Oh How Pinteresting!

Happy Halloween everyone!! In honor of the holiday my OHP post is all my Halloween inspirations!

Crispy Frankenstein Treats

Breadstick Fingers

Halloween Door

Pumpkin Cake

Pumpkin Cheeseball

Halloween Centerpiece

Put glow sticks in and hide in bushes to look like eyes.

Adorable!

Spider web eyes

School Picture Halloween Costume

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cheesecake Frosting

Never before have I been such a pumpkin fan. I don't really like pumpkin pie. I never go crazy over the pumpkin spice lattes when they come out at Starbucks. It has never really been my thing. Until this year. I have been making EVERYTHING with pumpkin. Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin brownies, and eventually I will probably make a pumpkin cheesecake. So when I was thinking of what to make my friend for her birthday, I knew it had to be pumpkin cupcakes!

Because I am not very familiar with pumpkin puree as an ingredient in baked goods, I stuck almost 100% to Martha Stewart's recipe for Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes.

However, instead of buttermilk (who keeps buttermilk on hand all the time?) I used almond milk. I imagine the buttermilk actually serves a purpose to react with the baking soda and help the cupcakes rise, but even without it the cupcakes were perfectly light and airy. There are lots of ways you can get around using buttermilk though, like adding vinegar to milk and letting it sit for a minute or two.

If I make these cupcakes again, I will probably increase the cinnamon and nutmeg. They were just a little too mellow for me, but I love cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Once everything was mixed together and I started scooping the batter into tins, I decided to break from the recipe and add dark chocolate chips to the remaining batter. Judging from my friends text messages after I dropped them off, that was a good decision. 

I baked them at 375 for about 22 minutes. Then I let them cool on the rack before I frosted them so that the frosting wouldn't melt everywhere.

Now, for the frosting that I like to call "Cheesecake Frosting". Since I was between making my friend pumpkin cheesecake or cupcakes, I decided to sort of combine the two. The original cupcake recipe calls for cream cheese frosting, which seems pretty standard for pumpkin cupcakes. Really, the only difference between the two is butter. 

For my frosting I substituted the butter (a half a cup!!) for an equal amount of Greek yogurt. Not only does it make this frosting just a tad bit healthier, the yogurt sort of mellows out the tang from the cream cheese, which I think makes it taste more like cheesecake. I mean, I am using all the same ingredients as my cheesecake, except eggs. I also added in a bit more vanilla. But I do that with everything.

And all I did was throw everything into the bowl at once, then whip up with the whisk attachment of my stand mixer. Slow at first or else the powdered sugar will get everywhere. Then I spooned it into a piping bag fitted with a fairly wide tip. I let that sit in the fridge for a while until the cupcakes cooled completely and the frosting stiffened up.

Once everything was cooled down, I piped on the frosting. Then dusted all of the cupcakes with a cinnamon sugar mixture. I would have loved to have made little pumpkins with melted dark chocolate, but I just ran out of time. Maybe next time. 

Literally, I could just eat the frosting with a spoon. Yum!

Recipe after the jump!

Receptions and Registries

This weekend was just jam-packed with fun things!

One of my friends from grad-school had a birthday this weekend, so I spent the morning making pumpkin cupcakes with cheesecake frosting (recipe posted later this week). The apartment smelled like fall, it was wonderful!

B and I hit up Target to get a wedding gift for our friends, and while killing time, I found some great Christmas decorations that I want to recreate. I just need to find a cheap cable knit sweater.

We also had a friends wedding reception Saturday afternoon. They got married a couple months ago in D.C. but it was pretty small and not many people were invited so they had another reception hear in Dallas. It was at this cute little farm house which was now in the middle of a shopping center. So the pasture with the llamas was right next to a Staples. Only in Texas.

After the reception we all went out for karaoke. Someone stopped by Party City on the way there to pick up costumes for everyone. They all just got passed around the table and we ended up with some pretty random combinations. My picture is without costume. At one point I was sporting a red raggedy Ann wig.

