Europe or Bust

The number of firsts happening here is all a little mind-bendy.

This is my…

first: time writing a post while connected to the internet from an airplane – like literally from the sky. As in right at this very second I’m literally IN THE SKY. We’re so living in the future.

first: time writing a post from my iphone! WHAT! I feel so modern and sneaky. mobile all the way.

first: big trip where I’ve left both my laptop and my DSLR camera at home. You don’t even understand. My carry on feels like a dreamy soft pillow – light and free and yayyyy. Thank you iPhone 7 plus for being a phone, camera, and computer.

and most importantly, first: time traveling to Europe with my bae!

Bjork and I are taking the next two weeks to do one of the things we’ve always said we wanted to do but just never took the time to do because life: traveling through Europe.
That little thing called a DUE DATE? BB’s puttin some legit time pressure on those bucket list items. In, like, three seconds there is going to be a huge belly on the scene and then diapers and nurseries and books and school and OMG it’s going to be so great. ❤️

But let’s just go to Europe real quick first.

Our itinerary includes a Viking River Cruise through the southern part of France as well as some off-road adventuring through Switzerland and Germany. We’ll be back in business again in early December, which means we have exactly two weeks dedicated to travel and adventure and bucket-listing.

Since things will be pretty quiet around here for the next week or two, you can catch our Europe updates on my brand new personal Insta account creatively titled @lindsaymostrom. And I’m doing plenty of daily stories from my regular Pinch of Yum insta account.

I hope you all had a great long holiday (those who are in the US) and I’ll see you lovers in two weeks!

Also! if you have recommendations for things to eat and do in Lucerne or Munich or the places in between (we’ll have a rental car and a decent amount of flexibility), please share! The recs we’ve gotten on instagram for Lyon have been 100% fabulous.

Europe or bust!

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Holiday Gift Guide for the Modern Girl

WHOA! The week of Thanksgiving?

The week of CRAY HOLIDAY SHOPPING?!

Wowz. This season has gone especially fast for me, maybe because of that whole being pregnant thing, I don’t know. Does having an actual baby inside you make time go faster? It has to. But here we are, getting ready to celebrate the holidays with our friends and family, and dreaming of all the gifts we want to buy for ourselves our people.

For today’s post, rather than give you suggestions for Thanksgiving recipes (although, may I quickly recommend SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE and BRUSSELS SPROUT SALAD), I thought I would share with you some of my all-time favorite things just so happen to make for great gifts, whether you yourself are the Modern Girl or you are gifting to the Modern Girl or you have nothing to do with Modern Girls. It doesn’t really matter, okay? It was just a catchy title and it can be interpreted however you want – this is just a collection of things, by topic, that we love using in our life and that make for amazing holiday gifts.

Also worth noting that 95% of these are gifts you can buy on Amazon, which means, if you have Prime, that you will get them shipped to you in a speedy 48-hours and you can spend the rest of your most wonderful time of the year eating saltine toffee and sipping away on your eggnog.

I used to be a traditionalist must-go-to-the-mall Christmas shopper, but in the last few years I think Bjork has really made me into a person who can appreciate the beauty of online shopping: just me, at home, in my jammies, with Amy Grant Christmas playing on the Jambox and minty hot chocolate in my copper mug.

Seriously just try it and you will never-ever go back.

Wishing the best to your crew in the next few days as you gather for what I hope is a feeeeeast of epic proportions!

Click the image for product links

GIFTS FOR THE COOKING ENTHUSIAST

Nordicware Crown Bundt   |   Dutch Oven   |   Salt Box   |   Kitchen Aid Mixer (Mini)   |   Truffle Oil   |   Whirly Pop   |   Salted Caramel Chocolate Bars   |   Blendtec or Vitamix   |   Instant Pot   |   Toaster   |   Hammered Copper Mug Set   |   Marble Mortar and Pestle   |   Cookie Mix   |   Egg Poacher   |  Inspiralizer   |   Food Processor   |    Cast Iron Oil    |   Nespresso Coffee and Espresso Maker   |   Silpat Nonstick Baking Mat   |   Cast Iron Pan 

My Top Picks

Inspiralizer: Healthy eaters? Veg heads? People who like to get their vegetable on? This is one of THE MOST fun toys a person could have in the kitchen. I use mine all the time. Modern, practical, and very fitspo.

