Baked mini pumpkin donuts with cinnamon and sugar

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I woke up on Saturday morning with no plans and a major sweet tooth.  So I did what any normal 33 week pregnant woman would do, I baked donuts.  And then I ate them with a huge mug of hot chocolate.  Needless to say I satisfied my sweet tooth for the day.

I found this donut recipe last week after I purchased a Wilton mini donut pan from Macys.  The pan was too cute to resist and it was on sale for only $7.50.
Making donuts is pretty easy, the only challenging part is piping the batter into the pan, which you just have to have a bit of patience for.  Some donuts had a better shape than others, but all of them tasted amazing.  I'm so glad I found a can of pumpkin puree in my pantry, leftover from the holidays. 


Mmmmmm....sugar.
Baked mini pumpkin donuts with cinnamon and sugar (donut recipe adapted from Taste and Tell blog)

Donuts

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon/sugar topping

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare a doughnut pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. Set aside.

In another bowl, cream together the brown sugar, butter and pumpkin. Add in the eggs, mix well, then mix in the milk and vanilla. Stir in the reserved dry ingredients.

Place the mix in a large zip-top bag. Cut off the corner and pipe into the doughnut pan.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 6-7 minutes. Remove pan from oven, let rest for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

For the cinnamon/sugar topping, melt the buttter in a bowl and combine sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.  Dip each donut into the butter and then immediately into the cinnamon/sugar mixture. 

Momma/baby must haves: hospital bag

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So maybe this is a post that you'd be more likely to see on a mom blog, but these things have been on my mind and so you're seeing them here on Eat Drink Pretty.  I hope you don't mind.

I am 33 weeks pregnant. This pregnancy has been flying by. So fast. I heard that pregancy goes by slowly and that has not been true for me at all. Now watch I say that and the next 7ish weeks will drag by....I think it helps to keep busy (and I definitely have been with work, baby showers, getting the nursery ready, etc).

Lately I've been thinking about packing the hospital bag.  A few mom friends/colleagues have said to be prepared and have your bag packed.  A few of them have went into pre-term labor and ended up running around the house throwing items into a bag and not having the things they needed. 

There are some great hospital bag check-lists out there and so obviously the items I have pictured above aren't comprehensive (I didn't include things like nipple cream, etc)...but if I have forgotten anything glaring, please comment and let me know.  Or are there any unexpected items that wouldn't show up on a check-list that you would suggest I bring? 

Here is a list of my must-have items so far:

1.  Coming home outfit for Juliet: I found this sweet vintage rose one piece that I adore.  I can't wait to see my baby girl in it!  I'll bring an alternative option or two in case this one doesn't fit.

2.  My iPhone: I don't leave the house without it so of course I'll be sure to have it with me in the hospital.  I have started a labor/delivery playlist on my iTunes and also plan to bring speaker adapters.

3.  Infant car seat: I received this Maxi Cosi car seat for a baby shower gift from my mother-in-law.  Erik and I plan to install it in our car within the next week or so.  Question for you mommas out there, I'm thinking about adding an infant insert for more support in the car seat.  I've heard these are actually not supposed to be used because they take away from safety of the car seat.  Is this true?  This is the one I'm thinking of using.

4.  Camera: I'll be sure to pack my Canon Rebel xsi.  I have no clue if Erik will remember to take a single photo or if I'll remember to remind him to, but I really hope we are able to capture some great images of our sweet girl.

5.  Diaper bag: I am in love with my Timi and Leslie Charlie bag.  It was a gift from my family at my baby shower.  It's HUGE and will fit everything I need (I think).

6. iPad: do I need this?  I thought it might be nice to have to pass the time; watching movies, etc. 

7.  Chap stick: I've heard that hospitals are very dry and to not forget lots of chap stick.  My fave is vanilla-flavored Soft Lips.

8.  Video camera: I have a flip cam and I love it because it's small and super portable.  Again, who knows if we'll remember to take video, but I hope so.

9.  My favorite lotion: Bliss Sage Body Butter.  I love the way it smells and it moisturizes well without being greasy.

10.  Laptop: I'm thinking of bringing my MacBook Pro...but is this overkill on the technology?  I thought perhaps I'd be ambitious and upload photos from my Canon...but maybe I won't even have time to think about doing this?  I know I can always use my phone to text friends/family photos.

11: Boppy: when I visited my sister-in-law in the hospital when she had baby Chloe she had her boppy and seemed to use it a lot.

12: Breast pump: do I need to bring this to the hospital???

So what do you think? What am I missing?  What am I planning on bringing that is completely ridiculous?  I'd love your advice!

Real party: a nautical-themed baby shower

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Maylene of Malu Boutiques submitted this sweet baby shower with a nautical theme that she planned for her nephew.  The dessert table looks so yummy and my favorite treats are the little glasses filled with jello that look like boats.  So cute.

As told by Maylene:

"I was so excited to have had the chance to plan my nephew’s baby shower. The venue was at my sister-in-laws house. We had chosen a nautical theme of dark blue, bright yellow, and neutrals. The dessert table was accessorized with a canvas blue and ivory stripe cloth. It worked so well with the theme she had chosen. The sweet treats table included a sail boat theme cake, cupcakes, vanilla pudding, strawberries stuffed with cheesecakes filling, cookies, chocolate covered marshmallow and chocolate cover donuts."







