October!

Good Morning! Trying to fill my October with lots of everything I wait all year for!

Decorating is done unless I add in little things I find this month! I'm always looking! MICHAELS has had some great sales and so has Hobby Lobby. I'' be at Walmart later this week. I have to get the rest of my candy for my candy bags. Did some candy shopping at BJ's but Walmart has other fun stuff like Popcorn Balls. Target too. 

My son and his fiance' had a photo shoot for their engagement though its also Fall themed. They love this time of year too. 

We are so happy! It's really stirring also to realize your kids are old enough to get married! Where did those years go? 

My husband and I went to a Fall Fair this weekend out in Riverhead. That's a big town towards the end of Long Island. The day was perfect 

Beautiful handmade items were judged and sold. Quilts, throws, potholders, etc. We wrapped up the afternoon with lunch at an adorable restaurant in Riverhead called Tweeds. I had pumpkin soup & Shrimp Salad! Sitting next to us were two sweet older ladies who chatted with us and we all talked about Hocus Pocus!

Have you gone to any fsairs this season? Christmas onesd will be coming soon! 

So what are your thoughts on artificial Christmas trees? For the first time in 30 years we bought one! The reason is we want it up longer! i want my tree up longer than two weeks before Christmas. My husband was okay with that as he agrees plus we spend so much on a real tree every year and you never know how long it will last. So we bought a beauty! A real pretty artificial I'm excited. The kids were shocked. They'll love it.....they're just not use to it. Thanksgiving weekend my tree is UP!!!!

Tomorrow morning my Caitlin is off to Parris Island, South Carolina! It's family week for the Marines! Dylan graduates Boot Camp Thursday! So proud of this boy! Hes such an awesome kid...Marine!

Other things I'm up to this week: a couple personal appointments, Walmart, taking another friend out for a birthday lunch, crafting with a friend, preparing for a weekend trip and trying a new whole chicken in a crock pot recipe!

Have a great week!

 

 Hello October! You're My Favorite!

I wish October was two months long! I wait for this month all year and it speeds by. I'm trying so hard to make the most of it and fit everything in that I want to accomplish. So far so good~I have a list! I always have a list! I'm done with decorating except for a few things that are little that need to be added. I'm working on a new generation of my "pumpkin people" that I love making. I have several new Fall recipes for this month. Two books I started...I have a trip coming up shortly for a weekend. What else...getting my daughter ready to leave for Parris Island, SC so she can see her boyfriend graduate the Marine Boot Camp! So exciting. Shes leaving with his family to head for the graduation next week. 

My heart goes out to the people in Florida with this Hurricane Ian. We've had days of just soaking rain here on Long Island but that's nothing to complain about. Weather is a force that cannot be reckoned with.

Here are some photos of my decorating outside:

Picture heavy post! Did you watch Hocus Pocus 2? Hocus Pocus is my favorite movie, and I was happy for a sequel. I wasn't expecting it to be as good as the first and it wasn't, but I still enjoyed it. More so after I watched it a second time. I had my own script in MY mind of what I would have done for a sequel...

How's your garden?> Do you plant Fall vegetables? I don't. I'm still getting the last of banana peppers and green peppers. The tomatoes that I had left on the vines have stopped turning red. They remained green so they're done! Basil still happening, Oregano & Mint too. Everything else, including zucchini, is done!

My chicken coop has been cleaned out and readied for Fall. Fresh hay and straw! I only have 8 so it's not a big deal to do it but I actually love doing it. They have all ceased laying eggs already...I might get one egg every two weeks, but I can't complain. I was getting tons this Summer from them! My oldest lady is 6 and she still produces. Honestly, I only have them because I love them! The eggs are just a bonus!

Have a great day friends!

 Cool Weather!

As I type this, I feel the cool breeze and its wonderful! I can't wait till they are here to stay. I know we still have a few days of low 80's coming up but the next few days will be cooler. It's not that I don't like Summer; I don't like humidity. But the weathe ris beautiful and very inspiring.

