Cookie Swap Blog Hop

With the holidays quickly approaching, many of our minds turn to what we're going to be cooking and baking.  Today I'm joining a group of blogger friends to bring you a Cookie Swap Blog Link Up party.  If you're looking for a cookie recipe, look no further!

I'm sharing a recipe that belongs to Giada De Laurentiis - Spiced Pumpkin-Raisin Cookies.  She walked through this recipe on her Haunted House episode and it screams fall!  If you haven't had your fill of pumpkin (or even if you thought you had), you are going to want to whip up a batch of these!

Here's What You Need

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup old-fashioned oats

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

3/4 cup raw sugar, plus additional for sprinkling

1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup raisins

Here's What You Do

Position a rack in the center of the over and preheat to 350 degrees.  Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and allspice.  Stir to blend well. 

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, pumpkin puree, oil, syrup and vanilla; whisk to bend.  

Using a flexible rubber spatula, gradually stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture.  Stir in the raisins.

For each cookie, drop 1 generous tablespoon of batter onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing the mounds about 1 inch apart (or use a mini ice cream scoop).  Using moistened fingertips, flatten each to a 2-inch-diameter round. 

Sprinkle each cookie with a bit more raw sugar.

Bake the cookies until brown and a bit firm to the touch, 17 to 20 minutes.  Using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a rack and cool completely.

This recipe yields about 24 cookies.  They are so moist and flavorful, you might want to make more than one batch!  

These cookies pair nicely with a hot cup of tea or cider.  As a matter of fact, I'm enjoying one right now with a nice cup of tea!

Feel free to link up your favorite cookie recipe and enjoy those others have linked.  Please pop in on the other Cookie Swap hosts and see what they are sharing.  Happy baking!

Shelly | Penny | Stephanie

Heather | Keri | Whitney | Leslie 

An InLinkz Link-up

Five on Friday - November 9, 2018

Happy Friday!  Are you all adjusted from the time change last weekend?  I'll never get used to leaving work in the dark, but I just keep thinking that every day we are one day closer to spring and the light will return to my life!

Ready for my five for today?  Here you go ~

1.  Chalk Table Cloth
With Thanksgiving less than two weeks away, I decided to share some things you might "need" for your holidays this year.  My friend Tracy gifted me a chalk table cloth a few years ago and I love it!  I always throw it on a table at Thanksgiving with sticks of chalk and the kiddos stay busy for hours.  I've also used it at parties to write messages and identify treats being served.  My nephew, Kayden, also enjoys it when there's math problems written all over it and he can answer in chalk.  Need one at your house?  Click HERE to get your own.

2.  Thanksgiving Pillow Covers

Remember the Halloween pillow covers I got?  Well, check out the Thanksgiving ones!  I absolutely love adding these to my decor for this season!  I'm going to use the same pillows inserts I had for the Halloween pillows and just change the covers to these Thanksgiving ones.  For only $26.99 for six covers, they are pretty economical too.

3.  The Grinch

Are you tired of watching Hallmark Christmas movies but don't have your fill of Christmas movies just yet?  Step on out to the theaters because The Grinch opens today!  Here's the synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes ~

Each year at Christmas they disrupt his tranquil solitude with their increasingly bigger, brighter and louder celebrations. When the Whos declare they are going to make Christmas three times bigger this year, the Grinch realizes there is only one way for him to gain some peace and quiet: he must steal Christmas. To do so, he decides he will pose as Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, even going so far as to trap a lackadaisical misfit reindeer to pull his sleigh. Meanwhile, down in Who-ville, Cindy-Lou Who-a young girl overflowing with holiday cheer-plots with her gang of friends to trap Santa Claus as he makes his Christmas Eve rounds so that she can thank him for help for her overworked single mother. As Christmas approaches, however, her good-natured scheme threatens to collide with the Grinch's more nefarious one. Will Cindy-Lou achieve her goal of finally meeting Santa Claus? Will the Grinch succeed in silencing the Whos' holiday cheer once and for all?

4.  Hot Cocoa Hershey's Kisses

Looks like the new IT flavor this winter is going to be hot cocoa - which is fine by me!!  Look what Hershey's did.  They have created milk chocolate kisses filled with marshmallow creme.  Oh.My.Gosh!  Doesn't that sound like a little bit of heaven all wrapped up in a cute brown and white polka dot wrapper.  It's the first time in 10 years that Hershey's is launching a new seasonal flavor and I'm betting they were worth the wait.

5.  Selective Hearing....

Have a great weekend!  I have a bunch of chores to plow through and hoping to get the Halloween decoration switched out for our Thanksgiving ones.  Am I the last one to get their Halloween decorations taken down?  I'll also be spending time in my craft room working on some pirate decorations for a little boy's birthday party.  Hope you pop back in on Monday to see how it all went down.

