A Girl Named PJ

Archives for 2015

8 easy pumpkin spice recipes to make at home

Easy pumpkin spice recipes to enjoy at home | A Girl Named PJ

This time of year, I’m partial to almost anything pumpkin-flavored — except hot pumpkin tea. For some reason, I just can’t wrap my head around the idea of it. I did, however, enjoy a pumpkin spice tequila-based margarita at a friend’s wedding on Halloween.

Before fall turns to winter, and everyone’s favorite Pumpkin Spice Latte is replaced with a Peppermint Latte, I thought I’d share eight of the yummiest-looking easy pumpkin spice recipes. Not surprisingly, most are desserts because that’s the way I (pumpkin) roll.

1. Not only do these pumpkin muffins from Sarah Hearts have a super moist texture similar to pumpkin bread, but there’s cream cheese filling hiding inside.

2. For a deliciously seasonal grab-and-go breakfast, bake a batch of these chewy oatmeal pumpkin chocolate chip muffins from Avery Cooks.

3. Described as a cross between fudge and bark, The Kitchen Prep‘s pumpkin spice latte bark would be the perfect complement to an afternoon cuppa.

4. If you prefer to go full fudge, this white chocolate pumpkin spice fudge recipe from Mom on Time Out would be my recommendation.

5. Sorry to burst your bubble, but there’s no actual pumpkin in a Starbucks PSL! On the other hand, the pumpkin spice coffee creamer recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction includes flavorful pumpkin puree.

6. Make The Cake Blog‘s pumpkin cupcakes the day before and top them with homemade cinnamon-flecked cream cheese frosting before you serve them.

7. I won’t judge if you want to eat an actual dessert like leftover pumpkin cupcakes for breakfast. Or you can whip up Skinnytaste‘s pumpkin spice cream cheese to enjoy on a bagel as a healthier option.

8. Because you can’t go wrong with a classic pumpkin roll. Plus, Gimme Some Oven‘s trick for cutting perfect slices is genius.

Which pumpkin spice recipe looks the most delicious to you?
(And which would you actually try making at home?)

PS – Eight eggnog recipes to get your psyched for the holiday season.

Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies: Which one are you?

Thoughts on Gretchen Rubin's four tendencies | A Girl Named PJ

If you read this blog, you probably have an interest in happiness or good habits or self-care.

And if those topics interest you, you’ve probably read something by the author Gretchen Rubin, who writes about building a happier life. Maybe you’ve listened to her podcast, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, which she co-hosts with her sister, Elizabeth Craft.

I’ve been meaning to read Gretchen’s breakout book, The Happiness Project, since it hit the New York Times Bestseller List. A good friend gave it to me for my birthday a couple of years ago, and it’s been sitting untouched on my bookshelf since I unwrapped it. For whatever reason, the timing never felt right to crack it open.

I started listening to Gretchen’s podcast this summer, and while the content was informative, the banter between the sisters just wasn’t entertaining enough for me to continue past a few episodes. There was something about their conversations, or maybe their voices, that just didn’t excite me.

Also, it kind of bugged me that the show isn’t called “Happier with Gretchen and Elizabeth”.

Since I haven’t been able to psyched myself up about Gretchen’s work in the past, I didn’t give much thought to her latest book, Better than Before, when it was published earlier this year.

Until this week.

Take Gretchen Rubin's four tendencies quiz! | A Girl Named PJ

In the most recent newsletter from the girls at The Hello Sessions, Joy and Melissa discuss Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies, a framework the author developed while researching Better Than Before. Simply put, it describes how people respond to all expectations:

  1. Upholders respond readily to outer and inner expectations.
  2. Questioners question all expectations. They’ll meet an expectation if they think it makes sense. Essentially, they make all expectations into inner expectations.
  3. Obligers meet outer expectations but struggle to meet self-imposed expectations.
  4. Rebels resist all expectations, outer and inner alike.

Joy and Melissa included a link to a Four Tendencies quiz in their newsletter, and, curious about my own Tendency, I took it.

Turns out, I’m an Obliger, although I can’t say I’m terribly surprised. I work hard to fulfill my promises to others (meeting deadlines, showing up on time), but I almost never follow through on promises I make to myself (going to bed early, eating less candy).

Another example: I’m hardly ever motivated to go to the gym unless I’m working out with a trainer.

Now, of course, I want to download Better Than Before on my Kindle so I can learn how, as an Obliger, I can successfully change my habits.

Although… If reading Gretchen Rubin’s newest book is an expectation I impose on myself, what are the chances I’ll actually follow through?

Take the Four Tendencies quiz and then leave a comment below. Are you an Upholder, a Questioner, an Obliger, or a Rebel? 

(photos taken by Laicie Heeley in Baltimore this past weekend)

 

3 things to never say to your kids

3 things to never say to your kids | A Girl Named PJ

Before I became a mother, I’d joke about how I’d discipline any future kids. If they misbehaved in public, for example, I’d pull them aside and, while attempting to keep my cool, ask, “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Obviously, this was not a parenting technique I decided to actually employed when Levi was born… READ MORE!

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