Make It Feel Like Fall

There is something majestic about autumn. 

Some people are inspired by summer sunsets while others live for the sounds of birds returning in spring. I, on the other hand, swoon at the sight of rich fall colors on an overcast day. There isn't a thing about fall that I dislike. It's everything, from the spiced candles to leaves decorating the streets to hay bales. As of recently, I can sit through an entire football game without punching myself in the face. I focus better during the fall months. I'm easily motivated, and I get the comfort of bundling up without freezing to death.

Ever since leaving home I've done my best to make holidays away from home enjoyable. Truthfully, though, fall creeps up on me every time, and just as I realize it's almost winter, I'm finally getting into the fall mood. I mean, I was wearing a bathing suit a few weeks ago and it's almost October. How am I supposed to be ready to break out the pumpkins on such short notice?

Well, I realized I had to take action. I'm not going to let another fall get away from me. I love it too much! I'm also realizing that seasonal atmosphere are not necessarily created on their own. It's one of those obvious realizations you have when you are trying to start your own family and traditions. 

Last weekend I took an unforgettable journey down the aisles of Michael's craft store. That place got my wheels turning like you wouldn't believe. At one point I filled my baby cart and then slapped some sense into myself. I ended up taking most of it out and limiting myself to the things I could buy. I realized a great method to craft shopping is to start in the clearance area. If you can't find what you need there, then you can branch out. Luckily, I found a $22 basket/vase combo marked down to $4. I added a few of my own touches and my kitchen centerpiece was even cuter than I imagined. I bought a few other things like $2 Halloween cookie cutters. If I have them, you better believe I'll use them. Also, I fell in love with these little pumpkins at Walmart that were white with orange and green vertical stripes. 

I am like most other females in that something about the smell and taste of pumpkin makes me want to make out. Lucky for Dalton. I made pumpkin waffles and turkey sausage today for dinner. It's true, they weren't pristine waffles. I had a heck of a time getting them out of the waffle maker. By the time mine ended up on the plate it looked like someone already chewed it up and spit it out. Dalton's little stack looked good enough to take a picture of. I'll be honest, I forgot to put the butter in that the recipe called for. Dalton read the recipe to me while I was rushing around the kitchen. This is also probably why he forgot to mention that the egg whites needed to be beaten with a hand mixer separately from the milk and egg yolk combination that also needed to be beaten. Honestly, they were still really good. And honestly, no one needs a pretty waffle. One thing that I loved about these waffles is the ginger. I didn't have nutmeg and cloves, so we settled for ginger and cinnamon. Delicious.

Here is the cheater's recipe I used. Basically, I made a really complicated recipe simple by mixing everything together in a bowl and forgetting butter :).

1 cup pumpkin
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/4 cup flour
3 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon

Hey, it works. Sometimes, imperfection still tastes good.

Fall is here people! Breathe it all in! Go on a hike and experience that twinge of chill hanging in the air. Plan those outings to the local pumpkin patch and put pumpkin in ... Everything! Here is another good bit of news. You can make soup again. Dalton said I'm allowed to starting October 1.