Happy Fall, Y'all!

Math is not my best subject, but here is an equation I know by heart:

football+cool weather+pumpkins= FALL

I will never leave or forsake summer as my favorite season of all, but fall is near and dear to my stomach. As much as I adore summer for the weather, I love fall for the food and sports. Plain and simple.

Winning my affection is as effortless as turning on ESPN and opening a can of pumpkin. Then I will be joyful forevermore.

Oh, and one more thing I love about fall: decorating!

This next sentiment might be a little bit blasphemous, but here goes...I love decorating for fall even  more than I love decorating for Christmas.

There, I said it.

Not sure why, but there is something so peaceful about autumn and something terribly frenzied about Christmas. (Except for the laid-back Santa I saw yesterday at Big Lots who was wearing a bathing suit, sitting in a hammock, and lip-syncing to "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere." Really. Things like that should be OUTLAWED.)

The first thing I always do is get out Old Faithful:

After many, many years, I still love her to pieces. My precious wreath has proudly hung at four homes, survived three moves, and is older than my children.

My aunt helped me make her with my glue gun and the best artificial gourds Hobby Lobby had to offer in the late 90's. Truly, she is the Audrey Hepburn of wreaths.

I always like to mix in a little new with the old, so I scanned through some blogs, caught some inspiration, and made this for my front porch (next to Old Faithful):

I am a big fan of Funkins because I love both fun and pumpkins.

The girl whose idea I shamelessly borrowed found her pumpkins pre-lettered at a little shop. I, however, turned to my black Sharpie and drew the letters. Not perfect, but still cute. And using pots instead of candlesticks allowed me to camouflage the dead geraniums that graced our front porch the last few weeks.

Next year I might go for the candlestick version, but for now, this works.

Now here is Old Faithful II:

The basket o' fall is another standby that I've had for looooonnng time. My same Crafty Aunt (the Wreath Goddess) helped me throw this together. She is the knowledgeable and wise Yoda of decor and I am the (formerly) Young Jedi who is easily tempted by the dark side.

My favorite thing about the b.o.f. is that it's easily transportable. As much as we'd all love to just make a centerpiece and set it on the table, that's not really practical unless you don't actually use the table.

The other NKOTB this year is my prized collection of chocolate:

Candy corns don't even register with my tastebuds, but the dark chocolate M&M's, peanut M&M's, Reese's peanut butter cups, and Hershey's mini's are pretty much a food group unto themselves.

It's probably dangerous to have such goodness readily available, but the clear jars hold me accountable.

Those containers, by the way, are priceless. Like Old Faithfuls I & II, I've had them for ages, but constantly change their ribbons and fillings.

There are a couple other fall vignettes that still need some tweaking, so maybe I'll post pictures when I'm done.

Of course, I kept saying that all summer while I mistreated my bedroom windows, the kids' bathroom, playroom, and some other little areas. I also planned to highlight some extra-fabulous garage sale finds. But it didn't happen. My bad.

Anyway, tonight I am going to make my friend, Jen's broccoly cheesy corny potatoey chowdery soup, chase it with peanut M&M's, and watch football.

Life is good.

It is Not a Road Trip Without Some DQ

On the long, barren, slightly boring drive home, we stopped at the glamorous Dairy Queen of Raton, New Mexico to do some market research.

For those of you in West Texas, I SERIOUSLY considered just making a teeny weeny right turn and heading towards Clayton and SURPRISING y'all late tonight and thinking of all the WILD FUN we could have this week together! It would be so ridiculously irresponsible!

But then I thought that our posse arriving around midnight would be more SCARY than fun, and I have a staging appointment tomorrow, and the kids have school...which made we want to come EVEN MORE and solidify my title as Procrastinator Supreme!!! But my "maturity" kicked in...

So there we were at the DQ and I felt that in all fairness to Cold Stone Creamery, I should probably get the Pumpkin Pie Blizzard. Just to, you know, compare notes and all.

Right.

And in our long-standing tradition of forgoing dinner to get right to dessert, Brad and I nonchalantly passed on the hamburgers to get right to the Blizzard. We tried not to be too obvious while the kids were eating their corn dogs and applesauce and we were swapping bites of Pumpkin Pie and Oreo/Snickers Blizzard.

My, they were good.

That said, I would give the Pumpkin Pie in the Sky a definite nod over the Pumpkin Pie Blizzard. The DQ version just didn't have enough texture and crunchiness, although the pumpkin taste was excellent. ("We use that pumpkin stuff you put in pies," the register girl informed me.)

And then I took Lilly potty.

And the restroom at this particular DQ was RIGHT in the front by the counter. And the door was propped open. You know, convenient.

