Spicy Cider Cocktail

Recently I found myself desiring a delicious Autumnal cocktail, without all of the heat. After all, it's still in the 70s around here. Not to mention, [don't throw things at me, BUT] I'm a little over pumpkin already this season--so it was time to move onto apples! Spiked apple cider isn't really anything new, BUT have you heard about Fireball? 

Maybe Fireball is more mainstream than I realize (my knowledge of novelty liquor is kind of trapped in 2010), or maybe it's still a semi-obscure hipster thing. Whatever it is, it's ridiculously delicious. It's whiskey. It tastes like Red Hots. It is, without question, the perfect compliment to some spiced cider. 

Ingredients
   1 cup apple juice
   Pinch of each of the following: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves (to taste)
   1.5 oz Fireball Whiskey
   Sugar, cinnamon

Directions

1. Rim a cocktail glass with sugar and cinnamon, and place in the freezer to chill. Heat the apple juice and spices in a small saucepan over low heat. 
2. Once apple juice is properly infused, allow to cool for 5 minutes. Pour Fireball into the cocktail glass, then add cider. The cold glass with chill your beverage. 

A Visit to the Palace

I feel like it has been absolutely forever since I've done a style post--as evidenced by the fact that these photos are from my trip to France last month. Fashion slacker. 

For my trip I took almost exclusively black clothing, but black just didn't seem right for a trip to Versailles. So I pulled out every colorful piece that I had, and put on my favorite tacky gold necklace, for a visit to the Palace. 

This coat. Oh gosh, I am obsessed with this coat. It's a vintage French Army coat that I bought for something ridiculous, like 10€, and it cinches in at the waist with a drawstring. I admit, the kids think it's my most bizarre item of clothing, but I love it. It's the perfect weight for fall in France/winter in Texas (sadly), and I love that it adds a touch of tough to any outfit.

Jacket: thrifted French Army / Top: Gap / Skirt : Philip Lim 3.1 for Target / Boots: Crown Vintage / Bag: Kate Spade / Necklace: H&M 

Baked Sunday Mornings: Devil Dogs

If you've been paying attention to this blog in the last, oh, 27 days, you may have noticed a trend--we're rather pro-Halloween around here. Bone cookies were the absolute best option for the week before Halloween! A little spooky, a little bit shaped like wonky chromosomes, and perfect for a Halloween carnival this weekend. 

I have to admit, that while I've grown more fond of malt as a result of these Baked experiments, I didn't fill these Devil Dogs with their intended Malted Buttercream. Before you start throwing the tomatoes, let me explain! Instead of filling these cookies with buttercream (which required chilling before service), I filled them with the Baked Vanilla Filling (found here in Salt & Pepper Cookies) because it would be more stable sitting on a bake sale table for four hours. Four hours in Texas is a really long time for buttercream.

And they were still delicious (and possibly even more kid-friendly) without the malted buttercream. 

Friday Five

Please excuse me while I obsess over Halloween one last time on the Friday Five.

1. A giant skull cross-stitch? This could probably live in our house all year long. 
2. Creepy, classy Halloween loveliness. 
3. I don't even like donuts (yeah, I said it) but DANG these pumpkins are precious. 
4. These candy corn shaped meringue cookies are the perfect unhealthy holiday treat! 
5. Boo! 

Pumpkin Crayon Halloween Gifts

I probably don't need to go on and on (again) about my fondness for candy-free holiday gifts--I've only told you that about 90 times. Don't get me wrong, candy is dandy (but liquor... oh never mind); but how many sugared-up little ones do you want to deal with during the school day?

Answer: as few as possible. So this Halloween, I decided to make pumpkin-shaped crayons for my requisite holiday gifts. I love this project for a couple of reasons: crayons (really, any art material) can inspire creativity; recycling broken crayons; sugar-free (duh). Win/win/win in my book. 

If you're still debating whether to give the kids in your life giant sacks of candy this year, do yourself a favor and think about crayons instead. 

Supplies
   Crayons (ideally broken, unuseable crayons)
   Shaped ice cube trays (I used these)
   Microwave
   Printables
   Glue Dots
   Washi Tape (if needed)

Instructions

1. Peel and break up crayons into small ( > 1 in) pieces, placing the pieces in your molds (in this case, ice cream trays). Heat in microwave until melted; the time required will depend on your microwave, mine took about 5-7 minutes.
2. Allow crayons to cool completely. Once fully cool, remove pumpkins from molds. Don't worry too much if your pumpkins loose their stems--we can fix that. Print out the paper background for your pieces. Cut out with [decorative] scissors. 
3. Use Glue Dots to adhere crayons to paper. If you pumpkins have lots their tops, use a small piece of washi tape to create a pumpkin stem. 

Glittery Bat Garland

Bats are a way of life for Austinites. We're weirdly fixated on them, due to a popularity of a large bat colony in Downtown Austin. Yes, you read that right, people from other places: we have them, and we like them. We are, for lack of a better term, batty.

If bats are your style, and you find yourself in need of some simple, last minute Halloween decorations, then I have just the thing for you. I've even included a bat shape template that you can use, if you feel so inclined (though, I free-handed mine). If you're feeling sparkly, then pick up some glitter felt to bling out those bats.

Supplies
   Heavy weight felt
   String
   Bat template

Instructions

1. Print bat template, trace onto felt with a white colored pencil. Cut out bats.
2. Using a needle and embroidery floss, string bats together. Display! 

