F.A.L.L. Has Arrived!

This weekend the F.A.L.L. season finally made it's debut. The temps were in the low 60's, the air was crisp and the colors of fall are showing. It's one of my favorite seasons...love the cooler temp and the gorgeous colors of the leaves changing.  It's a calming time of year for me - fall colors are some of my favorite.  It's also that time of year for football ~ enjoy watching the Philadelphia Eagles and (my alma mater) the Penn State Nittany Lions. Pretty colors of fall: reds, golden yellows, olive green, etc. 

In the fall I love to make and freeze soups, stews and baked goods.  One of my favorite fall recipes is pumpkin bread.  I like to make these for family and friends at Thanksgiving and Christmas in those neat disposable foil bread pans that have the perfect plastic lid - makes a great gift!  During the holidays they have seasonal designs on them - perfect for gift giving, no wrapping needed! I wanted to  share with you my all time favorite pumpkin bread recipe.

MAPLE PUMPKIN BREAD
2 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
2 beaten eggs
1 C packed brown sugar
1 C canned pumpkin
1/2 C maple syrup
1/3 C canola oil
1 C chopped pecans

Note: you can substitue 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice for the spices in the recipe.

1. Grease bottom and half inch up sides of a 9 inch loaf pan.  Set pan aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, cinnnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and allspice. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
3. In a medium mixing bowl combine eggs, brown, sugar, pumpkin, maple syrup, and oil and mix well. Add all at once to dry mixture.  Stir just until moistened battter should be lumpy).  fold in pecans. 
4. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake in a 350° oven for 60 to 65 minutes or till a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.  (If necessary, cover with foil the last 10 to 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning.)  
5. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool thoroughly on wire rack. 
6. Wrap and store overnight before slicing (I honestly never wait that long...it's tastes so good when it's warm - smothered with sweet cream butter!!)

It's not a low calorie bread - 238 calories / 10 g fat (1 g saturated fat) per serving - but definitely worth it.  I'm going to try making this with whole wheat pastry flour as a substitute for the all-purpose flour in an attempt to make a wee bit healthier :)

Besides baking and cooking, I made lots of new jewelry pieces this weekend.  Photos were taken, just waiting to be edited and then listed.  Check out these copper disk earrings that I applied cinnamon and golden yellow Vintaj patina to - they kind of look like pumpkins ??  I paired them with soft yellow jade teardrops, wire wrapped in oxidized copper - perfect fall colors!

Hope you all had a great weekend!  O.N.I.A.M. - oh no it's almost Monday (yeah I just made that up, lol! I hate Mondays).  May you have a great start to your week!

Live. Laugh. Love. 

 

Newly Listed..

It's been a very busy weekend, cleaning house, yardwork, designing new creations and of course...updating my Etsy Shop! I'm trying to get ready for the upcoming holiday and get as many new items posted as possible. Working full-time and with everything else going on in my life, this process has been slow. I still struggle with the photography aspect. Seems I only get good photos with natural lighting. For every ten photos I take, I might get two good ones...whoa is me! I'll keep trying even though it's giving me a pain in the neck and back (literally). On that note I thought I'd share with some of the new items I've listed!

There is no denying it...

Fall is definitely here...baby it's getting cold outside, the weatherman has forecasted the temps to be in the high 40's here in the East over the next few days....Brrrr!  Cloudy, rainy and dreary. The dampness will only make the temp feel even colder. When the weather turns like that I like to surround myself in warmth and comfort.  I think of hot chocolate, english tea, fleece, scarves, mittens, blankets, a roaring fire,  and a good book...and of course my cats snuggled up next to me.  I've found some great comfort items on Etsy...

Great looking beret in my favorite color green from Pixiebell. I think that Berets look great on everyone, whether you have short or long hair! I happen to have long curly hair and tend not to blow dry my hair, so I tuck my hair up into a cute Beret and off I go...keeps my curls tight and frizz free.  You can find this adorable beret at Pixiebell's Etsy Shop!

Sometimes a full glove or mitten is just too much! Fingerless mittens/ gloves are so in style for this fall, very versatile and can be worn with just about everything.  I chose this pair  of "Chunky Wrist Warmers" (that's what she calls them, luv it!) from Morava because of the neutral color.  She offers her fingerless gloves in many colors and styles at a reasonable price!  Check out this pair of Chunky wrist warmers.

What better way to celebrate fall than with a hot cup of pumpkin spice hot cocoa! The tetoncocoacompany offers a great variety of hot cocoas in flavors that are all tempting to the pallet. Imagine having a cup and curling up near the fire under a warm blanket with a good book...just pure bliss!

The finishing touch to my great Etsy finds for a cold, damp fall day is a cozy warm blanket.  Perfect fall colors in this hand knit blanket created by gem43.  Described as being soft, silky and warm...but not so much that you will get overheated.  Sounds like a couch potato/ book readers dream blanket.  It's a generous size at 76 x 84 inches, I think that's big enough to fit on a full size bed?? and definitely great for snuggling under with that special someone! 

Well that's all for my comfort finds, have a great evening...keep warm!

Saturday Inspiration...Simply Charming!

It's a lazy day here, gloomy outside...just waiting for the rain to come.  Occasionally the sun peaks out, giving hope for a beautiful day.  But why wait for it...I've created my own sunshine with this simply charming necklace.  A little bit rustic, kind of sparkly and perfect for many outfits and occasions!  Newly listed in my Etsy Shop.

Simply Charming Necklace

Fantastic Finds on Etsy

There are so many creative individuals on Etsy....it's overwhelming and amazing! Here's a seller: "Bags by Collette" that I think has some really awesome bags...functional, attractive and can hold just about everything. She doesn't just have bags though....she has wristlets, zip bags and jewelry bags. They are all adorably cute and highly functionaly. The fabric patterns are to die for, it makes you want to buy one of each....Check them out:

One of my favorites...love the brown and aqua (maybe it's teal)...my favorite combination!

Shades of teal, green, brown, off white...jewelry bag...how cute is that??? Love it!!

OK I admit I picked these based on color...flashes of orange/ deep umber, lime green, teal, cream, and black....great looking wristlet!

Does this one need any explanation? Perfect for your ID, credit cards, extra cash or some loose change...all of her items are just waiting to be picked up...check it out!!

New Listings....

Dainty but simple...the marbled green prehnite compliments the coppery brown wire strip...great for everyday wear!

Creamy green grossular garnet hangs from oxidized handmade brass rings....surrounding a lemon yellow premium Czech glass rondelle...like a cold margarita in the summer time...yummy!