Pumpkin Pecan Waffles Recipe

While I’m a pretty decent cook, I am NOT a food blogger. I find writing recipes to be tedious and I’d be lying if I said I enjoy the process.

HOWEVER, occasionally I do like to share a good recipe that I’ve tried out. This is one I just kind of threw together a couple of years ago and it has become a family fave in our house. It’s perfect for cozy Fall mornings and was inspired by our FAVORITE Bath & Body Works candle, Pumpkin Pecan Waffle.

I won’t make you read my life story before I give you the recipe, so here it is!

Ingredients:
2C Bisquick Original Pancake and Baking Mix
1.5C milk
1 Egg
2T vegetable oil
2T Canned Pumpkin
1/2T Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2C Chopped Pecans
Preferred cooking spray
Your favorite Syrup

Tools Needed:
Large Mixing Bowl
Waffle Iron
Whisk

Instructions:
1. Preheat Waffle Iron (I’m going to assume here that you know how to use it and know the right temps…since they all vary, I cannot give proper instructions on how to heat it.)
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix baking mix, milk, eggs, and vegetable oil.
3. Once batter is mixed well, mix in pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and chopped pecans. If the batter seems to thick, you can add a little bit more milk to the mixture. You want it to be slightly runny but not watery.
4. Spray waffle iron, once preheated.
5. Pour about 1/2C of batter on waffle iron (read: This may vary based on size of waffle iron. I am assuming here that you know how yours works!)
6. Cook until cooked through.
7. Repeat until all batter is gone.
8. Serve with your favorite syrup, whipped cream, and/or pecans as a garnish.

You guys, this recipe never disappoints. It’s a hit in our house during the colder months. I like to make a bunch extra (usually 2 batches) and freeze them to use on busy mornings.

If you do not have a waffle iron, you can totally make these as pancakes too. Just do 1 cup of milk instead of 1.5, 1 more egg, and no vegetable oil and you’re set.

Let me know if you try this one out and what you think! In my opinion, they smell pretty similar to the Bath & Body Works Candle 🙂


DIY Skeleton Cage Halloween Decor

Since this is our first year decorating for Halloween in this house, we don’t really have that much in the way of Halloween decor. Our old house was much smaller so the little we had this year just wasn’t cutting it. So, we tried to find a few ways to get the most bang for our buck when it came to decorating, especially outside decorating!

We saw this super cute DIY project on pinterest a while back and decided to do our own version of it! We love how it turned out and our grand total for both? Around $50! Not bad! Especially considering these are kind of the main attraction on our front porch.

Cost Breakdown
Skeletons $15 each
Laundry Baskets $1 each (found at Dollar Tree)
Spray Paint $5
Zip ties $3 (for a pack of 50)
Rope $2
Eye hooks $2 for a pack of 4 (we only used 2)
Fairy Lights $5 each
TOTAL: $51

Materials
2 plastic round laundry baskets (in black or another dark color)
Black Spray paint (if you’re unable to find black laundry baskets)
36″ poseable skeleton
Black zip ties
Purple battery operated fairy lights
Thin black rope for hanging
Fisheye hook
Scissors

  • Cut out holes for the skeleton’s legs.
  • Place Skeleton in bottom basket and pull legs through holes.
  • Zip tie back of skeleton and hands to baskets and then zip tie baskets together.
  • Finished project in the daylight

Instructions
1. If you are not able to find black laundry baskets, you will need to spray paint them black.
2. Cut out small holes in the top of one of the laundry baskets for the legs of the skeleton.
3. Place skeleton into first basket and pull legs through holes.
4. Place your battery operated fairy lights around the bottom of the bottom laundry basket, in the skeleton’s lap.
5. Put other laundry basket on top of the bottom basket so that it resembles a cage.
6. Use zip ties to tie the two baskets together.
7. Use zip ties to tie the skeleton’s hands up so that it looks like he is holding onto the cage.
8. Trim the zip ties.
9. Lace rope through the top of the cage and tie off.
10. Insert eye hook into ceiling and tie your rope into the hook.

