Pumpkin Overdose

I'll admit it, I do get excited when basically everything becomes pumpkin-flavored in the fall.  But, I always get excited for seasonal/ holiday food - hot apple cider around Thanksgiving, egg nog for Christmas, Reese's eggs in the spring (those totally count), and corn on the cob in the summer!!!

I did have my first pumpkin spice latte of the year while it was still warm out, but mostly I was excited to try out some new recipes.

First I made Mama Peas' pumpkin streusel swirl loaf.

It was delicious!!  I highly recommend it.

I used canned pumpkin for that recipe, but then I roasted a sugar pumpkin I got in my second CSA share.

And I roasted the butternut squash, too, following Angela's tutorial.

Lookin' gooooood.

I saved the seeds from the pumpkin and the squash so that I could roast them and make a delicious, iron-filled snack.  Once again, I followed another tutorial by Angela.

I just realized that it looks like I'm hiding an egg in this picture, haha, but it's really just a hard-boiled egg that I was trying to prevent from rolling off the counter.  

I coated the seeds in about a tablespoon of coconut oil (melted), about a tablespoon of brown sugar, and a hefty sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice

Oh yum.

Come in a little closer to see that gorgeous, crunchy coating.

They taste even better when eaten from an orange dish.

Once I roasted the pumpkin, I scooped out the flesh and put it in my food processor to make a puree.  Easy peasy.  Then I used the puree to make 3 more recipes.  I was on a roll!  First up - pumpkin granola.  It's got a great ingredient list and is very healthy.  It even contains quinoa, which I had never thought to include in granola before.  The quionoa gives it some extra protein, and a great nutty flavor.  (I know quinoa is a seed, but "seedy flavor" does not sound too appealing!)

By the way, old pasta sauce jars make great storage containers!

 I've been eating it with unsweetened vanilla almond milk.  I'm in love.

I also made Kath's baked pumpkin oatmeal.  (And I think my oven must be slanted, judging by the slope of the oatmeal in this dish.)

I'm a huge fan of having breakfast ready to go in the morning, so I baked this on Sunday and had breakfast ready and waiting for me the rest of the week.

In the mornings I just scooped out a section of oatmeal, put it in a bowl with some unsweetened vanilla almond milk (a current favorite of mine, if you couldn't tell), and heated it up in the microwave for about a minute.  Perfection.

Finally, I tried out a savory dish - crock pot turkey white bean chili.  It might sound a little strange, but it was absolutely delicious, and easy to make.  And I just love using my crock pot - so convenient!

I could have eaten this for another week straight.

Sadly, I ran out of homemade pumpkin puree at that point.  But I think I put it to pretty good use.

Oh, and I bought some pumpkin soup from Trader Joe's, too.

It. Was. Incredible.  I first had pumpkin soup in France when I was studying abroad, and I absolutely loved it.  I searched everywhere for something comparable in the States, but the closest I could get was sweet potato and squash soups.  I tried making my own pumpkin soup one time from scratch, but it was an absolute disaster and completely discouraged me from making another attempt.  Luckily, after 5 years, I finally found what I was looking for.  Sadly, I only got one container.  I'll be counting down the days until it comes out again next year!

So is that enough pumpkin for ya?  I wonder what my next seasonal food fixation will be... gingerbread?  Cranberries?  Something peppermint?  Hmm, we shall see.

Song of the day:

"The Story" by Brandi Carlile.  I really love this song because it's such a good mix of pretty and raw vocals.  And it's fun to sing along to (but not fun to hear me singing along to!).

Belated Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone!  Wait, it's November already?  Oops.

My grandma spoils me.  Look at this amazing care package she gave me.  She even included a pumpkin, and a kit to decorate it!

And basically all of my favorite things - homemade sour cream cookies (so.good.), Reese's, peanut butter crackers, Milky Way bars, a HUGE Hershey's bar, hot chocolate, Goldfish, a super cute owl card, awesome socks, and some festive napkins!  So amazing.

I had some friends over in early October, so of course it was the perfect excuse to get some of my favorite Halloween candy.  Luckily not much was left at the end of the night, because I just can't resist it!