Instant Pot: An all-around amazing contraption. It is like an upscale, super cool, modern version of a crockpot. I’ve been playing around with it for the last few months and we’ve made a million and one soups – like lentil soup, chicken soup, veggie soup – all in 30 MINUTES. Wait, though – we’re talking about soups that normally take 6+ hours in the crockpot. Done in 30 minutes. Boom. Instant Pot doesn’t mess around. Rice cooks in 5 MINUTES, and a whole roast? 1-2 hours, no problem. Also fun for people who like to make their own yogurt and goofy/clever things like that. 

Dutch Oven: Let me just direct you back here for the ultimate list of reasons why I love this beauty. At $50, it makes a perfect, classy holiday gift for your favorite food lover. Whoever the recipient is: they need to know about the miracle no knead bread because that should absolutely be the first recipe made in this pan. ♡

Nespresso Coffee and Espresso Maker: Bjork and I and our whole POY team have all used this magical machine for the last few years, and it makes HANDS DOWN the best coffee and espresso of any single serve machine out there. I don’t know how to say this without sounding snobby, so maybe I just need to embrace the coffee snobbery here – the Nespresso is just miles ahead of the traditional Keurig or single serve coffee maker.  The pods are recyclable, the coffee is high quality, and the price is spot-on considering you can get this instead of those espresso makers that cost, what, like, $1,000? No way, man. This is your winner.

Hammered Copper Mug Set: Just way too cute. Also, the entire set is less than $50. Hello NYE!

CLICK THE IMAGE FOR PRODUCT LINKS

GIFTS FOR THE FASHIONISTA

Sweatpants    |    Makeup Brush Kit    |    Rose Water Spray    |    Essential Oil Diffuser    |    Kelly Moore Bag (casual)    |    Minimalist Necklace    |    Fairbault Wool Throw    |    Hair Dryer    |    Kelly Moore Bag (leather)   |    Straightener Brush    |    Sea Salt Spray    |     Plaid Infinity Scarf    |    Stacking Rings    |    Soy Candle    |    Leila Lou Natural Perfume    |    Water Bottle

My Top Picks

Sweatpants: I may have mentioned these 500 times before, but it’s worth mentioning again – these are sweatpants that I would live my entire life in. They are SO COMFY – not in the way your old ratty sweatpants are comfy, but in the way of luxurious, cute, stylish sweatpants, which makes them awesome for gifting. I normally don’t love buying clothes as gifts, but this little number is a real treat that I am confident anyone and everyone, regardless of style, would love to chill out in.

Fairbault Wool Throw: It’s Christmasy, it’s cozy and adorable, it looks good in anyone’s house. Win.

 Kelly Moore Bag (casual): I have had this for two years and I have taken it evvvvvverywhere. It’s a camera bag meets travel bag meets computer bag meets diaper bag meets any kind of bag you need. With tons of adjustable built-in storage compartments, it is a bag lover’s dream. The casual olive green canvas version (which I have) is nice because it can be unisex – and sometimes I just need Bjork to carry it around for a second, know what I mean? #pregnant The leather version is more feminine and it’s on my own personal Christmas wish list. Future baby bag goals!

Sea Salt Spray: Just learned about this miracle on my trip to San Diego – who knew that such a basic, minimalist, natural spray could be so awesome for texturizing hair? I’m obsessed.

Leila Lou Natural Perfume: Super nice, light, good-for-everyone scent that is made with essential oils so you can be yummy-smelling and CLEAN clean. The roller is super convenient and the price point is awesome for gifting.

CLICK THE IMAGE FOR PRODUCT LINKS

 

GIFTS FOR THE Savvy Techie

50mm 1.8 lens    |    Natural Light Sunrise Alarm Clock    |     Amazon Echo    |    Beats    |    Canon 6d    |    Jambox Mini    |    Pebble Smartwatch    |    Instant Polaroid Mini Camera    |    iPhone 7 Plus    |    Mobile Printer for iPhone and Android    |    Book case    |    Amazon Fire Stick    |    Q Bracelet iPhone Charger    |    Charging Station    |    FitBit     |    iPhone case

50mm 1.8 lens: If you have a photography lover in the family, this lens is an awesome upgrade from the basic lenses that come with most camera kits. I have a lens that is very close to this one – just a tad more expensive (50mm 1.4) and it is my one lens that I would literally use for everything if I could only pick one. This lens is super similar to that but just at a more approachable and giftable price point. 

