Mini Pumpkin Muffin Recipe!

Today officially marks the first day of Fall and I could not  be happier! When I left for college last year, I decided to make a tradition that on the first day of Fall every year I will make something with pumpkin in it. To kick off Fall this year I decided to make Pumpkin Muffins. The recipe is the easiet thing, it just consists of three ingredients. They are also not bad for you! My mom calls them "skinny girl pumpkin muffins"! So if you are looking for an easy and cheap recipe for something containing pumpkin here ya go:

What you need:

• Mini Muffin Pan (nonstick)
• Scooper (optional)
• 1 Box Spice Cake mix
• 1 Can Pumpkin
• 1 Cup Chocolate chips

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 325!

Step 2:

Mix all of the ingredients into a medium 

sized bowl.

Step 3:

 If your pan is not nonstick spray with Pam 

first. Scoop the mix into the muffin tin. If you 

do not have a scoop just use a spoon to spoon it 

in. I just find it easier to use a scooper.

Step 4:

Place in the oven and bake for 20minutes or

until firm to touch!

Step 5:

Take out of the oven, let them cool off

for about 20mins or so and then you can eat!

ENJOY!

Fall Wreath!

Tomorrow marks the first day of my favorite season, Fall! Although, lately I feel like I have been living under a rock. All I have done in this past month is go to school and work. So I took a break from both this weekend too enjoy getting ready for my favorite season and got crafty. I have seen so many burlap wreaths on Pinterest, so I felt inspired. I made my own fall wreath and thought I would provide y'all with the DIY! I purchased all the materials from Hobby Lobby for under $10! This can be made in two easy steps.

Materials:

• 3 things of 4inch ribbon
• wire wreath template
• burlap flower

Step One:

Weave the ribbon through the wreath template. There

is no real way to do it, just weave in and out. Twist the 

ribbon around so that is makes loops similar to the picture 

below. Just continue to do this to the rest of the wreath!

Step Two:

Add the flower to the wreath. The one I got had a

magnet that helped it to attach & un-attach to things

easily. A WA-LA you're done!

I am pretty happy with how it turned out! Have you seen any Pinterest inspired wreaths that you want to make? Or seen similar wreaths? If so, comment and let me know!

Italian Chicken

If there was one thing I could make every single day it would be this! This is Italian Chicken. It is SO easy to make and SO good. If you are a college student or on a tight budget this is perfect for you. I used chicken tenders but chicken breasts work the same!

Ingredients:

• Four chicken breasts or five tenders
• two bottles of italian dressing
• parmesan cheese (optional)
• italian seasoning

Step 1:

Marinate the chicken! I always marinate it over night,
but if you don't want to do that just a few hours should
work. Put in about three fourths of a bottle of dressing,
and the italian seasoning then poke it with a fork. After
that leave in the refrigerator to sit.

Step 2:

Preheat the over to 350. Get the chicken out and it put

it into a 9x10 pan or whatever you have. Add the rest of

the dressing to it along with half of the other bottle.

Place in the oven to cook for an hour. Flipping the 

chicken occasionally. When juices start to come out clear

they are done.

Step 3:

I like to put parmesan cheese on top so it melts on! It adds

a good flavor, but it is totally optional!

 Step 4:

Eat and enjoy!

Fun in the sun!

I have been back from the beach for about a week now. Of course when I get back I get swamped at work so had no time to share my trip. I had a nice trip with Cody and my friends. It was a nice little get away before school.

Check out the life guard sitting there eating Reese's Puffs.

Ahhhh the first day on the beach! So happy!

Cody definitely had a relaxing trip.

Hanging out on the beach, I miss it already. 

Every year when I go to the beach we go out to eat once! This year we 

checked out Joe's Crab Shack. It was so good.

These are crab nachos! They were to die for!

How can you go the Joe's Crab Shack without getting crab legs?

Cody and I had a nice date night one night at the beach!

On the last night at the beach we went to Broadway and enjoyed a live 

band, food, games, and shopping!

I hope you enjoyed my little recap of my beach trip! I had a great time... Now two more weeks until school starts back. This college gal is not ready for it.

