Quotes from "Happier at Home"

I just finished reading Gretchen Rubin's new book Happier at Home.
I really enjoyed it and now I want to read her first book about happiness The Happiness Project.

There were so many great truths and quotes that my copy quite dog eared.
Here are a few things that resonated with me

One thought was repeated throughout the book: The days are long, but the years are short.

On possessions: "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." - William Morris.

On parenthood: "Enter into the interests of others." - A phrase from Tolstoy's Resurrection.

On time management: "My mind works in idleness. To do nothing is often my most profitable way." - Virginia Woolf

On perfection: Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." - Voltaire

Do something that you don't really want to do for 15 minutes daily: A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules." - Anthony Trollope

On goals: "The feeling of growth and movement toward a goal is very important to happiness - just as important, and perhaps more important than finally reaching that goal. Nietzsche captured this tension: "The end of a melody is not its goal; but nonetheless, if the melody had not reached its end it would not have reached its goal either. A parable"

On planning: Plans are worthless, but planning is everything. - Eisenhower

On happiness: On the whole, tho' I never arrived at the Perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet as I was by the Endeavor a better and happier Man than I otherwise should have been, if I had not attempted it. - Benjamin Franklin

I urge you to check the book out for yourself, as well as her blog!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

I LOVE Starbucks's Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins.
I have a wheat intolerance, which seems to have gotten worse in the last few years.
In the past I would just eat Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin and suffer a little, but the suffering has gotten worse and is no longer worth it.
So I set out on a quest for a gluten free option.
I found this recipe and decided to try to modify it a bit.

Please forgive the poor picture quality.

Here's the recipe I used for these AMAZING muffins:

Makes 24 Muffins

Ingredients:
For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 Tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice

For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose gluten free flour (works the same with regular old flour)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
15 oz of pumpkin puree (1 standard size can)
1¼ cups peanut oil (vegetable oil works too)

For the topping:
½ cup sugar
5 tablespoons flour
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons of roasted pumpkin seeds

Instructions:
To prepare the filling: (I made the filling the night before) combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours. The mixture will still be somewhat soft but firmer.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly.(This takes awhile) Add in the pumpkin seeds. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill until ready to use.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. You want to put the cream cheese lower than you think because it will rise a lot during the baking process. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. (If you are overeager, like I am, and don't let it completely cool, it's extremely crumbly)