Iced Pumpkin Cookies

I love fall, plain and simple. The smell of cinnamon, the crisp air, oversized sweaters, and pumpkin spice lattes rank pretty highly on my list of reasons why I'm so in love with the season of leaves falling. But, my absolute favorite part of fall, and the holiday season in general, is the baking. 

Each year I attempt to make a pumpkin roll, and each year I fail miserably. I wanted so badly to perfect it this year, but when I came across this recipe for Iced Pumpkin Cookies, I just couldn't resist. 

These cookies are a gift from the fall gods. Seriously. I think my tree shed all it's leaves the moment I bit into them. They have a cake like texture with the most perfect pumpkin flavor. Add on the vanilla tinged glaze and your mind is sure to be blown. 

I'm so excited to have found a recipe that I can incorporate into our families Fall traditions. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did! 

Oh, and bonus- these are totally easy and something that the kids will enjoy baking with you. Enjoy! 

 

 

       Ingredients (makes 36 cookies):

• 2 1/2 cups all- purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour                                                      
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

        Glaze:

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

         Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
4. To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

 

 

I found this recipe here at All Recipes.

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Cheese, Agave Pears.

Okay, so it's no secret that I have a major sweet tooth. Come over to my house and I'll start baking just so I can have a single cookie and send you home with the rest. I mean, it's out of control. 

This sweet little snack has been my go to lately. Yes, the combination seems a bit unusual, but this is one of those things you seriously shouldn't knock until you try. It's amazing. The sweetness of the agave and pear is balanced out perfectly by the sharpness of the blue cheese. I could go on and on, but I'll let you try it for yourself. Enjoy! 

Ingredients: 

Pear

Agave Syrup 

Blue Cheese

(You can also top with pecans or walnuts if you'd like)

Cut pear in half. Hollow out center, fill with Blue Cheese. Top with agave syrup.

                          Enjoy! 

Nail Polish Faves for Fall

There's just something about having freshly manicured hands and feet that makes a girl feel good about herself.
Back when I worked full time, I would get my nails and toes done every two weeks, religiously, and it was the absolute best.

Once Drew came, I quit working and became the stay at home mom I had always dreamed of being. Within a few weeks, I quickly realized the cold hard truth that less money meant more sacrifices, and one of the first 'luxuries' to go was getting my nails done.

I'm not going to lie, most days my nails are cringe-worthy at best. I spent a good amount of time this summer parading around in sneakers and Toms- anything to save the eyes of the innocent people around me.

Sometimes I only get to paint a few fingers before Drew spills something on the ground or attempts to climb and jump off something dangerously unstable and high. Other days I get them looking fabulous just in time to clean up dinner and chip all of them off while doing the dishes. It really is a never ending battle, and I know Karissa would agree. Speaking of, I think it's valid to say that Brielle should actually be the one writing this blog, as she has the best looking manicure out of the three of us, these days.

Even though getting our nails done and keeping them looking great for more than thirty minutes is a mission, we still give our best effort and enjoy doing them so much. So, without further adieu, here are our Fall Nail Polish Faves. Click on the links below if you are interested in trying any of them. Enjoy!

Jin Soon- Nocturne- dark gray, metallic

 

 

Essie- Wicked

 

Essie- Chinchilly

 

OPI- French Quarter for Your Thoughts

 

OPI- Cha Ching Cherry

 

 

Revlon- Multi Care Base & Top Coat

Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Day

It's true. You fall and spiral into a deep, dark hole until you are so far down the light from above is barely visible. You know, the kind of dark that makes it impossible to see your hands in front of your face. The kind of dark that we fear as children, and pretend not to as adults. The kind of dark that consumes you. You are alone, surrounded by darkness, and the only thing you feel is the numbness taking over every inch of your body until all feeling is gone. Half of you wants to reach around to find a way out, while the other half wants to stay in the darkness; for as terrifying as it may be, there is a certain comfort there. So, maybe you'll stay just a bit longer. 

                               

Somehow, somewhere amongst the darkness, something incredible happens. You weren't expecting it, and honestly, you weren't ready for it, but in an instant you are flooded with emotions. 

                   ...Emotions that you had pretended weren't there, because maybe, just maybe if you ignored them long enough they would go away and you would never have to feel them. But now, they're here. All of them. And the raw, searing sting of pain pierces your heart and your head throbs with memories that never were and never would be. The emptiness in your stomach makes you nauseous. You feel everything. Every moment is relived. Every dream you had for that precious life is once again ripped from your clenched fists. And even though it's all too much, you notice that with each gut wrenching blow of pain, the light above gets a bit brighter. 

       ...So you fight. You fight for the light above. You fight for the light lost inside of you. Not only do you feel the pain, you embrace it. You welcome it in, because you know there are only two options here, and, for you, staying in the darkness is not one of them. 