I love decorating for any holiday.

Ooh, scary!

I made this when I was really little, and my mom sent it to me in a care package when I was in undergrad.  He manages to still make an appearance once in awhile.

After not dressing up the past 2 years, last weekend I got to dress up in a couple of different costumes.  On Friday I was a "Southern belle" - I wore a dress that my mom wore as a bridesmaid in the 70s :)  I didn't wear the huge crinoline petticoat that would make it even poofier, though.

My friend Josh was a super scary vampire.  Seriously, he was creeping me out!  Pardon my red eyes - I tried to get rid of them in Photoshop but, 1) I don't know how to use Photoshop, and 2) I have perpetual red eyes that seem to just turn gray when they're "corrected."  Josh's glowing eyes work well with his costume, though!

Saturday I went down to Columbus with a group of friends.  I dressed up as "Bad Sandy" from Grease, and my friend Chris was Danny Zuko.  I stayed up pretty late after the party on Friday night to put curlers in my hair in an attempt to make it super curly for an authentic Bad Sandy look.

And I got to sleep in them.  Lucky me!

Buuuut my hair didn't dry by the time I had to take the curlers out the next day, so I was a less authentic Sandy.  Ohhh well.  (Check out my super cool "Academic" high school letter pinned on "Danny's" sweater, haha.)

I'm terrible at taking pictures - this is my attempt at capturing High Ball (a street festival we went to).

I snapped a picture of this scary monster thing.  And that was the extent of my picture-taking!

I also got to eat at one of my favorite places while we were down in Columbus - Northstar Cafe!  I got the Buddha Bowl with roasted chicken, brown rice, peanut sauce, and veggies.  It was really, really delicious.  I failed at using my chopsticks, though :/  Maybe I should try to develop that skill...

Although this pumpkin made a cute decoration, it was even better after it was roasted :)  Stay tuned for my next post, which will be totally pumpkin themed!  (Very original, I know.)

Song of the day:

"Tightrope" by Walk the Moon.  Very upbeat and fun!

Is That a Cookie on Your Salad?

When I got my first CSA haul a few weeks ago, it included some beets.  I've actually never cooked with beets before, so I was unsure of what to do with them.

Luckily, I had already bookmarked a few recipes that call for beets, including the Fitnessista's carrot beet and bean burgers.   And as luck would have it, the CSA share also came with carrots, and I had some cannellini beans in the cupboard.  It's pretty much magical when I already have all of the ingredients for a recipe on hand.  Is this what it feels like to be Martha Stewart?!

I followed the recipe pretty closely, but I used ground oats instead of chickpea flour, and I omitted the mustard powder because I didn't have any.  Okay, so I guess I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand.  There go my illusions of being like Martha Stewart.

But that's okay, they turned out really, really well.  I was actually surprised by how much I liked them.  I wasn't sure if I'd be a huge fan of the beet flavor, but they were delicious.  However, I cannot recommend trying to dehydrate beets.  I thought I could make some veggie "chips" with some of the leftover beets - BAD idea.  Ick, I still shudder to think of that raw beet taste.  Blech.

I actually ate one of the beet burgers on top of a bed of acorn squash.

Pretty darn tasty.  And colorful!  Just think of all the antioxidants.

I also put one of the beet burgers on top of my salad and took it to school one day.  When I got my lunch out, one of my friends asked if I had a cookie on my salad, haha.  Not quite... :)

Are you guys getting ready for Halloween?  I didn't dress up the past two years (tragic, I know) but this year I've got two costumes planned out - a southern belle and "bad" Sandy from Grease.  I've actually worn both of these costumes before, but I think it was 8th grade when I was the southern belle, so that barely counts, right?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Song of the day:

"If I Didn't Know Better" by Sam Palladio & Clare Bowen.  This song if from the new show Nashville - has anyone been watching it?  I'm a big fan of Connie Britton (from Friday Night Lights - pretty much the best show ever), and so far I'm liking Nashville a lot.  I pretty much can't resist a show that incorporates a lot of great music!  This song is so pretty, and how about that crazy chemistry between the actors??  Sigh.

