Fall Favorites

I absolutely love the fall. The first sign of cooler temperatures and I want to make pumpkin pie and soup. So that is exactly what I did. I brought out my dear friend's favorite recipe from Ina Garten for Beef Bourguignon and made a huge batch along with a few pies. It was delightful. I had candles burning in the fireplace, music streaming in the background and yes for just a minute or two the sound of the children was actually distant while they all played in the back bedroom. It was fantastic! Later that evening we had our community group over to enjoy the bounty.

I've also been wanting to do some fall decorating, so I started some new projects. I went on a quest for some white pumpkins and Michael's came through. I have a love hate relationship with this store. I love it for the sheer mass of crafty goods found in one location and hate it because it is always so messy...perhaps due to folks like me dragging four kids through a store where children shouldn't be permitted meanwhile touching and grabbing loot along the way only to be put down in an entirely different location than where it belongs. Yes...I hate it because of me.

My first project began after a little outing to one of our favorite breakfast spots called Haute Cakes. It is a delightful little cafe/ bakery that uses fresh and often organic ingredients. There are a few tables outside on a patio where you can sit and glance at all the stores in this little atrium. I stumbled upon a store called Urban Gardner that was filled with some great fall decor that was entirely too overpriced. Lila came in with me and announced, "It smells!" She has her mother's nose, but hasn't developed a liking for potpori and other great scents. So pretty much everything that has a scent smells to her. So the Urban Gardner inspired my crafty side. Anyway, I made these fun little treat jars for my counter. The kids love to just sit and stare at the candies. They have been a real convenient potty treat for Lila while we are potty training.

The second thing was to spruce up my fall wreath. The one I have is so old but I just didn't want to break down and spend money on one this year, so I bought a few leave strands at Michael's and freshened it up. Now if only our house wasn't blue...it's not very fall like.

Finally, I've been wanting to do change our fireplace for the entire year that we lived in this house but the puking, bedrest, pregnant, newborn phase just kept me away. Our fireplace is non operational. It started with fake logs and purple rocks. We pulled out all of the purple rocks and at last the logs were removed and I filled it with candles. I'm in love with my candlelit fireplace! Loving the warmth it brings to our home.