That’s it! A super easy DIY Halloween decoration where you get a lot of bang for your buck.

Tag us in social media if you try it out!!
IG: @all.fall.yall


Dunkin 2021 Fall Menu Reviews

It’s official! We now have access to Pumpkin Spice things!!! Dunkin has released their 2021 Fall Menu including 10 new drinks, 2 donuts, a mufifn, a breakfast sandwich, and a snack. It was a lot!! So, we tried all of it for you so you didn’t have to (unless you want to obviously!).

Initially, we filmed us trying each item….unfortunately, the video was chaotic and crazy due to our gaggle of children (there are only 3 but if you watched the video, you’d think there were 22 of them)! It was noisy and hard to hear so I’m doing a post for you instead. The ratings and reviews are based on the opinions of 2 adults, and 9 year old, and a 12 year old. Here goes!!

DRINKS

Credit: https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/dunkin-new-fall-flavors-2021
  1. Apple Cranberry Refresher (4/5 stars)
    If you’ve had any of the refreshers, they’re usually a fruity juice type drink that isn’t overly sweet and quite refreshing, hence the name. This one reminds me a lot of the Green Apple Jolly Ranchers (the best ones…fight me). It’s got a hint of cranberry but I’d say the Apple stands out most in this drink. It’s more sour than sweet but doesn’t cause you to pucker or anything. My 9 year old was particularly fond of this one.
  2. Apple Cranberry Coconut Refresher (3/5 stars)
    This drink is just the Apple Cranberry Refresher with coconut milk added to it. The coconut milk at Dunkin is typically quite sweet and it shows in this drink. It’s a little too sweet for my taste but again, my 9 year old liked it. The general consensus was that the regular refresher was a lot better without the coconut.
  3. Pumpkin Chai Latte – Hot & Cold (2/5 stars)
    My 12 year old daughter and I are fans of Chai Lattes usually but this one was disappointing, to be honest. This drink is made as a chai latte with 2 pumpkin swirls. It was very very sweet and just did not really taste great. The pumpkin flavor was overshadowed by how sickeningly sweet it was. I think if you were to order this drink with just one Pumpkin Swirl, instead of 2 (for a small size), it would still be sweet, but it would be better. We all preferred this one cold, instead of hot.

    credit: http://www.dunkindonuts.com
  4. Pumpkin Coffee – Hot & Cold (4/5 stars)
    Now we’re cookin’ with fire. This drink is made with coffee and pumpkin swirls. For a small size, there are 2 pumpkin swirls so if you prefer less sweet, do fewer swirls. The pumpkin spice flavor came through well. We added 2 whole milks and it was perfect. It was great hot and iced!

    Credit: http://www.dunkindonuts.com
  5. Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew (5/5 stars)
    This one was one of the best drinks we tried out of all of them. It was delicious. It’s made with black cold brew, 2 pumpkin swirls (for a size small), topped with a Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam, and cinnamon sugar. I typically don’t love the swirls because of their sweetness, but this one worked. I will still likely forego the swirls in the future, just because it’s good without it too! If you only try one of these drinks, try this one!!
  6. Vanilla Cold Brew with Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam (3.5/5 stars)
    This one has potential but I didn’t like it as is. It is made with cold brew, vanilla shots, liquid cane sugar, and topped with pumpkin cream cold brew and cinnamon sugar. I was a little confused when I first tried this one because it was so sweet, until I realized it had cane sugar in it. The flavor shots are unsweetened so you can have the flavor in your cold brew without the sweetness. That’s what I would personally prefer, especially since it’s topped with the sweet cold foam. If this one was ordered without the liquid cane sugar or at least with less of it, I think it would be perfect!
  7. Caramel Iced Coffee with Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam (5/5 stars)
    I honestly thought this one would be too sweet but it actually wasn’t too bad. In fact, it was a favorite among the whole family. It’s made with iced coffee, caramel swirl, oatmilk, and the Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam. I had no idea it had oat milk in it, don’t be turned off by that. It’s very good. I use oatmilk in my coffee regularly and I couldn’t even tell the difference until I read the ingredients. I would get this one as is and it will not disappoint.
  8. Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte – hot & cold (4/5)
    Usually PSLs are way too sweet. The Starbucks one is always too much for me and I have to modify it avoid a sugar high. So, I expected the same from this one. The latte is made with espresso, pumpkin and vanilla swirls, topped with whipped cream, cinnamon sugar, and a caramel drizzle. It can definitely be considered sweet…don’t get me wrong. But it works…I can’t describe it but I think it’s because you can actually taste the coffee in it. It’s not overpowered by too much milk and sugar. If you do want it less sweet though, just do fewer flavor swirls. The Dunkin PSL did not disappoint. We all enjoyed it better iced, but the hot was also very good!

