It's beginning to look a lot like fall....everywhere I go.... 🎶

Good morning lovely friends.  I'm back! ♥   

I didn't expect to be away from here for so long.  To be honest, I found myself in a bit of a summer slump I guess you could say, just waiting to turn the page to September and now here we are! We have arrived! It's still warm during the days but the early mornings and evenings are chilly and that air is bringing me back to life.  

Our windows are cracked open and the AC has been off for days.  It's the best feeling to have lived through the dog days of summer and then to feel that cool air on your face first thing in the morning.  

Yes please. I've been waiting for months ♥

Pumpkin spice coffee is on repeat over here (for me anyway!) and this past weekend I started decorating for fall.  

I had ordered a new garden flag because my old one was all faded.  She made her debut on Sunday.  

Now all I need are some pumpkins to go underneath ♥

Coming soon! : )

Little touches here and there remind me that summer is over.  

I've actually started thinking about Thanksgiving.  Is that crazy?! 

Yes, probably ♥

And YES I'm aware it's not officially fall yet, but once Labor Day comes and goes it's fall in my book.  We celebrated Labor Day at a cookout at my brother in laws. 

 I had my last official summer hot dog with pasta salad and now it's time to bring out the crock pot! 

I think I need a mum for this corner - right where that basket is.  I saw some the other day at the grocery store.  Another sign summer is over.  

The mums are out!  ♥

YAY! These always remind me of my mom.  She loved them.  She also loved fall as much as I do and I'm sure that's where my love for it comes from.  

Thank you mom ♥

I miss her so much.  

Away went the sea glass and summer candles - all packed up cozy until next year. Out came all things orange, yellow, and brown, apple candles, and of course Charlie Brown because everybody knows he owns the fall (and a little of Christmas too : ). 

On to downstairs where I scattered a few things about, pumpkins and such. 

I still need to do more puttering down here, but I'm off to a good start ♥

You know I live here....lol 

What I love most about our kitchen and back-room downstairs is the backdrop.  

There are several windows and once the leaves start turning, we are all aglow with color radiating from the outside in.  

My mother always had lace curtains on these windows but after our painting project this past spring I opted to not put them back on.  I like the light that comes in. And I like that I can see out to all the trees and the river. 

Also - sidenote, this lamp is one of my favorite things in life ♥

Naturally, it's way too soon to start seeing any foliage back here yet but my autumn loving heart knows it's coming.  

I'll be watching! ♥

 

I can tell by the sun shadows that there's a shift. 

 I like having my coffee out here in the wee hours of the morning.  I'll do it until it gets too cold, and even then I go out for a few sips or as long as I can stand it.  Just me and whatever wildlife decided to visit that day.  

It's the most peaceful part of my day ♥

And there you have it friends.  I've declared it.  It's happening.  Is it going to be 80 degrees today? 

Yes it is.  Do I care? No I do not.  And that's that.  

Happy Fall! ♥

So how are you all feeling? Are you ready to say goodbye to summer?  One thing I haven't done is bring Halloween candy into the house yet, even though it's readily available in EVERY store I enter.  I've resisted because let's not get toooo crazy (who? me? never!).  We'll see how long I last :) 

Well, I'm off to make another pot of coffee and get to work for the day.  We are all well over here and things are happening.  John is back to school - I'll talk about that in my next post. I hope to be here a lot more often now that I've got my "mo-jo" back!  

Have a wonderful day friends! ♥

Talk soon! xx 

Butternut squash & cranberry risotto ♥

Good Morning Friends and hello lovely November! ♥

The older I get, I have a whole new appreciation for November. I used to not give her that much thought, as she served just a bridge to December.  But really, November deserves her moment.  It's a month of calmness before the chaos.  A month of anticipation and preparation. I hope she takes here time because I actually love her. 

 And she's pretty too ♥

The colors are in full bloom now and every day it looks like it's raining leaves.  

Nature is prepping for winter ♥

 And so are we.  It's freezing. Have you put your heat on yet? I held out as long as I could but we had to do it.  The house is toasty and I'm looking forward to many cozy fires this season.  

I didn't get as many trick or treaters as I'd planned for.  It was the least amount we've had in years!  Has "truck or treats" squashed old fashioned trick or treating? I'm not sure, but what I do know is I have way too much candy left over and that's not good for anyone around here.  Especially since we're about to enter the biggest eating season of the year.  Ugh!  

