Thanksgiving Appetizers: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip

True story: this might be my favorite fall thing ever. Well, pumpkin lattes might be my first favorite, but this is a close second. 

This is a really simple pumpkin dip that I like to make once a week to eat during football games early on Thanksgiving, so you can munch on it while you cook everything else. It really gets you into the Thanksgiving spirit.

The good thing about this is that you can really tweak to be exactly how you want it. If you don't want a super pumpkin-y flavor, you could only do half a can of pumpkin, and you can alter the cinnamon, etc to suit you.

Ingredients:
One can (15 ounce) pumpkin
One (eight ounce) block softened cream cheese (if you forget to take this out early to soften it, you can microwave it for about seven seconds per side)
Two cups confectioner's sugar
A teaspoon-ish of cinnamon sugar
A teaspoon-ish of brown sugar
A sprinkle-ish of pumpkin pie spice
(All the best recipes have "ish" in the instructions, right?

1) Combine the cream cheese and sugar with a hand mixer. I keep it on the lowest speed until it gets creamy, and then I turn it up a bit.

2) Once they’re combined, gradually add the pumpkin. Once again, start slow and increase speed as ingredients combine.

3) Sprinkle in spices. Start with the recommended amounts, and then go from there.

4) Try your hardest not to eat the entire thing in one sitting.

And that's it! I mostly eat this with pita chips, but it's also really good on bagels (duh.) Other people tell me it's also good on vegetables like celery or whatever, but I can't vouch for that. 

If you end up making it, let me know how you like it!!!

Update-y Apartment Things

I was sitting at the kitchen table the other day, typing away at a blog post, when I caught myself looking around our apartment, kind of in awe that it's... you know... ours.

It's not an exceptionally fancy apartment... our furniture is pretty simple, and the transition hasn't been flawless (or easy, to be honest), but it's our apartment. There are days where I still can't believe that we actually made it to this point. There were a lot of tears and a lot of "only ___ more months" along the way, and there were times where I was sure it was never going to happen, because living together always seemed so far off in the distance.

But we made it, and we're in, and now we have a pretty freakin' adorable little apartment with nice neighbors and friends close by, and that's awesome, because you know what? We earned it. Being in a long distance relationship is the worst and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

This wasn't supposed to be THAT sentimental, I was really only going to show you a few pictures. Honestly, I was going to wait till we were a little more "finished" (are you ever really finished decorating a home? no.) but I love it so much in here, so I thought I'd share.

I know I've talked about this couch ad nauseam at this point, but I love it. I wasn't completely sure how it was going to look, and I definitely wasn't sure if Garrett was going to like it (he's very traditional in his decor choices) but I think it looks really cute in the room. Our living room isn't huge, so the bold print makes it fill up the room a bit more. I also love how the blue and yellow go well with it without being too obnoxious. And of course, if you follow me on Instagram, you know how much I love that Relax pillow.

I know it's probably silly to love a bookshelf so much, but I seriously love this bookshelf. We had a hard time arranging everything on there that we wanted, but I think it looks awesome in our little office nook.

I actually turned down this console table when we originally came into this furniture (I'm sure you remember we got it from my grandparents house) but I'm so glad I changed my mind. It fits perfectly in this area beside the window, and it looks awesome with my Birchbox tray and all of our wine corks and a few other little knick-knack type things.

Garrett surprised me while I was gone last week and put up these mirror tiles I'd had my eye on at Target . Originally, the plan was to put a mirror (or six) back there because the living room/office area doesn't have any overhead lighting, and we were thinking that the mirrors would bounce a bit more light through the apartment. I don't think it's really done that, but I think they look awesome back there regardless.

Also, I took two or three pictures of this area before I realized hellooooo, those are mirrors and you are in all these pictures, so there's me looking ridiculous. You're welcome.

 

This isn't a great picture because of the sun coming in through the window (we still haven't bought curtains), but I wanted to include one picture of the (working!) fireplace and the living room all together. I've never had a fireplace/mantel in an apartment before, and I think it's so great.
(The carpet looks really stained here for some reason, and it isn't. It was actually installed right before we moved in, which is both awesome and terrifying.)

We found out we can actually paint, but I'm not sure we will. For one, it's a lot of work, and two, what color would we do? Gray would be the only color that would really go with everything we have in there, and most of the time, going from one neutral to another neutral just seems kinda silly. So we'll see.

Overall, we're really fortunate that we already had most of the stuff we put in here and only had to spend money on updating some of it, and we were able to pull together an apartment that is cohesive and honestly, pretty stinkin' cute. (I may be biased.)