Food & Snacks

  1. Pumpkin Donut & Munchkins (4.5/5 stars)
    The pumpkin donut is a classic. Not too sweet, a light orange tine on the inside, and glazed. It reminded us all of the blueberry cake donut, but with pumpkin spice flavoring. You can grab this one in donut or munchkin form. I highly recommend trying this one at least once!
  2. Apple Cider Donut (5/5 stars)
    This donut was so good, you guys. It’s tossed in cinnamon sugar and has a glaze underneath it. The inside really does have an apple-y flavor and it’s the prefect fall treat.
  3. Pumpkin Muffin (4/5 stars)
    The pumpkin muffin was very very moist. It almost had the texture of pumpkin pie. It definitely had the flavor of pumpkin pie. The only thing we all kind of noticed is that it was very heavy on pumpkin spice…emphasis on the spice. I’m thinking it was clove or nutmeg but it was a little overpowering. It’s definitely still worth a try though.
  4. Maple Sugar Snackin’ Bacon (5/5 stars)
    I’ll be honest, I’ve never tried the other snackin’ bacons before, but I have had the candied bacon on a sandwich and it was pretty delicious. This stuff is addictive though. Literally everyone at the table said this was their favorite thing on the Fall menu, food wise. The bacon is crispy but not overcooked, it has a maple flavor with brown sugar and black pepper. Don’t sleep on this one. It’s worth it!!
  5. Maple Sugar Bacon Breakfast Sandwich
    I could eat this for breakfast everyday. Fried egg, white cheddar, maple sugar bacon, on a croissant. *Chefs kiss*. Everyone at the table loved this one too…probably due to the fact that it had the maple sugar bacon on it and that was our favorite thing ever. 🙂

That’s it guys! We tried everything for you. Overall, it’s all pretty good. A few of the drinks could use some tweaking due to sweetness but aside from that, we were happy about it all. It was a tough job but somebody had to do it. We’re here for you.

Have you tried anything from the new menu? We want to know your thoughts on the things you’ve tried! Comment below and let us know!

-Jess

What the heck is “Hogwartsing”?

The year Ben and I met, I was given the opportunity to take on a new job within the company where we both worked. I had been an office manager for about 9 months there at the time. The new job I was taking on was a brand new type of position for me and required me to do a LOT of studying. Like a lot.

At the time, I was a single mother of two and was barely making ends meet. This position didn’t necessarily solve all of my financial woes, but it certainly was the foundation that I built my career on in the future, which allowed me to do more than just pay bills.

I was offered his position in the Fall and would begin after Christmas. For the remainder of the year, I spent almost every waking moment studying for this position. Every other Friday, when the girls would go to their dad’s house, Ben and I would leave work together and go shopping for supplies. Usually this consisted of pajamas or cozy outfits and snacks. Then, we’d grab dinner and a Starbucks on the way back to my cozy apartment and sit in front of the fire until 2 or 3am, studying and working.

We used to turn on Harry Potter ASMR videos on the TV and Rainy Mood in our headphones. We usually had a Bath & Body Works candle burning too. We started “pretending” we were at Hogwarts, studying. We started referring to these nights as “Hogwarts’ nights.

