Weekend Finds and a New Pumpkin Drink Idea

This morning began like so many other weekend mornings. I am a creature of habit and often find early morning grocery shopping relaxing. I planned to go to Target and Trader Joe's to get items for the week before heading home to make brunch and watch the Bears game. Today, I headed out to Target, got a coffee from the in store Starbucks, and went about getting the items on my shopping list. Here are a couple of items I came across on my adventure.

I have had a pair of pajama pants since high school, possibly even late middle school. They finally met their demise earlier this week and I was looking to replace them. I believe you should sleep in what makes you comfortable, but I also enjoy cute pajamas for a decent price! Their pajamas, they don't need to cost an insane amount. Around Christmas time, I discovered a great brand sold at Target. They had pj sets on sale for the holiday season so I purchased a couple and liked them.  I bought this pair of Gilligan & O'Malley pants today, they feel very soft without being too heavy. They will be perfect for the cooler temperatures of fall and winter.

Pajama Pants: Gilligan & O'Malley $12

I have been on the lookout for cute Halloween/fall decor in the past few weeks and discovered this adorable candy bowl in the dollar bin section. It was three dollars, in great condition (no chips or damage), and I love to have candy bowls throughout our home. It's always a huge hit with our friends! This was a great purchase and has the perfect home on top of a bookshelf we bought with some engagement gift cards about a month ago.

Growing up, I was always crazy about the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. It captured fall in a cup. This past year however, I've found their drink to be too sweet for my taste, plus 300 calories for a tall is very bad for the waistline! Luckily, I came across Tazo's pumpkins spice chai latte a few weeks ago. The concentrate costs $4.04 at Target, less than a single latte at a coffee shop and half a cup is 80 calories. The first time I made this I followed their directions of half milk, half concentrate. I found it drab and lacking something. I like a good deal of spice and flavor in my drinks, so I modified it next time by adding a little more concentrate as well as seasoning and was thrilled with the results.

I have never been a huge fan of milk, so for months I've been substituting unsweetened vanilla almond milk in all recipes. It has only 30 calories a cup, and especially in recipes like this it makes a difference. A little bit of that vanilla taste gets added, but it is still creamy like milk.

Recipe (makes one serving):

-3/4 cup Tazo pumpkin spice chai latte concentrate

-1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
-1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat milk and concentrate on the stove top for about five minutes, stir in pumpkin pie spice and serve.

Calories: 135

I will be working on some new delicious and healthy recipes for you guys this week! Have a great rest of your Sunday and don't forget to make a healthy lunch to take to work or school tomorrow!