cardamon donuts

I've been wanting to bake donuts for a long time, but I've been looking for a way to make them healthier. A few weeks ago I was in Cost Plus World Market and I found a really good donut mix. Like my pumpkin pancakes, I switched out the regular add-in ingredients for vegan alternatives. I also mixed in some extra baking soda, vanilla, and cardamon. With my switches, I was able to get each of serving down to 21 calories!

I didn't take a picture of the mix that I used, but this is the brand: http://www.worldmarket.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4097871

Since these turned out so well, I'm going to have to find a recipe to make them from scratch.

cardamon donuts rolled in powered sugar.
i don't have a donut pan yet, so i used my pumpkin shaped muffin pan. 

holidays

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and the official start of the holiday season. I cheated this year and started listening to christmas music on November 1st. Now I can pull out Christmas decorations and play my Holiday mix on full blast without harassment from the family.

Most of my presents for loved ones are already wrapped. For years I've said that I need to start early so I'm not stressed come December 20th. Ah! This is a proud moment for me. On top of being prudent,  I decided make handmade treats for everyone. Once I give them all out I'll post pictures.  I found so many inspiring things in the last few months and I can't wait to share.

homemade holiday cards

Anyways, I've got a lot to do at the moment. There is a vegan pumpkin pie that needs baking and a list of everything I'm thankful for to be complied. It's time to turn on the Friends Thanksgiving episodes and get to work. I've got a lot to do by tomorrow!

xoxo, sarah

pumpkin pancakes

When I was younger I hated breakfast foods, now I could eat them everyday.  I also love autumn - especially the months of November and December. 

Pumpkin pancakes are the best of both worlds (breakfast food + autumn). I found the mix at Trader Joe's and I switched out the milk, butter, and eggs for vegan alternatives. With my calorie counter app, they came out to 45 calories per pancake. They are also low in sodium and fat. 

I ate two pancakes with sliced banana and a sprinkling of cinnamon. Yum!

delicious.

snow.

a light dusting on the palm tree. 

I despise snow. Although, I don't despise snow when it is in the mountains.

My hatred for the white fluffy stuff stems from college. I chose to go to Central Washington University because of it's location in Ellensburg. I wanted to experience seasons after growing up in the two seasons of western washington (rain and sunshine.)

My senior year  at CWU was the worst! My apartment was a mile from campus, every morning I had to walk in at least a foot of a mixture of compacted ice and fresh snow to campus at 7:30 a.m. After a long day of classes and work, I would walk home braving the re-frozen snow and ice. One night I remember being on the phone with my mom as I walking and I slipped on the ice and fell right on my butt. She laughed at me.

After four years you can see why I was done with snow and incredibly happy to move back to the climate controlled Seattle area. I came back because it rained. I love rain! You can still go places and you don't feel like your toes are going to fall off every minute your outside.

Long story short, it snowed yesterday. I'm not very happy right now.

snow starting to fall...

20 minutes later

At least over here it won't snow so much that I have to trek to my car and carve a path out to get out of the driveway. And I guess it would be nice to have a White Christmas for once.


*Update: I take back everything I said about snow being not so bad. It's the absolute worst. It started snowing hard at work after I wrote this post. I left a little early hoping that would help me get home faster. It took me two hours to get to the main road that leads to the freeway home. (It usually takes five minutes, I work in a populated city.) I ended up dropping my car off at a parking lot, hoping in a friends car and staying the night at their house. It still took another two hours to get to their house which is located about 15 minutes away from my office. 


My hatred of snow has grown and if given the chance I would definitely consider moving to a warmer climate. Luckily my prius to fantastic in the weather! I didn't have a single problem driving. 

glitter shoes! LOVE.

I'm OBSESSED with glitter right now. I've been finding so many glitter-riffic pretty things as of late... ribbon, candles, and shoes!

black steve madden glitter flats

Happy Friday!

lexi's wedding

Wedding number three in a long year of weddings.

Lexi and I met back in college at Central Washington University. She was from Ellensburg and she would always invite our group of friends over to her parent's house for home cooked meals. When you're away from your family and another one is welcoming you with open arms and a home cooked meal, you always take them up on the offer. Lexi is good people and so is her family.

After a whirlwind courtship that started in Africa. (seriously! long story short, she met her husband to be on the plane for a study abroad trip. Both went to CWU and didn't meet until waiting in the airport for the flight!) Lexi married her prince charming, Tyler, in a grand affair at a ranch in Thorp, Washington. I've been to many weddings and this by far was incredibly unique and expressed both of their personalities perfectly.

Her wedding was filled with fun and love - a groom's reception, the ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, toasts, dancing, karaoke, and ice cream.

gorgeous bride!

kisses

married!

first dance

father daughter dance

lexi and me

lexi's backyard - imagine waking up to this everyday. 

congrats lexi and tyler!

harry potter

I love Harry Potter. There, I said it.

Luckily Seattle is currently hosting the Harry Potter exhibit. Sadly, they didn't allow photos or cell phones in the exhibit. I did try to snap a few with my iphone despite the ban. We had it all set up to take a picture sitting in Hagrid's chair... then a security guard spotted us and the plan was quickly abandoned.