Enjoying "Autumn's Charms"....

O.K..... Enough is enough. All I have been doing these last few weeks is working.....stenciling, sewing & packing up, lots & lots of pillows!...... Now I am very, very thankful for the business & to have such lovely clients.....& tomorrow I am thrilled to report that I will be completely caught up!.....

With that said though, I am in desperate need of a bit of "Autumn Charm"!.....

You know,.....

*pumpkins & falling leaves......

*afternoons spent cooking delicious chowders & soups....

* front porches sporting big pots of golden mums....
I want to think....

* "Halloween", about costumes & candy corn.....

& *baking as many apple desserts as one family can handle!.....

And above all, I want this time of year to slow down.....just a little.

I want to savor each moment of Autumn.....

I am deliberately clearing my calendar, so this season doesn't slip by without me noticing.....And it feels incredible!....Like many of you I am a "pleaser", always taking on more than I can possibly do,...not wanting to say "no" or "disappoint" anyone...

but I have come to the conclusion that for a few weeks I will be a little selfish with my time,.... & do what I want,
& if that means sitting, sipping hot cider, reading magazines & watching the leaves fall.... then I'm doing it!

Before long the holidays will be upon us, & these days of Fall will be
"sweet memories"...

So for today & for the next few weeks, I will be celebrating Autumn in every way imaginable!.....
And I would love to share this Fall with you!.....

So stop by whenever you can! I might have a new "recipe or idea" to share!

.....or then again, I might just be wandering through
a "leaf-carpeted orchard", enjoying my Autumn afternoon.

Here's to enjoying each season......

Your friend,

heidi
xo

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My Mother's Pumpkin Cookies,.... thanks to Sarah.....

Please understand! My mother used to make the most incredible "pumpkin cookies". They were supremely tender & frosted with a cooked, brown sugar frosting......so good that sitting here I can smell the aroma drifting through the air,... & I haven't even begun to make a batch yet!

I have been looking for this recipe EVERYWHERE!...I have googled it a million & one times, still not finding this perfect recipe?...Then today, all of a sudden, after altering the phrase I fed into Google,.... I found it!!!....I followed it back to a lovely blog, "In Praise of Leftovers". It seems that it's hostess, Sarah, has the same adoration for these cookies, as I do... & also remembers her mother baking them for her!.....I left a comment to Sarah, telling her I just had to steal her photo & this recipe & post it on my blog!!!...of course giving her all the credit!!!....So this is Sarah's photo & Sarah's mother's recipe!!!!!......

Maybe our mothers found the recipe in the same magazine or newspaper article years ago?.... who knows!...But one way or another, with Sarah's help,... I have found my mother's long last "pumpkin cookie recipe"!...Thank you Sarah!!!

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Autumn is Here....

I am so very happy that Autumn is here....maybe not officially, but once Labor Day has come & gone,... Autumn in my mind, has arrived.

It's true that here in California we will still have our share of very warm days, but this week is supposed to be cooperating quite nicely,... with the weathermen predicting temperatures in the 70's, which for those of us in Southern California is most definitely "Fall" weather!

In the next few weeks I am concentrating on readying our home for the cool months ahead...adding softness with extra pillows, placing a rug on the bare floor of my kitchen & burning as many deliciously spicy-smelling candles as possible!.....I want to bake pumpkin bread & oatmeal cookies... & am even thinking about putting up a batch of apple butter!....And I would love to begin a new quilt,... possibly made from tiny colonial prints in deep golden yellows & dusty browns.....

This is the Autumn I am dreaming of.....crisp early mornings,.... afternoons of pale sunlight & long shadows...& peaceful family evenings spent in our cozy home.

This is the season of the year that I look forward to the most....
and it is now here....
for us all to enjoy.

heidi xo

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