Linking up with:

The Peaceful Posse

Amanda at Meet At The Barre
Erika at Little Bit of Everything

Simply Sweet Home
High Five for Friday

The Blended Blog

This post contained affiliate links.  I may receive a small commission if you click on the link and purchase.  Thanks

Friday Favorites Linky Party - November 9, 2018

It's Friday and time for the Friday Favorites Linky Party!  Enjoy all the goodness today. 

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Lisa at Condo Blues - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small Things - Pin

Penny at Penny's Passion - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas Sky - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

Lauren at All About That Mommy Life - Pin | Inst

Jennifer at Busy Being Jennifer - Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst

|

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

<a href="http://www.simplysweethome.com/category/friday%20favorites/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="http://www.simplysweethome.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Friday-Favorites-Button.jpg" border="0" /></a>

You can show your love for this week's favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week's favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week's linky party!

Thinking Out Loud Thursday - November 8, 2018

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday! Today I'm remembering the trip we took last weekend so that's what I'll be thinking out loud about today.  Last Friday we drove over to Parke County, Indiana with a goal to see some fall foliage and covered bridges.  Both were successfully accomplished!  Here's how it went down ~

Friday morning my parents, Eric and I loaded up and headed out.  Parke County, Indiana is an easy 3 hour drive from our house.  I did forget that Indiana was on Eastern time, so we lost an hour on the way there.  We arrived around 1:00 pm and got settled into the waterfront cabin we rented for the weekend.  Then it was off to see some bridges!

We ordered a map ahead of time from the Parke County website (HERE).  They have five driving routes, all leaving from the Rockville Depot parking lot, that will take you past twenty plus bridges.  We chose to do the Brown Route first and, after following the details on our driving route, came upon Melcher Bridge.  This bridge was built in 1896 and has stood the test of time.

The Brown Route, which is 24 miles long, also took us past Sim South Bridge, Phillips Bridge and Mecca Bridge.  Each of the other routes ranged from 33 to 36 miles in length.  I'm not going to lie - I felt like we were on a huge scavenger hunt trying to follow the map and search out this hidden treasures placed in the back roads of Parke County.

We decided we had enough daylight to knock out one more trail so we left the south side of the Depot parking lot to conquer the Red Route.   As we hit the back roads, the trees were so brilliantly colored.  I just had to stop the car and use them as a picture backdrop. 

Right in the middle of our red route journey, we came upon what ended up being my most favorite bridge of the weekend.  The Bridgeton Bridge had a flowing waterfall by it and a scenic mill just to the side.  Picture perfect!

With two routes under our belts, we found our way back to the cabin and enjoyed the white chili I brought from home.  Saturday's weather sounded warmer with more sun than we experienced on Friday so we went to bed looking forward to a fun Saturday in store.

We were staying on Raccoon Lake and watching the sun rise was everything I had hoped it would be.  For those few moments that the sun was just right verified the choice to stay where we did was a good one.  

We decided to stop by the honey shack before starting a bridge route.  This little place was adorable!  It's a self serve house of honey.  You picked out the honey you wanted and left cash or a check in the money box.  It's so refreshing that they have so much trust in humans shopping at their store that they can leave the money box unattended.  We bought honey.

 

After the Honey Shack, we found breakfast at Benjamin's in Rockville. We had enough food for breakfast to definitely keep us fueled through most of the day!

With very full bellies we hit the Brown Route.  We detoured off the route slightly to visit Peachy's Amish Store and an Amish variety store called Swarey's.  We bought some killer fudge at Peachy's! 

On Saturday we conquered two more routes and saw some amazing bridges.  It was fun walking across these structures and just imagining the history that has passed over them.  

We visited my favorite bridge one more time to get even more pictures of it because the 4783473 I
had already took just wasn't quite enough.

Sunday started with another gorgeous sunrise over the lake. It was also a day to celebrate because it was Eric's birthday!  We had one more route to cover before heading for home.

This was our last day to follow the map and arrows across Parke County.  It had been so fun search and seeking out the covered bridges.  Each time we found one it felt like a small victory.

Overall, this was a great weekend and we made wonderful memories with my parents.  I can't believe this charming place is only 3 hours from our house and we hadn't been there before!  So glad we found it and experienced all the charm.    

Now it's your turn.  What are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share!

An InLinkz Link-up

Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - November 7, 2018

November is here. Wow! And, looking around at the stores, the "holidays" have arrived, too. The decorations are coming out already. Oh yes, and time has turned back an hour. Nights are longer; days are shorter. It is that wonderful time of year and we are so glad you decided to come by an party with us. Before we get to see the awesome things you have for us this week, let's see the popular posts from last week...

