Pumpkin seeds

One of my favorite things to do every fall is gut the pumpkin and roast some delicious seeds.

Did you know...

Pumpkin seeds are a super food! 

They're loaded with vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, C, E & B² 

They have potassium, fiber, iron, niacin & magnesium. 

So basically this little seed holds a word of goodies for your body. And they're super easy to make any way you want them. I like sweet and crunchy.

For today I made: Honey & cinnamon

Ingredients:

+Pumpkin seeds from 2 small pumpkins

+2 tbs natural honey

+1tsp olive oil to keep from sticking to the pan

+And cinnamon to taste.... 

How to: preheat oven to 325°

+Clean and dry pumpkin seeds

+Put them in a bowl and mix in the honey

+Spread the olive oil on a cookie sheet

+Spread pumpkin seeds flat

+sprinkle with cinnamon and put them in the oven for 30 mins 

Take them out and place in a bowl or something while they're still hot. Once the honey dries it will stick to the pan like cement. :)

Now cool and enjoy! <3

If you like salty... Come back tomorrow for a new recipe! 

Product review: For curly hair

My daughters hair tends to be on the wild and poofy side. I too have poofy, curly, wavy, can't make up its mind hair. So there's another thing she can blame me for during her angsty teen years. ;)

Anyway, I didn't learn about hair products until I was older and figured it might help her if we get a handle on her hair sooner than later.
I found this stuff "Kids Solutions: Crazy curly cream" at Great Clips for $9.99 and figured I'd give it a shot.

So I washed her hair with her regular shampoo and towel dried just a bit, leaving it damp. I combed her hair and then used about a pea size pump to rub in her hair from scalp to ends. Then just let it air dry.

I like that I doesn't make her hair feel oily or look dirty. It allows her curls to flow freely but not be all over the place and controls the frizz factor.

A little goes a long way though, I used 2 pumps absentmindedly at one point and it did look a bit greasy.

Oh and did i meantion it smells fantastic?! Like a sweet coconut candy or something. 

The only thing I'm not a fan of, is that I can't pronounce any of the ingredients. So if I find something natural that claims to do the same, I'll be back with another review. ;)

For now, this is her new product. :)

Pumpkin everything!!

It seems to me that the delious flavors of pumpkin are unpopular this year. But whyyyyy??? 

Its just not fall without a little pumpkin everything!

I typically do a big deal family breakfast on Saturdays that includes pancakes and eggs.

Being that it's fall, I was looking for something a little fun this week. Pumpkin pancakes crossed my mind but then I found this yummy recipe on pinterest. It was a big hit with my family. 

Ingredients:

12 pieces of whole wheat toast

3 eggs

½ cup milk

¾ cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp pumpkin spice

Butter and syrup

Instructions are to:

Mix all ingredients together in a medium size bowl. Dip bread slice in and cook on a hot griddle or pan. Flipping after 1-2 minutes.

What goes great with breakfast?? Coffee!

So with all the hype on Starbucks not having any actual pumpkin in the syrup for their famous pumpkin spice lattes and the fact that I can't afford to spend $10+ a day on yummy coffee, I decided to search the interwebs for a recipes that I could make at home. I found this one at www.freshaprilflours.com.

The recipe calls for:

½ cup of brown sugar

½ cup of water

2 tbl spoons of pumpkin puree

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

½ cup of half n half or milk

Instructions are to:

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, stir together the brown sugar, wayer, pumpkin & pie spice. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a couple minutes.

Add cream.

Now add to coffee. Yum!!

This can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

The first costume I've handmade.

Hi all,

Who doesn't love the adorable little boo from monsters inc? She's too stinkin cute. Well it has been brought up by a couple people that my Sophie has "the look." I wanted to find boo's monster costume but couldn't find it other than on etsy for $100+, I love my kids but I definitely don't have that kind of money for a costume.

I decided to attempt to make it myself  and went out in the garage and dusted off my old sewing machine.

Now let me just say... My grandma taught me how to sew when I was a kid. She taught me how to hem pants. When I was in high school I got a sewing machine as a Christmas gift. All I could do was make pillows and put trim on blankets, but I held onto it all these years. When I was pregnant with my second child I somehow skipped the nesting phase that my husband was probably hoping for and got the creative bug instead! I was on pinterest daily, just looking up things to make. I couldn't stop! :)
A friend of mine that also had a sewing machine was down for some girl time so we spent hours n hours just making things. I made a sling + a doll sling for my oldest daughter, a carseat cover to block out the cold.... Etc etc etc.

So I became a little more familiar with different techniques and got more comfortable sewing.

Growing up I always had a top secret wish to be a Suzy homemaker. I wanted to be the wife that had dinner waiting. I wanted to be the mother that made Halloween costumes. But most of all, I wanted to be just like my grandma. There's nothing that woman can't do.

This Halloween is the first time I even thought to actually attempt making a costume for my kids. I just figured I'd give it a shot and I'm so glad I did.

So if you're like me and you've always wanted to create something with your sewing machine but didn't know where to start..... go buy a "simplicity" pattern from Walmart or somewhere and see what happens. Just start :)

Check out the costume here...

Monsters inc boo costume 2014: http://youtu.be/HAqlLblSeWw

Fit for fall challenge!

Its time for another challenge!! 

If you're ready to kick off some inches and get toned, this is the challenge for you! Is there a sexy Halloween costume you're wanting to rock this year? Just wanting to learn more about clean eating and fitness? Think there's no way you can complete an at home fitness program? Maybe you're just really out of shape and are scared you wont be able to keep up. Well let's talk. There's a program for you and these challenge groups are to keep you going strong! Let's get started!

My other true love and the most magnificent picture I ever did see

While doing some research online, I came across this picture. Its stunning. It creates emotion. It is exactly why I love photography and photojournalism.

Kieran Doherty is the photojournalist. <3

At one point in my life I wanted to join the peace corps. I wanted to help people all over the world & to travel and take photos that make you feel. Perhaps one day I will be able to fulfill that desire. This photo  inspires me.