Food

Miniature Pecan Pies

by sarahelseaLeave a Comment on Miniature Pecan Pies

My go-to thanksgiving recipe is Miniature Pecan Pies. I base my recipe off the AllRecipes Pecan Pie Tarts. I don’t know what it is, but I love mini desserts – hopefully you will too!

Ingredients

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups chopped pecans
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 package of Pillsbury Pie Crusts

Directions
  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
  • Spray mini cupcake tin with Pam
  • Sprinkle flour on a clean surface.
  • Roll out Pie Crusts with a rolling pin until it is ~1/16″ thick. Cut Pie crust by pressing the lip of a glass drinking onto the counter.
  • Place mini pie crust in the tin
  • In mixing bowl, cream together 1/4 cup butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until blended. Hand fold in pecans. Fill each miniature pie crust half full.
  • Bake for ~25 minutes or until fully cooked (test by poking with toothpick and the toothpick is removed clean).
  • Place on cooling rack.
  • Enjoy!
Digging Monthly

What I’m Digging: November

by sarahelsea1 Comment on What I’m Digging: November

October was filled with Marathon Training, a crazy work schedule and celebrating friends and families birthday. November I’m focusing on self care. Here are some of the products I’m loving:

OPTI-GREENS 50: To say I’ve ate horribly since finishing marathon training is an understatement. These greens are the best I’ve tried. They contain 11 servings of vegetables, help with bloating and personally- help me to kick my afternoon sugar cravings. While this isn’t negating the Chick-Fil-A I had for lunch, it makes me feel less like a potato afterwards.

Hair Skin Nail Essentials: my skin took a beating Marathon training. I can only imagine my forehead acne issues are from wearing a hat and my chest and back are tied to sitting in my own sweat for hours at a time. I restarted taking HSN a few weeks ago and have seen a noticeably change. Insert (I’m a believer from shrek)

Cosrx Acne Pimple Patch: I have no idea how, but these Korean Pimple Patches WORK. Put them on a trouble area at night and leave it on for as long as humanly possible. They reduce the size of a pimple and remove redness.

The Home Edit: if you’ve been following along on my InstaStories, you know I’ve been going crazy organizing our house. The ladies at Home Edit and I follow the same organization philosophy, you have to edit (get rid of things) before you can organize. They have some great organization ideas and will give you some great motivation. (They’re filming their Netflix series right now and I can’t wait for it to come out)

Gifting

Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffer

by sarahelseaLeave a Comment on Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffer
Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffer

Ladies.
Spiral Hair Ties – J Crew – $8.50
Essie Nail Polish Ballet Slippers – Amazon – $8.75
Mario Badescu Facial Spray – Anthropologie – $7
Cucumber Eye Mask – Sephora – $5

Dudes.
Kiehl’s Facial Fuel – Kiehl’s – $28
Titleist Golf Ball Sleeve – $9.99
BBQ Grill Scraper – Amazon – $9.95
3M Patch Plus Primer 4-in-1 – Amazon – $6.97

Gender Neutral.
Smart Sweets Sour Blast Buddies – Amazon – $4.99
Silicone & Metal Straws – Amazon – $7.95
Boier Body Scrubber – Boie USA – $8
Sparkling Rose Bears – Sugarfina – $8.95
Cosrx Acne Pimple Patch, Pack of 4 – Amazon – $14.50
Apple Lightning to USB Cable Charger – Amazon – $15
Kiehl’s Hand Salve – Kiehl’s – $16
Apple Earpods – Amazon – $21.90
Matte Black USB Candle Lighter – Container Store – $29.99
Mini Booze Bottles
Lottery Tickets

Food

Hello Fresh Review

by sarahelseaLeave a Comment on Hello Fresh Review

We tried Hello Fresh, and didn’t get the hype. Now I completely understand why someone may be obsessed with it – but it wasn’t for us.

Our friend gave us a great coupon where we only had to pay $15 of three meals for 2 people. So, we thought we’d give it a try. Figured it we hate it, it’s a small investment.

Positive Thoughts:
– On a week where our lives would be very busy, this would take away planning dinner (which we my husband enjoys).
– Get’s you to try something you have never cooked before.
– Easy website to help you make your selections.

Real Thoughts:

Groceries. When the box arrived, we were less than impressed. Spice packets were slit open with a knife/scissors. Fresh produced looked sad and slightly wilted. (I really wish I would’ve taken pictures of this to show y’all)

Price. When pricing out what this would look like against our current monthly grocery bill, it was much more expensive to keep this up.

Commitment. We ordered the meals the week before and when the shipment came, we weren’t that excited or in the mood for those items. We’re self proclaimed bad at meal planning (prefer to decide a few meals at a time and grocery shop multiple times a week in smaller portions).

Recipe. I don’t know if its all of the Instagram ads I see for HelloFresh, but I assumed the recipe would be a lot easier than it was. Coming from people who cook nightly (and usually pretty complex items), the recipe’s weren’t easy to follow or were missing steps that you had to assume.

Overall Review. 3/5 The three meals we cooked were tasty- took longer than we anticipated, and the portion sizes weren’t large enough for our liking. Wouldn’t participate in a Hello Fresh or Meal Delivery service again.

If you’re looking to get into cooking and struggle to come up with week night meals – then give it a try – it could be for you.
Gifting

Gift Guide: New Homeowner

by sarahelseaLeave a Comment on Gift Guide: New Homeowner
Gift Guide: New Homeowner

Man I love celebrating our friends new homes. I think it is such a fun experience where your friends have saved up, gone through the emotional journey of buying a house and hopefully you didn’t have to help them move in. Here’s some ideas to help you shower your friends with love.

$20 and Under

Cocktail Napkins
– Let’s get this Party Started – $10.95
– Fa-La-La Llama – $7.95
– Out of Office Cocktail Napkins – $7.96
Flowers – Trader Joes
Dish Towel
– Mimi Dish Towel – $18
– All of the Feelings Dish Towel – $18
– William Sonoma Classic Logo Towel, Set of 4 – $19.95

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