Sunday, B and I participated in Crate and Barrel's Registry event. We I might have gotten a little carried away. I told myself not to register for too much because it might be discontinued by next year. Clearly I didn't listen. Sorry, no pictures of this. I was too busy pointing at things for B to scan. Afterwards, I took B to a very nice, romantic lunch at Costco.

Yes, he got a salad and I got a hot dog.

What did you do this weekend?

What's Cookin' Good Lookin'

So, I think next week I am going to start a link-up for this post and would LOVE it if you guy's joined in! I really enjoy finding new recipes and sharing some of my favorites! Hopefully it will make meal planning for the week that much easier!

I don't really like a lot of rules with link-ups, so I won't make a ton for this one. All I ask is that you post about your meal plan for the week to come, the week that has past, recipes you want to try, or a recipe you have made recently and want to share! Also, please include the button (grab the link on the left) so that we can spread the word and get more people involved and, therefore, more recipes shared!!

I understand that I am taking a big risk starting a link-up when I don't have hundreds of followers, so it might take some time to get this off the ground, but bear with me!!

Without further ado, here is my meal plan for the week:

Monday:  
I recently saw this recipe on Whole Living and thought that this would make a great taco! Instead of serving the grilled chicken with sliced mango and bell pepper on pieces of bread, I am thinking I will serve with some mango salsa from Whole Foods wrapped in a tortilla! I will let you know how it goes!

Tuesday:
I have book club this week, so B is on his own for dinner, but I am thinking of making some cupcakes to bring. One of my favorite Halloween cupcakes is worms and dirt. I found this similar recipe from With Sprinkles on Top. Maybe I will make some with cookies shaped like tombstones coming out of it, too.

Wednesday & Thursday:
I like to make at least one meat-less meal a week, and since the weather is cooling down I thought this vegan "meatloaf" from Healthful Pursuits would be great! I have made it before, along with the homemade BBQ sauce, and B actually really liked it. I was shocked that he went back for seconds the first time I made it. It makes a pretty big loaf, so there will definitely be some leftover to eat on Thursday.

Friday:
I have been eying this taco pizza from Life as a Lofthouse for a while. since we have to be up early on Saturday for B's company 5k I thought this would be a fun, easy meal to make! I would probably sub the beef for turkey and leave off the olives, though.

Saturday:
Since B's company 5k conflicts with the Baylor Homecoming game and we won't be able to get down to Waco this year (my first time to miss Homecoming in 8 years!), I think I will lay the guilt trip on and make him take me out to a nice dinner. :)

What are you cooking up this week?

Sunday Social

Today's Sunday Social with Neely and Ashley is all about Halloween!

1. What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?
Oh gosh, I do not remember any of my Halloween costumes as a kid. I think I was a Disney princess one year and I would wear the dress all the time, even after Halloween.

2. If you could go back and dress up as something what would it be?
This is a hard question. I forget what I liked when I was younger. In college I wish I had more fun with it and wore something creative or witty. Usually I just dressed up in clothes I already owned then just added something to make me a Deal or No Deal girl or Referee. 

3. Favorite costume as an adult?
I am not good with the costumes. This year I do not have one. Last year, I don't even remember what I was. The year before I went as Ke$ha. Basically, I dressed a little crazy and wore some weird eyeliner. Clearly I don't take this seriously. The only year I took it semi seriously was a few years ago when Halloween fell on the same weekend as Baylor's Homecoming, so all my friends and I went back and dressed up. I was Alice in Wonderland.

4. Favorite Halloween Candy?
Reece's Peanut Butter Cup or Mini Butterfingers. I just love peanut butter.

 

5. Favorite Halloween Memory?
I really just loved trick or treating with my friends when I was younger. We would trade off neighborhoods and just hit up every house we could. Then we would come back to home base and sort through all our candy and trade for the kinds we liked. I really wish I could do that again. And eat all that candy without any consequences.

6. Whats your favorite scary movie?
I do not have a favorite scary movie. I do not like scary movies one bit. When I was younger I watched a very old (in black and white) scary move called the Uninvited. I was ruined from then on.

 

Liebster Award

Well, this is fun...I found out the other day that Christa from Significance or Nothing nominated be for a Liebster Award! Pretty cool. You may not of heard of the Liebster Award, so let me fill you in: The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

The Ruels rules:
1. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, and then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.
3. Choose 11 bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post.
4. Go to their page and tell them about the award.
5. No tag backs! 

