Homemade Pumpkin Muffins

Fall is by far my favorite season. I love the weather, the colors, and most all I love that everything is pumpkin flavored. As long as I have something pumpkin flavored in hand all season long, I am a happy camper. One of my favorite things to make around this time of year are pumpkin muffins. They make a delicious snack, breakfast, and dessert that the whole family loves so really, how could you go wrong? Want to try my pumpkin muffins? Follow the quick and easy instructions below and you'll have delicious muffins within the next hour! 

The original recipe was adapted from here, but as always I changed quite a bit to make it my own and to make it work for my family! Feel free to "tweak" the recipe as needed to work for you and your household! 

What You'll Need:

For the Muffins

1 1/2 Cups of Flour

2 Teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Soda

1 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar

1 Cup of Pumpkin Puree

2 Eggs

1/3 Cup of Vegetable Oil

For the Topping

3 Tablespoons of Butter

1/2 cup of Granulated Sugar

1/3 cup of Brown Sugar (light or dark will do, I used light)

2 Tablespoons of Cinnamon

What You Need To Do:

In one bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice, then set aside. In your stand mixer combine the sugar and the eggs, then add in the pumpkin puree and oil. Once combined, slowly add in your dry ingredients and whisk together until combined. Do not over mix!

Once you have created your batter, melt your butter in a microwave safe dish then add your brown sugar, cinnamon, and granulated sugar and use a fork to stir together to create your sugar topping.

Fill each of your baking cups about 2/3 of the way full with batter then crumble some of your sugar topping on the top of each muffin. 

Bake at 350* for 18-24 minutes depending on your oven (mine baked perfectly for 21 minutes). Once you you stick a toothpick in the middle of a muffin and have it come out clean, they're done!

Let them cool and then enjoy! You won't be able to stop eating them!! Seriously, I ate 5 in one day, it was bad.

Yogi Clothing Review & Giveaway

*I received complimentary clothing for review in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions*

Photo Credits: Yogi Clothing

"Every journey starts with a path, and an idea of destination. Since 2000 Yogi has been blazing its own trail in the yoga community on the idea and inspiration that anything is achievable with a positive mental attitude. We believe in the power of imagination, and utilizing positive energy to achieve goals whether they be physical, spiritual, or psychological, our company philosophy embodies the power and mind set of the most disciplined yogi's and maintains the attitude of enlightenment through achievements and encouragement. We love sharing this philosophy with our customers and strive to put this love and care into our clothing." -Yogi Clothing

I'm sure that any woman will agree that putting a new piece of into your wardrobe is an amazing feeling. That amazing feeling magnifies when you put a piece of quality clothing into your wardrobe. Listen closely ladies because I'm about to tell you about a clothing line that is not only adorable but amazing quality as well. Yogi clothing offered me the opportunity to review their clothes and I jumped on the chance to. When I was in high school I worked in the boutique portion of a Pilates studio as their boutique manager so I was constantly around high quality work out clothes and I really learned what a difference high quality fitness wear can do for your self esteem while you're working out. I spent one of my paychecks on a $100 pair of bamboo yoga capris and I still to this day have them (and I was 17 when I bought them!!). When I went shopping on Yogi Clothing's website I knew that whatever item I chose for review would last just as long, if not longer, than those pants that I bought in high school. 


I had a hard time choosing what to review from Yogi Clothing so I left it up to my wonderful rep Maria  as to whether she would send me the gorgeous Hi-Lo Keyhole Maxi Dress or the Yogi Clothing Skirt Wide Leg Pant. It felt like Christmas when I opened up my package to see both! I couldn't wait to try both of them on and really get a feel for their quality and comfort. 

I started with the Hi-Lo Keyhold Maxi Dress which I chose in the vibrant cyan color. This dress is considered to be apart of their tie dye collection because of the way that the colors (cyan and white) come together to form a unique pattern on the dress. The front features a v-neck that isn't to revealing, a sash that causally ties around the waist, and a cascading front that gives the dress a layered appearance. I requested the dress in a Small and it fit me perfectly which I was very excited about. I absolutely adore the keyhole back and the dress is extremely soft and comfortable. It is made from 92% Modal and  8% Spandex so you know it's comfortable and luxurious. My favorite thing about this dress though is that although a good portion of the dress is white, it is not see through!

