Fall Favorites for You

It’s fall, y’all, and I cannot be more thrilled.

There is just something about fall that makes all things right. It may be the cooler weather, the chili on the stove, or the pumpkinification (is that a word?!) of everything.  Whatever it is, I just love fall and always have. My fall is full of favorites both old and new that just amplify this amazing season. Here are some things that make my fall-loving soul happy. (I’d love to hear some of yours too!)

Fall Food

Imagine walking into a home, an adorable fall wreath on the front door and big beautiful mums on the porch. You step inside, and are hit with the most wonderful of scents. Chili is bubbling on the stove just begging for a dollop of sour cream and some Fritos. (We are in Texas for goodness sake.) There’s a pumpkin dump cake in the oven; you’ve got your fall mugs out of the back of the cabinet ready for some delicious cider or coffee with your fave fall creamer! Smells so good, right?

Fall to me is all about cooking, baking, and hearing bubbles coming from old pots on the stove. I want to issue a challenge to you, and to me: We all have lovely cookbooks old and new on our shelves that are just begging to be opened and used. I challenge you, you super multi-talented mom, to break out said cookbooks and experiment with some new recipes this fall season. (Let me know what you try and what you like!)

Many of my favorite recipes are from oil stained cookbooks that have been handed down over the years. From left to right: My Better Homes Cookbook from my wedding shower; the Better Homes New Cookbook from my mom’s mom Jean; Better Homes Cookbook from my dad’s mom, Georgia. I am incredibly thankful for the legacy of good home cooks in my family!

Here is one recipe for you to play with and is ALWAYS a crowd pleaser!

Pumpkin Dump Cake

(Maybe the easiest recipe . . . EVER.)

Prepare the pie recipe on the 14.5 ounce can of pumpkin. Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 pan.

Now here’s the difficult part: Go to your pantry and grab your favorite box of yellow cake mix. Dump it on top of the pumpkin pie mixture. You heard me right, just pour that cake mix over the pumpkin covering the entirety. Drizzle top with 1.5 sticks of melted butter and sprinkle with chopped pecans or walnuts or no nuts. This recipe can be fully modified so it is yours!

Bake following the directions on the pumpkin can and take out when crust is golden. Eat warm, luke-warm, or cold.  So easy and so good–a major crowd pleaser.

Fall Scents

Candles, I love candles! They have this uncanny ability to fake you or your friends out, which is so fun. A great candle can say things like: “There’s some warm apple cider on the stove right now.” Or, “I just washed and folded all of my laundry.” Lovely. A good candle says welcome, come on in, it’s so cozy in here. Here are a couple of my favorite fall candles.

Save: Mainstays Mulled Cider Candle from Wal Mart. You can get an 11.5 oz triple wick for $3.50. Seriously $3.50!

Splurge: Aromatique Cinnamon Cider Candle from Weirs or the adorable Sample House & Candle Shop in Southlake. A 6 oz jar is $13.50 and totally worth it! Your house will smell amazing. Thanks mom for introducing me to this candle.

And last . . .

Fall Nails

I realize that fall nails should be in a fall fashion post, but I’m going to go ahead and put some fun polish ideas in here because you’ve got to have cute fall nails even when you are stirring your chili on the stove.

Here goes . . . . My favorite fall color this year is (drum roll, please): You Don’t Know Jacques from OPI. It’s brown and adorable!

Other great colors that are right on point for fall 2014 fashion:

So, now that you’ve got an itch to flip through some of your cookbooks and get baking, your house smells amazing, and you have an extra dose of confidence because your nails look so great, go and enjoy fall because goodness knows that tomorrow it will be February and we’ll all be trying to figure out what workout we can do because summer is around the corner! Ahhh, swimsuits?!

What are some of your favorite fall recipes and scents? What’s your go-to autumn nail color?