Single Sunday

so, i am all by my lonesome today. mike went hunting and i already told my sister id come over for my moms birthday dinner she was making, so i stayed here. that is okay! there have been a few things i have wanted to do for a while but with mike around, we always end up doing something else. which is fine, but it makes days where im alone nice so i can actually get it done!
for my moms birthday she requested something fall-ish for dessert. my mom is a SUCKER for pumpkin, and i love cheesecake..so i figured i'd make something that would please us both....i already made her birthday treats, gave her her present, and took her lunch on her ACTUAL birthday...so i decided to make something i like too. lol call me selfish. the result? pumpkin cheesecake. :)
 my house smells like heaven right now and i cant wait to just DIVE in!!

i'll tell you what i did!!

first, you'll need:
2 (8oz) pkgs of cream cheese
3/4 c sugar, divided.
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 C of Libby's pumpkin pie mix (this looks exactly like the regular pumpkin in the can, but the spices are already added *LOVE IT!*)

graham cracker crust. (originally i wanted to make a gingersnap crust. but i couldnt find ginger snaps in the store to SAVE MY LIFE. it made me mad, i pouted, made mike wish he didnt accompany me to the store, threw my little fit and moved on. i used cinnamon graham grackers chopped up--i put them in my food processor, but normal crushing is fine...just more messy---added 1/3 C melted coconut oil and pressed it to the pan. if you want to use butter that works too. coconut oil is just better for you.)
 or, for simplicity sake, buy a premade one from the store. i just cant eat those. :)

MOVING ON!
cream the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth.

yes...this is in a blender, it wont work unless your blender has a dough blade. its not  a regular blade. :) sorry kids.

 next, add eggs one at a time. make sure that each time you mix an egg in, it is COMPLETELY dissolved and mixed in.
once that is done, take about a cup and a half of the mixture and set it aside.

with the remaining mix, add in the one cup of pumpkin pie mix and blend. once it is all blended and smooth, you're going to want to pour the pimpkin and cheesecake mix in the set aside graham cracker crust and level it. take the cream cheese mix that you set aside and drop little scoops of it into the pumpkin mix. once its all in, take a knife and swirl it around, creating the marble effect. bake at 450 for about 45 minutes or until the mixture is set. if you try this, PLEASE let me know if you like it! :) happy baking!

MY NEXT PROJECT

i have been wanting to try out for FOREVER!! has anyone seen that awesome chalk paint? well...i went to go buy some the other day and it was like six bucks for a little thing of paint..im not starving, but my wallet aint fat enough to swallow that when the same size regular paint next to it was a 1.65. SO, with pinterest being my second best friend (mikes my first, naturally) i hopped on and started seeing if anyone had found any cheaper alternatives. da da da da!! yes!! some lady is a genius. you can mix paint with non sanded tile grout and it has the same effect.just for everyones knowledge, the mixture is one cup paint for every TBS of grout...the grout box is HUGE and i spent five bucks..and its gonna last me forever! that was a six bucks i could swallow! watch out chalk paint companies. your business days are slowing down!

anyway..

i started out with a piece of wood that was already stained black. i put some masking tape on it in random stripes.  make sure the tape is pressed down SUPER HARD!

 then, with my paint mixed, i started to paint. alternate colors and MANY layers. i didnt want the previous black to show up at all! its a little hard to keep this paint mixed cause the grout clumps, but just make sure you mix it every time you dip your brush and you shouldnt have any problems.

 once the paint is applied and dried....strip off that tape!!!

 ta da!! that is the finished product. :) i did my stripes a little slanted to give it a retro look....now its making me a little OCD crazy, but i'll get over it....all in all, i like it and i cant wait to get some chalk to write on it. :) hooray for single sunday...or at least to making the best of it!! :)

KBS