goals for the week of 11/18

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Hi everyone! Welcome to our new domain name, daybydaymasterpiece.com! I’m so excited and am delighted to have you join us. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! 🙂

As I mentioned in my earlier post, something I want to start doing on here is posting some goals at the beginning of each week that I’ll be focusing on that week. {I got this idea from Crystal Paine, the Money-Saving Mom, whose goals always inspire me at the beginning of every week when she posts them on her blog.} I’m hoping you will be inspired to share your goals, too, and in this way the blog can become a goal-setting community of encouragement and motivation!

Here are my goals for this week:

  • get up to 200 pages written of my thesis
  • start reading The Happiness Project for PBF Book Club
  • write Thanksgiving cards for loved ones
  • clean bathroom & vacuum
  • finish grading student work
  • enjoy time with Mike’s family
  • finish knitting scarf for Mike during car ride
  • post announcement for winter writing camp

ch-ch-ch-ch-changes …

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Notice anything different?

That’s right, you’re not going crazy: we’ve got a new name!

“Day-by-Day Masterpiece” stems from one of my favorite-ever quotes {I love it so much I have it posted above my writing desk and as my cell phone background} … it comes from the late, great John Wooden, who was a huge inspiration to me and my family. One of the maxims he lived his life by was, “Make each day your masterpiece.”

I find that quote so inspiring because it reminds me that each day is truly a treasure and a blessing. Each day is something to savor. Making your day a “masterpiece” does not mean making each day “perfect.” Far from it — masterpieces are full of mistakes, trial-and-errors, messes and wrong turns and laughter and spontaneity. Indeed, I think that’s part of what makes a day a “masterpiece” — the surprises give our lives variety and richness.

To me, a masterpiece day is a balanced day. Time with my friends, family and loved ones; time spent pursuing my writing goals; physical exercise and delicious, healthful food; quiet time to reflect and relax. Love, laughter, daydreams, peace.

I started this blog to keep track of my steps towards becoming more organized in my day-to-day life and tackling those hidden {and, okay, not-so-hidden} trouble spots that were adding stress and frustration to my life.

Something I’ve discovered is that “organization” doesn’t just pertain to the material possessions you own or how clean your home is. It’s more a way of life; a way of thinking; a way of approaching your day.

So I wanted to give the blog a new title to reflect upon how it has grown and expanded in the past six months since I started chronicling my organizational journey with you.

Don’t worry, I’ll still be sharing my organizational projects and day-by-day progress with you. But as you’ve probably noticed, I’ve really grown to love cooking and baking and sharing healthy recipes here. I also am delving more and more into simplified, frugal living — everything from couponing to saving money on date night to selling things on Craigslist. I am participating in the monthly book club over at Peanut Butter Fingers and am hoping to start up my own monthly book club on here. {I’d love to have you join me!} And I’m really passionate about living “green” and doing our part to protect our precious environment. I’m hoping to expand that part of the blog in the coming months. Finally, it really inspires me to follow along with Crystal’s weekly and monthly goal-setting over at Money-Saving Mom, and I want to do something similar on here — I’ve already posted about goal-setting and to-do lists. I want this blog to be a place where we can be sources of inspiration for each other!

So how do we make our days masterpieces? That’s what I’m hoping to explore in this blog!

Making the most of each day, being grateful and mindful, living with passion and joy and love — to me, that is a masterpiece day. And you know what masterpiece days add up to, right? A masterpiece life. What more can any of us ask for?

simple coupon storage solution

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I’ve been trying for a while to find an effective way to deal with my coupons. I love using coupons because I love feeling like I’m getting a good deal, but I also don’t want to spend much time or energy combing through the internet and newspaper/magazine ads to find coupons. Maybe someday when I have more mouths to feed and more groceries to buy I’ll become a coupon queen, but right now at this point in my life I am more of a haphazard catch-the-coupons-that-come-my-way type of gal.

There are a lot of great blogs with wonderful ideas for organizing coupons — binders, folders, accordian files, you name it. I tried to organize my coupons in a little accordian file from Target for a while {you know the kind — my fave $1 file folder I’ve also used to organize my stationary, take-out menus, and important car papers!} but the accordian file was a little too bulky to keep in my purse or backpack all the time, and I found myself forgetting what coupons I had and consequently forgetting to use them before they expired.