The Totally Legitimate Guide to Buying Gifts for your Favorite Blogger this Holiday Season

Now that Christmas is jus a mere 35 days away (not five, like the Target holiday section would have you believe), it's time to start thinking about... Christmas presents! Shopping for Christmas presents is hard enough as it is, but shopping for a blogger is even more difficult. They have such specific, ever-changing tastes, and you want to get them something good, because, well... it's probably going to end up on their blog. So what's a person to buy? Here are some helpful suggestions:

Bloggers love coffee. Bloggers REALLY love fair trade coffee from local coffee shops, but since you can't hunt down each blogger's favorite place, Starbies will have to do. You can think of a Starbucks gift card as the gift that keeps on giving, as each gift card will result in at least five sepia-toned coffee photos. That's what I call a win-win situation. Also? bloggers LOVE pumpkin spice lattes. (Send an e-gift card and save on shipping.)
Starbucks

Bloggers love being organized. Even more than being organized, they love talking about how organized they are. Cue Erin Condren Life planners, the Mother of All Planners (TM). With this, your favorite blogger can keep all of her work, personal and blog things in the same place. Sure, it's huge, but bloggers love big totes and they cannot lie, so the size is fine. Plus, you can monogram them. And what do bloggers love more than planners? MONOGRAMS.
Erin Condren

This is an especially good gift if the blogger is your wife/girlfriend/sister/best friend, because anyone who spends time with a blogger knows that anything (no really, ANYTHING) can end up on the internet. Even though a lot of bloggers keep their blogs a secret, they would still love a tshirt. Trust me on this one.
CafePress

Most bloggers have blogs because they missed their calling in a more interesting, more fabulous profession. You can deny it, but it's totally true. Also, there's nothing bloggers love more than interesting decor they can highlight during their house tour vlogs.
Skoope Home Designs via Etsy

Sure, a blog is KINDA like a journal, but sometimes you need a place to put your innermost thoughts, AKA all the things that are too scandalous for the public. This is a guided journal, so you you can leave the content creation for your blog. Also, all of us bloggers are a little unhinged, right? A journal called "My Dysfunctions" would be a great gift for any of us.
KnockKnock Paper Products

Bloggers love champagne. Okay, bloggers love drinking in general, but they ESPECIALLY love champagne. Also, jewelry. That genius Kate Spade combined the two into one affordable earring set! Buy a pair for you, and a pair for your favorite blogger. These would be perfect for New Years.
Kate Spade via Bloomingdales

What are you buying your favorite blogger this year?

Say What Now?

Do you hate Jenny McCarthy and the anti-vaccine crowd as much as I do?

Julia Ioffe posted an article this week called "I've got whooping cough. Thanks a lot, Jenny McCarthy." I've been a LONG time hater of hers, so it instantly piqued my interest. Julia, a healthy 31 year old woman living in New York has contracted an illness that we should have wiped out a long time ago.
Here's what: I know Jenny McCarthy isn't the EXACT reason Julia contracted the whooping cough. But this is something we've been vaccinating against for years and years. So why is a healthy 31 year old woman getting it now? Probably because someone didn't vaccinate their kid. The anti-vaccine crowd is pretty scary, and quite frankly, they piss me off. Whether or not you vaccinate your kid is a conversation that should be between you and your doctor, not some former playmate whose son was never even diagnosed with the disorder she enjoyed talking about so much. People who don't vaccinate are becoming more and more prevalent, and we're seeing the nasty affects of it. I'll never forget the rage I felt reading one blogger's post about not vaccinating her kid.. she said she didn't need to because everyone else vaccinated THEIR kid. Are you for real? ARE YOU?

Here's some news for you: your if you hurt someone's feelings, your intentions don't matter.

Jamie over at Everyday Feminism (there are a lot of J names in this post today.) talked about how lots of people are excusing their actions under the guise of "but I didn't mean to!" She says that when you keep talking about your intentions (instead of the feelings of the person you've offended, you're still making it about you, instead of the other person. And that's not cool.
Her advice? Listen more than you talk, reflect on what you've done, and apologize. Like... a real apology. None of this "sorry you got offended" crap. (I think we've heard this story before, right?)
Here's what: I think there are two important sides to this. If you've offended someone, whether you meant to or not, they're still offended, and you should apologize. BUT: I think there's a level of patience and tolerance that everyone should have in situations like this. For example, one time I made a comment about how awesome the 50s were. I was referencing the clothes, the music.... okay, mostly the poodle skirts. One of my friends said to me "Alyssa, you know the 50s were awful for everyone who wasn't a white man, right? It was a horrible time for civil rights." What? Duh. As soon as she said it, it made sense. And instead of yelling at me, or telling me to check my privilege, she explained why my thoughts were problematic. I think that's important. Sooo while I definitely agree that impact is more important than your intentions, you should always keep in mind that awareness is something that's learned, and we should work together to make sure we all become the best version of ourselves we can be.

Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Swift don't want to identify as feminists, but Courtney Stodden and Miley Cyrus sure do.

Both these ladies have said recently that they're definitely feminists. Miley says "she's for everybody" and Courtney says "real women support other women."
Here's what: Being comfortable with yourself and your sexuality doesn't automatically make you a feminist. Sure, they often go hand-in-hand, but one doesn't always equal the other. When you take your clothes off and make women feel like props, or less than human, how much of a feminist can you be? And Courtney? You can wear whatever you want to wear, and I'll never shame you for that. But "real women" don't support other women just because they're women, because women aren't delicate little flowers who can't stand a little criticism. That defeats the whole purpose. Also, stop using the phrase "real women." Because it sucks. You feel me?

What have you read recently that was really interesting? Anything good?!