Pumpkin Stacks (A.K.A. Whoopie Pies)

The whoopie pie trend has been sweeping the blogosphere for a while now. About a year ago was the first time I'd heard of them when my friend Kara tweeted a picture of a red velvet and cream cheese variation. I was immediately intrigued. I'm game for anything red velvet and it looked delicious. A couple weeks ago my husband suggested that I give making some of them a shot - although, for the record, originally he insisted that we call them sandwich cookies as he doesn't like their given name. I will admit that he and a friend have come up with a few other, less-wholesome, names for this sweet treat. None of which are appropriate to list here (even though, as much as I'd like to say they aren't, they are pretty funny). From here on out we will call them Pumpkin Stacks.

For the record, I thought these were going to be terribly hard to make and quite time consuming and, although, they weren't the easiest thing I've ever made, they sure weren't hard and they were pretty fun to bring to a party. People loved them.

I followed the Brown Eyed Baker's recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pie with Maple-Cream Cheese filling to a tee. Her instructions were great and super easy to follow. I will say that I completely forgot to chill my pumpkin filling, but that didn't seem to matter. The icing made much more than I needed for my whoopie pies, so if I make these again I'll be sure to have something else on hand that I can use it with (it would be really delish with some chocolate cupcakes).

Even though I don't know that I'll make this particular recipe again (it was pretty sweet), I'd really like to try something chocolate or pistachio flavored. Anyone have a good recipe to share?

Menu Monday

Monday night is Community Group and this week, in honor of Thanksgiving, we're having an entire meal of side dishes. They are the best part of this fall holiday in my opinion. We're bringing the stuffing. It will not be home made. It will be from a box. From Aldi's. That's the best stuffing in the world. Why go through all the trouble of making our own when they've already reached perfection?

Tuesday night I'm going with the husband to a work dinner. I'm a little nervous. I don't know these folks very well and so I was looking for an appetizer that was impressive, yummy, and could be made in a hurry after work. I think The Pioneer Woman's Stuffed Mushrooms will be just the thing.

On Wednesday we're going to a Thanksgiving celebration with some friends before we leave town. I'm going to attempt to make a Pumpkin-Pecan Pie heavily inspired by Making Life Delicious. I'll let you know how it goes!

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be filled with Taco Bueno (because it is bueno), Jamba Juice, and Topeca coffee. And, of course, leftovers, lots of leftovers. All of the delicious things that Tulsa has to offer. Yum.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

Day 8: What I wore

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Today I wore my favorite brown boots because it's a rainy fall day. By the time I got to the office the sun was peaking out from behind storm clouds. I love mornings like this.

30 Photo Challenge

I recently stumbled across the idea of a 30 Day Photo Challenge. I think I first saw it on pinterest.com but since then, I've seen it on several blogs. October is going to be a crazy, crazy month, but what better month to document with all sort of fun photographs?

So, forgive me in advance if I do more than one picture on some days and none on others. It might end up taking me more than 30 total days, but I'm planning to cross the challenge finish line no matter how long it takes! Here's my 30 day list, heavily inspired by the blogosphere with a couple tweaks.

Summer Setting

This is it. The last official weekend of summer. Can you believe it's already here? Me neither. I've always looked forward to the fall. A fresh start. New school supplies. New beginnings. This year autumn brings with it the biggest new beginning of my life - our marriage.

Our wedding is just a few short weeks away. I'm unbelievably excited. I can't wait to wear the gorgeous dress that's hanging ready and waiting in my closet. I can't wait to stand in front at the front of our church and vow to live my whole life before God with my husband. That's amazing. Sometimes when I think about it I can't breathe from the sheer wonder of it all. I mean, marriage seems a pretty daunting task when I forget that the glory of Jesus is the point, the Holy Spirit will be always with us and that God is out for our good always. This isn't about two people making a marriage work. It's about the most incredible picture of God and his church and his faithfulness towards us.