This bread will change your life. I'm fairly certain I've started off a post like that before but no, no.. really, this bread is extraordinary. I almost want to call it a cake because it's so moist and flavorful, I don't even feel compelled to top it with butter. Not to mention it has a delicious crumb topping that melts and crisps perfectly and even seeps into the middle a little bit. I may or may not have made this twice in one week.



vegan pumpkin bread

3/4 cup pumpkin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pure cane sugar
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 T agave or honey
1 T vanilla
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
3/4 t. cloves
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 1/4 cup flour
2 t. baking powder

crumb topping

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter (or earth balance), softened
about 1/2 cup flour
sprinkle cinnamon


1. For the crumb topping, mix all ingredients and set aside.
2. In a bowl mix pumpkin, sugars, oil, milk, agave, vanilla, and spices.
3. In a separate bowl mix flour and baking powder, then add to wet mixture.
4. Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil and lightly flour.
5. Pour mixture into pan, it'll be slightly thick.
6. Sprinkle crumb topping on top and bake at 375 for 40 minutes! My ovens a little weird with temperatures so I use a toothpick to check. It's okay if the topping falls into the middle. Actually, it's preferred. Enjoy :)

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I don't really like scones. They're usually dry... or chewy. Or flavorless. And I know they're supposed to be somewhat dry, but, really? I don't like my pastries to scrape the roof of my mouth. Starbucks has a pumpkin scone though, that is freaking delicious and I order it whenever I go in. It's full of spices and it's not too dry. The frosting-to-scone ratio is a little off to me, and for almost $3 a scone I said forget it, I'm making my own. So I did. And I'm not going to lie, they're 10000x time better than any crummy scone I've had. They are dense without being dry, full of flavor, and I was able to put as much frosting on them as I wanted.


pumpkin scones with glaze & spice drizzle

1/2 c sugar
2 c flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground cloves
1/4 t ground ginger
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
6 T butter (cold)
1/2 c pumpkin
3 T cream or half and half
1 egg


2 c powdered sugar
4 T milk
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
pinch ginger
pinch nutmeg


1. Preheat oven to 425. 2. Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. 3. With a pastry knife, cut in butter until crumbly. 4 In a separate bowl, mix pumpkin, egg, and cream. Add to dry mixture and mix until combined. 5. Shape dough into small triangles.. you can do 6 large ones or 12 small ones (I made small ones). 6. Place on greased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes (15 for the large scones) until golden brown. Place on cooling rack and let cool.
7. Combine powdered sugar and milk in a bowl, whisked until smooth. Top your scones but leave about 1/4 a cup for the spice drizzle. With the 1/4 cup left in the bowl, add your spices and drizzle on top of sugar glaze.

october first + spooky garland diy

I am absolutely elated for fall and I've been reluctantly waiting until payday to buy any decorations. It doesn't seem right. Usually I have candles and pumpkins all over the place. I wanted to paint pumpkins last weekend with rick, but the only stores that have them around me have them priced ridiculously high (??)! At my work the large pumpkins are 7+ dollars, so we decided to wait. That didnt mean I couldn't pull out my craft bin and see what I could come up with! I'm not sure where I can place it because my puppy will tear it down if it's within her reach. I'll most likely put it outside on our deck. It's nothing fancy but satisfied my autumn craft craving, and it's fairly easy, just a little time consuming. Overall it took me less than 2 hours.





spooky felt garland

scissors
marker
paper
fabric glue (or hot glue)
various colors of felt - 4 sheets or so
yarn (or ribbon)





On your piece of paper, draw your designs. I chose a scaredy cat, a jack o lantern, a bat, and I made one scared kitty silhouette. If you're amazing at drawing and can come up with a design off the top of your head, I applaud you. I had to trace from some vintage ephemera & clip art I found online. Once you've drawn your designs, cut them out.
You want to fold your sheet of felt in half, cut it, and fold those pieces in half and cut those so you have 4 squares of felt from each sheet. Fold your drawing in half like in the photo above, and place it on top of your square of felt thats also folded in half, and carefully cut out your design.




Once you have all of your outlines cut out, you will need to cut out the little eyes and jack of lantern smile (and those kitty teeth). You can be as creative as you want here, multiple layers and such, but I chose the simple route to save time. Glue your pieces onto your bases, and then glue your ribbon or yarn to the back of each! It's easy, and pretty cute.