A Little Taste of Fall

I love Fall, I think it's my favorite season.  It's a close tie with Spring.  But I'd rather wear boots and sweaters, and I really like making soup.  So, Fall may win.

It's so amazing when all the green trees begin gently changing into bright beautiful colors.

This is our maple tree in our back yard of our house in town.  It is the only Fall like tree we have.

Here some pretty Aspen trees are peaking up from behind one of our barns.

Is anyone else in love with white pumpkins?!  The past two years there have been more of them around, and I'm digging it.

Going from golden to red, from the top down.

This bush sits outside my kitchen window, I adore it.

A snacking horse made his way into my shot.  Snacking horses don't really care if you're trying to get a great photo of the beautiful fall landscape.  If you're where they want to feed they just mosey right on in.

Here's my family's pumpkins we carved the other night.  The one on the right end is my husbands.  Can you guess what it is?  He claims he was being creative,  I think he was just getting worn out after carving three of our children's pumpkins.

I love how tall this grass is.  I am standing for this shot, the grass was as tall as me, so pretty.

And here's my baby kissing "her" horse.  No one officially gave her the colt.  He was born this summer, and since he's a baby and she's our baby I think she figures it's fitting that the horse be hers.  I'm not going to argue with her, and I would like to see someone try.

Aspen trees are the perfect color scheme: black, white, & yellow... perfect.

And here's our dog Gus adorning some pink ear muffs my baby put on him.  It snowed that day (as you can see behind him, gotta love Montana "Falls"), and she thought he needed to stay warm.  He's such a good dog, he kept them on for thirty minutes before they finally slid to his neck.  Then he slept for an hour with them around his neck.  You can't ask more from a dog than to wear ear muffs that his two year old owner puts on him.

Happy Fall everyone.  Hope you are enjoying all the wonderful colors this season brings.

Pecan Pie Bars

I haven't posted in a while.  Things have been a little crazy around here.  I have been cooking a lot, just not posting all the yummy recipes.  Now that we are done with a good friends wedding I can come back to the world of blogging.  And I'm coming back with a bang with these amazing, delicious, and delectable Pecan Pie Bars.  Where actual pecan pie can be too rich for me, these bars are the perfect amount of deliciousness  Plus, there's no fussing with a pastry crust.  So the prep time is minimal  I usually have these whipped up in less than 15 minutes.  These bars are perfect for Fall and the crust is to die for!  Whenever I make these bars I devour them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, & late night snack.  Here's the skinny...
Ingredients
Crust~
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Filling~
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter, melted & cooled
pinch of salt
1 cup whole pecans
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9 by 13 inch baking pan.
Using electric mixer blend together crust ingredients until smooth.  Evenly press crust dough into prepared baking dish.  Bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, beat eggs until bubbly.  Mix in sugar.  Add corn syrup, salt and vanilla.  Mix in melted butter.  Using a spoon stir in both cups of pecans.  Pour filling over the baked crust.  Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool before cutting into squares.  Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Inspiration

Here a few Thanksgiving/Fall inspired photos.  Use them as you will, or just enjoy viewing them today.

Punkins

I think this should be the new official spelling of said word "pumpkin".  We all say it the other way anyhow.  But last I checked Merian-Webster wasn't asking me.  Let's move on.  Don't you just love a season where you can decorate with vegetables & dead foliage... & it looks good.

I love buying tons of pumpkins & gords at a local farm that sits right in town.  I love it for a couple reasons.  First of all I've been going to this farm for produce & pumpkins since I can remember.  & now I take my kids there.

Secondly, I love how this family farm has been in the same spot since the 50's (I think) & the town just had to deal & build up around it.  I love that you drive down the busiest street in our town & you go buy corn fields & pumpkin patches.  I love that this family has sustained their farm & is making a living at it.  Go farmers & ranchers!

Lastly, I love that I found these stinkin' cute mini white pumpkins there this year.  I immediately snatched them up & took them home.

Look how tiny they are.  & the fact that their white makes me so happy.  I don't know why, it just does.

Here they are working their magic.  If I had more money I would buy bucket fulls of these little guys & put them everywhere.

Fall Images

I love that Fall is in full swing up here in the Northwest.  The trees look beautiful, the air is cool & crisp, & sweaters are cozy.  I love sweaters.  Just thought I'd let you know.  Anyway, in celebration of this glorious season I have posted some Autumn inspired images.  You can use them as you wish.  Decorate with them, put em as your screensaver, or just glance at them to brighten your day.

Table Fixin's

A few nights ago I hosted my first dinner party in our new home.  Of course the guests had to sit next to a pile of pictures I've yet to hang.  And if they used the main floor bathroom they had to come into the kitchen to wash their hands.  But nonetheless, we gathered, we conversed, & we ate... fried chicken, tons & tons of chicken that I fried in my new pan.  It's a good thing that the dinner only encompassed my immediate family & only two new people were exposed to our half finished house.  We were celebrating my little brothers engagement & I loved using my kitchen & having plenty of room for everyone to hang out in.  Naturally my table needed a little embellishing to make it dinner party worthy.  I usually leave it bare like this because my kiddos will quickly destroy any decoration I may leave on there for an extended period of time.

This is what I came up with.  My twins needed something to do, so I sent them out in the yard with a bucket & told them to collect pretty Fall leaves & pine cones to decorate the table with.  They liked being part of the project & told all the guests how they helped.  Best part about this decor is that it's mostly free.  I already had the decorative balls, candle holders & antique insulators.  We just laid it all out in a line & it looked lovely.  It even was aesthetically pleasing when the leaves started to dry up the next day, a perfect Fall table.

I used electric candles instead of the real deal.  It's just safer with my brood that way.  My friend Jami had given me the idea of putting an electric candle under antique insulators a while back.  I had been dying to try it & I think it looks great.  I have a ton of these insulators & never quite know how  to use them, this was a perfect solution.  The table looked great & it was so easy, plus its laid back enough that little ones can help.  If you have any good Fall table decorating ideas let me know!