For the last month I’ve been told by my son, David, that it’s time to put out fall decorations. He would come home and say, “—- and —- have their decorations already up!”. 🙂 He loves Halloween! The decorations, the pumpkins, the scary monsters, the costumes, and of course the candy! I guess he gets his love for scary things from Andrew because Andrew loves all the scary horror movies. However, if we were to take David to a haunted house or something he would probably freak out and hate it! So there’s that side of him too. Therefore we don’t over do it around here on the scary. 🙂

I went fall decoration shopping last week, and found some really cute items. I then came home, cleaned house, and set up all the fall decorations. David was very pleased when he arrived home from school to find that we have a decorated house just like most other people. 🙂 Here’s what our fireplace mantel looks like! I’m not an interior decorator by any means, and so when I do something like this I’m always hesitant to post pictures. At the same time, I’m feeling pretty accomplished! 😉

All the fall decorating and cooler weather has really put me in the mood for fall! I love and hate fall for different reasons. I love the cooler weather, the festivities, and the food. I hate that all the plants outside are dying which gives everyone around here allergies, and the fact that really cold weather is just around the corner.

David has also been super excited about picking out a pumpkin, and so we took the kids to the pumpkin patch this weekend! The farm had bounce houses, a little train ride, animals to pet and feed, pumpkins, and more! Emma is afraid of the bounce houses, but David had a blast. So while David was bouncing away, Emma had her picture made and played on the playground, and Samuel hung out with Andrew. Literally. 🙂

David and Emma had fun on the train ride. Emma was so cute. You could only see her little hands hanging onto the sides as they rode around. She also made sure to ride in the yellow barrel, her favorite color.

The most exciting part though was the picking of pumpkins! David wanted the biggest pumpkin he could find. Emma picked the most disgruntled, oddly shaped pumpkin for whatever reason. It was so hideous that we talked her into a slightly more promising pumpkin. Then we picked a Samuel size pumpkin. 🙂

I love going to the pumpkin patch! It’s a great way to spend time together!

We can’t have all this wonderful talk about fall, and not include some of the hearty, sweet, and delicious food too! I am also very excited and relieved to tell you that our kitchen renovation is finally complete! They installed our counter tops just last week! They are so amazing! It completely makes the kitchen pop! I just sit and stare at them. I will walk through the house and suddenly find myself in a trance, forgetting what I was walking through the kitchen for! I also feel like a professional chef when cooking, like I should have my own show or something! Okay, maybe I’m that’s a little too far, but you get the idea! 🙂

Let’s do a little Before and After review!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

We’ve been doing some amazing cooking too! Emma’s helped me make pizza, David wanted to make spider cookies, and I also whipped up one of my fall favorite soups, broccoli and cheese soup, to name a few!

Pizza is a favorite around here. I guess kids everywhere love pizza, and it’s no different at our house! I generally cheat on the crust, and use the Pillsbury crust mix. It’s just faster than making my own from scratch. I make two pizzas. One pepperoni and one sausage. I brown some breakfast sausage, yes that’s right, breakfast sausage. I know it sounds weird, but it taste great! Top the crust with pizza sauce, the cooked sausage (drain the fat off), and cheese (I generally use Parmesan, sharp cheddar, and mozzarella). Bake at 475 until crusts look crispy.

David’s favorite Spider cookies: I first did this a couple years ago, and it continues to be one of the things David asks for every fall. It’s a simple peanut butter cookie, with mini Reese’s cup on top. Then decorate with eyes and frosting to make the spider legs. Here is the peanut butter cookie recipe I use. They use a truffle or something for their spider, but I’ve found the peanut butter cups work great. A couple tips for decorating; Let the cookie cool almost completely. It helps if it is slightly warm because when you put the peanut butter cup on top you want the chocolate to melt just enough that it will stick to the cookie when cooled completely. There are also a couple ways to do the eyeballs. You can buy candy eyes and stick them on using the decorative frosting, or you can be like me and just use beaded sprinkles. If using the beaded sprinkles you may need to melt the peanut butter cups just enough to stick the eyeballs onto the chocolate.

My favorite Slow Cooker Broccoli and Cheddar Soup by Ree: This is great for two reasons. It taste amazing, better than the soup at Panera Bread if you can imagine that. Two, you throw everything into the crockpot and that’s pretty much it! Don’t be like me and forget to buy some crusty bread to go with it! It really needs it to help sop up all that delicious cheesiness!

Happy Fall,

PK