Pin It to Win It: It's Fall Y'all

My mother is the only person that I know of that makes a whole-hearted effort to actively attempt recipes and design projects that she finds on Pinterest. She is so committed to her love of Pinterest (and wine) that she even earned herself a trip to the minor emergency clinic after slicing open her finger while constructing this lovely chopped up cork display: 

And let's all take a moment of silence for Christmas 2011's Leaning Tower of Chocolate and Salted Caramel Cake-sa. It was pure Christmas magic finding my parents struggling to reassemble a cake that had toppled in the refrigerator and all of us laughing/crying hysterically as Mother got more and more upset that her Christmas dessert was no longer Pinterest perfect (notice the icing-mass growing off the left side of the cake in a futile attempt to anchor it down).

I admire my mother's attempts at creativity and wish I could take risks like her. The riskiest Pinterest project that I have completed in recent memory was the extremely difficult "place a capful of vanilla extract in a ramekin and put it in the oven for 1 hour so that your house smells lovely" project. It worked (obviously, because it is idiot-proof), and I marked a tally in my Pinterest win column. 

Surprisingly, I found the vanilla extract project mentioned above on the Pinterest Fail website (Pinstrosity is funny too), which goes to show that you can screw up even the easiest of Pinterest projects if you put your mind to it. This particular person read the instructions as place a CUPFUL of vanilla extract in the oven, and subsequently wound up with a house that "smelled like the Pillsbury Dough Boy's butthole for the next two months." 

Side note - here are my two favorite Pinterest fails of all time: 

Now that Fall has arrived and every PSL drinking, chunky scarf wearing, boot trotting girl out there has an "I <3 FALL!" Pinterest page, I figured this would be the perfect time to kick off a recurring blog post called "Pin It to Win It." In this series, I will attempt one recipe and one craft found on Pinterest (the inaugural attempt being pumpkin themed, obvi) and post the results. 

Recipe: Honey Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting 

Original Pin

Original Pin

I don't think I have ever made cupcakes/muffins/a cake from scratch (surprise surprise), and I have only made homemade icing once, so this recipe was definitely mine for the taking to screw up somehow. I bolstered my confidence by picking up some adorable black and white spiderweb cupcake liners from Michael's, which would be used to cutely mask any failed baking attempt. 

I started out by preparing two bowls of ingredients. 

Bowl 1: flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, baking powder, and salt

Bowl 2: sugar, olive oil, honey, almond milk, pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract

I whisked together the ingredients in each bowl and then added the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture. Next I whisked together the combined bowls until smooth, then spooned the batter into the cupcake liners. The blog where I found this recipe said that it made about 12 cupcakes, but I definitely had enough batter to make at least six more. 

                  

Ready to bake!

While the muffins were baking, I enlisted my trusty sidekick to assist with making the homemade cream cheese frosting, as I did not trust myself to properly contain the icing ingredients within the confines of the mixing bowl while taking the electric mixer to them. Judge away, but that mixer is fast! We whipped together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar and set the bowl in the fridge to cool. 

      

The honey pumpkin muffins filled the house with such an intoxicating Fall smell that I was tempted to just eat them sans icing as soon as they came out of the oven. 

I would say that the only aspect of this project that did not work out as hoped for was the consistency of the icing. Though it tasted phenomenal, the icing itself resembled the ooey gooey drippy consistency of cinnamon roll icing rather than the stiffer consistency of store bought icing, thereby making the application process a bit more difficult. The recipe resulted in extra icing as well, so we drizzled some of the excess onto our muffins just like you would a cinnamon roll - I highly suggest doing this! To kick this Fall-themed Pinterest project up a notch, I topped off each muffin with some Fall sprinkles that I found at HomeGoods. 

Despite the icing consistency, I deem this recipe a Pinterest win. Next time I will definitely make a few extra muffins with the excess batter and icing. 

Craft: Faux Pumpkin Flower Pot

Original Pin

Original Pin

I picked this mumpkin craft because it added some lovely floral warmth to our condo and also allowed me to make something that I could reuse every year. To get this project going, I picked up 2 plastic pumpkins at Michael's and 2 potted mums at Home Depot. Side note - Michael's has a lot of great items (baking accessories, holiday decorations, you name it) and their iPhone app typically has some good coupons that knock the price down. 

