lady, get on that!

I have a bee in my bonnet. And this is a good thing.

There are a handful of projects that I've been meaning to tackle since before I even moved furniture into the house.

Like...

finishing the edges and trim in the kitchen...

touching up paint mistakes in the basement...

and turning the garage into a truly usable space.

It's time for me to get on those projects, my friends -- plus a few others. I can't tell you why (yet! maybe ever.) but there's a reason and it's a good one. And even if "it" never comes to pass, it is providing me exactly the motivation I need to finish some long-standing items on the to-do list.

Will you help? Encourage me with your comments, texts, phone calls and stories of your own DIY mis-adventures!

*Project name lifted directly from John and Sherry over at YHL

decorating: summer into fall

Chilly weather is here, and I've slowly been replacing summer/neutral decor around the house with fall and Halloween pieces. 

I keep the same pieces on-hand from year to year (most came from my mom and our collective PartyLite stash) but I try to do different arrangements each time. Here's this year's versions!

Dining room table: silver bowl and hurricane shade --> wire apothecary vase with fall leaves and pumpkins

Dining room window nook: dried hydrangeas --> rosemary plant (has been outside all summer), red candlesticks & fall flower arrangement

Desk: mish-mash of summer wedding invites --> two of my favorite leaf-shaped candle holders

Kitchen corner shelves: Twins baseball memorabilia --> white and orange ceramic pumpkins

Front porch: blue jars and swirls --> pumpkins and jar candles

Living room: added leaf tealight holders to existing tablescape, and a big bowl and leaf coasters to the coffee table 

applefest

It's prime apple season here in Minnesota! Some college friends and I made a day of it on Saturday, driving out the Aamodt's Apple Farm in Stillwater and baking in my kitchen afterward. In the past 24 hours, the following apple-licious dishes have been cooked in my kitchen:

• Mini apple hand pies (shared)
• Apple pie (Meredith's)
• Apple crisp with my mom's cobbler crust - amazing (mine now!)
• Stewed apples with ginger, lemon, cinnamon and cardamom, in the crock-pot (all mine.)
• Autumn chopped salads with Honeycrisps (also mine)

I learned that Haralson and Regent apples, while not as large or pink-pretty as Honeycrisps, are great for cooking and baking. Good thing, because we picked a peck of 'em at the orchard yesterday.

Now I have stewed apples and hand pies to tuck in the freezer for later.

xoxo