Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I have a busy weekend of decorating a cooking ahead of me - right now I am taking some time to load my ipods and be ready with lots of music to get me through it all!  I have the Danish exchange student coming over this afternoon as she is so excited about Thanksgiving she offered to help me bake and prep everything.  Child labour at it's best! 

I am completely unprepared this year - I've been so busy with the police committee and Royal Ribbons, I've hardly had time to think about TG dinner.  Fortunately I managed to get to the grocery store yesterday in the morning so I'm now armed with ham, turkey, veggies for roasting, cream for whipping, pumpkin, apples, and lots of wine. I might just be able to pull this off!  The Suburban Prince is home today so he will get to work on decorating - can you believe I don't have a single potted mum at my front door?  

If it's not Thanksgiving in your area, I wish you a happy weekend!

If you can, please leave your comment here instead of on Twitter. Thanks!


Have a fabulous day!

PS....I've noticed the photos have vanished from lots of my blog posts...anyone else having this problem?

It has been a long, long time...

It has been months since I wrote a real blog post!  This summer has been so busy and with everyone leaving the blogisphere it has been hard to stay motivated.  But, here I am, determined to give it another try!

I started the summer with every intention of expanding my business and adding new products.  Instead I wound up as chair of the committee to keep our local police force.  I had no idea what I was doing but I took it on...because that's the kind of crazy person I am. Suddenly everyone knows my name, I am interviewed by reporters every week, councilors and police chiefs take my calls, and the mayor probably hates me.  Well, it's her own fault.  Oh and in a couple of weeks I am supposed to drop the puck at a hockey opening game. 

We held a march and a rally last week and it was a huge success!  Hundreds of people came out in the rain and we gave out balloons and pins so they could show their support.  We had a pipe band and a police escort (much to the mayor's annoyance) and we walked from the top of town right past the police station to the park where we spoke from the back of a pickup truck about the important of democracy.  After my little speech I went up to council chambers to deliver a speech on behalf of the people of our town.  I toss around phrases like 'legitimate public consultation' a lot these days.

I miss cocktails at lunch.

Things have become more manageable now so I am back to focusing on business and family.  Last week I tackled the mountain range of laundry that has been waiting for me for week, and launched three new products in my shop!  I am now carrying buttons, magnets and pocket mirrors - all of them can be customized!

This is the first set of designs - based on Downton Abbey of course!  The full set of 15 drawings is on my Royal Ribbons site and are all available as magnets, buttons or mirrors...feel free to mix and match!  It's time to start thinking about stocking stuffers...

I am the counsellor for the Rotary exchange student from Denmark.  She is a very nice girl but it was a busy busy time at the end of August when she arrived.  I had to get her registered for school, bank account, library card etc.  On top of the police committee!  But we managed and she is having a great time - I made us smores on the beach at a corn roast a couple of weeks ago and she loved them!

The Little Prince has moved from nursery school to Montessori school...he seems to have adapted without any trouble and dove right in.  I thought there would be sobbing and clinging but nope...he barely said 'bye' to me when I left him there!

Besides all that, I shot some guns, did some day trips, did some needlepoint, saw a big band concert, and kept plugging along with my family tree research. 

I am looking ahead to the fall fair next weekend and Thanksgiving in a few weeks - all the holidays seem a bit early this year!  I need to start thinking about pumpkin pies, turkey, and a big ham!  Every year I think I will try some new things but I always stick with what works so I am afraid there will be nothing new to show or report this year, which is a shame because Pinterest is such a resource for ideas! 

I joined Tumblr - I have no idea why tho.  I checked it out and couldn't figure out the point...now I have come to terms with it even tho I still don't really understand it.  But, there are lots of Downton fans there so we talk about Season3 and all we think will happen.

And that's all I have to report for the moment. I hope you had a great summer and I can't wait to read all of your autumn posts!

If you can, please leave your comment here instead of on Twitter. Thanks!

Have a fabulous day!

Happy Thanksgiving America!

