Pioneer Woman's Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I'm on a quest to find a good pumpkin muffin recipe (please send me one if you have a good one!). I made these this weekend while my family was in town, and everyone loved them! It's a Pioneer Woman recipe (no wonder I loved it). I wasn't looking for so much spice in my search for pumpkin muffin perfection, but it does say spice in the title so I should have known! She puts cream cheese icing on hers, and I didn't do that, but they were still good (I know they would've been good with it, too). Unfortunately, I didn't take a pic :( Sorry guys!

Enjoy!

Love,

L and J

Moist Pumpkin Spice Muffins (with Cream Cheese Icing)

Recipe from Pioneer Woman's website: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/10/moist-pumpkin-spice-muffins-with-cream-cheese-frosting/

Ingredients

• Muffin Ingredients:
• 1 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 4 Tablespoons Butter, cut into pieces
• 1 cup (heaping) Pumpkin Puree
• 1/2 cup Evaporated Milk
• 1 whole Egg
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/2 cup Golden Raisins (optional!)
• _____
• Topping
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
• _____
• FOR FROSTING:
• 1/4 cup Softened Butter
• 4 ounces, weight Cream Cheese
• 1/2 pound Powdered Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously grease 12 muffin tins.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in butter with two knives or a pastry blender until it is fully incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Add raisins. Fold gently until mixture is just combined.

Pour into a greased muffin pan—batter hardly ever fills all twelve unless you keep it down to 1/2 full. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar-nutmeg mixture over the top of each unbaked muffin.

Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool. Ice with cream cheese frosting.

To make the frosting, mix all ingredients on high until soft and whipped. Spread onto completely cooled muffins, or place into a large pastry bag with a large star tip and go crazy! Store in the fridge, as icing will soften at room temperature.

New Job!

I interrupt the house tour to make a very important announcement: I got a new job!

If you've talked to me recently, you know this has been on my mind for some time. Over the summer, I devoted myself to being more faithful in praying for my career path (where God wanted me to be), and buckled down for some job searching (praying that God would open the right doors and guide my search to be in line with His will).

I found a posting a few weeks ago that hit home with me. I don't often read postings and think I fulfill all of the qualifications, but this time I did! So I emailed it to myself to apply for it. I applied on a Wednesday night. Thursday, I went to the library during lunch (to check out some Texas gardening books, haha). I rarely leave work during lunch (this is significant because we didn't get cell service at Reynolds, so if I had been at work, I probably wouldn't have gotten the call - I would've just had a missed call when I left). I was praying for guidance in my job search (for God to open doors, and really show me what he wanted me to do) while I was driving to the library. Right after I finished my prayer, the phone rang. They wanted me to come in for an interview! Answer to prayers? I think so.

After going through a somewhat stressful interview rescheduling process, I finally got in for an interview on a Wednesday at 3:30. I was there for 2 hours and LOVED it. I had to take a design test and design an ad and I got to meet with the owner. I felt at ease with her - we really clicked, I thought. I loved her personality and more than anything knew I wanted to work for her (and I told her so!). So I left them with my references and got the offer on Thursday at lunch time. I accepted!

Last Friday was my last day at Reynolds. I started at reviewit on Monday and am having a great week!

A little about the business... The business has 2 sides - a magazine (reviewit Magazine) and a PR and Marketing business. The magazine is a free publication in our area (The Woodlands, Spring/Champions/Tomball, Conroe/Lake Conroe/Montgomery). It's really cool - we cover events, fashion, have recipes, etc.

Check it out! (The first link has online issues)

http://www.reviewitmagazine.com/

http://www.prmarketingllc.com/

So what exactly am I doing? Graphic design - ads, flyers, business cards, directories, etc. Everything under the sun you could want from a PR and Marketing business! It's a really fun place to work. It's laid back and I am already learning so much. It's a creative environment and it's just fun to be here and work with these folks. AND, it's close to home. It takes me 15 minutes to get here in the morning and about 20-25 in the afternoons to get home. It's nice.

Anyway, sorry this announcement is so late! I'm hoping to post more house pics soon.

Love from Houston,

L and J

HOUSE PICS - living room tour

I'm starting the house tour in the living room - fitting, because it was the first room to get set up in the house (we had the cable installed the same day as the refrigerator and washer/dryer... priorities...).

Okay, this is an overview of the room.

This is another overview... I wanted you to get a feel for the layout, so this was taken from the breakfast area, looking through the archway.

You can kind of see a little of this area from the previous pic (look on the left).

This is "my chair." The picture doesn't do it justice (this isn't just any chair, people!). We've got our blanket basket (Lan likes to keep it cold in here!) to the right, and the infamous lamp table ("Too practical to throw away" -Lan) to the right.

The couch...

Lan's recliner...

The coffee table - the wooden tray was a gift from Lan's brother, Brandon. Thanks, Brandon!!

The TV with all of our movies (alphabetized...)

Our new bookcase, a hand me down from Jonah and Anne Marie (we love it! Thanks, guys!)

