Ghost Wine

A friend of ours has been kind enough to help us with Husband’s car this fall. I wanted to give a Halloween-themed gift to say thank you, but I knew that he probably wouldn’t want candy.

But, I knew he would love wine. And, somehow, my one tiny creative brain cell came up with an idea to make it more festive for Halloween…

I picked up a regular bottle of wine. [I used the same complicated selection process that I always do, which goes like this: 1) Decide which wine has the best-looking label, and 2) Buy that wine.] In this case, I bought the bottle that was orange and black.

Then I cut a hole in a sheet of tissue paper and slipped it over the bottle. I used black marker to make the eyes.

And that’s it! Drink or treat.

  

Pumpkin Muffins

This pumpkin muffin recipe is, by far, my favorite fall recipe. I’ve made it 3 times so far this year. In fact, I just made a batch this morning. (I wish you could smell the delicious aroma in my kitchen!)

I’ve made this for a lot of people, and they’ve all raved about it. It’s perfect as a sweet breakfast muffin or as a dessert with ice cream and/or whip cream. 

I wish I could remember where I got the recipe. It’s in my scribbled handwriting on a piece of scratch paper. I’m guessing I found it somewhere on the internet. (If the recipe is yours, please let me know so I can give proper credit!)

Anyway, here’s the recipe:

Pumpkin Muffins

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of cloves (I’ve omitted this because I keep forgetting to buy cloves)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

 ½ cup oil

1 cup pumpkin (the pumpkin puree in a can)

*chopped walnuts

*semi-sweet chocolate chips

 
Directions:

Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and cloves. In a separate bowl, mix sugar and eggs. Add oil and mix at medium speed for 3 minutes. Add flour mixture, and then add pumpkin. Mix at medium speed until well blended. *Add in chopped walnuts and semi-sweet chocolate chips to your liking. (I added a small amount of chopped walnuts and a very generous portion of chocolate chips.) Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Makes 18 muffins.

*Note: the original recipe did not call for chopped walnuts or semi-sweet chocolate chips, but I think this is the key to the muffin!

Enjoy!

What’s your favorite fall recipe? 

Fall Flowers

These beauties arrived yesterday for me.

It’s not my birthday. It’s not our anniversary. It’s not a holiday. The reason was “just because,” which is the best reason of all.

Thank you, Husband!

Sewing Class

My mom's friend heard that I wanted to learn how to sew, and she graciously offered to teach me. She doesn’t just know how to sew, but she knows how to sew incredibly well and makes all sorts of beautiful things.

Our first class was yesterday. I decided to bring an apple to my teacher. (Remember that tradition?) I had a plain apple, but I decided to put it in a fancy bag. 

She got such a kick out of it. She said, “I love it! You are just like your mom!” 

I took that to be a huge compliment because my mom is always coming up with fun and thoughtful things to give to people.

The class went really well. Our first project is making a simple navy blue skirt. We’re taking baby steps, so we cut out the pattern pieces and pinned them to the fabric. Next week we’ll start sewing the pieces together.

If it comes out well, I’ll be sure to post a picture. (And if it doesn’t, then there will be no photographic evidence and I’ll probably never speak of sewing again.) 

Sew, we’ll see.

Book Club

This week I went to my first book club meeting, which I absolutely loved.  I’ve wanted to join a book club for some time, and it finally worked out. It was just so nice to sit and chat with other ladies who love books as much as I do.  In other words, it was a safe place for my inner book nerd to come out.

This month’s book was Jane Eyre, the classic by Charlotte Bronte. Somehow I never had to read this in school. I didn’t know anything about the book, so it was a surprise – a good one – for me.  (Bonus: Jane Eyre is free on the Kindle.)  The book is a little long, but the story itself was interesting and I found the ending very satisfying. 

Though it’s not for my book club, the next book I’m going to read is The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. A friend loaned it to me a few months ago, and I figure I better read it and return it before my friend adds me on her “do not lend” list. 

What are you reading?

You know you're a food fanatic when...

...you call the cable guy to come out because the Food Network channel isn’t working.

Ahem, I cannot confirm nor deny that I did this.

But let’s just say that, if I did, my friends will be very glad to know that the channel is now working, and I will no longer have to hijack their TV on Saturday mornings to watch the Pioneer Woman cooking show.

P.S. Has anyone else been watching the PW cooking show? I'm definitely a fan!