                          

There comes a point when you know it's over. All the pain you had to feel has been felt. You don't have to open your eyes to know that the darkness has lifted. You feel the warmth from the light above. You aren't out of the hole you fell into, that will take time, but for now, the fog has begun to lift. 

When you finally open your eyes you are nearly blinded by the light. You look around and see a beautiful staircase leading to the top just a few yards away. Maybe it had been there the whole time, but you know better than that. And it's in that instant that you realize you were never alone at all. Not even for a second.

                               

Now that your path is lit, you know you must climb that beautiful, yet daunting staircase. Sometimes just knowing that it's there is enough.

 

There will be days when you are only able to climb a single step, others you climb five or six, and every now and then you'll fall all the way back down to the bottom. 

No matter how long it takes you, you will eventually get back up there with all of your loved ones who have been pushing, and sometimes even pulling, you up this entire time. Maybe the pain of losing a child (no matter what the gestation or age) never gets easier, but I believe that it becomes a part of you- the stronger, able-to-carry-more, you, and that makes it bearable. 

At the end of the day, the only thing I know for certain is that you just have to keep going. No matter how hard it may be, you have to. And you can. Even on the days you know you can't and have no faith in yourself, know that somewhere, someone out there knows you can. Because they did. 

              

We are one in four. We are the silent grievers that no one understands and no one will ever understand until they've walked in our shoes (and we all pray they will never have to). We are too often overlooked and our precious babies forgotten as quickly as they came.

But there are many of us, all around the world, rooting and praying for others going through the hell that we remember all too well. There's so much we want to tell you, yet we know that there is such a bold statement that the silence speaks when facing such a painful loss. 

So, for now, just know that you are not alone. Things will get better. I promise you. Better yet, God promises you. A rainbow is waiting for you just beyond this storm. Hang on tight and listen closely. Somewhere amongst the silence you will hear our voices saying 'you can get through this.' And you will.  

xx R

                                           

Knock off Nutter Butters.

I was first introduced to these at a baby shower, and let me tell you, it was love at first bite. If you like nutter butters, you will love these. The hint of honey from the graham cracker mixed with the texture of fresh, creamy peanut butter...amazing!

Ingredients:
Honey Graham Crackers
Creamy Peanut Butter

Directions:
Split the graham cracker into 4 rectangles. Spread the peanut butter on, pair them up, and make small crunchy, peanut buttery, sandwiches of goodness. I, personally, place them in a large Ziploc bag and freeze them, but they're good either way, so enjoy them immediately if you wish.

Variation:
Nutella, obvi.

What We Wore Wednesday...

Okay, so we were a little leery of jumping on the 'what we wore' bandwagon, because, well- let's face it- probably close to half of the clothes in our closet were purchased at the local thrift store our moms work at, and the other half are from one clearance rack or another. We don't have Louboutins or Chanel bags. Our kids aren't always dressed in the latest trends. And we consider ourselves 'dressed up' when we make it out of the house in anything other than yoga pants.

 It's true, our closets may not be the most glamorous, but 'what we wore Wednesdays' just seemed like too much fun to pass up. Plus, even though we can't afford all of the fancy things we would like, we still feel like we have a pretty good fashion sense, and know how to work with whatever it is we do have.


We hope you enjoy and urge you to join in and share what you are wearing so we can pull inspiration from you as well!

xx

Brielle

Top: Miniville // Walking Shorts: Old Navy // Shoes: Old Navy 

 

 Drew
Shirt: Little Wonders // Shorts: Carhartt // Shoes: Sperrys

Karissa 

Top: Merona// Jeans: Mossimo// Shoes: Merona// Diaper Bag: Timi & Leslie

 

Rhea

Hat: SomethingSpecial // Dress: Route 66 // Belt: Target // Cardigan: Bobeau // Shoes: Steve Madden// Necklace: Forever21

Have a fabulous weekend! 

Bacon Bell Pepper Poppers

This recipe is for all of us wimps out there who love everything about jalapeno poppers except for the fact that they're spicy (we're all just one big walking contradiction). The best thing about these (other than the bacon, obvi) is the fact that they only require three ingredients and take less than an hour to make from start to finish. Serve them as appetizers or a side dish (kids love these, btw), and enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 large green bell peppers
8 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 package of bacon (12 strips)

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350. Wash green bell peppers and cut around the top to remove the core & the seeds. Slice the bell peppers length wise so that you end up with 24 leaf-like pieces. Fill the center of each bell pepper slice with cream cheese (you can add as much or as little as you wish depending on your like of cream cheese- we obviously love it, so we use almost a tablespoon per slice). Cut bacon strips in half so that you have 24 slices. Once you have filled all bell pepper strips with cream cheese, wrap each one in a single slice of bacon. Once you have all of the poppers wrapped in bacon, bake them for 45 minutes.

