Enticing Treats {a giveaway!}

 Something that comes in a package this cute:

only gets better when you open it :)

One of my newest sponsors,

is offering up a gigantic giveaway today!

Let's learn more about Tempestt, the creator and designer behind Enticing Treats!

"EnticingTreats was started after my amazing friends and family encouraged me enough to take the step and bring my handmade treats to the world!
I love mixing my materials and techniques to come up with cute new goodies.
I love yarn, fabric, ribbon, lace, buttons and beads."

I LOVE my headbands

Want one too?

Well it's your lucky day!

Tempestt is offering up a

$30 shop credit

for one lucky reader!

Here's how to get in on it:

There are 6 ways to enter!

{please leave a separate comment for each item you complete}

{this one is mandatory} be a public follower of the Alexandra Rose Blog

Become a fan of Enticing Treats on facebook

Become a fan of Alexandra Rose on facebook

Follow Alexandra Rose on twitter

Re blog {tweet or facebook} about the giveaway with a link back to this post

Tell me something you're thankful for

 

Plus,

Tempestt is giving all of you the chance to save 45% on your entire order

buy using the code

ALEX45

at checkout!

Did you read that?! 45%...like, as in almost 1/2 off!

If you haven't started your holiday shopping, I'm thinking now is the perfect time!

So get to shopping now!

Giveaway and discount code will be open until Saturday, November 12th at 11:59pm

Winner will be announced Sunday, November 13th.

Give Thanks {a linky party!}

I know it's that time of year.

You know, where everyone is more aware of giving thanks.

Taking inventory of what we have, and being grateful.

We tend to be in the holiday spirit,

 more inclined to help those in need,

sponsor a great cause,

give a donation to charity,

or even help give a family a meal.

And, while those are all great things,

{please don't think I'm saying that they're not}

I have a challenge.

Instead of 30 days of thanks,

 or doing a kind deed for someone out of holiday spirit,

Let's make a movement.

A conscious effort to

 be thankful

and give

more.

No matter the time of year,

no matter the circumstance.

Every Thursday I'll hold a Give Thanks link party.

I'd love to hear some things you're thankful for,

something you've done for someone else,

a way you have positively impacted another person.

I'm reading One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp and to say that it's life changing is truly an understatement.

Here is one of my favorite quotes so far:

“The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world.”

How beautiful and true is that?!

7 things I'm thankful for this week

• The pitter patter of tiny feet {even if it is 5:30 in the morning}
• Fall leaves
• Beautiful, amazing sunshine
• Gorgeous fresh flowers
• Walks with my family in crisp, fall air
• The roof over our heads and the beds we sleep in
• Having dinner with wonderful friends

Let's be the change agents in this world!

It starts with you...link up now!

     Please include the Give Thanks button ---->
     with a link back to this post so more people can
     get in on the action :)

Happy Halloween {Part 2}

My son loves Halloween.
Not likes.
Not likes a lot.
loves.
LOVES.
We've had so much fun all month talking about pumpkins, spider webs, Dracula, Frankenstein, ghosts and everything in between.

Numerous trips to the pumpkin patch, and daily drives past festive Halloween decorated houses. October has been busy :)

Last night we had such a good time taking our sweet monster trick-or-treating, visiting friends at scary houses and eating candy.

Even if the he did get to bed 2 1/2 hours past his normal bed time, it was a night well spent and he had SO much fun.

Honestly, I'm dreading the fact that it's now November and 99% of people are going to be taking down their Halloween decorations.

{you know, there's always those random houses who have witches and tombstones up year round}

 If you love me, and understand how difficult it is to explain to a 2 year old that Halloween is over, please leave your Halloween decorations up until Christmas.

Thanks.

Happy Halloween!

From our scary monster.

Hope it was safe,

filled with fun,

and lots of candy :)

Bring on Thanksgiving

{entering The Paper Mama Photo Challenge here}

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

With our recent excursions to the local pumpkin patch and farm,

I couldn't help but notice the amazing bell peppers that are now in season!

They are perfect!

crunchy, sweet and full of vitamins and minerals!

And, not to mention, cheap :)

During our last trip to the farm I decided to pick some up for stuffed peppers.

