Holiday Decor: Jack-o-Lanterns

Image: here

Well we're about half way through October (one of the best months!) which means we're pretty much half way to Halloween! My roommate and I are still scrambling to complete our costumes and bring a little taste of Halloween to our room. Tomorrow we're venturing out to a local farmer's market to pick up some pumpkins that we WON'T be able to carve but will definitely be taking a sharpie to. We've been back and forth with ideas of how we want to design our pumpkins and have been looking for inspiration all over the internet. Check out some of the best ones we've found!

This one has to be the cutest! Cinderella's carriage actually carved out of a pumpkin! 

We found a lot of pumpkins that people carved famous painting into. Neither of us are that artistically inclined, but these are very cool!

This is also a really cool option if you can't actually carve your pumpkin; just grab some yarn!

<3 Ashley

How do you decorate for Halloween?

Fall Favorite: Food

Image: here

Beware everyone! Pumpkin everything is back...but is anyone complaining? I was very excited to get my first PSL from Starbucks--bonus, I got it iced which I highly recommend! Also around the corner is my inevitable indulgence in pumpkin pie (I am waiting for you, Thanksgiving!) But what I have absolutely loved for as long as I can remember is my grandmother's pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Seriously I count down to Christmas for those things!

While I don't know her recipe in particular (I will patiently wait for her to share it with me) I have done some internet searching and found a pretty solid looking recipe for these delicious cookies! 

What you need:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsps pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp pumpkin spice
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

What to do:

- In medium bowl mix melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until no brown sugar lumps are seen. Add vanilla and pumpkin. Whisk and set aside

- In large bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking sode, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and pumpkin spice. Add pumpkin mixture to dry ingredients and mix. Fold in chocolate chips. Cover and chill dough for 30 minutes.

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll dough into balls and lay them slightly flattened on lined baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes (it is normal if they look soft and underbaked; don't leave them in though!) Press a few more chocolate chips into the cookies if desired.

- Allow cookies to cool at least 10 minutes.

Find this and other recipes here!

<3 Ashley

What is your favorite fall food? Any good pumpkin recipes?