still there?

hi friends! soooo, i fell off the ole blogging horse again. i've been missing it though! so i'll give it another shot :) thanks for sticking around! hopefully i can keep up with it this time. i want to focus mainly on weight loss. i'm hoping that encouraging followers and comments will keep me going and hold me accountable. be back soon :)

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