I also had the opportunity to review the Yogi Clothing Skirt Wide Leg Pant which I was very excited to have also received. I'm a sucker for yoga pants and these ones were super adorable because of the "skirt" appearance to them. I love a layered look so for me these pants were perfect. I requested a size small and I really wish I would have gone with a medium because although they fit me perfectly in length and in "tightness", the thin elastic of the waistband was just tight enough to give me muffin top (please try to avert your eyes). Other than the slight muffin top, the pants were so soft and comfortable I could hardly believe it. The "skirt" on the pants was extremely flattering and something that I now wish the rest of my yoga pants had! These pants are also made from 92% Modal and 8% Spandex and just as comfortable as the dress is!

I have found a new clothing company that I love and will continue to shop with for my yoga clothing and even some extras (like those cute dresses!). I recommend that you check out their website to see if there is anything that fits your style because the quality and comfort of Yogi Clothing is outstanding! 

To Purchase: Yogi Clothing makes incredibly gorgeous and high quality clothing items! Visit their website to go shopping!

To Win: Yogi Clothing is generously offering one lucky winner either the dress or the yoga pants that I modeled above! You have the choice of which you'd prefer and of course, the size! Enter the giveaway tools form below for your chance to win!

Entry-Form

Congrats to Amber Lee!

The Giveaway will close late on the evening of October 20th. The winner will be chosen at random through Giveaway Tools. The winner will be announced both on Giveaway Tools form as well as notified by email and announced on MCO’s Facebook. The winner will have their prize sent to them by Yogi Clothing, Mommys Craft Obsession is not responsible for prize shipment. Must be 18 years and older. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google are in no way affiliated with this giveaway. No Purchase Necessary. US Only.

*This review is 100% original and in my own words. Everything written is from my own personal view point and opinions, what works for me, may not work for you. All photos have been taken by me unless stated otherwise. I have been provided with product to review by Yogi Clothing however I have not been compensated monetarily for this review.

Fibi and Clo Review

*I received a complimentary pair of sandals for review in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions* 

Photo Credits: fibi & clo

Fibi & Clo began designing these beautiful shoes by AnaLiza in 2009.  AnaLiza wanted to be able to spend more time in Texas where her family was, while still being able to do what she loved.  She came up with the idea to start selling shoes at trunk parties, like Tupperware but with shoes.  That is how her adventure started.  It did so well that they now have an online boutique that you can order from. 

I was delighted when Fibi & Clo contacted me to do a review, I love love love sandals!  I choose to review the Burst Cascade sandals. They arrived in a cute little bag and looked even more amazing in person then they did online. 

These shoes are hand made and you can see they put a lot of quality time into them. The insole has padding making them very comfy for your feet. The soles are not slippery on tile so they are very easy to walk in. The Burst Cascades are very cute and comfortable. The sizing on them runs a little small I probably should have gone up a half size. If you are not sure what size to get its probably best to go up a half size to be on the safe side. They can be dressed up or down, they would go great with just about anything. The crystals on them catch so much light making them very dazzling.

These sandals are so eye catching I can hardly leave the house in them without getting compliments.  The Burst Cascade sandals do take a little getting used to since they are a unique design and open on one side, they feel a little awkward to walk in at first, but after a few minutes of wearing them they felt fine. 

Fibi & Clo have a great selection of sandals to choose from, I am certain you will find a pair you love as much as I love mine!

To Purchase:  Visit Fibi & Clo to get yours today!

*This review is 100% original and in my own words. Everything written is from my own personal view point and opinions, what works for me, may not work for you. All photos have been taken by me unless stated otherwise. I have been provided with product to review by Fibi & Clo however I have not been compensated monetarily for this review.

Little Mister's DIY Shark Birthday Party!

When it came time to start planning Little Mister's 2nd birthday party I was at a loss for a theme. Least year we did Mickey Mouse and I was hoping to carry out my love for Disney and do a Disney theme each year, but sadly Little Mister is more into Hot Wheels these days than Disney. Needless to say, it was back to the drawing board. I thought a Hot Wheels theme would be fun but finding decor to go along with that was a challenge and I was quickly loosing steam in the creativity department. I chatted with my friends at Skip Hop and was given the idea of a Shark birthday party. Sharks are pretty "hot" right now so I thought it would be a great theme for his birthday and I figured that I better do it while he was just turning two and couldn't protest yet.

