it's fall y'all!

It's finally feeling like fall around here!  I have been fall break this week.  Hence my absence from the blog!  To kick off my fall break, David and I took Hazel to an apple festival in North Georgia!  We try to go up there every year around this time, but this was her first trip.  She had a big time.  Hazel quite literally slept ALL day to recover from all of the excitement.

On our way, we stopped at Burt's Farm to find a pumpkin.  And not only did we find a pretty pumpkin, but also some butternut squash!  We decided to get a couple since we love butternut squash soup.  As expected, farm fresh butternut squash soup is yummy!

Later in the day, we went apple picking!  We picked 1 peck of apples.  It was really fun to pick them from trees ourselves.  I whipped up several loaves of apple bread for David to enjoy this week while I was gone and also to take to my family!  At the festival, Hazel made a lot of friends.  I picked out an adorable candle in a mason jar from Ellijay Candle Company.  They are made with soy and burn 45-50 hours.  I smelled all of the scents while David let some kids play with Hazel.  Then, I made David smell all of the scents all over again.  We chose Egyptian Amber.  I highly recommend you check them out.  Our house smells amazing!

We are kicking fall of right with all of these yummy recipes!  I hope you will check the soup and bread out.  We are excited about fall being here, because now eating soup feels perfect.  Sitting on the porch with Hazel is pleasant, and she enjoys standing in a breeze.

these are a few of my favorite things

I'm spending this weekend recuperating.

Seems like if my students have something, I inevitably get it as well.

But I thought I would take this time to tell you about a few of my favorite things this fall!

I truly love each of these products!  That's why I'm recommending them to YOU!

You might remember my summer edition HERE.

1. Nivea Hydrating Body Wash

I have absolutely fallen in LOVE with this body wash!  It leaves my skin so smooth and silky!  It also smells incredible.  I always have a hard time finding body washes that I like.  There are several things I consider (a) hydration, (b) cleanliness, and (c) smell!  This body wash exceeds all of my expectations! I'm in love!

2. Maybelline Baby Lips (Peach Kiss)

I am always looking for a good moisturizing lip balm with a tint.  To me, it is just as good as lip stick.  I was in the market for something in the neutral color family.  There are several different colors, but my favorite is PeachKiss (pictured above).  Not only does it give me just what I need, it smells good too!

3. Italian Rose Fresh Salsa

This may be an all time favorite for the hubs and I.  In the beginning of living a gluten-free lifestyle, David and I would indulge in Mexican food every now and then.  I was in the market for some snacks to have around the house.  We tried several different types of salsa, until we found Italian Rose.  It tastes fresh, has a mild kick, and briefly satisfies our hunger.

This salsa is gluten-free and only 10 calories a serving!

4. Tazo Passion Herbal Tea

Since I have been under the weather, yet again, I have been drinking Tazo Passion Herbal Tea like it's going out of style.  It's aroma is invigorating and it has smoothed my throat.

I'm definitely addicted to this warm treat!

5. St. Ives Apricot Scrub

My skin and I have been best friends lately.  She is so thankful that I'm using St. Ives now!  I've tried the mini version of several of their products sold at Target.  After one week using the mini version of this Apricot Scrub I knew I needed to invest in a bigger size.  It is the perfect mixture of exfoliation and gentleness.  My skin has been at its happy medium.  This scrub will not leave your skin dry, but it will exfoliate!  What a thought!  Needless to say, I have just embarked on a beautiful adventure with this facial scrub :)

I hope you also enjoy some of my favorites from this fall.  There are so many other products I love using every day, but I felt like these needed special recognition!

Let me know if you love them too!

xoxo,

Courtney

butternut squash soup

This Monday is finally coming to an end.  

We are wrapping up the evening by watching the debate, of course.

The hubs and I fell in love talking politics, so what else would we do.

But earlier tonight...

Let me just tell you... I outdid myself.

I mean I'm seriously impressed.

I made a soup.

And not just one with tons of beans, but something yummy and healthy.

Husband ate two bowls, so I know I'm not crazy, it's REALLY good!

Butternut Squash Soup.

YUM.

And it gave me an excuse to buy an immersion blender.

What goes in it?

1 large butternut squash (3-4 cups cubed)

2 carrots peeled

2 celery stalks

1 small onion

7 cups of fat free chicken broth

4 sage leaves

1/2 cup skim milk

salt and pepper

How do you put it together?

Get out a big pot and lid.

Cube your butternut squash.

Chop up your celery and onion.

Peel your carrot.

Throw it all in the pot.

Add chicken broth and sage leaves.

Boil for 10 minutes.

Cover and simmer for 40 minutes.

Remove sage leaves.

Puree with immersion blender (while on stove).

Add milk, salt and pepper to taste.

Puree, puree, puree.

Add some parmesan cheese to the top if you like.

Trust me, you won't regret it.

I hope you ENJOY :)

apple bread

Last weekend David and I went apple picking!

We ended up with 27 apples!

And I know what you are thinking... what are you going to do with all of those!

Let me preface this by saying, this recipe is NOT healthy.

I'm sure there are substitutions that could be made,

and I did use fake butter and Splenda brown sugar,

but mostly, it is not healthy and not gluten-free.

However, I like to make David things like this every now and then because he doesn't HAVE to be on my diet and I like treating him to something special.

Now...I'm not going to tell on him, but David REALLY REALLY loves this bread!

First, I cut up 2 apples.  (I also sliced my finger open doing this,

so I strongly recommend you be careful!)

 Then I added in the bread mixture (recipe below)!

