pumpkin candy pretzel treats ... and a free printable ♥

a few weeks ago i found these on pinterest

my girls and i put them together last weekend.

packaged them up to give as teacher & neighbor gifts. it was fun!

the instructions were very simple but we hit a couple of road bumps along the way ...

three things you'll need:

waffle pretzels

HUGS hershey kisses

and mellowcreme pumpkins 

(the same as candy corn just in pumpkin form :)

line your cookie sheets with parchment paper 

spreadthe waffle pretzels out on the cookie sheets 

then put an unwrapped kiss on top of each pretzel

(space the pretzels out a little bit... the pictures of ours here i'd say were a little too close together. when you press the kiss down it spreads and you don't want them to touch each other)

bake them in a 350 degree oven for about 2 minutes.

really no more than that.

here's the bumps in the road i was talking about.

we waited 20 minutes for them to cool, but the pumpkins were so heavy it really wasn't enough time ... we waited another 20. still not ready. and another 20. nope.

each time the pumpkin crushed the kiss and turned it into a puddle of chocolate all over the parchment paper (wish i took a picture of it)

so i tried another cookie sheet and started a new batch from the beginning while we waited for the others to cool.... here's the little trick i discovered that worked:

take them out of the oven, let them cool for the first 20 minutes and then pop them into the freezer, the whole sheet - everything, for maaaaaybe a minute - no more!

and that stiffened them up enough to withstand the ginormous weight of the pumpkin :)

it worked! try it and lemme know how it goes for ya.

we put our goodies in plastic punch cups

filled them up and put clear basket wrap over top 

(the kind on a roll, like wrapping paper style)

used some bakers twine, washi and tada! 

add my little label to the top and get ready to make some little (and big) people very happy.

download the free tags here!

  

i used a two inch circle punch to cut these out ... they fit perfectly on the top of the cups.

oh! and the cute clipart? it's from my bestie's etsy shop here

you can get this little birdie and a whole woodland set as an instant download!

happy fall!

and happy #eatallthethings!

magic dream bars ♥

i say it all the time on IG that i love to bake

my family knows i bake

the guys at the hubby's office know i bake. so i'm baking a lot

spoiled rotten people

well really i just love to eat cookies ... so that's why i bake.

this is a go-to really quick company's coming and you don't have all day to bake kinda recipe

and they're really so yummy you might just eat a lot of them before the company comes.

so put away your sad granola thingy and your sad lettuce and make some of these.

raid your pantry or go to the store and get this stuff...

(this cute recipe card? and a bunch more are from my bestie's shop here)

(print this one out by clicking on the image and then go get some of your own. hurry. go now.)

heat your oven then melt the butter right in the pan you're going to use

add the graham crumbs and spread them evenly on the bottom after you mix it together

this recipe is really so easy and fail proof ... so all the steps can be done by your kids if it's a day you want to get them into the kitchen to bake with you

just pop open the can of condensed milk and let them pour it evenly over the crumb layer

add all the good stuff ... i usually do coconut first then the chips

my girls ate more chocolate chips than they put in the dish

grab a fork and have them press down a little just to smoosh it all together

this was the original recipe i clipped off the back of the milk can fifteen years ago when i first got married

wow. fifteen years. 

this month.

 we're like, old people

i forgot to take, ya know those staged food blogger pics, that everyone takes and their cookies look like betty crocker herself was at their house and made the cookies with them, and then they took a picture kinda pictures? well this isn't that kinda recipe.

so here's a picture of the bars in their truest form.

messy gooey and broken up on a pedestal dish in my kitchen 

where we keep eating them from

real life. that's all

much love ♥ be back soon!

linking up here!

sugar cookie recipe and a little bit of kitchen love ... ♥

the summer is already starting to fly by

every year i say the same thing...

i will not let summer fly by

i will not let summer fly by 

but sometimes it does anyways ... 

even still, i'm determined to make a summer bucket list and complete at least half of it. 

our summer seems to start later here. weather wise and when school ends. 

school starts the first week of September ... so i feel like i'm still sorta ahead of the game. sorta.

the past few tuesdays we've been making & taking cookies to daddy's work

last week we tried this recipe for no-roll sugar cookies that i found via Pinterest

it was simple & quick

i've been feeling the weight of not doing enough for others

and pointing out to my girls, that contrary to what society tells us, 

the world does not revolve around them... or even around our family. 

there are kids we can sponsor, people who are sick that we can help, 

or dresses that can be made for those who don't have clothes to wear.

or even just for our neighbors. is there something we can do for them? or bring to them?

are we paying attention? to what's going on outside of our little box.

all around us. everyday.

that's the only way. they only way something will be seen as different in us.

not to point towards religion.

religion is empty. it's void.

not to point towards rules

what we should wear, or what type of music we should listen to 

... what version we should read.

rules are empty.

