Pumpkin Spice & Cream Cheese Bread

I don't know what it is about fall, but once it rolls around I find myself  buying/baking anything and EVERYTHING pumpkin related. From Starbucks' pumpkin spice latte to chocolate chip pumpkin cookies I lose my damn mind daily with today being no exception.  After celebrating the beginning of fall by painting my nails dark gray I found myself perusing Pinterest looking for pumpkin-spiration and low and behold there it was, staring me straight in the face: pumpkin spice and and cream cheese bread. The recipe is easy enough and most all of the ingredients can be found in the average person's pantry, making this a very accessible recipe. I plan on giving these loaves as gifts to friends so I doubled up the batter and they turned out just fine! I would also recommend only filling the pans about 1/2 full of batter before adding the cheese batter on top, still leaving about 1/2 an inch from the top of the pan.

Pumpkin Spice & Cream Cheese Bread

Yields 3 mini loaves (the mini loaf pans I use are 5 3/4 inches long X 3 inches wide X 2 inches deep)

For the Cheese Batter:
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature, lightly beaten
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Pumpkin Spice Batter:
3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 large eggs
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves

Other:
Butter, to grease the pans

For the Cheese Batter:  Use a handheld electric mixer to beat together all ingredients until smooth and creamy.

For the Pumpkin Spice Batter:  Preheat oven to 350F; lightly grease 3 mini loaf pans with butter.
-In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and eggs until light and fluffy, then stir in the pumpkin, canola oil, and vanilla. 
- In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. 
- Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet, being careful not to over-mix.  
-Divide the pumpkin batter between the 3 loaf pans, then pour the cheese batter on top.
-Bake until golden around the edges, about 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean or with just a couple crumbs.  
-Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then remove from the pans and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

I plan on keeping my loaves in the pans and wrapping them up so that they make nice and festive little gifts for my friends.  Hope you enjoy this recipe! 

The Hunt Is On: Take 2!

As expected, the  dress style that I thought I wanted looked like total crap on me... that's my life! However, I found another style that is SO much better suited to me.  While I love the elegant look of lace straps, I am far too short to pull it off so I have decided to head in the direction of strapless, lace, A-line wedding dresses.  This style is so perfect for the vibe I am going for, however, there is one problem... their price point starts a lot higher than other styles of dresses, whoops!  I found a few contenders at my appointments last week, but I still have another few appointments left to look.  I love looking at dresses and I could play dress up forever, but with the wedding less than 7 months away I need to narrow down my selection even further and pick the dress. So, in an effort to be timely, I have set a deadline.  My dad and aunts are coming up to KC the last weekend in October to see my top choices and help me pick which dress I will be wearing when walk down the aisle! The following pictures are the dress styles that are topping my list right now, as well as my personal favorite that I tried on, but knowing that Ryan reads my blog I'm not going to tell you which one it is :-) 

no black bow, ew

The Hunt Is On!

I still have not even begun to process the fact that I am getting married in 7 short months, much less  the fact that I will be trying on wedding dresses this time tomorrow.  My mind is blown.  After doing some research in the form of "Say Yes To The Dress" marathons as well as pinterest browsing, I have come to one conclusion, wedding dresses are grossly overpriced! I know that budget is going to play a huge part in whichever dress I choose, but I would like to pretend that budget isn't an issue for a minute.... a girl can dream, right? As you can see, I am leaning towards a lace dress with a sweetheart-ish neckline and an A-line shape. I'm hoping that this style looks good on because, to be honest, I pretty much hate everything else I have seen so far. Fingers crossed!

Detox Smoothies

While Ryan has been away on his African safari I have made it a point to get in my fruits and veggies.  I'll be honest and tell you that I don't like eating fruit, not because of how it tastes, but I don't like biting into it. Yes, I know that this is weird. And as far as veggies are concerned, I don't want them unless they are smothered in ranch.... So, in an effort to still get in my daily servings I have started to make myself smoothies in the morning for breakfast.  I found a few recipes on Pinterest and have been trying them out this week.  The servings are a bit small to fill you up, so I would recommend doubling up on ingredients.  Here are the 2 that I've been testing out this week! I know that it sounds weird to put an avocado in a smoothie but just go with it, you cannot even taste it!

*Silky Mango*

• 1/4 cup mango cubes
• 1/4 cup avocado
• 1/2 cup of orange juice
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice (less is more)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

*Brain health blueberry dream*

• 1 cup of unsweetened frozen blueberries, thawed
• 1 small banana
• 1 tbsp of cold-pressed flaxseed oil or processed flaxseed
• splash of orange juice

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Life Lessons

Mid-shower I had an epiphany, not one of the religious variety, but an epiphany all the same.  I have never considered myself a glutton for punishment, but looking back over some of my past relationship blunders I cannot help but to think that I just may be a total masochist (not of the sexual variety).  There are some lessons that we all have to learn the hard way, but I cannot help but to think that some could be learned vicariously through others, thus the reasons for this post.  Here are some things that I learned the hard way, learn from my mistakes and try to avoid the same damn thing!

#1: The reason he did not call is not because he was in some horrible accident in which he developed amnesia, he just doesn't like you. Now pull your head out of that bucket of ice cream, pick your dignity up off of the floor and move on woman!

 #2: The reason he is dating the ditz is because her boobs are gigantic and she put out on their second date, end of story.