So there Lilly sat. And broke into song:

"There was a girl who had a poop,
and Bingo was his name-o.
Poop, poop, N-G-O
Poop, poop N-G-O..."

Oh.

My.

Heavens.

Obligatory Post About Food

Just when I thought I had a handle on all things wonderfully fall and pumpkiny, I entered Cold Stone Creamery.

The kids were begging for some ice cream and it does seem like the perfect desert on a hot summer night amongst palm trees in November. When in Rome...

In we walked and my Pumpkin Radar spotted the pumpkin ice cream immediately. Well, of course, I'll be having a sample of that. Then, the guy behind the counter proceeds to tell me about Pumpkin Pie in the Sky. I Like to think of myself as a conisseur of fine pumpkin desserts and let me tell you, this was KILLER.

Pumpkin ice cream, graham crackers, caramel, nuts, and chocolate chips. (It's supposed to have whipped cream, but I'm not really a fan, so I subbed for the chocolate. Of course.) It was like eating a cool pumpkin cheesecake. With chocolate.

I am still recovering.

Even Jackson had some. I have known that child a long time and never seen him order any flavor other than chocolate. Ever. So, there's your proof.

Lilly, following in my mad camera skillz, took this photo of the dessert:




She also captured Jackson's delight as he expanded his ice cream repetoire by one flavor.

Now, for the big news. The Grand Lux.

The kids and I headed out to the mall to scope things out and round up some fun. If you're not familiar, Scottsdale has one of the finest malls around. In fact, the word "mall" is a little demeaning. It's more of a "shopping experience unparalleled by any other" (in my price range or limited travel experience, anyway).

So, there she was. The Mother Ship of restaurants. I was expecting a huge wait and not wanting to totally bore the kids, I thought I'd just check into the wait time, then walk away disappointed until the Denver location opens at the end of the month.

I totally did not notice the huge SPOTLIGHTS in the parking lot announcing the grand opening. When I asked how long they'd been open, the trembling employees replied, "Two hours."

Apparently word hasn't gotten out about the greatness of this dining fantasy, so the restaurant was wiiiiiiide open. We took our seats on the patio, which in and of itself, makes for a great night.

The kids got those Wiki Stix (these bendy, slightly sticky 6-inch sticks), which are none other than the greatest invention to pass time at restaurants. Jackson and Lilly played with them so much that they barely ate their dinner. We had an entire army of carefully crafted (but unidentifiable to the untrained eye) Star Wars fighter ships and misshapen bendy people lined up at the table.

Before we were even seated I started embarrassing myself by gushing about the Asian Nachos and how I'd been dreaming about them since I first encountered them in 2005 and this was the moment I'd been waiting for and could you please bring them out NOW?!?!

Whew.

I regained composure and even did something I've never done before. I asked them to bring out the take home box with the nachos. Because, you see, I don't trust myself. The nachos serve NINE, but I know that I am fully capable of licking the plate clean.

So I had two, then packed the rest away. It worked out nicely because I've been able to enjoy them everyday and just like pizza, they are just as good right out of the fridge.

What are these rare and beautiful creatures, you ask? Well, start with a light and crispy wonton. It's topped with some of that peanutty thai sauce, tender chicken, and some cheesey, saucy, crushed peanuts, and creamy SOMETHING else. Sorry, that is the best I can do.

You really have to taste it. Spicy, sweet, crunchy, and creamy ALL in one heavenly bite.

Hold on. I have to go eat one right now.

OD

I am so sorry about all the pumpkin talk. A good, pumpkin-loving friend even brought me Chocolate Oatmeal Pumpkin Chip cookies yesterday. I think she was trying to end all the pumpkin blogging if she could appease me and my Inner Pumpkin Stomach with some pumpkiny choclately goodness.

It did not work.

I promise to tone it down in December. But just know you will trade Pumpkin Talk for blurry pictures of my kids with Snow, Santa, Cookies, Holiday Cheer and 4 Year-Old Birthday Madness.

I can't wait.

(Thanks for the cookies, Robin. Y-U-M).

Foodie

Here is the deal...I love food. The planning, shopping, preparation, eating, and occasionally, over-eating. (Sometimes it is just that good).

But my Aunt Susan is the Real Deal--a Foodie. That's her official title at Market Street, not just self-proclaimed hobby. Cool, huh?

She and her fellow foodies came up with a list of "You might be a foodie if's..." I related to all of them. And added some of my own. As it turns out, I come from a long, long line of Food Lovers (some might say Food Obsessers).