Coming up next, the guest bedroom! Get excited :)

Have a great week, everyone.

Love from Houston,

L and J

Greg and Lori get hitched

Meet Greg and Lori.

(Oh hey, Lan)

We consider Lori and Greg to be some of our closest friends.

I met Lori in late high school and knew immediately that I wanted to be her friend (I seriously remember thinking she was soooo cool - and I still feel that way!). She's one of the main reasons I wanted to be a Chi O (and I credit her for getting me to the Chi O house on bid day). A little while later, Lori became my big sis (best big sis EVER), solidifying our life long friendship :) Lan met Lori through mutual friends in college - they had lots of mutual friends!

I met Greg at the Chi O house - he was a house boy and I always enjoyed eating lunch and hanging out with him (especially when he played the piano!). I have very fond memories of Mama Jones impressions and funny moments at the house (most involve Lori too). (Lan met Greg through Lori)

Another fun fact - Lori set us up (thanks for that)! I'll never forget that morning - I had several missed calls and texts (that rolled in around 3 AM or so - I was already asleep) from Lori saying she had the PERFECT guy for me. Well, she was right :) There's more to that story, but that's for another day.

Anyway, Greg and Lori tied the knot a couple of weekends ago. They are two of the most wonderful people we know (really genuine and always there for you!). We are so happy for them and we hope they visit us soon! We love ya'll! Here are some pics from wedding weekend...

Me with Lan at the rehearsal dinner.

Me with the bride - isn't she stunning?!

Me with the other program attendants - Mary and Jane Gray.

Me with my little sis - Erin May (Greg's little sister, Lori's Chi O grand little sis and now her REAL SISTER - yay!). I love her! Please come visit soon.

Me with Lan after the wedding.

Our Chi O family (greatest family that ever) - Courtney, Rachel, Lori, me, Erin

Silly family pic (not really sure what Rachel was going for here, haha)

Lori and Greg - we wish you many, many years of happy married life!

Coming up next - HOUSE PICS! I wanted to wait for everything to get settled before posting them, but they are coming up soon (one room at a time).

Happy Labor Day friends!

Love from Houston,

L and J

The Home Stretch!

Okay.. we have quite a lot of ground to cover here! Some of these pictures are a few weeks old, but haven't been posted yet (oops).

Here's where we stand now... they finish the house Wednesday (!!!!!!!), it's being inspected Thursday, we do our new home demo next Monday, and, if all goes as planned, close a week from Wednesday. That means we move in August 13. That's TWO WEEKS, people. OMG. I'm freaking out (in a good way).

Okay, these first pics are the oldest. The tile had just gone in. This is pre-light fixtures.

A pic of the tile in the common area (you're looking at the breakfast area).

Master bath

These pics were taken after the fixtures had gone in. Still pre-carpet.

Taken from the kitchen looking into the breakfast area and living room (they covered the tile up so the workers wouldn't rough it up).

Guest bath shower - no faucets yet.

Guest bath sink - no faucets yet.

Master bedroom

Master bath - our shower without the glass.

Our coach light :)

Front of the house - pre-front door and landscaping.

Okay... the last set of pictures were from a Tuesday, I think. These are from the following Friday, July 22.

Kitchen!!!

Guest bath.

My window with our pretty chandelier

Front of the house.

Okay - last set! These are from last Thursday. The first time I'd been to the house since the last house blog post.

Our kitchen sink, overlooking breakfast area and living room.

Our kitchen (that's me with our friend Christine in the background). I LOVE our kitchen. It's so pretty!!

Our front door.

My window! Dining room with carpet.

Guest shower.

Guest bath

View of kitchen from the breakfast room

Master bath (and Lan, master photographer)

Our little gem Magnolia - it already has a bloom!

Front of the house with landscaping!!

Okay.. these are all the pictures until after we move in and get settled. I hope they made you want to come visit us :)

Love from Houston,

L and J

Night at the Museum

A couple of weeks ago, we went to an event at The Museum of Natural Science with our friends Emily, Jonah and Anne Marie. It was really fun! They had a bunch of food trucks outside where you could eat, and a Beatles cover band. They were even dressed like The Beatles (complete with gold, glittery jacket). Awesome. The people watching was interesting (a highlight of the evening for me was the senior citizen dance party). And, to top it all off, you could look at all the permanent exhibits.

Where the band was set up - the dinosaur room!

The girls! Me with Emily and Anne Marie.

Me and Lan.

Emily got her fortune told by Zoltar!

I'm pretty sure my friends thought I was crazy for taking this picture, but this is for my Mississippi friends. Sarah, Erin, Angela... this one is for you. One of the traveling exhibits at the museum is a Texas history exhibit.

Caption - "And on the 8th day, God created this exhibition."

Oh, Texas...

Okay.. that's all for now! We are in MAJOR packing mode. We're going to the house Thursday and I'll take more pics and post them this weekend.

Coming soon.... MJM/DYW Recap, House Pics, Recipes.

Love from Houston!

L and J