October Bucket List

October arrived yesterday a crisp, cool breeze and blue skies splashed with fluffy clouds. It's the perfect weather for a comfy fall sweater, cozy scarf and a warm drink in your hands. Fall is my favorite time of the year and before it, too, slips away like all the months seem too lately, I made this bucket list of some of the things I'd like to do this month.

Build a corn shock and corn swag for decorating the front yard.

Take daily walks through the woods over the crispy fall leaves with our four mutts.

Buy Halloween candy.

Indulge in a pumpkin spice latte.

Go on an outdoor horseback ride.

Visit Crane’s U-Pick Orchard and Pie Pantry (Check!)

Decorate Halloween sugar cookies.

Organize the nursery after baby shower.

Have a Jack O’ Lantern carving party with friends… and save the seeds for roasting.  

Light fall scented candles every day.

Watch my favorite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus. 

Make homemade pumpkin spice creamer.

Crane's Orchard and a Fly By

This past Sunday we went to one of my favorite places to visit in the fall, Crane's U-Pick. Nothing feels more fall-like than walking up and down rows of apples in the crisp air trying to find that perfect apple.

Here are a few more photos, if you're interested...

Reasons to Love Winter in Michigan

If we base the seasons on temperature, winter has been here for quite a while now. But there hasn't been any snow. And that, in my book, is when winter starts.

I love Michigan and experiencing all of the different seasons, so I thought I'd share with you today some of my favorite things.

I love taking the dogs out and trudging through snow that's two feet deep. Seeing footprints from all of the creatures; little bird prints, deer tracks or sometimes even that eerie, lone coyote track making it's way across an open field into the distance. Coming back inside, your face half frozen and sitting front of a fire with a mug of hot chocolate.

Driving around in a snowstorm, the wind and snow whipping around the vehicle. You're the only one on the road with no place to be, driving at your own pace and listening to a little Stevie Ray Vaugh, or maybe some Motley Crue, depending on your mood.

I love the bird feeders right outside our window because on sunny days I can look out and see woodpeckers, cardinals, morning doves, chickadees and all sorts of others feeding at the same time.

I love how absolutely quiet the world is. That I can walk outside and everything is covered in a blanket of white and it sounds as though there isn't another soul in the world.

We haven't been yet this year, but we are lucky enough to live very close to the shores of Lake Michigan. It's always great to take a short trip over to the lakeshore to see how much ice has built up on the piers and lighthouses.

 

Tom Gill, Photographer

The above photo was taken by Tom Gill of the lighthouse in St. Joseph, Michigan after a severe winter storm where the waves reached twenty feet high.

What are some of your favorite things about the winter? Do you partake in any winter sports? Snowmobiling? Ice Fishing? I'd love to know! We need some fresh ideas :)

Christmas Ornaments

We started our first Christmas tradition last year while we were dating.

Confession: I stole the idea from a Hallmark movie.

We decided that, for a Christmas Gift each year, we pick out an ornament for the other person. The ornament has to represent a memory that we made together in the previous year. We open them together on Christmas Eve and hang them on the tree.

Last year was so fun. I loved opening this:

And remembering one of our first dates. We went with friends to an outdoor concert where they shut down the main four-way intersection in the middle of the town and set up a big stage. My cousins were there and they met Kelly for the first time- he also gave me one of our first kisses. You see- I hate PDA, so I should've known something was happening in my heart when I didn't even flinch!

From there, we all went on to the casino for gambling and a little 3am breakfast. I don't even know what time we ended up getting home, but I'm pretty sure everyone but the driver was asleep for the ride!

Then for his ornament:

Kind of weird and not very Christmas-y, I know. This represents the giant, thunderstorm-of-the-century that we got stuck in while on the lake that summer. Our pontoon was anchored next to my mom's out in the bay and we were all lounging in the water on our floats. All of a sudden out of nowhere, the wind kicked up and it started to sprinkle. As we doggy paddled back to our boat, the sky went black started pouring buckets. I hid under a towel while someone pulled up the anchor, then we booked it across the lake- rain pelting us like airsoft ammo. All of a sudden, my mom's pontoon comes speeding by us at mach 10 and we're all looking at eachother thinking how the heck are they going so fast? Turns out, we didn't have just one anchor down- we had two.

So we laughed and laughed and that summer, it kind of became the norm that most of our best times together happened in the rain. It was funny to take out the ornament this year, decorating our first tree together, and realize that on our wedding day, one of our best days, it rained and poured the entire day. I guess rain really is our thing!

I already have his ornament wrapped and ready for Christmas Eve... I can't wait to see what he picked out!

Until next time,
xx

Our First Christmas Tree

Together, that is.

