Pumpkin & Spice Shake

Let's Get It Started by The Black Eyed Peas
Today's recipe is one of my newest favorite breakfasts.  It makes me hap-hap-happy and ready to "get it started."  You'll be dancing with will.i.am and the rest of the gang in no time.  Items on your "to do" list will be falling like pianos, houses, and cars.  Just watch the video.  But make your shake first - you know, so you have the energy to . . . well, shake!  Let's get it started!

Everybody is going to be having some pumpkin 

around the house in the next several weeks.

It's the star veggie of the holidays!

And if you find you've got about 1/2 cup extra and 

don't know what to do with it -

for heaven's sake -

make this shake!

Pepper and Onion Corn Muffins

Get What You Need by Jet
I love it when people write songs about vegetables.  I mean, this is what Nic Cester is singing about, right?  Getting what you need?  Or maybe I'm being influenced by my current concerns of getting those fruits and veggies in every day.  As well as the required water and fiber.  Ah.  Perhaps he isn't singing about food at all.  We all have things we need.  Here's to hoping everyone finds what that is - and gets it!

My family just started a Health and Wellness Challenge.

Yes - right at the beginning of the holiday season.

What better gift could we be giving ourselves - and each other - than

healthier and happier versions of ourself?

This challenge includes my husband and myself and all of our 

children and spouses.

That's nine total.

My daughter-in-law and daughter worked together

to come up with a really great point system.

We are rewarded points for healthy eating habits as

well as healthy emotional and physical and spiritual habits.

If someone doesn't have a physical problem to work on,

there are opportunities to work on other aspects of our life as well.

At the end of the challenge in February, the person

with the most points wins!

Yay!!

Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Simple by Indie.Arie
"What more can I say?"  It's simple.  My love.  Of shortbread cookies.  "I love you."  

Remember that post a few weeks ago about my new pal,  Sailor Jack?

And I talked about how I went into the bakery and got my "usuals"?

The shortbread cookies?

I often get asked why, when I'm faced with shelves full of 

decadent pastries, voluptuous brownies, and cheeky cookies, 

that I almost always walk out with the 

seemingly plain Shortbread.

Roasted Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

Autumn Mist by Pianissimo Brothers
Last year I really got the urge early to start listening to Christmas music and it frustrated me!  I'm definitely one of those who don't like to shortchange the Thanksgiving season.  And I didn't want to tire of my Christmas music before it even got to Christmas!  So I took my frustration to the iTunes store and  looked to see if maybe there was some Thanksgiving music out there, too!  And, oh happy day!  There was!  I downloaded a few albums of mostly instrumental music that brilliantly matched that autumn feel - the feeling of winding down - the feeling of reflection - the feeling of taking stock of your blessings.  And the feeling of wanting to cozy up to a bowl of really good soup!  This song does all those things!  If you're wanting some holiday music of a non-Jingle Bell persuasion - at least for now - check out the album that this song is on.  And make some soup!

My great group of girlfriends and I have been holding these Jumble Sales this past year.

We have a theme of reusing, repurposing, and recycling.

We call our little boutique "Twice Is Nice" and send out flyers and 

invite all our friends to come see what we've been up to and maybe buy some of it!

We held the first sale in the spring and then the second one just last week.

We have so much fun doing it.

For me, though, it has become something more.

It has become a place to funnel all my creative energy - and 

I have lots of it running around inside my head - keeping me up at night.

The thrill and buzz I get from looking at something and 

imagining it in a new way is indescribable.

It is a high for me.

It is euphoric even.

Witch Hat Sugar Cookies

Witchy Woman by The Eagles
That little witch above has got her work cut out for her!  Shopping for the perfect hat with which she will be able to dazzle and put a spell on Don Henley and be the mysterious woman of this song!  But, let's be honest.  If there's anyone casting spells and captivating eyes and hearts, it's Don Henley!  Am I right, girls?!  Am I right?!  I got to see The Eagles in concert recently and, every now and then, I closed my eyes and just pretended away all those thousands of other people and told myself it was a private affair event.  Yeah - he's in his 60s now but that voice is still raspy and raw - and every bit as delicious as these soft chocolate witchy cookie hats.  You WILL be spellbound!

I'm sure you've heard the saying,

"If I'm wrong, I'll eat my hat!"

Well, with these cookies around, you'll be wishing for error after error!

So very soft and moist with a rich chocolatey taste and a chaser of cinnamon.

I made a few minor changes to my Chocolate Sugar Cookie recipe and used

my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, making it a little thinner than usual to help with

the smaller piping lines.