Since it was Thanksgiving here more than a month ago it's just Thursday here but I couldn't let today go by without wishing all of my amazing American readers a very happy Thanksgiving!

I know Brown Eyed Belle is having a great one!  In 2011 she went from a pretty girl to a pretty girlfriend and last night became a pretty fiancee!  Congratulations!

Another bloggy friend has the most beautiful of secrets to tell her family today.  My lips are sealed but I will be thinking about her today too!

I am grateful for all of my readers!  You make writing this blog even more fun and give me new goals every day.  Without you this blog would not be what it is and I thank you for the inspiration.


Have a fabulous day!

Autumn around the palace!

Autumn has always been my favourite season so I enjoy decorating and getting everything ready for Thanksgiving, a chill in the air and all of the Halloween fun!

On Thanksgiving day I had every intention of taking photos of everything but I just got too busy with the cooking and entertaining.  I did a repeat of a lot of my Thanksgiving favourites from last year like my acorn cookies, apple pocket pies, and mini pumpkin pies with a single oak leaf on top.

Just before we sat down for dinner I decided to take a few photos of the table before it was ravaged.  An amazing thing happens when I pull out a camera in front of our parents...for some reason they will all get their cameras out too!  If I stopped to take a photo of say, a tree...they would all start taking photos of the tree too, even tho they have no idea why they are taking photos of it.  So, while I was trying to take a few photos of the Thanksgiving table, for the BLOG (!!!), they gathered around and started taking photos too, with no idea what they are doing, flashes going and finally I had to tell them all to stop.  Number 1 because my inlaws need a special battery for their camera yet wont order one so they are in the way yet only able to take 2 photos before the regular batteries die then spend the next 20 minutes complaining about it and, Number 2, my parents have had a digital camera for almost two years yet refuse to get a computer (yes, they are those people) so they have never printed a photo, seen them except for on the little camera screen and for some reason wont take the little SD card to Wallie's to have them printed there.  So honestly, who knows why any of them had to get in my way.  The Suburban Prince says it's like when Japanese tourists see a baby panda.

Anyhooooooo - since Thanksgiving day the cookies have been eaten, the table is back to being the Royal Ribbons headquarters and I found all I managed to get were four photos of the table.  Hmpfh!

 

The Thanksgiving table is full of leaves, pumpkins, acorns and candles!

 

I made spice acorn cookies and packaged them for each place setting.  

The ribbon on each wine glass saying Happy Thanksgiving and can be ordered at www.Royal-Ribbons.com

I love all of my different pumpkins!  Especially the glittery ones!

I added a leaf shaped chocolate to each place setting to keep the autumn theme going!

The wall unit was emptied and then filled with leaf garland and lanterns.

The camels were in this section rather than on the table this year. 

I wont even embarrass myself by admitting how many dark chocolate balls were in this vase compared to when I took the photo!

Little leaf dishes are scattered about the house filled with chocolates!

 

Easiest autumn decor ever!  A large vase, leaf garland, dogwood branches and autumn coloured ornaments!

 

Outside I got mums in shades of orange and yellow - they looked so much better a few weeks ago before the rains flattened everything.  I love my little welcome bears!

I think the steps to the house look great!

 

A splash of pink and a home grown pumpkin!

 

The front door wreath and garland.  We are the only house on the street to decorate.

 

The jack-o-lantern the Little Prince carved last weekend!

Have a fabulous day!

Friday's Random Thoughts

Happy Friday!  I had a very busy week and will be spending all day today dealing with all the little things I need to take care of to get us back on track!

- I have already bought a Christmas present.  For the same person I bought for in the summer last year!  I have also picked out a few other things I know they would love which puts this person a the top of my 'Easiest To Shop For' list!

- It's amazing where life has taken me...suddenly I am very interested in what the top toys are for Christmas this year and making sure I get them now before I have to fight a pack of wild, last minute moms at the mall.  I used to feel this way about shoes.  Okay, I still do...but who knew a toy would be so important!  I called Tarjay, had them put the toy at customer service and then called my mom, who was in Florida at the time, and told her to go get it for me.  She said she was told Tarjay doesn't normally do that sort of thing so I must be quite persuasive!