Mumpkin supplies

I traced a circle around the top of the pumpkin, and using our handy dandy utility knife Matt cut the top off because I was scared that I was going to chop off a finger or three I slowly cut off the top of each pumpkin. I unfortunately could not find a pumpkin/mum combo whose sizes perfectly meshed, so instead of just dropping the mum pot into the pumpkin I had to repot the mum itself directly inside the pumpkin. 

Despite having to improvise a bit, I think the mumpkin planter turned out great and I am excited to have 2 more fall decorations that I can use year after year. Now I just have to concentrate on not killing the mums...

October Reading Challenge: The 1/2 Way Mark

Can you believe that October is already halfway gone? It seems like just yesterday I was writing my kick off post for my first monthly challenge (i.e. read every single day). I'm proud to say that I have only missed one reading day, which is solely to blame on our participation in Oktoberfest activities at Der Biergarten and the consumption of two of these: 

These past 15 days I have noticed two factors that have lessened my thirst for reading that was so prevalent last year: 1) The iPad is a distraction and I find myself wanting to surf Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest when I get in bed. The main reason I got a Kindle was because it did not have distracting Internet capabilities, so I think I need to switch back to reading on my Kindle instead of using the Kindle app on the iPad; and 2) My new job has given me more time after work to exercise and prepare more involved dinners, which takes up a lot more of my time, pushes back my iPad goof-off time, and subsequently makes reading an easy thing to push aside.

I started off reading The Goldfinch, but oh my heavens that book was moving so slowly and really not inspiring me to read before bed. It was at the 200 page marker (and realizing that I had 500+ pages to go) that I decided to put down The Goldfinch and switch to a new e-book that I checked out from the Atlanta Public Library, I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman. I now recognize that fast-paced, mystery/suspense books are more my speed, so hopefully this book will draw me in a bit more and push me over the finish line at the end of the month. 

 

If you have any can't-put-it-down book suggestions then please send them my way! I've heard great things about The Husband's Secret, but I am currently #139 on the wait list at the library, which means that if every person before me holds the book for the permitted 21-day check out period, then I will get my hands on this novel in 8 years...sooo yeah.

Fruit Fly Mania

This post is not going to be glamorous, but not everything in life is. We have been dealing with a mild fruit fly problem (i.e. will see a few at a time, not swarms) on and off for the past 3 months and it is driving me ABSOLUTELY INSANE.

The frustrating thing is that we have no idea where these little a**holes are coming from. I am extremely OCD about keeping a clean house and have scrubbed the bathroom and kitchen raw. We aren't huge fruit eaters (spare me the lecture) and thus the common Internet solution of throwing out old fruit does not really apply to us. We have poured so much bleach down our drains that the employees at Publix have probably added us to some police watch list and will soon revoke our bleach buying privileges. Our homemade vinegar traps will usually catch the adults and time will pass where we don't see any flies, but then one day I will see a little black thing whiz by my face and proceed to curse, stomp, cry, and lunge for my trusty bleach bottle. 

I just over-nighted two of these bad boys from Amazon and am praying for a miracle: 

This week I am going to don my hazmat suit and scrub our little condo for the umpteenth time. This time I won't be taking any prisoners, and if I find anything remotely suspicious it is getting tossed down the trash shoot or doused in bleach (naturally). 

I'd like to give a special shout-out to the ladies of the Buckhead Exchange Facebook group who offered me great advice in my time of need! 

Say a prayer for me please!

Gone Girl and Fancy-Schmancy Movie Theaters

Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl is one of those books that people cannot stop talking about, and for good reason. Personally, I think there are two key elements that make this story a success. 1) A thrilling plot that is constantly evolving and does not get bogged down in superfluous nonsense; and 2) Flynn's ability to convey emotion and feelings through the written word is absolutely astounding. It's as if she enters the average person's head and extracts the non-sugar-coated version of what he/she thinks or feels. Even her descriptions of everyday objects and places left me speechless, as her words were literally exactly how I pictured the object in my own mind.

But would the movie be as great as the book...?

