Great Grapevine

Grapevine wreaths are so versatile, and craft stores like Michael's sell them for fairly cheap.  Late in the summer, I bought two with plans to make a fall wreath and, perhaps, a Halloween wreath.

My fall wreath turned out great! I got the metal insert that says "Autumn Blessings" from Hobby Lobby as well as the garland of acorns and pine cones that I wrapped around the wreath.  I found the garland of fall leaves at the dollar store.  I love it!

For Halloween, I really like what I came up with.  I just thought of the idea to do a wreath this way randomly one day, and I am so proud of it.  I took a black feather boa that has silver "tinsel" in it and wrapped it around the grapevine.  I secured it with black pipe cleaners.  Then in the dollar section at Target, I found the glittery spiders and the glittery wooden word "Boo!"  I used fishing wire to secure them into the wreath, allowing one to dangle.  The final touch (that I hadn't done yet when I took this photo) was to put store-bought spider web on across the wreath.  It turned out super cute!

What do your fall and Halloween wreaths look like? Post your link in the comments section, if you like!

I love FALL!

Y'all, these last few days in South Georgia have been fabulous...I've been loving cool (cold!) temperatures, enjoying abundant sunshine, getting to wear closed-toe shoes and jackets for the first time in a year and a half and eating pumpkin bread.  Fall is my favorite season.  Here are a few reasons why.

1.  autumn decor.  I love the colors of fall and the exciting ways people use them to decorate their homes.  Some of my favorite autumn-inspired projects that I've seen in Blogland lately are  Make It and Love It's Autumn Wheat Basket and The Inspired Room's Gilded Pumpkins (pictured below...image from Country Living).  Better Homes & Gardens (BHG) always has a bunch of great ideas.  Click HERE for a few.

2.  clothes.  When it's time to start wearing longer sleeves, closed-toe shoes, boots and cute jackets, I get really excited!  Something about the fit of fall clothing is comfortable yet flattering.  Some of my favorite fashion sites include InStyle.com (this is their fall fashions link), The Faithful Fashionista and Sensibly Styled.  If you've never visited Shabby Apple, do so now!

  

Harness Boots by BeautifullyAdorned featuring Burberry

3. pumpkin-spiced goodies. Yummy pumpkin-spiced food screams "FALL!"  I love the pumpkin bread recipe that I posted a few weeks ago and have made it several times.  Some new things I want to try include Joy the Baker's Pumpkin Spice Pancakes (pictured below) and Design Mom's Pumpkin Cookies.  Also, my friend Andrea in South Asia has some tasty recipes at SouthAsiaRocks.

4.  soups.  It's the best time of the year for tasty soups, stews and chili.  I am almost always in the mood for a hot bowl of goodness at this time of the year.  Try Eliz's Hamburger Veggie Soup (pictured below) or Simply Recipes' Spicy Vegetarian Chili.  Find a host of other soup recipes at BHG.

Foodie Friday...Pumpkin Bread

 

In honor of FALL, my recipe this week for Eliz's Foodie Friday is Pumpkin Bread.   I first tried this recipe last year in India after my mama sent over a can of pumpkin.  I found the recipe for this tasty treat on the Grace Violet blog HERE.  Here's my adaptation. 

Pumpkin Bread

   

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup water

3 cups sugar

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

(I add 1 tsp of vanilla extract to the wet ingredients.)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (that's 175 C for you folks not in the U.S.).  Grease whatever baking dishes you are going to use.  I used my Pampered Chef stoneware mini loaf pan plus a cool little muffin tin-type thing that looks like pumpkins!  I made 4 mini loafs and 12 muffin-sized pieces with this batter.  Each mini loaf had about 1 cup of batter, and each muffin-sized piece had about 1/2 cup of batter.

In as big a mixing bowl as you have, mix the wet ingredients (pumpkin, eggs, oil, water and vanilla extract) with the sugar.  Blend well.

In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon).  Then slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl with the wet ingredients until "just blended." Pour the mixture into your greased pans. 

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Then, enjoy the goodness!

Easy as pie.

Thanks, Grace Violet, for the excellent recipe!

It's Fall, Y'all!

Even though the weather in South Georgia still feels like summer, I'm still wearing my flip-flops and the leaves aren't changing yet, I know it's fall. And how do I know that?

This:

The smell of peanuts being picked.

I love the smell of the earth during harvest season for some reason. Whenever I smell it, it conjures up the memories of my childhood when I used to ride with my Papa Milton in his pick-up while he was hauling trailers full of just-picked peanuts to the local peanut company.

I also know it's fall because I'm eating a lot of these.

Boiled Peanuts

A Southern delicacy, boiled peanuts could probably be considered "the official snack food of the South."

If you're not from these parts and are unfamiliar with boiled peanuts, click HERE. You start by pulling up some green ("raw") peanuts, picking them off the plant and then washing them.

Place as many as you can get in a large pot to boil. Season with as much salt as you like and let them slowly boil for about three hours. If you prefer, add Cajun seasonings with the salt.  It's your preference.  Taste them along the way to see how they're coming. After they are completely boiled, let them soak in the brine for a while to absorb some more of that saltiness. Eat 'em warm or after cooled down with an ice-cold Coca Cola. 

There's nothing like Georgia peanuts right from your papa's farm and boiled by your grannie.