Here is a solution that works for me: a simple coupon envelope! If you’re someone like me who doesn’t have too many coupons to keep track of, this might be a simple fix that works for you, too.

This was a super-easy organization project. You know how sometimes stationary sets come with an extra envelope? {For example, a set of 10 cards and 11 envelopes?} I found an extra red envelope in my stationary folder and decorated the outside with a quick handmade label. All I used was some left-over scratch paper and crayola markers, and I attached the label to the front of the envelope with clear tape.

Then, I gathered up my coupons from their various pockets and corners and scattered places around my apartment and slipped them into the envelope. I organized them by expiration date {closest to expire at the front; furthest at the back.} That way, before I go to the store, I can flip through the coupons at the front and make sure I don’t miss any upcoming expiration dates.

I’m really loving the envelope because I can easily slip it into my purse or bag right beside my wallet. And the bright red color catches my attention as I’m grabbing my reusable grocery bags so I will never again forget to bring my coupons along with me!

I’ve had this system in place for a couple weeks now and it’s really working for me & Mike. Maybe it will work for you, too!

Do you use coupons? How do you organize and keep track of them? I’d love to hear any tips or strategies that work for you!

Happy Wednesday,
Dallas

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– Cost: $0
– Time spent: 10 minutes

chocolate-chip pumpkin pancakes

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I can’t believe how fast the weekend has flown by! As the saying goes, “Time flies when you’re having fun,” and I’ve been having a super-fun time with my incredible brother in town. {Time also flies when you’re taking a timed test with only 240 minutes to answer 230 obscure literature and poetry questions … but in a different way.} <–SO glad to be done with the GRE test! 🙂

This weekend we’ve given Greg a tour of West Lafayette, including:

  • our favorite restaurants {Nine Irish Brothers! Lafayette Brewing Co!}
  • an epic evening of pinball at Main Street Amusements {Greg is a pinball wizard}
  • a really imaginative and gripping play called “The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart” presented by the National Theatre of Scotland through Purdue Convocations
  • many episodes of New Girl {I guess this isn’t limited to West Lafayette, but it’s been a fun part of the weekend!}
  • a tour of Purdue’s campus and a walk across the bridge from West Lafayette into Lafayette
  • laughing so hard tears have streamed down my face
  • fresh-baked cookies from Insomnia Cookies, an adorable late-night cookie shop close to Purdue’s campus
  • and a basketball game this afternoon, where Purdue soundly defeated Hofstra {boiler UP!}

Greg is coming with me tomorrow to school, where he’s giving a presentation on social entrepreneurship to my classes. {He’s the founder of a nonprofit organization called Give Running — learn more about it here!} I’m so excited to show him off to my students.

For the finale of pumpkin week, I have a delicious lazy Sunday morning recipe to share with you: pumpkin chocolate-chip pancakes!

pumpkin chocolate-chip pancakes

– 1 tsp butter
– 1 cup pancake mix
– 3/4 cup water
– 1/4 cup pumpkin
– 1 tsp cinnamon
– 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– handful of chocolate chips

1. Stir together pancake mix, water, pumpkin, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract. Let batter rest for a couple minutes.

2. Heat skillet to medium-low and grease with a little butter.

3. Drop 1/4 cup batter into pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Cook until batter starts to bubble in the middle, then flip over and cook about 3-4 minutes on the other side.

Serve warm and melty, with syrup if desired!

Hope your weekend was wonderful! Thanks for joining in with me on this week of pumpkin recipes — I had so much fun!

Here’s a recap if you missed anything:

– pumpkin spice oatmeal
– pumpkin oatmeal cookies
– savory pumpkin and kale stew
– pumpkin pasta
– perfect pumpkin pie

Goodnight!
-Dallas

perfect pumpkin pie

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Happy weekend, everyone! Sorry that I didn’t get a pumpkin recipe up yesterday … with Greg coming into town and my GRE test this morning, it kind of slipped by the wayside. But I’m happy to report that Pumpkin Week is back today!