11 Random facts:
1. I grew up a mile from the ocean, but do not know how to surf. Do not let this picture fool you.

Don't worry, this water is 2 feet deep.

2.  I have 2 degrees, yet I STILL don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Actually, that's not true I want to be Martha Stewart, minus the whole jail thing.

3. I am a terrible speller. There are plenty of words that I still have to still sound out phonetically in order to spell them right like 'restaurant' or 'definitely' (took 3 tries). Also, any word that has multiple double letters, like 'committee' will never get spelled right the first time.

4. I love handwriting. It made me sad that it's not being taught in some schools anymore. I encourage all of you to write everything in cursive today!

5. I yell a lot when driving. I don't yell a lot in normal life, just when I'm behind the wheel. I think it scares B.

6. I hate scary movies. Can't watch them. But I do like the show Dexter...weird?

7. I literally have to change the channel or shield my eyes from the TV is someone on it starts doing something to embarrass themselves or gets into an embarrassing situation.

8. I won't eat a banana if there is any hint of a brown spot on it.

9. I don't like fish, but I love sushi.

10. I used to know how to play the clarinet and piano. I doubt I could play either now. I should take some piano lessons again.

11. I find it hard to come up with 11 random facts about me.

Questions from Christa

1. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in San Diego, Calif. I was so spoiled to grow up in such a lovely city. Maybe one day I will move back, but for now Texas is treating me really well!

2. Do you have an article of clothing that you cannot get rid of no matter how worn it is?

I don't think I will ever be able to get rid of the dress I wore on B and I's first date. I have worn it a lot since then (as recently as this summer). But even when it is out of style or much too small I don't think I will be able to give it up. 

Thank goodness the roomies took this picture! I was so embarrassed!

 3. Have a bucket list? What's the number one thing on it?

I don't have a formal bucket list (every once and a while I toy with the idea of drafting one up), but if there would be one thing that would be at the top of it it would be to travel to every continent, except, of course, Antarctica. I can mark off Europe and North America, so now I just need South America, Asia, and Australia.

4. Beauty product you cannot live without?

Definitely tinted moisturizer. I love Laura Mercier's, but that's not always in the budget. My new favorite is one by Boots No. 7, which I believe was less than $12 at Target.

5. What is your favorite season of the year, and why?

If I were still in San Diego, I would say summer. But in Texas, the summer is pretty miserable, so I am going to go with Fall. There is just so much going on in the Fall. Weather's cooler so there are lots of festivals and fairs. Football has started. Holiday's are ramping up. It's a great time of year.

6. Why do you blog?

I started to blog to share my adventures of wedding planning, but found that because the wedding was so far off, those adventures were few and far between. Now I blog just as a creative outlet for my baking, crafting, sewing...you name it. I was already reading a ton of blogs as a way to get ideas, so I thought I would throw my hat in the ring as well!

7. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?

Is hindsight a superpower? I would love to be able to look in the future to see what was going to happen (Yes, 1994 self, I should buy this Apple, Inc. stock even though their computers suck and they just got rid of Steve Jobs...one day it will be worth $700 per share!! No 2001 self, you should not wear that tight and shiny dress to Homecoming...it does not photograph well).

8. Favorite song? You know, the one you sing at the top of your lungs when no one is around.

Right now, my favorite song is 'Even if it Breaks Your Heart' by Will Hoge. If you are a country fan, you probably know the Eli Young Band version. But I could listen to the Will Hoge version (the original) over and over again. I don't hear it on the radio very much, but when I hear either version I can't help but belt it out in the car.

9. What was your first job?

My very very first real job (like had to pay taxes on it and stuff) was working at a bathing suit store in Mission Bay in San Diego. It is still there (I think). Pilar's. It had been around for years before I worked there too. My mom used to shop there when I was little and reminds me all the time about a the time I decided to yell out in the middle of the store, "mommy, you can't wear that...you're fat!" Which she absolutely was not (probably thinner than I am now). I was such a lovely child, wasn't I?

