October 16, 2013 by Stephanie

Anxiety for the Anxiety

Without going into too many details, I have really high anxiety.

This is nothing new, but it has been pretty prevalent the past couple months.

With any transition there are some adjustment periods. With all kinds of new things going on (living situation, community, job, dogs, etc.), along with saying goodbye to other things (community, job, etc.), I should have expected it.

Unfortunately, I didn’t.

But you have to figure out a way to deal. So day in and day out, I put one foot in front of the other.

I also need a lot of reminders.

A LOT.

I made this easy frame with a scripture that encapsulates a lot of reminders that I need.

the supplies

I did the scripture in word document. I changed the fonts/sizing to emphasize certain words.

I picked out a piece of scrapbook paper to match our bathroom colors.

I bought a cheap frame at Walmart and spray painted it orange.

my reminder

Working on centering myself around prayer has really helped keep the focus on living and letting things go that I cannot change. I have had to work on acceptance and am continuously learning to be humble.

The bottom line is there is no reason to keep being anxious about being anxious.When I sit down and think about it, it is really quite silly for me.

Being more thankful does provide peace, and this is a great reminder to count my blessings and send up my requests to be less anxious about what is happening in the moment.

And what is better than a reminder every time you are on the toilet or brushing your teeth?

Brings a whole new meaning to “brushing things off” and “relieving” your stress.

October 10, 2013 by Stephanie

Autumn on My Mind-Autumn Creation

Here is another opportunity to link up about fall things! We hope that you join for today’s prompt!

“An Autumn Creation”

What are you inspired to make this time of year? Are you getting gifts ready? Are holiday decorations coming out? Show us your autumn creations!

Rules of the Link-up:

1. Do one entry or all! It’s up to you!

2. Add your entry’s link below, and be sure to put the button in your post!

3. If you do link up, check out a couple fellow bloggers to see something new.

4. Your hosts (Elizabeth and Stephanie) would love a following on Bloglovin, but it is not required! We are just glad you stopped by for “Autumn on My Mind!”

Our front door wreath recently fell to it’s tragic death. And I mean literally fell.

before death

It is not the first time it has fallen, and we have fixed it numerous times. We had surgerized it with fishing wire, gardening wire, hot glue, adding more ribbon to cover tears, and screws. This time, Tom made me realize that it was time to make a new one.

And just in time for this link up.

This is fairly inexpensive to make on your own. I got pieces from Walmart, the $1 store, and Hobby Lobby. I think I maybe spent $15 which is much cheaper than buying a pre-made wreath.

The supplies

ribbon wrapping

I first wrapped with the wide gold ribbon, then spaced out the small purple. This is sooooo much easier than the yarn wrapping because you cover more ground with less. The last one I did was a work out for the arms wrapping all the yarn.

Then I took the flowers and placed them where I felt was the best position. I kept over thinking it each time I thought I was done, but that is the fun part of doing it on your own.

I also added the wooden “W” which is the surviving piece of the previous wreath. I just spray painted it to match this one.

the finished product

I love that fall colors also happen to be Clemson and Phi Sigma Pi colors.

Here is a fall craft that Tom’s Grandma just made us. I hope someday I can have her sewing skills! that seems to be a big deal for the Whitener women.

So what crafty things do you have up your sleeves? Link up below!

We hope to see you return on Sunday for the final link up with the fall collage! You can see the full schedule for our Autumn link up here.

Check out my lovely partner!

October 3, 2013 by Stephanie

Autumn on My Mind-Fall Food Must

We have a few more episodes of Autumn on My Mind! We hope that you enjoy!

Today is about the yummies in the tummies!

“A Fall Food Must”

We love fall foods! Let’s expand our recipe books by sharing go to foods that we have at fall get-togethers or tailgates!

Rules of the Link-up:

1. Do one entry or all! It’s up to you!

2. Add your entry’s link below, and be sure to put the button in your post!

3. If you do link up, check out a couple fellow bloggers to see something new.

4. Your hosts (Elizabeth and Stephanie) would love a following on Bloglovin, but it is not required! We are just glad you stopped by for “Autumn on My Mind!”

So here we go.

I think most people associate pies with fall.

I am going to let you in on a little secret. I am not a big fan of pie. Actually, I am not a fan at all. The texture of pie crusts is just icky to me, and I just can’t get over it enough to eat it. I know most of you are probably shaking your head.

But.

I do love pie filling.

So whether it is pie or cheesecake, I usually scrape all the guts out and leave the crust.

I was in search of finding a recipe that I could make a “pie” without the gross crust part.

Enter “apple pie sugar cookie cake.” Or what I am calling Everything It’s Not cake.

I saw something similar to this on Pinterest and made some adjustments to make it my own recipe.

Everything It Is Not Cake

Ingredients:

4 packages of pre-made sugar cookies

2 cans of apple pie filling

4 tsp of cinnamon

1/4 cup of sugar

a whole lot of sugar

You will mix the Cinnamon and sugar together to “dust” the layers you are about to make.

you may not use all of this

I couldn’t find my cake pan, so I used a bundt cake pan. I think my rectangle pan may have disappeared in the move…

The cookies in my package looked like this but you can use the ones that come in rolls too.

I may have eaten a few of these raw…

You will take approximately one package of cookies and knead it into one layer on the bottom of the pan.

Smooshed cookies

Then you take the cinnamon/sugar mix and sprinkle it over the dough.

Take one can of apple pie filling and layer it on top.

Then dust another layer of cin/sugar mix on top of the apples.

pie filling

Then you put another layer off the sugar cookie dough on top of this. You will have to flatten out the dough and lightly smoosh or just lay it on top. It doesn’t need to be perfectly covered.

second dough layer

Then you repeat with the “dusting” and apple pie filling.