Friday Five

1. Sesame Crusted Tofu. Holy yum. 
2. These Swanky pumpkins are the bestest things ever. 
3. I am only pretending to be organized. I really want/need this. 
4. Wanna eat this. 
5. I love a pair of flats. This pair of flats. I don't even know me anymore. 

Sugar Skull Cubes

Projects like this make me wish that I preferred sugar in my coffee (I'm a pretty staunch 'little bit of milk only' type of girl), because, really, how awesome would it feel to drop a skull into your brew first thing in the morning? Pretty awesome, I'd imagine.

Maybe I'll have to take up the sweet life, just to find out for myself. This project would be a great gift option for a holiday hostess--can you just imagine how excited someone would be to get a bag full of [homemade] sugar skulls?

By the way, happy birthday blog! AND happy 200th post, blog! I just had to throw those out there, it's exciting times around here.

Supplies
   Skull ice cube tray (I used this one)
   1/2 cup sugar
   2 Tablespoons water

Instructions

1. Combine sugar and water in a small bowl. Mix to combine well. The sugar should be sightly sticky, if not, stir until water is fully incorporated. Do not add more water, or your skulls with never dry. 
2. Use a spoon to scoop sugar into your ice cube try. Allow to dry uncovered for approximately 6 hours, or until fully dry. 

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Okay, I admit, I feel pretty guilty about slacking on this weekend's Baked Sunday Morning project--but I have a totally legitimate reason for the slackage. It's because I already had a pumpkin cheesecake in my fridge. This pumpkin cheesecake. Which it to die for.

Why did I bake a pumpkin cheesecake just before I was supposed to make a similar product for Baked? Well, because I am poor planner... and because the kids begged to make a pumpkin cheesecake. I'm a sucker for the kids, of course.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

adapted from Paula Deen's recipe

Ingredients 
Graham Cracker Crust
   1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
   3 tablespoons light brown sugar
   1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
   1 stick melted butter

Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
   3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
   1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
   3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
   1/4 cup sour cream
   1 1/2 cups sugar
   1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
   1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
   1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
   2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
   1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. For crust: In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.
3. For filling: Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.
4. Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place in oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 30+ minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.
5. Top with homemade whipped cream and enjoy! 

Friday Five

1. PS: These skeleton cameo pins are to die for (oh, bad pun)
2. Pumpkin, quinoa and hazelnut gnocchi? Excuse me while I faint. 
3. I love love love the idea of combining super stylish designer dresses with Etsy finds to create unique Halloween costumes (like this skeleton wearing RVN) 
4. Luchador(a) mask printables! How wonderful! 
5. Mix the pie rotation up with this Heirloom-Squash and Pumpkin Pie recipe from Martha.  

No-Carve Washi Tape Pumpkins

Another day, another pumpkin! These are real pumpkins, but are not carved, so they should last until Halloween. Hooray! Tiny pumpkin decorating has become a bit of a tradition in our family. The boys tend to go the traditional monster/bad guy route, but I like to mix it up a bit. Last year I glittered a real life pumpkin. That was an interesting choice. 

This probably wouldn't be a great project to do (on a real pumpkin) if you're tight with your washi tape. I, on the other hand, seem to have the stuff coming out of my ears, so I felt okay with letting some of it go. All for the good of Halloween. 

This is the perfect simple project to outside with your kiddos on a beautiful fall day. It doesn't require too much concentration (which leaves more attention for them), the results are nice and temporary (which, if your Halloween box is like ours, you'll probably appreciate), and it (ideally) uses only materials that you have around the house. Win/win/win! 

Supplies
   Mini-pumpkin (real or faux)
   Many washi tapes

Instructions

1. Wrap pumpkin vertically with washi tapes until all orange is covered. Pray that it doesn't get too moldy under there. 

Bonus: Jaws pumpkin (and Alex)

Lace Pumpkins

I don't get to sneak a lot of girliness into our home. After all, the lady to guy ratio is a solid 1: 3 (unless you count our dog, Daisy, which the boys always do. Daisy doesn't care much for decor, though). Luckily, my style isn't heavily contingent on the use of pink, but I do appreciate the occasional bit of lace. So sue me, right?

Luckily, I happen to have an excellent lace supplier (hi Mom!) when the Muse calls me to make something feminine.

Enter, white lace pumpkins! A simple DIY project that will last for as long as you wish to keep it around--and easily sneaks a little femininity into an otherwise butch household. 

Supplies

   Faux pumpkin (white, or painted white)

   Lace doilies 

   Modge Podge 

Instructions 

1. If your pumpkin is not white, start by giving it a coat or two of white paint. This white base will streamline the look of your pumpkin. Allow to dry.
2. Apply lace doilies using Modge Podge. Start with the thinnest doilies first, then layer on heavier doilies. Allow to dry.
3. Display! Boo! (that's a Halloween joke. Sorry)

   

   

Thinking About: Conscious Consuming

1/2/3/4/5/6

We talk a lot about voting with our dollars in this family. My husband and I have always agreed that we don't want to put our money into businesses that do not support their workers (domestic and abroad), or that don't use environmentally sustainable business practices. All of the items compiled above either follow a one-for-one business model or work directly with female artisans all over the world (some do both!). We all know about TOMs (right?), but do you know about Krama Wheel, who supports artisans in Cambodia and donates a school uniform, and access to education, to a child in need for every scarf purchased? 

Friday Five

1. It's no secret that I'm a little obsessed with embellished teacups, AND this one features one of my very favorite scifi villains. Don't blink 
2. I'm a consummate book lover, but man, these book cover collages are amazing. 
3.  This idea looks like diabetes, but I still love it! 
4. TOO CUTE 
5. Do whatcha like