Breaking In The Studio

Well, I had fun making my first mess in the studio today!

First off, I painted these garishly orange plastic pumpkins I got off

the clearance isle at Wal-mart.  They have been un-Halloweened

and are ready for a Thanksgiving table. haha.

I can also cross that off my Fall Fun To Do List!

Then I started making mittens!

I got quite a few shapes cut out.

Tomorrow I can sew them up!

I had a fun, productive afternoon, but it was still hard

not to stare out the window with scenes like this!

Look at his twinkly eyes!

He gets to me every time!

♥

Killing Two Birds With One Stone

Crossing a few more things off my Fall Fun To Do List!

First, I bought "those boots I've always wanted"!

I went boot shopping!  I wanted black leather boots that

came up to my knees.  Something my skinny jeans could

slide into.  Something low-heeled with a buckle accent.

And I wanted to find them on sale!

I walked into DSW with that criteria in mind and walked

straight back to the clearance shelves.

There was one pair of boots on clearance in my size.

And they also were everything I had in mind!

Ralph Lauren, all leather, etc, etc.

Not only were they on clearance, but they had

an additional 50% sticker on them!

Yep, they were just meant to be!  I tried them on,

 paid for them, and was on my way in 10 minutes. ha.

Secondly, I took a walk in the crunchy leaves!

Although since we've had rain and humidity, they really

were very crunchy!  But it was fun anyway. 

I didn't really stone a bird, haha, but I did see Mrs. Robin

in my crab apple tree when I got home.

"Good grief, did you fly south from Linda in Canada?

This isn't far enough south for you yet!

You need to fly down to Jake in Georgia!"

♥

Fall Foliage

One more item off my Fall Fun To Do List!

Taking a drive to look at the fall colors.

We didn't have a week of peak colors this year, though.

Leaves turned in phases and early leaves dropped while

some were still green.  It was still beautiful, just

not as spectacular as it was last year.

My favorite tree tunnel....entering...

and looking back at the other end.

The mums always put on a good show!

Lots of gold this year, but red is still my favorite!

Another reason I love fall and winter is that the sun sets directly

in front of my house.  Every evening while I'm cooking dinner,

I get a beautiful view of blazing color!

And then we eat in the darkness and yawn.

And comment on how late it feels.

hahahaha.  :)

♥

Pressing Fall Leaves In An Old Dictionary

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Fill A Trick-Or-Treat Basket

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Drink A Pumpkin Spice Latte

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I worked an auction today!

It was a dark, rainy day with temps in the 40's.  Brrr!

It was one of those auctions  where we stood on concrete in an 

 unheated metal barn and felt a chill going through our bones!

haha....Something hot to drink on my way home

was just the ticket.  And I got to check it off

my Fall Fun To Do List!

♥

Fried Green Tomatoes

It was on my Fall Fun To Do List, so I thought this weekend

would be a good time to make some and have a taste 

of the south!  And when I looked online for a recipe

I decided that nobody would know southern

cooking better than The Neelys.  I love to watch them

cook together on their Food Network show, too.

These did not disappoint...crunchy and full of flavor!

The recipe I used is here.

Next time I'll do a little tweaking to the recipe, like

adding cornmeal and more paprika to the dredging

 flour... and cutting the recipe in half. 

 Other than that it, was quite tasty!

♥

Candy Corn

It wouldn't be fall without it!

♥

Chewy Ginger Cookies

Checked off my Fun Fall To Do List!

Yum.   Dough should be stiff.

Transferware plate from the auction trash.

Perfect for these cookies, don't you think?

I post this recipe every fall!

It's my favorite!

Fresh photo, though. ha.

Chewy Ginger Cookies

1 c oil

2 c sugar

1/2 c molasses

2 eggs

1 t salt

1 t cloves

1 t ginger

2 t cinnamon

4 t baking soda

4 1/2  c flour

Have mixer running and add ingredients in the order given.

Shape into balls, roll in sugar and bake 350 for 8-12 minutes,

depending on the size. (I use an ice cream scoop and sprinkle sugar

on the tops instead of rolling in balls~ so much faster!)

They should be dark and crackly.

♥

Spiced Pear Candle

Another thing checked off my Fall Fun To Do List!
Brand new candle in a jar found in the auction trash.
Vintage planter from the thrift store.

♥

Crossing Things Off My List

I always love it when fruit still has a leaf attached. 

They usually get a photo shoot! ha.

The pears I was given were getting ripe quickly, so

I spent some time putting some in the freezer.

The easiest way to peel a pear is with a potato peeler.

Then slice in half and remove the core with a melon baller.

Then take out the center string with a paring knife.

Lay them in a bowl of water with some lemon juice added.

Then you can put them in freezer bags!

I put three bags in the freezer for this winter. Yum.

See all that juice on my hand?  They were THE juiciest pears!

Then I made a crisp to take to the auction today.

Yum.  It's good for breakfast or dessert!

The baking with cinnamon, apples or pears is done!

The men gave me a mum as part of my birthday gifts last

Saturday!  Love the color, and what a great coincidence

that it was on my fall list!

After I enjoy this for the season, it's going in the ground.

I want to enjoy it next year, too!

♥

Fall Fun To Do List

crab apple tree outside my window

Well, it's officially fall, with the first day being this weekend!

I love fall and love how it begins on my birthday, too! 

I had so much fun doing a summer list that I'm going to do

a fall one, too.  I did pretty well with my summer list,

having only the picnic to be left undone.  I tried a few

times this week but the rain hampered my efforts!

I've posted my new list for fall on my sidebar!

My goal is to be done by Thanksgiving!

The month of December is full for Christmas anyway,

even though we forget it's really still part of fall!

lol....so here I go!  We've had some lovely fall weather

already to get me in the mood!

I'm thinking baking something with apples and cinnamon

might be the first thing to get accomplished! :)

♥