So I set off to think of some ideas that would go along with the theme. I even reached out to my lovely readers via Facebook to grab some ideas! I knew I wanted to do a "cutesy" shark theme rather than scary since my little guy is still little so using anything "Bruce" from Finding Nemo would be out since he was a little to scary for what I wanted...

Photo Credits: Disney's Finding Nemo

I then thought going a more realistic route would be better so I set off to good ol' Google Images to find some real images of sharks and practically peed myself laughing when I saw this peculiar little shark. While he is hilarious and would have made for a great conversation topic at the party, I continued my search for more shark inspiration...

Photo Credits: National Geographic

I was excited to have hit the jackpot when I typed "happy baby cartoon shark" into my Google search engine and saw these little fella's pop up. They made me feel warm and fuzzy so I decided to go with them. I took the inspiration of their dark blue and light blue shades and rolled with it. Read on to see what I came up with!

Photo Credits: 123RF

Now when guests arrive it is important to remember that the first thing they see when they walk up to ring the doorbell is none other than the door. So I borrowed an image off Google, pulled up PicMonkey, resized my blank photo to an 8 1/2 X 11 size in pixels and set to work. To my dismay I ran out of scotch tape when it came time to hang the image so please excuse the packing tape.. 

I printed out my Warning Sharks Up Ahead image on a white piece of cardstock so that it would hold up a little better than regular printer paper.

Knowing that the party would be held in the kitchen, family room, and backyard. I decorated the entryway to the kitchen with multi-layered (and colored) streamers, balloons, and topped it with a "shark zone" sign that I created also via PicMonkey. Guests laughed as they ducked through the streamers and entered the shark zone. 

My kitchen/family room ceiling turned into a "waves and bubbles" with streamers and balloons, giving the room a festive yet underwater feel as guests gathered around the shark food table.

Little Misters eating area was transformed with streamers, a DIY flag banner hanging around his high chair and of course a sharky birthday boy sign. I constructed the banner out of different colors of felt and strung them together with a blue piece of yarn! In attempts to save my carpet I also took an extra piece of the table cloth and attached it to the bottom of Little Mister's chair! I was thrilled when my imagination turned that table cloth into "water" as well! Woohoo!

My table wasn't big enough to hold the plates, utensils, and other food serving items so I cleared off my kitchen island and arranged them on that. I grabbed three different colors of cups, two different colors of plates, two different colors of napkins, and dark blue utensils for the party. I also bought some blue Kool-Aid (which normally is not consumed in my house) to add a special blue drink for the party!

Here's where the fun begins. I wanted to get creative with naming the food items so I visited Pinterest for some inspiration. Please note at some of these shark food names may have come from other websites but I honestly looked at so many that I cannot remember which came from which. For clarification, I am not trying to claim these names as my own :) For the food we have...

Shark Fins & Slow Swimmers (blue chips and homemade salsa)
For The Humans (cheese puffs, Mr. Hunkys request)
Shark Bait (Goldfish and Ritz crackers)

Shark Infested Waters (blue jello with a gummy shark inside)

Fish Food (Fruity Pebbles)

Shark Cakes (Vanilla cupcakes dyed blue with sprinkles topped with a blue buttercream and a gummy shark)

& Shark Salad! (Carved by my talented friend Amanda!)

Little Mister got his very own cupcake that had a blue 2 candle! He was more interested in the frosting than us singing to him but oh well!

For the favors I splurged and had my friend Randi from Scribblers Crayons construct these adorable Shark Crayon Birthday Favors for me! Randi took my theme and created an adorable package for me to give out to the kids as favors and I was so excited when there was even a bite mark from the corners! How cute is that!!

*Scribblers Crayons wants to give MCO readers a 15% discount! Use the code MCO15OCT to receive 15% off your purchase during the month of October 2013!

Everyone had a fabulous time at the Shark birthday party and thought that the food names were hilarious! The only person who wasn't having a fun time was Mrs. Bow Jangles who was being taunted by the cupcake that fell to the floor. Lucky for her mommy gave her a treat for being a good girl and not eating it though! :)

So where did I buy everything and how much did I spend?

Well as you can see I DIYed almost everything so I used a lot of what I had on hand to create things such as the felt banner and the signs, but for the things that I didn't have on hand I hit up my local dollar store and picked up almost everything! Not including the food it cost me about $30 or less to put this party together! 

What types of parties have you DIYed? 