I shared in a post last month that I made a delicious pumpkin pie … and that I also made a disaster of a pumpkin pie! Seriously, it was pretty gross. It never seemed fully cooked, so I kept putting it back in the oven for longer and longer, and then the top started to kind of peel away from the rest of the {still-uncooked-seeming} pumpkin mixture. Imagine a creme brulee or pudding sort of thing happening, only on pumpkin pie.

Not. Good.

I was so disheartened I didn’t even take pictures of it. The bad embarrassed blogger in me just tossed it into the trash. I wish now I would have taken pictures so I could have shown it to you. {Thanks to Bonnie at Recipes Happen for encouraging all of us to embrace our mistakes, laugh about them, and learn from them!} Alas, I did not take pictures, so you’ll just have to imagine it and take my word that it was baaaaad.

Here’s what I think happened: I tried substituting truvia for the sugar, and something about that mixture didn’t work out. I don’t know if I added too much of it, or too little, or if just my pie happened to be unlucky, or what. Have any of you tried baking with a sugar substitute like truvia or splenda? Any tips or advice? As you know, I’m always trying to find ways to make recipes healthier! But maybe sometimes, like in the case of pumpkin pie, it’s best to stick with the basics. 😉

I’ve also tried making pumpkin pie with both evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk, and I must say that I like the sweetened condensed version better. It’s a little creamier texture-wise, and has a good balance of sweetness and pumpkiny goodness. My latest experiment has been trying reduced fat sweetened condensed milk, which I’m happy to report tasted just as delicious with fewer calories! Hooray for small victories.

In the past I’ve always used pre-made graham cracker crust from the grocery store  but in the future I’m hoping to try making my own graham cracker crust {or even my own graham crackers after being inspired by this post by Jill at Reini Days!} I’ll keep you posted! I also am very generous with spices, particularly cinnamon. If you’re not the biggest cinnamon fan, you might adjust the spices to fit your tastes.

perfect pumpkin pie

– 1 graham cracker crust {I like the reduced fat version just fine}
– 1 can pumpkin
– 1 can reduced fat sweetened condensed milk
– 2 eggs
– 1 tsp vanilla
– 2 tsp cinnamon
– 1/2 tsp nutmeg
– 1/2 tsp cloves
– 1/2 tsp ginger
– 1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Combine pumpkin with spices and vanilla.

3. Beat eggs and add to pumpkin mixture.

4. Add sweetened condensed milk and beat well.

5. Pour pie filling into graham cracker crust.

6. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake for another 40-45 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean.

Serve with whipped cream on top for the perfect pie experience!

YUM! I love pumpkin pie.

I’m in the mood for celebrating now that my GRE exam is over … hooray for the weekend! 🙂 Hope you are having a wonderful day!

-Dallas

pumpkin pasta

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Happy Thursday, everyone! I’m in a super happy mood because my brother Greg is arriving this evening for a long weekend visit! I’m leaving right after I finish teaching to go pick him up at the airport. I am sooooo excited to see him! 🙂

I have another new recipe to share with you today for pumpkin week! I made this last night after seeing a recipe on AllRecipes.com that compared this sauce to “inside-out pumpkin ravioli” … I’ve never had pumpkin ravioli but it sounds really delicious. So I thought I would give this pumpkin pasta sauce a whirl. And I’m so glad I did! It was even better than I expected.

I was starving when I got home from school this evening {a little later than usual because I had a meeting after class for Sycamore Review, the literary magazine I work for} so I discovered an added bonus of this recipe: it comes together pretty quickly! I made the sauce while the pasta was cooking, and the entire thing was ready to eat in about 15-20 minutes.

pumpkin pasta

– 1 package noodles of your choice {I used whole-wheat spaghetti; I think penne would also be delicious}
– 1 tbsp butter
– 1 tbsp flour
– 1 small onion, diced
– 1 tbsp minced garlic
– 1 zucchini, diced
– 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
– 1/2 cup skim milk
– 1 cup pumpkin puree
– 1 tsp onion powder
– 1 tsp garlic powder
– 1 tsp chili powder
– 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
– salt & pepper to taste
– grated Parmesan cheese to taste

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.

2. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a large pot and saute onion, garlic and zucchini. Add flour and stir to make a rue.

3. Add the chicken broth, milk, and pumpkin. Stir together until well blended.

4. Add the onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt and pepper.

5. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, until sauce reaches desired thickness.