- Thanksgiving was a success!  Thank you all for the warm holiday wishes!  I managed to get a few photos so I will post them soon!

-We had a provincial election here - the Liberals won again but this time with a minority government.  They wont 53 seats and the other two parties won 54 seats combined.  This means they can vote together to outnumber the Liberal government.  We had this on a federal level for quite a long time and they Governor General approved the dissolution of the government a couple of times and finally the ruling party won the majority and now things can be accomplished!

- I am planning to attend the Rotary conference in 2 weeks.  I wasn't going to go because I just wanted to go for one day but it's 3 or 4 hours away but...one of our members has a private plane.  Mmm hmm.  I will be flown there and back.  Just the way life is meant to be!  I was born for this!

- The divorcing neighbours are at it again.  The police were there one day this week and MrsDivorce was sitting in her car sobbing.  It was noonish so I went over to see if she wanted me to take her kids and give them lunch...no one heard or saw me walking up (not that I was trying to be stealthy wearing a hot pink polo shirt) so I heard the police telling her 'It will get easier' which makes me think MrDivorce called the police this time to get her to leave.  I know they let their housekeeper go...and MrDivorce was seen taking photos of his car like he was selling it or something.  The plot thickens. 

- The Little Prince still comes up with wacky sayings...this week he has been prancing about the house like he is riding a horse yelling 'Yippee-ky-yay!'  Errrrrr, ok little one!

- I finally finished reading The Help and loved it!  I thought the end was perfect!

- We are invited to a wedding tomorrow and I have no desire to go.  It's 3 hours away and the bride has had nothing to do with me for the entire relationship she has had with my friend.  She got pregnant 5 minutes into their dating life which happens, but she is a nurse and 40 years old so she has a clue about where babies come from.  Also, what woman in this day and age has $ex with a man without any protection all the while telling him she cant get pregnant???  Oh right, a man trapper.  Anyhoo, I suspect she hasn't wanted him speaking much to me as the only time I ever hear from him is when she is at work or if he is driving somewhere.  I sent them a present when their baby was born and she didn't even say a word to me.  I got a texted thank you from him so I am thinking they will get a texted 'Best Wishes' from me tomorrow.  It's not like we were planning on staying for the dinner (which is 5 hours after the ceremony!!) and 6 hours on the road seems like a lot for a wedding ceremony. 

- Is texted the correct past tense of text?


Have a fabulous day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I will be spending today getting pies baked and dessert prepped.  Our parents are coming tomorrow for dinner so it will be a full day of cooking turkey and ham, roasties, veggies, stuffing and all the traditional Thanksgiving foods.

Every year at this time I like to revisit my very first post.  One of these days I will write an updated version including all of the new things I am grateful for.


Have a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Autumn Errands!

Since it is Thanksgiving this weekend I have been busy running errands, getting groceries, going from store to store and generally going crazy.  It has been all about casual comfy clothes this week - and my favourite pair of shoes!

Have a fabulous day!

An Autumn Explosion!

This weekend I pulled out all of my Autumn bins and dragged them to the living room so I could work on getting ready for Thanksgiving.  It looked like Autumn exploded in my house!

 

Where to begin?!

 

How do I have this much Autumn decor?

 

Pumpkins and orange abound!

Autumn and Thanksgiving cards need to be written and mailed!

Ornaments need to be hung, ribbon needs to be tied!

Table and kitchen linens need to be ironed!

 

Garland needs to be hung....everywhere!

I thought I would get a head start and went to put this year's paper plates in the pie boxes for sending leftovers home...they dont fit.  Le sigh.  Fortunately I had more from last year!

Everything that came out of this box smells amazing!  

Autumn, Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin and of course, Leaves.

Have a fabulous day!

Easy Autumn Decor

With a 2.5 year old child in our house we have to come up with simple and sturdy decorating ideas.  Just before Thanksgiving I realised we really need something for the cabinet at the front door to make our entryway feel homey and warm....

