pumpkin goodness

bring on the great pumpkin, jason! last evening we had a bunch of fun carving and roasting pumpkin seeds. jason picked out this beauty a couple of weeks ago in lancaster at a roadside stand. he picked a design, got out his little precision tools and got carving. meanwhile i was on a mission to make us a tasty treat. i wanted to try making different varieties of roasted pumpkin seeds. i got great recipe ideas at country living. i think i saw it in a magazine at work. i am loving this magazine. they have so many fun ideas. is it me or has country living gotten hipper over the years. or maybe it is i who have gotten less hip :) anyway its lovely all the same. jason's pumpkin turned out great. in a "scary looking man, sort of way". i ended up making parmesan herb, plain and sugar and spiced seeds. we are enjoying them immensely.

i heart pizza and autumn

as promised. more fall foliage! and i threw in a cake i did last week. it was a last minute order. "pizza theme" was about all i had to work with. creative freedom is always a lot of fun! i was almost tempted to cut it into eight slices.

feast for your eyes

i have been quite absent lately. not really by choice. you see, i changed computers. i am now working from a new computer that i have had to change things around a bit. i'm still not use to where my pictures are and importing them, our hard drive and all that technical silliness that i thankfully hand over to my husband. thing have been quite busy. i have been working a bunch. it is only this past week that i've gotten to slow down and enjoy the beauty around me and sharing a meal here and there with friends. i will hopefully be sharing more of my projects, autumn explorations and treats.
so jason and i packed up a picnic lunch and left our responsibilities behind us today. i needed that. we took a scenic drive to one our most beloved little towns. frenchtown. the drive there is lovely any season, but absolutely bursting with color right now.

and my favorite treat of late is the gingersnap icecream sandwhiches we had last evening with my family! yum yum.
just another good recipe from sticky chewy messy gooey.

more baking for a fall frolic to come. kerah and i had a lovely time making invitations from an old childrens book, with goregous illustrations. so excited.

monkey cake

just a little update on the cake related part of this blog. a monkey i did this past week. super fun, and easy. yes, the ears are made out of donuts.

cozy day

yesterday, my love brought me a favorite seasonal treat. pumpkin cream donut!
and i've been making more dishcloths! inspiration for the stripped one came from these beautiful ones. this is for a gift. to a friend who is moving out onto her own. other highlights of the day were thrifting, finding gorgeous vintage flower prints and an evening walk into the flaming sunset!

pumpkins and potato soup

yesterday was a windy one, but still i felt the need to go outside and scavenge for little bits of nature to decorate my home with. the mood struck i guess. so that's what i did. i set up some pumpkins on my porch, around my house and set my table for autumn. then i made potato soup for the next days dinner. jason helped me make the soup too. lately i've been really good about employing his help in the kitchen. it makes projects go so much more quickly and smoothly. and after two years marriage we've finally got this coexisting in the kitchen thing a little more figured out.

weekend part II

after we went ballooning, we ventured into lancaster city, but not without a few stops on the way. we stopped at a amish farm stand for some pumpkins and pumpkin woopies! then onto Goods, a kind of mennonite walmart if you will. they have all sorts of everything.
then onto the city. we walked around a bit. me tyring to remember the layout of the city i've been to only a few times. luckily my internal compass was not failing me that day. we stopped by central market. one of the coolest farmers markets around. then we went in search of this yarn store, i had once been to with my sister. and unfortunately i found they went out of business :( i was quite saddened to hear that. it always makes me so sad when small business never got a good chance.
we stopped for lunch at lancaster brewery. good beer. decent food. we were both satisfied with our find for lunch.
one last stop at the pottery barn outlet, because that is definitely a guilty pleasure for me. then we made our way back home. great weekend.

weekend part I

on saturday jason and i got to float above the earth for about 2 hours. i had planned a balloon ride for his birthday, and this weekend we finally were able to enjoy the gift. it was magical. you take off, begin to lift ever so gently until you are well above the tree tops, and greeted with one amazing view of the countryside. another life wish fulfilled. another amazing opportunity seized!

loving right now...

• homemade apple cider
• these moccasins from L.L. Bean. i remember wearing my sister's old pair in the early 90's and here they are again.
• this apple pie recipe from posie gets cozy
• cool crisp days, with the wind whirling around me.
• do it yourself magazine. they have so many fun projects i want somehow implement into my living space
• sickle pears. i've just discovered their yummy little goodness. smaller than regular pears and sweeter too! delicious.
• a chance to finally see brooke waggoner at world cafe live.
• all the yummy pumpkin recipes i keep seeing everywhere!

saucy, saucy ladies

its that time again. fall apples are here, meaning time for applesauce making. i am blessed to have a wonderful mom who opens her kitchen up and lets me sauce with her. i am also blessed to get apples from my husbands grandfather. he has a beautiful orchard where he grows many different varieties of apples. this year i used cortland apples. i've always loved the pink applesauce!