Happy Holidays to yooou..

Twas the night before Christmas Eve.. & all through the house.. not a creature was stirring... Not even a.. Okay who're we kidding, I've been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off since Friday. I love the holidays, but the older I get, the crazier they get. It tends to get a little hectic when you have so many different families to visit, parties to go to, & then throwing in work/taking care of a home/keeping my dog & husband alive - in with it. ;) Not complaining though - we have so much to be thankful for. As excited as I am to start the new year of 2014, I am slightly sad to see this one go. 2013 treated us well. We got our first home together, got married, and really started our lives as a family. I can easily say it was one of the busiest, craziest, BEST years of my life. I am also happy to say that this year I'm going to hop on the crazy train & try my best at some New Year's resolutions.
They will go as follows:

1. Live a healthier lifestyle. (& I don't just mean eat grass & work out)
Living a healthier lifestyle for me will mean a healthier, more well-rounded me all together. Of course I want to try to eat the right foods, work out when possible, & all that jazz - but I really want to focus on a my mental and spiritual well-being as well. I need to de-stress. I need to remember that life is short, stop & smell the roses. or cookies. or whatever it is! Find beauty and pleasure in it. I need to find more reasons to laugh until my stomach hurts, learn patience for the things that take time to understand, & be more self-less and compassionate for others who need it more than myself. I need to surround myself with positive people and accept the fact that with age, friendships fade. It's easy to have 20 "best friends" in college when it's convenient for everyone. Adult friendships take a lot more TLC. I'm really routing for myself in 2014. I'm hoping it brings more balance to all these things in my life, & a little more laugh lines around my face from the people who truly matter.

&

2. Grow. (That's a vague one, isn't it?) But that's kind of the point. In 2014, I want to grow in every way I possibly can. I want to learn. I want to challenge myself more. It can be too easy and temping to fall into the mundane routine of adult life. Work, cook, clean, sleep. Repeat. I don't want that. My husband doesn't want that. Not one part of me is okay with the easy repetition life can sometimes bring us. There is comfort in familiarity, yes - but I am too young & too eager not to try a little harder. I am so close to finishing another college degree. Maybe a year shy? Why not knock that out. It's close enough to taste it, & I deserve to have credit for all the hard work I put into those college courses, right? That's just one exert of my life I could "grow" on. I would also love to grow this blog! Actually devote time to writing more. It's therapeutic and a great way to store memories. Along with that is, of course, my job, our home, & our family. There's always room for more. More love, growth, and determination never hurt no one.

Well, those are the current goals!
Yes, I know that's only two goals - so that should make them easier to achieve, right?? :)
I want to give these two above my all. Within reasonable limits, I really want 2014 to be a year I'm proud of. (I'm not pushing for a peace prize or anything, but I'll keep you posted.) I just want to really try.

Merry Christmas, everyone! I leave you with our family's first Christmas Card & a few pictures we've snapped this holiday season. I hope everyone has a day full of family & cheer. :)

Ain't no season, like Pumpkin Season

Dear Pumpkin,

You are one of my favorite flavors. You are the reason why we look forward to fall each year. YOU are the reason Starbucks has lines out the wazoo from September thru November. That being said, I love all things pumpkin. & even better - pumpkin is a vegetable so it earns a prized spot in my attempted healthy eating plan I'm going to try to stick to between now and my wedding in October. (This plan also involves daily iced coffees, & the occasional cookie. Obviously, it's a little customized - but I'm trying here people!)

I like to have breakfast ready for busy work mornings when time is of the essence & these two recipes I'm about to share are great for anyone on the go. (or even as just a healthy snack!)

PUMPKIN SPICE OATMEAL BARS

Ingredients:

2.5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant or quick oats)

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup pure pumpkin

1/2 cup almond milk (regular or soy milk would be fine)

1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flaxseed & 3 tablespoons water. mix, let sit 10 min, add)

1/4 cup honey

handful of nuts, chocolate chips, etc.

