Autumn's Arrival

I would love to recreate this in our front yard some day!!!

Fall's arrival was ushered in this past Saturday with a bit of fanfare in our "cottage in the woods"!

I began the day by digging into my Brach's Autumn Mix!  YUM!  I do not allow myself to indulge in candy corn until the first official day of fall ~~ might sound crazy, but it is part of my tradition.

We visited our local apple orchard in the morning.  Sampled some delish cider, enjoyed a pumpkin cappuccino and walked the HUGE (& beautiful) barn to check out all of the wares.  I had already purchased a mix of cider & pumpkin donuts a couple weeks previous, and since Chris isn't really a fan, I didn't buy more this trip.  We also went by the pumpkin and gourds to get an idea of their selection and pricing.  They do have the biggest and best looking ones I have seen so far, but we are going to check out a couple farmer's markets (offering 3 for $10) to see how they compare.

I prepared a super scrumptious homemade chicken potpie (well, I make up the inside ingredients).  It is a recipe from a high school friend.  It makes so much that I froze some to make later.  For dessert, we enjoyed pumpkin cheesecake!!

We were still pretty exhausted from our week of moving (I will detail that more in another post) and while we had planned to head out to watch UFC with friends, we crashed in bed while watching a movie.  

I have started my pumpkin & gourd collection for the season.  I have 3 small orange pumpkins and a couple green gourds.  They are currently gracing the railroad ties among the landscaping along our driveway.  Once we get several more, I will put up my "Welcome Great Pumpkin" sign that Chris so lovingly made for me a few years ago.  I also found a couple wood boxes in a closet in the garage.  I pulled one out yesterday to set on our deck where I placed a plant, a fake pumpkin and the cobs of my (eaten in about 2 days) Indian corn.  We also have our metal pumpkins with orange candles on either side of our front door. 

It's beginning to look alot like Fall, everywhere you go!!!!

Happy Mabon to All! 

The Harvest Moon is this Saturday and our plan is to walk to the beach with some wine and bask in her moonlight...perhaps we will see the infamous Diana of the Dunes come to take a dip in (the oh-so-chilly) Lake Michigan!!