Monday, November 10, 2014

Window pictures of FALL: autumn home decor 2014

fall home 2014

Hooray! I finally managed to catch up on our life's little timeline on my blog.  Now I am sharing current stuff...like fall leaf color adventures in Aspen, and our home all adorned for this rustic, natural, warm-colored season.  


Welcome inside our fallish home.



Top right is the basket I made last fall.


Our giant pressed leaf 


Baby pumpkins in wooden bowls
This Amish handmade table runner is a gift from my mom.


These little guys are Titus' favorites.


First cozy fire of the season!



My new favorite cookbook on the coffee table


Our bathroom is stocked with handmade soap for these cold months of hot baths.


Me and my book

some photos via @mooreminutes Instagram

Chris surprised me with the perfect new purse earlier this year and I was excited to use it now, since it matches the season. ;)



Fall gold leaf aspen mantel





Windows extend our home from the cozy walls around us 
to the great big world outside of us. 



 Every square and rectangle window to our backyard
 is a beautiful picture that I can never get enough of!


These beautiful fall days just beg us to come outside!


Our hanging summer flower planters 
become cozy baskets for bright orange pumpkins.  






Aspen trees are my favorite.
We named this tree May 
because we moved into our home sweet home during that month.


I really like how this picture is leftover summer and the start of autumn.




Fall wraps golden color around our lives, 
showing us depth,
 and warmth,
and even shadows, 
which make the yellow-toned light 
even more magnificent.  



Moore FALL HOME tours:

 Finally Fall 2013

50 Shades of Autumn Home

Jazzed Up Home and Fireplace Mantel for Autumn

A Complete Resource of everything FALL








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Saturday, November 8, 2014

A Charmed October 31st and a Halloween Candy Poker Night


 photo credit Josh Hudnall

The late October celebrations kicked off with our annual Pumpkin Carving Party (see past years here and here!).  Actually, instead of the normal *great big* party as usual, just a few of us gathered around, at Josh and Allison's, carving our art into the orange pumpkin.


Meet my pinstriped pumpkin face ;)



I homemakered away earlier that day, preparing chili and cornbread to add to Allison's delicious food.

Abigail also made some knock out cider.  We had a full line up of all the classic fall food.  Dig in!


Late at night, the kids had a leaf pile party outside.


Oh, fall.


It was a warm and festive night with kids and friends. 


As Halloween approached, I made candy corn goodies.  Sometimes we watch the history of candy corn on youtube.  Sometimes I've made candy corn cupcakes or candy corn layered drinks.  But we ALWAYS eat candy corn.  

Use your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and change the chocolate chips for white chocolate chips.  Add candy corn to dough.  Be sure that the candy corn is covered fully in dough so it doesn't melt on the cookie sheet.  Chill dough a few hours before baking.  Enjoy! 


Bring on the candy season!



Halloween Friday started off super festive for our younger two.  Their school went on a field trip to a local pumpkin patch.



My friend Kristen and I dressed up as 80's workout girls and hit the gym!  
Let's do this!



We did a modern, sweat inducing, music blaring workout, with vintage-ish gear! 


80's girl
1982


As dusk approached,
 the boys dressed up, 
using various loved items in their closets.  
This is time to imagine.  
Scarves become fighting belts, 
sticks become swords.

Presenting,
Robin Hood and a thief.

Oh...and of course we squeezed a night in to watch 
The Great Pumpkin, another tradition.


We worked our way into the black night collecting candy, door to door.  The next day it was all sugar crazy.  Wait a second, Titus is always cuddling silly this way.  He is our bigtime love bear. 



Each year I try to think of fun ways to use up our candy stash. 
 See the bottom of this blog post for a list of great ideas!

This year I was so excited about a new idea!  
Leftover Halloween Candy POKER


We invited Josh and Allison and littles over for family candy poker.  
It's truthfully not the most effective way to get rid of candy, 
but it sure is a lot of fun and I really hope to do it next year also!

I made tarragon mushroom toasts for appetizers 
and quick apple dumplings for dessert. 
Double yum.


And that's a full wrap on this year's holiday!


May all your October 31st's be charmed:

full of enchantment and imagination...



and sugar.




Halloween Candy leftover ideas:






Past Halloween Celebrations:










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Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Candy Apple Picnic and Fall Leaf Showoff in Aspen, Colorado




Life is full of cycles of favorites.  Fall brings apples, which somehow brings desserts, and desserts always bring favorites.  Gosh, I'm all set.  I bake lots of apple goodness during the glorious, golden days of autumn (you know like here and here).  But today was spontaneous and unplanned SO I bought a box of candied apples as we headed off onto our annual fallish venture.  It was a  quick overnight trip to Aspen, Colorado.  Brandi and her boyfriend have a beautiful home up there that we cozied in at for the night before taking off for fall fun the next day.

The boys waking up with Aston puppy in Aspen

Early morning walk through the gold with our gracious host, Larry.

This is how incredible Aspen is.

 This mountainside is nature's giant billboard,
showing off God's best.



We just HAD to get up in this...
to run right underneath all of this gold...
to soak in every single bit of beauty!


Each year for our fall leaf touring tradition, we choose a different spot to explore.  
We've viewed the Grand Mesa, Telluride, and even our own backyard. 
Maroon Bells, in Aspen, Colorado, is the most photographed peaks in North America.  
This was the perfect spot for this year's leaf tour.


Here is beauty.  All unwrapped.


I wish so much that Chris could have joined us for this short venture
 but he was on a business trip, 
so it was just me and my boys!


We have the cutest (can I still call them that?) boys in this whole wide world.



 Our Colorado boys!


We stopped in downtown Aspen to buy our candy apple treats!  
Our tradition usually includes some sort of outdoor picnic in the colored forest.
If you're a longtime reader, you've seen that here before.  ;)


Then we set off on some trails to find the perfect spot to indulge in our apples.




We crunched over lots of leaves 
and gathered a lot of stick swords along the way
 until we found our picnic spot.

 

Oh yum.  
Pick one!





Literally digging in



This picture makes me smile big because I told Titus to take a bite for a picture
 and he does a gentle lick...
just as he does everything else in life, 
full of quiet peace.


Full
happy
tummies
SIGHHHH


And just like that, 
it was over and we were off,
ready to face the next adventure
or chore,
or deadline,
or whatever the days ahead have in store for us.


I am always left in awe of fall 
as the earth shows us one last exclamation mark
 before she sleeps for the winter.  
Thank you world for giving us beauty year after year after year.


 This little pine tree with yellow autumn leaves

embrace my two favorite times:
fall and Christmas,
two in one.
And it makes me smile to see my two loves combined.
I'm pretty sure this was a present 
just.for.me.
So thanks God!



“Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.” 
-Jim Bishop




 It's a tradition!
Past fall picnics, adventures, and leaf tours:

 - Making a moment with a majestic fall picnic

- Filling Baskets and Warming Hearts at the Apple Orchard

- A list of 12 memorable things to do in the FALL

- Sliced Apples and the Great Pumpkin

- Apples in the kitchen: a collection of recipes

- Color it Pretty leaf tour

- Pressed Leaf Garland and a Telluride fall vacation






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