Pumpkin Meringue Pie Baked Oatmeal

Pumpkin pumpkin everywhere. Some hate it. Some love it. I am lucky enough to be in the latter category. I mean really, though, what's not to love? Pumpkin desserts are basically a hug from fall. I may not be in love with fall, but I am not opposed to hugs. Or pumpkin.

And what better way is there than to start off your day than with a dessert-like hug from fall? (The answer is no way, to those of you who were wondering)

Now, to be perfectly honest, I'm already listening to Christmas carols. Yep.

*ooh, I can feel you judging me*

But that doesn't mean that I am not also embracing the beauty of fall at the same time...
...and now you can, too!

Pumpkin Meringue Pie Baked Oatmeal
Serves one

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1.5 cups pumpkin puree
1.5 tsp. Pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp almond milk
Sweetener of choice, to taste
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
__________________________________________
For the meringue: (optional)
1 large egg white
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tsp sugar, optional
1/8 tsp. Cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease a single-serve ramkin
2. In a small bowl, combine together oats, spice, and baking powder.
3. Softly stir in pumpkin, milk, sweetener, and vanilla.
4. Put in ramkin and bake for 15 minutes if using meringue, or thirty minutes if not using the meringue.
5. If making meringue: while oatmeal is in the oven, beat egg white until it forms stiff peaks. Continue to beat in vanilla, cream of tartar, and sugar, if using.
6. After the oatmeal has been in the oven for fifteen minutes, top with the egg white mixture, and return to oven for an additional fifteen minutes, or until the meringue has cooked through.
7. Enjoy your hug from fall.

<3 Danielle

Blogger vs. Wordpress

Hey everyone!
Would like to share with you all today a matter of which I was extremely curious about until recently. This is Blogger versus Wordpress. And just so you know, I am discussing the free stuff, you know, when your blog url is like; http://blog.blogspot.com, or http://blog.wordpress.com.  I believe that this information is important to those who want to start a blog, but don't want to throw a ton of money into it yet (like me!).
Blogger

• Not many templates for setting up the blog
• Each template, though is very customizable
• You get the whole package with the free site
• Easy to use, but glitchy at times

Wordpress

• Tons of templates for setting up the blog
• Very limited customization 
• There's a limited amount of stuff that can be done for free. It almost seems like they were trying to trick me into spending some money at some points because so many things that I tried to do while designing the webpage led to a message announcing that that particular action could only be done if I upgraded.
• Easy to use, but kind of confusing at times

Another thing I'd like to point out is that I find that Wordpress sites have that WOW factor, whereas it almost seems like if you've seen one Blogger blog, you've seen every Blogger blog.

Having said that, I have reached my conclusion:

     Blogger is for you if: you prefer to get a basic template, but then customize it to fit your needs, and especially if you don't have plans to upgrade.

     Wordpress is for you if: you prefer to not mess around with customizing your site, and just want to get a pre-set-up design, and also if you have plans to upgrade (and start spending money in the near future.

I hope this helps!

Danielle

How to Make Your Shower Like New Again

You know when you spend the night at someones house and wake up the next morning to shower, but find the state of the shower revolting? And then you decide to just not shower that day?

                             Just me? 

Okay. 

Well after going through this several times, one day I stepped into my shower and was completely shocked to see that my shower was in even worse of a state than any of the other showers I had been in!

The filth just kind of snuck up on me, I guess. And it's totally out of my comfort zone to show you the dirty shower, but I do know from experience that I am not alone in the struggle of cleanliness, so brace yourself:

Crazy, huh? And here's how I did it:

The main product I used was Norwex Descaler. This stuff is a miracle worker. 

It works like a dream-- just spray it on the surface of the area you need to clean (you may want to test a small area first to make sure that the product works with that type of surface) and wait 5- 10 minutes before scrubbing away. Anything that does not come off with the descaled can probably be sprayed  and scrubbed again with your all-purpose bathroom cleaner,  or whatever you usually clean your tub with.

Now, I'm not going to lie, this job took a good deal of elbow grease and determination, but the end product was soooooooo worth it!

<3 Danielle

Disclaimer: This post was NOT sponsored by Norwex, I just wanted to share with you all a great product with awesome results! Be sure to read the instructions on the Norwex descaler and any other cleaning product that you use containers before using the products. Using the products wrong can cause damage to your property or body. I am not responsible for any of these damages.

Cherry Baked Oatmeal

Did you miss me? I'm sorry I skipped several days of blogging, but I have a confession to make: this is going to be kind of a new norm.  I never want to be that blogger who fades out and you never know what happened to them. But my posts are going to be spaced a bit farther apart. My goal is to post once a week. 

Why?

Blogging has kind of gone from being a huge passion to a huge chore.

Why?

I love the concept of blogging, don't get me wrong, I love all of you and getting creative with what I post and all that jazz. But here's the thing: I do EVERYTHING-- taking photos, editing them, and writing the posts all on a Kindle Fire. And said Kindle only has a front facing camera. Yeah. It's been tough and at this point, I don't have the extra money to invest in a quality camera.

So things will be almost normal around here. I'll just be posting less often.

So anyway, here's a recipe for A single serve oatmeal, using the most beautiful, fflavorful fruit in the world.

Cherry Baked Oatmeal

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 tsp. Baking powder

1/3 cup milk

1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract

1 banana, mashed

12 cherries, pitted and chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350°Fahrenheit. Grease a single serving ramkin.

2. In a small bowl, combine the oats and baking powder. Stir in milk, vanilla, and banana.

3. Fold in cherries. If you'd like, save some and place them on to of the oat mixture after pouring the batter into the ramkin.

4. Bake for about 28-30 minutes, or until center no longer is very wet.

Enjoy!

<3 Danielle