Somebody stop me! ♥

*Breakfast of champions*

Right now I'm in that weird state of savoring every last bit of cozy fall while simultaneously being so excited for Christmas and wanting to decorate and do all the things!  I'm slowly putting away pumpkins and a bringing out holly and twinkle lights.  I want to have the most Christmassy Thanksgiving we've ever had.  I've started to make my menus and lists galore! Have you ever heard of baked brie cranberry bites? Me either but I want to make them :)  

Yes it's early, but I don't care.  The tree is going up soon. The music has started and so has the decorating and the shopping.  It doesn't mean I don't care about Thanksgiving.  It's only making it better in my opinion.  The holiday season is so short as it is, so why not start early. 

♥

Here's a weird thing about me... I find it very comforting to scroll Pinterest for DIY Christmas gifts that I will probably never have time to make, while listening to David on QVC talk about kitchen products that I'll probably never buy.  Why do I love that so much? I don't know but it's my happy place and I do it almost every day.  Do you watch David?  He's been part of my life my years.  I adore his commentary and kitchen tips.  

And speaking of kitchen....♥

Today I wanted to share with you a yummy recipe I posted years ago but deserves another moment.  It's a very easy butternut squash and cranberry risotto.  I make it as a side dish but I could easily just eat this for my meal.  It's perfect for this festive season! 

 

1 butternut squash (medium size)

2 tbsp olive oil

6 cups chicken stock

6 tbsp butter (3/4 stick)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup risotto (Arborio rice)

1/2 cup dried cranberries 

salt & pepper

Peel butternut squash and remove the seeds.  Cut into 3/4 inch chucks.   Cook in microwave (on fresh vegetable setting) until tender.  (*could also be roasted in oven*)  Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock in a covered saucepan.  Leave it on low heat to simmer.

In a large saucepan melt the butter and saute the onion - about 10 minutes.

Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter.  Cook for 2 minutes.

Add two ladles of stock to the rice (about 1 cup) and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. 

Stir and simmer until stock is absorbed, 5 - 10 minutes.  Continue to add stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes.  Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry, then add more stock. 

Continue until the rice is thoroughly cooked (and you are out of stock), about 30 minutes total. 

Remove from heat and stir in the cooked squash. Then stir in the dried cranberries. The mixture will be thick and creamy. 

Transfer to a pretty dish (because that is what this risotto deserves to be served in) and enjoy!

Have a great day my friends! I must get some work done now and do some Christmas dreaming.  

Need more coffee too! ♥

Stay cozy! xoxox

Hello October ♥

Hello Beautiful October and Happy Friday! ♥

As I type this post I'm listing to a playlist on YouTube titled "Halloween 1945 Nostalgic Vintage Music Playlist for Autum Vibes".  It's so cozy and perfect and I'm linking it HERE for you so you can listen too!  The vintage Halloween images are just as wonderful as the music and it makes me really wish Halloween was still like that.  

Maybe somewhere it is...:) 

Speaking of Autumn vibes, they have arrived! I can feel the shift in the air and I'm loving it.  

This morning was 50 degrees, which is the coldest it's been in a while.  I felt it when I stepped out of the house to run to the post office at 8:15am. I had to grab a fleece and zip it up over my PJ's. 

 Funny thing about me is, my level of standard of what's "acceptable" to look like in public has drastically changed since I turned 50.  If it's a quick errand, and it's early morning...anything goes.  

But anyway...back to what's important :) 

Last weekend we went apple picking (a Fall tradition with friends) so my house is now full of apples galore!  Since it's been cold and gloomy today (and I say that with nothing but love and happiness in my heart) I decided it's comfort food night so we're having breakfast dinner...something I do often this time of year. I'll make Susan Branch's German Pancake and add apples and cinnamon to it. It's one of my favorite comfort recipes. 

I did a video and blog post with the recipe a while back.  Here's the link.  It's super easy if you feel like comfort food tonight!  

We had a beautiful day to pick apples! We went to an orchard that I'd never been to before.  We usually go to a little farm.  This was a much bigger place and what was shocking to me was we had to purchase tickets and get wristbands, theme park style.  Because of that, the experience lost some of its charm for me.  I guess I just prefer the smaller places.  It was still lovely, don't get me wrong.  It's just amazing to me how things change.  

Me and John, my friend Julie, and her two boys Sean and Michael.  John's known them since kindergarten. We've been doing this every fall for years and years! ♥

I tried a corn maze for the first (and last) time.  I won't tell you how long it took me to get out of this thing! Its the stuff horror movies are made of.  

Regardless of that trauma, I got what I went for.  The mother load! ♥

My Dad's birthday is Sunday and I've promised him an apple pie.  I also want to make apple sauce. 

