Happy Pumpkin Day!

Have a safe & festive holiday! 

This Moment♥

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment that I want to pause, savor and remember.

10 Months...

I am desperately trying to soak up these last two months of my baby before she starts testing the waters of toddlerhood. Emery is honestly the easiest, sweetest baby & her little personality is so fun!

If I had a guarantee that any future babies would be this easy, I might have a couple more!

Here is what Emery is up to at 10 months-

• Cruising along the furniture.
• Walking with her push cart.
• Waves hello & goodbye. 
• Said her first word! 
• Tries to climb on everything. 
• Loves to wallow in our bed & bury her head into Gabe & I. 
• Eats pretty much whatever Brinley is eating.
• Gobbles up spicy food (I'll just thank my hot sauce addiction during pregnancy for that one). 
• Gets the giggles when she is sleepy. 
• Moved into her big girl car seat. 
• Signs "all done".
• Discovered how satisfying it is to pull all the books off the bookshelves. 
• Wears 18 month clothing. 
• Loves the swings & snacking on sand. 

I love this little girl more than I ever thought possible! I wish she could stay this little for just a bit longer.

Wear What You Want Wednesday...

Brinley always seems to come up with the best outfits!

"Punkin" Patch...

I have a confession- I cannot remember the last time I actually bought a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. One of my favorite fall traditions is a trip to our local pumpkin patch; however, those pumpkin patch pumpkins are seriously pricey! The girls & I had a lovely time picking out our adorable, bargain priced pumpkins from Home Depot (shhh, don't tell). 

It was supposed to be warm this weekend, not very"fallish" but it ended up being a great fall afternoon. The girls had fun playing in the pumpkins, watching the tractor races & visiting the ponies! Such fun memories! Here are a few pictures from our visit.

This Moment ♥

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment that I want to pause, savor and remember.

Buying Local: It's Not Just the Trendy Thing to Do...

Did you know a typical carrot travels over 1800 miles to reach your dinner table? On that same carrot you might find up to 26 pesticide residues that are either known or possible carcinogens, as well as developmental & reproductive toxins? 888 million pounds of pesticides are applied in the US every year. Yuck. Farming is no longer what it used to be. It has become a booming business that puts wealth before health, at the cost of both our bodies and our environment. 

Since I was young, I have made an effort to educate myself on where my food comes from. Maybe this stems from my mom studying nutrition, or maybe it started with a book about animal factory farming I picked up when I was eleven. Either way, over the years, I have become very passionate about the health of my family and the environment we live in. The more research I do, the more I find myself wanting to pack my bags and move to the country. Some people dream of beach houses, I dream of farm houses. A big white farm house, with a little land to grow my own food, raise my own livestock & regulate what I put in my soil. This is still just a dream, so in the meantime, I support the second best thing, my local farmers.

Every Sunday morning, we load up the stroller & venture to our local farmers market to purchase our produce for the week. We have been buying from our local market for 5 years now and it has been fun to get to know the farmers we frequent most. We know about their families and they have known our girls since their first trips to the market, snuggled in the Baby Bjorn. I love that Brinley doesn't think  food comes from a box or a bag. When she helps me choose produce she will ask me if things are organic & if you happen to ask her what her favorite strawberry is she'll tell you, "organic strawberries". No, I have not brainwashed her, but she is a little smarty pants & she listens to everything. She has picked up bits of information over the years as she helps us pick out produce every Sunday morning. 

Shopping for produce  at farmers market has taught me to cook with the seasons & has given our family the opportunity to try fresh foods we may have never seen at the local grocery store. Shopping for "just picked" produce when it is at its peak makes such a huge difference in texture and flavor! Most fruits and vegetables found at the grocery store are picked well before they are ripe, leaving them lacking in their true flavor. There are a handful of vegetables that Brinley and Emery will only eat from farmers market. If I try to offer the same food that has been frozen or bagged, they refuse to eat it, or Brinley will call it what it is, "yucky."