#3: Momma's boys are going to listen to their mothers over their girlfriends, unless you are happy playing second fiddle to their mother it might be in your best interest to move along.

#4: 23 years old and never had a "real relationship", take that as a sign and don't waste your time. 

#5: If a guy is a smooth talker that means that he has had a lot of practice perfecting this skill, probably not the best guy to go for.

#6: Don't date musicians, period.

#7: "I swear, this never happens to me" is code for "yup, this happens alllll the time"

#8: Men who are selfish in bed tend to be selfish in relationships, if you're not a priority in one don't expect to be a priority in the other

#9: Date guys who have younger sisters, they will be fiercely protective and incredibly nurturing.

#10: Just because he is tall, that doesn't mean squat.

#11: If all your friends don't like him then you need to pay attention to your relationship because they are most likely seeing something that you are not noticing.

#12: If he isn't nice to animals then he's probably not going to be so nice to you.

#13: Don't waste your time crying over some guy who broke up with you while trying to convince yourself that y'all were "meant to be together". If you were meant to be together he wouldn't have dumped your crying ass, get over it.

#14: You do not have to remain friends with all of your exes, but you shouldn't hate all of them either.

#15: If the main reason you stay in a relationship is because you love his family then that is not a relationship you should be in.

#16: If after 9 months he only says "I love you" when he is drunk then he probably doesn't love you.

#17: Don't go into any relationship expecting someone to change, you either accept them as they are or you leave them be.

#18: You cannot build a relationship solely based on sex (kissing, snuggling, etc...) but you cannot build one without it either.

#19: No relationship should cost you near and dear friendships, if you ever feel forced to choose then give him/her the boot.

#20: The more time you spend nitpicking every single fault the less time you have to get to know everything that is wonderful about them (plus, look in the mirror, are you perfect? NO!)





...Questions or comments? Hit me up!

My Key to Happy Relationships

     The other day I got to thinking about this whole idea of confidence and self-esteem and the role that it plays in one's happiness.  Like most people, I have been caught up in relationships to a point where I began to define myself by that relationship, as "so and so's girlfriend" instead of Quinn. While this was not problematic in the beginning, as time went on I began to find myself growing depressed and unhappy in these relationships no matter how good they were and I never knew why. This trend continued on throughout the majority of my college relationships and I always blamed the guy or the relationship, never taking the time to look at myself and the role that I was playing in my own unhappiness.  After my last relationship ended I was crushed, literally a hot mess, and I had no clue why. Yes I liked the guy, but I knew damn well all along that the relationship was incredibly flawed and that he was not "the one".  I knew both logically and emotionally,  but I still felt like crap and I had no idea why.   Well, this meltdown, along with a number of others, was one of my life's greatest mysteries for a long time until I grew up a little bit and gained some insight.  

    The way I see it is this.  I started off these relationships 100% Quinn, but as time went on I began to see myself as "X's girlfriend" instead of my own awesome, unique, and quirky person.  By seeing myself myself this way I unknowingly tied the majority of my confidence and self-esteem to what my partner thought of me, thus letting my confidence be dictated by someone else.  This was fine when we were having a good day, but whenever there was a rough patch in the relationship I would find myself feeling like the walls were caving in and I had no idea why.   I blindly handed my confidence over to someone else without ever taking the time to evaluate things for myself, and this is why I was so miserable.  Yes it is great to have the approval of others, but if you do not have your own approval nothing anyone else ever says is going to be worth a damn.  I've learned that the unhappiest people in the world are those who strive to be what everyone else wants/needs but never takes the time to make sure that they are happy with themselves.

    Once I realized this maladaptive pattern in my relationships I made it a point to hold myself accountable for my own happiness and not let it be dictated by some boy with messy hair and a southern drawl. And you know what? I'VE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER!  After a while of working on myself I decided to start dating again, promising myself that I would not make the same mistake that I had in the past.  For the most part things went well, but I definitely had a few blunders along the way.  One in particular was when a guy I had been out with a few times went m.i.a.  Old Quinn would have turned into a crying snotty mess, but New Quinn knew that this blow off had more to do with this guy's flakey "musician" ways than anything else, and knowing this New Quinn moved right on. After a few months of dating around I met a guy who was nothing that I was ever looking for or ever thought that I wanted, but you know what, he was just what I needed.  Two years later as I am sitting here typing this Ryan and I are celebrating two amazing years together and planning for our wedding in the spring.  I am lucky to have someone who loves me for exactly who I am and, if given the chance, wouldn't change a hair on my head. I got lucky with Ryan and I know that.  However, I also know that had I stayed in those relationships where I let my happiness be dictated by someone else that I would not have been in the right place to feel like I deserved Ryan or anything that he had to offer.

    I always dealt with breakups by telling myself that everything has a purpose and that in the end it will all make sense, and I solidly believe that. I have been through relationship hell and back and I would gladly do it again knowing how much better it would make me both as an individual and as a partner.  My assorted heartaches taught me the importance of loving and being happy with myself and that confidence like this cannot be shaken by anyone. So I guess the moral of my story is this, hold yourself accountable for your own happiness, do not make it a contingency of any relationship.  One last thing, here is a text message that my dear friend sent me over 2 years ago following a break-up, it is amazing!

 "Following your dreams and becoming the best version of yourself is the best way to find the better half that's right for you. Because they will love the mature you and the you that you are most satisfied with".