Beautiful, themed cookies.
Gorgeous tablescapes with simple tall branch centerpieces.
Lovely invitations.


Thanks so much to Maylene for sending this lovely baby shower my way!

Vendors:

Invitation and styling: Malu Boutiques

Food labels: Crazy Designs
Cake and Cupcakes: Cakes by Jeanette
Cookies: Sweet Dough

A Sunday family lunch

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Yesterday I had my family over for a pasta lunch.  Erik was out of town ice fishing up north so I thought I'd keep myself busy cleaning/prepping/cooking for a fun lunch.  My house is pretty small so having 9 of my family members over was a bit cozy, but it worked out great. 

On the menu:

Spinach artichoke dip with baguette
Crackers and cheddar
Fruit salad
Caesar salad
Lasagna
Vegetable alfredo fettuccini
Garlic bread
Brownies with vanilla ice cream

My family helped out by bringing a dish to share.  I was in charge of appetizers and the pasta.  I kept it pretty easy with my go-to lasagna recipe.  I also threw together the vegetable pasta that included kale, squash, red pepper, tomatoes and a light cream sauce. 






My favorite course was dessert. 
After my family left, I cleaned the kitchen and then relaxed on the couch.  My kitty had a rough afternoon sleeping.

I had a great weekend that was spent with a lot of "me" time.  I relished it knowing that this was probably one of the last weekends I'll ever have all to myself.  Baby girl is due in just 7 weeks (give or take a week or two).  I took major advantage of the weekend and watched lots of Food Network, got a pedicure, hung out with girlfriends, snuggled with my kitty and even enjoyed take-out Chinese food on the couch in my pjs.  It was an awesome weekend but I was definitely ready to see my honey when he got back from his trip. 

I hope you all had great weekends as well!

Real party: a vintage winter one-derland first birthday

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Seri of Little Miss Party Planner blog submitted this gorgeous, light and airy vintage winter one-derland birthday party that was thrown in honor of Colette turning one.  Colette's mom Traci chose a pretty color palette of muted pink, soft gold, ivory and burlap brown for the color story.

Photo credits to Raquel Bianca.

I can't get enough of little girl shoes, so cute!
You all know how much I love quiche, how delicious do these look?
More yummy food.  I'm a big fan of parties that really put a lot of effort/focus into the food served, it's such an important element.
And what's a birthday party without tons of sweets? I want a slice of that cake!
How cute is the name Colette??
A beautiful drink bar.



A unique, pretty way to display crudite in glass vases. 
I want one of each of those desserts!!!
The cute little birthday girl, Colette.  What a lucky little girl to have such a beautiful first birthday party!

For tons of details as told by Seri, please check out her blog post.

My shabby chic baby shower

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My girlfriends hosted a wonderful baby shower for me last Saturday with a shabby chic, pink theme. They used my baby girl's nursery as inspiration and I was thrilled with all the details and delicious food at the shower.  Best of all, all my favorite girlfriends and female family members were there to share the day with.

All the tables had a pretty pink tablecloth, a mason jar wrapped with lace and  filled with baby's breath and paper poms handmade by my friend Melanie.



My sister Katie and I.
I made the decision before the shower that I would bring my camera but hand it off to a friend to take photos, so the camera was on auto function and the photos are not the greatest, but the cute details were captured plus a lot of photos of my guests and I, which I'm really happy about.

That's my 31 week bump.  Getting bigger. 



There was a long food table with brunch items and lots of desserts, including these pretty macarons. 

The menu included:

Quiche
Baked french toast
Caprese salad
Croissants
Scones
Fresh fruit
Cheese
Muffins
Vanilla cupcakes
Red velvet cupcakes
Macarons
Candy
Chocolate chip cookies

My girlfriends know how much I love brunch and since the beginning of my pregnancy I haven't been able to get enough sweets so they had no shortage of desserts/treats. 











My friend Libby and her husband made this gorgeous toy chest, personalized with my baby girl's name.  I LOVE it.
There was a drink bar with mimosas, sparkling peach juice, coffee and bottled water. 
Kristin created these cute water bottle wraps.
Each guest wrote out a wish for my baby girl and pinned them to a birdcage.  The hostesses collected all the wishes and tied a piece of lace ribbon around them to create a wish book for me.



The pretty invite.
Yummy cupcakes, I got to take leftovers home!






My sister-in-law, Nikki and my mother-in-law, Karen.  Erik's mom Karen traveled from North Dakota to attend my shower along with three of Erik's aunts.

The gals set up baby photos of me.
Three of the hostesses and my three best friends; Amy, Kristin and Melanie.
My mom and I.
My mother-in-law and I.
Good friends Natasha, Emily and Shannon. 

I couldn't have been happier with the shower and astonished with the TONS of presents I received.  My baby girl has more clothes than me now!  I also received the diaper bag I've been coveting (the Charlie by Timi and Leslie), a video monitor, that awesome toy chest, books, baby lotions, a pink Vikings jersey and lots more.  I spent hours organizing everything in the nursery yesterday.

Thanks so much to Kristin, Amy, Melanie, Jill, Libby, Katie and Nikki for your help in throwing me a fabulous shower!!