I remember once in the Fall a few years ago I was visiting my friend BJ and her daughter Madison had made homemade applesauce in a crockpot.  We had gone for a walk on a chilly afternoon in her neighborhood and we when got home we had a bowl of Madison's homemade applesauce.  It was like Autumn in a bowl!  It was delicious and made me so happy.  That's such a nice little memory for me and ever since I make applesauce every October (her recipe of course!).  

Side note: that same weekend BJ made us pumpkin spice lattes in the crockpot and that's when I knew we'd be friends for life ♥

Meanwhile, we're settling into October very nicely.  I'm still on leaf watch.  No major color changes yet, but it's coming.  The birds, squirrels, and chipmunks have been very busy.  They are getting ready.  

As for me, I've gone into nesting mode.  I decided I want to take up some kind of sewing or needlepoint so I'm off to Michaels or Hobby Lobby find a project. My mother always sewed and did craft projects on cold dark nights while drinking tea. I love the idea doing something with myself besides doom scrolling on my phone. Something I've been doing too much of lately.  I would rather make something and be creative while listening to an audiobook.  

Doesn't that sound cozy? ♥  

I can never resist a supermarket bouquet of autumn flowers!  These were calling my name, so I brought them home today.  The colors are everything right now ♥  

Soup has officially been added into the meal rotation again. 

 I LOVE having soup for lunch this time of year.  I like to make a big batch on Sundays and then we have it all week long.  

Minestrone is my favorite! 

Have you tried this tea yet?  

It reminds of those cinnamon candies we had as kids, except better.  

It's been my afternoon treat lately, with a cookie or piece of dark chocolate. 

Yum ♥

...And speaking of my Dad, many of you ask for him which I appreciate so much.  I realized I haven't shared that many photos of him lately.  I took this picture yesterday when we came home from an appointment. He's feeling and looking very well these days.  On Sunday he'll be 86 and yes, he still has all his hair! 

This weekend Rob has promised me a coffee date, which I am very much looking forward to.  Sunday we are taking my Dad out to dinner and sometime in between I plan on doing some housework, reading my book, and hopefully going for a nice walk.  Is it too soon to start watching Hallmark Christmas movies? Well, not for me but I think I'll watch some Fall themed ones first.  Nothing too heavy, and the cornier the better. Oh heck, maybe I'll just have a Meg Ryan fest : )  

Have a great October weekend my friends.  We only get 4 of them so lets enjoy them! ♥

Byeeee! ♥

xoox 

Monday musings ♥

Hello Friends! ♥

Happy Monday and happy first day of Fall! 

I hope you all had a lovely weekend.  Mine was quiet & cozy, just the way I like it : ) 

On Saturday I was home all day puttering around the house.  I dusted, vacc'd, and moved around a few things for fall - including an end table and lamp that had really been irking me. It's the little things, I tell you!  

I celebrated by making a batch of chocolate chip cookies : ) 

See that shelf up above the sliding doors? It runs the length of the back wall and is full of my mom's tea pots and other collectibles.  It needs a dusting very badly. I was going to tackle it but then changed my mind.  I decided cookies and a book was a better plan.  

In fact, I think I'm going to take it all down and put in its place our Christmas village.  Every so often she did that for the winter and it looked so nice. There's plugs up there so the houses can light up.  It's a whole day project so I will have to gear up for that, but it will be worth it.  

That's the thing about living in my parents' house.  Not only did I acquire a house, I acquired everything in it as well (a blessing or a curse? maybe a little of both).  

We were blessed with beautiful fall weather too which made it all the better.  I'm not seeing any leaves changing colors in the back yet, but I'm sure it's coming soon.  

In a few weeks time this will all be golden : ) 

I can't wait ♥

On Sunday John was asked to walk with some friends in our annual town Irish Heritage Day parade.  He's done this every year for several years now and always has a great time.  He's known these kids since preschool! 

We came home after the parade, had lunch with my Dad (who is doing very well, by the way!!)  and settled in for the afternoon. John had friends coming over that night for a band rehearsal, so we ate dinner early.  I made chicken pot pie (the ultimate comfort food) and everyone agreed Fall has arrived.  

It's got my mind wandering to the holiday times.  I'm looking forward to cooking Thanksgiving this year and decorating for Christmas. 

OK, I won't get too ahead of myself...don't worry : ) 

I pulled out some of my cozy sweaters and moved them to the front. I love these colors! I'm no longer in summer clothes. Yay!  I need to get a new cardigan and pair of slippers. 

 A September tradition for me ♥

And all of a sudden, it's Monday again! Today will be a workday for me..also laundry, meals, checking in with Dad, checking on the leaves of course, and lots of coffee! 

Have a great Monday friends!  Thanks for visiting and stay cozy! What's for dinner tonight?  I think pork chops over here, but we'll see... ♥

Bye! xoxo