pumpkin spice whoopie pies

 happy halloween everyone! is halloween on a friday not the best thing ever?!

let me tell you something about the behind the scenes of this post. i made these, and they're delicious. i got out my nikon, set up my little shooting area, got some plates/props i'd never used before, and i was feeling really great about it. look at me, photographing these whoopie pies like i work for national geographic. i'm gonna use manual and make the aperture look stellar.

and then i looked back at the photos. oh god, i thought, these look like biscuits. or dog treats. no, no, no. absolutely not. and so then, i decided i wasn't going to post the recipe at all. the pumpkin didn't bring out as much orange as i thought it would in the cookies, and though i considered adding dye, i felt it unnecessary. more processed garbage in our food, who needs it?

so here they are in a photo from my phone. i did my best to make them look not biscuit like. they look a little funny. but they taste like cakey, warm icing goodness.

if you still need a quick treat to whip up for a party tonight, or y'know, just because you want a sweet treat, these are just the trick! i've written before about the simplicity of making cookies from boxed cake mixes (see pumpkin butterscotch cookies here, and lemon white chocolate cookies here!), and they're pretty foolproof. you can make your own cream cheese icing (i recommend this recipe) or use premade.

you will need:

• 1 box of spice cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons pureed pumpkin (i used 3, but it made the dough a little stickier than i liked)

preheat your oven to 375. combine all ingredients in a bowl. take the dough and begin rolling it into 1 inch balls - place on a greased cookie sheet. bake 9-12 minutes, or until cookies are firm. let cookies cool for at least half an hour. pipe (or spoon) your icing onto a cookie, attach another cookie, and voila! dog biscuits! i mean, pumpkin spice whoopie pies!

elsewhere

it's kind of a weird recurring theme on my blog that i want to be somewhere else pretty much at all times. i'm not sure what that says about me, or if it even means anything aside from the fact that i get restless.

i've lived in alabama my entire life (see my post on wanderlust, here). it's always been on the "to do" list to get the hell outta dodge. but oh, how simple it is to put it off, and be comfortable, and accept what is easy. i'm trying not to let myself fall into this trap.

on november 7th, i'm flying to austin, texas to visit my dear cousin. i've never been to austin before, but i have a sneaking suspicion i'll like it. the crazier part of this journey is that i'm not only having a blast, but evaluating if this is, i dunno, somewhere i'd like to move next year when my lease ends. yeah, so it's that, too.

i can't tell you how many times i've driven up to the gates or on red mountain and looked down on birmingham and smiled (cheese alert). i've truly fallen in love with this place and tried to contribute in every way i know how to making it better. am i ready to move on from that journey? i've only been here since july 2013.

so, a year from now, i don't know if i'll be looking back on this post and smiling because i'm sitting in an apartment in texas somewhere, or if i'll still be in birmingham, wondering if i jumped the gun on trying to do that whole moving on thing.

have you ever been to austin? or, maybe a better question would be: have you ever left what was always home? what happened?

the best month of the year

woah woah woah. i miss blogging. a lot. life has been a whirlwind lately and i haven't had nearly enough time to write my own posts! i'll summarize real quick.

on october 13th, i turned 24.
yay. i took the day off work & went hiking down at moss rock preserve in hoover, and then i ate a burrito, so it was probably my most adult/successful birthday ever. and then i got free starbucks and bought myself a birthday bouquet. go self. the next night i went to melt in avondale with my friends, and my bff sofia got me my favorite perfume ever that i ran out of ages ago, because she reads my mind.

beth and i went to meetings on meetings for birmingham bloggers.
our shopping party at kendra scott is the 29th, and we've got a cool collab with insomnia cookies in the works! friday, the 17th, beth and i were invited to a delicious dinner at the brand new babalu tacos & tapas in lakeview (which is uh right by my apartment btw, so i'm ready to eat here way too much) and it was amazing! super fresh, super delicious, guac made tableside, what more can you ask for?

goooooo state! (it's their time, y'all, really, so i'll let them have this season)
the 18th was molly's wedding day in starkville, complete with cowbells! the wedding and reception were gorgeous. did i mention molly had mini grilled cheeses at the reception? yeah case closed here. congratulations molly & stephen!

i got a cat. kind of, but not really.
my part-time cat lucy has been hanging out a lot lately. let me explain. lucy is what i believe to be a stray living in my apartment complex. i've fed her a few times and, well, you know how that goes. now she sits outside my door and meows. she's gotten quite comfortable sleeping on my couch and pretending to love me. i've never had a cat. i'm not sure they feel real emotions or if i'm just a pawn in her plot for apartment complex domination. anyone got cat tips?

my favorite month is drawing to a close, but i'm thrilled about the holidays approaching!

speedy love

it's funny how your tastes change as you get older.

years ago, a monogrammed louis vuitton bag was something i avoided at all costs. i've talked at length about my feelings for handbags, and my obsession has only grown in recent years. but despite it all, i never found myself drawn to lv. i just didn't "get it". i didn't care to be another person lost in sea of monogram, and to be honest, i found it a little tacky.

i couldn't tell you where it came from or why, but in the past two or so years i've developed an adoration/obsession/love for louis vuitton - and that includes the classic monogram print. i mean, audrey hepburn carried a speedy, and she's not exactly my fashion idol or anything, but you can't argue the rich history and stunning longevity of the bag. there's reason it's everywhere.

i always said my first louis vuitton would be in the damier ebene print. my relationship with top handle bags is up and down. too much trouble? worth it? they're truly a pain to go shopping with. i questioned, but i knew i needed a speedy in my collection. as a raving handbag enthusiast and wishful collector, this bag was a necessity. i adore the look of worn in, old patina, and i also knew that i was way too rough on bags (and too impatient) to patina a new speedy beautifully. pre-loved was the way to go.

i got her from fashionphile as an early birthday present, and so far, she's everything i hoped she would be. the canvas is is spectacular shape, and the patina is just the way i like it. she clearly had a vibrant life before she found her way into my hands - and that's ok. she's got a story to tell.

who knew i'd ever end up with a monogram bag? honestly, this will likely be my first and only. the damier ebene and epi leather are my only other louis loves. but speedy will always have my heart.

fall 2014 finds

 

j. crew factory plaid shirts, bath & body works 3-wick candles, nordstrom quilted crossbody, stella & dot pave chevron ring, target susan booties

these are some items i've picked up in the past few weeks prepping for fall! of course i needed more plaid/gingham... i feel like i never have enough of those shirts, and they're perfect for layering. and, as always, i made my bi-yearly trip to bath & body works to stock up on fall scents. my mom got me this adorable quilted crossbody from nordstrom - it's actually way more of an oxblood color than it appears online! 

the pave chevron ring from stella & dot is my current favorite ring right now - it's so comfortable and not to mention adorable. oh, and if you've ever wanted a pair of jeffrey campbell litas but haven't taken the plunge (like me) go to target immediately and pick up these susan booties. they're just like litas - but $35. they also come in a few different shades!

what have you picked up for fall?