recipe | pumpkin spice frosted cookies

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

1 stick butter, softened

½ cup coconut oil

1 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon all spice

2 eggs

1 teaspoons vanilla

8 ounces pumpkin puree

2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and coconut oil until well mixed and creamy. Add granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and all spice. Beat until combined. Beat in the eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla until combined. Beat in the pumpkin puree. Gradually mix in the flour until all is well combined.

Drop a spoonful of dough two inches apart on to a cookie sheet.
Bake for 10  minutes. Move cookies to a wire racks to cool completely.

Cinnamon Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

½ stick butter, softened

¼ cup light brown sugar

¾ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon vanilla

1-2 Tablespoons milk

2-4 cups powdered sugar

Mix softened cream cheese and butter until it is smooth and creamy. Mix in the brown sugar and
cinnamon. Mix in the vanilla and milk. Finally, gradually add in the powdered
sugar one cup at a time, until it is the proper consistency.

The frosting goes so perfectly on these cookies. They are amazing!

I am so happy it is time for fall baking!

photography | goodbye summer

Today is the first day of Fall and like most I am so excited for this season. But before I get too Fall-crazy, I had to share some of my favorite summer photos! It has been a great summer! The flowers in my yard grew better than most summers, due to more rain than usual. I love the hostas, cosmos, and the sunflowers/weeds that grow wild in the fields around my house. Flowers are what I miss the most after summer. And my other favorite thing is the amazing summer skies, there is something so special about them... I have probably taken too many photos of sunrises and sunsets this summer, but the sky is always so mind-blowing to me, it is so grand and it never looks the same... I can't get enough! That last photo is of a sunrise I woke up to one morning at the beginning of September. The only editing I did to the photo was cropping... I am always so amazed at the beauty God gives on this earth.

I hope you had a lovely summer too! 

Now, I am ready for a beautiful new season...

an engagement session & a wedding...

This weekend, these two are getting MARRIED!! 

I am a bridesmaid in the wedding, and kind of a second photographer. I have been friends with Brittney since 2001 and I am so happy for her and Tanner. They are perfect for each other! I took these photos over a month ago... I can't believe the big day is here! So exciting!!

There has been a lot of planning and crafting over the past few months. I made the "love" banner (pictured above) and another banner for the "candy bar" at their reception that says "love is sweet". My sister and I decorated mason jars for the guests to drink from at the reception and take home with them. I designed the tags and printed them and gave them lacey corners to make them look "country" cute. I love the way they look tied on the jars, so I had to share a picture of them too! 

recipe | peach crisp

My favorite thing about the end of the summer is fresh peaches!! They are my most favorite fruit. Of course, I love peach crisp (hence this recipe) but I can honestly say that a plain peach is just as good. Either way I can not get enough of them 

right now. Another thing that has been interesting to me lately is coconut oil... I have been more curious about it since I made homemade chocolate shell with it. So, I was excited to try it in this recipe for peach crisp topping. I am not too sure 

of the health pros & cons of using coconut oil, but I do know it made this topping taste pretty great!

Peach Crisp

(Recipe adapted from Summer Harms)

Ingredients for the peach mixture...

5 peaches, chopped 

1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon flour

Ingredients for the crisp topping...
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oats
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
5 Tablespoons coconut oil

Directions...
Preheat oven to 350º
In a large bowl, gently mix the chopped peaches, sugar, cinnamon and flour. 
Pour the peach mixture in an 8x8 or 9x9 dish and set aside. 
Combine all of the topping ingredients in a small bowl and mix with a fork until crumbly. 
Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over all the peaches. 
Bake for 50 minutes. Double this recipe for a 9x13 baking dish. 

photos from rockies fan photo day...

I am a little behind in posting these photos, but back in July, my mom, sister and I went to Denver for a Rockies game. 

It was their "fan photo day"!! Before the game, fans get to go on the field to get photos with some of the Rockies players. We have done this before and we love it!! It is so fun to meet some of the players that we watch all the time! Unfortunately, the Rockies have had a bad season with a lot of injuries and struggles. But in spite of that, we have some really talented players and I am a big fan, win or lose! This was such a fun day!