5 Pumpkin Cockails To Make Your Thanksgiving Sparkle

It seemed like everything was Fall and pumpkin-inspired until just after Halloween. Now society has fast-forwarded to Christmas with nary a thought to Thanksgiving. 

I am taking Thanksgiving back with pumpkin cocktails!

Well, dear reader, I'm taking Thanksgiving back! My mother-in-law is coming for the Feast which means alcohol will be on the menu. Here are my favorite 5 pumpkin-inspired cocktails to help add a bit more spirit to your THANKSGIVING season:

Hot Buttered Pumpkin Spice Rum – I would imagine that this isn't the lowest-calorie drink because it has butter in it, but it's a great drink to warm you up. Sip it before a roaring fire or flickering candle for extra ambiance.

Ingredients: 2 tablespoon of butter (make sure they're at room temperature); 1 tablespoon of softened dark brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of pumpkin-pie spice, 2 ounces of dark rum, and 12 ounces of HOT apple cider.

Directions: In a mixing bowl, use a whisk to whip the butter, brown sugar and pie spice together. Put it in the refrigerator and chill until it's firm. Then halve the mix and the mug and place in two mugs. Stir in the hot cider. Note: you could even top this with whipped cream and sprinkles and add a cinnamon stick to make it even more special.

This glass storage jar would be perfect to make pumpkin flavored vodka in.

Pumpkin Flavored Vodka – Okay, this is more time-intensive, so you might want to start now, but it yields a wonderful Fall take on vodka. Note that you'll need a large, sealable glass container for this, like a recycled glass juice bottle or glass storage jar.

Ingredients: 1-1/2 cups of pumpkin pie filling, vodka.

Directions: Place the pie filling in the container and fill the rest with vodka. Mix them both up and let the concoction sit in the refrigerator for a week to 10 days. Filter the mixture through a coffee filter which you've put in a kitchen strainer. TaDa!

This is out for a limited time only, so get it now!

Kahlua Pumpkin Martini - It doesn't get any easier than this!

Ingredients: Kahlua Pumpkin Spice, vodka

Directions: Mix equal parts of both together with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled glass. Add a bit of orange zest or a cinnamon stick to garnish.

Spiced Pumpkin Cider – Another warm drink you can sip while watching the leaves fall, it reminds me of the Spiced Rum recipe above, but with fewer calories. It also makes the house smell amazing!

Ingredients: 1 cup of pumpkin puree, 2-1/2 cups of apple cider, 1/3 cup of spiced rum, 1-1/2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice, a cinnamon stick, a sprinkle or two of nutmeg.

Directions: In a large pot, whisk together the puree, cider, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon stick. When the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain it to get rid of any lumps and the cinnamon stick. Add rum and sprinkle with a bit of nutmeg. Serve it

warm. Yummmmmm!

Pumpkin Pie Martini – I've been watching quite a bit of Love It Or List It lately and at the end of each episode, the winner buys the loser a martini, so martinis have been on my mind lately. Here's a great one to celebrate with:

Ingredients: 4 ounces of vodka, pumpkin pie spice, 1 ounce of vanilla vodka

Directions: Pour both vodkas into a shaker of ice and, well, shake. Strain into two glasses and add a dash of pumpkin pie spice. 

Oh, and if you want something to go with your drinks, I just discovered these yesterday at Costco:

These go great with pumpkin cocktails!

Sconza Pumpkin Pie Almonds

As the package says, they're roasted almonds wrapped in the creamiest white chocolate with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. I don't want to admit how many of these I've eaten since I bought them last night. 

Despite the fact that the media and marketers have pushed us from Halloween into Christmas, I think Thanksgiving is such a meaningful holiday. Giving thanks is essential in my life and it's something I'm trying to instill in my children. We should be grateful that we have what we have. Enjoy the spirit of Thanksgiving with the cocktails above. 

Now excuse me. MUST...GET...HAND...OUT...OF...THOSE...ALMONDS!

I'm THANKFUL that you're here!  Please come again! 

Mom's “Must-Do's” Before The Kids Get Out Of School

My Guilty Pleasure:  The Beach, ALL BY MYSELF

Now that Memorial Day has passed, my kids are giddy with the fact that school is over in just under 3 weeks. Yeah, they're dancing around with joy but, as much as I love the Summer, I'm tensing up in a panic. Only 18 days left until my solace is over, until I hear the constant whine of “What are we gonna do today?” and the incessant chatter of “Can I have a playdate? Can I have a playdate? CAN I HAVE A PLAYDATE?!” My nerves are already starting to contract.

Still, I have 18 weekdays left to get things done that I cannot get done with them or, at least, can't get done except with difficulty.


