Fall Inspiration For People Who Just Aren't That in to Fall

Oh hey there. I know I just dropped off the face of the blog/earth for a few months and BLAMMO it's Fall now. Even though I'm grateful this year in particular for the break in 90+ degree days... Fall is probably my least favorite season on average. BUT, I'm trying to be more positive, so here's a list of things I actually DO like about Fall:

1. Plaid

It's possibly because I was forced to wear nothing but navy blue plaid to school for many years, but I have a strange affinity for all things tartan.

Have you ever seen this website, Plaid Maker, that lets you generate/download your own custom plaids? It's so much fun! Maybe this year I will upload a swatch to Spoonflower and print my very own plaid fabric for EVERYTHING. Brilliant!

2. Halloween (Candy and Pumpkin Carving)

Ever since we bought a house, Halloween has become a personal favorite holiday. Like a nerd, I like to decorate our stoop with fake spider webs and tombstones and purchase too much candy to hand out eat. 

This year I felt like our decorations were insufficient so I sewed up this little front door pumpkin banner with some burlap and canvas I had on hand. I feel like one of those huge craft nerds when I say that I had all the materials for this ON HAND.

3. Baking

While baking is not necessarily limited to the Fall months (scoff)... I've recently been watching a lot of episodes of The Great British Baking Show. It is the best. Also, because of the reduction of 90+ degree days it is now bearable to turn our oven on.

We went apple picking a few weekends ago and picked about 20.5 lbs... so that's a lot to work with. I've made biscuits, apple cake, apple muffins and (ambitiously) Tarte Tatin.

So anywho, that's what I've been up to. Hopefully have some new sewing and artwork projects on the horizon, and have been skimming Creative Bug for my next class. Feel free to chime in with suggestions!

"So what else can you do with a muffin tin?"

From Hispanic Kitchen via Pinterest

I'm one of those people who loves to predict the downfall of trends. Hello, cupcakes, I'm talking about you. I also read a lot of blogs that are trying to predict the NEXT cupcake (this might be interchangeable with bacon). Is it pie? Is it pie on a stick? Is it popsicles.

Oh no, cupcake lovers, I think it is much closer to home. Now that cupcakes are done, thousands (kajillions?) of home cooks are like, "So what else can I do with these muffin tins?"Answer: What CAN'T you do? Seriously!?

Over the past few weeks I have become somewhat obsessed with finding recipes that can be made in a muffin tin. Muffin Tin Tacos, Pizza Puffs, Mini-Mac&Cheese Cakes... the list goes on (thanks Pinterest). They are amazing because 1. sooo easy 2. you don't have to make a whole dish of mac & cheese which you will then eat and immediately regret and 3. generally delicious. So yeah, that's my thought for the day. Totally not design-related but sometimes you just need to experiment.

From Field to Oven: An Epic Tale in Three Parts

It all started yesterday when my poor, innocent brother and boyfriend were duped into accompanying me to nearby Homestead Farms to pick sour cherries. Sour cherries have a very short season and an even shorter shelf life so I get this inexplicable sense of urgency to pick, pick, PPPIIICCCKK! To the left is my brother picking away with thoughts of cherry pies, cherry cobblers and various other delicious baked items distracting him from the millions of random twigs scratching the heck out of his arms and legs. 

Then, if you thought the scratches were bad, the next step is even worse! (dunh dunh dunh) Next we pitted every single cherry. Since we picked about 11 pounds... it took a while, but not as long as last year when we had about 20 pounds. Don't ask me. The cherries are so juicy that it doesn't take long before your hands get all gross and pruny. You really have to work for those cherries.

Finaaallly, once I've made the boys do all the hard work, the fun part is next! I've been practicing for about 2-ish years now on my cherry-pie-lattice-crust technique solely in order to have beautiful pictures to share with people... oh and I guess pie to share, too... sometimes. Please note that I am displaying two of my hobbies in this picture: baking and running clothes (please don't confuse that with running though we actually did go running prior to my baking frenzy). I have to say that in the end, this was not my most attractive pie ever but I'm pretty sure that its going to taste pretty awesome because with fresh-picked sour cherries... you just can't go wrong. 

P.S. In case you are interested in such things, I used Martha Stewart's Pate' Brisee (sounds fancier than it is) recipe from her Baking Handbook and her Sour Cherry Pie recipe from her Pies & Tarts books. Yes, I need both of those books. I can't find the exact recipe online but it's basically 4 cups of cherries, 1 cup sugar, 1 Tb. flour, 3 Tb. corn starch. Easy peasy.