Good Ideas - Thanksgiving Desserts

Can I just say I love putting these Good Ideas posts together! I get to weed through my Pinterest boards to find long lost pins. It has become my way of spending productive time on Pinterest ;) Now, back to business!

ONE WEEK UNTIL THANKSGIVING!! This year we actually get to spend it with family.. So exciting! We will be travelling to stay with Tom's sister and her husband. It will be oodles of fun! I am looking forward to seeing them and hugging her oh so cute baby bump! Besides seeing family, I am second most excited (does that even make sense?) to eat Thanksgiving dessert. I have definitely been craving the classic pumpkin pie, but if you are a little.. over.. that dessert (is that even possible!). Here are some other good ideas you could give a try! 

Mini Pumpkin Pie Slice Cookies via The Sweet Adventures of Sugar Belle

Bite Sized Acorn via Barista Kids

Pumpkin Cake Balls via Prepared NOT Scared

Turkey Cake Pops via Catch My Party

Yummy Turkey's via League Baking

Cornucopia Place Cards via Caramel Potatoes

Free Dessert Topper Printable via Positively Splendid

Pilgrim Hat Cupcakes via Kitchen Concoctions

Praline - Pumpkin Mousse Cornucopia via All Recipes

Turkey Nutter Butter Cookies via Frugal Coupon Living

Peanut Butter Pumpkins via The Better Baker

Pear Cake via iVillage

Pumpkin Spice Pie Pops via Love From the Oven

Oreo Turkeys via Simple Girl

Peanut Butter Pilgrim Hat via Love This Pic

Mini Pumpkin Cakes via All Recipes

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Salted Caramel Sauce via Cooking Classy

Turkey Cupcakes via Delicious Clouds

Teepee Cupcakes via These are a Few of My Favorite Things

Turkey Cupcakes via Reasons Four Loving Seasons

Better Than Tollhouse Cookies

Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies! This recipe is not only super simple, but also some of the best cookies you will ever eat. Promise. I love my cookies just golden brown on the outside and super squishy, gooey on the inside! Do I have your mouth watering yet? Read on! 

Shout out to my awesome Mom for giving me this recipe, who got it from her awesome friend way back in the day! That right there should PROVE that this recipe is a must have for your recipe collection. It stands the test of time! :) This recipe is definitely a go to in our house and is the only chocolate (and white chocolate!) chip cookie recipe I make. 

Now, preheat your oven to 375° and follow these simple instructions :)

Ingredients:

- 2/3 cup Shortening

- 2/3 cup Butter (soft)

- 1 cup Sugar

- 1 cup Brown Sugar

- 2 Eggs

- 2 teaspoons Vanilla

- 3 1/2 cups Flour

- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda

- 1 teaspoon Salt

- 12 ounces Chocolate (or White Chocolate) Chips

Directions:

1. Combine shortening, butter, sugar, brown sugar, and eggs in mixing bowl. If you notice this if the first section of the ingredients list (the space wasn't a typo, I did that to make your life easier!). Mix until all ingredients are well blended. I use my handy dandy Kitchen Aid to mix everything. However I have mixed everything by hand before!

2. Add in your vanilla, flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until all ingredients are well blended. If you are using a Kitchen Aid you may want to cover the bowl with a towel so you don't get flour all over you!

3. Add in your chocolate chips (or white chocolate!). Notice how I keep adding in white chocolate chips? That is Tom's favorite way I make them. I am a sucker for the real chocolate, but both ways are yummy! Mix super well.

4. Roll into balls and place on a non-greased baking pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes (9 is perfect in my oven) or until cookies are a light golden brown. 

I would say this recipe makes about three dozen cookies. That is if you don't eat all the cookie dough first.. Enjoy your cookies and get ready for everyone to bombard you for the recipe! ;)

Happy Day!

Free Printable via Me Making Do

Some good news finally came our way this past week. Our apartment that was originally going to be ready December 11th, will now be ready for us to move in next Friday! Obviously, we are super excited. It will be nice to have all of our stuff in one place again. I am most looking forward to having my closet with space to hang my clothes up, as well as my kitchen stuff (mostly my spice cabinet), and of course my crafting space. 

But as I have mentioned before, I can't wait to be able to decorate everything and get the place feeling homey! Maybe I will post some pictures of the new place when it is finally all done! :) We will see!

I hope everyone has had a relaxing weekend before all the crazy, holiday stuff starts sucking up your time. Be sure to stop by on Tuesday for the most delectable cookie recipe ever! 

A Little Late - Life Update

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed the free printable that was on the blog yesterday! If you missed it, follow {this link} to check it out!

I wanted to take some time to write about things that have been happening in my life. It has been really great being back in Oregon with our family and friends. I didn't realize how much stuff we had missed out on! I am feeling really thankful to be back in Oregon, even if the weather does suck. ;)

I was hoping to split these up into separate post's, but of course I didn't get around to it in time. And now it's halfway into November so I figured I better just squeeze it into one post before it is to late to post at all!

The past couple of weeks have been very busy, but in a good way! The week of Halloween was really fun. Tom and I went to the pumpkin patch for the first time together. It was a great little date. We needed some time to ourselves to enjoy each other's company doing something fun and brainless together. Here are some pics from the trip.

Later in the week we carved our perfect pumpkins! I honestly have no idea what Tom was going for when he planned his design.. He had some bumps in the road, but in the end it turned out pretty awesome! I had been planning to do a kitty since September, so I had mine all planned out! In the end, our pumpkins turned out super cute, very happy with the results. 

Then of course we went trick or treating with Tom's family on Halloween. It was very cold, but we had lots of fun! Sorry for the poor iPhone picture quality.. 