It is interesting & entertaining to see all of the different people that come out to buy fresh produce. You have your handful of hippies, your every day families & your Orange County trendsetters with their designer reusable totes. Some people take the time to get to know the farmers they buy from & dig deeper to see what farming techniques/practices are used to grow the food. Do they spray with pesticides? Are they certified organic? How far is "local" really? Others are unaware of the huge impact buying local fresh food has on the environment and their bodies. They go simply because local farmers markets have become a trend.

Whatever category you might fall into, if you have taken the time to scope out your local market, then high fives & cupcakes all around. If you have not yet had the chance, I highly encourage you to look for your local market here. Educate yourself on what you are putting into your body, your baby's body & bring the best to your table. Try something new & make a difference. Before you know it, you might be cleaning your entire house with vinegar, eating local organic foods & drooling over chicken coops on pinterest... oh, wait, that's just me.

One weeks worth of produce for under 30 dollars.

Our big, little helper.

She loves her green beans. 

How could I forget?! Great bargain on fresh produce!! 

Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Cakes

I am shocked that we are well into October & I have only managed a single post including pumpkins. As mentioned in my previous post welcoming fall, I adore all things pumpkin & the majority of my fall baking begins with the word pumpkin. 

I found this recipe on a whim one night after pulling a sugar pumpkin from the oven. I needed a quick recipe, & since I love cake, & I love pumpkin, this was the perfect pair! 

I'll be the first to admit, these pumpkin cakes have popped up in our kitchen three times in the past week and a half. Yes, they are that good, & yes, I am just that obsessed with pumpkin.

I was pleasantly surprised the first time I pulled these out of the oven-  I was not expecting this simple recipe to quickly become my latest craving! These little cakes are so light & moist with the perfect amount of pumpkin & spice. A drizzle of maple glaze completes this breakfast treat & leaves you wanting just one more bite! 

Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Cakes

(Adapted by howsweetreats)

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup pumpkin (I used fresh baked)

1/3 cup flour 

1/8 cup cake flour

*For a gluten free version use 1/3 cup plus 1/8 cup of Pamela's Pancake and Baking Mix

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter & sugar together until light & fluffy. Add egg & mix until well combined. Add in vanilla & pumpkin. Mix dry ingredients together & slowly add to batter, only mixing until just combined.

Spray 2 ramekins with non-stick spray & pour batter. Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife comes clean.

Maple Glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
couple drops of water

Mix syrup. water & sugar  together to form a glaze.

Serve warm & try to share! 

This Moment ♥

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment that I want to pause, savor and remember.
Brought to you by Soulemama.

17 Reasons...

17 Reasons to Read Aloud to Our Children

1. Gives children information on a variety of topics
2. Promotes language development and literacy skills
3. Raises reading levels
4. Helps increase attention spans
5. Promotes family relationships
6. Build a lifelong interest in reading. "Getting kids actively involved in the process of reading, and having them interact with adults, is key to a lifelong interest in reading," said BeAnn Younker, principal at Battle Ground Middle School in Indiana.
7. Children whose parents read to them tend to become better readers and perform better in school, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
8. Reading to kids helps them with language and speech development.
9. It expands kids' vocabulary and teaches children how to pronounce new words.
10. Reading to toddlers prepares them for school, during which they will need to listen to what is being said to them (similar to what they do while being read to).
11. Reading to older kids helps them understand grammar and correct sentence structure.
12. Kids and parents can use reading time as bonding time. It's an excellent opportunity for one-on-one communication, and it gives kids the attention they crave.
13. Being read to helps children hone their listening skills.
14. Curiosity, creativity and imagination are all developed while being read to.
15. Being read to helps kids learn how to express themselves clearly and confidently.
16. Kids learn appropriate behavior when they're read to, and are exposed to new situations, making them more prepared when they encounter these situations in real life.
17. When read to, children are able to experience the rhythm and melody of language even before they can understand the spoken or printed word. 

