in my kitchen: pumpkin dump cake

today we are having a belated boss' day potluck at work so i thought it would be the perfect opportunity to make this cake that i've seen a million times on pinterest. does that not sound delicious!? it was super easy too! here's what you need:


15oz can pumpkin puree
10oz can evaporated milk
1 cup light brown sugar (not pictured)
3 eggs, beaten (not pictured)
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup (2 sticks) butter melted (not pictured)
1 cup coarsely crushed graham crackers or pecans (i used walnuts)

preheat oven to 350. spray a 9x13 baking pan w/ nonstick cooking spray. in large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, brown sugar, eggs and pumpkin pie spice. pour evenly into pan. sprinkle entire contents of cake mix on top followed by the nuts. pour melted butter evenly on top. bake for 45-50 minutes until lightly browned (that's where i went wrong)



i set my timer for 45 minutes and walked away. i thought for sure i wouldn't need to check on it. well at 40 minutes i took a lil peek. and good thing i did! as you can see, mine came out a lil burnt :( i'll have to remember that it only needed 40 minutes next time i make it!
UPDATE: i just realized i set the oven to 400 instead of 350. no wonderrrr it burnt! haha!!




oh well! it still tastes yummy. that's all that matters to me! i think i'll be making this for thanksgiving. if you make it, let me know how it turned out! just make sure you check on it around the 40 minute mark :) enjoy!
xxoo

an autumn weekend

hi there :) i took a lil accidental blog break but now im back! hope everyone had a fun weekend. me and my babe went out to dinner at our fav mexican joint on friday. on the way home we decided to do a lil drive around town like we used to when we were teenagers. did anyone else do that? there was just never anything to do around here when we were young (still isnt really!) so we just rode around and listened to our favorite songs. fun times! after our little ride around, we went home and watched sleepy hollow. it was my first time seeing it and i loved it! i love both tim burton and johnny depp (who doesnt!?) and now im in the mood to watch some more of their movies. sweeny todd & edward scissorhands anyone?


dress: lulu's, cardi: target, necklace: too old to remember, shoes: lulu's


saturday we ran some errands around town together then went to a friends wedding in baton rouge that night. we just headed home afterward and called it an early night.


blouse: old navy, skirt: express, clutch: jessica simpson, heels & earrings: rue 21 (years ago)


sunday i went to my cousins baby shower and then did my usual routine of cleaning, lounging and cooking. hope you all had a great weekend :)
xxoo

a sunday in the quarter

we decided a few weeks ago to plan a sunday trip to the new orleans french quarter. thank goodness the saints had an away game that day, it would be way too crazy down there if it was a home game! we picked chartres house cafe for lunch, drinks and to watch the game. heather and her husband came with us and we had a great time! sometime after the 1st 1/2 heather and i decided to go walk around a bit. we stopped in a couple of boutiques but didnt stay away too long. after the game the 4 of us walked around a bit, stopped at a couple little bars for more drinks then ended our day with a quick bite to eat at my favorite place in the quarter, angeli. it is delicious! sorry, they dont have a website for you to peek at :(






i didnt take nearly enough pictures :( me and the babe decided we definitely need to start taking more day trips to the quarter. were only about an hour away! hopefully we can fit a couple more in our schedules before the end of the year. hope yall had a fun weekend!
xxoo

working girl: steel ruffles

original image from here


i decided to start doing a weekly feature called "working girl" where i will show you what i wear to work. i really only have 15ish work outfits and i just rotate them. im constantly saying i dont have enough work clothes! but lately ive been buying items that i can wear both to work and on the weekends. im learning y'all! unfortunately, for the first edition i have to use these grainy iphone pictures :( sorry guys! i completely forgot my camera that morning but really wanted to feature this new top. i got it on sale this past weekend at the limited. all full priced items in the store were buy one get one FREE! how amazing is that!? and i had a coupon for $15 off any purchase. so i picked up 2 tops.. one was $35 and the other was $30 and i got both for $25 plus tax! i was a very happy girl :)



top: the limited, cardi: express, pants: express; flat: charlotte russe





you cant tell in these pictures but the cardi has really pretty lace at the top. one of my favs. dont worry, next weeks pictures will be way better :) so what do yall think of this new feature??
xxoo

the dilemma

ladies! i am in a big dilemma and need your help. its a purse dilemma so that means its important! ive been looking around town and the web for the perfect fall bag. i really wanted something structured and i want to be able to use it when im wearing black or brown. these are my top 2 and i just cant decide. will you help a girl out?

aldo's teem handbag:
i really really love the style of this bag. like, a lot! i also think the colors go great together. i just dont know if it has enough black on it to really go w/ a black outfit.

aldo's mccabe handbag:
i actually think this print is exactly what im looking for! its the perfect amount of black and brown. but.... i have a purse in this style from aldo and i hate how hard it is to find anything in it. its like this big neverending hole!

so, what do you think? give me your feedback please! which one should i get?
xxoo

weekend fun

hi y'all! hope everyone had a lovely weekend. they just aren't long enough huh?! friday i hung out w/ my friend tiffini and her cutie lil baby dax. after she put him to bed we watched valley of the dolls. has anyone ever seen this? well, it was... interesting. i really loved it at first. love the hair, makeup and outfits. but like most movies from that era, the acting was over the top dramatic. i know that is just how they acted back then but at some points it was a little unbearable. when they was about 30 minutes left we both pretty much lost interest and started chatting. its on instant stream on netflix so maybe ill finish it this week. saturday we went out w/ our friends amanda & casey. it was amanda's mom's birthday so we tagged along w/ them. we started the night off at bonefish grill for some yummy food and drinks. we went over to a local bar afterwards to see a band play. fun night! sunday was of course football, grocery shopping and cleaning!