A large vase stuffed with an autumn leaf garland and filled with dogwood branches.  I put some rocks in the bottom of the vase to keep it from tipping over.  I found autumn coloured balls last year at Christmas and I had them tucked away in my autumn storage bins.  My autumn friendship gifts are dwindling in numbers which makes me very happy!  An autumn scented candle completes the scene and fills the front hall with all of the autumn smells we associate with the season.

My kitchen table in our very ugly kitchen.  Renovations are such a commitment which is why we have taken to long to tackle it.  A tall candle stick, orange mums and a sparkly jack-o-lantern.  I straighten the table cloth about a hundred times a day and a certain little boy has yet to master the art of sitting at the table without dragging everying off of it.  The candle was a Moroccan spice scented one - it has since burned down and been replaced with other spicey scents.

Have a fabulous day!

Acorn Cookies!

Dont miss my True Prep bracelet giveaway!  And my Happy Baker book giveaway!

Since I had my Autumn cutters out for my apple pie crust I thought it would be fun to make acorn cookies...

I made a basic shortbread dough but used a wheat-free blend instead of traditional flour.  I added lots of cinnamon, allspice and pumpkin pie spice for zesty Autumnal cookies!  Use whichever recipe you like best!

I rolled out the dough and got to work cutting out the little acorns...

...and baked them according to the recipe.  I think they are so cute!

Have a fabulous day!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Have a fabulous day!

My apple pie was a work of art!

I bought these cutters last year and was very excited to use them this year!  I used to oak leaf cutter to make the top of my apple pie for Thanksgiving dinner....

I will be honest and admit I used pie crust from the grocery store (anyone who has a problem with that can come and do my laundry while I make crust from scratch because I just dont have time to dither about with something I can easily purchase and tastes just as good - in fact, people are always asking me for my pastry recipe lol!)  I let the crust warm up enough to take it out of the pan and roll it out.  This is important because when I assembled the crust it amounts to a few layers of dough so they should be thin to not make an inch of top crust.  I used 4 pie crusts to make this pie but it is worth it!

I cut out around 100 leaves and put them in a container between layers of waxed paper and put them in the freezer.  This is the kind of thing that can be prepped in advance so hours aren't spent on one pie in one day.  I filled a 3rd pie crust with my apple pie filling (apples, cinnamon, spices, brown sugar) and rolled out the 4th pie crust to make it thinner before putting it on top of the pie.

I used water to 'glue' the leaves onto the top crust and worked my way around until it was covered.

Ready to go in the oven!

I made a crust protector out of tin foil and put it on the pie halfway through baking to prevent burnt edges.

My finished pie!

Tips...

- Dont let the leaves hang over the edge very much

- Egg wash the top for a more dramatic look

- Pile the apples higher as they will sink a bit when baking



Have a fabulous day!

Pumpkin Pocket Pies!

As our Thanksgiving guests were leaving we gave each one a box with a complete meal in it, one of our friendship gifts and a little pumpkin pocket pie.

I used my pocket pie mold in the pumpkin shape (it is in the dishwasher and I couldn't find a photo of it online) so it was very easy to put together all the little pies in one evening.

I bought puff pastry, rolled it out, cut out the shape, filled them and used this handy little tool to seal them!  I popped them in the freezer and the day before our Thanksgiving dinner I baked them.  A note about puff pastry - save yourself the aggrivation and just buy it.  It is very hard to make successfully at home.  For the filling I mixed lots of the spices I would use in a pie with canned pumpkin but I left out the egg and milk so the filling was thick and didn't run out all over my oven.  Freezing them before baking helps with this too - I didn't have any seepage!

I nestled each one in green shred, put them in cello bags and tied them with orange raffia.  Our guests got their own personal pumpkin pie to enjoy with their take home dinner!

Have a fabulous day!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

The Suburban Prince, the Little Prince and I would like to extend our warmest wishes to our American friends for a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We hope you have lots of turkey, hugs from family and friends, relive old memories as well as make some new ones.






From our home to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!


Have a fabulous day!

How not to bake a pumpkin pie!