Once you have two layers of the dough and apples, then you put on your remaining layer of sugar cookies.

On this one, I just sort of flattened the cookies. This made for a thicker layer of sugar cookie. Then you add a final layer of the cinnamon/sugar mix.

ready for the oven.

You will keep this in the oven for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Your oven may vary so check it at 35 minutes.

The top layer will harden faster than the rest of the layers. I also don’t recommend using the bundt pan if you have a regular pan.

This is definitely not a healthy recipe, but it will satisfy any sweet tooth.

The middle layers will be gooey so just be aware of that. I like it because there are a variety of textures, and not one that resembles pie crust.

This is a treat that would be great with ice cream.

This is a yummy recipe and super easy to do. You can only do one layer if you want, which will change the consistency of the middle layers. You would just need to cut the recipe in half.

As I said, you shouldn’t do this is a bundt pan. The filling will seep through. Just so you know our fire alarm does work in our house. Whoops.

Do you have a go to fall recipe or something you were itching to try? Link it up here!

We hope to see you return on Sunday for your Autumn Activities! You can see the full schedule for our Autumn link up here.

Check out my lovely partner!

September 24, 2013 by Stephanie

Spooning til the end of time

About a month ago, I had the pleasure of watching a dear old friend say vows to his forever love.

I always love watching weddings. It brings you back to your own vows and the commitment you made to another person.

It is such a special thing to witness someone else’s love.

There is so much happiness and so much of their story yet to be told. There is excitement about that unknown.

It is such a great moment in time.

I am always appreciative of people who ask us to be a part of their special day for it is a great reminder about the love and joy that a marriage has! I just love a good love story! Even more so when I know the main characters!

I have been wanting to make this gift for pretty much as long as I have been on Pinterest. I was just waiting for the perfect couple to give it to. As soon as I got the wedding invitation for this couple, I knew this was for them! So I hope they enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it for them.

I got the spoons from a thrift store in town. It was fun digging through boxes of spoons trying to pick two that were different but yet similar (Much like a couple getting married. See what I did there?).

The frame I purchased at Walmart.

Then I scoured through my books of scrapbook paper trying to find the right one sheet that I needed.

I bought etching primer so I could spray paint the spoons and have no problem with it sticking.

I also had sticker letters and spray paint.

First, I sprayed the primer on the spoons. They only needed one coat.

Then I spray painted everything with the navy blue paint.

I super glued everything down on the scrapbook paper. I took the glass out of the frame since it is 3D.

This is a simple yet fun gift to make. You can dress it up more depending on your audience, but I thought the simple effect would work well in a kitchen.

September 15, 2013 by Stephanie

Autumn On My Mind-Fall Food Must

“A Fall Food Must”

Do you have a favorite food that you associate with fall? This is the time to highlight those yummy fall goodies!

Rules of the Link-up:

1. Do one entry or all! It’s up to you!

2. Add your entry’s link below, and be sure to put the button in your post!

3. If you do link up, check out a couple fellow bloggers to see something new.

4. Your hosts (Elizabeth and Stephanie) would love a following on Bloglovin, but it is not required! We are just glad you stopped by for “Autumn on My Mind!”

We had a rough day yesterday. Years of training in housing came in handy when our washer decided to flood our upstairs while we were out. Luckily we came back when we did, for we only had a slight bubble in the downstairs ceiling, and nothing of great value was damaged. Come to find out the hose had slipped out of the machine…whoops.

Anywho, this mess along with the non-stop talk about grinding up deer meat and hunting season (we went bow shopping and shooting yesterday), I was glad to do some fall baking this morning.

I love baking. For me, it is a stress relief. I have not done much here, because I don’t really have anyone to give it to as I did back in Iowa. You see, I like baking it, but I can’t eat all of it fast enough. And I hate wasting food.

I figured, if Tom and I couldn’t polish this off, he could take it into work for those ever hungry Army men.

And who doesn’t associate fall with pumpkins? The pumpkin lattes, pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin pie.

I decided to brush up on my baking by putting a twist on the traditional pumpkin pie.

So enter cinnamon cheesecake with pumpkin pie frosting!

I got this recipe from here.

I did adapt it a little bit. I don’t believe in “bathing” my baked goods….

I also didn’t make individual cups or the crust. I just bought a pre-made pie crust and made one full pie.

Ingredients

Pumpkin Pie “Frosting”:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup heavy cream

Cheesecake:

2 bars of cream cheese (8 oz each), room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

Did you know that they made pumpkin pie spice? We sure didn’t. You can find it in the spice isle. They also make apple pie spice!

Baking and Making Part

To Make Pumpkin Pie Frosting:

Do this first since the cooling time will overlap the cheesecake prep time.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients until well blended. This will be very soupy, so don’t freak out. It will thicken up. Pour into a greased 9-inch pie pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean. Remove and let cool, then refrigerate.

To Make Cinnamon Cheesecakes:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and sugar, then mix on medium-speed until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla and cinnamon, and mix until smooth. Do not overmix. Pour batter into each crust-prepared baking cup until 3/4 full.

Then place the cheesecake pan in the oven, and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the edges appear to be set and the center still has a slight jiggle to it. Turn off the oven and open the oven door slightly for 5 minutes. Then remove the pan and place on a cooling rack until completely cooled.

The pumpkin pie frosting is on the left and the cheesecake on the right. They can both stand alone, but definitely make each other better together.

When ready to “frost” the cheesecakes, remove the pumpkin pie and spoon the filling into a piping bag. We don’t have a piping bag so we just used a ziplock bag. Use as you would regular frosting.

Tom’s much better at frosting then I am so I had him do that part. We did end up just smoothing it out though because the color and the way it laid out it looked like something that came out of the dogs’ butts. I assure you, it is delicious despite the looks. The look of baking, I have not yet perfected…