Among my “must-do's” are:

• Schedule any doctors' appointments for myself. There's no reason my kids should have to wait with me to see my doctors when I can go now and get those appointments over with.
• Do some home repairs and organizing. Ever try to paint a porch with kids around? It's great that they want to help, but sometimes “too many cooks in the kitchen” are not productive. Time to grout, paint, and organize by myself.
• Get our pool/beach stuff together. It's inevitable that I will not be able to find all of the toys, floaties, goggles, etc. that the kids will need the first day the town pool opens. It's time to look for that stuff now while I still have a functioning memory cell left.
• Make appointments for the kids' medical check-ups. Wellness visits book up fast during the summer. It's time to make them now before school starts in the Fall.
• Download and carefully read any school sports forms. Some need to be filled out by various doctors over the Summer with some deadlines for the upcoming school year taking place as early as July. This is the time to see what criteria we've met in terms of exams and shots and what we still need to address, especially since annual physicals are coming up.
• Watch whatever TV shows I want. We have one television in the house and once Summer comes, my daughter occasionally relaxes by watching her shows. Until then, I can watch all the “Love It Or List It” I want without worrying about sharing the television.
• Make a summer schedule. I did this last year and it helped tremendously! I basically sketch out the summer, including which kid is in what camp and when, when sports practices start and the week our family vacation is scheduled to take place. On the bottom of the schedule is a list of day trips I want to take with the kids – very helpful because, again, I don't expect to have many brain cells left come August.
• Come up with an informal list of which friends will be around when. Many of our friends go away for the summer and some of the kids' playmates will be at sleep-away camp. Knowing who is around when comes in handy.
• Make plans for some “Moms Only” nights when I can see my friends without kids in tow. Having something to look forward to helps me keep my sanity.
• Stock up on sunscreen. Since the effectiveness of sunscreen wanes over time, I'm seizing the moment to ditch the old stuff and replace it with new stuff. You can't be too careful.
• Clean the coolers. There's nothing worse than going to pack your cooler with ice, only to be met with a funky smell when you take the lid off. Time to get out the baking soda and vinegar and give them a good scrub.
• Visit people it might be difficult to visit with the kids. My aunt is in a nursing home and although my kids love spending time with her, once camp starts, it's harder to go and see her. I want to visit her as much as possible before our Summer hours change and life gets a bit more variable.
• Go to the beach by myself. One of my guilty pleasures is dropping my daughter off at school and then driving down to the beach and spending some time there before I come back to pick her up. Sitting by the water, alone, is like a mini-vacation that I cherish. Since my kids aren't beach people, this is the time for me to make these indulgent forays. They're my way of showing myself some love!

I love the Summer and spending time with my children, especially since my son is about to enter high school and my days with him are numbered. Getting prepared ahead of time will help me enjoy the kids more and worry about details of Summer less. I've got 18 days to prepare – I'm going to make them count!

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What do you fit in before the kids get out of school? I'd love to know!

Why I Adore "Love It Or List It"

Being snowed in, I've been watching a lot of television lately and my current obsession is the HGTV show "Love It Or List It."  Each episode tells the story of a couple; one partner hates their current home and the other loves it and just thinks their rooms need a little tweaking to make them work better.  The couple is helped by the two principles of the show:  David Visentin, a real estate agent, and Hillary Farr, a designer.  The homeowners give each of the two experts a budget, either to find a new home or renovate the old -one.  They also give them a list of "must-haves" that they would like.  Mr. Visentin and Ms. Farr then compete to see who can get the couple to either "love" their house or "list it" (click here to learn more about the show:  http://www.hgtv.com/love-it-or-list-it/show/index.html).

I've watched enough episodes to detect a formula for the show, although some of the endings make me pretty mad.  After seeing how a house doesn't work for a family and being sure they're going to "list it," I find out that they're going to "love it."  &*#!  But the show is a lot of fun to watch, especially Mr. Visentin, who is a cutie and sometimes looks as if he wants to slap the house-hunters with a 2'x4'.  The real impact of the show, however,  is that it energizes me, almost as much as coffee, to be more organized and look outside the box for solutions.

Case in point:  hubby recently decided to get rid of our old computer armoire.  I didn't take a photo of it, but it looked something like this:

I needed more storage in the kitchen, so we brought it down, I painted it to match the kitchen and it now looks like this:

I now have storage inside for my computer, the kid's school papers, and other kitchen items.  I even took an old drawer out of another piece and stuck that in the middle.  It, along with a few other shelves, slides out for easy access.  I guess I could have painted the inside, but it's fine as is.  I'm going to add a little light above in the cover for extra light.

On the side of the armoire, I now hide our recycling and, using an old basket, made a re-charging station:

The best part of the whole thing is that I didn't spend any money with the reorganizing.   "Love It Or List It" also inspired me to reorganize my counter-tops, clean my porch, and later this week, I'll be tackling the master closet.  I guess it goes along with what Ms. Farr has said in the show, "It's all about making the space you have work better for you."  Who says too much TV is bad?! 

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Thanks for reading!  Please check back in with me again.  Oh, and can you keep a secret?  Over the next two weeks or so, I'll be hosting my first giveaway!  See you soon!