Let There Be Light! ♥

Hello Friends! Happy Friday! ♥

I am so happy tonight because we have Electricity!! For the last two days we have been living by candlelight because of a bad storm that went through our area.  The winds were so powerful that I felt like our house was going to fly away like Dorothy being transported to OZ!!  So many trees down (one nearly hitting our house but thank goodness it didn't!). The storm left my entire town without power.  Some still don't have it back. Thankfully last night ours came back!  Lights, heat, wifi.... you don't realize how much you take these things for granted until they are gone!  

Life is really boring with no TV.  At least for me : ) 

 

Anyway, back to my regularly scheduled life.  Before all the chaos I was enjoying a cozy fall week. 

Hallmark started it's countdown to Christmas movie marathon and I am here for it!  I love every single one.  Corny, predictable, sicky sweet....yes, yes, and yes! (much to the horror of my family! lol) 

I'll be watching until Christmas and I'm not even sorry ♥

This week's soup was homemade tomato with grilled cheese sandwiches of course.  This was our last hot meal before it went dark.  It was perfect on a stormy night.  

The newest addition to the bedroom is my new nightlight.  I added twinkle lights to an Eiffel Tower bottle that I picked up at a thrift store.  

It makes nighttime tea even more enjoyable.

**this helped so much during the power outage because those lights are battery operated** 

Chicken pot pie is one of our favorite comfort meals.  

I love the process of making it almost as much as I do eating it. 

Almost! ♥

A new project I started is putting all my recipes on cute recipe cards.  

Aren't these darling? ♥

It's hard to believe this weekend is Halloween!  

We are expecting more rain on Saturday but so far (fingers crossed) Sunday looks cool and clear!  We'll carve our pumpkin tomorrow and I'll roast the seeds. 

I look forward to that every year. 

John has plans to go to a friends house on Halloween so tomorrow we have to find him a costume, because everybody knows No costume, No candy!  

I'm going to go enjoy my heat and electricity, make a hot cup of tea, and pray for those who are still without power.  It's no fun.

Have a happy Halloween weekend friends!  I hope you don't get too scared!  ♥

xoox   

Apple Cobbler ♥

Good morning friends! Happy Monday! 

I hope you all had a nice weekend.  Mine went by way too quickly, as usual.  

Today I'm excited to share with you a wonderful fall dessert.  

Apple Cobbler!!  ♥

Truth be told, I had never made an apple cobbler before.  This was my first time!

I love peach cobbler and strawberry cobbler, so of course I had to try it with apples! 

 

A cobbler is easier to make than a crisp.  It's basically just a batter poured over sugared apples and melted butter, then baked to perfection.  A perfect cozy dessert on a chilly fall evening. 

So first things first.  Remember these? 

 

Well, they turned into this! 

All the hard word was peeling and chopping.  And it wasn't really that hard : ) 

Tossed in brown sugar, cinnamon, & nutmeg.  

All the delicious tastes and smells of Fall ♥

Melt some butter and whip up a quick batter.

Ready for the oven.

Your kitchen will smell like heaven ♥

Viola!!!

We had dinner guests last week and I wanted to make them an extra special dessert.  

They had been traveling and I think this dessert made them feel like "home". 

 It's that cozy and pure comfort food! 

We had a pot roast for dinner with some fresh Italian bread and this cobbler for dessert.  

It felt like a very New England meal.  

They enjoyed it and we had a fabulous evening! 

Here is the recipe (taken from Pinterest) if you want to make it.  I highly recommend it!! 

It's great for company, but why not just for you? ♥

5 apples, peeled and sliced 

1 3/4 cup flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder 

1 1/2  cup brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg 

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1 stick butter

1 1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put butter in a 9x13 baking dish.  Place in the oven until butter is melted. 

Put sliced apples in a large mixing bowl.  Add 1/4 cup of the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Toss to coat. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining dry ingredients.

Add in the milk while continuing to whisk.  

Pour the batter into the baking dish over the melted butter. 

Add the apples on top of the batter.  Do not mix. 

Bake 45-50 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream 

Enjoy!! 

Have a wonderful day, friends! 