Come Into My Living Room

So back in April (was it really that long ago?!) I shared pictures from the kitchen of my apartment.  I've made a few updates recently, so I've added new pictures to that post.  Here's one of them:

I've got two amazing new paintings that my sister made for me, and a newly-painted black table (it used to be blue and pink).  I'll share the pictures of the (long!) painting process soon, too.

And here are the pictures of my living room - furnished and decorated on a student's budget, with a lot of help from family and friends.  If you've read my blog before, you've probably seen quite a few sunset pictures - this is the biggest window in my apartment, and I also have large windows in my kitchen and bedroom.  They all face the same direction, so during the summer and early fall I can see the sunsets from them, and I can also see Lake Erie in the distance.

My rug is from TJ Maxx - I really love it, and it was such a great deal.  The curtain rod and curtains are from JC Penney.  The chair and ottoman are hand-me-downs from my great aunt.

My couch was my first real "grown-up" furniture purchase.  The accent pillows came with it - they're not something I would have picked out myself, but I haven't really looked for replacements.  The table to the right of my couch is a family hand-me-down, and it's pretty scratched up, so I covered it with a table cloth that I got on Etsy.  It'd be really fun to refurbish the table some day, though, because it has a lot of character.  The lamp on the table is also a hand-me-down from my parents.  I've been considering spray-painting the base and either recovering or replacing the lamp shade. but I'm still thinking it through.

That's my front door and entrance hall in the back left corner of the picture.  My coffee table was another hand-me-down from my parents - we had it in the family room of our first house, and in the basement of my parents' current house.  Lots of memories!  And a few scratches for good measure.

This is the view from the window side of the room.  Notice my party lights?  Haha.  The tenant before me told me that the previous tenant put them up, and I thought they were fun, so I decided to keep them.  A girl I baby-sit really likes them, and she was just shocked that someone could leave them behind :)

You can see my "work station" in the back left corner of this picture - I've got a bookcase, bulletin board, desk (another hand-me-down from my great aunt), and floor lamp.  I actually use this area more for just storing things, though, and usually do my work at the kitchen table.  I need to spread out!  And generally make quite a mess.

Please ignore the terribly ugly cords under my TV.  I've been wanting to get some big wicker storage baskets to put under there, but I haven't found any that I love yet.

My parents gave me that papasan chair as a birthday present when I turned 16 - I still love it!  Although I pretty much instantly fall asleep when I sit in it...

And here are some close-ups of my "decor," if you will.  I really love fireplaces, and although this isn't a working fireplace, I still think it's pretty fun.  My mom got me the candle holder as a gift, and I bought candles that have wooden wicks - when you light them, they crackle like a fire!  My cousin gave me that brilliant idea - I love it.  I used an old vase I had from delivered flowers and put some decorative glass pebbles (yeah, not sure if that's what they're really called, but that's what they look like) and a few fake calla lilies from Hobby Lobby in there.  I put some little knick knacks and votives on the mantle.

My best friend gave me these awesome pictures which she took at concerts we'd been to together, and I love seeing them every day!  I think personalized artwork is such a special, amazing gift.

I got those three little frames from the dollar spot at Target when I was in undergrad, and I printed out some pictures in black and white to put in them.  The glass bud vases are from CB2, and the fake gerbera daisies are from Hobby Lobby.  I found that black and white print on Etsy, and got the mat and frame from... wait for it... Hobby Lobby.

I got that floor lamp from Ikea recently, and now I can see to read on my couch!  Only took me two years...  That wall-mounted candle holder is from CB2, and the picture is a vintage-y map of Paris that is actually wrapping paper from Paper Source, which I put in a poster frame from Target.

Upon my suggestion, my mom ordered those flowers for my parents' kitchen after they re-painted it, but they weren't working there.  So I got them instead!  Works for me.  

So there you have it - another peek into my apartment.  And I still need to share some pictures of my hall, bathroom, and bedroom, too.  I promise it won't take me another six months to share them this time.  

And just for fun, here's a picture from two years ago, before I got around to unpacking.  Yikes!

Oh, and happy fall!

Song of the day:

"Live It Out" by Metric.