingredient that really stole the show was Mrs. Richardson’s Chocolate Lover’s Fudge Sauce. It folded into the final product without getting stiff. For less than $4 at my local grocery store, it made me very happy that I resisted the temptation to make my own.