Fall = Everything Pumpkin

There was a definite chill in the air as I strolled into work this morning. While I am not one to give up my summertime very easily, I must say that I do enjoy fall and everything that comes with it. My favorite part, aside from the colorful leaves, smell of bonfires, and cozy blankets, would have to be all of the delicious pumpkin treats! Virtually every business/product offers something pumpkin-flavored. Of course, apple cider is certainly up there among my favorite fall treats, but let's face it, in my family I'm known as the one who ate an entire pumpkin pie by herself -- note, it was not in one sitting, but instead over the course of about a week's time. Sigh, I will never live that down. Anyway, pumpkin is clearly a top choice, followed closely by warm apple cider and crisp apple pie.

Here are some of my favorite fall treats...

1. Culver's Pumpkin Shake and Concrete Mixers
Liquefied pumpkin pie, that is exactly what these pumpkin treats taste like! Dan and I try to make it to Culver's at least once to enjoy these tasty treats. We're known to go out of our way for one of these fabulous fall treats.

2. Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Coffee
DD is my favorite coffee, hands down. Out of all my K-cups, they're the first to run out. The fact that they now offer DD Pumpkin Coffee K-cups is a special bonus. I need to pick up some of these ASAP.

3. Starbuck's Coffee and Baked Goods
Starbuck's offers a delicious Pumpkin Spice Latte that is good even when made with skim milk. My second favorite drink is their Carmel Apple Spice -- one of the coziest drinks ever made. It's perfect for the non-coffee drinker, like my husband. Another drink Starbuck's offers is the Salted Caramel Mocha. I haven't tried it yet, but it's on my "to do" list. If you're not into coffee, or hot drinks in general, pick up a pumpkin-flavored baked good. You won't regret it.

4. Williams-Sonoma Pecan Pumpkin Butter and Spiced Pecan Pumpkin Quick Bread

Each and every year I look forward to the warm smells of fresh pecan pumpkin quick bread at Williams-Sonoma. Their quick bread is super easy to make and tastes amazing! Their pecan pumpkin butter makes amazing dessert squares -- a fall must-have, for sure.

 

5. Sara Lee Oven Fresh Pumpkin Pie

This is it. This is the famous pumpkin pie -- the one that I ate all by myself. The Sara Lee Oven Fresh Pumpkin Pie is super easy to make and tastes delicious! It is a must-have at Thanksgiving.



Summer 2012 Recap

Yikes! It's hard to believe that summer is already coming to a close. Where has the time gone? Hmm, I think I ask that question all too often -- and it is probably why I've been such a slacker at blogging. Anyway, I thought that I would take a moment to recap some of my favorite summer memories. To keep this post from being too long, I'll just pick 10 of my favorite memories, in order that they happened...

1) Friday, June 1, 2012
The Something from Jessie Spaghetti Dinner. Each and every year this event is what kicks off my idea of summertime. It is a special tradition that honors my best friend, Jessie, and gives me an opportunity to serve my Lord and Savior. Helping send inner-city students to Phantom Ranch Bible Camp is amazing!


2) Thursday, June 14, 2012/Friday, August 17, 2012
This event has two parts. On Thursday, June 14th Dan got offered a job! In honor of Dan's new job, I suggested that we go out to celebrate -- Dan's choice. He chose sushi. For starters, this job was a contract-to-hire position, but on Friday, August 17th he was offered an official position! Praise the Lord!

3) Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Celebrating my third anniversary with my husband, Dan. Each and every year gets better and better!


4) Saturday, July 14, 2012
Cori and Mike's wedding! It was a great way to see some of Dan's closest friends from college. Myk even flew in from Colorado for the occassion. Below is a picture of Dan with the lovely bride.

5) Friday, July 20, 2012

Seeing Dark Knigh Rises at midnight! We were looking forward to this movie for a very long time. Seeing the final Christopher Nolan Batman movie was bittersweet.

 

 

6) Sunday, July 29 - Tuesday, July 31, 2012Canoe Trip with the church youth group on the Flambeau River. It was a great way to get away from everyday busyness and enjoy God's creation with some amazing teens!

 

 

7) Wednesday, August 1 - Friday, August 10, 2012

Dan surprised me with 10 days of birthday clues! Each day I got a new clue about what I would be doing for my 30th birthday. In the end, I discovered that he was taking me to Las Vegas! So much fun! The clues were a great way to build my excitement.

 

 

8) Saturday, August 18, 2012
SURPRISE! Dan came home to a house full of family and friends there to celebrate his birthday. Me and my crew spent virtually all day getting the house decorated for Dan's surprise Toy Story party! As an added bonus, Kathleen surprised both my dad and Dan by being in attendance.

 

 

9) Friday, August 24 - Monday, August 27, 2012

Our trip to Las Vegas was amazing, but getting to meet and greet David Copperfield after his show was certainly the highlight of our vacation!

 

 

10) Friday, August 31 - Monday, September 3, 2012

We finally made it up to visit Kathleen and Brad in Fargo/Moorhead. Labor Day weekend was the perfect time to go up for a visit.

 

 

Like I said before, there were so many highlights this summer. I had a very hard time selecting just ten. Honestly, just go to my Picture of the Day tab and you'll all of my highlights from this past summer -- and then some.