Beats:  This is the kind of technology most people would love, and feel cool getting, and enjoy using regularly… but wouldn’t necessarily buy for themselves. Making it the perfect gift, amiright?

Instant Polaroid Mini Camera: We don’t have this exact version, but we have a very similar Polaroid and it’s so super fun to snap pictures when people come over to our house. This would be the ideal gift for someone who likes photography and loves being social. Also IT’S BLUE AND IT’S MINI. So, obviously. 

Mobile Printer for iPhone and Android: Yes, we have a Polaroid AND this. But this is different – it connects to your smartphone and allows you to print mini pictures of your smartphone photos. We use this as a daily photo journaling tool. Great for techie moms and dads… or, um, dog lovers. 

iPhone case: I have this basic Apple silicon case, which I actually love and highly recommend for any minimalist tech lovers in your circle. But just the general idea here is that phone cases make great gifts. Usually they’re anywhere from $20-$100 and you can pick something that speaks to that person’s personality. I often shop for unique phone cases on Etsy!

CLICK THE IMAGE FOR PRODUCT LINKS

GIFTS FOR THE Book Lover

100 Days of Real Food    |     Small Great Things    |    A Man Called Ove    |    Cooking for Jeffrey    |    The Nightingale    |   The Nightingale    |    Saveur Cookbook    |    The Magnolia Story    |    Present Over Perfect    |    Kindle Paperwhite    |    Skinnytaste Cookbook

My Top Picks

Small Great Things: I just started this one so I can’t vouch for it as a whole book, but so far – amazing concept. This is a book for thinkers who like to process big issues (think racism, privilege, and power) through complex characters and emotionally gripping drama. Love u, Jodi.

The Nightingale: Another drama, and this one has characters that I am still, to this day, totally in love with, along with themes of family, love, grief, and forgiveness. For your book lovers who don’t mind a good book-cry now and then – this is probably the one.

Saveur Cookbook: Hands down, my favorite cookbook. It’s got some recipes that are a little out there for the regular cooks of the world, but most of them are approachable, unique, fun, and all-around reliable. I get so much blog inspiration from this cookbook.

Kindle Paperwhite: Honestly, JUST SKIP THE BOOKS and get this gem for your bookworm. Even for a me, a self-proclaimed have-to-hold-a-physical-book-in-my-hands type of reader, it’s so amazing to be able to download books and take them on the go with me, all in one sleek device. The Paperwhite version features a beautiful screen that is not really a screen at all, which is why I love it. No glare, with just-right backlighting. This is the modern girl’s guide to gifts, after all.

One final quick Thanksgiving note: I’m so thankful for you. Yes, you there, reading this slash holiday shopping at work (I won’t tell), or you there, on your phone at the gym, or you there, checking your email from a coffee shop. I love having you reading the blog, following along on Instagram, and just generally being people who make what I do fun and worthwhile. It wouldn’t be what it is with you, so thank you for everything that you bring to my life. I am insanely grateful.

Happy early Thanksgiving – whether you stay close to home or travel to be with family or share a meal with friends or decide to hit the malls for the chaos of Black Friday – I hope you have so much fun and I hope your next few days are filled with gratitude and love. ♡

This post contains affiliate links for products on Amazon.

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Pumpkin Cake and Baby Shower

Pumpkin Bundt Cake. With a cinnamon streusel layer. ARE YOU EVEN READY.

This recipe is sponsored by Wholesome!

I actually love this cake more than 400% of the other things I’m eating lately, which is why I’ve made it an obscene number of times since it first came into my life. Which, initially, was for a selfless good reason.

It started with a baby shower – my friend is pregnant and beautiful and we wanted to shower her with love, and I was in charge of making a brunch cake. So maybe it was a self-assigned kind of project. I know where I thrive, okay? This cake made its debut (after a few test rounds JUST TO MAKE SURE) at the shower for my sweet friend Ashley, along with lots of avocado beet hummus toast and berry granola yogurt parfaits in jars and advice cards for the mom-to-be and all that other adorable party-pants fun stuff.

