Top Things Tuesday….. the last Summer top things post!

Good Morning all you Sweet Prima Donnas!

Today’s Top Things Tuesday is a tough one for me… no not because it was hard to come up with the things I wanted to share with you, nor was it tough to write this post because I always love writing all my posts, but it was especially tough because I knew as you’d be reading this I’d be sitting it school.. Yes that’s right it’s my first day of senior year today!

It’s definitely a bittersweet sort of day. I’m excited to see everyone, be back in school, and get back into the groove of getting my learn on, but it’s also my last first day of grade school, and also the last time I’ll be coming back to welcome another year in with my awesome class! :(

I don’t want it to be a sad day and I don’t wanna rush the year away thinking about going away so soon, but it’s an unavoidable fact that in a little less than a year I’ll be moving away and so will all my friends. But I think I’m gonna try to deal with that when the time comes… (by the way any of you college freshmen out there, give me a shout out and let me know how you are coping! Just fine I bet! It’s all about the idea I think, once you’ve done it it’s no longer some huge thing.)

Anywho back to the happy/ non-sappy stuff, these are the things that are keeping that smile on my face and I hope if you try them they’ll bring you some well deserved happiness too! Enjoy!

1. Chasing the Sun by The Wanted (click to watch the video!)

What’s up with me and all these pop jingles? Honestly, I don’t know what has gotten into me. I do enjoy listening to all types of music, but lately I find myself tuning into 92.3 pro fm on the radio, which is pop music all day everyday with the occasional rap/r&b song thrown in there. Not usually my favorite station, but hey it’s catchy! This song gets me going, like to the point where I wanna dance, which is why I generally avoid listening to it while driving. I mean I don’t think my fellow drivers want to experience my dancing, or singing for that matter, and I’m trying to avoid crashing as much as possible, aha. If you haven’t heard this song though definitely give it a listen. I bet it’ll have the same effect on you! Caution: Avoid listening to while in the car.

2. CakeSpy (www.cakespy.com)

Ahh, I love this site! It’s been one of my favorite recipe/idea sites for a little over a year, but recently I liked cakespy’s facebook page and now all her wonderful posts pop up in my newsfeed. I’m so happy to be following her on facebook because like I said the thing she posts are out of this world looking, but at the same time I think I should’ve avoided it because everytime I see one of her posts my belly grumbles and then I have to hit the kitchen to make something up to fill that void for cakespy’s yummy treats! Cakespy shares treats from chocolate covered cake on a stick or batter belly cake (a cake with layers of pure yumminess- a chocolate chip cookie layer, a cake layer, a brownie layer, a brownie batter layer and then topped with cake batter frosting! Crazy?!) , to reviews on all the sweet treat places she frequents. You think I’m kidding? Check it out… but make sure you do so on a full belly, or else I warn you, your belly will be growling like no other! (;

Recipe for Belly Batter Cake: http://www.cakespy.com/blog/2012/2/18/dough-you-love-me-batter-belly-dough-cake-recipe-by-the-miss.html

(Batter Belly Cake! OMG! Photo via cakespy.com. I don’t own this photo.)

3. DC Cupcake- Georgetown Cupcake’s show

I love this show. Yes, sometimes I do realize that scenes are overdramatized to make for some hardcore, action packed TV viewing, but for the most part this show is great if you love anything to do with treat making. I have gotten some great ideas for flavors of cupcakes from this show, and also I enjoy seeing their frosting technique… over, and over, and over again. Aha, I’ll get it one day! (If you know me you know I’m frosting technique challenged) Also I love this show because it’s a relatable show for me. The relationship between the two sisters makes the show even more interesting, and if you have a sister, or best friend who is like a sister, I bet you’ll like this show even more because you’ll be able to imagine yourself in the scene. Corny? Probably, but trust me you’ll understand what I’m talking about once you watch this awesome show! I find myself glued to the couch when this shows on, honestly sometimes I’ll watch 6 episodes before I peel myself from the couch! Check your local TV guide for the channel/time, or if you’re like me and have netfilx just type DC Cupcake in the search bar, and lucky for all you netflickers because a new season just came out.

4. Fudge Brownie Cupcakes with Cookie Dough Frosting via Sally’s Baking Addiction Blog

(Need one now?! Me too! Photo via Sally’s baking addiction website. I don’t own this photo.)

Recipe Link: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/05/29/fudge-brownie-cupcakes-with-cookie-dough-frosting/

For all you Sweet Prima Donnas out there if you follow my site you’ve probably realized I LOVE chocolate chip cookie dough, and my next favorite is a delicious, fudge-y, chocolate filled brownie… and yes, I do LOVE chocolate too. So when I saw this recipe on pinterest the other day, I thought to myself.. holy wow. That’s all I could think. Basically these put a mental block on me because they looked so darn delicious and all I could think about is how these little chocolate-y gems would taste… Amazing I just knew. So this weekend I will be making these for my family flying over to see us from the other side of the country (can’t wait!), stay tuned though because of course mine will be the healthy version! (;

5. Kissy Kiss Print- Lilly Pulitzer

And last, but certainly not least I wanted to share with you all one of my very favorite things this week, which is of course something that is Lilly Pulitzer…. and that thing is…. the new fall Kissy Kiss print! Oh my goodness I’m in love! In an earlier post I shared with you another Lilly Print I loved that wasn’t flower patterned, and the same goes for this print. I do love their flower prints of course, I mean those flower prints are what made me one of the hugest Lilly fans ever, but every now and then something different comes out and different is sometimes good because the norm can get boring! This print does just that and it’s super feminine and cute with all the little colorful lipsticks. My favorite style for this print is the dress below because this pattern definitely has the potential to be over powering, but with the solid bottom the pattern is balanced nicely!

(The Kissy Kiss Print- for Fall 2012. Photo via Lilly Pulitzer Website. I don’t own this photo.)

(Delila Dress in Kissy Kiss Print- photo via LIlly Pulizter website. I don’t own this photo.)

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my top things this week!

Cheers to the last days of Summer and to a great Fall to come!

(My sister and I enjoying Cape Cod Cupcakes in the Cape this Summer on vacation! Photo my own.)

P.S- Here is what I’ve been up to this past week!

Super Moist Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins- These muffins are incredibly moist, and have an unbelievably great banana-y flavor, and they are only 130 calories…. oh, and did I mention completely fat free! Trust me you’ll never be able to tell! I dare you to give them a go all you banana bread lovers out there!

(Photo by Me- Brooke B.)

Homemade Funfetti Cuppycakes- Unfortunately no they aren’t skinny, but let me tell you once you bite into one of these delish cuppycakes you will no longer care! They taste like a soft baked sugar cookie, and the frosting is out of this world!

(Photo by Me- Brooke B.)

Cheesecake Mania- A lovely guest post for NY Style Cheesecake from my friend Carissa (at350degrees blog). Also two recipes for skinny versions of delicious cheesecake recipes. One for Oreo Cheesecake Cups, and the other for Oreo Cookie Dough Cheesecake Cups! Yum!