Pumpkin Tart with Whipped Cream and Almond Toffee + Gigi Discount Code + Mara Sale

Happy Wednesday!!

Here's a little secret. I am not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, pecan pie or any other common Thanksgiving Desserts.  They just are not my favorite,  there are so many other things I would rather eat for dessert.  Last year I was flipping thru my beloved Southern Living and came across this Pumpkin Tart recipe and promptly tore it out and decided it needed to happen for Thanksgiving.  I made it last year and realized I never shared the recipe with you guys.  Perfect timing with Thanksgiving next week if you are still looking for a dessert idea. 

 This tart knocked my socks off.  Every single aspect of it is delicious but the almond toffee and homemade whipped cream take it to another level. I actually doubled the toffee part of the recipe we liked it so much.  I will making it again this year and probably many years to come.   This can be made ahead of time.  I made ours a day ahead last year.

Enjoy!

|| P U M P K I N  T A R T  W I T H   T O F F E E  A L M O N D S ||

via Southern Living

TART

1/2 (14.1-oz.) package refrigerated piecrusts 

3/4 cup granulated sugar 

1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3 cups canned pumpkin 

1/2 cup blackstrap molasses 

6 tablespoons butter, melted 

4 large eggs 

1 (12-oz.) can evaporated milk 

ALMOND TOFFEE

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 

4 tablespoons butter 

1 cup slivered almonds 

Vegetable cooking spray 

Parchment paper

WHIPPED CREAM 

2 1/2 cups heavy cream 

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Prepare Tart: Preheat oven to 350°. Fit piecrust into a 9-inch deep-dish tart or quiche pan with removable bottom; press into fluted edges. Whisk together granulated sugar and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together pumpkin and next 2 ingredients in a separate bowl. Whisk pumpkin mixture into sugar mixture. Add eggs, 1 at a time, whisking until blended after each addition. Whisk in evaporated milk, and pour into crust.

2. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and chill 8 to 24 hours.

3. Prepare Almond Toffee: Cook brown sugar and 4 Tbsp. butter in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Add almonds, and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes or until golden. Pour mixture onto lightly greased (with cooking spray) parchment paper; cool completely. Break into pieces.

4. Prepare Whipped Cream: Beat cream and 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until foamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Top tart with whipped cream; sprinkle with toffee.

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I wanted to share that Gigi New York has graciously offered 20% off their site til Sunday with code NATALIE20. This is a great time to buy Christmas Gifts or a treat for yourself if you are looking for a new purse:)

The code can be used on the two purses I helped to design and anything else on the site!

Black Crocodile Purse

Brown Teju Leather

A few other favorites from the new Fall line!

Cobalt Clutch | Carly Cross Body | Colette
Olivia Shopper | Bucket Tote | Saddle Bag

I also wanted to share this Mara Hoffman Sweater.  It is now 57% off (thanks to Kris for heads on he cheaper find I re-linked the sweater)

It is one size fits all.  I wear mine paired with skinny jeans and black leggings.  I love the bright colors and bottom fringe.

These two Mara dresses were just reduced too.   I always love a good Mara printed dress.

Long Sleeve Dress

Short Sleeve Tunic Dress

This blouse is also 50% off.  I have a dress in the same print and love it.
Blouse

I am off to plan the rest of our Thanksgiving menu and party prep for Frances Moon's second birthday!  Lots of fun stuff coming up.

Holiday Cards + $125 Minted Giveaway

It is that time of year to start ordering Christmas Cards!  I have to admit I love Holiday Cards.  I get so excited when I go to get the mail and there are Holiday Cards in our mail box.  I love seeing pictures of my friends and their children that I don't get to see on a regular basis.

 Time and time again I always find my favorites on Minted.  I especially love their Foil Collection.

The past two years I have done cards from the foil collection.

Right now you can use code CHEERS for 15% off + free recipient addressing on your card!

Our card from last year:)

I rounded up my 10 favorite foil designs on Minted but there are so many more fabulous options!

ONE | Happy Holidays

TWO | Wreath

THREE | Dots

FOUR | Its a Wonderful Life

FIVE | JOY

SIX| STRIPES

SEVEN | Tree

EIGHT | Christmas Love

NINE| Square Border

TEN | Wreath

and if you want to do a New Year's Card these are my favorites!

I love the idea of a New Year's Card.

NEW YEARS

NEW YEARS

and best part is Minted has graciously offered one reader the chance to win $125 to use on their site!  Just leave a comment with your email address and favorite greeting card or what you would use the $125 towards! Contest ends Friday 11/20 at 5pm.

Christmas PJS + Gift Ideas for the Kids Part 1

Every year we have a tradition where my parents treat all the grand kids to Holiday jammies.  We always order them early so the kids can enjoy them for awhile.  Although my kids wear theirs all year long- they love holiday pj's!  Hanna Andersson Pj's are our favorite. The quality is excellent and they wash and wear really well.  Below is what we picked out for this year.  The boys all got blue with Santa Claus and Frances got a red and green zip up pair.

Santa PJS | Red Zip-Up Pj's 

They are cracking up over my photography skills.