The pumpkin bundt cake sat straight in the center of the table, between the toast platter and the colorful mason jars, looking extra gorgeous thanks to a drizzle of frosting that ran down the sides of its very fancy cake design which are, in fact, extremely easy to have in your life.

Step One: buy a fancy bundt pan with designs on it.

Step Two: bake your cake in it.

This is how I make people think I am fancy: I make bundt cakes in fancy pans. You may copy me if you wish – it’s total cake goals, I get it.

But really, besides just looking beautiful on a table, we need to talk about the flavor and texture of this cake.

THAT STREUSEL LAYER? Did you see it? It’s kind of hard to miss, being that it’s brown-sugary and crunchy-caramely and completely over-the-top awesome. It runs like a happy, delicious little ribbon of joy through the middle of the cake and bakes into gooey-center-slice perfection. It is the thing that takes this from Pumpkin Bundt Cake to NEEDZ MORE NOW Pumpkin Bundt Cake.

The texture of this: it’s buttery and dense – but not too dense – just the kind of amazing density you get from those little bakery-style lemon poppyseed or holiday pumpkin loaves at Starbucks. Or something. As if I would know. I’m just GUESSING here, okay? It’s so delicious – and call me crazy, but it might even get more delicious after hanging out in the fridge overnight. I love a good cold, dense, buttery, day-after cake at level: dangerous.

For this recipe, we are using (and adoring) several favorite members of the Wholesome! lineup:

• organic light brown sugar
• organic honey
• organic powdered sugar

You guys, I love Wholesome! for a lot of reasons, starting with this cake (hiiiii cake) and ending with a commitment to fair trade pricing, responsible sourcing, organic farming practices, AND THE ABILITY TO BUY IT AT TARGET.

It honestly might be my favorite thing about this brand – the fact that I don’t have to shop at a co-op or specialty store to buy their high-integrity, quality products is five hundred thumbs up from me.

Now friends, I know we’re getting near to the end of pumpkin season and you might be skeptical of me right now, but hold your horses.

Once you chill pumpkin out of your life for a minute, you’re going to realize what’s always been true: that pumpkin and cinnamon and brown sugar are still very much THE PERFECT CHOICE for all your basic weekend splurge needs.

I WILL make this for the first Saturday morning snow of the year. I will, I will, I will. ♡ And you will, too. And you’ll tag me and snap me how much you love it. Can’t wait.

Print

Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Author: Pinch of Yum

Serves: 16-20 slices

 

Ingredients

Pumpkin Bundt Cake:

• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (I use 2% Fage)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ⅔ cup Wholesome! organic honey
• 1 cup butter, barely melted
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Streusel:

• ½ cup Wholesome! organic light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk the pumpkin, eggs, yogurt, sugar, honey, and vanilla together until smooth. Slowly whisk in the butter.
3. Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt, and stir gently until just combined.
4. In a small bowl, mix the streusel ingredients.
5. Pour half of the cake batter into a bundt pan. Pour the streusel mixture over the top, staying away from the edges. Top with remaining batter.
6. Bake for 50 minutes - exterior will be very dark brown - that's okay, don't panic. :) It tastes amazing.
7. Invert onto a plate, top with a glaze if you want (see notes), and serve.

Notes

This is so super delicious both warm and cold. I might even like it better the next day after it's been sitting in the fridge so everything gets nice and dense and buttery.

For the glaze, whisk:
1 cup Wholesome! organic powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk

3.5.3208

Thanks to Wholesome!® – makers of this Organic Light Brown Sugar, Organic Honey, and Organic Powdered Sugar – for partnering with us for this delicious cake! ♡

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A Girls’ Trip to La Jolla … and thoughts on the election between friends

To love ourselves and support each other in the process of becoming real is perhaps the greatest single act of daring greatly. – Brené Brown

The process of becoming real. Yes. Hello. That.

Nothing like starting off an otherwise standard, fun, and surfacey vacation post with deep thoughts, right? Like we do.