Most Viewed

12 Days of Elf on a Shelf - Mom Succeeds

 

Did I Marry The Wrong Person?- No Small Life

 

Dorito Casserole - Tumbleweed Contessa

How To Make Spiderman Strawberries - Claire Justine 

Editor's Pick

DIY Braided Yarn Gift Tags - Whitehouse Crafts

  So, now, let's get this party started!

First, please follow our hosts on Pinterest this week:

Ducks ‘n a Row – Pinterest

Mom Resource – Pinterest

My Life Abundant – Pinterest

Engineer Mommy – Pinterest

Penny’s Passion – Pinterest

Eclectic Red Barn – Pinterest

LeCultivateur – Pinterest

Simple Steps For Living Life – Pinterest

• Please TWEET our party ♥ Use the hashtag #WWBlogHop
• Add as many of your family-friendly posts as you would like to. No Etsy shops, adult sites or blog parties, please.
• Visit others. Let them know you stopped!
• If you are NEW to Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop, let us know in the comments so that we can follow you back. ♥ Help us find your posts – tell us what number they are!
• NOTE: party entries appear in REVERSE. i.e. the most recent entry goes to the top! That way all of our guests will have a chance to be seen no matter when they arrive.
• Thanks! ♥

 

Friday Favorites Linky Party - November 2, 2018

Ready for some great links this first Friday in November?!?  Well we have some for you!  Check out all the features and new links from this week..

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Lisa at Condo Blues - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small Things - Pin

Penny at Penny's Passion - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas Sky - Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

Lauren at All About That Mommy Life - Pin | Inst

Jennifer at Busy Being Jennifer - Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst

|

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

<a href="http://www.simplysweethome.com/category/friday%20favorites/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="http://www.simplysweethome.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Friday-Favorites-Button.jpg" border="0" /></a>

You can show your love for this week's favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week's favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week's linky party!

Five on Friday - November 2, 2018

Hello!  It's the end of the week so that means it's time for this week's Five on Friday.  Can you believe it's November already?  Before I start thinking about that, let me share my five for this week ~

1.  Free Reusable Red Holiday Cup
Now that the weather is getting cooler, do you find yourself sitting in the Starbucks drive through a bit more?  Or with all the holiday hustle and bustle do you need a shot of their caffeine to get through the day?  Well, Starbucks has your back!  Today only (November 2) ordering a holiday beverage will score you a FREE reusable red holiday cup, while supplies last.   To make this deal a little sweeter, bring this cup back to Starbucks for any Grande-sized holiday drink order after 2 pm between November 3 and January 7 to get 50 cents off.  What a deal, huh!  Gingerbread Latte anyone?!?

2. Daylight Savings Time Ends
Raise your hand if you're ready for an extra hour this weekend!! Saturday night (well, technically Sunday morning at 2:00 am) we turn the clocks back an hour. That also means that today on your drive home from work suck up all the daylight you can because come Monday we'll be driving home in the dark. Which I hate. But what I don't hate is having an extra hour this weekend to squeeze in just a bit more fun!

3.  Bohemian Rhapsody
The long awaited Queen movie opens today and I'm crossing my fingers that it's better than the critics are saying it is.  We (me and Eric) are looking forward to getting a peek into Freddie Mercury and the history of the group Queen.  Here's how Rotten Tomatoes sums up this flick ~

Bohemian Rhapsody is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury, who defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound, their near-implosion as Mercury's lifestyle spirals out of control, and their triumphant reunion on the eve of Live Aid, where Mercury, facing a life-threatening illness, leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. In the process, cementing the legacy of a band that were always more like a family, and who continue to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day.

4.  Prime First Reads
Are you an Amazon Prime member?   If not, I'll get to that in a minute.  If so, have you taken advantage of the First Reads program at the beginning of each month?  I love it!  The deal is at the beginning of each month, Amazon sends you a list of six books.  You can pick one and get it for FREE just for being a Prime member.  I'm still trying to decide my pick for this month.  Here's the titles for this month ~

 

Now let's chat about if you're NOT a prime member.  With the holidays upon us, this is the perfect time of year to get it a 30-day free trial.  Cut the stress of shopping and delivery times.  Shop from your couch and your items will be waiting for you on your porch in two days without added shipping costs!  Click HERE for your 30-day free trial offer.

5.  Some days....

As an added bonus, I'm throwing in this graphic from Vivino today. If you're wondering what pairs with all that Halloween candy laying around your house, here's your answers.

Okay guys - peace out.  We're headed off for a few days with my parents to enjoy the covered bridges of Parke County, Indiana and hopefully some beautiful fall leaves.  Pop back in on Monday to get the recap.

Linking up with:

The Peaceful Posse

Amanda at Meet At The Barre
Erika at Little Bit of Everything

Simply Sweet Home
High Five for Friday

The Blended Blog

This post contained affiliate links.  I may receive a small commission if you click on the link and purchase.  Thanks