On YouTube I found a station that plays 11 hours of calming music set to scenes of Fall. It's so nice to do my house cleaning and decorating and cooking to that wonderful music in the background. 

On my country decorating page, I mentioned that I tend to attribute decorating style to seasons. Have you done that? Fall is all Prim/country! So warm and homey! Nesting and "home sweet home" colors. Farmhouse is all whites, grays and reds to me. Its gardens and fresh eggs and warmer weather. Retro/vintage is pinks, ivory, and sage greens so I'm thinking Spring!  it's sun to think about!

One of the two new furniture pieces I bought for my newly repainted family room. The first floor of the house was just freshly painted, and it gave me a new starting point. I needed to reorganize, and I realize the best way to do that was to remove EVERYTHING and start over. 

Planning to get some pumpkins this weekend and my cornstalks and of course more Indian corn. Usually, I remove my summer flowers that are along my front walkway, and I replace with ornamental cabbages and mums but I'm not sure I will this year. My flowers are doing so incredible! It's a wait and see at this point. I will buy mums of course but not sure if we will plant along the walkway. I usually buy a premade basket with cattails, corn stalk, and mums from a  local grower that I love. 

I've been so sad about the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. I've grown up being a lover of all things British. I was lucky enough to visit many years ago and spent three weeks there. My parents visited four times. I was looking at the photo albums just the other day. I kind of feel like she was our Queen too!  May she rest in peace. 

Well, I'm off to make some pepperoni roll ups for later! This easy little recipe has been a big hit for snacking in my house. Something to grab in between meals as everyone is ina nd out! All it is, is crescent rolls separated, add some pepperoni slices, some shredded mozzarella or whatever cheese you have handy, roll it up and bake at 350 till golden in an ungreased pan. You can slso do sliced pepperoni from the deli counter if you don't want to do the mini slices in a package. I've also done salami, but pepperoni was their favorite. You can't get much easier than that, right? you can do ham and swiss...I bet that tastes good!

Have a great day!

We've been working har

All The Fall Feels

Good Morning! Sooooo are you decorating yet? I vbet you are! I can't get enough of those beautiful Fall colors! Although I have cut back a little on my decorating, I still do alot and I love the way it feels to change it up a bit. Some things that I used for years I am giving a break to and added in some new things that I love. It just refreshes the look. 

I'll be adding in some Halloween at the end of the month. 

Next week it will be pumpkins, gourds and cornstalks!

 Goodbye August!

I am so ready for Fall! I started my Fall decorating now that my house is freshly paintd and I'm so happy to take out all my boxes. Halloween will get added in at the end of September. 

Doing a little at a time and just enjoying it! 

Bath & Body Works has amazing Fall candles. I bought a few and they smell heavenly. The three wick big ones!

Visited Hobby Lobby and brought home a friend! Isnt he so cute?  And none of my other scarecrows have a face like his. Hobby Lobby has all Fall items for 50% off! 

Started cleaning out the flower and vegetable gardens that are finished. Sad to see my hanging pots that are done blooming go out for trash, but I still have several going strong. We should be getting our mums and pumpkins within the next two weeks. I picked a huge zucchini the other day. I mean this zucchini was the size of my arm! I didn't see it growing under the big leaves in the position it was in. I kept missing it! What a surprise! I made a zucchini parmigiana out of it! Actually I made two!

In preparation for hurricane season, we had all our trees and hedges trimmed! Over the last ten years we've had very active hurricane and storm seasons and its been a worry with some of the trees on my property.  Another item off our to do list. 

Are you doing any new crafts for Fall? I'm looking for something new to stitch. My eyes can't do counted cross stitch anymore. I couldn't finish my last one. Not sure if I want to stitch or do another afghan. I'm just in such a nesting mood. I always make crumb cakes and coffee cakes cause we enjoy them after dinner with our evening coffee and I usually make them from scratch. Well, last week I didn't have time so I bought the Krusteaz brand of Cinnamon Swirl coffee cake mix.  It was so good! Everyone loved it. I bouught a few more boxes of it to keep in the house in case I get company last minute for coffee. So good! Try it! 

