{pumpkin crescent rolls}

I am like most people during the month of October- absolutely unapologetically obsessed with any food or drink including pumpkin.  On a recent trip to Trader Joe's I got sucked into buying pumpkin waffles, mini frozen pumpkin pies & pumpkin cream cheese.  It's clearly a problem.

Using the pumpkin cream cheese and a package of crescent rolls, I whipped up this easy dessert the other night.  If you don't include the cinnamon sugar topping (which you need to include obviously) it is truly a recipe using only two ingredients!!  Full recipe at the bottom of the post.

We had these for dessert, but they would be perfect for a Halloween or Thanksgiving brunch - or even to bring as an appetizer to a pumpkin carving party!

what you need (makes 8):

• 1/2 cup pumpkin cream cheese
• 1 package of crescent rolls 
• sheet pan topped with Silpat or covered in cooking spray
• cinnamon sugar topping mixture

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Unwrap crescent rolls and lay out on silpat. 
3. Spread about 1 tablespoon per roll of the pumpkin cream cheese on each roll.
4. Roll up crescent rolls in traditional way.
5. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Before rolls cool completely- roll them in cinnamon sugar to top. 

{friday cocktail: pumpkin fizz}

Even though the month of October ended yesterday, pumpkin is still very much a viable ingredient all the way through November so I figured...let's make some cocktails with a little pumpkin!  I discovered this recipe, along with a ton of other great cocktail recipes, on the Kitchen Konfidence blog.   This is one of the few vodka recipes I have made on this blog and you could easily switch out the spirit on this recipe for a spiced rum or even a bourbon.  I love the seasonal taste of the pumpkin in literally everything and while i enjoyed this cocktail, it definitely lends itself to more of a carbonated smoothie taste than a stiff drink!  I added a few dashes of cardamom bitters to give this drink a little interesting spice.  I would also recommend a tiny punch of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon to garnish!

The two lucky winners from last Friday's Julibox giveaway are:

**Rachel Jass**

**Leigh Kozak**

Congrats you guys! You will be contacted via email shortly!


Cheers!

{happy halloween}

I hope you are all enjoying a very happy halloween!! We ventured out for a Halloween party with friends last night and I put together this last minute Troop Beverly Hills (one of my favorite movies!). I created this outfit using fabric I had around the house, some logos printed on cardstock, a lot of hot glue and a girl's school uniform skirt from Target!

{is there anything better than forcing your dog to wear a hotdog costume?!?!}

{pumpkin mousse}

This past weekend we took a little trip to a cute town a bit north of us to check out the Highwood Pumpkin Festival which is basically a celebration of all things pumpkin-most notably the over 30,000 carved pumpkins on display!  After the festival we headed back to a friend's place to carve our own pumpkins and eat some authentic Texas queso cooked by the hosts (a first for me!).   I offered to bring over the dessert which would give me an excuse to make up a batch of this amazing looking Pumpkin Mousse recipe.  This recipe delivered on all my expectations: it's got that wonderful seasonal flavor of pumpkin mixed with an incredibly decadent creamy consistency yet light texture.  On top of all that, this recipe is very quick to make, requires a short ingredient list and very little technical ability (unless folding whipped cream into the mousse intimidates you like it does for me- it shouldn't, but it does. everyone has fears. this is mine.)  Plus, you can make this mousse up a day or two before your event and simply place the whipped cream and cookie topping directly before serving.  And don't forget about the other great pumpkin dessert option I cooked up last year around Halloween right here. 

 {ginger cookies for the crumbled cookie topping- make sure to sprinkle plenty of this on the top of the dessert as it adds a wonderful crunch and interesting flavor component}

Here are a few photos from our pumpkin related activities this weekend:

 {at the highwood pumpkin festival}

{our entry into the pumpkin carving contest which was 100% chris' idea for a big

 pumpkin with a really little face which turned out pretty hilarious looking}

{mini pumpkin pies + halloween photos}

My love of regular desserts taken into mini bite size form continues with this recipe from Bakerella for mini pumpkin pies.  This recipe is seriously foolproof; the pie dough is the ready made kind you can find at any grocery store and the filling has only a handful of ingredients.  Topped with some whipped cream and this is the perfect dessert for any get together from now until Thanksgiving!

Besides this weekend being filled with a lot of baking, we also went to two Halloween parties.   On Saturday night we co-hosted our annual pumpkin carving contest/party at our friend's place in Venice.  

 {halloween themed confetti system, see a tutorial here}

 {mini pumpkin pies making an appearance alongside sangria & red velvet whoopie pies}

 {our entry into the pumpkin carving contest}

{my airplane costume from the Toddlers's dept at Target & party host, Terra, as a Cheeto}

Sunday night we were invited to a Halloween potluck which I contributed the mini pumpkin pies, but this time I topped them with whipped cream.  The whipped cream is a great addition, but you really can't put it on until right before you want to serve the pies; otherwise it melts. 

 {my "Miss Universe" costume with Heather, the host of the potluck}

Happy Halloween!

{pumpkin cream cheese wontons}

This is the time of the year when every company comes out with the pumpkin version of their normal products.  This is also my favorite time of year.  Coincidence?   No.  I am a complete sucker for anything with pumpkin, especially desserts.  I spotted this recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Wontons with Cinnamon Caramel dipping sauce.  Did you just read the title of that dessert?!?!  I mean...come on.  There is no way it will taste bad and I can personally tell you it didn't disappoint.  These are very easy to assemble; the only tricky part is the actual frying of the wontons which can take a bit of practice.  You can see the recipe I followed here.

{halloween decorating}

Since it is now officially October (umm wasn't it just July?!?!), I begged Chris to get our box of Halloween decorations down as soon as possible.  This past Saturday started out really gloomy in Los Angeles, which is basically the perfect weather for fall decorating.  This is our first Halloween in this loft so I am still trying to figure out what a good balance of decorations is.  Here are some of the festive items I was able to find a spot for:

One spot I can't seem to decide on is our dining room  table...

Which do you like better?

{etsy favorites: halloween edition}

Besides blogs and magazines, I get a ton of DIY inspiration from wandering around on Etsy especially for home decor projects.  I think Halloween might be my favorite holiday to decorate for, although Christmas is a close second.  Here are some fun seasonal items that inspired me on Etsy recently:

 {burlap banner, $25}

{birch tree candle holders, set of 10 for $40}

{mini cupcake holders, set of 4 for $30}

{boo! crepe banner, $21}

{burlap treat bags, set of 4 for $18}

{candy corn costume, $68}