Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins

Dear Pumpkins,

This is the year that you and I are going to be friends! I've decided to no longer glare at you with distaste every time fall rolls around.... In honor of my very good friends (Amber and Meghan) and their blatantly obnoxious (in a good way) love for pumpkin, I decided that this year, I would love pumpkin things. Pumpkin is the perfect complement to the fall, and I love the fall, especially now since I'm not in San Diego anymore...where nothing changes color. Whenever I drive around here, there are orange trees and piles of leaves. So as a tribute to one of my favorite seasons, I want to like pumpkin. However, as a warning: beware pumpkin pie, you and i are forever sworn to be enemies....too much pumpkin overload in that case. But anything else that is pumpkin, I'm ready to try! I am starting my pumpkin project and trying my best to love pumpkins like everyone else does. Today, I even bought cute mini pumpkins. So pumpkins, I hope we can be friends....

Love, Margaret

♥♥♥♥♥

Well, let me tell you about my pumpkin adventures. I started off slow. I saw this Pumpkin Pie Spice creamer (for coffee) at Target by International Delight, so I rolled with it and bought it. Little did I know it would wipe vanilla off my radar for good. This pumpkin creamer and I are having an awesome love affair. It is the perfect start to a blustering, cold morning because it gives you the perfect dose of a Autumn in a cup. I've forgotten how bone-chillingly cold it is in Northern California during the fall and this cup of joe helps me get through each and every morning. However, I ran out yesterday (hence the picture from google) and am already going through withdrawals. Pumpkin spice creamer...please come back into my life soon. Speaking of Autumn, if you're looking for a good song to "fall" into...I recommend Taylor Swift's "The Best Day."

via http://www.internationaldelight.com/

In honor of my love for this creamer, I have started to order pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks! This is a HUGE step for me :) Except I'm not really taking a huge leap. I order my pumpkin latte in a special way: half pumpkin, half vanilla. So if I get a grande pumpkin spice latte, it goes something like this...."Can I get a pumpkin spice latte, with 2 pumps of pumpkin and 2 pumps of sugar free vanilla, with nonfat milk and no whip? Thank you." (make sure to always say thank you at starbucks, they appreciate that there). I know, I'm being a little bit of a pumpkin rebel....but that's just the way it is. Baby steps. But if you're looking for an awesome way to order a pumpkin spice latte without the pumpkin (and calorie) overload, try it my way :)

via http://www.starbucks.com

Well I decided to take it one step further. With a little push from my friend Meghan, I ventured into Trader Joe's and found the pumpkin butter. Let me tell you, I just don't LOVE it. I definitely like it and I recommend that you try it with my favorite snack from TJ's, Honey Wheat Pretzel Sticks! My mom loves pumpkin, so she definitely makes up for my pumpkin slack a little bit.

But I decided to write this letter today because I am making pumpkin cookies today (orange cookies for the orange October for the Giants!) Well...here's the key to these awesome cookies. There's only 3 ingredients!!!!! I borrowed this recipe from a blog called Tasty Happiness and I went to work on them. Three ingredients...spice cake mix, pumpkin puree, and chocolate chips. I was a little skeptical at first...how good can cookies be without butter? But THEY ARE AMAZING!!!!! I made them in the mini oven today and used a mini muffin pan...so they're shaped like mini muffins...but they taste yummy still. I'm pretty impressed with myself...even though all I did was mix the dry cake mix with the pumpkin puree and then add chocolate chips. It still makes life a little more fun to create this perfect pumpkin deliciousness.

The ingredients (plus a cute pumpkin)

The finished product :)

Anyways, stay tuned to see how my adventures with pumpkin go. I am officially deeming this The Pumpkin Project and will continue to try to bring you good pumpkin products and yumminess. Stay tuned!!