Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Bars

As promised, here is one of my recent pinterest baking projects, and my oh my, you MUST make these asap....before all the canned pumpkin disappears off the shelves.  The combination of flavors is fall perfection -- cinnamon, brown sugar, pumpkin, vanilla -- and it will make your home smell absolutely divine.  Below is the recipe and pictures of my baking process.  It's a teensy tedious, because it has a few steps, but it is so worth it. 

AND, I bet you already have most of these ingredients in your pantry right now. 

So what are you waiting for?  Go start baking these scrumptious pieces of pumpkin heaven.

:)

Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Bars

(via)

1 box yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk or buttermilk

3.4 ounce box Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix

1/2 cup sour cream

15 ounce can pumpkin

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cups powdered sugar

1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a jelly roll pan with non stick cooking spray.

2. Place cake mix, eggs, oil, milk, pudding, sour cream and pumpkin into a stand or electric mixer, beating until well combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan, spreading evenly.

3. Place butter into a microwave safe bowl and melt, about 30-40 seconds. Add brown sugar and cinnamon to bowl, mixing until combined. Drizzle mixture evenly over cake then take a knife and run it through to swirl.

4. Bake cake for 30-35 minutes, until cooked through and remove. Place powdered sugar and cream into a large bowl and mix until creamy and smooth. Drizzle over warm cake then let cool for 20 minutes before cutting into squares. Refrigerate if not serving same day.  Enjoy with milk!

Makes 16 to 20 squares

Some pictures of my process -- easy peasy, and so delicious!!

line-up of ingredients

spread in greased cookie sheet

after baking

drizzled with the icing

is your mouth watering yet?

Enjoy!

XOXO

Fall Break Getaway

There are many not-so-great things about your husband going back to school after working in the real world...i.e. 2 incomes becoming 1, business school costs, weird schedules, homework, and did I mention only 1 income?  BUT, there is one particular part which we are big fans of, and that is the massive amount of time off the students get!  Fall breaks, spring breaks, winter breaks (5 weeks!), summer break..etc.  

We got to spend Fall Break this year relaxing at the gorgeous beaches of Ocean Isle, NC with 3 other wonderful couples.  The weather was just right (we even got to lay out!), the food was delish, and the company was perfect.  It was such a nice break, and definitely needed.  

Here are some pics from the week:

gorgeous views from the back porch

ahhh, the hot tub :)

girls!

beautiful sunsets every night

home-cooked dinner

beach day!

love you girls!  

games galore

we heart stripes

dinner at the sugar shack!  toooo much fun :)

 SUCH a wonderful getaway!  Thanks Katelyn for planning!

Hope you all are having a wonderful week.  Happy Hump-Day!

XOXO

Hippies and Stitches

Happy Halloween!!

I hope you all had a wonderful and spook-tacular weekend.  Sorry, I couldn't help myself.  Our weekend was interesting to say the least.  Friday night was a date-night-in with the hubs, a big, fat pizza and Bridesmaids on DVD.  Saturday, we slept in, made a yummy brunch in our pajamas and lounged all day. 

That night was the Duke Halloween Party and we were so excited to dress up in our groovy 70's gear for the shin-dig.  Becca hosted an amazing drinks/appetizers party before and I made these delicious Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin bars, which were amazing. (recipe to come!)

The party was great -- I loved seeing all of our friends and the creative costumes. (My favorite was Mugato (from Zoolander), complete with a razor skateboard! )  Here are some pics from the evening....

 Unfortunately, the party was cut short, as hubs got injured amidst the dancing and fun.....and we were whisked off to the E.R. where he had to get 10 stitches in his chin :(  It was a long, nerve-wracking, exhausting night, and there was a lot of waiting, waiting, and more waiting.  Like 5 hours of waiting.  Booooo. 

(And that wasn't a fun Halloween Booooo, that was a sad and depressing Booooo.)

A HUGE thank you to Katie and Russell for bringing us and waiting there with us.  Y'all are truly the best.  (And also to our sweet friends Katelyn, Katie (again) and Erica who brought over lots of fun goodies and delicious food to the apartment. Thank y'all!) 

Since we were in the ER until 6am, we spent all of Sunday morning catching up on our zzzzz's.  We woke up and listened to one of Tim Keller's online sermons about living out the Gospel, and sang one of my favorite hymns together (our own little church service)....it happened to be one of the best mornings I've had in awhile.  Who knew that something like a minor accident and 7 hours in the E.R. would be something that I could be thankful for.  Don't get me wrong, it was awful, and I hate seeing my husband in pain like that.  But it's times like these when you remember what your marriage is really all about, who is there for you in the rough times, who holds you when you "ugly cry", who picks you up when you fall, who reaches for your hand at exactly the right moment, and who prays with you when you feel helpless and broken. 

So although it was definitely an unfortunate chain of events that night, there is always a lesson to be learned, and for that I am thankful.  And I am thankful that my hubs is still as handsome as ever,

even with those mean ole stitches.

(By the way, I'm the "ugly crier", not him.)

XOXO