and they fall on the deaf ears of a world 

that has already pinned the Creator as next to non-existent.

no... i don't want to point others towards rules

i want to point towards a Savior. 

the One who is meant to fill the void.

the One who sets us free.

free to live in His Truth & in His Grace...

and striving to find a good balance between the two.

anyways ... that's what's been on my heart lately

and with all this baking goin on, i'm thinking about how thankful i am 

for our home, our kitchen ~ it's spacious and comfy ... 

so much revolves around this room.

my kitchen sink gets a lot of hours out of me :)

i love sprucing it up, adding little things that make it a fun area to spend time in

i found a little white pedestal dish at the thrift store, and put our hand soap & a bottle of lotion on it right near the sink

then i saw these lights on Pinterest and fell in love

and then decided to make a few strands of my own

i strung them over the sink and later found the aqua bird cage at hobby lobby 

threw that and some pom pom flowers into the mix

and now it's like a little party 24/7 right over my kitchen sink :)

to make your own lights, all you need is a string of patio or Christmas lights 

(got these white ones at Target in the outdoor stuff) 

and some cupcake papers. snip a little hole in the base and fit over the bulb

then repeat. like a hundred times

but it's worth it.

at night when we go to bed i turn off all the other lights and leave these on :)

they're like night lights in the kitchen ♥

much love ♥

linking up here:

A Crafty Soiree ♥ Yesterday on Tuesday

Whatever you Want Wednesday ♥ Free Pretty Things for You

live laugh linky ♥ live laugh Rowe

Party Time ♥ the 36th Avenue

Weekend Wrap-Up Party ♥ Tatertots & Jello

Sundae Scoop ♥ i heart naptime

Party Junk ♥ Funky Junk Interiors

Junkin' Joe ♥ the Cottage Market

Funky Junk ♥ Funky Junk's Party Junk

wrappin' up Wednesday no.4 & some muffins... ♥

i made sour cream chocolate chip muffins this morning

at 6am.

now don't get me wrong

i'm not that woman who's up at the crack a dawn 

baking bread for the family's daily consumption ... 

:)

but i would like to be

not really the baking bread part, but the happy early riser part

i've been feeling a tug on my heart lately to wake up earlier ... to be happier when i get my girls outta bed, to not walk around in a fog for an hour while trying to figure out how i'm going to fit oddly shaped lunch items such as green beans and cheese into a kitty cat bento box ...  i want to be cheerful and have a happy heart ... and i'm realizing that i need to get up early ... have some quiet time before i interact with my family, and not after they're all gone for the day and i've had 2 melt downs over dirty gym clothes and forgotten socks

...

i'm not totally there yet, but i'm moving in the right direction

"...to exchange whispers with God 

before I exchange shouts with the world"

~Lysa TerKeurst

then i read this verse in Proverbs the other day that made me laugh out loud

" how long will you lie there...when will you get up from your sleep? "

proverbs six.nine

ok ok ... got it ... i'm up 

:)

i wrote it out and clipped it onto my message board in the kitchen

a reminder that God certainly does have a sense of humor ...

oh and the muffins were yummy! recipe is here

from my ♥bake board on Pinterest

do you follow me on Pinterest yet? why not!?

don't forget to use the coupon code in the store today

WRAPPINUP20

if you plan to do some shopping :)

Happy Wednesday♥

diy Bisquick ... ♥

i've been thinking more and more about all the cleaning supplies i use

and all the preservatives in all of the food we eat

and i've been making changes a little at a time

i started making my own laundry detergent last year

and i will never go back to Tide

(no offense Tide)

the cost is 1-2 pennies a load

(!!)

and the ingredients are simple ... it's nice to know that we can have everyday products

without all the chemicals and other things 

our bodies we're probably never made to put up with :)  

i've started a few dryer balls with my sister-in-law

our project was interrupted a few times so we're only half done

but i'll let you know how they turn out

next on my list is fabric softener

:)

after church sunday i started to make pancakes, then realizing i was out of Bisquick

thought it was the perfect opportunity to take a peek at all the recipes to make your own

that have been floating around pinterest

i looked at three different ones and kinda mixed 'em all together... 

with some of my own how-to

divide all ingredients in half

mix one half of the recipe at a time in an electric mixer

 ... starting with the first half 

mix dry ingredients together in the mixer until well blended 

add 1 cup of the shortening and mix again until incorporated

(scraping the paddle as needed)

about 2-3 minutes

that's it!

i figured the ingredients cost me $2-3

which made the equivalent to 2 large boxes of the real stuff

each box cost somewhere between $4-5 at Wegmans

have you made any "knock-off" housekeeping products?

tell me about them!

check out my housekeeping board

there's so many good ideas just waiting to be tried ...

much love ♥ 

linking up here ... ♥

Free Pretty Things for You

Funky Junk Interiors

i heart naptime