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cakes

4-Ingredient Blueberry Cobbler Dump Cake

4-Ingredient Blueberry Cobbler Dump Cake
4-Ingredient Blueberry Cobbler Dump Cake

A few days ago I wouldn’t have wanted to give you an update on our huge move. I struggled to find my place in Raleigh over the past three years and spent a lot of time pleading with God to open a door or turn me around or throw me a rope or . . . something. But year after year there were clear indications that I was in process right where I needed to be. Wait. Wait. Wait.

But then I found out the school of my dreams for the past decade had a graduate school, and then I got accepted into that graduate school. A graduate school that just so happened to be located in one of my favorite cities in the world. Every tiny door that hadn’t opened for me was suddenly forgotten as God opened a more amazing door than I’d imagined possible. Grateful, humbled, I committed to walking through that door. But then (fellow believers out there may know what comes next) the last couple of months have been one solid, scary trial.

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other

Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars with Orange Whipped Cream

Thanks to Philadelphia Cream Cheese for sponsoring this post!

Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars with Orange Whipped Cream

Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars with Orange Whipped Cream

Dear Gingerbread,

I’ve been thinking, and I think I need to apologize to you. I know that I haven’t always taken you seriously. I thought you were a stale, dry cookie recipe that any old store-bought graham cracker could beat in a taste test. You were good for sheetrocking gingerbread houses and that was about it.

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cookies

Brown Butter Oatmeal Creme Pie Bars

Chewy Brown Butter Oatmeal Creme Pie Bars
Chewy Brown Butter Oatmeal Creme Pie Bars

I wrote this post as part of the Plugrá Butter Brigade. Thanks, Plugrá, for sponsoring this post and for making my favorite butter!

My visit to Chicago last year didn’t convince me that I’d ever love winter, but it did awaken some tiny sliver of me that could bear it. The icy river and cozy coffee shops in Geneva made me realize that the cold could be part of a packaged season instead of just a temperature.

Let’s help each other get ready for winter. What are your favorite things about this time of year? What makes you feel cheery even in the dark and cold? What makes it festive or fun or cozy or special for you? I’ll start us off, and you can add to the list in the comments below!

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other

Chewy Gingerbread Bars with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

Chewy Gingerbread Bars with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting
Chewy Gingerbread Bars with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

Best Guesses About What My Upstairs Neighbors Are Doing Right Now:

  1. They’ve been evicted and told they only have until 3 a.m. to move their belongings out. They are bowling enthusiasts and therefore have roughly 856 bowling balls in varying shapes and sizes, including a limited edition My Little Pony ball with a bowling pin cutie mark. To save time, they’re rolling, tossing, and occasionally drop-kicking their ball collection out of the apartment.

    2. (more…)

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cakes

Pumpkin Skillet Cake with Caramel Crackle Icing (and 17 Things People with Mental Illness Wish You Knew)

Pumpkin Skillet Cake with Caramel Crackle Icing
Pumpkin Skillet Cake with Caramel Crackle Icing

Maybe it’s you: maybe managing your mental illness makes you feel alone even when you’re surrounded by other people. Nobody’s experience is quite like yours. Maybe it’s your friend or family member: maybe from your point of view, they never seem to get it together.

According to the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 1 out of every 5 adults has a mental illness and 1 out of every 24 adults has a serious mental illness (i.e., one that significantly interferes with one or more major life activities). Personally, I deal with a fun confluence of several mental illnesses and I wish people understood that my daily life and experiences are different from theirs. People tend to evaluate things through their own personal lens without realizing they’re doing so, which is dangerous in all kinds of ways. Pondering this made me want to ask you all on Facebook what you wish people knew about mental illness, and here’s what was said:

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