I'm excited that I will be a great aunt for the third time shortly! A new baby is arriving in a few days! I love having the little ones around again. I'm  making up some Halloween gift bags for them. 

Enjoy your day! Time for me to make dinner!

 Vacation & House Work!

Our family just returned from a beautiful vacation in Williamsburg, VA and Virginia Beach! 

We spent the week at Busch Gardens (3 days) and at a beautiful hotel on the beach in Virginia Beach (3 days). 

We packed alot into that week! Busch Gardens was wonderful! We had very little wait for the rides. We enjoyed the different countries they showcased. I especially was happy to see the show Celtic Fyre! I'm a huge Irish stepdance/Riverdance fan. So that was awesome! 

Went to Cracker Barrel where I bought the sunflower fountain below! 

We ate at amazing restaurants for Seafood! Catch 31 was great, a Beatles themed pub called Abbey Road but I'm a simple girl and my favorite was a breakfast place in Williamsburgh called Colonial Pancake! It reminded me of a place we loved to eat breakfast in when we visit Salem called Tammany Hall. Its been closed for many years but it was our favorite. 

A great family trip. We brought my son's girlfriend with us too. that is them below. Up above is my daughter Caitlin with Viera in the pool.

Before we left, we had started some work in our home. We had the the first floor repainted, new area rug and some new furniture for our family room. I had a pod to store everything and that made it easier for the painters. Now that I'm home, the work continues, and I will post photos once everything is done. Here's a sneak peek at one of my new pieces!

Saturday I got to Hobby Lobby just as the doors were opening. I'm completely over Summer!!! Bring on Autumn PLEASE! I bought a few things and will definitely be back but I wanted to wait to see what I have and what I need. Truth is I actually need nothing but we all know thats not gonna happen and I will be buying! 

I'm just excited for the new season! Its been great refreshing my house and although I originally dreaded loading up the pod, I needed to pack up everything in order to motivate me for the redo!And it surely did.  I'm glad it'll be done just in time for me to decorate for Fall. 

Have a great day!

Catching Up!

 Wow! Summer is just speeding by! It seems like I was just shopping for 4th of July. My flowers have done really well this year too. The ones you see along the front walkway are just exploding with color. I always have mixed emotions when I have to remove them in the Fall when we replace them with ornamental cabbages. My vegetable garden has also produced quite a bit. I don't know how I got lucky! 

Yesterday, I cleaned up my craft room in anticipation of Fall crafts. I need a clean workspace or I get distracted so while we have painters working on the first floor, I thought it would be a good time to do that task. I just finished this morning. I realize I am guilty of alot of" works in progress." Next year I need to make that one of my New Year's resolutions to finish what I start!

My husband built a grilling area for his smoker and our new bbq but we can't seem to get the countertop concrete yet It's been backordered for months but we still can use it.That was his Summer project. It worked out so well on the 4th of July as I could put all the food on the counter and everyone could serve themselves. He made grat storage behind it as well. 

I'm starting to see Fall decor in the stores. Makes my heart happy! My favorite time of year.  I love Fall recipes and have been looking through the internet but then I realized that I still love cookbooks and my old Taste of Home magazines and pulled all them out.There's some good stuff in them   The days before the internet! 

Some more flower pictures In September, we will dig up the bulbs of our cannas and elephant ears to save for next year. When we come back from our vacation, I will be pretty busy. the only thing I don't do that i wish I did was can. I don't have a garden thats big enough to produce enough to can  I did make stewed tomatoes in jars though. i add them to soups and when I make pot roast. It adds alot of flavor and texture to the gravy. I have done freezer jams too but I didn't this year. 

I hope you have a great day! Drop a comment if you like;   And if you blog as well!

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