White Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Granola

Today is the first day it has actually felt like fall!  I debated whether or not to hop in my car drive to my favorite coffee joint and indulge in a pumpkin spice latte.  But I didn't.  But I did go to Hobby Lobby and pick out fabric for my Christmas tree garland.  I can't wait to get started on it and show you!  I think that's why I love fall so much, because I spend the whole season in anticipation for the most wonderful time of the year!  I just finished up a few gift wrap ideas I'll be sharing with you too.  But I'm getting off track.  Today is about fall.  Fall decorations and fall treats!  While I didn't get my pumpkin spice fix in coffee form, I did get it in the form of this delicious homemade granola.

I know what you're thinking.  Is it clean?  Umm, sure.  There is one ingredient you can adjust to make it clean...the sugar!  I used brown sugar in this recipe which you can easily exchange for either more maple syrup, raw sugar or stevia.  This is such a delicious recipe, you're gonna love it!

Ingredients

2 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup almond slices

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 T vanilla 

1 t pumpkin pie spice

1 t cinnamon

1/4 cup pumpkin puree (one heaping 1/4 cup that is...so maybe 1/3 cup for you exactos)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  In a sauce pan, bring syrup and sugar to a simmer for 2-3 minutes.  

2.  Turn heat off and add coconut oil, stir until melted.  Add pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and vanilla and whisk until smooth.

3.  In a bowl, add oats and almonds.  Pour pumpkin mixture over and stir to coat evenly.

4.  Spread onto baking sheet and cook at 325 for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.  

5.  Let cool completely and add cranberries and white chocolate chips.  

Serving suggestions...ice cream, yogurt, in a bowl with cereal...basically with any white form of dairy is good ;)  I loved this over yogurt with a little honey.  I've been on a granola and yogurt kick for breakfast lately and the store bought kinds just aren't cutting it for me!  Too much sugar or too much cardboard. 

This is perfectly sweet!  I absolutely love pumpkin with white chocolate.  You're gonna think I'm crazy but this is the first year I've tried the combination and IT BLEW MY MIND.  I know most people like chocolate and pumpkin but the thought repulses me.  Please do not bring me pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, ever.  But pumpkin white chocolate cookies?  Yes, please. 

Now are you ready for some fall decor? I have a few fall decor items but what I generally do is take something I already use and add a fall flare.  I snatched these flower pots from a shelf in my entryway and wrapped them with what I call "wreath fillers", or the "little colored ball things".  You may have a more sophisticated name, but I do not.  In place of the pots in the entryway, I have a few fall knick-knacks.

What looks to be like a crate is actually 3 wooden frames I was making.  As I was cleaning up after an afternoon of working in the garage, I stacked them on top of each other and thought, "Hey!  I like how that looks!" So I made a new set for my table.  All it is is 1x3s glued together, how easy is that?  I was going to glue all 3 pieces together, but decided to keep them separate so I can use them in different ways. 

Believe it or not, I actually made the sign ;)  I saw something similar at Hobby Lobby one day and came home inspired to make one of my own.  I painted the stripes then used my wood transfer technique to transfer on the design, then painted over in gold.  I should have been patient and used a Silhouette to create cleaner lines but I'm still happy with the outcome. 

I absolutely adore this chevron burlap my MIL gave me.  I used it to make a wreath for my front door and had just enough left over.  I love chevron.  I always try to fit it in somewhere.

This was my first wreath I've ever made!  I liked the simplicity of having just the burlap.  I don't like a lot of foo-foo stuff so I kept it pretty traditional, which works perfectly on my front door. 

I've only recently begun decorating my front porch. I have had so much fun these past few months adding pops of color to create a welcoming appeal. For a second, I thought to paint my chalkboard a more fall color then decided against it.  I love the color and just didn't have the heart to change it!

I keep adding and rearranging here and there.  Do you ever do that?  I was just talking with one of my favorite people about how we arrange something, walk by, stare at it, arrange it, walk away, turn around and stare at it, leave it, walk by again and rearrange again.  There should be a support group for people like us.  

So, this is what fall at my house looks like.  Nothing too fancy, just enough to make it feel like Christmas is coming!

Front Porch Makeover

Sometimes, I love to be original and sometimes I feel no desire to reinvent the wheel, especially when projects are this cute!  I saw this idea on Unoriginal Mom and LOVED it.  I've wanted to do something on my front door for the longest time, but I'm not really a wreath maker, unless it involves pages from an atlas, like my DIY Book Page Wreath.  My MIL makes killer wreaths, but I haven't acquired that skill from her yet.  But this, this I could do and I happened to have extra mason jars and wood laying around so I only needed to purchase a few of the items making it incredibly inexpensive...which is my kind of project.

I pretty much duplicated exactly what she did, but made a few changes to each piece as I went.  I had burlap left from my Vintage Farm Nursery that made a return wrapped around this stunning bouquet of flowers.   

For the label, I probably created more work than what was necessary for myself (as always) but I used my wood transfer technique to create the outline and then painted it in with chalkboard paint.  I should have done two coats, but I was too excited to hang it!

I accidentally spilled my stain ALL OVER the garage floor and didn't notice until it was dry (awesome...sorry honey).  So to create a stained look, I watered down black acrylic paint and it worked PERFECTLY!  I'm glad I have a new technique to add the the book of ideas.  I may try it with a colored acrylic paint to see what different paint effects I can make.  (posts to come I'm sure)

What I love about the front porch is that it has patterns and details that you will see throughout the house so it creates a welcoming flow.  I have mason jars hanging in my living room and you can see the chevron pattern on the shelf in the entry way.  Just through the foyer, is my gallery wall which displays another chalkboard, similar to the one on the porch.  Even the color of the chalkboard appears in the wreath.  Makes me happy :)  

Oh, I love it.  I keep looking at pictures and fall in love all over again!  Now everytime I drive by, I slow down and admire the beauty!  Along with the mounted mason jar pallet, I wanted to hang a colorful chalkboard, apparently I'm obsessed with chalkboards.  I had my husband make this one but I made it the same way I made the one hanging on my Gallery Wall.

I have wanted something this color of blue for the longest time but I wasn't able to quite find the place for something that color in my house.  So when I decided to make a chalkboard, this color had no other contenders!

The combination between the teal and pink is perfect and makes an awesome statement on my front porch!

And yes, my American flag still sits on my front porch.  I hope to keep it there but it doesn't fit in too well with my new additions so I will be working on how I tie all of them together.  We are adding planters with perennials in the fall so I'm sure we'll come up with something by then!  But for now, I'm happy just as it is!

I hope you found some inspiration in these pictures!