A GATHERED collection of autumn: recipes, leaf tours, and fall decor

Fall is a longtime favorite season of mine.  I feel like Goldilocks and the Three Bears: "it isn't too hard and it isn't too soft, it isn't hot and it isn't too cold...it is JUST RIGHT".  Autumn days are truly "just right".  It's almost impossible to stand outdoors and inhale this season and not feel inner joy.  All of God's angels are speedily working, as they paint over every single green leaf, brushing strokes of deep browns, neon yellows,  and glowing reds.  In the early morning, the air begins with a clean and chill crisp but peaks midday with perfect warmth.  The nights begin early, coaxing each of us indoors to gather together.  We cuddle up with the softest of blankets and light a candle, making our home sweet home smell like a candied apple! 

We use our weekend afternoons to crunch across leaves, sip on cider from a hot thermos with mittens over our fingers, and savor the wild colors of nature.  

In this post, I've raked together like a pile of leaves, an entire fall resource collection from my blog.  I took all the cozy fall and autumn flavored good stuff and put them all in one little spot...right here.   

In this post: 

fall recipes with apples and pumpkin,

fall decor, fall fireplace mantels, 

and fall scenery tours. 

So grab a mug of steaming soup, curl up on your couch, and let's get to it! ;)

NOTE: click on any of the links below to be taken to the recipe or for more details.

Pass the pumpkin pretty please and
pretty please pass the pumpkin!

First I have TWO ideas for pumpkin SHAPED food, one sweet and one savory:

Little Pumpkin cakes with caramel stems and cream cheese icing

Three Cheese Pumpkin Cheese Ball

Next are TWO super quick n' easy pumpkin desserts:

Tiny Pumpkin Pudding Pastries

Baby Pumpkin Pies in ramekins

 And more pumpkin!

Use festive stencils to create art on your cakes.  Gently lay stencil down, snow some powdered sugar on and you've got a beauty. 

Flavors of fall: Pumpkin Ribbon Cake

And the FINAL pumpkin flavor, two healthy pumpkin breakfasts:

power pumpkin protein shakes

pumpkin raisin spiced oatmeal cups

Now onto the quintessential fall food, 

apples!

Sliced Caramel Apples for Kids

Green Apples with Cheddar fall cut outs for Kids

Chunky Apple Buttermilk Muffins

If you want your home sweet home to smell like heaven: 

Homemade crockpot spiced applesauce

Now onto COOKIES...it's getting serious.

Both of these are maple-flavored sugar cookies.

Almond Acorns

Colored Leaves

 Falling Leaves cascading beautiful sun burnt colors to the earth...

My favorite giant neighborhood tree:
more photos here: "the leaves by hundreds came"

Our Telluride vacation at the Peaks Resort...you've got to click over to see all the other photos.  The leaves literally GLOW in every single breathtaking photo.

Mt. Sneffels

In this older fall leaf Colorado tour from 2009, my boys look so young (and cute!):
Color it Pretty Colorado Leaf Tour on the Grand Mesa

A creative way to save all those collected leaves:

Pressed Leaf Fall Garland

Finally, to complete this post I wanted to finish with some fall decor.

 2010 decor: Feathering our nest for fall

 A fall fireplace mantel:

 
And 2011 fall decor: Autumn Atmosphere

Enjoy every blessed day of these brief and brisk {glorious} days. 
I'll have  brand new 

recipes, decor, and fall tours 

coming later this month!

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This post is linked to: Under the Table & Dreamin, Nifty Thrifty, Seasonal Sundays, Made by You Monday, Met Monday, Tuesday Tutorials and Tips, HOMEWORK: Be Inspired, Tasty Tuesday, Tip Junkie, Get Your Craft On, Works for Me Wednesday, Organize and Decorate Everything, Celebrations at Home,Transformation Thursday, Tablescape Thursday, Strut Your Stuff, 36th Ave, Foodie Friday, Frugal Friday, I'm Lovin It, Tickled Pink, Friday Flair, Design Dazzle, eighteen25, Be Different Act Normal, Funky Junk Interiors, Weekend Wrap Up sew many ways Six Sisters Saturday