(Legit) Pumpkin Spiced Latte

Apparently, pumpkin spiced creamer is not a true pumpkin spiced latte. So I made the whole shebang this morning--sauce pan and all. I used this recipe: http://www.sweethappylife.com/2011/easy-family-recipes/homemade-pumpkin-spice-latte-recipe/. It was good, but next time I would add more pumpkin, more coffee, and less milk. The cream on top is in the shape of a ball because it was frozen. I made homemade whipping cream and put it in the freezer. This was not a good idea. Now I can have whipping cream on my coffee every morning!!!!!!!
I don't have it every morning. Promise...

Isn't my little poinsettia cute? I think I know what I want to make with it. 

One of my favorite shows on the cooking channel is Kelsey's Essentials. Matt watched an episode with me once in which she made mac n' cheese. http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/kelsey-nixon/skillet-bacon-mac-and-cheese-recipe/index.html. We decided we needed to make it. We're generally healthy people (except for our incorrigible sweet tooths), so we figured it would be okay to branch from healthiness for one night. The recipe calls for Gruyere cheese (this is pronounced groo-yayr, contrary to what you might be thinking). We Southerners had never even heard of it, but finally found it at our little grocery store. We thought it was going to be around five dollars for an 8 ounce block of this cheese. This amount seemed a bit on the steep side considering we had 3 more cheeses to buy, but you only make homemade macaroni and cheese once, right? So we plopped it in the cart and after more shopping, headed to the register. One of my favorite things to do after a trip to the grocery store is to look at the receipt and guess which items were the most expensive and which were the cheapest. So back in the car, looking over the receipt, we realized we spent 11 bucks on a chunk of cheese!! What?? We would've taken it back, but we were in a hurry, so we decided to just bite the bullet and go for it.

Wish y'all were here to taste it! Especially since we obviously made too much. We enjoyed every last bit of it, but if we made it again, I'd add less Parmesan. It overpowered the taste of the fancy Gruyere.

So I made some changes on the blog! Can you tell the pictures are bigger? I also added links to some of my favorite blogs at the bottom of the page. And you can click on the "Follow me on Pinterest" link off to the right and see all the things that I think are worth saving on the world wide web. Pinterest is a new web site that is like a virtual pin board where you can save links of things you want to remember. Perfect for craft ideas! If you want an invite, let me know!

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."

His mercies are new every morning. The past doesn't matter! We have the wonderful opportunity to start each day thanking Christ for his sacrifice and choosing to give our lives back to Him! It's the only thing that truly matters.

As our bosom fried Anne Shirley tells us, "Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it."