Pumpkin Cupcake-Muffins with a "Sarah Twist"

            Dorm living is not very conducive to my cooking impulses! But I had seen this recipe once that only had two ingredients and looked delicious, so I gave it a try. Pumpkin cupcake-muffins! But with my very own twist, of course!

            The original recipe said to take a cake mix and just add a can of pumpkin to it instead of the eggs, water, and oil then bake to get perfect pumpkin cupcakes. So here are the super easy pumpkin cupcake-muffins with a “Sarah twist.”

Ingredients:

• Cake mix (I used yellow, but chocolate or spice cake would work well too!)
• 15 oz. can pumpkin puree (not the pumpkin pie filling!)
• “Sarah Twist”
• Plain oatmeal
• Chocolate chips
• (Next time I want to try adding dried fruit, like cranberries!)
• Cupcake liners

1. Dump the cake mix and the pumpkin into a bowl and mix all together. It starts off really dry but becomes a thicker, wet consistency.
2. Add the chocolate chips and oatmeal to taste (sorry there’s no measurements, in a dorm measuring cups are a luxury!)
3. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake liners and bake according to the box directions for cupcakes.                                                                    
4. Allow to cool and serve!
5. (If you are feeling fancy and want to complement the pumpkin, I would suggest a cream cheese frosting applied when the cupcake-muffins are cooled completely!)

And that it is for really easy and simple pumpkin cupcake-muffins, in this case, with a “Sarah twist!” My mistakes were only having a "6 cupcake" muffin tin, so it took 80 minutes to bake all of them... oops! And only having my camera phone to take the pictures, so I apologize if the raw and the cooked cupcakes look the same! I hope your cooking endeavors are ever joyful!

*Joy of the day: Giving away all of the cupcake-muffins to friends, I love giving little gifts!

Baby Brother

Today my little brother turns two officially! While we have already had the party, and in his mind he is already two since he ate the cake, today is the official day of celebration. I remember sitting in church on Sunday morning, getting a text from my dad saying the baby was on the way and that he’d call when he could. Since he was a premature baby things were a little different, he was about two months early and the first couple of days we couldn’t even hold him. But now you wouldn’t know the difference! Today Sean is crazy, sweet, fun Sean!

Baby Sean with the IV in his little head.
He was so snuggly, even then!

            The Easter Bunny brought him home and was a surprise to Shannon when she woke up on Easter morning (probably not the surprise she really wanted!). Over the past two years I’ve loved to watch Sean grow and change and develop his big personality. Though I’ve been away at school for most of his life he still greets me with absolute excitement when I come home. He loves trucks and trains, playing with Shannon, running around outside, reading books, and learning new things!

The first time the terrific three was all together!

            Sean has brought me indescribable joy. He makes me feel loved, he makes me laugh, and he makes it hard to say goodbye. God’s shown me how love doesn’t have barriers, I wasn’t around for the part of Sean’s development when he was learning who people were and yet he still loves me a lot. Sean shows me how to be excited for everything, because everything to him is still so new and it allows me to see the world through his wondering perspective! Matthew 18:3 tells of when Jesus is talking and “he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’”

            God has used Sean to remind me of this verse constantly! Children are awestruck by the world and God’s wonderful creation; they want to experience every part of it. And they also believe full heartedly, without fear or holding back. Just like we should follow God and his commands. The children knew Jesus better than the adults because the trusted him and through that they were able to witness the amazing things that he wanted to show them. That is the kind of faith I want, and that is the kind of faith and perspective that Sean reminds me to have.

The boy who stole my heart!

            Today I celebrate my baby brother. Who will always be the tiniest little baby with the biggest heart, who got my genes for height but has a personality to fill the room, and who has a wonderstruck perspective of the world that inspires me daily. I love you little buddy!
*Joy of the day: Knowing that I will always have a buddy, not matter what!

A Week of Crafts

As promised here are all of the projects that I did over my spring break along with the links of where I found the tutorials!

Sunday: I covered a mason jar with scrapbook paper! I took glue and added water to it to create a thinner paste that would allow for the paper to bend to the jar (about a 1:3 ratio of water to glue, just add enough water to glue before it turns runny). Like a modge podge! Afterwards I painted the entire jar with the paste to make sure none of it would fall off.

Monday: I've had my Bible since middle school and it's starting to fall apart so I recovered it! I used hot glue to glue down the base brown fabric, then made another hair pin flower to cover up the closure that was already there. Anyone who knows me knows that I usually have something in my hair; a bow, a flower, a clip or something! So I made some hair pins inspired by some that a friend had made. To make the flowers I tied a knot at the end of the fabric, then twisted the fabric and glued it in a circular motion around the knot. To make them thicker I twisted it less and built it up more instead of out! The bows were squares with a strip of fabric glued together in the middle to pinch it.

