pumpkin picking

Even though we have been busy painting & picking out cabinets & making our first mortgage payment (can we say .... ew?) Dan and I found some time to go pumpkin picking at our favorite spot - Merrymead Farms. They have a hayride, a corn maze, fall foods, and this amazing store that sells everything from butter cake (which we avoid purchasing because we eat it in one sitting) to cider donuts to milk and eggs. It's family friendly and even though we don't have kids (but lets face it, it hit me how much I do want a kid or two to be able to take pumpkin picking) we had a nice time, despite my cold.

Happy Fall!

PS. I'll be posting some house photos soon. We're not living there yet but it's looking pretty good!

new beginnings!

This blog will become much more of a (fake) housewife blog this fall...

We bought a house!

And with this house will come lots of painting, decorating, and all that fun stuff so expect news/pictures/details each week!  :)

diet soda cupcakes

I'm not good at cooking and I am not that great at baking but I can make a damn good cupcake. And it has a lot less calories than a normal cupcake AND it tastes just as good.

No, really.

All you need are two ingredients. Cake mix and diet soda. And whatever you decide to use as your topping (I chose cool whip... keeps it low calorie without feeling like low calorie.

This time I went with funfetti cake mix and diet cola. I know, diet soda? But trust me.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Then you mix the super simple ingredients.

Just empty that cake mix bag into a mixing bowl, then add about 12oz of diet soda. (Another good flavor combo is chocolate cake mix with diet cherry pepsi).

12oz of diet soda should do it but my suggestion is to pour it in little by little and mix it up everytime you pour.

Then place the batter in your cupcake tins. You might want to use a spoon to scoop it in. The batter may be sort of different than if you had used eggs and oil and I found using a teaspoon makes it less messy and easier.

Then pop the tin into the oven and give it about 18-20 minutes. But be sure to check on it. My oven is pretty wonky so I tend to overcook things but like I said the same directions on the box should do well for these.

When they cool, just put on your topping and enjoy.

And like, hello. So many less calories than if you had used eggs and oil. And you can't even tell the difference. Moist, yummy, and (sort of) on the healthy side!

florida!

The fabulous Mandy & Mike invited us into their home in lovely Apopka, FL over Labor Day weekend! We were lucky enough to spend some time at the Magic Kingdom as well... here are some photos :)

<all these photos were stolen with permission from Jillian (you can find her at her blog here)!

The park had some fall stuff up!

our hosts!

It was a fantastic little getaway - Mandy, can we come back??

happenings

Summer is ending sadly but my fun is just beginning! I'm headed to Florida tomorrow to visit my amazing friend Mandy with two other amazing friends! I am also turning 26 tomorrow (but let's ignore that part). Here are some lovely photos from the last couple weeks!

Spent time with these cuties ^

Walks with Max = constant exploring and sniffing

New glasses!

Ran the Livestrong 5k with my friend Laura and my dad! My dad finished less than a minute after me!

More baby time

Much needed time by the beach!

And cuddles with our baby.

insomnia induced purchases

Sometimes I have trouble sleeping (like tonight). I'll wake up at 2 or 3 or 4 in the morning and just be... wide awake. Sometimes it's because I have 9000 thoughts going through my head, other times it's because I am hungry (lol), and other times, like tonight (or well, this morning!) I just feel a need to be doing something other than sleeping.

So tonight (or this morning), I took the plunge and in my insomnia-induced state I signed up for half marathon number two!

So who is going to join me?  :)

PS. Happy August! This month will literally be FILLED and I am glad but am looking forward to the day or two I have planned where I can do nothing. Plus, FLORIDA!

not a worry in the world with my sneakers in the sand

This summer has not been kind to me. I've spent a total of maybe 6 or 7 hours actually ON the beach in my bathing suit. Everytime we get the opportunity to go, the clouds roll in. It's been pretty discouraging for me, considering I spent my life at the beach.

This past weekend we went to Brigantine and once again, did not get to sit on the beach. Sunday morning I woke up early to run and since the sun was out (it was at this point I thought I'd have a beach day! but lo and behold the clouds rolled in about an hour after I came back after my run!) I decided to try something new and run on the beach.

It was probably the best thing I have done all summer for myself.

My mind was clear, my feet were happy, and I had a couple epiphanies. I am looking forward and hoping to get a couple more beach runs in during August and September.

I started thinking about a week ago or so to run another half marathon but I was still on the fence about it. During this run I decided it was meant to be. September 29, 2013 - Ocean City Half Marathon! I know I can do it and I know training will be hard (again) but it's worth it. Plus, the medal you get afterwards is pretty cool :)