I {heart} Fall

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year.  Time spent with family and time spent in the kitchen cooking up delicious, spiced foods!  Here are a few recipes I'd like to try out:



Vanilla Spiced Pear Butter from Good Life Eats



Mexican Hot Chocolate Bark from The Moonlight Baker



Inside Out Apple Pie from Tiny Urban Kitchen



Pumpkin Custard, also from Good Life Eats

Have a fantastic Halloween weekend and we'll see you in November!

Cooking with Pumpkin

I love this time of year!  Pumpkins and squash are everywhere!  Here are a few of my favorite pumpkin recipes:



Crock Pot Pumpkin Butter from Baked Bree



Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes from The Craving Chronicles



Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Butter from Raspberri Cupcakes



Pumpkin Soup with Thai Red Curry from Drizzle and Dip

Design Challenge

Well, I had fun with the challenge!  Did you?

Here's the project I ended up with, after that simple sketch:



I turned the circles into pumpkins and made a great welcome fall frame.  I cut the shapes out of vinyl and stuck them on the glass of an empty frame.  I love the look!  Congrats Jen for winning!  What a fab project!!  Please contact us with your shipping address so we can send out your prize package!

Fall Colors Round Up

Remember my post in February about this fall's color trends?

Have you seen any of these colors around?  I sure have!

I see the Endive, Lagoon, Goldenglow, and some Oyster Gray in these Spanish Glass vases from West Elm.

I see some Purple Orchid and various shades of the warm Oyster Grey in these pillows from Etsy seller PipDesigns.



I see Goldenglow in this gorgeous plate from JennyBlasenPottery!  LOVE the lace design!



Accent pillow from KainKain with Coral, Endive and Oyster.

Welcome October

Wow, can't believe it's October already!  Where has this year gone?  I have plenty of projects on my list to complete this month!  Here are a few on my list:



Perfect my Pumpkin Pie Gelato recipe (I'll share when it's perfect!  I use David's Pistachio Gelato recipe as the base .)



Make some sour gummy candy that Glows in the Dark.  The recipe from Our Best Bites is for Jello Jigglers, but making gummy candy isn't much different!  (At least I hope!)



Or maybe these seasonal Pomegranate Jewels.  Yum!



Making more of these cute little fabric pumpkins that I designed a couple of seasons ago.

Happy Friday

Decorating Pumpkins

I found these cute pumpkins over at Parents Magazine.  They have some really great ideas and it's making me consider ditching the old knife carving rountine for a sharpie or paint.  It sure seems more kid friendly too.  {Well, maybe not the sharpie, but anyways...}

So here are a few tips to get you started with painting pumpkins:

1. Layout some old newspapers on the floor or table.


2. Either trace your design on the pumpkin (you can find a picture and print it out) or freehand it.


3. Paint away!

Easy, right?

What are you doing with your pumpkins this year?  Painting or carving?  I'd love to hear.

Apple Recipes

I love fall!  What better way to welcome fall than to cook with apples that are in abundance pretty much everywhere!  Here are a few of my favorite apple based recipes:

1. No-Fry Apple Cider Doughnuts

2. Apple Coffee Cake

3. Apple Crisp

4. Apple Strudel

Do YOU have any delicious apple based recipes you'd like to share?  Leave a link in our comments!

How to Make a Fall Wreath

Want to spruce up your front door with a fall wreath?  I'm trying out something new today and sharing a video that shows you just how to do this.  {With a little help from my dog, Jonzy}  Since videos are new to the site, tell us what you think.  Do you like videos?  Do you prefer them over pictures?  I hope you enjoy!

Fall Inspiration

We're officially declaring this week Fall Week on Fresh Nest.  Because we love fall, and we hope you do too.  Here in the midwest, it's already starting to feel cool and crisp.  It's one of my favorite times of year, and robably has a lot to do with the color palette.  Burnt orange, browns, golden yellows, reds, and changing greens.  I can't get enough of those colors {seriously, you should see my home... it's like fall all the time}.

I wanted to start off our fall week with some fall inspiration.  Little DIY projects that you can whip up in a moments time.

 Here's where you can find these goodies:

1. Pumpkin book via cheeky magpie


2. Fall leaves lamp via a little hut


3. Cute mini pumpkins via Liquid Paper {everything looks better in miniature size}


4. Fall paper wreath via haru


5. Leaf coasters via lilfishstudios {bonus: lots of yummy fall inspiration in her flickr stream}

What projects are you working on for fall?  Do you change your decorations when the seasons change?  I love hearing about how other people decorate their homes. 

