Hooray for September!

It has been raining cats & dogs here in Denver!  I've been loving every minute of it too.  I got up early today, put on my rain boots and my rain coat, and went splooshing in puddles.  It was awesome. 

It was like the weather thought "Huh, it's September now.  Maybe I should cool off?"  And it sure did.  And I'm a happy girl. 

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My schedule has been pretty insane lately, and I'm not sure how I'm going to make it all work.  I may need to figure out yet another strategy, and that is more than a little frustrating.  But I'll find a way and come out stronger in the end.  A little spoiler of what I'm working on... a new blog that's all about FOOD!  It's going to be a big project but I'm so totally excited about it.  More info to come soon. 

I am also still very happy that I (usually) get weekends off too, and that means a little extra time to enjoy the changing of the seasons.  

And to enjoy the little things, like this... 

Image via {here}

...and this...

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...and this...

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...and this...

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...and this...

Image via {here}

Hello, September!  So nice to see you again. :) 

Golly I can't wait for Autumn

I know I've made like a bajillion posts about how much I love fall (like this one, this one, and this one), but hey, how 'bout another one? :) 

It's been so hot in Denver lately - upper 90's and just miserably toasty.  I've never been the type of person to enjoy the heat of summer (although it's a super fun season, man, I hate sweating), and I'm ready to take on some cooler evenings, scarves, sweaters and boots.  I just love changing seasons! 

Oh my gosh - one of my favorite things about fall.  Morning light, cool crisp morning air, and a warm snuggly bed.  I always miss the long days of summer, but the beautiful crisp fall days are a great trade off! 

Oooo - morning autumn hikes through the woods!!  LOVE THOSE TOO!  Seriously - I just love that time of year.  I'm so excited! 

Fall walk in the Park with Katy

Yesterday I had a day off so Katy and I went for a long walk in the park!

It was a beautiful day - the sun was out and warm, but there was a bit of a chill in the air.  It was just lovely!

Katy didn't make good friends with the geese (but man, it was fun to see her chasing them off!  Ha!)

We are a couple of colorful girls!

Stretchin' it out!

Well Katy made friends with at least one animal that day!

I saw this pile of leaves and I told Katy "Let's walk over here!" - we actually walked single file for a block or so, just so that we could both crunch through the leaves and kick them all around.

It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon with a good friend!
We're going to enjoy as much of this weather as possible before the real cold weather hits! :)

Well, Hello November!

Well, November is here!! 

I can't believe we only have TWO MONTHS LEFT of 2012!  How nuts is that??  Man, how time flies.  I have so many things I'm looking forward to right now, and here are just a couple of them: 

- We're getting a piano!!  My lovely friend Em is giving away her old upright piano, and she chose me to be the lucky girl to take it off her hands.  I'm SO excited to have a piano in my house again (I grew up playing up through High School on my parent's baby grand), and I can't wait to re-learn how to play.  I really hope it's like riding a bike, but I have a feeling it'll take a bit more practice than that.  I'm hoping to know a few Christmas tunes by the time the holidays are here! 

- Thanksgiving is coming up soon!!  I've been working on my ingredient list for the big day.  Here's a reminder of the recipes I'm going to be working on this year - I can't wait! 

I'm going to get started with crafting, handmade cards & gifts for Christmastime, and probably having a busy schedule at work.  But it'll be great and festive, and I am really looking forward to it.  I just love this time of year! :)

Happy November, everyone! 

Images found via Pinterest. 

A trip to a Haunted House

Last night I went to a haunted house with all of my new work buddies from the bakery! 

I don't usually like haunted houses, and I never really go to them.  I haven't been to one since high school - I just get totally freaked out!  I just don't like the gore & stuff - which is kind of ironic since I have gotten a lot more into horror movies lately.  Ha. 

Anyhoodle, we did have a few beers (and maybe a couple of shots) beforehand which gave me some liquid courage.  Everyone made me go first for the beginning part - no fair!!  But it was still pretty darn fun.  I realized during the second part (through the middle of everything), there is really no safe "spot" in line.  Those guys jump out at you everywhere!  I can't imagine having that kind of job.  So crazy and creepy!  

They had all kinds of bodies hanging everywhere, and really narrow passageways that you kind of had to walk through single file.  I was clutching both my friend in front of me, and my friend behind - it was so scary! 

We had a blast though, and by the end we were giggling our heads off.  I doubt I'll do it again anytime soon, but it was really super fun.  I think it was really just because of all the super fun people we were with!

This is the pic we got at the end - I wore my Beetlejuice pants just for the occasion! 

Tonight I finally got a night off, so I worked on my Halloween costume.  It's going to look something like this: 

But BETTER!  Haha!  Just wait, you'll see... I just finished it tonight, and it's gonna be awesome / hilarious.  Our big Halloween party is coming up in just a few days - it's gonna be crazy! 

Happy Halloween!!  

Fall is here - in full force!

Yesterday I managed to get up early enough to take a little walk to the library to pick up some books, and some scary movies to get in the mood for Halloween! 

I haven't been for a walk in a while (sad, I know), and it was as though fall snuck up on me!  It's finally here in full force, and it's so beautiful!  

Luckily I brought my camera with me so I snapped some pictures of the beautiful colors.  I'm going to have to get back to taking walks more often... 

OH!  And we've got PUMPKINS in the house!!  I love it!  My sister dropped off some ones she had leftover from work, so we have 3 big beautiful ones, and the little one that's in front is one that we grew in our garden!  I think we're going to have to carve the big ones, and eat the little one...