I've always had a Christmas tree because I'm a normal, Christmas tree loving kind of gal. Kelly, on the weird other hand, was a nice mixture of Scrooge and the Grinch (I can say was now because his heart has grown three full sizes).

During the first year that we became friends, Christmas rolled around and he told me that he didn't plan on getting a tree. I understand maybe that's normal for a bachelor, but I went on to tease him about being a Grinch. So much so that one day he asked me to stop over. He met me outside and covered by eyes while he walked me inside. As soon as I stepped through the door, I could smell it. Greens! Not of the medicinal kind. I opened my eyes to a beautiful, freshly cut Christmas tree! That might have been when I started to fall in love.

Last year we were still living separately and went tree hunting with a few of our good friends. We cut one for my house and one for his. But this year, this year, we had the full tree-hunting experience, horses, bonfires and all!

Meg Day Photography

After we (Kelly) cut our tree and they shook off all of the loose needles and tied it up, we waited for the horse and wagon to load up our tree and ride back to the barn to pay. As the wagon pulled up, who should jump off but our wedding photograher! It was so nice to see her and her mom, and she was sweet enough to take a picture of Kelly and I to remember our 'first' tree cutting.

 

 

I try not to compare myself with others because I think it can be a nasty habit to get into, but sometimes it's so hard! On Instagram, I'm seeing all of these beautifully decorated trees with tree skirts and lovely wrapped presents underneath. Well, this tree has been up and decorated since Thanksgiving weekend. Notice the lack of tree skirt and wrapped gifts underneath? So that's on my to-do list tonight because this poor tree just looks so sad underneath! I am so very ready for a quiet night at home and I think a little spicey spiked eggnog will hit the spot and keep me nice and warm :)

 

How is this Holiday Season treating everyone so far?

 

 

 

 

  

**PS.

I am sorry for the lack of posting lately. Life has been crazy busy (hello holidays!) I've been at the barn overtime lately and have finally started teaching! More on that soon....

Until then...xx

Thanksgiving Traditions

What kind of traditions do you practice at Thanksgiving?

On Thanksgiving Day, I've always watched the Macy's day parade in the morning while cooking, baking or cleaning and simultaneously consuming a pot of coffee (with a smidge of Baileys:). After that, I get to catch a glimpse of the National Dog Show before heading out to visit with family.

My favorite tradition started when I was a child and actually happens the day after Thanksgiving. My sisters and I slept in, then woke to Christmas music being played throughout the house. All of the decorations were brought up from the basement and we spent the day in a wonderland of carols, decorating, potpourri simmering on the stove, and leftover turkey and stuffing sandwiches.

When I moved into my first home, my sister would stay the night with me and help to decorate the next day.

Since this is the first year that Kelly and I have lived together for Thanksgiving, we don't have any traditions as of yet. Although, I'm very excited to have a new house to decorate!  I've already started getting boxes out of the attic and stacking them in a corner upstairs so that they're ready to go. We're even planning on hanging lights outside the house, I'm so excited it's sickening!

I love traditions. They give us a sense of season, a sense of belonging. Something to look forward to and something to remember fondly.

Here are a few ideas that would be fun to start...

• Break out the home videos. After everyone's eaten, dig into that old tub of VHS or DVDs and laugh at all the old times. Kelly and I have never seen videos of eachother back in the day, I think it would be fun!  And getting to laugh about so-and-so's stylin' mullet or cousin Susie's floral mumu? Bonus.
• Take a hike- two and four-legged family together. Between my parents & sisters alone, we have 8 dogs between the lot of us. It would be great for everyone to get all bundled up and, with the dogs, head out as a family to walk off that pie!
• Gametime. Growing up, we were a family of all girls so afternoon football wasn't really our thing. On the other hand, we do love a nice competitive round of Catchphrase or the name game.

I'd like to know, what are your Thanksgiving traditions?

Let's get into the filling...

I'm talking pies, people. Thanksgiving Day pies. Last year was the first time my mom has ever let me bring anything to our Thanksgiving Day dinner. I always ask and it's always, 'No, no need to bring anything, just be there with bells on!' What does that even mean, mom?!

It's very sweet, but in the past few years I have realized that I really adore cooking and baking. I love it. So after begging last year, I now get to bring the pies! All but pumpkin, because that's her man's favorite and she likes to bake it for him (I secretly think she's afraid I'll ruin it!).

Anywhoo, I must have done a good job because she's letting me keep up with the new tradition!

A Beautiful Mess

This Carmel Apple Cheesecake recipe from A Beautiful Mess was my one complicated 'pie', then I didn't even get to try it! I used the caramel sauce that we bought when we went apple picking at Crane's Orchard. My sister vouched that it was yummy, so I'm definitely making it again and tasting it this time. I don't care if Kelly has to roll me out of the house.