 Sprayed my pan and added some cinnamon, sugar, and brown sugar to the top.

 I baked it at 350 for an hour.

And boom! Here you have it!!!

 

What you need?

2 apples

8 tbsp butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tbsp milk

2 cups flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Dice up your apples.

Mix the rest of the ingredients.

Spray your pan.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Optional things:

- Add a dash of vanilla

- Use 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar

- Sprinkle the top with cinnamon, brown sugar, etc.

- Make muffins (bake about 20-30 minutes)

ENJOY! :)

the end

we decided that since its was a bye weekend for georgia football AND the end of my fall break...

we'd celebrate this BEAUTIFUL weather AND the leaves turning BEAUTIFUL colors...

with a trip to the mountains!

we accomplished the four things on our list for a fall trip to the mountains (plus many more!)

- get a pumpkin

- pick apples

- eat boiled peanuts

- bring home a souvenir

we picked the perfect weekend, because the apple festival was in full swing!

our first stop was Burt's Pumpkin Farm!

 Indian Corn!

 Precious mini pumpkins!

With our pumpkin!! (We also got a smaller one!)

After the pumpkin farm, we headed to pick apples!

I wish I had more pictures of this, but we were searching so hard for apples I forgot!

 That would be my husband up in the trees getting us the most perfect apples!

And here are all 27 of them cleaned!

We are in the market for healthy apple recipes.

Let me know if you have any, or want an apple!

Then we got hungry for lunch! So of course, we ate BBQ!

The place we at lunch at is famous for their fried pies, so David got us two to try, strawberry and peach!

Then boiled peanuts on the way home :)

And for our souvenir?

We bought a beautiful log with candles in it for our coffee table!

WE ARE IN LOVE!

So here is everything we brought home today...

   We got one large pumpkin and one small pumpkin!

Some mild chow chow and scuppernong jelly.

And lastly, some muscadine bread (which David has already fallen in love with)!

We did pretty well for our fall day of fun!

But now it's time for me to go back to work...

And also time for me to enter grades... while I watch REVENGE :) :)

I hope you had a wonderful weekend/fall break/Sunday!

Love, Court

fall break

i've been on fall break this week and it has been fantastic!

the weekend was so amazing. we had friends over for the game and david and i spent sunday relaxing.

so perfect.

i finally got my house in order to have our first overnight guests!  heres a preview!

i also got all of our fall decor out.  and purchased some mini pumpkins :)

on monday i traveled to marietta for a doctor's appointment and stayed with my grandma two days!

we had a great time!

the first night, my sister and i took her to get a real italian (extremely delicious) pizza at antico.

only the best pizza you'll ever eat. EVER.

the next morning my sweet cousins (twins), also on fall break meet us for a j. christophers brunch and bingo at grandmas!  we had such a good time playing bingo! they told me all about their jump roping demo team and school. and they are super precious 5th graders.

grandma and i celebrated our time together at the marietta diner.

amazing food (greek, italian, american and breakfast)!

even prettier cakes.

we had TONS of leftovers.

i loved my time with grandma.

and the best for last.

my husband is going to be an AMAZING lawyer.

he dominated this tournament at school and made the mock trial team.

it was so fun getting to see him in action.

he. was. awesome.

words can't describe it.

you'll want to hire him one day, that's for sure.

i hope you have a happy weekend!

ours will be filled with weddings and fall leaves.

my favorite time of the year

I think I've mentioned it once, maybe twice? I love fall!

And now, I'm on fall break!  I have so many plans for the next week!

There are a lot of things I want to do this fall, but I don't want my fall "bucket list" to be so long its unattainable.  I've already made one pumpkin recipe, but I really want to learn how to use it and use it well.  AND I'm going to get a pumpkin today! I'm so excited!  

So here it is, my Falling for Fall Bucket List!  Most of these are things that we would probably do anyway, but putting together the list makes it easier for me to realize my goals, right?

I'm excited to do at least a few of these things!  I know David is too!

Have a great FRIDAY!

Love ya! Court

all things fall!

My favorite time of year is here! FALL!

I just love EVERYTHING about fall!  Pumpkins, the air, the leaves, boots, UGA football, cool evenings, apple picking, and visiting the mountains.  It's all so perfect!

Every year, David and I take a day trip to the mountains.  We fish, hike, pick apples, eat BBQ and get a pumpkin.  It is always a perfect day :)

We've already started talking about what day we are going to go make our trip this year.  Until then, I'm pinning and planning all of the fall projects that I want to get down.

Pinterest can just be so inspiring.

I'm usually very traditional when it comes to pumpkins.  I stick to square eyes, a triangle nose, and a mouth with three, maybe four teeth.  But maybe this is the year for change?

I am loving these chevron pumpkins! 

Baking with pumpkin, yum!  My sister loves to give me a hard time about pumpkin pie.  I used to complain about how much I hated it.  To be honest, I think it's an acquired taste.  Nevertheless, I really like pumpkin pie now.  I love this cute idea for a pumpkin!  What a cute kitchen deocration!

If I've never said it before, you should know that I LOVE GLITTER.

All things glitter, sparkle, and sequin.

All things that SHINE! Yes, I love it all!

So if you tell me that I can make my pumpkin a glitter pumpkin.

It's pretty much going to happen!

Street numbers painted on pumpkins. How cute!

I will end the pumpkin obsession here, with this precious front door display! 

What a cute idea, to use them as planters!

 

Now I'm going to get ready to cheer on the DAWGS!!!!

It's Saturday in Athens!!