Rain Rain Go Away~

This October is marked as being one of the wettest on record here in the Pacific Northwest...no big surprise really.

I have a first grader to walk to and from the bus stop, which means my umbrella is getting lots of use... so I started hunting around for fun umbrella stands.

Here are some I found...

I really LOVE this boot stand from
ZGallerie

via

Owls are quite the rage right now...LOVE it!

via

I found these two photos on Pinterest...

both cute DIY options with metal buckets

CUTE riding boot stand also from 

ZGallerie

via

This is another great DIY option...it was a stand found at a thrift store, painted and she added a monogram decal...LOVE it!

via

Do you have an umbrella stand??

LARA Bars {In My Kitchen}

I ♥ LARA Bars!

My friend Catie turned me on to these bars of goodness!

They are the perfect snack...gluten free, dairy free, soy free and Vegan

These sweet treats are made of basic natural ingredients, fruits and nuts...how much simpler could it be??

The only downside, is that they can be an expensive little habit :)...so with ingredients that simple, I decided to try making my own!!

I went with two of my favorites :)

❖

Cashew Cookie

1/2 cup cashews

1/2 cup whole pitted dates

(makes approx 4 bars)

~add cashews and dates to your food processor 

~blend until ground and mixture sticks together...you really don't want to chop too much so you still have some texture :)

~place mixture on plastic wrap and form into bars

❖ 

Cherry Pie

1/4 cup dried cranberries 

1/4 cup whole pitted dates

1/3 cup almonds

1 tsp cinnamon

(makes approx 4 bars)

** follow same directions as above**

~wrap each bar individually in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator to keep fresh!

If you have never had a LARA Bar, give them a try...
if you LOVE them, make your own!!

Do You Ever.....

make baked apples??

I had a few apples that were past their "crispness" for me, so I showed Lucy how to make baked apples.  

My Mom used to make these for breakfast, and I truly forgot how delicous they are!

{Baked Apples}

4 apples 

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1t cinnamon

butter

raisins, pecans or anything else you might want to add

boiling water

~Preheat oven to 375

~wash apples and with a paring knife cut out stem and use a spoon to dig out all seeds making a hole 3/4 to 1 inch wide

~place apples upright in an 8x8 baking pan

~mix brown sugar and cinnamon and fill the center of each apple

(and raising, nuts, etc)

~put a small pat of butter on top of each apple

~pour about 1/2 inch of boiling water into the pan 

~bake 30 to 40 min or until soft...but not mushy!

~serve warm (with vanilla ice cream is yummy too!) 

What a perfect Fall dessert!!

Today...

I was "excused" from jury duty

and

the sky looked like this much of the day

so, I drank lots of this

{tea with a candle lit for my friend Emily and her Mom}

spent a little time working on this

and reading this

{I LOVED Rob Lowe in the 80's...I thought for sure we would get married :)...glad things didn't work out that way :)}

A Homemade Life

Last night I went to my local Library, and listened to Molly Wizenberg share her inspiration for this book!

I have to admit, I have never gone to listen to an author before, but have gone to two in the last month...it helps that they have been so close as my library...and have loved it!

I loved hearing Molly share about her Dad, her love of preparing and sharing food, and hearing others in the audience mention that they tried some of her recipes from the book and LOVED them (the chocolate cake was a BIG hit..and Molly even made them for her wedding cake!)

Molly lives here in Seattle and is author of the blog Orangette.  I also learned that she and her hubby Brandon opened Delancey, a NY style wood fired pizza place, in Ballard that I am anxious to try.

If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it!

Speaking of "homemade"...I shared THIS recipe for a Pumpkin Spice Latte last Fall, and it is so delicious.

However, it you are not wanting to buy the "jug" :) of Pumpkin Pie Sauce (if you share this with a friend it works out great!) or the sugar content....then Lori has shared a recipe for a  version using REAL pumpkin!!  I can't wait to give it a try!

AND...on another "homemade" note...I had seen this on another blog, I can't remember which one...but knew I needed to make this for Lucy and her Baby :)

a milk jug swing!! :)

Have a great day!

Fabulous Fall {and Pinterest}!

My most favorite time of year is here!

Not only is it my favorite for the colors, but for the fashion...I LOVE fall fashion

and, I LOVE Pinterest!  Have you started pinning??  You can see my boards here...it is fun and a great way to keep "inspiration" filed away!

These outfits have been pinned and repinned on so many boards, and for very good reason, they are so cute and so easy to duplicate!

I also found this cute idea on Pinterest too!

It is from HERE, and she has kindly provided the free printable

my family is SO doing this!

So, what about you??  Do you love Fall as much as I do??

Lucy's Lunchbox {In My Kitchen}

This is Lucy's first year taking lunch to school, and I really wanted to keep it healthy and fresh.  I love the idea of "bento style" lunches, so that is what we are going for this year.

We found this cute lunch bag (which Lucy loves because you carry it like a purse :),

and then we went to our local Daiso, which is a japanese store that carries a huge mix of containers specifically for bento boxes. 

Lucy loves eating this way anyway, a little of this and a little of that :) so this is perfect for her.  

We found these cute pink and white containers, and then there are little silicone muffin cups and containers (cucumbers, watermelon, and proscuitto roll are in them), and then to top it off we got the cutest little picks to use for the fruit and veggies.

Is this NOT the cutest lunch??

And another fabulous thing...zero waste!