I love to bake especially during the holidays! A week ago, I decided to look up a few recipes to try. My parents were coming up for a visit and I thought this would be the perfect time to try out a few new recipes. I love baking BUT I know I don't need all of these sweets sitting around tempting me. Since it is fall, I looked up some fun fall treats.

In a recent Rachael Ray magazine (one of my faves), Drake found a picture of roasted pumpkin seeds. It didn't give the recipe so he just threw a few spices on them and roasted them in the oven. (He is better at just throwing ingredients together... I have a hard time not following a recipe) He used cinnamon, sugar and a little salt. They were DELICIOUS! It was the perfect combination of sweet and salty.

My dad is a big fan of peanut butter. I found this creamy peanut butter pie recipe here. It was light and creamy and not too heavy but it is sweet!

Here is the link to the original recipe. It was intended for regular sized cupcakes. It also included a cream cheese filling which I did not do for the mini cupcakes. Be careful because it makes a lot of batter! I had to throw half of it away and still made about 36 cupcakes. The recipes says it makes 24 regular cupcakes.

Ingredients:

I love Fall! Everything about fall is wonderful. Going to the apple orchard, picking pumpkins, baking, decorating for fall (which I haven't really done), fall break, cooler weather, leaves changing, etc.

I'm home sick again today. I hate being sick...there isn't a whole lot you do besides sleep. I am feeling better and should be back to school tomorrow. Dempsey has decided he will also have a sick (lazy) day...

So Dempsey also received a Halloween man stuffed toy in his birthday box. We decided to stick the man's arms through Dempsey's collar and well, this is what happened...

He was pretty funny. We couldn't stop laughing. We know, poor Dempsey.

He hasn't destroyed this toy yet. I think it's his new "baby." We will see how long it lasts...my guess 1 day...maybe.

Dempsey received a birthday package in the mail a few days ago from his grandparents and his best bud Lucky in South Carolina. We waited until today to open it!

Here is what was in it! He is so loved :) (He was whining while I was taking this picture...he couldn't wait!)

He loved his hedgehog. Noticed I said loved. Once he broke the squeaker (he was extremely funny to watch when he was playing with it), he would just walk around carrying it in his mouth. It was like a sponge...it absorbed his slob (which he has a lot of) and when he would drop it or shove it in your face (ew), you could hear and feel all the slob. Gross. So we quickly and quietly threw it away. He didn't destroy it but it was pretty gross. We gave him his Halloween man instead.

It entertained him for a while.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEMPSEY! He turned 2 today!

Here he is when we first got him. He was only 6 weeks old.

This is from today. Not a little puppy anymore (well he will always be my little puppy :) )

We took him to the Avon/Washington Township park today. He LOVES going on hikes through the woods. It is one of his favorite things. He can't get enough of the "smells." He was definitely in heaven today...smelling and pulling everywhere!

His nose was glued to the ground. Drake had to walk him because he kept pulling everywhere.

My prints from younghouselove came in a long white tube. Dempsey kept eyeing that tube all day. He couldn't wait to chew it up. When we finally gave it to him, he would just run around with it in his mouth wanting us to chase him. He is so silly sometimes. He would not hold still so I could get a picture of him...this was the only one where he didn't look like a blurry blob. He can't seem to hold still long enough to take a good picture. Oh well, we still love him.

Today we have to put his flea and heart worm medicine on his back. He always goes crazy...runs around rubbing his black all over the rug in Drake's office. It is pretty entertaining to watch.

This past weekend Drake and I went to Bed Bath & Beyond (I LOVE this store) to pick up a few things. While waiting to check out, Drake pointed out a painting that he saw. I had not thought about looking at BB&B for artwork. I really liked it. Now it was a little more than we would spend on a piece of art from BB&B. (even with the 20% off). So we decided not to get it.

I kept bringing it up since we have been trying to find something for that entry way for a while. The colors were perfect and matched the rest of the color scheme for the living room. It was also big and took up a big portion of the wall which it what we were looking for.

When I came home from school, Drake was already home doing chores around the house (a nice thing to come home to). I would tell him thank you for everything it was doing. I had yet to realize the painting. I even let him in through the front door and walked by it multiple times and STILL didn't notice it. Finally after a comment from Drake about me not being very observant, I notice it! (He was so impressed with me...haha) It looks great!

The picture hanging in the entry way.

close up!

Here are a few close ups of the items we found while shopping for decorations. We found a lot of great deals. We had to go to a few places (probably more than what Drake wanted to do) BUT it was worth it :) I think the bathroom looks so much better just by adding a coat of paint and a few accessaries. Of course I would like to get new lighting fixtures, get rid of the mirror and get a new vanity and sink but I can't do everything. It turned out great!

The coral sculpture we found at Pier One. The color is perfect!

The sea urchin candle holder from Target....only $1 and white!

This is a soap dish we found at TJ MAXX.

I ordered a few pictures from younghouselove and they arrived today! Yay! Drake was off work so he went to Michael's and bought two new frames for the prints. I think they look great in the bathroom!

We replaced the frame with no picture with this one.

This one is my favorite. I love the frame too...Drake did a great job.

Here it is again on the wall.

This is the old faucet that was in the guest bathroom. We didn't think it fit in with the rest of the bathroom. We found a new faucet for $24 at Lowe's.

The new nickel brushed faucet.