A Trip Home

This weekend Matt and I went up to Portland to help with the annual auction Visible Grace puts on each fall. We wanted to be there to help things run smoothly since it was the first year without my sister (the founder) there, and we had secret intentions of catching a peek of Portland in it's prime time. It didn't let us down. I was in awe of the exploding colors of the leaves and the crisp air. Unfortunately, it was such a quick trip that I barely had time to absorb it! Almost all of our time was dedicated to setting up for the auction so my morning was spent running around town buying glass vases and Honey Crisp apples. And sneaking in snuggles with my estranged cat, Charles Bukowski.

Kat, faithful to Visible Grace and to me, joined me for set up while the boys slipped off to go watch football. We raced home in time to slip on our dresses and snap a few prom pictures on my parents patio before heading back to the hotel for the auction. It was a surprisingly seamless weekend and a fantastic fundraiser. My good friends Rachael & Luke played music for the event, which meant I got to sneak in a visit with them as well! Besides that and a quick visit to meet Rose's sweet baby boy Bronson, we didn't get much time to ourselves. Sorry Portlanders! Come down here and visit me once the leaves fall off and you need some sunshine. 

Below are a few pictures I took on either my phone or Kat & Luke's camera. (Apparently I'm not as great of a packer as I thought I was, as the image of the battery charger plugged into the wall back home came to my mind while on the flight to Portland.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you're interested in learning more about Visible Grace or catching a few of the videos shown that night, you can visit their home page here.

Bits & Pieces of Autumn

 

Smiling sun flowers from the farmer's market,
tomatoes from the garden becoming pasta sauce,
lazy Saturdays filled with football,
stepping outside to catch the sunset,
and a Saturday spent downtown.

Makeovers

Matt and I have been sharing a four-drawer dresser over the last year, which has resulted in a perpetually over-flowing laundry basket of clothes on the floor. So, when my friend Stacey mentioned that she was throwing out her daughter's changing table, I was thrilled to take it off her hands and give it a quick make over. After scrubbing out the drawers, touching up the paint, distressing a little here & there and replacing some knobs, I nestled my new dresser next to our closet and cleaned out that basket of clothes for good.

 

 

 

 

The dresser was missing a few of the white knobs, so I moved them around and picked up those bronze birdies at World Market for a few dollars a piece. To display jewelery & hair pieces, I'm using our wooden dessert tier. (Of course, I couldn't resist putting a few decorative touches on Matt's while I was at it....)

I finally got motivated to unpack and organize my craft stuff! For the past two months, everything has been in tubs stacked on top of that counter or spread out on the floor after I would rummage around to make something (which by the way, is the entry way to the back door, not a very convenient place to make a mess...). Now, thanks to a little help from IKEA and Martha Stewart, everything is tucked away into a compartment, basket or file. I hardly even recognize my own things!

That's a little peek of what we've been up to. We're heading up to Portland next weekend! I can't wait to see some changing leaves, visit family and get a little taste of true fall weather. (Speaking of fall, I shared a few style ideas over here today.)

Homemade Donuts

I am part of a rare breed known as "morning people". My dad is the only other person in my family (and on earth, I think) that likes the morning. So when I was growing up, the two of us would wake up before everyone else on Saturdays or family vacations and sneak out of the house for donuts and chocolate milk together. Donuts hold a special place in my heart and remind me of who I inherited my sweet tooth from.

These days, I still wake up early on the weekends and enjoy eating something sweet with my coffee (that's a cutesy way of admitting I primarily eat sugar for breakfast). I've been looking around for the perfect donut recipe; specifically one that wouldn't involve me splashing hot oil all over myself. I came across this recipe on Sunday morning and was enjoying hot and fresh donut holes 30 minutes later. It's simple, quick and incredibly delicious. They would be the perfect thing to serve with coffee to a house full of guests over Thanksgiving weekend. Or in my case, the perfect fall treat to keep you quiet while you're tip-toeing around the house waiting for your husband to wake up. The best part is the buttery, sugary finish on the donut holes. (This recipe isn't deserving of adjectives like "skinny" or "light" in the title. I don't really play that game when it comes to treats.) I couldn't stop popping these in my mouth! They are best when served fresh out of the oven, which won't be a problem. Trust me.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used gluten-free flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground all spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup canola oil  (or oil of your choice, coconut oil would be good!)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup pureed pumpkin 
1/2 cup milk

