Obsessed - October 2014

1. This song.  Singing it all the time.

2. My number one...of all time...loved him since 9th grade...seen twice in concert...Sixteen Stone is still one of my favorite albums...number one of ALL TIME celebrity crush was on the Voice this month.  And I lost my flipping mind!

3. Pumpkin EVERYTHING.

4. Seriously.  This.

5. I've been doing the Scrap Stash kits for the past two months.  The concept is that you get an inspiration kit with pictures, a color scheme and even a pinterest board.  Then, you use those prompts and create your own kit with the supplies in your stash.  It's been awesome!  I'm using more of my stash than ever before.  I'm excited to really start making a dent in my stash with these kits.  If you haven't checked them out, you should, it's awesome!  They also have a Facebook page for inspiration and you can post your kits and pages there.  Check them out!

Let's Talk Books

So, I'm having a love/hate relationship with my books.  Correction, I don't hate books...ever...but I'm hating how little time I'm dedicating to reading.  I'm focusing on so many other things that when I sit down to read, usually as I climb into bed already yawning, I fall asleep so quickly that I'm really not getting much done.  I had set a goal of myself to read 8 more books by the end of this year, and that's just NOT going to happen with the way I'm going.  I really want to spend more time reading.  I really enjoy reading and it seems my scrapbooking is taking over my time and my thoughts.  Not a bad thing, but I really do want to get back into making time to read everyday.  I'm normally a pretty quick reader and it's driving me NUTS that I just can't get into it.

With that said, I'm working on finishing up a couple of series that I've enjoyed that are complete.  Right now I'm trying to finish the Harper Connelly series by Charlaine Harris.  I'm enjoying them so my new goal is to finish those by the end of the year.  I have SO many series that I've started and want to finish (or continue if they are ongoing).  It's to a point where if my mom tried to tell me about a series I would enjoy, I crawl into the fetal position with my hands over my ears.  I don't need anymore!!!  But somehow the list continues to grow.

While I'm definitely not reading as much as I want to, I plan to make more time for it.  What have you been reading?  Pardon me if I crawl into the fetal position.

Recipe: Pumpkin Soup

Hello my fellow pumpkin lovers!  I have one of my favorite fall recipes to share with you today.  I make it every year around October and so far, I've made it twice this year.  This was also my husband's request for his first home-cooked meal after coming home from training.

Pumpkin Soup

1 pkg Italian sausage (I use mild)
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 cup chopped white button mushrooms
15oz can pure pumpkin puree
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup water

Remove the sausage links from their casings and brown the sausage in a large pot, breaking it up as it browns (I use a Dutch oven and it's perfect).  Add the onion, garlic powder and Italian seasoning; sautee for a few minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook for about 3-4 minutes.  Add pumpkin and broth; stir, scraping the yummy brown bits from the bottom.  Turn heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes (make sure there's still a rolling boil).

Add cream and water, season with a little salt and pepper.  I sprinkle a little fresh shredded parmesan cheese on top.  If the soup is really liquid-ey, you can add a little rue to help thicken it.

*Rue: in a small pan, melt 2 tbsp butter and add 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and stir until solid.  Add a little of the soup to the rue pan to temper it until it's creamy and add it all back to the soup.  Stir in to thicken up.

You can either blend this soup in a blender or with an immersion blender or keep it chunky.  It's great either way!  I prefer to keep it chunky.

If you try this recipe out, please leave me a comment and let me know how you like it!  Enjoy!

Layout-A-Week Page

Hey everyone!  My first layout for Layout-A-Week is up today!  Please head on over and check out how I made this page, along with the rest of the inspiring blog.  Thanks!