Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I received some requests for the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe I pictured on Thanksgiving.  I was going to include the recipe but had to double check with my friend whether she minded me posting it, and lucky her, was in the Caribbean at the time so unavailable to ask.  The consistency of the cookies are so light, fluffy, and irresistible.  I have already made 2 batches.  Here it is:

 3 cups flour

1.5 cups oats

1.5 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter. (2 sticks)

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 small can pumpkin

1/2 package of mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Cream butter in another bowl.  Gradually add sugars to butter bowl beating until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla.  Mix well.  Alternate additions of dry ingredients and pumpkin, mixing well after each addition.  Stir in morsels.  For each cookie drop 1/4 cup dough onto lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake 15-20 mins.  

This recipe makes approximately 50 cookies.

ENJOY!

Holiday Decorating

This is the first time I have been in a home to actually decorate over the holidays.  Last year, we put our house on the market and moved from California to Dallas so holiday decorating was out.   I decided to keep it very simple with a garland over my fireplace mantel ($5 at Home Depot) with votive tealight holders placed throughout.  There are so many great and affordable options out there when it comes to votive holders this year.  Luckily, I had a gift card that allowed me to purchase 2 sets of #1.

1. Z Gallerie Votive Holders (Set of 3) $7.99
2. Anthropologie Votive Holders $8
3. Wisteria Votive Holders (Set of 6) $28
4. World Market Votive Holders (Set of 3) $8.97
5. West Elm Votive Holders $10

Nursery Bathroom Hardware

If anyone knows a better go-to place for decorative hardware than Anthropologie, please pass it on!  When you are looking for some fun hardware, especially in glass, Anthropologie is always my first stop.  I decided to purchase some fun knobs for the small portion of the Jack and Jill bathroom off the nursery.  These were my top contenders, before I finally settled on #5 (really wish #2 came in pink and white).  

Happy Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  Hope everyone has a wonderful day full of great food and company!

Image via Pinterest

Image via Lonny

Image via Sweet Paul

Image via Martha Stewart

For me, this season means I get to indulge in anything pumpkin flavored.  I finally got ahold of one of my friend's famous pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipes she always makes this season, which I made another batch of last night:

Around here...

When we moved into our house we had managed to furnish most of it save from our bare walls and a few pieces of furniture here and there.  We decided to slowly acquire art and the like.  Except for when it comes to my closet, I declare that I am quite the minimalist so I only want to put things up that I absolutely love.

I have plans to put some travel photography of mine on canvas, and then I will finally be able to post photos of the completed family room.  For now, I am excited that our second chair arrived from Crate & Barrel.  The first chair took 5 months and it was an 8 month wait for the second one.  Needless to say, there were lots of headaches, but I am glad they are finally both here:

When this West Elm throw I blogged about here went on a 20% off sale, I ran right to the store to purchase one.  It is incredibly soft and has already been a cozy addition to the room as the weather cools down.

While at West Elm, I discovered that this ottoman was being discontinued so heavily discounted.  I had been waiting to buy one for our very unfinished game room and it just arrived:

I have managed to keep my succulents alive (well, almost all of them), so I decided to add some more to our kitchen.  I picked these up at Ikea:

And I haven't yet shared our guest room--here is a peek:

Those are our latest additions.  Hope everyone is enjoying the week and is ready for their Thanksgiving feasts!

Fantasy Wedding

Finally got some much needed things done on my to do list that had been weighing on my mind, so I apologize for my absence yesterday!  Here are the photos of the wedding I talked about last week.  I can't wait to see the professional pictures, which the bride promised I could share some when she received them.  There is no way I could capture the details and scope of the beautiful ballroom or the grandeur of the event.  But here is my best attempt: 

Let the Wedding Extravaganza Begin...

I wanted to share the wedding that I went to at the end of last month.  It almost took me this long to recover!  There were 3 days of parties all lasting into the wee hours of the morning followed by a farewell brunch.

We dined on Middle Eastern fare, followed the bride as she was carried to her Moroccan wedding ceremony, throwing flower petals and passing out desserts.  She had three outfit changes!  There was henna (we didn't have it drawn on) and an endless amount of dancing to the beats of the music and the drummer and saxophonist who came into the crowd.

For the rehearsal dinner, they rented out the entire Ghost Bar at the W, which overlooks the skyline of downtown Dallas. We were treated to a dinner surrounded by modern decor and simple centerpieces that made a big statement!  I got up and gave a speech in front of some 300 people with a couple other friends sans alcohol, so as fun as that was, it was quite a relief when we finished speaking as well. 

There was so much to share I couldn't fit it in one post, so I will post photos from the wedding next week!  Have a great weekend!