4 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup cinnamon & sugar

To make:
 -Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 24-cup mini muffin tin with baking spray and set aside. (The first time I made these, I used regular muffin tins and filled them half full because that's all we had and because I was secretly hoping if I made them bigger than standard donut holes, I would eat less. I didn't, but either way they turned out great. The mini ones are of course cuter...)
-In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice and cloves. In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk. Add dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
-Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
-While the donuts are baking and filling your home with a heavenly aroma, prepare the butter and cinnamon & sugar into two separate bowls. Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool for a couple minutes. While they're still warm, dip them into the melted butter and then roll them in the bowl with the cinnamon & sugar mixture until coated.

Serve them warm with a big mason jar full of chocolate milk or a cup of chai! 

Paper Whites

While I was browsing the collection of succulents at my local nursery, the patient woman who sells me a new basil plant every other week pointed me toward the Paper White bulbs they just got in. Paper Whites are perfect to plant between September-November, grow indoors and are a lovely and incredibly fragrant flower once they bloom, which should be around Christmas. I bought a few bulbs for under a dollar each to plant and give out once the flowers blossom.

I thought I'd share the few simple steps it takes to plant them:

Start with a Paper White bulb, some potting gravel and a shallow dish without a drain hole. I used decorative red rock from the garden store, a planting tin I picked up at Ikea and some gravel I hand-picked from our driveway. A tin can or old mason jar would also be fun to plant in!

Fill your container halfway up with gravel and nestle the bulb pointy-end down into the rocks. Fill with enough water for it to barely reach the top of the rocks, maybe a little less. (You just want the bottom of the bulb to be able to reach the water and start to root.)

 

Fill the rest of your container with gravel. I topped mine off with some bigger rocks because I thought it looked a bit nicer. Place the dish in a dark place for about a week or so, watering every so often to keep the bulb from drying out. When sprouts begin to grow, place the dish into bright light and watch beautiful, white flowers begin to bloom!

I can't wait to see some blooms on my dresser!

The Maldives

I've been trying to put it out of my mind that this time last year we were here:

As a distraction, I've been busying myself with planting winter vegetables and making fall treats like pecan biscotti and caramel creamer.

It's not working.

Pumpkin & Brown Butter Granola

Most days, I'm tip-toeing out the door before 5:15am for work. I still get up pretty early on my days off to make the most of my mornings to myself. So on my most recent day off, when it was uncharacteristically foggy and chilly outside, I decided to take advantage of it and experiment a little in the kitchen with one of my favorite ingredients: pumpkin. Although it's not officially fall yet, I couldn't help myself! It's by far my favorite season. 

This recipe is really basic and can be easily altered to your preference. The brown butter adds a great flavor dynamic with the pumpkin will fill your house with an intoxicating, nutty aroma. (I suggest baking this when you have a few hours to linger around your house, sip coffee and listen to Bon Iver.)

5 cups regular or GF oats
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup brown butter*

Stir the spices into the oats in a large bowl and set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, vanilla, brown sugar and browned butter together.
Using a spatula, mix the wet ingredients into the bowl with the oats until even coated.
Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper and evenly spread the mixture.

Bake at 325 for 20 minutes, stir, and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until toasted.
Turn off your oven and leave the granola in there until completely cooled (it will help it keep it's crunch).

I like my granola fairly simple, but you can add dried fruit or sliced nuts once it's cooled. This is great served over yogurt, milk, apple sauce or cinnamon ice cream! Or you can pour some into a jar and pass it out to your friends who are mourning summer.

 Enjoy!


*Browning butter is incredibly easy and incredibly delicious. Slice up desired amount of butter and place in a skillet on low/medium heat. Whisk the butter as it melts down until it is foaming. Continue to let it heat up until it turns golden brown. It will be giving off a nutty aroma. Remove from heat, whisk lightly and use immediately. Careful! It goes from brown to burnt fairly quickly. 

If you're looking for a low-fat version without butter, look here, where I loosely adapted the recipe.