Any guesses for this one? I'll give you two hints...it's my absolute favorite, and it's also a song by Warrant. Yep. Cherry Pie.

And for the life of me I cannot remember the other one I made. Oh well. So cherry pie and the caramel apple cheesecake are on my list again this year, then I'm going to try and swing a raspberry pie along with Kelly's request for chocolate.

Which brings me to the predicament of transportation. We're just two of us, so we travel to our families houses for the holidays. Do you know how hard it is to transport a bunch of pies in pie plates? And if you take a corner a little too fast- forget about it!

Pie Box

My solution? I ordered this adorable pie box. It will save at least one of our pies from splatting against the car window. And I'm super excited to use our new Thanksgiving pie plate that we recieved as a wedding gift from Kelly's grandma!

I'm already salivating thinking about stuffing and mashed potatoes. What are your favorite dishes? Do you have any specialties or family recipes?

Etsy Love

NollaRice

How gorgeous is this cozy scarf?

I see some thick yarn and time with a crochet hook in my near future.

Recipe Roud-Up : Pumpkin

Ready for some more fall recipes? We already checked out some squash recipes, so it's time for my personal favorite- Pumpkin!

 


Closet Cooking

Pumpkin Gnocchi in a Creamy Gorgonzola Sauce

 Gnocchi are soft dumplings most commonly made from potatoes (I always think of them as baby mashed potato balls). Here's a how-to using only four ingredients, plus a pinch of nutmeg.

 

Skinny Taste

 

Skinny Pumpkin Spiced Latte

The first thing I go for when the weather gets cool. This recipe uses fat free milk and spices, making it only 115 calories instead of the 380 calorie Starbucks version.  

Oh She Glows

How To Roast Perfect Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin carving isn't complete if you don't save and toast the seeds. For this recipe, she boils them in saltwater before roasting. They're so much fun to make because you can use any spices that you have in your cabinets. My two favorites mixes are cajun and cayenne pepper or butter and brown sugar.

Confessions of a Chocoholic

Smoked Gouda and Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

This lady is a self proclaimed Choco-holic. Well, I'm a Mac-oholic. I included a recipe for Butternut Squash Mac n Cheese in this post, so it's only fair that we give a shout out to some Pumpkin too. Plus, it has smokey gouda cheese. Yum, Yum, Yum. 

Sugar Mama Cooks

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Stuffed Muffins
Spice cake mix + canned pumpkin = muffins. Cream cheese + sugar + vanilla = filling.  
Easy-Shmeasy.

What are you favorite Pumpkin recipes?

 

Recipe Round-Up - Squash



Since it's about that time, here are some squash recipes from around the web that I'd love to try. Kelly won't be thrilled- he doesn't like the name 'squash', nor does he like the texture. Those two reasons are pretty much a dead giveaway that when he responds with 'Oh, this is pretty good', he's lying.

Iowa Eats Girl

Butternut Squash Mac n Cheese

I tried this recipe last fall and can't wait to make it again. I love macaroni and cheese in any way, shape or form and this is one of the more unique recipes. The sweet squash mixed with the salty bacon and smokey, cheesy noodles. Say hello to heaven.

 

 

The Kitchn

Stuffed Acorn Squash

While I love the tried-and-true butter and brown sugar baked acorn squash, I'm willing to venture out of the box for this version using sausage, onion and mushrooms. It might be a good way to re-use your leftover veggies and meat when you combine them with a box of stuffing from the pantry.

 

 

A Sweet Pea Chef



Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque

Yes, this one does somewhat resemble baby food, but after looking at all of the ingredients I would have to give this one a go. Squash, onions, carrots and vegetable stock with pepper, nutmeg and heavy cream.  Maybe add a few toasted pumpkin seeds on top? Yummy.

 

 

 

A Spicy Perspective

 

Black and Orange Forbidden Rice

Here's an interesting one. Apparently 'Forbidden Rice' is an actual type of rice. This recipe combines the rice with roasted acorn squash, pecans, diced shallots and savory fall seasonings.

 

 

Have you tried any of these recipes? What are you favorite ways to eat squash? 





It's Summer, Remember?

I’m digging the cool temps this summer. Days spent working in the yard and riding without sweat dripping down your back. Nights with the windows open, the crisp breeze carrying the faint smell of faraway bonfires and fresh cut grass.  

 

Alas, it’s making me pine for pumpkin bread, hot cider and a walk down a crunchy, leaf-covered trail.

So in an effort to keep in mind that it is, in fact, summertime, here are some bright and sunny things from around the web.

 

DIY Painted rug via A Beautiful Mess

 

 

 

Welcoming Print

 

 

 

Rottweilers thinking they are bird dogs

 

 

 

Michigan Brewed Summer Ale

 

 

 

I hope everyone is enjoying the season in their own special way!

 

xx.