It's raining here, but these flowers are bringing sunshine to me today ♥

XO 

Beautiful Fall Days ♥

Hello Friends! ♥

We've been waiting for Fall for so long and it's finally here.  I'm doing my best to take time to appreciate all the beauty around me and all the feels, sounds, & smells this lovely season has to offer.  

We have officially put extra blankets on the beds because it's chilly at night.  My coffee tastes extra good on cold, dark mornings. It's steamy and cozy, just the way it should be.  Around town I keeps seeing signs for a fall festival and holiday craft fairs next month.  A sign of normalcy, which is nice. 

On Saturday John and some friends are going to a Haunted House. It was canceled last year so he's very excited to go back and get the ever living daylights scared out of him! 

Ah, to be 14! I love it ♥

Yesterday on the way to pick him up from school I took some time to admire a tree in front of our church. I've always loved this tree.  It's wonky and not perfect, but hey, who is?  

Not everything in life has to be grand. 

She's still beautiful and her color blows me away!

 

Back home I have candles burning all the time.  Yesterday John came in the room and said "its smells like fall in here."  YES!  I guess I'm doing something right after all! 

My favorite time to admire them is around 4:00.  It's when I log off from work and make myself a little snack and hot beverage before dinner.  It's when it starts to get dark and with the candles flickering it's just lovely.  I wrap up in a blanket for 30 mins and I wish that time of day could last a bit longer.  

I picked up this pumpkin bread at a local farm on Sunday, along with some apple cider donuts.  

So delicious and I'm more than happy to support local business ♥

I need to do more of that.  Noted! 

I made us our first round of hot apple cider yesterday afternoon and I realized I need to replenish my spices! Cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and nutmeg are all low.  Need to fix that ASAP : ) 

We have entered baking season and I don't want to run out ♥

I made sure to tell Rob not too eat the cinnamon stick this time!  If you don't know that story, you can read it here.  

I'll never forget it! LOL 

I'm off to the market today to gather ingredients for a yummy pot roast supper I'm planning.

Cozy fall dinners are my favorite.  Especially when it's chilly out, having a roast bubbling away in the crock pot is the best feeling, isn't it?  I just need to decide on dessert??? Hmmm....

Have a wonderful fall day, my friends! Stay cozy! ♥

Wednesday Thoughts ♥

Hello Friends! 

Here is a random thought I wanted to share for anyone that needs it.

♥

Sometimes when I long for the past I think about this and I suddenly feel happy again.  

Keep going.  Through all the chaos, life can be beautiful.  We just have to wait for it. 

What a wonderful thought.

♥

October Weekend ♥

Hello Friends!  

It wouldn't be Autumn without our annual trip to the apple orchard. 

This year it was an overcast day, but that did not matter one bit.  

The air was chilly, which made the cider and apple donuts taste that much better.  

This truly is what fall weekends are made of 🍎

 

Even teenage boys love traditions...yay! 

And apples! 

Now what to make with these??? 

I see pies, crisps, and caramel treats on sticks in our very near future! 

Happy October weekend friends! 

xx

Apple picking 2016...not much has changed...:) 

Soup & Salad Night ♥

Hello Friends! ♥

October has gotten off to a cool and rainy start.  I've been wearing my cozy cardigan all week and we put extra blankets on the beds because it's getting chilly at night. I actually love a cold bedroom because then being under the blankets feels extra cozy. The three of us have also been nursing colds all week which hasn't been fun.  Today I made a big pot of chicken soup and we had soup and salad for dinner.  It was easy, delicious, and good for our souls. Natures medicine for a cold, right? 

 I made a mental note to add soup and salad night into our weekly meal rotation.  I would like to try a new soup every week, so if you have any recommendations please let me know and I'll share the recipes on here! 

This week's recipe comes from The Food Nanny.  I just started following her on Instagram.  She's absolutely delightful and makes me want to have my own farm and be a cowgirl!  Her blog is lovely and I want to try every recipe!  

This recipe uses bullion cubes which gives the soup a nice, rich flavor.  The only ingredient I omitted were frozen peas (only because I forgot to buy them : ) 

**Click here for the recipe** 

There is something blissful about a pot of soup bubbling on the stove, especially when you have a cold.  