6. Drain the pasta. Add sauce to the drained pasta, and toss with the Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

I served mine with fresh baked French bread. It was the perfect complement to the pasta and I loved mopping up the sauce at the bottom of my bowl with the warm bread. {Something I wouldn’t do in a restaurant, but at home it seems okay!} 🙂

Hope your week is going great! Tomorrow, I’ll have a classic pumpkin recipe for you to wrap up the work week: pumpkin pie!

-Dallas

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– Time: 20 mins
– Cost: about $8

pumpkin week: savory {and easy!} pumpkin & kale stew

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Whew, what a night! After a whirlwind election day, I was in the mood for something simple for dinner.  When I saw this recipe for savory pumpkin and kale stew on one of my favorite cooking blogs The Pajama Chef, I thought it would be the perfect dish to try as part of my pumpkin week series!

I must admit, I had never had pumpkin soup before and was a little skeptical, but after reading Sarah The Pajama Chef’s rave reviews, my curiosity won out and I decided to try out the dish myself!

This soup turned out absolutely delicious. It’s hearty thanks to the chicken and veggies, creamy thanks to the pumpkin and dash of cream, and very flavorful. It just tastes like autumn — warm and comforting. And it’s super healthy with the kale, carrots, and Vitamin-A-filled pumpkin!

{Here is my recipe, modified a little from the one I found on The Pajama Chef}

ingredients:

– 1 tablespoon olive oil
– 1 small onion, diced
– 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
– 2 cloves garlic, minced
– freshly ground black pepper
– 4 cups chicken broth
– 1 & 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
– 2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
– 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
– 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
– 3-4 leaves kale, chopped {about 2-3 loosely packed cups}
– 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
– 2 tablespoons half and half

1. In a stock pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and garlic, and season with black pepper. Saute for about 5-6 minutes or until soft and translucent.

2. Next, add chicken broth, pumpkin, black beans, chicken, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir until combined, then cover and bring to a boil. {Sarah’s original recipe includes adding a can of stewed tomatoes as well, which I’m sure would be delicious. I took the tomatoes out of my recipe because Mike is allergic.}

3. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Add kale and sage, and cook for another minute or two.

5. Stir in half and half and serve immediately.

This meal was a winner for me and I will definitely be making it again! And I’m already looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow. 😉

What are some of your favorite stew and soup recipes? Have you ever made pumpkin or butternut squash soup?

Till tomorrow,
-Dallas

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– Time: about 30 mins
– Cost: less than $10

election day pumpkin oatmeal cookies

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Happy election day! Have you voted yet? If you haven’t, before you read any more of this or do anything else, please go out and vote! I think this picture one of my friends posted on Facebook says it well:

After a cold rainy weekend, we have been having beautiful sunshine here in Indiana yesterday and today, and I am trying to soak up every golden ray! It’s still cold enough to layer up with comfy sweaters, boots and scarves–my favorite fall fashion staples. I remember when I lived in California, I always wished it would get cold enough to layer up in autumn clothing. Now my cozy knitted goods are getting plenty of use, that’s for sure!

I’m loving Pumpkin Week so far and have a delicious recipe to share with you today: pumpkin oatmeal cookies! I tweaked these cookies to use up some leftover Halloween candy after I was inspired by this post on the Bon Appetit website that recommends topping oatmeal cookies with candy corn before baking. However, I think these cookies would be perfectly delicious without the candy corn, too, or with chocolate chips, nuts, or even dried cranberries. This is a good base recipe to experiment with!

pumpkin oatmeal cookies

– 1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
– 1/4 cup brown sugar
– 2 eggs
– 1 tsp vanilla
– 1/4 cup pumpkin
– 3/4 cup oats
– 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
– 1/2 tsp baking soda
– 1/2 tsp baking powder
– 1/4 tsp salt
– 1 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
– butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, candy corn, or desired toppings!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Stir in the pumpkin.

3. In a separate bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well. Batter will be thick!

5. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto the baking sheet. If desired, add chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or candy corn toppings.

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until bottoms are golden brown.

These are perfect served warm from the oven with a big glass of milk! 🙂 Do you know of any good recipes for using up leftover candy corn or other Halloween candy? I’d love if you would share them in the comments section.