                                    

Here were a few of my thoughts before we saw the movie:

1. Ben Affleck annoys me and I'm not sure if he can pull off the like him one minute/hate him the next Nick Dunne role. I'm still irked that he is playing the new Batman because I can only picture him as the dweeby guy in Forces of Nature who hates to fly.  
2. Rosamund Pike (aka Amy Dunne) pulls off the neurotic beauty queen look quite well. 
3. How are they going to portray the powerful words of Amy's diary in a cinematic format? 
4. The movie trailers were suspenseful and creepy at the same time, and I had a feeling that this movie would leave me with an icky, "that was so messed up" feeling. 

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Ever since my first taste of fancy-schmancy movie theaters a year and a half ago, I have become a theater snob. Movies cost an arm and a leg for the bare bones anyways, so why not shell out a few extra dollars to view your movie from the comfort of an over-sized leather recliner while snacking on  gourmet goodies and sipping a cocktail. (An added bonus is that you can avoid the riff raff that hang around larger theaters on a Friday night. Quick shout out to the woman who once yelled at me during a showing of Sex and the City 2 for politely asking her to shut her trap. How rude of me to ask her to stop talking!) 

We typically go to the Phipps theater but for whatever reason they were not showing Gone Girl. So, we reserved our tickets at Cinebistro three days before our Friday showing, snagging one of the last remaining pairs of seats. 

We had actually never been to Cinebistro before, a theater where you can order food and have them bring a legit meal to your seat. Matt was running late from a presentation at school, so I wandered into our packed theater to figure out how the whole ordering of food and drinks thing went. We had not planned on eating at the theater, but there was no time for either of us to eat before the movie started. So, two beers, a BLT, a bucket of popcorn shrimp/chicken, and $43 later (not including the $30 we paid for tickets), we were ready for the show.

Here are my thoughts post-Gone Girl viewing:

1. I loved the score! The music was simple yet powerful and perfectly complimented each scene. 
2. Rosamund Pike nailed her portrayal of Amy. She was the perfect blend of beauty, grace, crazy, neurotic, psycho, etc. Oscar buzz?
3. Ben Affleck did a good job, but I felt like the movie focused more on developing Amy's character while in the book Nick's character development was just as important. 
4. We had trouble understanding some of the things the actors were saying. Was the music too loud in some scenes for anyone else? Should we go get our ears checked? Maybe Rosamund Pike was speaking softly because she was focused on covering up her English accent? 
5. Remember how I said that my biggest pet peeve is people who talk while other people are talking? Add people who talk during a movie to that list. The lovely couple next to us successfully remained silent for 5-minute intervals before the wife would lean over to explain what was happening. I don't care if you are whispering or yelling, I will throw one of my $13 popcorn chicken bites at you if you keep interrupting my movie.
6. The director beautifully portrayed the back and forth nature of the book, flipping between present day and Amy's words about the past. 
7. I could tell that people who had not read the book really felt the suspense of the movie, but I just didn't get that feeling. Don't get me wrong, the movie was great and did the book justice, but the suspense was not there for me seeing as I knew what was going to happen at every turn. 
8. I was right - the movie was totally messed up and pretty graphic (similar to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo which had the same director), but it did not leave me feeling as icky as when Matt made us watch There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men back to back (shutters to herself). 
9. Aww hell no! The chairs at Cinebistro did not recline and were actually pretty stiff.  This place is not worth $75 and I will be sticking to Phipps exclusively from here on out.
10. If you liked Gone Girl, then you really need to read the author's other two books: Sharp Objects and Dark Places (which have as equally disturbing plots but might be a notch or two below Gone Girl in the suspense level). Dark Places is coming to theaters next year and stars Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Nicholas Hoult (Jennifer Lawrence's ex-BF who was also the little kid in About A Boy!) so stay tuned...

My Favorite Things: Lovely Scents

Nothing makes me happier than relaxing in a clean, organized home with lovely smells wafting through the air. Pleasant smells have a way of calming me down and putting me in an overall good mood. They remind me of getting ready for that special event years ago, eating my favorite meals at home in Memphis, and enjoying the changing seasons. 

Go light your favorite candle and take a look at some of my favorite smells...

1. K Hall Designs Peony Jar Candle 

I received the small version of this candle in my Popsugar Must Have Subscription Box, and I burned through it (literally and figuratively) in about two weeks. When I tried to order the larger glass candle from Amazon, a warehouse tagging mishap caused them to send me two of the smaller candles before realizing the error of their ways and sending me the larger glass candle that I wanted from the beginning. Three for the price of one! 