Here's my recipe for  quinoa stuffed vegetarian stuffed peppers...definitely not the ground beef and tomato sauce norm.

Ingredients:

4 bell peppers

1 1/2 cups quinoa

3 cups water {or veggie broth}

2 Tbs olive oil

1 small onion

3 cloves of garlic

10 small mushrooms

1/2 cup pesto

salt and pepper to taste

4 thin slices of mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Combine quinoa and water {or veggie broth}in a rice cooker, or on stove top. Set aside.

2. Slice off the bell pepper tops and scrape out the seeds. Chop up the bell pepper around the stem and place in a pan along with olive oil, onion, garlic and mushrooms.

3. Saute until tender and season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Add in cooked quinoa and pesto. Mix until combined.

5. Spoon quinoa mixture into bell peppers.

6. Place the peppers in an oven safe dish and top each with a thin slice of mozzarella cheese.

7. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes and top with a dollop of pesto!



Super easy, delicious and healthy.

Doesn't get much better than that!

Pumpkin, Oatmeal & Dark Chocolate Mini Muffins {hello harvest-ish recipes!}

I DIE for pumpkin.
Like, literally.
Remember a few years ago when there was that pumpkin shortage and you couldn't find canned pumpkin in any store?!
Humor me here, even if you don't remember.
Basically, I cried until spring because I didn't get my fill of pumpkin-y deliciousness.

But, I digress, because this year, there is NO pumpkin shortage in these parts, and I  plan to take full advantage of it!

Here's a super easy and relatively healthy recipe for some festive harvest pumpkin muffins!

Gather up the ingredients

{unfortunately, there really is more than one ingredient...disappointing, I know}

Mix the pumpkin, applesauce, milk, egg and egg white

 

Technically, you should sift the dry ingredients together and then slowly add them to the wet, but I'm a bit of a lazy baker, so I just add it all in at once...hey, they turned out fine :)

 

See, looks normal, right?

Toss in the last ingredient, chocolate chips, and mix them in

I love these harvest-y muffin cups and thought they would be perfect for this recipe.

So I lined the muffin tins and filled 'em on up!

Bake at 375 for approximately 14 minutes and they're done!

Ta Da!

How adorable are these?

I love that they're not overly sweet.

They could easily serve as a breakfast muffin, quick snack, or a little treat!

They get eaten up pretty quick around here.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons applesauce {or vegetable oil}
one large egg
one large egg white
1/4 cup milk
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line muffin tin baking cups, or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place pumpkin, applesauce, milk, egg and egg white to a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Slowly add in the dry ingredients, mixing well. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Fill baking cups evenly and bake for 12-14 minutes {remember, these are mini muffins, but I'd say it would be closer to 20 minutes for a full size muffin}

And that's it!
This recipe gave me 40 mini muffins - which totally means there was enough to share :)


{recipe adapted via}

I'm Back!

I'm alive!

Who knew?

In  case you didn't notice

{though I'm secretly hoping you did}

I basically fell off the face of the planet for about a month.

Apparently, I needed a break.

I started back to work as a toddler preschool teacher after having the summer off,

and in between finding my balance of work, home, wife, mommy, crafter and blogger; blogger fell off the deep end.

The first few days I didn't write a post I can't even describe the amount of guilt I was feeling. Regardless of my lack of inspiration and time, I still felt a need to write...something!

As the days went on, my guilt slowly disappeared {hence the reason there hasn't been a post since} and quickly turned into enjoyment.

I can honestly say it was a great break. I spent quality time with my family, didn't feel pressure to constantly check my phone for new emails, or address my blog. My mind felt less....busy.

I'm so thankful I took a few weeks to give myself some time off, because now, I have this renewed excitement and I feel full of inspiration!

I guess that sometimes all you need is a little break!

Here's a peek at what we've been up to:

Potty training boot camp

Visits to our local farm

Crafting custom orders

Practicing our 'moustache lip'

And bubble beard...

Had a great day at the train park

And, checked out an art festival that had some a-ma-zing sidewalk chalk

Whew!

I appreciate that you stuck around and waited for me...

look forward to lots of fall inspired recipes and crafts, super great handmade shops, fun tips on living green and, of course, some super adorable pictures of my little man in between.