pumpkin pie.

we were recently at whole foods and found these sweet

 little pumpkins. ruby was over the moon as she 

has been asking since her summer school class to buy 

one so we could cook the seeds. 

and of course i was pumped to have fresh pumpkin 

on hand. so win win. 

and by the way for some reason the smell of pumpkin 

cooking is the most wonderful smell of all coming 

out of your oven. such a tease b/c you want to just 

eat up the smell but there is nothing to eat. 

anyhow, i played around with a recipe and thought it 

was pretty delish so if your in the mood for a pre-thanks

giving pie, go nuts and make one this weekend!

yum yum pumpkin pie.

2 c. freshly cooked, cooled pumpkin

2 T. softened butter

1/2 t. salt

3 eggs

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. buttermilk

1/2 c. heavy cream

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

1 pie crust (just use your own favorite...ina garden has a lovely one)

preheat oven to 350. 

in stand mixer, mix well your pureed pumpkin with salt and softened butter. 

in separate bowl whisk together eggs and sugar well. add buttermilk and cream to eggs until combined. 

add creamy egg mixture to pumpkin along with cinnamon and nutmeg. 

pie mix should not be lumpy so if needed you may pour into your blender to fully combine, as a last measure. 

now pour pie mix into unbaked shell and cook for 50-60 minutes. 

once cooled top with whip cream and enjoy! cheers to the end of summer and beginning of a new season. 

a simple center piece.

i recently set my table with this sweet little succulent

(trimmed from my large guy outside). 

i love a simple happy little centerpiece to make 

the table welcoming for meals. 

i remember thinking in college those cool napkin

holders were the epitome of awesomeness for 

your table. do those even exist anymore? 

hope you had a lovely labor day! 

slow fashion friday.

caught up in the recent whole living i came across

this article on the 'slow fashion' movement,  

which you can read all about for yourself if interested 

online. i found it intriguing, as i have always loved

 the slow food movement (whether or not i always adhere

to it or not is based on 'wild life...not too slow sometimes 

with kids that i happen to have').

in any case, i was in awe of the process these two 

girls go through in making their clothing and especially

 love their dying processes. 

forget cooking classes....sign me up for a class 

with adie + george.

hello gorgeous cozy sweater...you are a welcome 

addition to my fall/winter wardrobe, 

even if i can only wear you for one month in phoenix. 

so here's to a slow and happy weekend!

 i am working on a yummy pumpkin pie recipe 

to share with you next week, so stay tuned.

sweet treat.

with the high dessert demands over here 

every night from little miss ruby, 

i recently bought some cake cones at the grocery

and added a scoop of vanilla ice cream, 

topped with a few sprinkles and was 

instantly pretty popular. do try one yourself.

tote bag.

so i had been wanting to make one of these

cute beach bag totes for a while. 

i finally scooped up some ikea fabric 

and fit one in right before little Mikey came 

along, and so it has since turned into my 

purse/diaper bag/mary poppins bag of tricks.

you can find the tutorial here if you want to give it a go.

very very easy my friends. i promise. 

i am thinking a fall/ winter version may be in order. 

biscuits.

everyone needs a solid biscuit recipe right? 

my grandma gave me this one she found in a magazine

a while back and i've held onto it ever 

since. i find it very easy and rewarding. 

i love the simplicity and the softness of the dough. 

i may love dough too much; this is possible. 

i admit i honestly crave just making cinnamon rolls just 

to watch the dough roll around in the mixer and 

involve myself in the general process of it all. 

so here is a handy dandy biscuit recipe for you to keep 

on hand and make just because, or for something special 

over the weekend. hope you enjoy!

buttermilk biscuits.

1/2 c. butter
2 1/2 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 c. + 2 T. cold buttermilk
1 T. melted butter

Preheat to 475.
Add all dry ingredients into bowl of food processor or stand mixer. Blend well. Add very cold butter in small pieces to dry and mix until butter is pea size, yet not overmixed so as to soften the butter too much.
Add buttermilk slowly until a mass of dough forms and then stop mixing. It can come out very wet but do not fear. Douse the counter with a heavy amount of flour and plop the dough onto counter. Knead 3 to 4 turns and roll out into 1/2 in thickness. Cut out biscuits using a 3in circle cutter or glass jar will do.
Place on sheet pan and brush with melted butter. Bake 16-18 minutes, until puffed up and lightly golden on top.

Variation: you may add about 1/2 c. shredded cheddar or desired cheese. I have done this and it works out splendidly. Cheers!

hello monday.

hey all. i thought i would share some fun inspirations

 of late with you all. hope you had a wonderful weekend. 

i had some good times doing a cupcake photo shoot 

involving icing made with crisco...never again my friends. 

greasy slimyness is not my friend. 

next time we're sticking to the real deal.

so here are some fun links to enjoy. happy monday to you!

this grown up birthday party looked pretty awesome...esp those spoons!

i recently made this icebox cake and had rave reviews...i would 

love to try a lemon cream version on my own, soon. 

i found some really sweet kids room inspiration here.

and i also love this woven gift wrap tutorial and thought it

would be fun to try with metallics and fluorescents

for the holidays.