Here they are:

If you live to eat, rather than eat to live...you might be a foodie

If you would rather read a cookbook than a best selling novel...ymbaf

If the highlight of your day is shopping for groceries and discussing recipes with total strangers at the store...ymbaf

If you describe your vacation by the restaurants you dined at...ymbaf

And two of my own:
If your children know the names of the cooks on the Food Network...ymbaf

If you spent over 20 minutes in October planning your Christmas menu...ymbaf (I did not do that just yesterday while standing at Michael's, pouring over the Southern Living Christmas 2007 Guide. I swear.)

Feel free to leave comments and join in the "YMBAF" fun! I know you want to.

And, by very popular demand (or one faithful reader's request), here is the famous Pumpkin Bar recipe. We made a pan of these. And ate them. All in one day. I might have put my face in the bowl.

Last year, my next door neighbor made them on Halloween (they're great at chasing down a bowl of chili). I lost count after eating around five. They are so light and soft that they just slip down your throat with a teeny tiny little gulp.

Pumpkin Bars
4 eggs
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup oil
16 oz. pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Mix together and bake at 350 degrees 25-30 minutes.

Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar - add gradually

Once bars have cooled, frost them. Then TRY to eat just one.

Pumpkin "Patch"--Take 6

It was Lilly's turn to participate in the fall field trip ritual for preschool.

I would say we hit an all-time low when she picked a pumpkin out of a cardboard box as a souvenir.

The hayride was mostly through parking lots, but hey, this is the suburbs!

If the camera panned wide, you'd see

muddy parking lots and the highway.

Audrey & Lilly
Hay bale maze

Witch tattoos!

Lilly showing her belly to the whole class

Pumpkin O Rama

Here are pics from the annual pilgrimmage to the Chatfield Pumpkin Festival. We love it because kids get in free if they wear their costumes and the pumpkin patch is gigantic and out in the middle of nowhere. Thus, the kids are forced to pick out a pumpkin they can carry long distances.

In case you're not sure, Jackson is a Jedi Knight...different ones depending on the day. I believe he was Master Windu on Saturday (the purple lightsaber is the giveaway.) Zach is Raphael, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

The girls opted for easily identifiable and predictable girly themes: Lauren the Ladybug and Lilly the Witch.

witchy woman

hunting for pumpkins

Lilly, Jackson, Zach & Lauren

the whole fam (serious as always)

Pumpkin Foul

Look! A huge pile of butter next to a pumpkin! Or perhaps its delicious cousin, Crisco? Give up? It's PUMPKIN FUDGE. Yum.

Just when I thought I could never hate anything pumpkin...

(it can be yours for $8 on etsy.com, by the way)

Pumpkin Crumble Cake

In my ongoing tribute to all things Pumpkin, I am posting the recipe for Pumpkin Crumble Cake. We're taking it to dinner group tonight at which time our fame will be known throughout Parker.

This has seriously made me a small-time celebrity. As in, "This is my friend, Nicole, who makes that great Pumpkin Crumble Cake." And then they gush about its fabulousness.

I'm not saying this to pat myself on the back or anything. It's not like I made it up, I merely mixed the ingredients.

It's far more Paula Deen than Ina Garten.

Last time Brad and I made it (over a year ago, I might add) we found ourselves up past midnight, eating directly from the serving dish. And eating. And eating. Our bodies were not kind to us the next day.

Pumpkin Crumble Cake
Combine:
1 16 oz. can pumpkin
12 oz. evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 ½ c. sugar
3 t pumpkin pie spice
½ t. salt

1 box yellow cake mix
1 c. melted butter
1 c. chopped pecans (optional--I like to toast chopped pecans and walnuts)

Pour mixture into greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle cake mix over top. Drizzle melted butter and pecans over cake mix. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes.
from my Mom

Cupcakes

For Jackson's kindergarten class and Lilly's Cubbies class, it was our turn to bring snack. So throwing the practicality of convenient, pre-packaged, individually-sized snacks to the wind, I made cupcakes. Homemade. With cute pumpkin wrappers. Orange and yellow sprinkles. Candy Corn.

There is something about sending cupcakes to school with my children that tells me I am doing something in these murky parenting waters correctly. My Mom Card gets stamped.

Many aspects of motherhood were thrust into my lap without notice or caution, but bringing snack (on the designated day, no less!) is something about which I had fair warning based on extensive personal experience with elementary school.

So many elements of parenting are harder to wrap my arms around: teaching siblings to become lifelong friends, developing a heart of unselfishness, demonstrating sacrificial love.

And then there are cupcakes.

I can do this! I have no clue how to effectively instill self-control, generosity, and Christ-likeness into my kids, but BY GOLLY I CAN BAKE!!!!

I am thankful God gives me small victories.