Please enter my Thanksgiving giveaway!

The weekend started so well. Everything was in place. Everyone was co-operating. The day was moving along with the timing of a military operation.

On Saturday morning we all got up, got ready and dressed and headed out the door with our eye on the pumpkin patch in the next town. The little prince looked adorable in a little polo shirt (yes Beth, the collar is already starting to creep up!), jeans, new shoes and the cutest little zip up hoody from The Baby Place. I looked just casual enough in jeans, an oxford shirt, pearls and a puffy vest. The Suburban Prince, in jeans and a nice shirt, was armed with his camera and I had a pocket full of cookies. The Little Prince ran around the pumpkin patch with such glee! I love watching him take in the world. He wore a hand crocheted hat that lets everyone know he is the prince of the pumpkin patch!

After the pumpkin patch we came home so the Little Prince could have his nap, we could have lunch and get on with making the pumpkin pie and the other food we were taking to Thanksgiving dinner.

I gathered the ingredients for the pie - the usual items like pumpkin (surprise!), sugar, evaporated milk, eggs, spices and a pie shell (no I don't make my own pie crust, I prefer to choose my battles). I got the pumpkin filling all mixed up, into the pie shell and into the oven. Perfect! Everything was moving along smoothly as I opened the next can of pumpkin to prepare the pumpkin-chocolate cake I know the Suburban Prince loves. Would you believe I even got to sit on the couch for a little while to watch RHNJ/ATL/NYC! The Suburban Prince was out getting something and the house was quiet and peaceful.

When the timer dinged for the pie I leapt up, eager to keep my big plans for the day moving along. I grabbed the oven mitts and cracked the oven door open just a bit to make sure the pie was done....it smelled so good! I put the oven mitts on and picked up the tray the pie was baking on. Pain. PAIN! I tried to push the tray with the pie on it back into the oven while trying to figure out why my hand was on fire (not literally, it just felt like it). Unfortunately someone who is in pain might not have the best aim and the tray didn't quite make it back onto the oven rack - I watched it tilt forward, teeter, then plop - it fell forward and the pie spread itself between the door and the crack between the door and the oven. This might have been a good time to start drinking.

There was nothing to do about the pie at that moment so I investigated and found a hole in my oven mitt! Right in the crease between the thumb and hand part so now I have a lovely little blister and a new pair of oven mitts.

As I was scraping the pie off of the oven door I could hear the Little Prince crying *sigh* and because you know life never hands any mom/princess just one disaster at a time when I got upstairs to get him I discovered he was soaked, head to toe. I would love to think my life is fabulous and glamorous all the time but occasionally I have to change a diaper and clean up the little body the diaper is wrapped around.

Just as I was putting the Little Prince in his high chair so I could get on with the rest of the baking, such as making a second pumpkin pie, the Suburban Prince walked in the door. He almost walked right back out but being the good man he is he opted to take his chances and stayed to find out how my hand was, what he could do to help and to find out if I think the first pie was still edible. Sometimes all I need to do is glare.

Yes, that is my pie. Well, what I managed to scrape off of the oven door!

I asked the Suburban Prince to go to the grocery store to get more pie supplies and to drop off a little Thanksgiving gift to a friend of mine in town. He told her all about the pie catastrophe and she immediately called to thank me for the gift and find out if we would all survive the rest of the day! Sometimes all we need is a sanity chat with a friend to keep us going!

A little while later the Suburban Prince came home with the supplies I needed, the announcement that we would not be trying to go to the zoo as well that day and a DQ Pumpkin Pie Blizzard. You know those moments when there is no doubt you married the right man? This was one of them.

Bolstered by my ice cream I headed back into the kitchen and managed to produce the most perfect pumpkin pie I have ever seen and it made it to Thanksgiving dinner in one piece! Much to the Suburban Prince's relief!

Have a fabulous day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is the last day for my October giveaway! Please enter by midnight tonight! Click on the photo of the pumpkin soaps on the right hand side!

