Because Baby E stayed cooking a couple of days past her due date... and because I'd been expecting her to be early {you know, like both of her siblings were}... the first week of October found me twiddling my thumbs a bit. No plans made, most of my big projects to get done before baby had been completed... and I was a little tired of freezer cooking and deep house cleaning at that point.
It ended up being delightful, because it gave me time to dig into a little Fall crafting and kitchen experimenting. Autumn is hands down my favorite time of year, so I relished the opportunity to enjoy it with my two bigger kids before our newest addition arrived.
Here's what I've been loving.
Fall Book Bunting. I think I saw something like this on Pinterest last year. It's been stuck in my head ever since! One night while Niall and I watched a movie, I printed out a bunting template {google it and pick your pleasure}, traced and cut out an assortment of pages from the book I'd used on my book wreath, and mod podged fake leaves to each page. Then I scotch taped them to simple kitchen string- and voila! Festive Fall decor, ultra cheap, ultra quick and easy.
Fake leaves are fabulous for crafting- you can pick a bunch up at the dollar store {so inexpensive}, and simply peel them off their stems and adhere to whatever you'd like them on. Or alternately, you can let your children play leaf piles in the house. Fun mom.
Homemade Apple Fritters. My friend Abi's post on what to do with all those apples was super inspiring to me. Since we had quite a large apple crop this year, and since my baby still. wasn't. coming. I determined that these fritters would make a delicious consolation prize breakfast one Saturday morning. They were very easy to make, and the whole family loved them.
Children's Picture Books. I shared a few of our favorites Friday, but we've been reading stacks and stacks from our library lately. Especially now that a newborn is here! Hit me up with your favorite titles, because we are ever hunting for more.
Fall-ish Colors on Book Covers. "I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough book shelves." -Anna Quindlen. Cheers to that! Lately books lying around my home in shades of orange, red, yellow and brown have been making my heart happy.
Also, what is it about this time of year that makes me just want to hunker down with a pile of my favorite classics? I always want to read Little Women, and Jane Eyre, and Persuasion in October. Odd.
Our Apple Tree. So I suppose I've already mentioned this once or twice. But it has been lovely to look out my big picture window every day and see it brimming with red, and I wouldn't trade anything for the sweet scent of fall fruit that greets me when I walk out my door each day. Good colors, good eats, good smells, good entertainment for the kids... it's an all around win.
Homemade Apple Cider. Another idea from Abi's apple post, this was a fun afternoon project that filled my house with divine smells and ended up tasting pretty decent too. Highly recommend it as a homeschool project for older kids! You don't need a cider press or any fancy equipment- just a nice big pot and a whole lot of apples.
All the Pumpkin Treats. Pumpkin pie was another consolation on a day when I thought I'd be pregnant forever :). I also managed to fill my freezer with several batches of our favorite pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. If you're looking for some baking inspiration, a few years back I shared a list of our favorite pumpkin recipes here.
Book Page Leaves. So pretty! I've just been tracing and cutting them while watching t.v. at night with Niall. Not quite sure what I'll do with them yet, but I love all of the ideas in this post from A Delightsome Life- garlands, wreaths, oh my :)!
If you've finished this post and get the idea that I am really into books and food... well, you got me. That pretty much sums up my interests apart from family and the Lord :).
What are your favorite things to savor in the Fall?
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