Have a wonderful day! And please, get out to the polls and vote!!

-Dallas

marvelous monday: pumpkin week!

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Happy Monday, everyone! How was your weekend? I had one of my favorite types of weekend: cozy at home, laid-back, while also productive. {Or, as my brother calls it, “tcb-time: taking care of business!”} I am taking the GRE Subject Exam in literature next weekend and spent a good chunk of time studying for the test using a study guide I got from the Princeton Review, which is amazingly helpful and has actually been cracking me up quite a bit with the authors’ witty jabs and digs at the test. {Mike probably thinks I am going crazy from too much studying when he looks over and sees me giggling over my test book.} If you or someone you know is studying for the GRE or a GRE Subject Exam, I’d highly recommend their study guides!

Another reason I am feeling so jazzed this morning: my brother is coming to visit on Thursday! He’s staying for a long weekend and I am SO excited to see him. He is one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met and has been my best friend since he was born and I was two and a half years old. 🙂 I feel really blessed that we are so close and that he still wants to spend time with his big sister. I am going to be on pins-and-needles driving to the airport after class on Thursday afternoon!

Greg and me at his college graduation this past May. I’m so proud of him!

As we transition from October into November, I had a realization: Halloween might be over, but I am *SO* not done with pumpkin yet! I feel like I haven’t even begun to take advantage of this marvelous squash in my autumn cooking. So, this week on the blog, I bring to you Pumpkin Week! Every day I’ll post a new pumpkin recipe, spanning all meals of the day. I’m hoping this week will motivate me to try all these pumpkin recipes I’ve stored up {like this amazing list from Two Peas & Their Pod} and might also inspire you to try some new recipes yourself!

Today we start with breakfast. I was inspired by Julie at Peanut Butter Fingers to work some pumpkin goodness into my morning batch of oats. It was easy and delicious — like having a healthy version of pumpkin pie to start the day off right! Plus, I love oatmeal on cold winter days. It warms my belly and just gets me into a happy mood.

pumpkin spice oatmeal

– 1/2 cup oats
– 1/3 cup milk {I like vanilla rice milk, but soy milk, almond milk, or just plain old dairy milk would all work}
– 1/4 cup pumpkin
– 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
– 1 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and stir together. Microwave for 2-3 minutes {depending on your microwave’s power} until desired consistency. I like my oatmeal pretty thick; my mom loves hers watery. It’s a preference thing!

Enjoy warm. Add more cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice as desired. YUM!

What are some of your favorite pumpkin recipes? I’m looking forward to sharing more with you tomorrow. Hope you have a marvelous day!

-Dallas 🙂

saturday upsides: a cozy rainy day

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Happy weekend, everyone! I hope all of you, especially those affected by Hurricane Sandy, are safe and sound. You are in my thoughts and prayers!

After a week of such devastation, I wanted to make sure to post a “Saturday Upside” today {inspired by my blogging friend Bonnie at Recipes Happen} because I think it is these times more than ever that remind us what really matters and to be grateful for all of our blessings. Amongst a million small daily gratitudes, today I want to take a moment to be grateful for the big things: all my wonderful friends and family, my health, my warm safe home, enough food to eat, the opportunity to pursue my dreams. Love and laughter and hope and more love.

Today is cold and rainy here today in West Lafayette. Ordinarily, I might look out the window and yearn for sun, feeling nostalgic for summer or my hometown in California, where my parents report it is indeed warm and sunny today. But there are upsides to cold rainy days. The 38-degree weather outside makes cuddling up at home feel luxurious. It makes a small apartment like mine feel warm and cozy. {Bonus upside to a small apartment: it doesn’t take much time or energy to heat up the whole place!} The rain pattering outside is such a comforting sound. I’ve got a blanket on my lap, a good book and warm cup of tea on the table beside me. What could be better?

Don’t we always want what we don’t have? In summer’s humid heat we yearn for air conditioning and cold weather; now, in the cold weather, we yearn for warmth and sun. I’m going to make an effort to be happy where I am, wherever it may be, and whatever the weather is like outside my window. My Saturday Upside is to relax and enjoy this cold, rainy, cozy and marvelous day in November!

Hope your weekend is wonderful,
-Dallas