Apple Hill

We ventured up to Apple Hill last weekend for our 3rd annual trip {excluding last year since T was just born}. My parents were brave enough to join in on the fun. We stopped for long tractor sessions, apple cider donuts, U-pick, and a picnic lunch. Photo overload?! Maybe just a little. You've been warned.

It was a good, tiring day. A great family adventure.

Closest thing to a Christmas picture we're gonna get?! ;)

Pumpkins

We ventured to the patch last weekend to grab our stash.

We are definitely quickly running out of room for pumpkins! Who knows what we'll do next year with THREE littles?!

We are very much into "If he does it, so do I" stage.

And they are pretty much inseparable. Fingers crossed that helps with moving them in together in a few months!

Our rule for pumpkin selection: have to get it to the wagon. This was E's solution.

We gave in due to creative thinking.

Airport Open House

The men were at a men's conference all day on Saturday, so the ladies got this idea to do breakfast and the annual airport open house. Three Mamas and eleven kids. Crazy fun? Absolutely. Coffee? Mandatory.

The whole gang!! 

The rest of our day was spent with lunch, long naps, a movie before getting W and having an in-n-out picnic dinner in the grass. And an early bedtime.

Gettin' Spooky! {decor}

A few weeks ago, the fall box came down and slowly but surely our house is turning a bit spooky! I've made a new front door wreath which I'm in absolute love with. Already scheming up Christmas ideas so I can keep it out!

{tutorial found here}

Our entryway inlet has a few added touches:

I got the print a few years back and added my mustache hoop art that wonders around downstairs without a permanent home. The beware sign was a dollar store score.

Our mantle:

At this point, just a hod-podge of what was already on it plus a few random additions. The candy corn garland I made out of felt and is hung on black ric rac. The witch print is found here. And the centerpiece pallet sign is incomplete {still need words} and will eventually go to another home. But it works there for now until I mail it off.  

The winning space thus far is our bat wall! It turned out so awesome. Amazing what 50 little card-stock bats can do! The flight of the bats:

{tutorial found here}

Happy harvest month! 

Fall Lovin'

Over at Newlywife today sharing some fall ideas! 

Already getting into the mood with lots of pumpkin baking this week. The only pumpkin puree I had on hand for our community group dinner night was THREE pounds. Holy Puree! That's a whole lotta of it. Have 3 extra cups that I want to use up before it goes bad. So that would make pumpkin chocolate chip bars and pumpkin scones with a maple glaze, so far.

Have already started craft prep for some fall decor. Should really clean my house this weekend so I can feel less guilty about decorating it.

We're going on a 'leaf hunt' today with friends so we can do a craft with them.

Now, if only this hot weather would cool it off!

In other {unrelated} current events...

E had his very first structured class outside of Sunday school this week. SO exciting. He loved gymnastics and is looking forward to signing up.

I made another pallet art piece for a girlfriend's birthday. I was so so so nervous about using so much stenciling that it kinda gave me a heart-attack. It turned out better than I hoped and looks pretty good...if you don't get too close. The felt wine bottle bag was super fun and oh-so easy to make! Maybe I should sell those on etsy?!

T has his year check up. Fit as a fiddle. And so hard to contain!

E officially passed down his car to his brother. He attempted to show him "how it's done", but T wasnt game for playing student. Again with the containment issues. Or maybe that's just brother-invading-my-space issues. ;)

 We got our electrical issues fixed too!! Hooray! Microwave totally works as does the outlets and oven again. Simple solution too which was so kind to our pockets.

Only rough stuff about the week was E scratched his cornea big time {still a mystery as to how} and was in lots of pain most of the day. Dr. gave us some ointment and drops and said it should heal on its own. We are praying hard that this is the case and will know more at our follow-up appt. My parents were bummed he didn't get a "raider's" eye-patch to go with the treatments. Guess I could make him one, but then we'd would probably have to see/re-read Peter Pan to give him some context. ;) That kid is such a trooper though!! I was really amazed by his strength and bravery that day!

Baking Bug

I love being a Mama, especially one that gets to stay-at-home. One of the unforeseen joys is being able to develop more hobbies and actually try to get good at them: sewing, crafting, decorating, cooking...and now baking.

Since sewing, diy, and crafting are a bit on the back-burner, I guess something enviably had to take their place for now. And baking is something I can do while E is awake and do it with him. Plus this is THE perfect time of year to turn that oven on, throw something apple-pumpkin-sugary in, and inhale its sweet aroma.

My trial run with E, if you remember, was an amazingly delicious Pumpkin Carmel Cheesecake Turtle Bread. We then moved onto some yummy Apple Fritter Muffins. And after both their huge successes in taste and baking performances, we've been on a big roll since. I've tried to make something new at least once a week. 

W had a work pot-luck on Halloween so the night before I made Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes. {pictured above} W got to pull out his culinary school skills and teach me a thing or two about soft and stiff peaks for whipped cream topping. He's a great teacher and I always learn a lot when he's in the kitchen with me. It made for a fun evening as we were both huddled over the mixer and scarfing down 'samples'.

Definitely love learning how to make more things from scratch, but I will admit that I'm way too intimated by yeast so I've steered clear of anything that requires it. And my piping skills, as you can see in the pic, need some serious help! My most recent challenge was this recipe for Pumpkin scones. I left them in the oven for too long and burnt the edges, but they were actually still tasty. After hitting the store this week for more butter and half-n-half, I'm determined not to over-bake them again!

Have any baking blogs or recipes to share?! I'm on the hunt for next week's treat.

Pumpkin Bourbon Shake

 In my most recent Real Simple, there was a drink recipe that sounded SO GOOD. Pumpkin and bourbon?! W and I were all over that like white on rice. And it did not disappoint. Absolutely delish! It's thin enough for a straw, but so rich and creamy! Just another way to enjoy this fall season....

What you need:

{Recipe serves eight, so we just cut everything by 1/4}

4 1/2 cartons vanilla ice cream

2 c canned pumpkin

1 c milk

1/2 c bourbon...buy the cheap stuff!

1/2 c packed light brown sugar

 1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

whipped cream for topping

Put everything but the whipped cream in the blender and mix until smooth. Pour, top with whipped cream and add a straw.

Friday Happy Hour, anyone?!

We're Ready!

Hope this autumn's a cold one.

Firewood, Anyone?




...in other news, look what I haven't killed yet!!

Autumn

I can't wait for the coming season. As I plopped into my scorching hot car after school today, I gave a mental scream, "When is it going to get CHILLY?!?!" I hate getting into my car at the end of the day--way too suffocatingly hot! Autumn is such a great season for many reasons. The changing of the leaves from green to orange, red, brown, and yellow hues.  And the smells are amazing: crisp, cool breezes; jack-o'-lanterns; spiced breads; pine trees dampened by the dew... and let's not forget about my all time favorite: Pumpkin Spiced Lattes!! So beautiful! I want to wear pants, long sleeves, coats, jackets, layers and the like. I have been eyeing this and that at j.crew for awhile now. I'm trying to figure out how I can work them into my closet without my dear husband noticing. :) I've got to do more nannying!! And with school full swing and the dogs--I-gasp!-- haven't had any time to go shopping. And blessing for my wallet, most assuredly. Both of us have really buckled down and seem quite focused on school and home. It's great for now, but I'm sure I'll be itching for an escape trip sometime soon! And I'm still working on our anniversary plans--nothing booked yet. What are your Autumn plans??