Pumpkin Challenge: Day 2

I find it challenging to successfully multiply the quantities of a recipe by more than two; So taking a single-serving recipe from Chocolate-Covered Katie and making seven of them did not go perfectly.

However... Chocolate makes everything okay. Always.

Chocolate-chip pumpkin cupcakes.

I pulled this recipe (as I will many more times this month) from CCK, and having never done it before, was pleased with my results! My most likely culprit in the cupcakes not behaving was an incorrect ratio of liquid to all-other ingredients, and I knew as I put the batter into the tins that it would not turn out as a normal, fluffy cupcake.

HOWEVER, I was not incorrect in believing that chocolate would solve my problems once again - because it did! I threw them in the oven, pulled them out, found that the consistency was not as awkward as I had expected, and then added Daiya Foods cream cheese and enjoyed!

Day 2 was mostly successful.

Pumpkin Challenge: Day 1 (Introduction)

Welcome to my 3rd (4th?) annual Pumpkin Challenge!

You are invited to join me in the documentation of a challenge that I have taken on since it was proposed to me by a friend many moons ago - the Pumpkin Challenge. For the month of October, I will endeavour to consume one item that contains pumpkin in some way; it could be a beverage, a baked good, a specialty tea, an ice cream, a butter, or - inevitably as past years have shown me - sushi! 

Today marks the first day of the challenge, and as it is the first week of midterms for me, I decided to indulge in a slightly-caffeinated and warm treat for a cold, windy day: A chai-pumpkin-almond-milk latte with cinnamon. Simple, sweet, and cozy on a day where my mental strength is both at its most determined and most fragile - two days before two midterms, and this seemed like a simple way to warm up my body while also cooling down an overheated brain.

 

 

Yes, those are adorable little lady bugs crawling up the side of - no, you are not mistaken - a tea-cup cozy! Courtesy of my grandma.

They were justified in wanting to be a part of the magic that is the Pumpkin Challenge.

YOU, TOO, can be a part of the magic! Feel free to join me starting at any point, or take one day to indulge in a pumpkiny treat with me, or take on the month-long challenge for yourself!

Continue to check back for more pumpkin updates as the month goes on!

The treats will also be viewable on Instagram,

along with the October Green Smoothie Challenge.

Blog Update: Time to Streamline

Through the beginning of my blogging journey, I have enjoyed documenting a variety of topics: My trips, the restaurants I've visited, events I've attended, and personal goals and planning (with ideas for others included).

I am passionate about my photography and my fitness and my food adventures, and I want those to all be aspects of this blog - however, I've decided that they need to be streamlined topics. Thus far, I have been clumping all of my subject matter together, and I believe that a more structured post format will result in

• Shorter entries (more appealing to read and look at)
• More easily-searched for topics (food, photography, organizational tips)
• A more frequently-updated blog!

It will take some figuring out, but in the next few weeks I hope to see my posts become more organized in the way I am trying to organize the rest of my life (which has been going well so far!).

Until then,