Harajuku Mini for Target

I was flipping through the November issue of In Style magazine and came across an ad for Gwen Stefani's new clothing line -- Harajuku Mini -- designed for kids and made affordable through Target!  The clothes are so cool: plaid punk rock pants, leopard print dresses, faux leather jackets!  The clothes hit Target stores on November 13.  I'm sure the Missoni for Target frenzy will pale in comparison to the crazed mothers (and aunties, like me) who'll be waiting in line to buy these cute little outfits!

Picture courtesy of Target.

Vegan Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Mushroom and Sage

So a while back I tried out the Reboot diet, which is featured in the movie Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.  The diet wasn't for me, mainly because of the amount of time it took to shop for ingredients and prepare each meal, juice and snacks for each day.  I regularly make the recipes from this diet though, since it's just plain tasty with the side benefit of actually being good for you.

My favorite Reboot recipe so far is Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Mushroom and Sage.  It's a cinch to make, and it's astonishingly flavorful and delicious.  I modified the recipe by adding crunchy panko bread crumbs to the top.  If you try it out, please leave a comment and let me know how you like it!

Click the read more button below for the recipe:

Trader Joes

I have a list of things I love at Trader Joes, but each time I go in there I discover something new.  Today, I found Halloween Joe Joe's, Milk Chocolate Covered Potato Chips, and Gone Bananas chocolate covered banana slices.

The Halloween Joe Joe's are simply Trader Joes take on Oreos, only the chocolate cookie has a jack-o-lantern design with the eye/nose/mouth cut-out to reveal the orange colored vanilla cream inside.  Their Peppermint Candycane Joe Joe's have been a longstanding favorite, and hits the shelves around Christmastime.

The Milk Chocolate Covered Potato Chips are a little sweet, a little salty, and highly addictive.  You will find these babies where all the cookies are. 

Gone Bananas was nothing new to me, as I have been eating the frozen, chocolate-dipped banana on a popsicle stick for a couple years now.  The only downside to eating those was that sometimes the chocolate shell would flake off the banana and always fall somewhere unreachable and melt, and then I'd end up sitting on it later and getting a chocolate stain.  NOT ANYMORE!!!  Now the bananas are sliced and coated so you can easily pop the whole thing in your mouth.  These are in a box in the frozen dessert section.

SKT Ceramics

Every time I visit my bestie in NYC, we go to one of my favorite places in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn -- the Brooklyn Flea.  The last time I was there, I came upon a ceramics vendor who sold all sorts of dishes and mugs with adorable animals in soft, pastel colors.  I didn't buy anything at the time, as the price seemed a little too high for me.  But I've been thinking about the cute little goat latte bowl ever since.  Someone once told me, if you're unsure about an item, walk away; if you're still thinking about it days later, it's something you should have.  Isn't that good advice? 

Anywho, you can check out the goodies from SKT Ceramics at the Brooklyn Flea or on Etsy.  They even do custom pieces, which makes a great holiday or baby gift.

Home Sweet Gnome Dish Towel

I love gnomes and this dish towel I found on Etsy is perfect!  It's $10 from seller MoxieMadness.

Spooky X-Ray Skeleton Bones Apron

I want this.  What else is there to say?

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I love to bake, and cupcakes are the perfect size for portion control (I can't be trusted to slice my own size piece of cake).  After tasting the sinfully delicious vegan cupcakes from Sticky Fingers Bakery in DC, I was inspired to make my own!  So I bought a copy of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, the same authors of Veganomicon and The Post Punk Kitchen blog.

There were so many recipes I wanted to make: S'Mores cupcakes, Banana Split cupcakes, Tiramisu cupcakes...but for my first try I made a peanut butter cupcake with chocolate ganache frosting.  Then I made Oreo cupcakes.  This time, I made a chocolate cupcake with chocolate chips and peanut butter frosting.  They were a big hit with my hubby's bandmates who gobbled them right up, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you.

Click "read more" to view the recipe: