New Camera

Black Friday was good to us this year.  Matt felt the urge to participate by buying a new tablet for himself.  (I totally approved, as I know how much I enjoy my iPad!)  But little did I know he had something else up his sleeve.  When he come home from work the day after Thanksgiving, he had more than a tablet.  He bought me a new CAMERA!!!

Now he knew that I had been wanting one for quite a while now.  My old one was a birthday present that I got about my second year in college.  I even tried to get a new camera on sale last year for Black Friday, but I ended up returning it because it did not have all the features I wanted.  I was thrilled!! He even did RESEARCH before purchasing it! (I know, I can't believe it either! That has always been my job when it comes to buying anything!)

So here it is!  My early Christmas present.  A Nikon J1!  You can read about it by clicking the link here. 

I have been experimenting with the settings, and I just can't seem to get away from the "single focus" setting which blurs the background and focuses in on the subject right in front.

Here are some sample pieces.  Hopefully there will be many more to come!

What do you think of the pictures with my Nikon?  I am pretty much in LOVE because I have always wanted to take macro shots and as long as I have a steady surface, they turn out perfect!  I'm a real blogger now!  

 PS- don't those cookies look delish?  I hope to make a post on them soon!   

Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle

It's true, my baking hobby rules this blog!  Here today with another pumpkin recipe.  What???  I can't even believe I found a recipe I haven't tried yet, but Pinterest doesn't disappoint.  I tested this out on our small group from church on Monday, and their minds were blown.  Here is the recipe from the blog My Baking Addiction.  Try not to drool...

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE TRIFLE

 These are so delicious.  They are sweet, pumpkiny, and crunchy at the bottom.  Heaven in a cup I tell you.

Thank you for reading my blog even though I continue to be obsessed with these things.

Polyvore

How did I not know about this website before today??

I have been having fun with creating some fun fashion collages on a site called Polyvore today.  When I pin outfits on Pinterest, there are usually a few things I like in the picture and a few things I could live without.  But now that I've found Polyvore, I can make my own collage of all my favorites.  The cool thing is these are all real products you can find online and purchase.  Slightly dangerous?  Lucky for me, most of the stuff is way out of my cheapy price range.

Here are a few samples of my latest work.

Outfit 1:  Casual Pink 

Outfit 2:  Night Out

Outfit 3:  Mint and Black

Outfit 4:  Casual Shopping Day

What a fun new hobby!  Here is a copy of the outfit I wore last weekend.

The only problem is...now I want to go out and buy all my new outfits! 

Pumpkin-Bacon Pancakes

Mom e-mailed me a crazy sounding recipe this week.  I figured I'd try it because I already had all the ingredients in my kitchen, and I haven't made anything pumpkin-related for at least a week..so I was having withdrawals.  I promise I will blog about something unrelated to pumpkins again someday, but for now, here you go!

Pumpkin-Bacon Pancakes

Serves 4

• Whisk 1/2 cup each: whole wheat and all-purpose flours, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, and 1/4 tsp each baking soda and salt in large bowl.

• Whisk 3/4 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 2 lg eggs, 2 Tbsp honey, and 1 Tbsp olive oil in another bowl. Gently stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture.

• Heat cast-iron griddle coated with cooking spray over medium heat. In batches, drop heaping tablespoonfuls of batter onto griddle to form 3" pancakes (about 12). Cook until bottoms are golden, 2 minutes. Sprinkle with crumbled cooked bacon (from 2 strips). Flip and cook until bottoms are golden, 2 minutes longer.  
   
• Finish cooking and keep warm in a 350°F oven, 5 minutes. Drizzle with maple syrup.

NUTRITION

  (per serving) 252 cal, 10 g pro, 37 g carb, 3 g fiber, 8 g fat, 2 g sat fat, 459 mg sodium

Published August 2012, Prevention

Read more by clicking this link.

Well there you have it.  Another delicious pumpkin recipe made it from our plates into our bellies.  It was delightful!  The pumpkin was not too strong, and it made the pancakes very moist.  And everything's better with bacon.  Even if a recipe sounds a little strange, give it a try.  It might turn out to be a keeper or it might be a bust.  But you never know until you try.

Welcome Autumn + Pumpkin Brownies

Welcome Autumn!  September 22, 2012.

In celebration, here is another recipe. Ok, my baking hobby is getting out of control lately.  But when I see all these pumpkin desserts, I can't help myself!  Today, I thought I would try this recipe for Pumpkin Brownies.  You can find the recipe here.  Who doesn't like brownies?  Mix some pumpkin and spices in there and you've got a real autumn treat for your taste buds.

These turned out very moist.  They had the perfect amount of sweetness and spice.  I cut out a couple tablespoons of butter, but other than that, I made no other alterations to the original recipe.  I will definitely be making these again. 

Happy Fall Y'all!

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

I love fall!  I am a fan of all things pumpkin.  I'm back to let you know about this fabulous pumpkin bread recipe I found.  It's called Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread, and you can find the recipe here on Allrecipes.com.

 

This recipe made enough for 12 muffins and 1 loaf pan full.

Go turn on your oven and set it to 350.  By the time you're done reading the recipe, your mouth will be watering for some of these.

Just the smell of this baking in the oven is enough of a reason for you to make it.  The whole house will smell divine. 

and done!

The finished product fresh out of the oven.  Try not to burn your mouth when you can't resist these the moment they come out of the oven...

I only made a couple of changes to the recipe.  I used 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup applesauce, ommitted the ginger because I didn't have any, and cut the sugar back to 2 cups instead of 3.

The result?  Just a little taste of pumpkiny fall for your tastebuds.  Enjoy!

Love and Hate

I'm LOVING this weather we are having.  It is cool in the mornings but warms up to the lower 80's during the day.  The perfect combo.

I'm HATING the allergies I get about this time of year.  Ragweed is my enemy, and apparently Cookie is suffering, too.  He has been itching and biting his legs and paws, and the vet seems to think he has allergies, not fleas.  A little children's Benadryl seems to be helping him a lot while Claritin-D does the trick for me.

I'm LOVING the flowers in the front flower bed right now.  Apparently they just grow like crazy at this time of year because I have never seen them so full of blooms.  Beautiful!

I'm HATING that summer is coming to an end.  I love the hot weather and am so not looking forward to frigid temps. 

I'm LOVING that fall is just around the corner.  I love decorating, baking, and everything pumpkin.

I'm HATING that Matt has been at training in Indianapolis this week.  He has been learning a lot, and luckily he only had to be away for one over night stay.

I'm LOVING baking lately.  My pants are too tight, but yum. I can't stop eating baking sweets!

Snickerdoodles

Fruit Crisp

I'm LOVING that today is Wednesday, and we are taking a long weekend trip to Illinois for Labor Day.  I'm so looking forward to spending time at home and seeing my peeps.

Happy Hump Day everyone!