In addition to having some fun trip pictures for you today and bragging up on my amazing group of girlfriends, I also feel like we have some stuff to talk about that we just haven’t talked about because it’s hard to talk about this on the internet. So here goes. Staring this in the face in three, two…

Let me tell you about us. These are 3 of my most precious friends.

We’ve been friends for a long time (since college – and how did college become a long time ago?) and in the last few years, we’ve leaned in to this tradition of doing yearly girls’ getaway trips together. See also: Aspen and Scottsdale.

We are four people who love snacking, eating, ice cream-ing, and seal watching on the beach. We are four people who think it’s equally as awesome of an idea to order delivery pizza to our hotel room so we can stay in our pajamas and lay on the bed laughing as it is to go out for a night on the town. We are four people who have, or will soon have, little babies at home (squeee!). We are obsessive animal lovers who will stop people on the street so we can pet their dogs. We share the same faith. Our hearts and minds hold each others’ stories from the last ten years, the ones that bring laughter, eye rolls, and tears. We are practically a part of each other, in that weirdly awesome sisterhood-of-the-traveling-pants way.

And then, there’s this tricky piece of the puzzle: we are four people who voted differently in the 2016 election.

It would be maybe even a little funny if it wasn’t so serious and hard and fresh, especially being that we took this trip approximately 24 hours after the election ended. How can this even happen? That friends don’t see eye-to-eye on what feels like such a big major deal? But it does.

And I have a purpose for bringing it up.

First purpose: Well, okay, if we set the election aside for a hot second, my first true purpose is that I want you to know that we had a great time in La Jolla, and I want you to know that if you should choose to go there with your significant other or your squad (WHICH YOU TOTALLY SHOULD – start looking at flights, dear one), you will have a blast and a half. It was theeee most perfect place for a quick little getaway. I’m including a list at the end of this post with all the great places we went and what we’d recommend for an itenerary. Study and follow. This place is Relaxation Station.

Second purpose: I want you to know that beyond vacation pictures, when we get down to the real life stuff of the world right now, you and I? and our friends and family? We’re in this together. You’re not the only one feeling frustration or hurt in your relationships as a result of this 2016 election. We are feeling it, too. There’s just no easy way through it.

We had just one Election Conversation during the whole trip, and that one conversation? Not awesome. It was hard. Vulnerable. Shaky. Very un-fun. We didn’t suddenly agree on everything, and we had actively work to listen to each other without reacting first.

But we DID try to ask questions and really listen to the answers, to seek to really understand the other side, to learn from each other, and we DID end the conversation with misty eyes and tight hugs, saying firmly: I don’t agree with you, and I still love you.

And that conversation – it was important for us to have. Because to be fully loved, you have to be fully known. You have to let yourself be seen and you have to try to see others. Like, REALLY, actually, through-and-through see them.

Even though we don’t agree on everything, there are things we can learn from each other. It’s hard, but it’s also to our advantage as a friend group to have a variety of opinions represented from our closest people.

Remember that quote? The process of becoming real? We’re working on it, our little squad.

And I think we’re getting there.

Our Best of La Jolla List:

• La Valencia Hotel
• TheMed Restaurant (lovely views)
• Sugar and Scribe (brunch – and I want to live here)
• Dr. Juice (get the watermelon or strawberry lemonade)
• George’s at the Cove (best views for lunch – fish tacos are yummy)
• The Cottage (brunch)
• Bobboi Gelato (get the pistachio)
• Scripps Park (seal watching)
• Beaming Cafe (gorgeous, healthy, organic, ridiculously expensive, and SO very California)
• La Jolla Shores Hotel (GREAT location right on the beach)
• The Shores Restaurant (amazing happy hour)
• Piatti Restaurant (loved their outdoor seating)
• Brick and Bell Cafe
• Shorehouse Kitchen (brunch)

Big hugs to you all as you plan trips, carry on with regular life, and continue to show unconditional love to your people in these unusually divided days.

♡

More Travel Pictures and Posts:

girls’ weekend getaway: scottsdale, arizona

West Coast Road Trip (San Fran to Seattle)

New Orleans in the Summer

Emerald Isle Family Trip

Girls’ Trip to Aspen

 

Sage’s Big Vacation

Ski Trip to Park City

Ten Days at the Cabin

California Road Trip (San Fran to Los Angeles)

Charleston

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