happy thanksgiving!

via shewearsmanyhats

between fall and winter

It's somewhere between fall and winter. That time of year when leaves get frozen in ice puddles and there's still a hint of warmth in the air but as the days go by it slowly becomes a faint memory of what once was. As the coldness arrives there's a feeling that you just don't know what's coming next.

{images via create.your.happy}

this year's ornament

This year's ornament has arrived! Year five's ornament…can you believe it?

I started this year's search having already put a lot of pressure on myself to find just the perfect ornament. Sure, I wanted something "just a little bit fancier" but I had no idea what that was. All I knew was that I wanted something special because celebrating five years of marriage is something special. Luckily, I came across Timber Green Woods on my first etsy search. I knew this was the ornament as soon as I saw it and it was a good thing Ebert did too! It wasn't as fancy as I thought I had originally wanted but it ended up capturing everything that I was looking for- something special and heartfelt. And the best part is that it comes from Wisconsin where Mike's family roots are. Perfect, right?

Now, I'm not one to get overly excited about Christmas and I don't hang decorations throughout our apartment but this year there will be a tree in our window with white lights and all five of our ornaments will be hanging on our tree for all to see. It will be merry and bright!

happy monday

It's cold and dreary in Chicago. The forecast says snow later this afternoon. I will try to find the happiness within this change of season, but I'm really not looking forward to it. At least change is better then things just staying the same. And I definitely don't want things to stay the same. So if the snow must come to bring change…then bring it on winter.

Happy Monday!

{image via create.your.happy}

chile lime roasted pepitas

One of my favorite things about fall is all the delicious flavors and one of my favorite fall flavors is pumpkin. I pretty much love anything pumpkin, especially pumpkin seeds. But carving pumpkins to get all the seeds is a bit too much work for me so I buy pepitas instead. I made these chile and lime roasted pepitas over the weekend and they are deliciously spicy. I've been carrying them in a little container in my purse all week. I love having a healthy snack while on the go.

Next time I'm going to try this, this, or this.

today is the day

via thefreshexchangeblog

Since today is the day then you're probably not reading this because you are out there creating your happy! That makes me happy. When you have a moment you'll read this, and smile, and say "Yes, today was the day!"

wise words

via bohogems

There is something to be said about doing. Even if you can only muster a little doing per day…at least it's something. It's a start to something more, and the more you do the more things happen.

new recipe: pea hummus

October's new recipe was pea hummus, or as I called it on Halloween 'Snot of Dwarf'. I paired this hummus with some homemade rosemary parmesan crackers. Both of these new recipes were delicious! I was actually surprised by how much people loved the pea hummus. The only reason I made it was because we had a Halloween potluck contest at work and we had to use client brands. My goal was to use as many client products as possible. The four client brands I used are pictured below.

For the 'Snot of Dwarf' I combined this recipe with some of this recipe to get one awesome hummus!

1 can Le Seur peas, set aside 1/4 cup

1 can white cannellini beans

half jar of Beechnut Sweet Pea baby food

handful of Bhuja Spicy Peas

curly parsley

olive oil

lots of garlic cloves

juice from lemon

ground cumin

smoked paprika

sea salt

pepper

feta

In a food processor, pulse the parsley and olive oil. Add the peas, cannellini beans, sweet pea baby food, garlic cloves and process until it is as smooth as you like it. Add the feta, lemon juice, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper to suit your taste. Once it tastes good for you then add the rest of the Le Seur peas, pulse just enough to mix not to blend- keeping some of the peas whole adds a nice texture. I drizzled some of the leftover baby food on top and crunched the Bhuja peas for some added spice. It is definitely better the next day.

I apologize that this recipe doesn't have exact measurements but I really did just wing it. My mom always says a recipe is just a guideline- and with this recipe you can adjust any of the ingredients to your liking.

For the crackers I followed the recipe exactly. The only thing I would do differently is to roll them out a bit thinner.

It was a fun competition and I won this awesome prize for 'Best Use of Ingredients'!