I'm very happy it's soup season ♥  

I'm off to bed now, to snuggle under my extra blankets and watch an episode or two of Reba (my new phase!) and then drift off to sleep.  

Happy mid-week friends!  How are you staying cozy this week? 

Catching Up! ♥

Hello Friends and happy October! ♥

In the blink of an eye we said goodbye to September and hello to October!  The air has officially changed around here and it smells like fall.  The nights are cool and I can feel that crispness in the air that October is so known for.  We wait all year for it and it's finally here.   

October, the month of Halloween and all things spooky. Also the month I go apple picking, bake pies, and eat too much candy.  Can I say (in a low voice) it's the official start of holiday season?

You didn't hear it from me, but they are coming : ) 

So, let's catch up! ♥

I've been absent on here for two weeks, which is huge stretch for me!  Life has been busy, work is busy, and John is still navigation his way around a new school.  October, and fall in general, is very nostalgic to me.  I long for the old days when he was a toddler and on fall days like this we would bundle up and go to the playground.  He'd jump in he leaves and I remember us sitting on a bench eating apples and looking at the trees. The simple things.  It was nice.  I miss that. 

I baked yesterday! It had been awhile. 

I've had this can of pumpkin in my pantry for ages.  It's been taunting me.  Yesterday I finally put it to use and I made these pumpkin chocolate chip bars!  

The smell when they were baking was beyond divine! 

They are a What's Gaby Cooking recipe and are so moist and delicious.  

The recipe is linked here if you want to try them.  I may or may not have overdid it with the chocolate chips, but I bake with emotion and yesterday I was emotional! : ) 

This morning was rainy and dark.  

This cake was my perfect breakfast with hot pumpkin spice coffee.  I brought both back to bed.  Not a bad way to start the week. 

YUM♥

The best ♥

My grocery store only carries this seasonally so it's a big treat for me to get it! It will disappear in January so I fully enjoy as much as I can for now. 

I also treated myself to some new "seasonally inspired" shower gel and body lotion.  I'm basically morphing into a pumpkin these days and I couldn't be happier about it! 

In other not so great news I had a little mishap last weekend with the car.  I accidently hit this gigantic pothole (don't ask me how I didn't see it!) and blew out two tires.  John and I had to wait for hours for AAA to get to us only to be told he didn't have a spare tire (I needed two) and had to wait another hour for a tow truck to come.  This disaster left me without a car for a few days.

Annoying. 

Aren't car problems the worst?  I was relieved to have my car back and to be up and running again.  From now on I am going to be extra careful when it comes to potholes! Especially in my town where they are everywhere. UGH.

In more UPBEAT news, the day after my pothole disaster John had to opportunity to march in the Irish Heritage Parade in our town.  This parade had been postponed from St. Patrick's Day due to covid.  In my opinion this was a better time of year anyway because the weather was absolutely gorgeous.

Perfect day for a parade! ♥

He marched with friends and gave out candy.  We watched from my friend Courtney's house which is right on the main road.  She made a delicious chili and a gingerbread cake which we all enjoyed.  It felt normal and it was nice to see people out and about again. 

 It was a fun experience for John and a great time was had by all! 

In case I forgot to tell you, are you aware that applesauce is amazing on vanilla ice cream? 

A few weeks ago I made homemade applesauce (recipe here) in my crock pot.  Only 4 ingredients! Something about homemade applesauce in the fall make my heart full!!!  I use brown sugar so it's a rich dark color.  It's soooooo tasty! Anyway, if you do this I highly recommend making an "apple pie" sundae.  

You won't regret it.  

You're welcome! ♥

I am aware that some of you are not onboard with the whole pumpkin spice thing, and that's OK (I still love you!) but other than my beloved creamer, I must tell you that the pumpkin spice cold brew with pumpkin foam from Dunkin Donuts is addictive! Even John is hooked! (Rob never!! lol).

You may think I have a problem, and you may be correct! 

My blood type is pumpkin spice coffee at this point : ) 

I hope you are enjoying the start to October.  The leaves are just starting to change here and I've moved my work desk into my bedroom so I can be near the window to watch the trees.  I don't want to miss a thing.  

Have a wonderful day my friends! Stay cozy!! xoxox 

Rob would disagree! ♥