It is Thanksgiving weekend here so we have a busy weekend planned. Today my in-laws are coming to babysit so I can go out for lunch and a manicure with a friend. Hard life eh!

Tomorrow we are taking the Little Prince to the zoo and the pumpkin patch then when we get home we need to prep food for Sunday.

On Sunday we will pack up the car and all head to my parents house for Thanksgiving dinner. I am making pumpkin pie, brussell sprouts and stuffing. My in-laws will be there too so they will probably bring something yummy too!

On Monday we will relax and catch up. And rest!

I wont be blogging much for a couple of days because I wont be home a lot so please have a wonderful weekend and if you are Canadian have a terrific Thanksgiving!

Here is the recipe for brussell sprouts - I know most people think they don't like them, in fact I hated them until I had them made this way and now they are like candy for me!




4lbs brussell sprouts
1lb bacon
olive oil
salt and pepper
sunflower seeds (optional)
raisins (optional)

Preheat to oven to 400 degrees.

Peel and half the brussell sprouts. Cut up the bacon and toss in a baking pan with the brussell sprouts, salt and pepper and a sprinkle of olive oil.

Bake everything for 35-40 minutes. Toss with sunflower seeds and raisins and serve!


Have a fabulous day!

Random things I am looking forward to!

Please enter my October giveaway!

I took a couple of weeks off from the social scene and now I am back in the game!

Here are some things I have coming up:

1. Lots of toddler activities - yes I know, not really MY social scene but the Little Prince is a good ice breaker.

2. Lunch and manis with a new friend on Friday sans kiddies! She suggested 'we ditch the kids' and go out - I almost fainted since getting the moms around here to go out and be even a shadow of their former selves is more work than it is worth!

3. Thanksgiving this coming weekend! Yay! I love Thanksgiving and turkey dinner! We are going to my parents house for the day and my in-laws will be there too. I will make the pumpkin pie, brussel sprouts and stuffing! YUM!

4. Meeting Diana Gabaldon again. She wrote the Outlander books and will be in Toronto on the 15th. Her newest book just came out and she is on her tour at the moment! A friend and I are going to dinner in the city then to the book signing!

5. Dinner with an old friend from school. Isn't Facebook wonderful? I have been able to reconnect with lots of people I knew when I was little!

6. Halloween! The Little Prince will be going out with a little girl we know - they don't live in town here so we have offered up our little red wagon for the two little ones to get from door to door. We have made a tradition of hosting a Halloween dinner party after the T&Ting is done. I make chili and garlic bread and we all get to relax! I saw some really cute appetizer ideas I so want to try. I will be taking lots of photos!

7. A road trip to Watertown, NY. There are lots of box mall type stores there and a big Target to we are going to get our shop on! My neighbour/new friend wants to go so we are planning to kidnap another neighbour/friend and have a girls day of shopping!

8. The grand opening party for a chocolate company close to me. Yes...C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E! They make some of the most amazing chocolates and I cant wait to see the new shop and try their new creations! I am also going to see if the owner wants to perhaps maybe offer up a box of chocolates for a giveaway!

9. Being a guest at a sorority meeting. It has always been a life dream to be in a sorority. I never got to go to university so as much as I wanted to I didn't get to join Delta Delta Delta (I mean really, who wouldn't love answering the phone with 'Delta Delta Delta, can I help ya, help ya, help ya?'). I found out there is a sorority not linked to universities called Beta Sigma Phi so I am going to check them out and see if it is for me! Wish me luck! I could be a sorority girl soon enough!

10. Hearing from my soldiers! Both of the soldiers I adopted in the spring are out of Afghanistan and in Cyprus right now for some rest. They will be back in Canada soon and I cant wait to know they are both safe and sound and back home!

What are some things you are looking forward to?

Have a fabulous day!

I love Autumn!

My heart really swells when I see this picture!

I am jumping on the bandwagon and making my list of the reasons I love (!!!!!) Autumn. Autumn really is my favourite season since I'm not really much of a summer person. I love when the heat breaks and the sun is still shining. Sweaters and crisp days just thrill me! So here is my list of favourite Autumn things:

1. Sweaters. As a Princess of some substance I am always happy to put away the form fitting summer clothes in favour of something a little more forgiving. Every September I pull out my sweater collection and look forward to sporting turtlenecks on a daily basis!

