Pumpkin Carving Birthday Party!

There were pumpkins to paint (or carve.)

There were surprise balls. (I'll share my how to with you soon!)

There were decorations. (I made this Happy Birthday sign myself- see my instructions on how to make your own here.)
There were cupcakes- I never even want to LOOK at a cupcake ever again. (Or at least till the next party!) I used the easy how to in this book and used their suggestion of adding a cup of canned pumpkin to a regular yellow cake mix to give it extra flavor. We also served ginger snaps, apple cider, pumpkin seeds and popcorn. My lovely friends and family all pitched in and brought tons of delicious autumn-y things to share as well.

And there were costumes! Chicken, meet Kangaroo. Kangaroo, meet Chicken.

Have you been to any fun fall parties lately?

Apple Picking Attempted

If the blog is feeling a little woefully untended lately, it's due to all the fun we've been planning and having here in beautiful Minnesota. I am savoring all the beautiful colors, textures and flavors of fall. We took a visit to Apple Jack apple orchards when we first arrived with some of the Nelson ladies, including my charming nieces, Delaney (almost 1 year!) and Margaret (almost 3!).

The pick your own apple orchard had already been ravaged by the hoards when we got there, but Margaret and I went in search of them anyway. We called out "Apples, Apples, Where Arrrrre Yooooou?" but when none appeared, Margaret sagely said, "They don't want us to find them 'cause they know we want to eat them up!" Words of wisdom. We enjoyed watching several rounds of rotten apples being blasted out of the apple cannon instead, then retired to the cafe for some caramel apple sundaes. (Holy smokes, there is nothing quite like a crisp, tart, Haralson apple right from the tree, is there?)

What does fall look like in your neighborhood?

Pumpkin Party Favors

This year, I'll have the pleasure of celebrating my birthday in Minnesota with my family and lots of dear old friends. Instead of a million separate birthday dinners, I thought it would be fun to throw one giant bash. I've rented a rec center and started menu planning with my mum (Butterbeer will be served in honor of Mr. Harry Potter and thanks to the no booze rule of the public park service!) I'm also planning to have everyone carve or paint a pumpkin.

I found these great miniature faux pumpkins on super clearance after Thanksgiving last year, and I thought they would make fun party favors. I painted little eyes and mouths on them with acrylic paint and now I can't stop smiling every time I pass them. Aren't they funny?

Do you carve a pumpkin every year? I heard there might be a pumpkin shortage this year because of all the severe weather in the northeast. So get yours early!

Roasted Carrot Soup for a Halloween Menu

If Ina Garten has taught me anything, it's that roasting makes everything delicious. (Also, don't be afraid of half pound increments of butter!) Yes, roasting is an extra step, but it adds such richness of flavor, especially to vegetarian dishes.

I used this recipe, but went ahead and tossed in half a head of garlic (still in it's paper skin) and the onions into the roasting pan with the carrots. The broiler worked it's magic on all of them in no time flat and I saved myself a step. (After the broiler has made it nice and soft, just squeeze the smooshy garlic out of it's paper into the broth. And don't try to resist eating one clove whole. It's turned sweet and buttery by now. Eric and I love to spread it on bread just like that.) I also added some leftover celery to the stock after it had simmered with the ginger.

I served it with a dollop of plain greek yogurt (I find this a more versatile ingredient than sour cream and tend to use them interchangeably. I like the thickness and slight tang of it.) and blue corn tortilla chips. Thyme and freshly ground pepper make for a lovely garnish. I will definitely be making this again. It was hearty, rich, delicious and beautiful to look at. I think it would make a nice addition to a Halloween menu with those colors too, don't you?

What's cooking at your house tonight?

Missoni for Target: Will it be A Hit or A Miss?

I'm sure it's already all over the blogosphere that Target is doing a collaboration with Missoni. Hooray Design for All! Of course it looks great in the publicity photos (save some rather curious styling for the womens wear!) but I'll reserve my final judgement until I see it in stores.

The highly anticipated Liberty of London roll out ended up looking schlocky. It felt like regular plastic junk covered with those famous Liberty prints. I'd rather save up for one piece of the real thing than have something that's just a sloppy imitation. That said, here are a few of my favorite looks from the slideshow via Cut Blog.

With such a bold seventies inspired print, I love the idea of keeping everything else very restrained. (Also, looks like this make me I wish I could wear tights in Hawaii! Far too hot.)

If those towels look that plush in real life, I want one of each to take poolside.

Fill it with shiny red apples and this bowl would make a glamorous centerpiece on your Thanksgiving table.

A perfect pop of color and pattern for you feet.

Round it all off with a sexy little nightie and robe. These goodies will be in stores on September 13th. Will you make a special trip to check them out?

What do you think of the collaborations between high end designers and box stores? Which have been the most successful? Have you bought any pieces? Are any still favorites? (I still have favorites that Isaac Mizrahi did for Target way back in the beginning!)