This is THE month!

D-day is at the end of this month. Am I a little freaked out? Yes. But SUPER excited. And nervous that baby girl could actually come earlier than that. Maybe. Possibly. Eeeeek!!! We're more or less ready for her, whenever she comes.

Anyways... for Halloween, I simply taped a little jack-o-lantern face onto an orange shirt to dress my belly up, but some people at my alma mater got really creative with their costumes. You can see more pictures on the BYU facebook page, but I just want to share two of my favorites with you here:

This guy was walking around campus in slow motion all day. I think it's hilarious.

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And this one is pretty dang cute too:

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We just had our performances for a certain... musical... about a doctor who is rather horrible... for copyright purposes I must not give any other hints, but if you've seen this musical, then you'll know what I'm talking about. Yes, we did that musical. And it was a big success, if I do say so myself. And if you HAVE seen this musical, then this cast picture will make perfect sense to you:

That horse. He's so... bad... okay, I need to stop or I'll get in trouble!

I also went to the first BYU Social Dance Lab of the semester, mainly so I could watch my old ballroom team do a floor show. They performed the same jive that I performed in back when I was 7 weeks pregnant. That was a crazy experience, and I was always so nervous that all the bouncing and jumping would result in a miscarriage. My lungs were always on fire by the end. (1st trimester problems!) Here's a video of one of our dress rehearsals from back in April:

I miss ballroom so much! I danced to a couple songs at the dance lab, and let me tell you... doing Triple Swing when you're 36 weeks pregnant results in angry feet. But it was still so fun!

And one final note... taking my little nephew trick-or-treating was so cute. It made me really excited to take my own kids trick-or-treating in the not-too-distant future. REALLY excited.

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin cookies. They are an autumn staple dessert, people! If there is one thing I love, it's a super moist and soft pumpkin cookie. Yum. Get in my belly! My phone's camera does not do these cookies justice, I promise!

I have made several different pumpkin foods so far this autumn season (don't get me started on the pumpkin pancakes I made a few days ago... they were so yummy topped with butter and brown sugar!) but until yesterday, I hadn't gotten around to making pumpkin cookies. That was a problem I needed to fix.

I love my mom's pumpkin cookie recipe, but I could not find my copy of it... so I looked up a couple different recipes online that were similar to my mom's and tweaked them a bit to come up with my own version. They turned out pretty well! And I love how orange they are.



Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin puree
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 large egg
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Combine pumpkin, sugars, oil, egg, and vanilla in a bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Slowly add this flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture and mix well.

4. Mix in the chocolate chips.

5. Drop by medium spoonfuls onto a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper or lightly greased). Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool in pan for 2-3 minutes and then remove onto cookie rack to cool.

6. Enjoy with a big glass of milk! Store them in a sealed container to maintain moisture and freshness.



Really, you guys. These cookies are so good, I am not even joking! I am definitely going to be making them again this season. On another note... I've decided that I really want/need cookie scoops. Does anybody want to give me an early Christmas present? ;)

The BEST month ever // October Goals

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In my opinion, October is the greatest. It is the pinnacle month in my favorite season. There are so many things to look forward to. Halloween parties. Football games. Corn mazes and pumpkin patches. Blankets. Warm drinks. Fall decorations. And the weather! The smells! The colors! The tastes! October, you can stay as long as you'd like!

A new month also means a fresh to-do list. Here are my top priority items:

• Spend much more time outdoors (This shouldn't be hard. Fall weather = gorgeous!)
• Try a minimum of 5 new recipes
• Paint the crib (the plan is start sanding it this weekend between Conference sessions!)
• Finish decorating the nursery

It's going to be a wonderful month, I just know it! Happy October, everyone! And as one of my favorite bloggers quoted in her post today: "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." (Anne of Green Gables)

I completely agree, Anne. I completely agree.