October 19th, 2009: pumpkin patch

Hi gang!  Look at my snackies last night!

Red wine and cookies PB cookie

I had some red wine with Mexican wedding cookies from WF, I had one and a half of those.  Then I had a PB cookie!  I was so excited to eat this stuff! :p  Lately I’ve just been relishing in the fact that we eat whole real foods and that we eat well.  It has been making me so happy lately that I’m basically just glowing and grinning on the outside.  Yes those were cookies, but the ones from WF are not made of junk, and the PB cookie I made is also not made of junk.  They are made with whole ingredients and stuffing my face with such treasures makes me happy. :D

I crashed out in bed after 11pm, I was pretty much a zombie princess by that point.  I had visions of getting up early this morning and starting work but yeah that didn’t happen at all.  I didn’t sleep too well last night, combined with not really getting a chance to get caught up on sleep last week, I knew my bod needed the extra rest today.

Once I got up, I poured myself a cup of coffee and headed into the office to see what was going on and where.  Boy am I so glad that I did this because I found out some exciting things!

I have a little mental list of some of my most favorite people around the internet.  They know who they are because I make sure to tell them.  If you like someone, they should know, right?  That’s how I operate homies.  So listen friends, one of my favorite people is blogging!  She has a great attitude towards food and healthy living that not only is she a glowing example of, but she also raises her family the same way.

Ms. Mama Pea is who I’m talking about!  Please check out her blog to say hi!  Also check out a little guest post that she did over here.  Tell her I sent your little Jasses over there.

It was while I was reading Mama Pea’s guest post that I discovered Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes with soy, no whip, and no foam is indeed not vegan.

Wha wha, what?!

As I was complaining about it on Twitter, Kim said that it’s because there is milk powder in the pumpkin spice syrup.  :wtf:

Yes that makes so much sense now.  Clearly there has to be some milk in the syrup!

No I’m not vegan (Hello, cheese and yogurt! Best friends always!) but there are times I don’t really want milk products.  Okay most times I don’t want to take in milk stuff.  So when I order a soy latte, I expect it to contain no milk.  I’m not cool with hidden ingredients.  This will probably keep me from Starbucks for much longer now.  Besides, local coffee houses are better, right?  Right!

Anyway, Mama Pea made her own pumpkin “syrup” for coffee and it was so genius I had to make my own version for my second cup of coffee.

Pumpkin latte and pumpkin oats

Here’s my pumpin oats with my pumpkin spice latte.  Kiss it Starbucks!

What I did:

  • 1C vanilla soymilk
  • 4T pumpkin puree
  • 2tsp cane sugar
  • Ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground allspice (to taste, we like lots)

Mix in a blender (MP used a magic bullet, but I don’t have one.  Or at least not one that is suitable for blending things) till foamy and add to your mug, then pour steaming coffee on top.  HEAVEN!  My portion is larger so I could make enough for Scott and I both to have some.  There was a tiny bit left over that I put in the fridge to save for lunch smoothies.

Guess who snuck over to the fridge and used the rest for his second cup of coffee?

You get three guesses, and the first two don’t count. ;)

I bet this would work with holiday spice tea as well!  MMMM!

After breakfast I ran my kid out and about for his walk.  It was so glorious outside this morning.  Cool but the sky was clear and the sun was shining.  So so pretty!  After we got back, I started laundry and work.

I worked for a bit and then made a quick and small lunch since it was so late in the afternoon.

Smoothie

Smoothie:

  • .5C POM
  • 1.5C US cranberry juice
  • 1C Water
  • Kale
  • Frozen pineapple
  • Frozen peaches

Good but a bit gritty.  Too much kale!  I always think I don’t have enough and yet everyday there is too much. :p

Salad

Salad:

  • Red leaf lettuce
  • 1/2 a honeycrisp apple
  • Cranberries
  • Crushed almonds
  • Granola
  • Cucumber
  • Carrot

With balsamic and oil on top.

Smoothie and salad

After lunch, you guessed it, more work!

Dinner was easy, leftovers!  Which consisted of more pumpkin, hooray!

