Prom 2016!! + Tips & Tricks

This past weekend, a few of my best friends and I went to PROM!! I thought it would be fun to put some pictures up with little tips along the way!

Tip #1. BREAK IN THEM SHOES! If I were you I would put on socks and walk around in your prom shoes for a couple of days before the dance. Don't let the day of Prom be your first time in the pumps. Trust me!!!

Tip #2. Don't rush through pictures! This might sound like a no brainer but taking pictures and doing all the poses you want will take longer than you think. Allow extra time and pick a pretty location!

PS. How awesome did my sis do on these pictures!!

I used the Lorac Pro Palette for my eyes, Merle Norman makeup for my face, and Merle Norman lipstick as well. I have short hair so there wasn't much to do with it, but I did spend about 30 minutes making sure it was curly! 

Tip #3. Overestimate how much time you will take to get ready. It is better to be waiting around with extra time then it is to be rushed!

Tip #4. HAVE FUN! I enjoyed my prom five times more than I thought I would and had a blast. Break it down sister, prom doesn't happen every day!

When is your prom? Hope you enjoyed seeing my snaps from the night! Talk to you soon!

jgraceblog@gmail.com

xoxo

The Best French Toast EVER!

Hey gang! What are y'all up to this weekend? I will be at Prom tonight!! When do y'all have your senior prom? I am stoked to upload lots of snaps on here of my dress and hair etc... 

Today I thought I would start out my blog post with a little story. 

So my dad's parents live in this three story house that is rather old(ish) and they have never moved. Everyone else in my family has moved around since I was born (including me) so my dad's parents house is the one house I remember just always being there. There are naturally so many memories in that house I am sure for my dad as it was the house he grew up in, but I also have a lot of memories there too. I used to play spy and build forts with my cousin like a total tomb-boy, spend time in the den coloring, playing with my grandfathers type writer, but most importantly... the best memory of all time in that house... Mawmaw's French Toast.  My Grandma always knew how much I LOVED her french toast like no other. She claimed that she did nothing special but something about the way she fixes it makes me so uber happy. I have never really been able to make it quite like she does but today  I did start out my weekend with a pretty darn good piece of French Toast if I do say so myself. I also just had to serve it up in my favorite navy china pattern. I just love beautiful antiques like my grandparents have in their home too.

I started this recipe last night actually as I attempted to make Challah Bread. This is originally a bread used during the Jewish Sabbath but many places all over the globe use this bread recipe to make amazing French Toast so why not? I mean why not spend a wild Friday night making bread from scratch? :P

Although I did manage to burn the bottom a bit after all that work (and pout for a solid 10 minutes) it still made a delicious breakfast this morning (just scrape off the bottom if you forget to check on your bread like me). I used this recipe for the french toast. 

ALSO, Random Side Note, I am IN LOVE with this skirt. Okay that is all!!

What a way to start off a fantastic weekend. Hope y'all enjoy your Saturday.

Talk to you soon!

jgraceblog@gmail.com

xoxo

Best Tools and Tricks for Layering Cakes!

 

 

 

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope y'all are all having a fantastic weekend so far. Today I have a rather different Sweet Saturday for you. Although I will be including a vanilla cake and buttercream frosting recipe below, I wanted to dedicate a post to my favorite tools and tricks for stacking cakes and layering frosting. I will have the links to everything I use so you can make awesome cakes for any occasion as well!

 

First of all I want to say that baking your layers in separate pans can make it a THOUSAND times easier to stack. I use this set to bake my 9 inch cakes. If all you have is a tall round cake pan however, I love to use this leveler to slice cakes perfectly or just to level off the top.
 

Whichever method you use, the first step is to bake the cakes and let it cool completely before moving forward. Here is the cake recipe I used for this cake:

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups salted butter, softened

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 egg whites

3 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups all purpose flour (I used gluten free flour and it worked just as good)

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 3/4 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups milk

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line three 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper in the bottom and grease the sides with butter spray.

Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed for a few minutes.

Add the egg whites and vanilla for an additional minute.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a separate bowl.

Alternate between adding the dry mixture and milk to the batter while it stays on medium speed.

Divide the batter evenly between the three 9 inch pans.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

(It's okay if the tops are a bit brown.)

 

Once you have made the cake and they have cooled on a wire rack you can make the frosting. I make this batch once to ice the cake, and double it the second time to have enough to pipe on decorations. Change this as you need for your cake decorations. Separate into different bowls to use food dye on the frosting. The best of the best is this food coloring . NONE like it!
 

Here is the buttercream frosting I used:

 

Ingredients:

4 cups powdered sugar

2 sticks of salted butter

2-3 tsp vanilla

1-2 tablespoons

 

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a mixer.

Add more milk to make smoother for icing the entire cake and add less milk to make stiffer for piping.

 

Place your cake board on top of the turntable (this is a MUST for me!!!) and add a little smudge of buttercream to the top of the cake board before adding your first cake layer. You will then ice the top of the cake before adding another cake layer and so on. Once all the layers are on, cover the whole cake in a layer of icing with this this awesome spatula and smooth it out with this great tool .

 

Now decorate as you please with your favorite tips and piping bags!

Phew! These are all of my essential tools and tricks for stacking cakes. I can't wait to play with more flavors and colors now!

 

Have a great weekend! Talk to you soon!

 

jgraceblog@gmail.com

 

xoxo

Classic B&W

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Friday! What are y'all up to this weekend? I am having a date with my Mom and sister tonight to see Jungle Book in theaters. Tonight is opening night folks. A movie review is coming your way soon ;) If you haven't already noticed, I have a thing for going to the movies. It doesn't take much to make me happy!