Monday Redesign-Earthy Color Reading Room

Remember my post last week on the current colors for Fall?  I thought I'd do a inspiration board with one of my favorite color schemes from that post: Earthy

1. Vintage Coral Clusters from cmyk on Etsy.  These would make great little vase fillers, or a cute tuft on a handmade pillow!

2. Coral Print from Lucky Bluebird Art.  Try getting 3 and framing them in a platinum colored frame.

3. Kajsastina fabric for window treatments from Ikea.  Simple pleated panels would be great for this!

4. A pair of ultra comfy Brooks Chairs from Pottery Barn.  The perfect place to sit and read, or relax and chat!

5. Charcoal Wood Square Rug.  Is this not awesome?

6. Sebo Contemporary Table from Spacify.  Simple but unique!  The darker color helps to weigh down your furniture arrangement.

7. Glass Apothecary Lamp from the Barbara Cosgrove Collection.  Fabulous!  The perfect light and airy lamp to help balance out the space!

8. Don't forget the wall color.  Try Sherwin Williams Color SW7019 Gauntlet Grey.



Do you need help redesigning your space?  Click here to get started!

Preparing Your House for Winter

Ready to pull out the fall decor?  Before you do, be sure to prepare you home for winter!

by cwalker71

Don't forget:

-Change your air filters to make sure your system working properly for the winter.  Also consider having an licensed technician check your unit.  Having the heat break down in the middle of a cold spell isn't fun for anyone, and may cost you more to have someone come look at it!

-Consider changing out light bulbs for the more energy efficient compact fluorescent.  You'll be happy that you're saving money and your husband will be happy because he doesn't have to get the ladder out to change them as often!

-Check the weather stripping around your doors.  This is easy to replace if missing or damaged and cuts down on those cold drafts!

-Get chimney cleaned to reduce the probability of a fire.

-Test all fire detectors and carbon monoxide detectors-replacing the batteries if needed.

What do you do every fall to prepare for winter?

Red Barn and my many rants

image via flickr

I have red barns on the mind today. It probably has something to do with fall. I've always wanted to have a barn dance in the fall. You know, a bon fire with honky music playing and everyone doing the dosey-do. Swing your partner round-n-round. Can't you just hear it?

Well, this leads me to my post today. Really it's just a round and round sort of post. (Read: A bunch of random Mumbo Jumbo... now you know how I got the name for my blog... I know-- how original! End sidenote). Last week Casey and I were able to go to lunch. This hasn't happened in ages sans Caden. It was delightful and it's just like we were back in our own little dating world. The world where we would ride around in the old blue slug bug and kiss at red lights. Sweet romance, I tell you. Now our red lights are filled with climbing over the seat to make sure Caden has what he needs, or to swat away the dog from making a popsicle out of him (because he licks Caden THAT much).

Speaking of licking, I love, love, LOVE carmel apples and I need to make some very, very soon. Too bad my parents apple tree has stopped giving us love. I'm sure Caden would love some apples now. He is busy eating everything that comes in his way. Including dog food and lint. Yummy, yummy. I bet you're hungry right now. Speaking of hungry, did I tell you what Casey said last night? He said that we should cut down on our meat intake. Crazy, I know! I tend to agree with him, but we are the meat and potatoes kind of family so this will be hard. He mentioned tofu and I think I shriveled up and died right there. I don't like tofu. I repeat, I don't like tofu. Maybe the dog would eat my tofu... he is on a slight diet as the vet said he's gaining wait too rapidily. Have you seen our dog? Yeah, he's big, but I pretty sure he is suppose to be. So our dog is probably starving. Especially now that Caden's eating some of his food.

Now aren't you glad that I brought you up to date on all of our randomness? You are probably starving now so I will whip you up some carmel apples. Do you want any special toppings on yours?

xoxoxoxo

Fall is here!

Picture taken during our visit to Nebraska City last year

Fall is my favorite season (well, until spring comes around, anyways). Fall brings a newness with it. A fresh, crisp air... a much needed break from the summer's heat. It also brings a sense of tradition back into my life. Growing up, my family always had fall traditions. Carving pumpkins, making carmel apples, and my mom whipping up her fabulous seasoned apple cider. Yum! (Or yummo as Rachel Ray would say). Over the recent years, my family has started a new tradition. When the leaves are changing we head over to Nebraska City. This city is known for its trees as it's the home of arbor day. My family and I will be headed there soon.

What are your fall traditions?