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

Spray 8 x 8 pan with non-stick cooking spray. or line with parchment paper. Set aside.

Mix together oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Add in the vanilla, pumpkin, milk, egg, and molasses. Mix together until evenly combined.

Stud with nuts or chocolate chips (I used white chocolate)

Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool then cut and serve!

PUMPKIN ALMOND BUTTER "TRUFFLES"
Ingredients:
1 cup creamy almond butter
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 honey
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350F, and line a baking sheet with foil.
Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl, and mix until a thick batter is formed.
Make cookie like globs of dough and bake for roughly 15 minutes.
Remove from oven & let cool for 10 minutes.
After cooling, take the dough and put back into the bowl you mixed it in and start shaping into truffle like balls. After making the balls, put them in the fridge to set up for as long as desired & enjoy!

^^The top photo is of my pumpkin spice oatmeal bars, the bottom is of my pumpkin almond butter truffles.^^

Hi, Hello, Iced Coffee Anyone?

Hello Blog World! I finally jumped on the bandwagon & started one of these things. To tell you a little about myself, I'm a 20something girl/fiance/dog-mom working full time in a hospital & part time as a make-up artist. I have a passion for make-up (of course), cooking, coupons, & being outdoors. (outdoors as in a romantic beach or shady picnic, let's not pretend I love to rough it in a tent here) I plan on posting about make-up (you see a trend here?) yummy food/coffee (some healthy recipes, too!) & anything else I feel like sharing. (Like details on my wedding.. that's just a little over two months away!) I hope you enjoy what you find here & visit often. :)

For my first post I thought I'd share a recipe I've shared all over Instagram lately.
It's not only delicious, but it's saved me a lot of money!

So anyone who knows me, knows I love Starbucks. I love coffee. Not black coffee, but the sweet/girly stuff that gives you a buzz not only off the caffeine - but the sugar.
With Macchiatos running upwards of five bucks a pop (or coffee, really) & us just buying a new home, I needed to find an alternative solution to my caffeine/sugar/carmelheaven addiction. This led me to the search for the perfect iced coffee recipe. Being the computer-guru that I am, I ran to my number one Internet resource for the answer - google. ;)
Google brought me to one of my favorite ladies, Ree from The Pioneer Woman.
(I really suggest checking out her blog for recipes by the way. Good stuff!)
I basically use her "Perfect Iced Coffee" recipe as a template & modified it to my liking.


Start off with your favorite blend of ground coffee. The richer the better. I like to use Folgers's Black Silk or Starbucks Colombia blend. Any blend you like will do, really.
(For every 1 pound of coffee, you need 8 quarts of cold water to soak it in.)

Combine coffee grounds with cold water & let soak in an airtight container for at least 24 hours. Keep in mind this makes about a week's worth of coffee for a household of two very sleepy young adults who like to stay up late, so you'll need a big container. The longer the soak time, the stronger the coffee. It will look kind of gross.. but will taste quite the opposite, promise. :)

After soaking, strain the coffee grounds from the liquid and disregard. I use a strainer and a coffee filter to do this, but Ree from TPW uses a cheesecloth. Either will do. I choose to strain directly into the new, clean container I use to store it in our fridge.

After you strain the coffee grounds from the liquid mixer, you are left with the most glorious coffee concentrate you have ever tasted. (as long as you're sure to not let any nasty grounds seep through!) I think it is especially good because you're not messing with the coffee's temperature. You're not "shocking" the coffee by taking it from one extreme temperature to another. The result is a beautiful thing, really.

Let chill in the fridge for as long as your heart desires then finally pour yourself a nice, cold glass over ice. I add in roughly two tablespoons of whatever flavored creamer I prefer at the time being and enough milk to make it similar to the taste/consistency of an iced latte. (Pioneer Woman uses sweetened condensed milk, but I have pants to fit in, so let's keep it real here!)

That's pretty much it, guys! Hope that's enough instructions to get you through, Ha!
Let me know how good that iced coffee tastes! Save me a glass! ;)