Magnolia Mamas : September 2023

Friday, September 29, 2023

Easy Spooky Spider Cupcakes for Halloween

Create a scare if you dare with these spooktacularly delicious spider cupcakes!

Halloween is all about the treats. And listen, we are so here for it. Give us all the excuses for yummy desserts, cute costumes, and the chance to raid our kids’ candy collections straight through to Thanksgiving. (Dibs on the KitKats!).

What we aren’t here for is the free time to make all those Pinterest-worthy desserts and crafts. We wish we had the free time to create bats out of our kids’ sandwiches or bake a life-sized Frankenstein pizza, but sometimes life doesn’t always work out that way.

We’ve worked some of our busy mom-approved witchcraft, and created these adorable spider cupcakes. The best part, (aside from being delicious of course) they only take a few moments to create. In just a few quick and easy steps you will have all that pin-worthy Halloween cuteness, without all the pin-worthy time.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

1 pkg of boxed cupcake mix (we used pumpkin for our cupcakes, but it would look cute with vanilla or chocolate as well!)
1 container of frosting
Tube of decorators frosting
cupcake liners
1 toothpick
assorted spider rings
serving tray (we used this striped one and here is a more cost effective one)

HOW TO CREATE YOUR SPOOKY SPIDER CUPCAKES

1: Bake cupcakes according to box instructions. Let cool for approximately half an hour. (Note: If you want to speed up this process you can buy pre-made cupcakes as well. No judgment.)

2: Once your cupcakes have cooled, place frosting on top spreading out generously. Don’t worry about creating any sort of pattern. You want the frosting to be as smooth and flat as possible.

3: Take your decorator’s frosting and cut the end of the tip at an angle. Place a small dot of frosting in the middle of your cupcake. Then place rings of frosting around the dot increasing in size as you go. Repeat for all cupcakes.

4: Take the toothpick, and place it at the center frosting dot. Gently trace a line outward through all the rings. It should start to look connected like a web.

5: Once you’ve connected all the rings, place a spider ring in the center of the cupcake. (Note: We placed ours in the center, but later realized it would also be adorable to place them in any part of the “web”.)

6: Place on serving tray and let everyone enjoy!

WHAT ARE SOME EASY TREATS YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR HALLOWEEN? SHARE WITH US!

Friday, September 22, 2023

Fashion Fix: Homecoming Shoes From Amazon

It's HOCO season!!! Such a "fun" time for moms and daughters to search for the perfect dress, shoes and accessories. You read the sarcasm in that sentence, right? It really can be fun, but it can be stressful and frustrating, too! Trying to find the perfect dress that makes them feel confident about themselves, but that is also mom-approved isn't always the easiest. If you've gotten the dress tackled next comes shoes and jewelry. Like most teenagers, my girls are incredibly busy with school and sports, so it's hard to find time to actually go shoe shopping. Instead, I have ordered numerous pairs of shoes for my girls to try. I found some great options on Amazon Prime, so it was easy to ship back and return what didn't work. I wanted to share a little roundup of some of our favorites. Most of these have modest height heels so it's manageable for them to be able to wear all night (or at least through pictures and dinner) and are all very reasonably priced. Also, all of these come in multiple colors so if there is a style you like be sure to check out all the options!

1. Suede Tie Heels - $41.99

2. Platform Heels - $49.99

3. Clear Slip-on Heels - $29.00

4. Bow Heels - $52.00

5. Silver Block Heels - $43.00

6. Nude Block Heels - $29.00

7. Rhinestone Block Heels - $39.00

Sunday, September 17, 2023

Preppy Style Inspo (Home & Gifts)

Preppy and pink has taken over 2023 style in a big way (But really, has either ever been out of style?!). Whether we can thank the reemergence of ‘90’s fashion, or all things Barbie Movie, preppy style has taken over!

Yeti just released the Power Pink line. Pinterest is filled with pink bedecked rooms. And teen boys everywhere are channeling their inner Zach Morris complete with preppy swimsuits turned shorts down the school halls.

Our tweens and teens have totally hopped on board this trend, and one is very into making lists of things she loves for ideas, and came up with these two inspo boards.

| Preppy Bedroom Details |

| Preppy Gift Ideas |

We love seeing these trends through our kids eyes (and are simultaneously impressed that we’d actually live in a room they virtually decorated).

We can’t wait to see what trend emerges next amongst our younger Magnolias.

And share with them how we wore it first. 😆

ARE YOUR KIDS INTO ALL THINGS PREPPY AND PINK? WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE RECYCLED TREND?

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Best Books of Summer 2023

Summer is almost over (insert crying face), but we'd be disappointed if we didn't at least share one of our favorite parts of summer with you - Summer Reading! Usually this is a post we share at the beginning of the season. This year we decided, instead of a preview, to give you a weeded out selection of the best of the best books we read beach and poolside this year.

So if you have a Fall Break trip planned, or just want to be cozy with a side of sand, here are our favorites of Summer 2023.