Autumn in the northwest

I bet you thought you'd find me here Monday, refreshed from a week apart from my blog, teeming with ideas and yummy recipes to share with a delightfully inspired weekly dinner menu to present. Honestly, I thought I would be here too. I had every intention to be back. I do have lots of recipes that I've been cooking up and working on. Lots of ideas to share and wonderful pictures. But life is busy.

Autumn consistently is a busy time for us. There are so many fun things to do, I find myself constantly pulling up my calendar (I've finally abandoned the paper and pencil calendar (for the most part) and resorted to google calendars full time. I do find myself printing out the monthly calendars from time to time just so I can better look ahead...I know I won't ever get away from paper permanently!) and packing our schedules full in order to capture as much as we can of this magical time of the year.

While I've been away from here, these are bits of what we've been spending our time on: football Saturdays, crunching into freshly picked apples, pulling out the blankets and throws to snuggle on the couch, finding our hats and mittens, taking afternoon walks, driving into the Cascades to seek out some fall color- looking up at the mountains and seeing dots of bright oranges, yellows, and reds among the bright green of the evergreens is a breathtaking scene, tasting the sweetest little plums I've ever had, enjoying pumpkin muffins, lattes, and breads, and going away for a surgical retreat in Leavenworth at Sleeping Lady Resort.

We have a trip to the pumpkin patch, a Halloween festival, a fall wedding in San Francisco, Jack's 2nd Birthday!, David's birthday, trick-or-treating, and Thanksgiving all to come. The fun doesn't end and neither does the busyness! I have cupcakes to make, soups to simmer, and brunches to share, so I will be back. That I promise.

My thought is that I will focus more on single recipes for this holiday season rather than menu planning. Sharing those special recipes that I'm so eager to give you seems like a much more approachable plan. When you are this busy with seasonal fun, weekly meal plans can seem daunting which is why I've shied away! No longer will I be a stranger. I hope you can promise me the same. I like our meetings here. I live for them, so please keep checking in. I will post a recipe very soon.

> xxo!