Awesome Disney Pictures

Recently I went to Disney World! It was so much fun and I had an amazing time! I never want to forget the great memories I made with my family. Luckily, I took a lot of pictures! Here are a few of my best ones!

Delicious Fudgy Cake Pops Recipie

Hey everyone! So, I love baking, right? And when I heard about cake pops, I knew they were something I had to try. So I got this cake pop pan, and attached was a recipie from Nordic Ware. I knew I had to try it! Keep reading for the recipie, below. And be sure to pin this handy graphic on Pinterest!

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 3/4 Cup Sugar
• 3 Tbsp Cocoa
• 2 Eggs
• 3/4 Cup Flour
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 24 Cake Pop/Lollipop Sticks
• 12 oz Chocolate Bark Coating
• Sprinkles!

1. Grease the inside of both sides of the cake pop pan with flour and sprinkle with cocoa. Set the pan aside.
2. Get a medium saucepan and set it over low heat. Melt the chocolate chips and butter together. Stir until smooth. 
3. Take the pan off the heat and pour the chocolate into a large bowl.
4. Add sugar and cocoa and mix well.
5. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix well after each one.
6. Add flour and salt and stir well.
7. Spoon the batter into the bottom half of the cake pop pan (the part without the holes), filling each until the batter mounds over the top of the pan.
8. Place the other half of the pan on top and secure it with the keys.
9. With the oven at 325 degrees F, bake the cake pops 15-18 minutes. To check if the pops are ready, insert a toothpick into the hole. It should come out mostly clean. 
10.  Let the cake cool in the pan for five minutes. Then, using a knife if needed, remove the cake pops from the pan. Allow them to cool completely. 
11. Melt the chocolate bark coating following package directions. 
12. Dip cake pops in melted chocolate. Spin the pops in the sink to remove the extra chocolate. 
13. Decorate the cake pops with sprinkles immediately after dipping in chocolate. 
14. Allow the chocolate coating to harden on a sheet of parchment paper. 

This delicious pool of melted chocolate is from step 11. 

Here are the in-covered cake pops, in all their glory. 

Hope you enjoyed this recipie! And be sure to head over to the main page to see what else is on this blog! And if you're a commenter type, be sure to comment what you think! 

-Sophia 😘

Four Of My Favorite VS PINK Items

If you haven't taken part in the PINK craze, you must have been living under a rock for these past few years. They have so many cute things (admittedly, most of then say PINK big and bold). Seriously though, they have a ton of cute stuff that is really worth checking out.

1. Rib Neck Tank in "Black Floral." Okay, is this cute or what? It might be a little too bling-y for some (me included), but the floral top is super cute!

2. Perfect Quarter Zip in "Black Orchid/White." These jackets are all the rage at my school! They come in a ton of colors and a super comfy to wear by themselves or as an actual jacket. 

3. Campus Short Sleeve Tee (I like it in "Neon Coral" but there are a ton of cute colors). Don't you just love how the pocket goes over the writing? 

4. PINK Ultimate Yoga Legging. Okay, I don't have this exact pair but I have a pair similar and they are literally the most comfortable and flattering things you will ever wear! 

Hope you enjoyed this lovely list of all things PINK! Be sure to check back later this week for more posts! Love, Sophia 

Dance Competition 101: What to Bring

I went to a dance competition at our local high school yesterday. There, I was astounded at everything I had to bring- and everything I forgot to bring! So here's my list of everything you need to bring to a dance competition!

• All costumes (duh!)
• All shoes (jazz shoes, boots, etc)
• All props (such as poms)
• Money, for food, clothing, etc
• Snacks, such as granola bars, an apple, anything that will keep your energy up!
• Mints. Mints have the ability to wake up the brain, plus they keep your breath fresh
• Refillable water bottle 
• Hair ties
• Bobby pins
• Hair pins
• Bun maker
• Hair Brush
• Hairspray
• Hair gel
• Deodorant
• Perfume
• Costume Cover-up
• Regular clothes for if you go out to eat afterwards
• Makeup (foundation, concealer, powder, blush, false lashes, eyeshadow, etc)
• Makeup brushes
• Band-aids, in case of blisters
• Phone charger
• Headphones
• Candy (your friends will love you!)
• Phone

So here's the list of all you need for a dance competition! Good luck and dance well! 

Easy Reindeer Food + A Free Printable!

One of my favorite traditions carried out by my family is how, every Christmas Eve night, we sprinkle reindeer food on the lawn so that Santa's reindeer can see our house from the sky. It's a great way to get into the Christmas fun without a ton of money or mess.

To Make:

- 1 Cup of Oatmeal
- Glitter ( I use green and red)
- Sandwich Size Ziplock Bag
- My Printable


Instructions:

1. Scoop 1 cup of uncooked oatmeal into the sandwich bag. 
2. Add as much glitter as you desire to the oatmeal in the bag.
3. Stir it around with your finger, a spoon, or by shaking the bag (closed, of course!)
4. Print out the sheet, cut out the poem, and stick it in the bag. 
5. To be opened Christmas Eve night! 

You can print this out and put it in the reindeer food bag, or make your own using one of the many examples online!

Enjoy this recipe and this fun new tradition! 

-Sophia 

Beautiful Pictures of Autumn Leaves

Here are some pictures I took just the other day of a tree in our front yard. I took most of them with a shutter speed of 100 or 60, with an aperture of 5.0 or 5.6 and an ISO of 100. I also had the flash on.

And, of course, my personal favorite... 

Check back in later today for a tutorial for wrapping oddly shaped presents, a Winter Break Family Bucket List, and a recipe  for reindeer food! 

Did you like these pictures? Let me know your favorite in the comments! 

-Sophia

Blurred Pictures Made Easy- Simple Tips For A Non-Professsional

Everyone wants those awesomely artistic blurred pictures that are super Tumblr, right? Well, so did I, but I was really confused about how to get a picture out of focus entirely. That is, until I remembered that I could switch the lens to manual focus on my DSLR.

So I tried that and guess what? It works! Simply slide the bar from AF to MF on your lens and you can leave the picture out of focus! Simple, yet very effective!

Look out later today or tomorrow for more posts about photography, and a tutorial about wrapping oddly shaped presents! Plus, a list of family resolutions for the holiday break, all on Cupcakes and Kayaks!