Random Acts of Craftiness- Husband Judge

Nate had the honor of being September’s husband judge for the Random Acts of Craftiness Challenge. 

I don’t think he could quite grasp how big of an honor this was…as I forced him to look through the submissions and pick his favorites.  I’m sure this would be like him making me pick players for a fantasy football team.  Wait. Nothing could be that bad.  And crafts are fun.  Especially for dudes.

Without further ado, here are Nate’s top 3 picks from September's challenge…in order of entry into the challenge.  Nate’s a middle child.  He likes things to be fair.

Dominos Mirror by Accomplishing Dreams. 

Nate liked that this wasn’t a girly project.  It was practical and not girly.  (He’s a man of many words.)

Candlesticks from Dominos by The Money Pit. 

Nate liked the practicality of these candle sticks.  He thought they’d be something that I’d like.  He is a good judge of my taste.  I tried the phrase “Use your words, Nate” at this stage to try to get more out of him.  As you can guess, that got me REALLY far.

The Almost Sunburst Mirror by Corner of Main. 

Nate thought this looked really cool even though it’s not finished.  Maybe this will be enough motivation for Kelly to complete it.  I mean, it was awarded the husband judge award.  That’s big stuff.

Thanks to everyone that participated!  You check out my project here. You can check out all of the other projects here!

The theme for October's Challenge is Odd and Ends from the Hardware Store.  I think you should join in on the fun.  You don’t even need a blog.  Ponder it.

Will you be participating in October’s challenge? What were your favorite picks?  Who thinks Nate needs to use his words?

Sedona

Do you all remember when I told you that we went on vacation?…a month ago.  I finally have photos to prove it.  For real.  And who doesn’t love blogger vacation photos?

Our first stop in Arizona was Sedona. 

Photos can not capture how amazing this place is.  I felt like I was in movie set the whole time we were there. Hence my movie star hipster pose.

Where We Stayed:  We stayed in this condo. We like using VRBO for our vacations.  This 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo was $110/night which is cheaper than most hotels.  It was pretty horribly decorated but was clean and quiet.  We like the extra space that a condo offers.  It also allows us to eat in breakfast and lunch to help save a little extra cash. The condo also had a salt water pool.  We had the pool to ourselves most of the afternoon.  The owners were super easy to work with.  Thumbs up.

Where We Ate: We enjoyed suppers at Picazzos, Oak Creek Brew Co., and Plaza Bonita.  The food was delicious at all of them.  They all get great recommendations from us.  For whatever that is worth.

What We Did:  We hiked every morning.  We got up early to beat the heat.  We would hike until lunch time.  We would eat lunch in the condo.  Nap.  Swim in the pool.  Go out for supper.  Watch the sunset.  Sleep.  Repeat times 3 days.  Man, I miss vacation.  I’ll share more photos of our hikes in the next week or so.

We were warned that Sedona at the end of August/beginning of September would be extremely hot.  It was hot but not enough to limit us from doing the activities that we wanted.  We woke up early to hike and swam in the afternoon.  Take that heat.  We were also there during the beginning of a rainy season.  It rained each afternoon but we used that time to nap.  Take that rain.  The rain also lent itself to some fun photos.

This last photo reminds me.  The next time my brother joins us on vacation, he’s going to need to bring a girl.  Just saying. I can no longer spend a week as the third wheel. I’ll even host a blog giveaway for the position if needed.  You think I’m joking.

Have you been to Sedona?  Who’s up for being my brother’s next vacation date?

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cast Iron Skillet Cookie

First order of business.  I strongly urge to purchase a cast iron skillet.  You will thank me.

Second order of business.  You must make this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cast Iron Skillet Cookie.  You will thank me.

Nate and I love cast iron skillet cookies.  A chocolate chip cookie with a hint of bacon-y grease flavor.  Can you get any better than that?

You can.  Add pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice to it.  We don’t mess around here at Décor and the Dog.

I suppose you could make this in any regular ol’ pan.  But don’t.  Get yourself a cast iron skillet.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cast Iron Skillet Cookie

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup pumpkin
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt.  Set aside. Cream butter and sugars until mixture is light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and pumpkin; mix until they are fully incorporated. Add flour mixture.  Beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Transfer dough to a 10-inch ovenproof skillet (lightly greased) and spread to cover the bottom of the pan. Bake until edges are brown and top is golden, 25-30 minutes. Don't over bake.  It will continue to cook out of the oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool in pan.  Cut into wedges.

Enjoy!

And be sure to Instagram it.  I mean, it didn’t happen if you didn’t Instagram it.

I’ve had some questions about our cast iron skillet.  We have the Lodge Logic  12" Pre-Seasoned Skillet. We’ve had ours for a couple of years now and it keeps getting better with age!

Are you a cast iron skillet cookie fan?  How about pumpkin?  I can’t quit the pumpkin.  Wait, I’m eating vegetables.  Awesome.