these are from thursday when we went out to dinner for my mamaw's 80th birthday:


aren't they so damn cute!?


she was not impressed w/ the birthday hat!

saturday:

top: loft, necklace: express, jeans: old navy, clutch: jessica simpson, shoes: tillys.com (i really need to start photographing my shoes!)




love that boy



hope everyone has a good tuesday :)
xxoo

fall fashion week {day 7} thursday

so i didnt do an entry yesterday :( i was supposed to use wednesdays outfit buttt i forgot my camera at home that morning and after work i went to the gym. so by the time i got home i was in no shape to be photographed! here is what i wore to work yesterday.


please dont make fun of this pose. i have no idea what im doing, ha!


yall... these shoes! im so in love with them.


cardi: target, top: f21, necklace: claires, belt: local boutique, jeans: old navy, penny loafers: lulu's (recent)

after work the family went out to dinner to celebrate my mamaw's 80th birthday. i'll post pictures from that this weekend. yall, this is the last day for fall fashion week :( i had such a great time! i got to "meet" lots of beautiful ladies and got tons of sweet comments. thanks so much for all the love! cant wait for winter week!
xxoo

in my kitchen: mexican chicken casserole

i love mexican food. like, a lot. i tend to cook it often, its normally super easy and w/ just a few ingredients. so when i came across this recipe by paula deen i knew i had to try it. i know what youre thinking.... paula deen... it must be 1,000 calories per serving. well it really isnt that bad! i dont know what the nutrional value is but it can easily be figured out. ok, on to the recipe!



1 10 3/4 -ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 10 3/4 -ounce can cheddar cheese soup
1 10 3/4 -ounce can cream of mushroom soup
1 10-ounce can tomatoes (i used rotel instead)
1 whole chicken, cooked, boned, and chopped or 4 cups leftover cooked chicken (i baked 2 chicken breasts, seasoned w/ garlic powder, onion powder & mrs. dash extra spicy. it was about 3 1/2 cups once i shredded it)
11 1/2-ounce package flour tortillas (i used my whole pack, 16 total)
2 cup shredded cheddar cheese


preheat oven to 350 degrees. in a large bowl, stir together the three kinds of soup and the tomatoes. stir in the chicken. in a greased 13 x 9- inch pan, layer the tortillas and the chicken mixture, beginning and ending with tortillas. i put 6 on bottom, 4 in the middle and 6 on top. sprinkle the cheese over the casserole and bake for 30 minutes.


(i just had to get my pretty pumpkins in the picture)

tada! youre done. easy peasy right? you can easily bake the chicken the night before and throw it in the oven after a long day at the office. you should definitely try this one out! enjoy :)
xxoo

fall fashion week {day 5} tuesday

this is one of my new tops i got at old navy last weekend. i really really love it! but after seeing these pictures im not too crazy about the outfit. im not really sure why, but something just seems off to me.


i think its the belt. it would probably look better with a wider belt, huh?


also the white undershirt is kind of throwing it off to me. i actually just got a camel undershirt from tj maxx yesterday that matches this perfectly! next time :)


top: old navy, jeans: old navy, heels: target, purse: mark by avon, earrings: target, belt: f21 (from a dress)

my mom took these pictures outside of her store. its a seafood market in downtown hammond and she owns it with my aunt. it has been in our family ever since it opened in the 40's!

i just realized im a day behind on these! i guess i'll be one short and just post todays and tomorrows. you wont wanna see fridays work outfit anyway! we are wearing our local universitys team shirts to support their home game this weekend. so ill be wearing an oversized unisex tee w/ jeans >_<
happy hump day friends!
xxoo

fall fashion week {day 4} monday

yall. my mamaw took these pictures of me. it was the cutest thing ever! she kept trying to look through the view window (the lil window thingy on old film cameras) and then would crack up laughing because it didnt have one! it made my heart swell w/ joy <3



im a receptionist at a law firm so i generally wear slacks and a blouse monday-thursday. sometimes i will wear a pair of jeans and a dressy top. fridays are casual and i will wear jeans, flip flops and our company tee mostly.



ive had this top for about a year and this is the first time ive worn it. it was a lil too snug when i first got it. well it still is but not as bad :)



top: the limited, slacks: express, heels: rue 21, purse: f21

i shoulda got a close up of my purse and shoes but i didnt wanna ask too much of lil ole her :)

xxoo

weekend wrap-up

did everyone have a good weekend? i went out for dinner and drinks w/ a couple girlfriends on friday night. on saturday i did some shopping w/ my friend tiffini during the day... later that night, the babe and i went out for sushi then over to a friend's to watch the lsu game. sunday was spent running errands, cleaning, cooking and baking cupcakes.



{friday}
me & amy



me & lou


you can see more of my outfit here

{saturday}

you can see more of my outfit here




the cupcakes i made yesterday were delicious! i highly recommend them or any of erin's recipes. my icing came out a little runny but i know it will take practice. this was the first time i've ever made icing! i hope to bake something from scratch once a week. ive never really been a baker, but i love to cook and experiment w/ recipes. although, after being on my feet for 4 hours grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking and baking, i decided i was over baking! haha! so we will see if i continue this new adventure or not ^_^


xxoo

fall fashion week {day 3} sunday

nfl saints shirt: old navy, jeans: target (clearance for 2 bucks!), flats: gap (clearance for 7 bucks!)
just got this new saints shirt saturday so i had to wear it for the game! we won! maybe its a lucky shirt? ;)
xxoo