DIY Glitter Crafts

Remember when I was loving all things confetti?  Doing my confetti manicure and wrapping my presents in confetti? OK so I've moved on from that and now I'm kind of on a glitter kick.  Glitter just makes everything so messy sparkly! These are some of my favorite DIY glitter crafts right now.  You can find the full tutorials by clicking on each link. 

DIY Glitter Votives from hey look

DIY Glitter Pumpkin Candle Holder from twig and thistle

DIY Glitter Tape from pugly pixel

DIY Glitter Candles from Martha Stewart

DIY Glitter Pumps from a pair & a spare

DIY Glitter Magnets from pugly pixel

DIY Glitter Bangles from i go by katie

Pumpkin Apple Bread

Sometimes when I'm doing my fall baking, I like to pretend I'm Amish.  I'm not sure why because I really like all of the amenities of life in the 21st century.  I think it must have something to do with how cozy Amish life sometimes appears:  with the candlelight and buggies and the big families getting together to eat all of that delicious food.  And fall is just a cozy season, don't you think?  This pumpkin apple bread was the first fall baking that I've done and I loved that it made our house smell like fall!  I've never made anything with apples and pumpkin together, but I think the blended flavors epitomize everything I love about fall baking.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Apple Bread

for the topping

1 Tbsp flour

5 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

for the bread

3 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 (15 oz) can solid-pack pumpkin

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (about 2 cups)

Make the topping:  Blend together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a small bowl with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Make the bread:  Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon into a medium bowl*.  Whisk together pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl.  Add the dry ingredients, stirring until well combined.  Fold in apples.

Divide batter between two buttered 9x5" loaf pans.  Sprinkle half of the topping evenly over each loaf.  Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in center of bread comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.

Cool loaves in pans on a rack for 45 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.  This bread keeps, wrapped in plastic wrap and foil and refrigerated, for up to 1 week.  It can also be frozen for up to 1 month.

*Note:  I eliminated the remaining spices in the bread due to personal preference.  If you like a spicier pumpkin bread, add 1 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, and 1/4 tsp ground allspice to the dry ingredients.

source:  recipe from The Gourmet Cookbook

A Fall Weekend

I know fall has not technically started, but this past weekend sure felt like fall!  We had cool weather for the first time and it felt good to have jeans on again.

Friday night we stayed in: we had chili for dinner and watched The Conspirator.  Have you seen it?  It's the story of the conspiracy behind President Lincoln's assassination, one that I never remember learning in history class.  We both really liked it--and that's rare for us!

Saturday we had tickets to box seats at the Clemson-Auburn game!  We love college football so we were so excited!  Our only dilemma was who to cheer for.  We now live in an area saturated with Clemson fans, but we are VT alums so we can't just become Clemson fans because they're both in the ACC!  In the end, I wore a plain orange shirt to proclaim my neutrality, and Caleb stuck with his VT shirt.  I was happy that Clemson won. . . as long as we beat them in two weeks!

Sunday we continued our search for a church and then were able to get a few things done around the house.  I'm always sad when Sunday nights come around because I know Caleb has to go back to work the next day.  

On the schedule for this week:  just a regular week + some fall baking and looking for a job

How was your weekend?

Cooking in the Fall

Yesterday I busted open my first canned pumpkin of the season!  Having our house smell like pumpkin definitely got me in the mood for baking and cooking this fall.  Here is some of my fall cooking inspiration from pinterest.

Caramel Apple Cider

pinterest via our best bites

French Onion Soup

pinterest via annies eats

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie

pinterest via annies eats

Cornbread

pinterest via couldn't be parve

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

pinterest via annies eats

Chili

pinterest via how sweet it is

Whoopie Pumpkin Pies

pinterest via food network

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

pinterest via polish the stars

Turkey Cake Pops

pinterest via bakerella

What are you looking forward to baking/cooking this fall?

Chocolate Fudge Pie

Do you know what's hard?  All the important stuff.  Like marriage.  And family.  And learning to be selfless.  And figuring out what's right.  And then choosing to do the right thing.  It's exhausting!  So I eat pie.  Really, it's great. This chocolate pie is the dense kind, not the creamy kind.  And the dense kind is the kind you want when you're overwhelmed with the hard stuff in life.  Definitely the dense kind.

Chocolate Fudge Pie
1 piecrust, fitted to a 9-inch pie plate
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 eggs
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup + 3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Place the pie plate on a baking sheet.  Prick crust with fork and line with foil.  Place pie weights or dried beans on foil.  Bake at 375 degrees until the edges are firm, 20 to 25 minutes.  Remove the foil and weights and bake until just golden, another 8-10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.  Using the double boiler method, melt the chocolate and the butter.

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, salt, and 1/2 cup of sugar until fluffy, 4-5 minutes.  Fold a third of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remainder.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the crust and bake at 325 degrees until puffed and just beginning to crack, 20-25 minutes.  Cool for one hour, then chill.

Beat the cream with the remaning 3 Tbsp of sugar until soft peaks form.  Spread over the pie.

source:  recipe from Real Simple, November 2009

Missoni for Target

So, what did you all think after seeing the full Missoni for Target line yesterday?

missoni for target

When I went to Target yesterday mid-morning, a lot of the clothing racks were empty, or at least very picked over.  The store wasn't packed by any means, but people were definitely congregating around the Missoni endcaps and sections. I saw one woman who was camped out in the men's boxer/socks area.  Her cart was overflowing with Missoni things, even all on the floor around her!  Later I saw her checking out, and when I left her total was up to $1,479.  And she still had things left on the belt!   

I had had my eyes on these flats, but when I tried them on I thought they were really uncomfortable.  I expect heels to be uncomfortable, but my whole purpose in wearing flats is to wear cute shoes that are comfortable!  So I decided to pass.  I love how cute they are though!

missoni for target

I also really liked this clutch.  As you can tell, I'm more interested in the smaller, more subtle pieces of the line.  

missoni for target

Every time I tried to get on Target's site yesterday it was down.  I also overhead while I was at Target that some stores had sold out completely - by 10 AM!  Today I was able to get on Target.com and look around, and many of the items have already sold out.  This line has been such a success!

In the end all I got was two little plates, $2.99 each.  I didn't love the line (maybe I'm the only one?) so I didn't feel like I needed to buy it!

Did you buy anything from the Missoni for Target line?  Did you have difficulty getting the piece(s) you wanted?  Would you be willing to spend $1,479 on just Missoni for Target stuff??

Etsy Finds

This past weekend we went down to the Indie Craft Parade and were able to see the work of so many great etsy vendors!  There were over 70 booths, but a few things caught my eye.

My absolute favorite of the day was a collaboration of really cute stationery and notecards from etsy shops Miss Wyolene and A Darling Day.

via

via

Handmade wedding invitations in etsy shop Miss Wyolene 

Thank you note from A Darling Day

Wedding Invitation Suite from A Darling Day

I love this Off the Map art by Leslie DeRose!

This print has the map of Manhattan seen

through the parts of the bike.  She has a bunch of 

others cities in her shop, too.

White Leaf Market Tote by Light Nest Collective

Pillow from Phoebe Flock

Cute illustrated t-shirt from hollandsworth

What did you do this past weekend?