A Fall To-Do

Well...we certainly got our wish. To say that we've "jumped" into fall here in Indiana would be an understatement. 60's in the day and 40's at night? More like plunged. I'm loving this weather don't get me wrong, but couldn't we have a little more transition mother nature?

I switched out all of my spring and summer clothes last night, which is something that I have been meaning to do for weeks now. It's hard to get motivated to pull out sweaters and jackets when its 80 degrees outside though. So I held out as long as possible. 2 1/2 hours later, my closet was a much more organized version of itself. This may or may not improve my morning routine (slightly resembles a hurricane, I swear.)

So now that I have that task out of the way I can concentrate on my fall to-do list and all the fun things that are happening this time of the year. here are some of my favorites:

• Yellow River Pumpkin Patch 

One of the best things about being back home is getting to relive some of my favorite memories of my childhood...the pumpkin patch being one of them. Hay rides, corn mazes, U-Pick pumpkins, caramel apples, and local produce are a few of my favorite things. The opening day is the last weekend of September, and i am looking forward to getting out there soon after!

• Pumpkin Carving 

Appropriately following the last bullet point, pumpkin carving has long since been one of my favorite fall activities and something that I look forward to every year. Its a messy and fun activity when your a kid, but also just as exciting when your an adult.

Mine usually resembles the one on the right, although I wish I were artistically talented to make one like the one on the left. 

• Crock Pot recipes 

Maybe one of the most exciting things about the fall/winter transition. We start to shy away from the light summer salads and seasonal fruit and gravitate more to the hearty soups, stews, roasts, etc. I love the crock pot and think it is probably one of the most underutilized things in our kitchen at the moment. I have been looking for more simple and easy recipes to try out this fall and winter and cannot wait to chow down! YUM. 

• Fall Decoration (will dedicate another post...coming soon.) 

photos: Honey We're Home

Fall is one of my most favorite times to decorate the house and I also find it to be the easiest. I'm a huge fan of decorating our mantel with leaves, pumpkins and gourds as well as filling lanterns with pumpkins and pine cones. A simple change can make such a large statement, and I love bringing a little bit of the outside "in". Simple sometimes is best! 

With such a long to-do list of all the things I want to get accomplished, I can only hope that the weather will cooperate long enough for me to get it all done (dare I say the word snow yet??) Its way too early for that, but it's definitely looming on the horizon. With fall only a few days away, let's hope that its in the long distance future. 

Happy hump day to all!