The Joys of Fall

• Foliage.  My freshman year of college, nestled in the Shenandoah Valley, I remember being struck by the vivacious plethora of colors adorning the mountains.  I still have 2 leaves I plucked off the sidewalk and tucked them away in my collegiate dictionary.  It's fun to stumble upon the reminders of Shenandoah autumn when I resort to Webster's old school invention.  Last weekend, one of my best friends and I trekked to visit my sis in Buffalo, New York.  We walked into Canada (and were escorted back into America), played tourist at Niagara Falls, and donned the hat of 'leaf peeper' on our day trip to "Pumpkinville".  The leaves were so vivid...and the homemade sugar-coated pumpkin donuts were nothing short of simple, country decadence!

A fantastic Niagara Falls perspective

2 of my favorite ladies :)

Walking into Canada!  Fun fact: to leave America = Free; to reenter = $.50

• Applesauce.  Mmmm...I've always loved a good 1/2 cup of Mott's cinnamon in my lunchbox.  My world was turned upside-down a few years ago when I realized how easy it is to make homemade applesauce!!  8ish apples (my favorite is Gala), 1/3 c. water, 2 t. lemon juice, 2 T. brown sugar, cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (if I'm feeling feisty, throw in pears/peaches/strawberries), a slow cooker on low, and 6-7 hours = warm, sweet fall bliss.  Yes, it is quicker to make the sauce on the stove, but then you don't have aromas wafting throughout the house for the better part of a day.  After 6 or so hours, I portion some chunky applesauce for Brooks, and blend the rest for me, the resident texture-tarian.  God it's good.

We puppy-sat Ruby's brother Toby this weekend.  This is the twins eating an apple peel from my most recent applesauce endeavor.  I couldn't resist capturing this very "Lady and the Tramp"-esque moment.  

• Funny dog costumes.  I'm not a fan of dressing up myself but wow is it fun to dress the pup up.  Last year, she was a butterfly and her "cousin", Lucy, was a flower.  This year, Ruby will be her fantasy chew toy...a squirrel.  She refuses to move an inch but looks cute and becomes the butt of jokes while playing dress-up.  If only Ruby could talk...I'm sure she's warning my future un-born children to run while they can.



Ruby aka Rocky the Squirrel 

• Sweaters and moccasins.  The epitome of fall, to me, is the feeling of a chilled face and hands with fuzzy moccasins on my toes and cozy sweaters.  I love the shoulder season; it's too cold for potential indecent exposure, yet too warm to be one with the abominable snowman.  It says...perfect...and awesome.

via ugg.com

via Macy's - look how cozy!