Mini Pumpkin Pies + Pumpkin Recipe Round Up

First of all you guys know how I feel about making cute pies.

But I'm that girl that when I go to the dessert table at a party, I just want a taste of everything. 

(Okay, and then to go back for more of the thing I loved the most.)

These mini pumpkin pies are just perfect for that. And for the person who LOVES pumpkin pie the most, just take 5 with no regrets. You do you. 

These look sorta schmancy, but they're super easy. 

Also, everything is cuter in mini form, am I right?

And here's how the recipe goes down:

Get your canned pumpkin, your store bought pie dough, and your cute cookie cutters out.

(My recipe calls for pumpkin but I accidentally grabbed pumpkin pie mix so just do whatever works for you)

Roll out your dough and grab your circle cutter.

Ideally you need a 3-4" circle. A wide mouth mason jar is a perfect sub if you don't already own one.

Cut out 12 circles.

Spray your muffin tin and fill with your mini doughs.

Whip up your pumpkin mixture (recipe below) and fill each dough 3/4 full.

With the extra dough left over, use your mini cookie cutters to cut out your desired pie garnishes.

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes

Things I've learned the hard way:

Don't fill them too full or they bake over and do little burnt edges as seen here.

Put your garnishes on half way through baking if you don't want them overdone.

Let cool completely before you plate to serve.

 And they taste best shared with friends. :)

 Mini Pumpkin Pies

 Ingredients

- 1 can of pumpkin (15 oz)

- 2 eggs

- 1 can of sweetened condensed milk

- 1 tsp salt

-1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

- 2 store bought pie crusts

Directions

- Preheat oven to 400

-Combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, salt, and pumpkin pie spice

- Using a circular cookie cutter or jar lid, cut 12 circles. Ideally you need at 3-4" circle.

- Using mini cookie cutters, cut out cute garnishes 

- Add pie crusts to muffin tin

- Add pie filling to 3/4 full

-Bake at 400 for 30 minutes

- Add garnishes half way through baking for lighter color

Enjoy!

//////////////////////

And because I know you just can't get enough of pumpkin recipes. I've teamed up with some other awesome bloggers to bring you enough pumpkin recipes to last you all season!

Here are 6 more delicious pumpkin recipes!

Pumpkin And Ricotta Stuffed Shells - Motherhood in Stilettos 

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies - Lazy Moms Blog

Pumpkin Spice French Toast - Amidst The Chaos

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls - Mom Wife Foodie

Pumpkin Bread With Brown Sugar Topping - Mom Beyond Mom

No-Bake Protein Pumpkin Apple Pie Bites - The Mother Overload

Playroom Update

A few weeks ago I found a suuuuper smushed cereal bar in the shag rug I had in here for the boys' playroom. Like, had to cut it out of the rug bad. And then a few days after that, the boys started using their train table as a ramp. Not for their trains or cars, for themselves.

That's all I needed to see to know it was time for a change in here.

So, first order of business was maximize their space for how they actual use it. 

 Since the train table was no longer serving it's purpose, it got put into storage and opened up a ton more room for rearranging. I moved their coloring table to a more accessible spot and put up a cork board for them to proudly display their work.

We also put in a reading corner. 

And my husband whipped up this cute little bench for the boys to sit on. 

I also found this vintage phone for $5 and knew the boys would get a kick out of it.

The conversations I overhear on this phone are hilarious. 

We made some more room for make believe and for decorations that remind us 

of our first home in Virigina. 

 

 But honestly the highlight of our playroom upgrade is this Lorena Canals machine washable rug.

You read that correctly, MACHINE WASHABLE! This rug will fit in a standard washer and dryer. If that is not life-changing for a kids' space, I don't know what is. It is so liberating to just throw this sucker in the washing machine and not lug out the vacuum.

Also high on style and so on trend with those cute braided tassels.

An added bonus because this is a room I share with the boys. 

My office area is the other half of this room (maybe one day I'll show you when it's not a wreck), so it's a win-win in our shared space!

Handmade and with all natural dyes, we opted for the coordinating pom-pom throw as well with all the same great easy washing qualities. It's already been through the ringer on fort-building night.

I've been super happy with how well it's withstood my boys' most highly trafficked area. 

 Because let's be honest, this room mostly looks like this everyday.

And like this - with someone's bum in time-out. ;)

We're finding our way in this shared space and I'm so happy to say I won't be cutting cereal bar out of any rugs any time soon! 

For more info on Lorena Canals products, visit their site. 

Disclaimer: I received Lorena Canals products for review purposes but all opinions are my own.

Working from Home + Using a Standing Desk

Working from home is no joke. Don't get me wrong, I love it. 

But it takes so much self discipline and I wouldn't say that's one of my strong suits. One of my biggest struggles is that I find it so hard to be productive on my design work and shop stuff when everything else I have to do around the house is staring me in the face. 

I'm sure you've heard of the standing desk by now and how many companies are switching over to that for their employees benefit. Everything I've read says that standing desks are proven to increase productivity. So I thought, it was worth a try for me.  

The appeal of the InMovement Standing Desk is its portability and how it works with your existing desktop. Days that I dedicate to work, I like to be in my dining room which is central to my house so that I can keep an eye on what my boys are up to and the light in here just makes it a pleasant place to work. And then days that I don't need to be in front of the computer for hours, I can just store it away.

                  

I would definitely say that even after just a short amount of time using it, I could tell a difference in my productivity. I love that I could just put it on the end of my dining room table and adjust the height to what feels comfortable for me.

Standing during my work hours motivated me to stretch and do simple exercises frequently.

It made me feel energized.

Not to mention, my whole body feels so much better after spending hours standing and working instead of hours all pretzeled up in my desk chair.

I caught my husband using it one day that he had dedicated to working on music.

He obviously was able to adjust it much higher to suit his 6'2" frame. The workspace was big enough to accommodate all this gadgets he needed for work.

And I might have to fight him for who gets to use it.

If you're in the market for a standing desk or just looking to improve your health and productivity at work, this InMovement Standing Desk might be just the ticket. And you're in luck because if you use code BLOG30 then you can get 30% off!

Galantines Brunch + Printable Cards

Galantines Day is one made up holiday that I definitely celebrate.

Because good girlfriends are the stuff of life.

I started doing throwing a little Galentines Day brunch several years ago when I lived in Virginia 

and for me, it was the perfect way to celebrate the girls who had 

invested so much in my life by their friendship. I really encourage you to do this. 

Not Galentines, although that's a perfect excuse, but just celebrate the people who invest

in you. Good friends are among the best things in life and deserve that celebration.

For me the food is the hardest part. So I made it easy on  myself and made stuff that I know how to make and make well. Two types of quiche and hash browns. And bread and fruit are always an easy add on. 

Making these Pink Grapefruit Mimosas was maybe my best decision. So delish.

The recipe is super simple and I just made it up so just go with it.

Equal parts: 

-pink grapefruit juice 

- and champagne 

and then blood orange slice and blueberries for garnish!

(You can always sub grapefruit flavored sparkling water for anyone who doesn't prefer champagne)

I think simple and beautiful is the way to go. 

Pull out a table cloth, the real napkins, put out place settings and maybe grab some fresh flowers

and you'll have yourself a well set table!

I've even made it easy for you and I've included my placards here as a free printable download. 

I like to do the printables for you guys as a little thank you for all the ways you support my brand and my online shop. So, enjoy and celebrate the people in your life! These would even make cute little encouragement cards to send in the mail! 

xoxo