2. Changing Leaves. I adore the colours! Crisp leaves under my feet, the smell of them in the chilly air, watching them drift down from the trees while I am driving around. *sigh* So pretty! I even drove to Vermont just to see their famous Autumn foliage!

3. Crisp Air. I find it so invigorating! Nothing makes me want to spend time outside being active than a nice cool day!

4. Pumpkin Everything! I love pumpkin pie, cookies, fudge and anything else pumpkin and spicy! I always do lots of baking at this time of year and our good friend the pumpkin plays a big roll! Even my famous low fat chocolate cake has pumpkin in it!!

5. Hot Drinks. I love curling up on the couch with a blanket and a big mug of hot coffee/Ovaltine/tea and a good book - or active Little Prince lol!

6. Apples. I love going to the farm to get apples - I bring them all home, prep them and turn them into Caramel Apple Cinnamon Pie! Yum!

7. Staying Dry. I really cant stand sweating/perspiring/glistening/humidifying at all and when Autumn rolls around I know I will stay fresh no matter how active I am!

8. Getting the house back in order. Being the neat freak/organizing diva that I am it irritates me all summer that the house never seems to be at neat and tidy as I would like. Once Autumn comes and the pool is closed and the Suburban Prince is back at work I dig in and get the house organized once again top to bottom!

9. TV. I am a TV addict! I freely admit it. I love when all the shows (old and new!) start again. I look forward to cozy evenings in front of the tv!

10. Autumn Mums. I love to decorate my front step with mums and other Autumn decor. Americans so know how to decorate for the seasons and I have found some fabulous decor while on trips to the US. I love Big Lots for their affordable garlands, wreaths and more! Photos will be posted when I decorate this year :O)

11. Candles. At this time of year I start burning candles again. Every day I light a lovely spice scented candle to fill the house with the smell of the season. If you haven't tried PartyLite candles I suggest you find a representative ASAP! You don't need to host a party or anything to buy candles so don't worry about that - they just make the best candles I have ever used in my life! They burn so clean and they scent the whole house!

12. Hallowe'en! I have always loved Hallowe'en. Ever since I was little I loved dressing up and creating my costumes! Now I get to pour that passion into the Little Prince's costume! See a previous post for a photo of his costume for this year...and the Suburban Prince says he is going to dress up as the Empire State Building...hmmmm. Either way it will be lots of fun taking the Little Prince out Trick or Treating!

13. Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving is in October the leaves are still changing, the sun is still shining and the days are still long enough to enjoy them! I love the Thanksgiving adventure of getting to our parents' houses. It always seems to be a lovely bright crisp day and what better way to spend it than with a drive through the country followed by a big turkey dinner! I always make the pumpkin pie mmmm and I top it off with vanilla whipped cream! This year the Little Prince will get to have some turkey and stuffing!

14. Harvesting our garden. I love soup! And every year we harvest all of our veggies and make soup and salsa! The Suburban Prince and I spend 2 whole days chopping, cooking, and canning so we have lots of wonderful preserves for the whole winter!

15. Squirrels. At this time each year I buy a big bag of peanuts in the shell and spend time every afternoon throwing them to the squirrels. I love watching them scamper about chasing peanuts then running off to hide them!


Since I mentioned My Famous Low Fat Chocolate Cake I thought I would share this super easy recipe! You will be able to pick up the 2-3 ingredients today and have it on the table by dinner time!

1 Package of brownie mix.
1 Can of pumpkin (14oz approx)
Peanut Butter (optional)

Mix the brownie mix with the can of pumpkin and pour mixture into a round baking pan. You might want to spray a little Pam onto the pan first just in case! Drizzle some peanut butter on top of the mixture. Pop the pan into a 350degree oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool and enjoy! You can store this nicely in the fridge too!


What are your favourite things about Autumn?

Have a fabulous day!