Beach Essentials

This time next weekend I will be packing for the beach! I cannot wait to feel the sand between my toes, sun on my skin, and have a good time with good friends. So since I am heading on a vacay soon, I decided I would dedicate a post to the essentials I think every girl needs at the beach. 

1. Beach Bag:we all need a fun beach bag to carry our towels, drinks, and sunscreen in.
2. Floppy Hat: not only is it fashionable, but it also shades your face from harmful rays. This is an absolute must have ladies
3. Sunglasses: lets be honest, we all have a cute pair of sunglass to rock for summer. I really love these because they are my favorite color!
4. Tank: A super cute tank is something we should no only have for the beach but for summer. I particularly love this one because of the stripes. I am a little obsessed with stripes right now.
5. Shorts: shorts are not only a beach essential, but a summer one as well. I love these super cute ones from American Eagle.
6. Wedges: Wedges not only add style to any outfit, but go so well with an outfit for a night out at the beach! 
7. Sandals: Sandals are a such summer necessity, these happen to be some of my favorites. They are not only so cute, but so cheap. Only fifteen bucks from Target!
8. Bathing Suit: If anything is a true beach essential it would have to be a bathing suit. I happen to love how cute and flirty this polka dotted one from Target is.
9. Maxi Dress: Here we are again with stripes! I am a little obsessed. This one is comfortable and light which is perfect to wear at night when walking the beach.

These are my beach essentials. Are there any others you can think of? Most of these beach essentials can be found at Target, click on the links to check them out. Also, this time next weekend get ready for loads of beach pictures. Happy Saturday everyone!

Fourth of July Fun!

The Fourth is one of my favorite holiday's! Cody and I decided to head to good ol Blowing Rock to spend it. Every year Blowing Rock has a big parade, fireworks, and fun festivities to celebrate the holiday. Unfortunately it rained basically the whole entire day so most of those were moved to Saturday when I was no longer there to participate :( Anyways, I took some picture to document the two days there we did spend. And rain or no rain we had a blast!

Happy Fourth! This was us on the actual fourth,we

wanted to be festive in our red, white, and blue! If

you can see in the background, there is rain!

Since all it did was rain we decided to change & head

to a beautiful park on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There 

was a cute little rive there. The water was FREEZING!

After spending the rest of the day exploring the Blue 

Ridge Parkway we lucked out and saw some fireworks

being shot off at Tweetsie Railroad!

Of course on our very last day there the decided to finally 

sun come out,so I decided to actually get ready! My hat & 

necklace from Ross. My shirt and shorts are from Forever 

21.

Before leaving we ended the mini vacay with ice cream 

from one of my favorite places, Kilwins. I got my cone

dipped in red, white, and blue sprinkles!

Driving back we stopped off at a lookout! During most 

of our trip fog was covering the mountains, it was nice 

to actually see them!

Even though it rained for most of our trip, it was nice to get away for a bit. Now its back to work tomorrow! I wish weeks and weekends were switched--two days of work and five days off. Hope everyone had a great Fourth!

Crockpot Barbecue Chicken

My favorite kind of meals are those made in the crockpot! When I left for school one of the best gifts I received was my crockpot. My mom always used to make barbecue chicken when I was growing up and it was always one of my absolute favorite meals to eat! So the first meal I ever made in my crockpot was barbecue chicken. This recipe is my moms, but I tweaked it a little. It is so easy and oh so yummy. I hope if you try to make it, that you will enjoy it just as much as I do!

Ingredients:

• Four (or more) Chicken breasts
• Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue sauce
• Garlic Salt
• Brown Sugar
• White Vinegar
• Minced onions (optional)

Step 1:

Combine 1/3 cup vinegar, BBQ Sauce, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, 

1 tablespoon minced onions(if used) and 1/4 cup of brown sugar 

into bowl and mix up.

Step 2:

Turn crockpot on high and Layer the bottom of the crockpot 

with the sauce mix:

Step 3:

Place chicken on top and then poor the rest of the sauce mix 

over it. 

Step 4:

Leave in the crockpot to cook for six hours. Crockpot can be 

bought here!

Step 5:

Eat and Enjoy!!!