Welcome to Kassi’s Surprise Birthday Party! Ami of AliLily: Pumpkin Round Up

We’re celebrating Kassi’s birthday by partying it up ALL MONTH LONG! Our first very special party guest (AND CO-PLANNER! This lady is THE best and has been SO much help to me!) is Miss Ami of AliLily! Here she is! :)

 

Hey y’all! It’s Ami from ! I’m here today to SURPRISE our sweet Kassi for her birthday!!! Happy birthday, Kassi! You are such an inspiring blogger, a supportive and wonderful friend. I am so glad I have you in my life. I can’t wait till we meet in the “really REAL” world.

For your birthday Kassi, I made you some Pumpkin & Chocolate Cheesecake Bars! Now, I know you aren’t here to try it but girl, let me tell you….they are DELICIOUS!

Of course, I had to go with pumpkin, since it’s Kassi’s favorite!

So Kassi, what do you think? It is SO GOOD!

Here is the recipe! Now, you just gotta get Nate to make it for you! 😉

This is an easy recipe I found at Better Homes and Gardens

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar or sweetener
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar or sweetener
3 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini’s)
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1/4 cup sugar or sweetener
Grated fresh nutmeg and extra chips for decor

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with non stick spray. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 cup sugar. Stir in the 1/3 cup melted butter. Press mixture evenly into bottom of the prepared baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and the 1-3/4 cups sugar. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Beat in pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and salt on low speed just until combined. Remove 1-1/4 cups of the mixture.

In a small heavy saucepan, combine the 6 ounces chocolate and the 2 tablespoons butter. Cook and stir over low heat until melted. Whisk chocolate mixture into the 1-1/4 cups pumpkin mixture. Pour over crust, spreading evenly. Bake for 15 minutes.

Carefully pour the remaining pumpkin mixture over baked chocolate layer, spreading evenly. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes more or until filling is puffed and center is set. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine sour cream and 1/4 cup sugar. Gently spread over bars. Cool completely. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours. Sprinkle with nutmeg and mini chocolate chips. Cut into bars.

Check out who helped me make Kassi’s Pumpkin and Chocolate Cheesecake Bars!!

I hope you had an amazing birthday yesterday. I hope you have an amazing birthday this month! You should call up your sister and ask her this “So Kayli, how did I FOIL your plans” LOL!!

I thought to create a Pumpkin yumminess round up for you, too. I hope you love the recipes I chose and I hope your readers love them too!

Truly Lovely readers, pin this list!! Pin it everywhere and all over. Spread the pumpkin yumminess!

ENJOY!!

1. Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Ganache from Truly Lovely 2. 3D Pumpkin Cookies from Glorious Treats 3. Rum Raisin Pumpkin Bread Pudding from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen 4. Pumpkin Mouse Shooters from Eat Yourself Skinny 5. Pumpkin better than…Cake from Something Swanky 6. Pumpkin Spice Woopie Pies from Katydid and Kid 7.Pumpkin Spice Mini Donuts from Dairy of Daves Wife 8. Pumpkin Dump Cake from Truly Lovely 9. Pumpkin Layer Cake from Homey Home Design 10. Pumpkin filled Cream Puffs from Life is a Party 11. Pumpkin and Chocolate Cheesecake Bars from AliLily

You may Pin this list in it’s entirety using the pin it button at the top. To Pin individual ideas included in this list please pin from the original source.

~Ami Allison

 

Isn’t she the best!?! I can’t thank her enough for all of her hard work, help, and support. So blessed to know such a sweet friend! And yes, pin pin pin!!! Happy Birthmonth Kassi!! The party rolls on! (;

P.S. DON’T FORGET TO LINK UP TO FANCY THIS FRIDAYS BELOW! (:

Kassi’s Big Birthday Bash Giveaway!!

Today is my birthday and to celebrate we have gifts for you!!!
Each prize will be awarded to a different winner, so that means SIXTEEN winners!!
The AWESOME prizes, from some truly lovely ladies, up for grabs are…

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Enter using the Rafflecopter form below, a winner will be drawn and announced a week from today, on October 11th!
All winning entries WILL be verified!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for hanging around Truly Lovely, for your sweet comments, your emails, your tweets and friendship!
Thanks to the sweet ladies who sponsored our bash! We adore you all!!!

Happy Birthday to me! 😉

The Love of Reading

Since it’s my birthday week…
{Come back for the Big Birthday Bash Giveaway on Thursday!}
I’d like to share about one of my greatest loves with you dolls today.

Books. The love of reading.

I’ve always loved to read. I have a strong inkling that it’s probably my parents’ fault. Weird right… parents’ encouraging their children to read?!? 😉 I grew up with BOTH parents reading me and my siblings a bedtime story. I watched my mom AND dad head off to read their favorite book before bedtime. To this day when I’m visiting my parents if you can’t find either of them a good place to look is their room with a book in hand.

I think I need a bigger bookshelf… ;)

As a kiddo it was a treat to get to choose a new book when we went to the store. At the time it was just my brother and I… he’d choose something most likely related to cowboys or Davy Crockett… Me on the other hand? I loved it all. Ponies, princesses, wizards… you name it I read it!

With new technological developments like the e-reader and being able to download an entire book onto your cell phone reading has become even easier to access. BUT you still hear people say they hate to read! The hubs is one of those… He’s getting better here lately I’m sure because I love it so much it might be rubbing off on him… 😉 Regardless I have this irrational fear of someday having my own children and not knowing how to encourage and teach them to love reading.


Source: via on

Of course I know how my parents’ encouraged me… they both loved it. I saw that and copied them. Easy enough right!? But my plea to you friends, is what if that doesn’t work? What if it’s not that easy??

I would love to know how you learned to love reading? If you don’t love it, why not?
What methods have you used to encourage your own children to love to read?

Because come on… doesn’t everyone want this relationship with the ones they love??? 😉

Source: raegunwear.blogspot.com via on

Happy reading lovelies!

By the way… Are you on Goodreads?? Let’s be friends!

Happy Birthday to our Mom!!!

We LOVE you!!

Mom, Kassi, Kayli – Summer 2011


HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA!!!!

Kassi, Kayli, Mom – March 2009

Taylor and her Nana – Summer 2011

Hubs, Kassi, Dad and Mom – July 2011

 AND