More baking fun! We've got a bit of a circle theme going on for this roundup. The only non-round item is based on something that is usually round, so I think that counts, ha ha!
Hostess Cupcake Sheet Cake
A suggested Instagram reel got me to make this treat. I used this recipe for the cake batter (didn't have buttermilk) but followed the rest of the recipe from Bakerella because I think a ganache is more proper than a buttercream to get the right textures and it used far less butter (which is getting quite expensive so I don't have as much in my freezer as usual, haha!) The second recipe also made the assembly easier by baking in a sheet pan and cutting in half that way versus having to horizontally cut a cake from a 9x13in pan. Mine baked a little uneven so I ended up with 2 slightly smaller rectangles and then a small square, ha ha.
Martin's Bagels - King Arthur Baking
I have made bagels a few times already, always using the same King Arthur Baking recipe from a series they did during the pandemic. Recently Christian and I were scrolling YouTube and came across a video for Martin's Bagels. Another KAB recipe! They looked very simple (and delish) so I decided to give them a go! I even got a little more experimental with toppings and made one with cheese for Christian! They came out great! Nice and brown, cripsy exterior and fluffy interior. YUM! Definitely found my new bagel recipe.
Conchas
I have been wanting to remake these for a family gathering since Christian and I were the only ones who got to enjoy the conchas when I first baked them last October. I was going to make them for Easter but then we decided to drive to Missouri that weekend instead, so Mother's Day seemed like the perfect opportunity! I decided to make the topping in a bright pink and light purple and they came out great! I made them half the size of the original recipe so people could easily grab and eat one without it being a huge portion.
Hamburger Buns
We planned to have veggie burgers one week last month and over the weekend I decided I didn't want to go to the grocery store becasue we had basically everything we needed for the week, except burger buns. Sooo....I decided to finally try my hand at making my own. I trusted Tessa of Handle the Heat's track record with other recipes and chose hers over King Arthur Baking. They were so easy and came out great! I should have put more sesame seeds on them, but didn't want to waste too many if they came out wrong, ha ha!
Deep Dish Cookie Bowls for Two
On National Chocolate Chip Day I wanted to make something quick and easy and remembered I had this recipe saved! It was super easy, melt butter, mix ingredients, put into ramekins and bake! Definitely a nice, quick dessert that I'll make again.
Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes
We loved Butternut Bakery's Chocolate Mousse Cake so when she posted a cupcake version I knew I had to try them! The cupcake part is flourless and more like a brownie so they are super rich and tasty! They're much easier to make than the cake too, so if you want a quick but still impressive dessert to whip up, this one is for you!
Earlier this month Christian and I spent a day at the beach (and have the sunburn to prove it, whoops!) After a quick outfit change we decided to try a new place for dinner - Chophouse Grill in Westerly, Rhode Island. Our meal was so delicious and the waitstaff super attentive. We'll definitely be back! Even though we were stuffed, we also grabbed some ice cream at Brickley's! The weather was so beautiful and was a great temperature for walking around Westerly.
Dress: LAUREN Ralph Lauren (Lord & Taylor)
Cardigan: Everlane The Featherweight Alpaca Cardigan in Taupe Grey
Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Apteros' in Crosta Wine (bought in Athens)
Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag' (Saks Fifth Avenue)
Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika' c/o Shopbop
And here's a look at my beach outfit, a leopard print bathing suit and Farm Rio dress! This dress is too revealing for me to wear "normally" so I use it as a beach coverup instead! I wore it out once and the photos came out great, I just feel overly exposed in it, ha ha.
Dress: FARM Rio Amazonian Ombre Mini Wrap Dress c/o Shopbop
Bathing Suit: Marc by Marc Jacobs animal print one piece
On our latest trip Christian and I spent our final night at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. We rented someone's Disney Vacation Club points and spent $255 on the night for a Preferred room, through Disney it would have been $620. Yowza!
On check-in day we decided to take a walk over to Disney Springs for a late dinner and snack. The following day, check-out day, I headed to Animal Kingdom for the first half of the day while Christian worked from the hotel. After I finished with the park I hung out with Christian in the dining area until it was time to head to the airport for our flight.
Transportation
Buses
The main form of transportation besides driving yourself or using rideshare is buses. Because the resort is so big there is an internal bus loop as well as buses to the parks. The bus stops to the parks are as follows:
- The Grandstand
- The Carousel
- The Paddock
- Congress Park
- The
Springs
Boat
Heading to Disney Springs?
There's a boat dock by the hospitality building that will take you over
to the Marketplace entrance of Disney Springs via the Sassagoula River Cruise. I would only do this if I had a lot of time to kill or you can't walk for a mile. Since you can walk from the resort it's a waste of time taking the boat because you first have to wait up to 20 minutes for a boat and then ride the boat to Disney Springs.
Walking
It is possible to walk to Disney Springs from the resort. There is a nice path along the water that lets you in at the Marketplace entrance of the Springs, the same spot as the boat. When the weather is nice we much prefer walking over other forms of transportation. It's less full of people and often way faster because you aren't waiting on a bus or boat.
Dining
Since we only stayed one night we didn't really have time to enjoy the food at the resort. We did check out the quick service location to see what offerings they had but since we were so close to Disney Springs we opted for that for dinner. Next time we will probably try one of the table service options.
The Turf Club Bar and Grill
Turf Club is the resorts table service restaurant. They serve up steaks and seasonal dishes in horse-racing club themed dining area. The Turf Club also has a Lounge where you can grab cocktails and beer. We weren't able to find a last minute dining reservation here so we'll hit it next time we're at the resort!
The Artist’s Palette
This is the resort's quick service location where you can find groceries, grab a to-go snack or sit down for a meal. We noticed a lot of fun desserts when we perused the offerings. If I hadn't brought us back a snack from Animal Kingdom on check-out day we would have tried one of their themed desserts.
Pool Bars
The Paddock Grill, On The Rocks, and the Backstretch Pool Bar serve up alcoholic beverages and light snacks! The Paddock Grill also serves breakfast, lunch and dinner because it's on the opposite side of the resort/the quick service dining there.
Recreation
Pools
We
did not take advantage of any pools on our trip, but there are five scattered throughout the resort. There are three
"leisure" pools at the Treehouse Villas, Congress Park and The Grandstand
sections. There are also two larger pools - High Rock Spring Pool and The Paddock Pool.
Activities
As with other Disney hotels there are various activities to take part in. Campfires with s'mores, movies under the stars and much more! Be sure to check at the lobby to see what types of fun they are hosting while you're there. All the activities available at the resort can be found on the recreation page.
You can also rent a 2 or 4-person Surrey Bike to ride around the resort. Saratoga Springs Resort also has normal bike rentals you can take advantage of (they come with helmets so you don't have to bring one!)
The Lake Buena Vista golf course is part of this resort. More information including how to book a tee time can be found on the Disney website.
Saratoga Springs also has a Community Hall where you can find everything from complimentary ping-pong, foosball, arts and crafts, video games, DVDs, board games and more. They had a whole craft room where children (and adults) can paint ceramics, canvas, color a button and much more (for a fee!)
Rooms
We stayed in a Preferred Deluxe Studio, meaning we were in a room closer to amenities. We were in The Springs building, which was right across from The Carriage House. The Carriage House is where the lobby and main restaurants are. It was the perfect spot for our quick stay, we didn't have to worry about navigating all over the resort and I was easily able to bring all our bags to Bell Services the morning we checked out so I could head to the park and Christian could start working in the main building after he had to leave the room at 11am.
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| The Springs building at Saratoga Springs Resort |
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| Saratoga Springs Resort Deluxe Studio Room; Preferred |
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| The murphy bed/sofa |
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| Taking my luggage to bell services before heading to Animal Kingdom |
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| View from our room |
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| The back part of The Springs building (your can see our balcony from here, the top one on the right of the pink section) |
How is it already the end of May?! No new purchases this month. Pretty boring, sadly, haha! Maybe I'll finally break my streak in June (if you don't count my vacation purchase in April.) I'm still on the hunt for a perfect pair of denim shorts. I want a pair that's not too short or long and not really looking for distressed this time...we shall see!
THE (modified) RULES
- Be mindful of purchases
- Quality over quantity
- Basics are best
MY PROGRESS
Clothes:
- None
Basics:
- Joie long grey vest via Marshalls ($14, retail $68?, used gift card)
Shoes:
- None
Handbags:
- None
Accessories:
- None
Activewear/Swimwear:
- Colorfulkoala High Waisted Yoga Pants with Pockets in Deep Teal ($20, retail $30, used CC rewards)
Gifted from Brands:
- None
Spent in May: $0
Spent in 2024: $0
Spent in 2024 - counting ad money: $0
Lunch Lady Brownies
Christian requested brownies a few weekends ago so I decided to make Jenna's version of Lunch Lady Brownies. I looove fudgy brownies and these have frosting and sprinkles too, what's not to love? They're super quick and easy to make. He said they're his new favorite. I still think extra fudgy brownies slightly edge these out, but I love the frosting and sprinkles for added yummy-ness!
Scones 2 Ways
Handle the Heat's March baking challenge was Scones so I made a batch and split the dough in two to make lemon poppyseed and chocolate chip scones! I'm still not perfect at cutting the butter into the flour, it always seems to melt out of the scones. But they were still tasty!
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
One weekend I wanted to bake cookies but didn't have any butter thawed from the freezer so I searched brown butter recipes and saw these bars. I love a good chocolate chip cookie but bars are so much easier. Overall it took about 45 minutes to make, that includes the 30 minutes to bake!
Braided Stromboli
I was making stromboli for dinner and decided to try out a new recipe. I searched King Arthur Baking for a recipe and found this braided version. Instead of their filling I did pepperoni and caramelized onions. I had way too much pepperoni for what they called for so now I can still make MORE stromboli with it, haha! I split it in half rather than making one large one so I could put more cheese in Christian's. The dough was very easy to work with and came out so tasty. The texture of the bread was perfectly fluffy.
Molten Peanut Butter Fudge Cake
While visiting Christian's family we had a birthday get together for his older brother and I wanted to bake something special to celebrate. He likes dark chocolate and peanut butter so this peanut butter fudge cake sounded perfect! Unfortunately I made a mistake and decided to reheat it the day of the party (I made it Friday, we drove up to Missouri on Saturday and had the "party" on Sunday) so it would be molten again, and it made the cake a little greasy. So it is definitely NOT a looker. Lesson learned.
Pizza
I had to make something round for Pi Day so pizza it was! I've been trying to find a substitute for the amazing pesto we get at the local farmers market but this one also failed the test. I used the recipe from our King Arthur Baking School class.