We spend a lot of time reading in our house. There are books piled in the bedrooms, strewn about the living room, tucked throughout the car and even the bath tub has a book or two floating around. 
We have been reading with Brinley since she was tiny and it has clearly cultivated a true love for books. I often walk by Brinley's room and see her sprawled on the floor, flipping through a book, reciting the words to her favorite story. Reading has always been a part of her bedtime routine and we regularly spend our days lounging around with a stack of books. Brinley has recently started to show an interest in sounding out words and frequently asks "how can I read the words too?" Emery still prefers to chew on books, rather than read them, but she is gaining more interest as she creeps towards her first birthday. 
Reading with the girls has always been one of my favorite things about being a mom. It gives me the perfect excuse to sit for a while snuggling my babies. Plus, who doesn't want to read their childhood favorites like, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" or "Clifford the Big Red Dog"?
If you are not reading with your kiddos already, I highly recommend scooping them up and making story time a part of your every day routine. If the 17 reasons listed above are not convincing, a break to snuggle on the couch should be reason enough! 

Gluten-Free Sour Cream Coffee Cake

My mom has self proclaimed that she is a horrible baker. She has no idea why, but cookies, muffins and pies have something personal against her and her oven. However, without fail, my mom can manage to bake the best coffee cake. It is her staple recipe whenever the holidays or company come around. I grew up on her coffee cake and when I was diagnosed with a gluten allergy, I was left to sit over the pan and pine for that buttery cake, smothered in cinnamon and sugar. 

As I launched into gluten-free baking and started experimenting with different flours, I was disappointed that I had yet to stumble across a coffee cake recipe that was comparable. I was thrilled when my mom came across a gluten fee coffee cake recipe that finally could stand up to her original recipe. It was moist and buttery with the perfect combination of spicy cinnamon and golden brown sugar. Layer in some slivered almonds and I could hardly tell it was gluten free. Now that my mom has gone gluten-free, this coffee cake has become a "regular" at holidays and family gatherings. On that note, I am off to cut myself a slice, make a cup of tea and enjoy this fall rain! 

Gluten-Free Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Cake Batter:
2 cups of Pamela's Mix (I have experimented with several different flour combinations & this always ends up being my "go-to"  gluten free flour blend. I have found that this blend resembles the taste and texture of original recipes that contain wheat/gluten).
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup butter
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
Filling:
1 cup of almonds, pecans or walnuts
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together filling and set aside. Soften butter. Add sugar and mix. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla. On low, alternately add Pamela's Mix & sour cream until incorporated. Grease a 9 inch bundt pan. Pour half of the batter into the pan, covering the bottom. Evenly sprinkle half the filling over the batter. Fill pan with remaining batter and sprinkle the with remaining filling. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
Run a knife along the edges of the pan and let cool before removing.

Happy Fall...

                                 

We have had a busy week with family in town and a few birthdays to celebrate, but things are starting to slow down and it finally feels a bit like fall. I always say that summer is my favorite season, but I think I am just letting my inner beach bum get the best of me. I LOVE fall. Gabe laughs at me every September when the first hint of coolness hits the air. I unpack fall wreaths, gourds hit the table and our entire dinner menu begins with the word pumpkin. I love the crispness of fall, the crunchy leaves, cozy sweatshirts with boots, the smells and tastes that come along with fall baking and cooking. Oh, and lets not forget pumpkin spice lattes! 

I kicked off my fall baking with a loaf of pumpkin bread, chocolate pumpkin cake, butternut squash casserole and an apple pie. Moving on to decor, I filled a big glass jar with gourds for the kitchen table, put some pumpkins on the porch and decided it was time for a new wreath. Thanks to my new addiction to pinterest, I came across the DIY instructions for this adorable wreath. I love how it turned out and appreciate how easy it was to put together. Happy Fall, everyone! 

                          
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