 

I am in LOVE with this skirt (and bonus: IT'S ON SALE!!!!!) So classic and girly. You can dress it up by adding some pointed-toe heels or (my favorite) some cute flats. You really can't go wrong with black and white.

 

Talk to y'all very soon!

 

jgraceblog@gmail.com

 

xoxo

Events of the Bible: Deborah the Prophetess -Weekly Devotion

What we Read This Week:

Israel had again turned away from God and so Jabin the King of Canaan oppressed them. The commander of his army was Sisera. When the sons of Israel cried out to God he chose Deborah to deliver Israel. She stated the plan to destroy Sisera and his army to Barak but he stubbornly agreed only if Deborah would come with him. She agreed to come with him but because of his partial disobedience the glory would not be delivered to him. Israel defeated the forces of Sisera under Barak's leadership. However the glory was delivered to a women named Jael who killed Sisera herself while he was sleeping. She did so after leading him to believe they were in an alliance. Deborah wrote a song in honor of this great deliverance while honoring Jael who was certainly the heroine.

 

Relating it to Your Life:

Talk about some #GirlPower !!! Deborah and Jael show that God doesn't just call on strong men to do his work but also on women. We all individually have a part to play in this world for Gods glory. Don't sell yourself short because of your height, weight, gender, age, etc.. I am sure God can find something for you to do ;)
Secondly, we can learn a thing or to from Barak. My childhood pastor always taught us: "Obedience is doing what your told to do, when your told to do it, with the right heart attitude." He would have us repeat that every single Sunday. Even though at the time I didn't really pay much attention to it, I realize how often I have to repeat this in my head. Barak could have used some of that advice. Had he done what he was told instead of adding conditions to his obedience, the victory and glory could have belonged to him. God wants you to be successful and you are capable of handling what he asks of you. Don't go trying to out-smart God. It don't work that way honey!

 

Next Weeks Reading: Judges 6-7

 

WOW! That story is one of my FAVS! Comment or email me with any questions! Talk to you very soon.

 

jgraceblog@gmail.com

 

xoxo

Most Comfortable Shoes EVER!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

Hey gang! Thought I would share a cute and neutral outfit with pops of pink thrown in! I love me some pink (duh!) but the star of the show are these SHOES ! I love some cute heels but unfortunately I don't have a high pain tolerance when it comes to my feet. I don't enjoy my time anywhere if my feet are in too much pain and these shoes are so cute and comfortable! They come in every possible color and pattern and are SERIOUSLY the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. I have decided for you.. You need these. 

 

Have a great rest of your weekend! Talk to you soon!

 

jgraceblog@gmail.com

 

xoxo

'God's Not Dead 2' Movie Review

Hey gang. It's movie review time! I meant to get this up sooner but I have been swamped. Yesterday was actually my birthday (I turned 17) and wanted to take some time off blogging and what not for the day. 

I have got a good movie review for y'all. If you didn't see my movie review of the first God's Not Dead movie two years ago (here) make sure to read that as well. God's Not Dead 2 is incredibly engaging and very well made. It has a lot of the same great cast from the first movie with several new people in it as well. I highly recommend you go see it.

(Yep, Sadie Robertson is in it for you Dancing with the Stars or Duck Dynasty fans!)

Need I say more ladies? ;)

Summary:

After answering a students question about a relation between Jesus and their lesson that day, high school history teacher Grace Wesley is put under a microscope and asked to apologize. When she refuses, the school board threatens to revoke her teaching certificate and take her job. She hires a young (and beautiful) lawyer to defend her in court in a means to keep her job without turning her back on God. After her lawyer Tom tries to prove that Jesus is a historical figure and was of relevance to the lesson, the jury is left to decide what they believe to be true.  

My Thoughts:

I am always amazed at how well these movies really access and use facts in these arguments. All the evidence they use are from actual historians and investigators.  This is such an intense movie. I am always one to love a good court session and debate but this one really had me questioning who would come out on top. The prosecutor was a PHENOMENAL actor and very persuasive. However, the young defense attorney defending Grace Wesley was not only smart, witty, and beautiful ( have I mentioned that already?), he also had to defend her as a non-christian which I thought was an interesting angle of the story. This is very well made, flows well, and is truly an informative and touching film to watch in theaters before it leaves!

What You Need To Know:

With this being a film with Christian viewers, there is no foul language, sex, or violence. Just intense acting and beautiful actors ;)

Trailer:

Well I hope y'all enjoyed and have fantastic Friday tomorrow! I will talk to you very soon!

jgraceblog@gmail.com

xoxo

Target Star Wars Style!

 

 

 

 

 

Wristlet | Skirt | Shirt | Scarf

 

Happy Friday y'all! What have y'all got planned for the weekend? I am seeing a movie with the sis tonight and will have a movie review up Wednesday.

 

How stinkin cute is this outfit. I love when people do "Disney bound" outfits and dress like certain characters with modern pieces. I wasn't going to dress like Chewbacca (duh!) so I pulled this cute outfit from Target. Why is it so easy to spend money at Target? I love this color combo and nerdy-cute style.

I am so in love with the newest Star Wars movie so I thought this was a fitting look for me :) Anyone else super pumped to see the new Star Wars attractions at Hollywood Studios at Disney World? I know I am!

 

Have a great weekend dolls. Talk to you soon!

 

jgraceblog@gmail.com

 

xoxo