Over time, we started referring to any type of work, reading, even computer games by candlelight as “Hogwartsing”. To this day, we do this a few times a week at least. During that time, I work on this blog (along with one other that I have) and he either plays DIablo 2 or works on side projects (he’s a developer by trade).

So, now you know…we are total weirdos. And also…we are definitely “Hogwartsing” right now. It was the rainiest, stormiest night and we are burning candles, drinking coffee, and have been working for the last 4.5 hours, since the baby went to sleep. I’ve been so productive and feel super cozy too.

Do you have a name for your study time or any “unique” habits that make you feel cozy or productive??

Salted Caramel Coffee Recipe

Fall is just around the corner and August is here! Of course all of you Starbucks junkies already know that all of the seasonal Fall drinks will be here in a matter of weeks. Are you stoked? Because we’re stoked.

Every year when the Fall drinks come out, we carve out a bit extra in our budgets to enjoy the seasonal drinks from Starbucks. But during the off seasons, we start to miss them. Especially in the summer. So, I came up with a few coffee recipes to hold us over. This one is my current fave.

Salted Caramel Coffee

What you’ll need:
Your favorite coffee
Milk, cream, or half/half
Salted Caramel Coffee Syrup (We use the Torani’s sugar free version)
Whipped cream (I use extra creamy)
Caramel Drizzle (I use the sugar free Sundae Syrup from…)
Sea salt

Instructions:
1. Find your favorite coffee mug and add about 3-4 tbsp of milk, cream, or half & half (I like to add my milk and sweetener before my coffee)
2. Add about 2-4 pumps of Salted Caramel Coffee Syrup, depending on how sweet you like it. I usually do the equivalent of 1.5-2 pumps because the sugar free tends to come off a bit sweeter.
3. Pour in your hot coffee and add more milk if needed.
4. Stir well
5. Top with extra creamy whipped cream
6. Drizzle desired amount of caramel on top
7. Add a tiny pinch of sea salt
8. ENJOY!

This drink is the perfect combo for me and I love it! I sometimes have it for dessert too!

You can also make this iced and it’s delicious! Let us know if you try it!

What’s your favorite homemade coffee concoction for when you’re craving Fall flavors?

The First Signs of Fall 2021!!

We are officially Pre-Gaming for Spooky Season!!

We have made a bit of a tradition out of heading out to stores on Independence Day to get the first glimpse of Fall and Halloween decor. Last year, we obviously missed out on that because of COVID so this year, we hopped out of bed and dragged all the kids out of the house to At Home and Michael’s.

They did not disappoint.

We found a few partially completed aisles in At Home and mostly Fall Floral stuff at Michael’s. From here on out, we will likely spend our weekends at these stores, along with Homegoods, until Spirit Halloween opens and Target gets their stuff out. They usually don’t put Fall stuff out until after Labor Day but I always love their displays!

If you follow us on Instagram, you saw our first CODE ORANGE for 2021 there but here’s a little sneak peek of what we found on our first weekend out!

We look forward to post more on IG as we find stuff and we will be doing Fall Hauls on there and on the blog as soon as we start buying stuff.

Summer is here….

 

…which means I have to suffer for another 89 days before Fall. UGH! Living in the Southeast, we get some pretty hot and humid summers and frankly, I’m already over it. Ew. 

Either way, I think the super gross Summers make the cooler temps feel even more welcome when they arrive and we are sooo ready! 

We are super excited for the blog relaunch and have a lot of content ideas! Here are some things to look forward to! 

-YouTube Fall Ambience – Our faves

-Our favorite Fall recipes

-Updates on Fall and Halloween Decor releases in stores

-Spirit Halloween Openings

-Starbucks PSL releases

-Starbucks Fall cup releases

-POSSIBLE limited release merch…we are thinking about it. 

-2021 Fall Candle reviews

-DIY Halloween Decor

-Turning our front porch into a mini haunted house for Trick-or-Treaters!

-Giveaways and so much more!

We’re so happy you’re here!