..Pumpkin soup, anyone?  Yum yum! :) 

Fall Butternut Squash with Raisins, Pine Nuts & Couscous

We just harvested a beautiful little butternut squash from our garden, so I decided to make up a recipe so that I could use it! 

I started with a base of couscous, then I roasted the diced squash in the oven so that it caramelized on the outside.  I realized that it needed something else to contrast all of the salty flavors, so I figured raisins would be a nice compliment.  And what better way to plump them up than with some seasonal apple cider? :)  

This recipe would be a great dish to bring to any fall dinner gathering (I brought it to Canadian Thanksgiving), or as a side dish to a main meal.  I'm definitely going to make it again, it was delicious! 

Butternut Squash with Raisins, Pine Nuts & Couscous

Serves about 5-6

Prep time: 15 minutes; Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

- 1 small butternut squash, seeds removed, peeled & diced

- 1 cup couscous

- 1 cup water or broth

- 1 cup raisins

- 1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice (water mixed with a little bit of sugar will work fine if you have neither)

- 1/2 cup pine nuts

- olive oil & sea salt

Directions 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Spread butternut squash on a cookie sheet, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt, then mix with hands to coat.  Pop in the oven for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, boil the 1 cup of water or broth in a pot on the stove.  Turn off the heat, add the cup of couscous, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes to cook through. Dump into a large serving dish, and cover to keep warm. 

Remove squash from oven, and flip pieces.  Return pan to the oven for another 10 minutes. 

Put raisins on the stove in a shallow pan with the apple cider over medium heat.  The raisins will soak up the juice and get plump.  While they are soaking, toast the pine nuts in a pan over medium-high heat.  They will burn very quickly so keep an eye on them and toast until golden brown.  

Layer raisins on top of the couscous, then check the squash.  If they are not slightly brown, put them in the oven for another 10 minutes.  If they're good to go, layer them on top of the raisins, and season with a little more sea salt.  

Top everything with the toasted pine nuts, and serve! 

Yummy Healthy Breakfast

The other day I came up with a pretty darn amazing breakfast!  When I was at the Farmer's Market over the weekend they were giving away samples of Noosa Honey Yogurt with pumpkin butter and it was DELISH. So I made my own breakfast in a similar way! 

I started with some of my homemade granola and topped that with fresh sliced plums from the market.  Then I dolloped on some Noosa honey yogurt, and a couple of spoonfuls of pumpkin butter.  Then I sprinkled everything with Chia seeds.  

It was DELICIOUS, nutritious, and sweet - you should give it a try as well!  Use any kind of fruit you want, and even store bought granola.  It's a great way to start your day! 

A Rainy Baseball Game

A few days ago John got us a couple of tickets to the Cubs / Rockies game, so first we went and had a couple of whiskey gingers and made some muppet-faces for the camera...

...then walked on down to the stadium!

It ended up getting pretty rainy for the game, and we had to put up our umbrella a number of times.  But that didn't deter us at all, and we found it actually pretty fun!

I brought out the trusty ol' rain boots for the occasion too!

I loved looking down at all the colorful umbrellas!
We ended up getting a lot of thunder & lightning (which I loved since we don't see it very often here in Colorado), and the game was delayed and we had to move down from the upper decks due to lightning.  So we walked home in the rain and stopped for a night cap on the way back.

All in all - it was a pretty great date night!  Not too many baseball games left though! :)

Autumn!!

Sorry I haven't been around lately!  This new bakery job keeps me away from my computer a lot, but I kinda like it that way. :)

But AUTUMN has finally arrived!!  I LOVE IT!  It has been rainy rainy rainy in Denver the last few days and I've been totally in love with the change in weather.  My red rain boots have been very happy to get some puddle-sloshing in as well (see pic).

I'm so excited for the changing of the seasons.  The leaves are changing colors, and mornings are brisk and chilly.  We even closed our windows last night and it was still 68 degrees in the house when we woke up!  I just love it.

Halloween is coming up, and I have a pretty hilarious costume planned.  I'm not going to give anything away here just yet though...

As far as the new job goes, I'm just loving it.  I feel like working at a bakery is what I was meant to do.  I love chit-chatting with the customers, decorating cupcakes, and joking around with my new co-workers.  It's a wonderful group of people, and I'm loving every minute of it!

Just for fun, here are some new "fall photos" that I've been tagging on Pinterest lately (when I have time that is).  Haha!

I don't know if this photo was taken in New York, but I like to think it was.  I can't WAIT to see New York in October - I haven't seen the city in the fall yet.  I have a feeling it's going to be awesome!

Oh my, how I LOVE apple season!  I hope the Farmer's Market has apple cider this weekend when I go (fingers crossed)... I love this time of year...

Fall is such a beautiful time to be living in Colorado - especially when the Aspens start changing colors... they are such magnificent trees!

I'm kind of in love with this photo.  Rollerskates AND fall??  YEAH!

Cinnamon & candied apples... yum yum!
I created a new drink at work recently too - caramel apple latte.  I'm sure it's been done before, but I just use the caramel flavoring and the apple flavoring in a regular latte.  I gotta say, it might be even better than a pumpkin spice latte. :)

Knitted gloves & hot apple cider.  Two of my favorite things!
HAPPY AUTUMN, EVERYONE!!  Hope you're enjoying this beautiful time of year!