Peanut Butter Lovers Day!

Did you know that was today? Did you know it was even a day at all? Well it is! And it's today! Looks like I will be making these from Smitten Kitchen.

Eva is literally doing flips for them right now!

Happy Peanut Butter Lovers Day everybody! :D

A Message From the Blogger Impaired

Ello ello! This is the time I should say something like "Ohh I'm so sorry I haven't blogged in a long time" or talk about how ridiculously busy I am or give a whitty list of possible reasons why I haven't been able to blog including but not limited to: loss of fine motor skills, an unsuccessful encounter with a samurai which rendered me handless or slipping into a comatose state initiated by over-consumption of the typical holiday goodies starting with Halloween (a likely scenario).

Mais non. I will not bore you with such tacky antics. I have not blogged. That's that. Now I am blogging. Yay!

Let's start with Halloween. We went trick-or-treating with our nephew and brother and sister-in-law. It was fun and Hayden and his buddy Landon were the cutest kids on the block. Seriously.

Brendan tried but he couldn't really pull it off...

Ha.

And basically since Halloween to Thanksgiving we've been working like crazy people and time not spent at work has been a blur of football, chili, friends and cats breaking things.

Thanksgiving was a short trip up to Raleigh to spend some time with the fam. I have to say that I am so amazed by the men that my brothers are becoming. I feel like just yesterday they were smelly little dirty boys who asked awkward questions and couldn't pronounce their r's. Now we always seem to slip into conversations that leave me in awe of how smart and grown-up they are. I ♥ them.

Grandma sunk the bag on her first shot. And quit while she was ahead. She's a smart cookie.

And that brings us to now. We've completed approximately 87% of our Christmas shopping which I am very proud of/relieved about since it's not even December. We've also put up our Christmas tree (still needs to be decorated) and have decked out the outside of house with the help of our neighbors who coincidentally have the same affinity for putting Christmas lights everywhere as we do. I'll put up some pictures once it's done.

In other news, I made my first ever successful cheesecake (chocolate with chocolate ganache- yeah, yum). It wasn't burned and it wasn't gooey. It was a Christmas miracle. And it didn't even look too lumpy or misshapen as one might come to expect from me. I was going to photo-document this momentous occasion in my otherwise bleak baking repertoire, but our aforementioned neighbors and Brendan got to it before my camera did. It may or may not have been our dinner. Don't judge us.

Hello, Autumn!

The official first day has passed, but it's just starting to feel like fall. Mornings are crisp, days are overcast, and we've actually been getting a lot of rain here in the lowcountry. I'm not complaining though, because this is what the weather looks like next week:

So looking forward to it.

So with little whims of autumn creeping in all around, I can't help but be inspired. Here are some of my favorite fall things....

{click image to see stuff in all it's splendor}

All of this eye candy makes me want to go outside take in a deep breath of crisp air, and jump into a pile of leaves- of course while staying cozy in that black and white wool cape or that rust-colored silk-cashmere wrap. I am so ready for some Wellies and oyster roasts and toasty red wine and cuddling up with a good book on an overcast day. The Gardiner Heist is one I'm really looking forward to. And speaking of cuddling up, I could really use a pair of those sock slippers. And that Fire Side Wood Wick candle, and those maple marshmallows...and...all of it!!!

Oh fall, I'm so glad you've made it. You're just in time.

From top left:

• Vintage Herringbone Pillow High Street Market (etsy store)
• Continuum: Music by John Mayer Amazon.com
• Gold Stackable Rings Stella & Dot
• Passion Flower Plate Crate & Barrel
  
• East Hampton Cottage Flannel Shirt Shopruche.com
• Natural Draw-String Sweat Shirt Gap {no link available}
• Sam Adams Octoberfest Beer
• Decorative Pumpkins and Gourds (set of five) Pottery Barn
  
• Snow Leopard Cocoon Cardi-Cape Leilanni (etsy store)
• Warm Slipper Socks Forever 21
• "I Love!" Copper Notebook Oh Joy!
  
• Heritage Badge Mug Starbucks
  
• The Gardener Heist by Ulrich Boser Amazon.com
  
• Facetted Jewel Necklace Forever 21
• Nail Color in Velvet Voyer Essie
• Frilly Sweater in Oatmeal Shopruche.com {out of stock}]
• WoodWick 10 oz. Candle in Fireside Wood Wick
  
• Studded Leather Wrap Bracelets Lori's
  
• Sculptural Birds Pottery Barn
  
• Weathered Leather Boots Forever 21 {yes...F21. I didn't believe it either. Please don't let them sell out, please don't let them sell out!}
• Beauty Basics Scarves in Olive, Dusty Pink, and Eggplant Shopruche.com
• Trasforming Wool Cape Lex M (etsy store)
• Pumpkin Ginger Sandwich Cookies and Brown Sugar Ginger Spice Cookies Whimsey & Spice
  
• Fuzzy Plaid Scarf Forever 21
• Gray Pearl Cocktail Ring Ann Taylor
  
• Maple Marshmallows Whimsy & Spice
  
• The Emerson Clutch EmersonMade
  
• Silk Posy Tee in Moroccan Spice, Jeweled Dream Cardigan in Rope, and Refined Silk-Cashmere Wrap in Vintage Rosewood J.Crew
• Gossip in the Grain: Ray Lamontagne Amazon.com
  
• BDG Sholder-Stripe Cardigan Urban Outfitters
• Pumpkin Pie Spice Coffee Creamer International Delight
  
• Women's Pelican Tall Boot Lug in Tan Plaid Sperry Top-Sider
  
• Escudo Rojo Chilean Bordeaux Blend

WHY!!!??

Whyyyy do you this to me, Ree???


I think I'm going to have take a break from The Pioneer Woman. Not because I want to, but because if she keeps posting recipes like this, I will never make my goal and will be doomed to morbid obesity in record time.

"Prettly Little Brownie Bites." Sure they're pretty and little, but if I so much as look at them, I will not be pretty nor will I be little.

BLAST!!!

This is *not* what I need.

Nope. Not at all.

My figure thanks you for nothing, Pioneer Woman.

{But my taste buds are infinitely grateful.}

Blog Lovin'

Blog lovin is a great site for fellow blog creepers like me who could easily sit on the couch and scour blog after blog for hours on end without feeling any significant passage of time.

Translation: I often go into blog black-out where I can casually check out Pioneer Women or {this is glamorous} around 7:20 PM and before I know it, it's midnight, and Brendan, bless his heart, has given up all attempts to get my attention and is now murmuring about funnel cakes while sleeping on the couch.

Now that I've outed myself as a complete loser, let me clue you in on my newest addiction find: smittenkitchen.com.

Why yes, those are Parmesan scalloped tomatoes with garlic, basil, and croutons. And this is only the tip of the iceberg, people.

Do yourself a favor. Check it out and get cooking. You will be glad you did.