Mummies, Monsters and Sweet Little Pumpkins

November 5, 2017.Reading time 7 minutes.

mummy oreo, monster oreo, white chocolate oreos, halloween treats, halloween oreos, baking, dessert, holiday, mummy cookies, monster cookies,

You may be wondering where this post is going based on the dichotomy of a title, huh? Me too. Don’t worry we’re all in this together. I sometimes wonder what it’s like to plan out blog posts. To have them be strategic and organized versus a brain dump of the tiny elements of creativity or […]

hello autumn

September 23, 2017.Reading time 3 minutes.

pumpkin apple muffins, pumpkin, baking, fall recipes, pumpkin muffins, fall, autumn, breakfast, dessert

Happy first weekend of fall! In case you missed it, yesterday we celebrated the autumn solstice with record heat in St. Louis. Because nothing says autumn like leaves just giving up and falling because they are too dry to hold on any longer. But there’s hope for your weekend, still. Here are a few ways […]

Is it too late for an Easter post?

April 24, 2017.Reading time 6 minutes.

banana carrot cupcakes, easter cupcakes, baby bird's nest cupcakes, coconut, banana, carrot, dessert, baking, holiday, spring, robin egg cupcakes,

According to my priest it’s not. Easter marks the beginning of a season of celebration and new beginnings so technically I’m not late in delivering this Easter cupcake recipe to you. Technically, I’m right on time! And I’m not just emphasizing my punctuality because my husband told me mass started at 8:30 last Sunday when it really […]

Hello Spring.

March 17, 2017.Reading time 4 minutes.

gender neutral tassle garland, gender reveal, tissue banner, tassle garland

So how do you survive your first winter back in the Midwest after living in Florida? Don’t blog about it and it’s like it didn’t even happen. Not sure whether there is a joke or an excuse in there, but I needed a transition so take it for what it is. Truth is our first […]

Patriotic Pie: Behind the Scenes

July 5, 2016.Reading time 7 minutes.

pie, tart, patriotic pie, fourth of july desserts, stars and stripes pie, berry pie, baking, strawberry, blueberry, fourth of july, independence day

Sometimes I wonder what it’s like to be the type of blogger who plans out recipes. I picture her sitting in a clear acrylic chair just off her kitchen at a built-in desk with various Pottery Barn dry erase calendars and magnetic boards above her head, sipping a latte while casually writing a post on her […]

Confessions of a lonely extrovert

April 12, 2016.Reading time 9 minutes.

layer cake, easter cake, baking, pastel layer cake, rainbow layer cake, vanilla cake, dessert, Easter, birds nest cake topper, robin eggs, white layer cake

Editor’s note: I started writing this post two weeks ago when Matt was still in France. Then I picked it up and finished it a week ago after my family left town except I never hit publish. Please forgive me for the segmented nature of the following excerpts. Just further proof of my struggle as a […]

on missing birthdays

March 12, 2016.Reading time 4 minutes.

I don’t hate much. In fact, I’m one of those optimists that manages to see the teeny tiny glimmers of hope in generally pretty awful people even when I’m trying not to. Current exceptions being Donald Trump and fire ants but let’s get into that once both pests are no longer affecting us, shall we? But if […]

Cookies and Catch Up

November 13, 2015.Reading time 4 minutes.

pumpkin cookies, halloween sugar cookies, royal icing, ghost cookies, baking, dessert, holidays,

Great news, guys. The Murphalewski Bed and Breakfast just wrapped four straight weeks of out-of-town guests. That means 7 midwesterners are entering the winter season a little bronzer than usual and many local restaurant staffers here in Sarasota are actually starting to think I have friends. It’s a win-win! Now you may be asking if I’m […]

How to ruin a perfectly good batch of pumpkin scones

September 29, 2015.Reading time 4 minutes.

pumpkin scones, pumpkin recipes, baking, starbucks pumpkin scones, pumpkin spice scones, recipes, breakfast, brunch

You want to know something funny about these pumpkin spice scones? I threw them in the trash shortly after taking these photos. Why? Because pumpkin is the spice of life people. Well, specifically, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves are the actual spices of life in the fall but you get the idea. Truth is, these just didn’t […]

candy corn sprinkle covered apple cider donuts

September 23, 2015.Reading time 5 minutes.

pumpkin apple muffins, pumpkin recipes, fall, autumn, muffins, breakfast, brunch, baking, recipes,

Sometimes I feel like that guy you went on a first date with and afterwards he says you should hang out again soon but then you don’t hear from him for two-plus weeks. And you’re probably over there on the other end of your computer or smart phone like what the heck? I thought we hit it off? Should […]