One of my favorite things I have done since we got back is I got to see my bestie, Emily!! We had an evening full of gossip, food, and fun. I knew I had missed that girl, but didn't realize how much until I saw her again. Isn't she just the cutest? :)

Do I have you crying "Uncle" yet with all this information? There is more, but this is the best part I promise. Tom and I celebrated three years together last week! I can't believe I have been with him for three whole years. Wow! It is so crazy to think about.. Crazy in a good way :)

We didn't do anything too extravagant for each other. We went for a stroll downtown then out to our favorite restaurant after Tom was done with work. We were SUPPOSED to have a no present rule.. Which Tom broke. He made me look like a jerk. He got me a snowman stuffed animal and a snowman picture holder so we can put a picture from the evening in to remember forever. I love snowmen, so these gifts were awesome in my eyes! Again, I am going to apologize for the poor iPhone pictures!

Can I just say that I feel incredibly blessed to have this man in my life? Yes, of course I can it's my blog! ;) Tom is truly the best thing that has ever happened to me. He is such an amazing person who always pushes me to be the best person I can be. He is encouraging, honest, generous, and sincere.He can make me laugh at times when I don't think I can. He continues to amaze me even after three years. Honestly, I fall more in love with him everyday.

I better stop before I start crying :')

Well you made it down to the very end of this post! If you couldn't tell I am feeling very blessed right now. I still can't wait to move in to our apartment! I am hoping to get some sewing time in this week, my Mom has some things she needs fixed, mended, and created. Looking forward to getting behind her old Singer machine again! Have an awesome day you guys! :)

Something Wonderful - Free Printable

We are slowly creeping up on our move in date for our new apartment! In fact, one month from today will be our move in day, exciting stuff!! As I have mentioned before, I am looking forward to move in to our own place for lots of reasons. One very big reason being WE CAN FINALLY DECORATE as we will not have the fear of moving at a moments notice hanging over our heads. Yay!

I am going to be over the moon happy when I can finally hang pictures up! I love going to friends and families homes and seeing all of their milestones, adventures, and favorite quotes everywhere. To me, it makes the place feel like home. 

The other day I was thinking about what I would hang up in our bathroom. Weird thing to think about right? I guess I am goofy that way. I definitely do not want to see someone else's face staring back at me while I do my hair in the morning. So that was out. Then I thought I would love to see some sort of inspirational quote. So I hopped on Pinterest to check out my Printables board. A few quotes jumped out at me, however none of them went well with my bathroom color scheme. 

That is when I decided to make my own and share it with you! To download, click on the link below. Keep in mind this is for an 8x10 picture frame! 

Download Here

This is the first time I am sharing a free printable so PLEASE let me know in the comments below if you run into any issues while downloading. Thank you so much, and enjoy!

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

Let me begin by saying I LOVE my crock pot! It is seriously the best invention ever! I am always on the lookout for amazing recipes to try out because let's face it, crock pots are just so darn handy.

I originally found this recipe off of Skinny Taste. As you can probably guess I changed it up, and it is to die for yummy! Honestly this is probably my favorite crock pot meal. Here's the recipe for 10 servings. 

Ingredients:

- 2 10 ounce cans of diced tomatoes and green chilies

- 15 ounce can of tomato sauce

- 15 ounce can of corn

- 15 ounce can of kidney beans

- 15 ounce can of black beans

- 1 onion, chopped

- About 1 tablespoon chili powder

- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning (warning: some taco seasonings are spicier than others!)

- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, precooked and shredded

- Fresh cilantro, chopped
- Cheese of your choosing

Directions:

1. In your crock pot combine: tomatoes and green chilies, tomato sauce, corn, beans, onion, chili powder, and taco seasoning. Add the precooked, shredded chicken on top, do not stir in. I have used both precooked and uncooked chicken, and I think precooked comes out better. I usually just whip up a bunch of chicken over the weekend to use in recipes throughout the week. :)

2. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. 

*If using uncooked chicken: half an hour before serving, remove the chicken from the crock pot, shred, and return to pot. As a side note, I used uncooked chicken once and it actually came out drier and not as flavorful. I suggest using pre-cooked chicken, but to each his (or her) own! 

3. Top chili with fresh cilantro and cheese! 

If it sounds easy, that's because IT IS!! This is a great dish for when guests come over. It has been a real crowd pleaser in our house, and has saved me from cooking elaborate meals! Pairs perfectly with corn bread as well! I am planning on making this with leftover Thanksgiving turkey this year. I feel like it will be SUPER yummy!

What is your favorite crock pot recipe?? Be sure to share it in the comments below! :)

Good Ideas - Thanksgiving

Can you believe it is already November?? It seems like this year is just flying by! Anyway, Halloween has passed so it's now socially acceptable to write about Thanksgiving! ;) Below I have compiled 18 Thanksgiving pins from my Celebrating Autumn board that I hope you enjoy just as much as I do. I have included my favorite free printables, crafts, decorations, and even some food ideas!

Autumn Printable via Love, Pomegranate House

Autumn Subway Art via Smile Like You Mean It

Give Thanks Mantel via Google Search

Front Porch via Home Stories A to Z

Fall Wreath via My Life as Mrs. H

Thankful, Grateful, Blessed Front Porch via Google Search

Welcome Pumpkin Printable via Better Homes and Gardens

Give Thanks Mantle via A Diamond in the Stuff

 Give Thanks Gratitude Board via Jellybean Junkyard

Thanksgiving Decor via Modern Palm Boutique

Leaf Garden via Good Housekeeping

Thanksgiving Sign via Etsy

Thanksgiving Sign via Google Search

Thanksgiving Block Decorations via Soda Pop Avenue

Kids Table via Google Search

Place mats via Google Search

Turkey Caramel Apple Dip via Indulgy

Turkey Veggie Tray via Eating with Food Allergies