YUMMY Vegetarian (or Vegan) Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are a popular fall cookie that I started making about 7yrs ago. The recipe is requested frequently as they are already vegetarian and are super easy to make vegan. I hope you enjoy! They are a favorite in our family!

YUMMY Vegetarian (or Vegan) Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

1 cup of butter (or use vegan butter)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup non-sweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice - optional
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups semisweet or dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts - optional
 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl beat the butter and sugars together until smooth. Beat in applesauce and vanilla. Mix flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and optional pumpkin pie spice into the creamed mixture. Then add pumpkin. Fold in chocolate chips & optional walnuts. Chill dough for 2 - 4hrs. Drop a dozen tablespoonful's of dough onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 minutes, press down with spatula, cook for another 5 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.

30th Wine Birthday Celebration

Well, my 30th Garden Wine Party didn't turn out how I planned it in my head. The yard wasn't 100% done - but even if it was all ready for the party; it rained all night.
I did do some fun crafts that I had been wanting to try.

Sharpie Art Bottle - Had all the guest make a doodle on the bottle as a keepsake.

Also a wine cork monogram K

Wine Cork Cupcake Toppers!

One of the many bottles I cut the bottom off of (clear wine bottles are eaiser to work with. Darker wine bottles take a long time to snap off)

CUPCAKES! YUM!

Made candle holders out of all diffrent things 

PARTY ANIMAL!

My wonderful Mom & I

These turned out great!

(They are not as easy to make as people made them seem!)

My 30 Day Workout Challenge

Saw this on Pinterest & it gave me the idea
for a 30 day challenge.

I needed to give myself a personal challenge to get rid of this baby body! After I saw what I looked like in a bikini on vaction in Mexico, I knew I needed to start working out consistently. For 30 days I would do some kind of workout and I decided to post on Twitter & Facebook asking my friends and family for support. My wonderful friend Natalie and I txt daily to keep us both accountable (Side note: we are over 1500 miles away from each other!) I took weekly photos so I could see the change in my body - not getting focused on a weight number. In the end of the 30days I only missed two workouts (trust me I didn't sit around doing nothing those days - just didn't get in a workout). I feel stronger than I ever have. Thanks for all the support - it was truly needed. Here are the weekly photos – I’m not where I want to be, but feel that I’m on the right path.

Day #29

Day #21

Day #13

Day #8

Day #1

Ice Binkies

Had to share this little mommy tip as it was 100degrees today in Colorado (my car on the way home from the pool said 104degrees – YUCK!!) A wonderful friend of mine shared this tip with me when my daughter was about 3months old and was starting teething. Super simple, super easy and it works!

Ice Binkies

 

We use MAM binkies (I'm pretty sure other brands allow water into the binkie too) All you do is submerge the binky into a cup of water and squeeze the binky to remove the air and let water in when you release. I normally repeat this process a few times to get most the air bubbles out, but leave a small bubble for expansion.

Then in the freezer I "hang" them from a shelf binky down and let them freeze.

**Please supervise your child while they have an ice binky - as the product has been altered from the way it was originally created to be used, please check to make sure binky is attached correctly before giving it to your child**

Stella's 1st Birthday

What a whirl-wind of a weekend - Stella had 3 birthday celebrations! I think I will be buying her the book "The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Birthday"

So excited that I got to spend time with Stella on her Birthday! (Fridays are normally her dad's days) For breakfast I made her a banana pancake, then we enjoyed some sun at the pool with friends (and she got to eat her 1st CUPCAKE) before she went to her dad's house.

  

 Birthday Banana Pancake :)





Dig In Birthday Girl!

 Sugar High!!

We had such a fun Birthday Party for her at the house. We did a Hot Pink & Zebra theme! Most things I found on my new addiction - Pinterest! I'll try to link them all up for you!

Stella's outfit: Her top is really a swimsuit from Walmart, tutu from Old Navy - a friend made the hair bow and another purchased the shoes.

 Super cheap and easy decorations - Streamers were 2-packs for $1 then made them fringy. Table cloths were from BigLots for a $1, cut them to shape the tables, and then taped them down with zebra duct tape.

 "Mommy Juice" - Hehe!

 

 

Chocolate Lollipop Thank You's - got the mold, chocolate disks, sticks & wrappers at Hobby Lobby, already had the vase & just covered the red with zebra duct tape. There is just a foam ball glued to the vase to hold the Lollipops.

 The Mac & Cheese cups were good! Be forewarned! Make sure you spray your pan really well and use the milk at the bottom pan in each tin. I'm pretty sure this will help them to not stick.

 Cupcakes made by Stella's Grandma! She did such a great job!

I had to make a puff! So when I went to Hobby Lobby I went looking for a tissue paper book but all they had was the kind for gifts. Little bigger than what I expected, but in the end I liked the size.

 She told us when it was cake time.

Her birthday hat was super easy to make! Found the template on-line, and then found a stiff felt at Hobby Lobby, it was less than a $1 for the sheet. Then decorated it with feathers ($3.99) & bling (already had)!

She almost blew out the candle - but instead of her grabbing at the flame again, I blew it out.

  Cupcake - Yummy!

 Milk break during gifts

Moxy wanted to be a P-A-R-T-Y Animal!

 

 

The next day playing with her new grocery cart

Such a wonderful 1st Birthday for my little Stella!