Fall Weekend Checklist

I woke up this morning to frost on our lawn. Frost. Can we not go directly from summer to winter, please? It’s only October. I need some autumnal time in my life. Falling leaves. Pumpkin spice. Wearing boots for fashion and not to keep my ass from slipping on ice. 

Living in New England doesn’t guarantee any normal weather patterns, so I take my fall days where I can get them. Friday and Saturday were beautiful and sunny with that crisp fall backbone the days all have now. Sunday was a little chillier, but there wasn’t (too much) snow, so it was still a win. Since it’s already mid-October and these may be the last perfect fall days before I’m bundling up in five layers to stay remotely warm and there’s a permanent layer of salt covering my car and, the real tear-jerker, all the ice cream shops close for the season, I filled this past weekend with all the fall fun Brent could handle.

Hay Bales and Pumpkins

One of the joys of homeownership is being able to trick your house out for the holidays. Seeing the festive cornstalks and elaborate jack-o-lanterns our neighbors are showing off makes me wish I had deeper pockets and better carving abilities. For now, this hay bale and a few pumpkins will have to suffice. I think it’s a pretty good start. 

Corn Mazes and Hayrides

It’s not fall w/out cramming onto a tractor and sitting on uncomfortable bales of hay w/ straw sticking up your ass while runny nosed kids scream the entire ride. The hayride is nothing compared to being stuck in a corn maze w/ those same runny nosed kids running up and down the paths. It’s especially fun when your husband desserts you b/c he’s on some kind of mission to set a corn maze PR. Brent left the group b/c he was convinced he knew the way out, and then sent us all this picture. Real mature, that one. 

Mulled Cider 

The best way to cozy up after an afternoon spent in crisp fall weather is w/ a big ol’ mug of mulled cider. Throw a few shots of Fireball in your mug first and you’ll warm right up.

Squash Soup

Creamy soups are kind of the best part of the weather cooling off. A quart of cream doesn’t seem so fattening when it’s hiding in your soup instead of sitting on a cone. I made a butternut squash soup this weekend that was, in my humble opinion, amazingly amazing. 

Pumpkin Cheesecake 

You can never have enough dairy; as evidenced by my menu on Saturday night, where I followed the creamy soup course with cream cheese laden pumpkin cheesecake. Might not have been the most thought-out menu, but I wanted to get the fall classics in before it’s all gingerbread and eggnog up in here. 

Romantic Walk Through the Leaves

We went for a hike yesterday and on our walk back to the car it started snowing. Barf. Fortunately, we snapped this token fall photograph in time. B/c if you didn’t take a picture, it didn’t happen.