I also treated the kids to some slippers.  Sterling had out grown his old ones and Frances never had a pair.  Of course if her big brother was getting a pair she wanted a pair too.  These both light up and the kids love them.  They would make a great Christmas gift too!

Shark Slippers | Unicorn Slippers

and you might have noticed this guy,  Sterling is shark obsessed these days.  We bought this shark over the Summer and the kids love it. 

Over Sized Shark

Melissa and Doug have a great selection of these giant stuffed animals- HERE

These are great gifts to leave out under the tree.  Sterling has already informed me he wants the dolphin and boxer this year.

I wanted to share a few gift ideas for the kids. 

These are all gifts for the most part that we own and love and the kids play with frequently.  I love getting personal recommendations from people about what toys are their kids favorites.  So these below are ours.

I bought this nativity set last year as a treat for the kids from "Fred" our elf.  I set it out Thanksgiving night and they loved it.  It really is such a great nativity set.  I like that it is wooden and kid friendly.

Naviity Set

PERSONALIZED PURSE

We have a friend who has this and it is so cute.  I put this on Frances Moon's Christmas list. She is a purse lover and I love that you can personalize it.

SANDS ALIVE

Sterling got this last year for his Birthday and I can't tell you how many times it has kept him entertained.

REMOTE CONTROL ANIMALS

This is really cool.  The kids get to build their own remote control creatures. You can create 8 different animals that move.

BOOGIE BOARD

So true story I saw a kid drawing on one of these at the doctor's office and I asked his mom where it was from thinking it was going to be far more expensive than it was.  I ordered Sterling one and he loves it.  It is great at his age for practicing wririntg and just doodling.

Melissa and Doug Pattern Blocks

Sterling got these 3 years ago and still loves to play with them.  It is a great activity for the kids to help with color and shape matching.

Grocery Cart

Frances Moon loves a grocery cart.  We have a plastic that is on its last leg so I ordered her this for a gift from Santa.

Fold and Go Play Set

This is great for travel or play at home.  Both Sterling and Frances love play houses.  This one is great because it comes with the people and furniture.  You don't have to purchase them separately.

Stacking Bears Puzzle

Both my kids love this puzzle.

Magformers

These are so awesome.  My kids will sit and build with these for a long time.  It is a great way to keep them creative.

Lite Brite

This gem reminds me of my childhood. I loved this growing up.  We gave Sterling one last year for Christmas and it was a huge hit.

A few other toy ideas.  All from Nordstrom. 

We have the Simon Game and wood blocks and use them often.  Sterling also has the pirate costume, he loves to dress up.  Nordstrom has such a great toy selection right now.  Don't forget they will price match and offer free shipping.

Scratch Art | Lawn Mower | Wood Blocks | Spin Art
Glow Stick Lab| Color Attack | Simon Game | Pirate Costume | Picnic Set | Butterfly Tea Set

Thanks to Nordstrom for partnering on this post.

Thoughts For Friday

Happy Friday!  My one of my best friends is in town this weekend and I can't wait to hang out with her and her family!! We have lots of fun stuff planned.

Since we talked about Thanksgiving sides yesterday I found this one on Pinterest I may have to try out.

Kale, Mushroom, and Wild Rice Casserole

I have been reading Me Before You for about a week now.   It is a great read and thought provoking  about living as a paraplegic and quality of life.  I can't wait to read the sequel that just came out next.

I have to be honest for a long time I kind of snubbed Loft.  I thought it was a store geared towards older women.  Then I started seeing several people and celebrities wearing items from Loft that were cute, really cute.  So I stopped in and have been hooked ever since.

Loft is having 40% off the entire site today. No code just enter your email address.

 I have found some really cute stuff there lately and you can't beat the prices.  A few of my favorite recent purchases:

Tunic Sweater in Cocoa Cream wearing XS

Peacock Blouse wearing XS

This pink blouse is the same style as the Peacock.  It is one of my favorite style blouses at Loft.  I like  that their is no collar and the fit is nice.

Collarless Blouse

Dot Blouse XS

Frances Moon and her sweet friend Anna Louis after school.  They are the sweetest.

Dress is Gap Kids

Caught my little man snoozing last night with all his friends. I love how he lines them all up:)

I stopped in Target this week to buy some globe lights for our pergola and of course had to browse. Their Christmas collection is on point this year.  There were so many decorations I wanted.  I couldn't resist this adorable Advent Calendar for the kids.

I am currently working on Sterling's room and making some changes.  It has not been updated since he was 2.5 and he wants some big boy updates.  I just ordered this adorable duvet cover and pillows- thank goodness he choose something I actually like too. I found them at a new to me site called Unison Home.

New favorite breakfast.  Thank you to whoever recommended adding a fried egg to my avocado toast.  Matt and I love adding jalapenos to our toast it gives it great flavor.

This Sweater + Necklace are on repeat lately.  As in I have worn them 3 times this week.

Joie Sweater | Rag and Bone Tee | Candy Shop Necklace | Waffles and Honey Necklace | Jeans | Gigi Tote

Lastly one of Matt's clients is in the running to have his Doritos video aired during the Superbowl.  Watch it HERE and vote for him:)  That is really him and his son in the video.

Have a great weekend!