Happy fall y'all!

Yesterday was the first day of fall and that means my favorite time of year has officially begun!

I chose pumpkin oat muffins to make this morning to go along with the

pumpkin spice coffee and pumpkin spice creamer I picked up yesterday after work.

It was a yummy way to start the day!

I just love everything about autumn.

Don't you?

Here are some other fall inspirations from years past -

Fall Saturday Morning 2016

Fall Inspiration and a Favorite Fall Meal 2014

Happy First Day of Autumn 2014

Happy First Day of Fall 2013

Happy Fall! 2012

Fall is Coming 2012
Fall Nesting 2011

Autumn Arrives 2011

It's September!! :-) 2011

The First Day of Fall! 2010

Sweet Fall Color 2010

Fall Nesting 2010

September 1st is Here! 2010

It's the First Day of Fall! 2009

September!! :-) 2009

It's the First Day of Fall! 2008

Fall Nesting! 2008

September 2008

~pumpkin bundt cake with cream cheese frosting~

for the cake -

2 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

3 eggs

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can pumpkin puree

Mix sugar, oil, and eggs until well combined.

Combine flour, spices, soda and salt. 

Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with canned pumpkin and mix well.

Pour into a greased bundt pan and bake 60 minutes at 350 degrees.

for the frosting -

1/2 cup butter

8 oz. cream cheese

4 cups powdered sugar

3 1/2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.

Alternately add powdered sugar and milk.  

Beat until smooth and creamy.  Add vanilla.

Frost when cake is completely cool.

Store in the fridge until serving. 

Enjoy!

pumpkin spice

and everything nice...

Fall is in the air...

We have been having the nicest cool mornings and evenings lately

and it sure seems like fall is in the air.

I put out all my fall decor on Sunday

and was so pleased to find the 

pumpkin nutmeg nature's wick candle 

from last season in my box of decorations.

I always go by Hobby Lobby in September each year 

and get one new fall decoration.

This year I picked out a set of four pumpkin napkin holders. :-)

Our first meal at the fall decorated table on Monday night was homemade fried chicken tenders,

mashed potatoes (with the skin on 'cause they're so easy that way, just call them "rustic"!),

fresh green beans and biscuits.

And this evening we had leftovers,

so I took some time to bake up my first batch of pumpkin scones of the season.

Fall is definitely in the air at my house!

~Early Fall Morning~

A chill in the air this morning 

made the picnic table the prefect setting

to enjoy some yummy pumpkin waffles.

A super simple recipe -

1 cup baking mix

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup canned pumpkin

makes 2 waffles

Here comes fall!

"Autumn mornings: sunshine and crisp air, birds and calmness,

year's end and day's beginnings."

~Terri Guillemets

Fall Saturday Morning

Candles burning, coffee brewing, muffins baking...

Laundry drying, music playing, leaves falling...

and football waiting. :-) 

"Autumn is the season to find contentment at home,

by paying attention to what we already have." 

~the sweet smell of christmas~

orange slices

cranberries

rosemary

and cinnamon

~the sweet smell of christmas~

Flowers, flowers, everywhere!

I just love how our property explodes with 

black eyed susans every May!

Literally hundreds everywhere you look.

I just had to snip a few to bring inside to enjoy. :-)

Pristine, manicured lawns in the 'burbs have never been for me.

I like the woods where there is always a surprise at every turn. :-)

Homemaking

“It's sad if people think that's (homemaking) a dull existance, [but] you can't just buy an apartment and furnish it and walk away. It's the flowers you choose, the music you play, the smile you have waiting. I want it to be gay and cheerful, a haven in this troubled world. I don't want my husband and children to come home and find a rattled woman. Our era is already rattled enough, isn't it?” ~Audrey Hepburn

~Sunday Afternoon Sweetness~

What do you do on a Sunday afternoon when the whole 

family is quietly napping and some much, much, much needed

rain is falling on the roof?

Bake some soft sugar cookies of course! :-)

Soft Sugar Cookies

makes about 3 dozen

3/4 butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 3/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375°.

Cream butter, cream cheese, and sugars.

Add egg and extract.

Blend flour, baking powder and salt.

Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and combine until soft dough forms.

Roll out dough and cut with cookie cutter.

Bake at 375° for 10 minutes on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Frosting

for 3 dozen cookies

1/6 cup butter, softened

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1/8 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

food coloring

Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth.

I often like to sandwich the delicious frosting in between the cookies.

This makes it easy to package up some cookies to give to friends.

Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop

Share Your Cup