The countdown is on and Halloween is just around the corner. If you're caught short on time, but still need to get a party together, this may be just the post you need to read. Now, this isn't fancy or overly special, but it works!

I decided on a color theme and went with it. I sat with my husband and a couple kids and brainstormed for ideas. We came up with lists of foods that came in orange, white and … Read More

Fall is just the beginning of "soup weather" and yet another reason why I love this season. Soups can be very time-consuming to make even if most of the cooking time is simmering for hours; the prep work can be downright tedious. Well, I say, "Canned soup to the rescue!" I know, I know, cans are bad, cans are icky, cans are for the gastronomically stunted. I disagree completely, though, and can attest to the helpfulness of canned foods when… Read More

My weekly shopping trip last week yielded two very pretty acorn squash. Squash is at its peak right now and there were so many to choose from. The acorn squash looked more appealing than the rest so I chose them. One was a deep orange gold squash and the other a beautifully striped carnival squash. They were too hard to resist, but once I got them home it seemed wrong to serve them in the non-showy, yet traditional, baked and… Read More

Another of this season's favorites is the tailgate party. I've heard tell of those who find the football game secondary to the tailgate party. I'm one of those people. Don't get me wrong; I love a good football game, but the fun had with others on a crisp fall day sharing our favorite hearty fall foods just can't be beat.

I was whipping up the food for this post when one of my older brothers called. I can't repeat what… Read More

Several years ago we attended a church that frowned upon Halloween and Trick-or-Treat and after that we lived in an area that was not exactly kid-friendly, so Trick-or-Treat was something we needed alternatives for. We did our own thing at home, calling it a "Fall Festival", where I would cook up a storm filling the house with pumpkin, spice and apple laced goodies.

Now that we're back to Trick-or-Treating, I haven't had to think much about what we'd do on that night of… Read More

I like decorate each year for fall and Halloween and I haven't missed a year yet no matter what was going on. Even though this year is decidedly extra-busy, I'm still putting out the pumpkin and watering the mums.

Decorations that are ready-made are nice, but I enjoy making as many of my own as possible. For many years now I've decorated our front window (see photos 1 and 2) with construction paper cut-outs that I make myself. Last year was… Read More