Fall has Arrived!

Oh my goodness - I feel like this weekend passed so fast that I have whiplash! I don't know about you, but it seems to me that not only are the days getting shorter, but the weekends are getting shorter too. I think it has something to do with the end of the year creeping ever closer - you seem to run out of time for all the things you need to do because the days seems even shorter.

I don't mind the "shorter" days, I may be one of the few people that love Autumn and Winter...somewhat because of the shorter days. I love coming home, curling up on my couch in the dim evenings and sipping a cup of something warm (hot chocolate, apple cider....coffee on the weekends) while curled up with a blanket, reading a good book or watching a movie. Not to mention - oh people, the holidays are upon us!

Halloween is just a week away and while I know some people get their britches in a bunch over Halloween being evil/people that are Christians not needing to celebrate it - I call their bluff. Halloween can be whatever you make it and if you teach that it's evil, that is what it will become. I think Halloween can be fun and can be celebrated without making things seem bad. So - there is my soapbox rant for the morning. Also - Thanksgiving, which I love just because turkey is delicious and I love spending time with my family and decorating for....CHRISTMAS. And don't even get me started on Christmas because that is MY favorite time of year ever. Always. So - basically - I'm just thrilled for the next two and a half months in general - because, hey holiday season! Let's do this!

Halloween candy anyone? I try to keep my desk well stocked....

A very Autumn moon...Lindsey said it looked like something out of Sleepy Hollow...which, hey...maybe that's what I was going for. Ha-ha!

Tuesday morning - there was a chill in the air. Awesome! I love Autumn!!

So - I already dedicated a whole post to this...but I made beef stew last week and I was absolutely in love with it. I brought if for lunch on Tuesday and it was just as delicious all warmed up in the microwave. The best part of taking it to work was that I shared it with a co-worker who cooks all the time; she tells other people how to cook awesome food and after she ate her bowl of MY beef stew, she wanted to know how I'd made it! Let me assure you - that's a victory in the cooking department for sure! I'm pretty sure I need to go by the stuff to make more of this as soon as possible...because - delicious.

Oh...so good. I want a bowl right NOW.

Also - and I suppose this technically falls back to last weekend, but it's making the post this week because that's how I roll. I've been spending the weekend on my own for the past few weekends and last Saturday night I saw that The Hobbit was going to be on HBO; since I had nothing to do and no one to do anything with, I figured an almost three hour movie was the perfect way to pass the time. I love the Lord of the Rings trilogy when it came out 10 years ago (seriously - it has been 10 years!) and since this is a prequel to that, I sat myself on the couch, watched it and really enjoyed it. I have this "problem" though, wherein as soon as I see a movie I enjoyed, I have to find the book it is based on and read it. I've read the Lord of the Rings trilogy (all 1,000+ pages) and thought it was excellent, so as soon as I got paid on Tuesday I took myself to Books A Million and bought some books. Nothing makes my heart so happy as the smell of fresh books. The ink, the paper....it's all wonderful! So, I bought the rest of Tolkien's arsenal and have spent all week immersing myself in all things Middle Earth again. The Desolation of Smaug (film two of three in The Hobbit trilogy)  comes out in about 6 weeks; I think I'll be ready by then!

Books! I love books! So much. 

I got this to drink just for Lindsey. And it was delicious.

My "goblin dog"....so says a co-worker's little boy. Look at those glowing goblin eyes...hahaha!

Even on rainy days, Watson is ready to explore!

Thursday evening skies...even after the rain was gone, it still looked terribly gloomy!

Watson says "OK, tonight I'll sleep on this bed & you can sleep on the other one, got it?" No way pup, no way!

A beautiful Friday morning!

Happily, Autumn seems to have arrived and decided to stick around. Even though I did a whole bunch of nothing this weekend, I did it wearing long sleeve t-shirts, socks and even a jacket a time or two. Which is absolutely divine! I love opening my front door and feeling that briskness in the air. It just makes my heart happy. Plus - boots, sweaters, cute coats, scarves! I just love it all. So much. Also, the colors of Autumn are the best as well. Who doesn't love rich reds, burnt oranges, golden yellows and deep eggplants? I don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for the last three months of every year!

Oh yes - I do love this weather. So much.

Running a Saturday errand with some leftover Halloween decor sitting in the back seat. Watson was unfazed.

I just went for old school Jack O'Lantern this year. No paint, no particular face...just something more traditional.

He absolutely cracks me up sitting on the stoop with the pumpkin.

I made pumpkin pasta on Saturday night (there will be a post devoted to that later) and Watson LOVED it. He would have eaten a whole bowl - if I'd let him.

The jack o'lantern before the sun went down....

And after the sun went down....ooh wahahaha!

Pumpkin pasta hog! 

One of my many precious lovies on Sunday morning - I adore her!

Saturday night, I knew I wanted to cook something in the crock pot...and I knew it needed to be chicken because that was what I had plenty of, but I wasn't sure what to do with it. I ended up just throwing the chicken into the crock pot with some carrots, some chicken broth and some pretty basic seasonings - salt, pepper and a vegetable spice blend - and letting it cook overnight. I was so pleased with how tender and delicious the chicken turned out! I love it when I just throw things together and they turn out so well! Granted, I love cooking anything in general...but the pay off it much greater when it turns out delicious!

Sunday lunch - yes ma'am...it was delicious!

He takes Sunday napping seriously - as in, he starts napping around two & just naps the rest of the day. Bum.

This may not look like much to other people, but to me...this lets me know that Watson has hopped, jumped & wiggled on every pillow in the house while I was in the bathtub. Good grief.

Tis the season for hot chocolate! Yahoo!

Oh me - I discovered my favorite version of Sherlock Holmes. I have been watching Elementary on CBS for the past year now and I thoroughly enjoy it but I was told by a couple people that I needed to check out the BBC's version of the Sherlock Holmes tale because it was, hands down the best. So, this weekend - I did. And I'm hooked! It is absolutely, no doubt the best. Of course, I suppose since Sherlock Holmes is the creation of a British author, it makes sense that the Brits version of Sherlock Holmes would be the best offering. Also - Benedict Cumberbatch (that name, good grief) can act like nobodies business. Sadly - there are only 3 episodes to a "series"...why BBC, why? I've already found my favorite line from the show; when Holmes addresses the medical examiner Anderson - "Anderson, stop talking - you lower the IQ of everyone in the room just by opening your mouth." Oh me...I know several people I'd like to say that to. Anyway, it's awesome! I love it.

Holmes & Watson on the case...

And - that is all for now. I had a good week last week; an interesting week for sure. I'm hoping this week will be much the same. I suppose now it's time to settle into my desk chair, drink another cup of coffee and get down to work! Hope everyone has a great Monday and a wonderful week!