Key West.

Ever since Spring Break my senior year, my friends and I have been completely obsessed with Key West. It was the first time any of us had gone, despite my living in Florida my whole life. The sun, the water, the drinks, the people, RICK’s and Duval. We all couldn’t wait to get back.

So when it came time for the first of us to get married, the Bachelorette party destination was indisputable. Key West, of course. Since my home base is Fort Lauderdale, I had one of my besties fly in for the night before we left. It was so wonderful catching up over wine and sweet potato fries. We savored the downtime before the craziness began.

The next morning we headed out on the road, eager to see the rest of the crew. Unfortunately, our plan for beach time was interrupted by traffic and we didn’t arrive until late afternoon. But once we did, it was a nonstop party.

I managed to snap a few shots laying on the beach, nursing a hangover, but I’ll leave the fun ones for Instagram;)

I am counting the days until I am reunited with everyone for the nuptials. It can’t come soon enough! xo

Practicing Photography

It certainly has been a while since I’ve posted! I guess my Birthday Week wiped me out for a good 6 months huh? In the time that’s passed, a lot has happened, but one thing in particular has moved me to begin posting again.

I have declared a new hobby that, in time, I WILL be good at–Photography. I wanted to take on a hobby that would help me to learn something new. Something that I would have to work at. For about a year now, I have been eager to buy a DSLR camera and learn how to take beautiful pictures, using the Manual mode (eek!). After much contemplation and an ongoing internal struggle, I bit the bullet and bought a used Canon Rebel XT 350d.

I knew I didn’t need something brand new, just something I could learn with. This guy is perfect! I’ve ordered a book, “Understanding Exposure,” and have already learned a lot about the many facets of picture taking. I plan to take a class sometime in the near future–baby steps!

I had the chance to attend a Miami Marlins game, with seats that were four rows back from the home team’s dugout! I brought my camera along and tried my best to snap away, with some sort of knowledge of what I was doing. I definitely got some great shots of a couple players (Chase Utley!) and one angry fan :).

I can’t wait to practice and share my progress through Cupcakes and Grapes xoxo

Birthday Week

Normally, I do not enjoy the start of a new week. It means a lot of catching up at work, getting up early, and of course the dreaded Monday. This week is much different because it is the start of my Birthday Week!!

My 27th birthday is on Saturday and I can’t seem to wrap my head around the fact that I am about to be 27 years old. When I was younger, I figured I’d be married with a couple children by now. Obviously, times have changed, and I’m substituting a husband and children with a full-time job and wild Friday nights with friends. Not that I’m upset about this.

I decided to start off my week-long celebrations with Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes. It had been so long since I had baked cupcakes, especially scratch-made. And the combination of a rainy Sunday and my birthday seemed like a perfect time to revisit with my cupcake tin and mixer.

I found this recipe while browsing through blogs one slow day at work. I’m so glad I did because these sure did brighten my rainy day. Homemade cupcakes and homemade buttercream frosting.

Two of my favorite things in this world.

The only problem I had with this baking adventure was waiting for the cakes to cool so I could frost them. I was too excited and the little cakes had to chill out in the ‘fridge for a bit. Oops:)

I’m most definitely looking forward to a fun, sugar-laden week. Yum!

Cheers xx