10. What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time?

If I just had tons of spare time (like no job, no errands, no worries) I would probably cook and craft all day. I really enjoy cooking dinner for B and I. And baking. I love baking. Or maybe it's eating the baked goods? Right now I find some little project to fill the time here and there, like sewing a skirt, or making some sort of art piece for the wall. 

11. What is your favorite holiday, and why?
Definitely Christmas. Not for the presents, although I do love giving gifts (and don't mind getting them either), I really love the whole season that has been created around the holiday. The decorations, the events, the traditions, and then of course, its also the time I get to go home and see my family. I try to get home more than once a year, but this year, I will only be home at Christmas. This will be the last year that I will be home for Christmas as just me. Next year, B and I will start our own traditions and will have to switch back and forth between families for Christmas.

My Questions

1. What would your last meal be?

2. What is your guilty pleasure (i.e. chocolate, red wine, shopping, etc)?

3. What blog(s) or blogger(s) inspire you?

4. Where would you dream vacation be?

5. What advice would you give to your high school self now?

6. What is your favorite blog post that you have writte thus far (include a link)?

7. If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be?

8. What is 1 thing you would like to accomplish by next year?

9. What is your favorite board/party game?

10. What is your hands down favorite store?

11. What is your favorite TV show currently on air?

My Picks

1. This Beautiful Life

2. Coming from a Place of Yes

3. Dessert First Way

4. Somewhat Domesticated

5. For Miami and Love

6. Life's a Beach

7. Fancy Free Life

8. Chits and Giggles

9. That's What She Read

10. Blonde Meets World

11. Pink and Fabulous

I hope that you check all these fabulous blogs out! 

Friday Letters

I am linking up with Ashley for Friday Letters again today!

 

Dear Velvet Taco employee, I am sorry that I asked if you had chips. I am a totally idiot for assuming that a restaurant that only serves tacos and has "taco" in the name is NOT a "Mexican restaurant" and thus does not serve chips. I appreciate you pointing out that your sides are, just so I know, chili-lime roasted corn, roasted potatoes with creama (in England they would call these chips, FYI)...which sound awfully Mexican to me, but what do I know? I am the idiot who asked for chips. [Stepping off of my Sarcastic Soapbox]

 

Dear new camera, you are wonderful! I am so excited to start taking more pictures with you! I just need to learn how to use you first.

 

Dear Ace, it has been nice having you around, but I'm glad your parents are picking you up tomorrow. You have reaffirmed that we should not get a dog until we have a house with a yard.

 

Dear Crate and Barrel, I am so excited to go to the registry event this Sunday.

 

Dear Weight Watchers, I finally lost the 10 pounds I was working on thanks to you! It took a lot of self control, but now I think I have definitely adapted my lifestyle to maintain this weight until the wedding.

 

Dear B, I am so proud of you. I know its difficult going on different interviews and being turned down. But you have been asked to interview for these jobs that anyone else with your experience would never get asked to do. You are getting great exposure in the company and I know you will end up in the position that is right for you.

 

Dear new downstairs neighbor, I apologize in advance for any noise I make working out . I know the former neighbors didn't appreciate it, but I really do try to be considerate!!

 

Dear weekend, take your time!

 

 

It's Ok Thursday

Linking up with Neely and Amber for It's Okay Thursday!

It's okay...

...that I didn't realize the World Series had started.

...that I don't care who wins the World Series.

...that I have been taking pictures of everything since my new camera arrived yesterday.

...that I'm not dressing up or doing anything for Halloween.

...to take a pumpkin carving contest at work very, very seriously

...that I am really excited Christa from Significance or Nothing nominated me for a Liebster Award! I will be posting about it along with my picks tomorrow! Maybe you're one of them!

...that I was a little disappointed by the ending of Gone Girl...maybe I missed something...

...that I won't be spending any money for the rest of the month because I am already over budget.

...that I sold my spin bike (on Craigslist) for the price I paid for it (on Craigslist). See, that's MBA kinda thinking (just kidding).

...to tell B that we are eating leftovers tonight because I don't feel like cooking.

...that I am sooooo ready for Christmas!


How's your Thursday??