Tuesday: I woke up in a baking mood. Since I live in a dorm I can't really cook or bake while I'm at school because it's not convenient or sanitary! I had found a recipe for double chocolate raspberry cupcakes and they looked too good to pass up! However I should have fully read the directions first to realize that they weren't going to be simple to make, but they were oh-so worth it! I also found the cutest blog and made a lace infinity scarf from her tutorial!

Wednesday: On pinterest I had found these wristlets which were simply adorable, so I made two of course! My mom tells me I'm ridiculous and I am completely aware, but I'm okay with that. That day my roommate texted me and asked if I knew how to make these shirts she had seen, or if I could figure it out. So at about 8pm we started our project, and it was super simple! Now we have matching roomie shirts!

Thursday: Skirt day! I finished a skirt from when my friend Brittany came home with me. We were able to finish hers while we were home but got rather confused so we only had enough time for one! While the tutorial took some editing and adjusting to get it to fit, I think it turned out well. I also made another skirt, and this one is completely opposite from the yellow folded mini skirt! It's a lace ruffle skirt to help make those certain dresses a tad bit longer, and my favorite part, a little bit spinnier!

Friday: I decided to be creative today and make my own skirt. Inspired by the folded mini skirt I wanted to do something similar but easier, so I designed my own and it was a blast! This is all you get to see for now and I will have tutorial for you soon!

Saturday: A friend of mine asked me to make a dress for her, for her rehearsal dinner for her wedding in June! So I put that together Saturday, minus a couple of details so that it can be fitted to her later. While this is not her, and her fabric is slightly different here is what the pattern looks like!


And these were my spring break crafts! A week of crafts and a week of bliss. I've missed creating things, and I think I certainly got my fill to last me a while.

*Joy of the day: church and brunch with a lovely friend with a dear heart!

Spring Break

            Last week was my spring break, and it was indeed a much needed break. Many of my friends went of mission trips or vacations, but I just went home which was all I needed! It was a week full of family, crafts, and friends. I didn’t do a single piece of homework, which is hard to believe but that is what I needed to do in order to fully rest.

The dump truck birthday cake was a hit!

forks are for babies!

            The first weekend I was home we celebrated my little brother’s 2^nd birthday, even though his birthday is not till later this month, in his eyes he is now officially two! It was full of trucks and trains, cake, crazy children, and a sleepy birthday boy. The poor kid didn’t make it through his own party; he fell asleep while we were watching “I’m Elmo and I Know It” on my phone. But I was in heaven! He’s past the point of falling asleep while you’re holding him so this was a rare and special treat for me especially since I am only home every so often!

All dressed up to see the Lorax

            Later in the week I was able to have my little sister skip school (teaching her good habits early!) and take her to see the Lorax. It was so special to get time to spend with just her, and she thought so too since she decide the event called for her special Christmas dress! She’s almost five now, and quite the little chatterbox. I got to hear all about school, her friends, swimming classes, and my favorite quote was “BigSis there was this monster in Monsters Inc. who coughed without covering his mouth and he got germs everywhere!” I am so proud that I have taught her well at such an early age! For the movie she decided that she would much rather sit on my lap then in her own chair, which I didn’t mind at all. So we snuggled and watched the Lorax, which was quite cute!

            Through out the week I enjoyed spending time with various friends from high school and catching up with them. I only got to see a few of them, and I wish I had made time to see other people who were home. But the people that I did see are the types of friends who you pick up where you left off, and those are the friends that you never truly left. I got to hear about how God is working in their lives, whether they see that or not, and hear all about their plans for next year as this school year starts to draw to a close. I love hearing stories from freshman about their college experiences because without fail God has put them where they needed to be, put people in their lives when they needed it and shown them his love without fail. And that is something joyful to hear!

            All week I seemed to have different craft projects going! And let me just say it was wonderful. I covered a mason jar, made hair flowers/bows, recovered my Bible, made two skirts, made a dress for a friend, made cupcakes, made two wristlets, started a bag (I couldn’t find handles to finish it), made a shirt with my roomie (tutorial and pictures coming soon!!!), made an infinity scarf, I made dinner a couple of times… and I think that’s it! There will be another post coming soon with all of the things I did along with links to tutorials from other wonderful blogs that I found over break!

Watching Veggie Tales- my personal favorite!

            While I was very ready for a break I had a physiology test the Friday that we got back that I knew I should be studying for over break but made the conscious decision not to. I made the decision to rest. We had talked a lot this semester at large group for InterVarsity about Sabbath and resting, so I took my break to rest. I surrendered my worries and anxieties to God about my test and school work, so I could enjoy this break with him and relax. God used that week to restore me and give me energy and motivation to study hard this week for my test. 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxieties on him for he cares for you.” I relied on that verse during break, because God cares for me, and he is bigger than my anxieties. And His plans for his kingdom are bigger than any physiology test; therefore I have nothing to worry about. So I rested, not only from schoolwork but in His promises and it was a wonderful break!
*Joy of the Day: getting to catch up with a sweet friend over lunch!