Pumpkin pasta and bread

Leftover pumpkin penne.  So good!  Especially since I could make a little more headway with work because I didn’t have to stop and cook.  I also had a leftover piece of ezek english muffin from yesterday, it was Scott’s that he didn’t finish.  Y’all know I finished my portion!  This leftover piece was the nice fluffy top part too!

Alright friends, listen, it’s advice time!  As you know, I’ve made mention that Scott and I are attending a wedding.  The wedding is this weekend and it’s an evening event.  I mean the wedding is at 5pm with the reception to follow.  Now I’ve never been to an evening wedding, but my assumption is that the dress for it is a bit more dressy than say an afternoon or morning wedding.

I have two dresses that I’m considering wearing, which one do you like?

Dress Number 1:

MeGiant forehead much?  Goodness! :lol:

Me

And me doing my best hollywood red carpet pose.

Me

Now the back, which is pretty simple.  I love this dress!  The pin in the middle is actually removable.  I have an antique pin of my grandmother’s that I would wear instead.

Dress Number 2:  Is a bit more conservative.

Me

It’s short with tulle underneath making the dress pop out and be all flippy cute at the bottom.

Me

It has a tie in the back which is hard to see.  But while we’re back here, can I point out how hawt my calves look?!  Nice shadowing from the light going on there! :lol:

Me

And just for shits and giggles, here’s me waiting around for Scott to adjust the settings on the camera.  Love the look on my face, no?

I’m leaning more towards the first dress, but I’m not sure if it’s too fancy or not.  Thoughts?

ALSO!  I was so scatter brained last week, I forgot to mention that I did a guest post over at Lori’s while she is off touring Asia.  Check it out!

Now I’m off to SF class, later my pretties!

18 thoughts on “October 19th, 2009: pumpkin patch

  1. I’m still sorry that I told Mama Pea about the yucky condensed milk in the pumpkin spice. I’m starting to wonder if it was news that I was better off not knowing. I’ve been putting pumpkin pie spice in my coffee and while it’s not the same, it’s still pretty awesome.

    Thanks for reminding me that I love dried cranberries in salad but often forgot them. Fall themed salads, heck yeah!

    I love dress #2 because I think the length is much better. Legs, yowza!

  2. I think Kale makes my smoothies soo gritty too! I can’t get over the texture and it makes me want to throw up. I just stick with spinach. :) eGreat idea on the pumpkin latte, it’s making me crave one big time now!

    Okay, you look smokin in dress number 1 but so exquisot (wow SP anyone) in dress number 2! Tough choice. ;)

  3. I love all of the salads and food you prepare. How do you find the time?

    I like both dresses, but you might need to bring a jacket or shawl with the first if you think it will be cool. Nice legs on the second.

  4. I love the feeling of eating whole nutritious foods too. I should try those mexican wedding cookies from WF’s. I love those cookies! Never had the WF version.

    As for the dresses I love number one. You look hot, hot, hot girl!!!!!

  5. Heather says:

    oh I like both! #1 is flapper-ish which I LOVE. And #2 is fantastic and a bit more covered up. Get both.

    And if it’s an evening wedding I definitely say #1. maybe with a shawl? or a wrap?

  6. Oh my gosh, I’m so touched. Thank you so much. You are one of my favorite internet people too :)

    I’m so excited you tried my pumpkin drink and liked it!!! Suck it Starbucks.

    I have a forehead that’s bigger than yours. I call it a FIVEhead.

    I definitely vote for dress number 1!!!!

  7. You look gorgeous in both, but I think #1 is the best. You’re correct that evening weddings are much dressier than morning or afternoon.

    The magic bullet thing was classic.

    • You guys are awesome! Thank you so much! :D I do think #1 is sort of flapper-roaring-20s style, which is why I love it too! And I do have a little thing to toss on in case I get cold which I probably will. :p

      DianaH., thanks sister! :D In all truthfulness, I love to cook and cook for my family (I cook for my dog too) so finding the time is always a priority of mine, It also helps that if I make something like chili for example, I make a ton of it and freeze portions. That way if I am time crunched, we can still eat a homemade meal, just our version of frozen food. ;)

Leave a Reply to Heather Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.