One of my BFFs, Jennifer, had no idea when she came to visit a few months ago that I was desperately trying to get Amazon to send me the right effing candle, and when she presented me with a hostess gift I unwrapped it to find...a K Hall Egyptian Jasmine Jar Candle! Hallelujah! Jennifer just supplied this candle junkie with the fix she was frantically looking for!  

2.  Williams-Sonoma Mulling Spices

Every ounce of my willpower is tested each Fall as I try not to simmer all of my mulling spices in a one-week time span. All you have to do is place a tablespoon of spices into a small sauce pan, add enough water to cover the spices, and simmer on low. I've found that I can refill the pot when the water level gets low and still obtain the strong, Fall smell for about two weeks before I have to start over with a new batch of spices. I also snagged multiple jars at the Williams-Sonoma outlet post-Christmas for about $4 per jar, so my 2014 stockpile is ready to go. 

This smell takes me back to Fall Saturdays in Memphis: mulling spices on the stove, a crisp Fall breeze floating in through the open doors, Ginnie sleeping peacefully on her bed, me running off to Saturday soccer skills, Poppy smoking some meat for dinner, Mother working in her Fall flower beds, and college football playing on the TV.

3. Yankee Candle Harvest Candle 

Without fail, I always seem to go out with friends the night before an early morning Saturday haircut appointment. One Saturday in particular it took all of my strength (and chugging a Coke) to make it to my 8:30 a.m. appointment, only to find out that my reservation never went through online (FML...I thought it was weird that I never received a confirmation email...) and they did not have room for me that day. I dragged my suffering head and stomach back home, lit my Harvest Candle, and watched Four Weddings for the next 6 hours. I tell you, this candle has healing powers.  

4. Kai Perfume Oil

This was another item that I received in my Popsugar Must Have Subscription Box. (Side note - I loved the Popsugar Box! It is definitely pricier than Birchbox but you receive a wide variety of items outside of the standard beauty products realm. A three- or six-month subscription is a great gift for Mom (or you!) and is pretty affordable if you split the cost with Dad or a sibling. The only reason  I stopped subscribing was to funnel the money into my let's-get-a-dog campaign fund.) 

This perfume is so refreshing and reminds me of getting ready for all of the showers/parties/receptions held the summer before our wedding. 

5. Bulgari Eau Parfumée

The hotel where we stayed for the Parisian portion of our honeymoon stocked the bathroom with amazing Bulgari toiletries. The shampoo smell was absolutely divine, fresh without being too strong, and lingered with me all day as we floated around that beautiful city. Being the hoarder that I am, I stuffed multiple bottles into our suitcase to bring back over to the good ole U.S. of A for fear that this stuff was manufactured for the sole purpose of filling mini shampoo and conditioner bottles for one specific hotel in Paris (FYI that irrational thought was completely and utterly wrong). 

The smell literally transports me back to Paris and leaves me longing for one more stroll through the Marais where we can stop for a glass of wine at 2 p.m. just because. Do I allow us to use these bottles? Hell no! These bottles are strictly for smelling and reminiscing. Matt almost lost a hand when I had to bat away one of the bottles after we ran out of shampoo and he found my Bulgari stash. You need shampoo? Great! Publix is 5 minutes away. Please pick up some eggs while you are at it.

6. Southern Soy Scents Red Currant Candle 

I was introduced to the Southern Soy Scents candle line by my mother, who frequently buys them from a boutique in Memphis called Bella Vita. It was my lucky day when Mother told me that she had signed me up for Bella Vita's Punch Card Program, which allows the card holder to select a new candle each month from the numerous scents offered. Since we only get back to Memphis every so often, I find myself toting a large bag of candles back to Atlanta after each visit. I have to keep a close eye on my sneaky mother though, as she sometimes pilfers my monthly candle for her own use! (I don't blame her.)

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For those of you who stuck through this post in its entirety, I have a surprise for you. If you have a Google account, then please click the blue "join this site button" to the right (below the "Followers" section) and become an official follower of Generals and Gingers. I will then randomly select one follower and ship you a jar of Williams-Sonoma Mulling Spices, my favorite Fall scent, just for reading! (If you don't have a Google account or just cannot figure out how to become a member, then leave a comment at the end of this post and I will enter you into the drawing as well). Thanks for reading!