Katherine and I are settling back in after a very quick (and tiring) trip to Arkansas for our annual family reunion.  We are both exhausted after about 10 hours in the car, and visiting with lots of family.

Despite it being the end of September, the temperature hovered around 90 degrees all weekend and the mosquito trucks were still driving around spraying.  The day ended with Katherine stripped down to her diaper, enjoying 3 (yes 3) slices of US Pizza, before an early bedtime.

{Katherine's favorite person all weekend was my mom's cousin Connie.}

{A family photo from my Great-Aunt Rita's birthday party.}

{Katherine enjoying the country life.}

{Watching the chickens.}

Even though the trip down to Arkansas is always exhausting, it's always worth it to see family members that we don't get to see very often throughout the year.  I'm sure Jason missed us while we were away, but I think the US Pizza we brought him more than made up for our absence.

I'm so happy that it's officially fall!  It's my absolute favorite time of year.  So that means it's time for another Fall Favorites List:
1.  I cannot wait for ABC Family's 13 Nights of Halloween.  Mark your calendars!  I'm also excited for the annual Pretty Little Liars Halloween special which is part of 13 Nights.  I also love The Travel Channel's Haunted Travels.  I watch it every year.  

2.  I officially lit my new fall scented candles from Bath & Body Works this week.  The house smells like fall......sigh.

3.  Loving the graphic tee's everywhere!  Especially this one at Old Navy, and it's perfect for Halloween!

4. Fall means all things pumpkin.  I found this pumpkin yogurt at Target and I love it.  It's so good, it almost feels like eating a dessert.   

5.  I love these sweatpants from Target (can you tell I've been to Target lately?).  They're a steal, but I refrained from buying a pair in every color.

6.  Of course it's not fall without Hocus Pocus.  We now own it on Blu-ray and I'm super excited to watch it for the first time this year.


I'm so excited to take Katherine to a pumpkin patch this year.  Now that she's walking I think she'll love it!  Happy Fall!

Before I got pregnant, I would see mothers out with their children and think "That will never be me."  I should've known better.  I've eaten my words on so many occasions, it's almost embarrassing.  What you think having a kid(s) will be like, and what it's actually like are two totally different things.  I over hear first-time pregnant ladies discussing all of the things that will and will not happen and I smile to myself.  I was once that girl.  I don't think I was as naive as some, but I did have my expectations.    

Holy apples!  If you follow me on Instagram, then you've seen my recent apple shenanigans.


I mentioned previously that it's harvest time in my neighborhood.  My neighbor has apples trees with lots of apples.  One day they asked if I'd like some apples from their trees, and I graciously accepted.  After a brief apple tree lesson for Katherine, we headed home with a wagon full of apples.  We barely got in the door before Katherine was trying to chomp into a dirty apple.  After I cleaned and peeled her apple, she devoured it.  Thankfully, she's a fan of apples.

I had so many apples, I hardly knew what to do with all of them.  I turned to Pinterest once more to decide what to do with all of these apples.  Let me just say, I hate peeling apples (or any fruit or vegetable really), so this apple peeler from The Pampered Chef made things SO much easier.


And voila!  Apples are peeled.  First up, Apple Pie (recipe).   Note:  I made that crust from scratch.  Boom!




This pie was so good, I made two more and froze them.

Next up, Fried Apples (recipe), which is weird because they aren't actually "fried."  The left over fried apples were great with oatmeal the next morning!  They can also be added to croissant rolls to make apple turnovers.

And just when I thought I was appled out, I made Apple Crumble (recipe).  This was so good that I made two more and gave them to my parents and brother.


When I went to deliver a hand written Thank You note to my neighbor, I was handed another bucket full of apples.  Sigh....

Let's see.  I can make apple butter, or apples sauce, or chicken apple salad, or.....

It's harvest time in my neighborhood apparently and I've been gifted with pears and apples from trees in our neighbors' yards.  My brother has also dropped off some cucumbers, avocado, and watermelon left over from his job, so what do you do when you have lots of random fresh produce?  Look to Pinterest for inspiration of course!

First up, pears.  I'll forgive my neighbor this time for ringing the doorbell during nap time.  She unfortunately wanted to chat as I held a barking dog, trying to salvage what was left of Katherine's nap.  "Oh you're a stay at home mom?" she asked.  "Yes."  I had told her this at least twice before.  After a longer than necessary explanation of why she wanted to be a stay at home mom, she handed over a bag of pears from the tree near her house.  "There's plenty more where that came from."  Awesome.

I found this recipe for Salted Caramel Pear Crisp on Pinterest and luckily it was easy, plus it made the house smell amazing.  It was delicious and tasted great with homemade ice cream (because I'm obsessed with ice cream and put it on just about anything).

Next up cucumbers.  Again looking to Pinterest, I found this recipe for a Cucumber and Tomato Salad.  This is a great summer salad to add to any meal.


I still haven't figured out what I'll do with the rest of my free produce.  I'm sure I'll come up with something.  My neighbor across the street is standing on top of a "Bobcat" picking apples at this very moment.  Apple recipes coming soon...

Have a great Tuesday!