Optional:
-Sometimes the bacon tends to unravel while baking, so if you have toothpicks handy just stick one through each of the poppers to hold the bacon together.
-It breaks my heart to say this, but the bacon is optional.
-If you are looking for a healthier alternative to these you can forego the bacon and instead sprinkle bacon bits on top of them.
-Top with brown sugar before baking for a sweet twist on these.

We hope you guys enjoy this recipe and let us know how you like them if you decide to make them!

{Insert title here}

Hey guys.

After many requests on our YouTube Channel to create a blog in order to have more interaction throughout the week, here we are, making your dreams a reality. Only, in actuality, it's more like making our dreams a reality, because, let's be honest- no one requested we do this, it was our own desire to start this blog in an attempt to stay more connected with you guys.

Most of you probably know who we are (hi, mom), but in the small chance that you wound up on our page by accident, we'd like to welcome you and introduce ourselves.

We are Rhea and Karissa. Rhea is married to Andrew and mama to the most rambunctious little boy, Drew (21 months). Karissa is married to Jake and mama to the most sweet, outgoing little girl, Brielle (18 months). Though Karissa and I grew up with one another, it is motherhood that brought us together and developed our friendship into what it is today. During our pregnancies, nothing surprised us more about motherhood than how little was shared about the journey we would soon be setting out on. Sure, we were told it was going to be hard. We were told everything would change. And we were even told to rub our nipples with sandpaper to prepare them for breastfeeding (seriously, will someone please try this). We were given all the basic instructions and well wishes were given, but there was so much that wasn't talked about, so much that we wish someone would have shared with us.

Vulnerability is a scary thing for anyone, but it is especially terrifying for a mother. Having to admit that you weren't able to have that all natural, drug-free birth you had talked about for months is heartbreaking. Telling others that breastfeeding was, in fact, the most unnatural thing you've ever experienced is embarrassing. And having to fake that your kid has zero sleep issues is, well, exhausting. There is so much we keep hidden, because we are brought up to believe that if any of the latter applies to you, you are a failure as a mother. In one way or another your body or your decisions have let your husband and child and, most of all, yourself down. Everyone else has got the whole motherhood thing down, but you...you are failing.

Instead of reaching out for help and admitting that everything isn't butterflies and rainbows, we hide the dark circles under our eyes with a pound of concealer, curl our hair, put on a clean shirt (or you spray a ton of perfume on a dirty one, because really, who has time for laundry with a newborn?), and head out into the world. We smile and talk about how great everything is going, and when the baby begins to get fussy we head home and cry in the closet. Only, no one talks about that part.

Youtube and Instagram are full of incredibly helpful, beautiful moms documenting their daily lives. We know this, because we follow nearly every single one of them. They are all amazing and insightful and they are all, quite literally, perfect. They post pictures of their tiny post partum bodies and lavish beach vacations just weeks after their babies are born. They talk about breastfeeding and how they got their baby on a sleep schedule at just four weeks old, and other incredibly useful things, but we have yet to find anyone who talks about how hard being a mom is. We wanted to find moms that talked about being in a complete depression the first two weeks of their precious babies life. Moms with kids who were terrible sleepers and eaters. We wanted reassurance that we weren't failing. We wanted to hear (from someone who wasn't obligated to give us praise and reassurance) that maybe, just maybe, we weren't failing at all, and that we were not alone. We finally realized that we were those moms, and that's where The Mama Monologues came in.

We are just two small town girls who fail as mothers every.single.day. And we're okay with that. And we want other moms to be okay with that, too. We're not going to get it right all the time. Some days our kids will nap, and some days they won't. Some days you'll snuggle and cuddle with the most loving toddler ever, and some days you'll watch them throw themselves on the ground kicking and screaming every two hours. Some days you'll think you've got it all together, and some days you get a huge slap in the face that you know nothing. Some days you'll laugh and others you'll cry. We know because we've been there, and we're pretty sure we'll be there for the rest of our lives.

It is our hope that through our YouTube channel and this blog we will give you a bit of reprieve from the trials and joy in the victories. We want to be genuine. We want you to know you're not alone. You're not failing. No matter how bad today might be, you are an incredible, loving mother, and in a couple hours the sun will rise, and a new day will begin.

Since keeping up with a blog requires much less prep and does not require a lengthy process, it is our hope that we are able to share other sides of ourselves with you all. Yes, we are first and foremost wives and mothers, but we are also young women who love cooking (Annie's Mac n' Cheese, anyone?), fashion (aka target sales racks), fitness (our like for this one is questionable), and DIY projects (more like Pinterest fails), and we are so excited to share all of that with you guys.

We hope you stop by often and enjoy reading this blog as much as we enjoy writing it.

-R