Learning Resources New Sprouts Ring It Up Cash Register Review & Giveaway

Over the summer my kiddos obtained two toys that have become their "go to play" , a toy kitchen that I picked up at a yard sale for $20 and the New Sprouts Market Deluxe Play Set from Learning Resources. You might remember the review of this item that I did a few months back, you can read it here. Between these two toys, all 3 of my children can be found engaging in the most imaginative play. So I was really excited to add another element to this pretend world of theirs.

We were sent the New Sprouts Ring It Up Cash Register and both of my boys think it is one the coolest items to ever enter our home. 

The New Sprouts Register, is packed full of fun. It comes with 5 fun & brightly colored coins so your little one's can purchase their items. The coins fit in the top slot and when the orange side knob is turned they slide out the side or into the drawer.

My boys love the realistic features of the cash register, and I enjoy the fact that it is helping my stubborn 2 1/2 year old learn his numbers and colors. "3 yellow bananas" on the New Sprouts Ring It Up, is a lot more fun than flashcards, or any other way I can figure out how to teach him. The chunky buttons are perfect for little hands and the knob is very easy to turn , making this a great toy for both boys despite their 3 year age difference.  Since they both really enjoy this toy and the New Sprouts Market Deluxe, they are excellent at taking turns playing "customer & cashier".

If I had any complaints at all about the Ring it Up toy, it would be that the coins somehow get ate by the register. After about a week or so of play all the coins ended up stuck inside. Hubs found them easy to get out by taking off the back, and honestly our boys don't care if they have them or not. I think maybe as they get older they will be more into the $$ , but right now they LOVE pushing the buttons and making the drawer open. So, this aspect wasn't a huge disappointment to us. We give the New Sprouts Ring it Up, 4 out of 5 stars. 

You can purchase your own Ring it Up for just $29.99. One of you will win one of your own, please fill out the entry form below for your chance to win. This giveaway will remain open until Wed 10/16, Good Luck!

      

Entry-Form

*Mommys Craft Obsession did not receive compensation for this review and giveaway. This giveaway was written by Amanda of Open Hands.

WOW! Antlers Review and Giveaway

*I received complimentary WOW! Antlers for review in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions*

Photo Credits: WOW Antlers

WOW! Antlers is a company that is brightening up the holidays with their light up reindeer antlers.  The Christmas season is often coined as the “Season of Lights”, and WOW! Antlers is the perfect product to festively decorate any vehicle with holiday lights!

I know some of you may be thinking it's a little early to be talking about Christmas lights, but the season is fast approaching and what better way to show your holiday spirit then with light up reindeer antlers to put on your car!

The WOW! Antlers light up with bright white LED's and come with a cute little nose to put on the grill of your car.  They are about 13" tall.  They are super easy to install, it only takes a few seconds.  All you do is slip them over your window and roll it up, it's that simple.  They run on 2 AA batteries.  They are not waterproof so be sure not to leave them out in the rain or snow. They also have some for bicycles.  I'm sure you can imagine how much fun those would be for the kids!

My kids absolutely love them! When my daughter saw what they were she couldn't wait for me to put them on my car.  She was so excited to be riding in a reindeer car!  I even had a few neighbors stop and ask me where I got them while I was out taking pictures of them.



I love my WOW! Antlers, they are so much fun.  Christmas is my favorite holiday and they are the perfect addition to my holiday decorations.  I'm sure you would love them as well.

To Purchase:  Visit WOW! Antlers to get yours today for only $19.95.

To Win:  Mommys Craft Obsession and WOW! Antlers are giving away a set of light up antlers. Enter the Giveaway Tools form below for a chance to win!

Entry-Form

Congrats Amy Guillaume Linderman!!

The Giveaway will close late on the evening of October 15th. The winner will be chosen at random through Giveaway Tools. The winner will be announced both on Giveaway Tools form as well as notified by email and announced on MCO’s Facebook. The winner will have their prize sent to them by WOW! Antlers, Mommys Craft Obsession is not responsible for prize shipment. Must be 18 years and older. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google are in no way affiliated with this giveaway. No Purchase Necessary. US Only.

*This review is 100% original and in my own words. Everything written is from my own personal view point and opinions, what works for me, may not work for you. All photos have been taken by me unless stated otherwise. I have been provided with product to review by WOW! Antlers however I have not been compensated monetarily for this review.