Ta da, fall is falling!

     Was summer really so short, so brief, that we're already talking about apple recipes and chilly weather? The district today is seeing high temperatures close to the 90 degree mark, so it really doesn't feel that way. And yet, the calendar reads September 10th today! I had a serious discussion with my husband about when fall actually starts, the equinox or September 1, and my argument for September 1 is that we consider the winter season December 1 (or after Thanksgiving, at least). If we only start celebrating winter, then we're mixing holiday snowmen with scarecrows and harvest, and it just doesn't work. So I must be firm, year after year, argument after argument, even if the weather, equinoxes, or solstices don't agree. If it's between September 1 and Thanksgiving, I'm calling it Fall. Autumn leaves, I invite you to change at your earliest convenience.

     I like to focus on apples in September. It's back to school, bring your teacher an apple, bake that first pie--that kind of feeling. Apples help us warm up to the more serious harvest vegetables like pumpkins. Although surprisingly, my local farmer's market Heyser Farms claim that they receive fresh corn into October--who would have thunk it? Heyser Farms featured some amazing peaches this past summer--almost as big as my head!--so I'm looking forward to visiting them for their apple offerings. We sadly missed the Rambo season--I'm not sure how, we were there and looking for them--so we'll have to make our first pie with later-season apples. With apples on the brain, I'd like to share a couple of really tasty-looking apple recipes from Better Homes and Gardens. I appreciate how excited they are about the changing seasons--they share my enthusiasm! I think the savory recipes look especially enticing. If someone tries them before me, please do share your review of your results!

Sweetie Recipes

Classic Apple Crisp

Granny Smith Cobbler with White Cheddar Biscuits

Savory Recipes

Apple Cider Chicken

Apple-Sausage Rigatoni

Apple-Buttered Sweet Potatoes

Wait a minute, it's still August, right?

     I think I've made it pretty clear that I love the fall holidays just as much as the next guy. Probably more than the next guy, even, but fall has a feeling that I mostly attribute to the cooler weather. My friends, the temperature in DC is still in the 90s, so it is driving some very conflicting emotions within me to walk into one of my favorite stores, World Market, and see this:



World Market's Fall Theme, "Harvest Market."

and this:


A display of fall-themed leaves and owls.

and this:


Fall wreathes and tins of various candy barks.

and especially this!:


Bags of already-roasted pumpkin seeds.
Why do you tease me so, stores? Do you think I want it to be summer still, hot and sticky? Do you think that I do not long to turn my oven back on, to start making soups and stews again, to start baking spicy things to warm my apartment? I can't even buy a pumpkin for making jack-o-lanturns yet, let alone roast the pumpkin's byproducts into tasty treats. Seriously, I still have a watermelon on my kitchen table at home.

     Yankee Candle and Bath and Body Works have also already begun to taunt me by releasing products aimed at the Halloween season. Yankee Candle has fully released the new pieces in their usual "Boney Bunch" collection. Although I'm not particular to those pieces, I do really like their "Haunted House" collection.


The "Yankee Manor" Haunted Mansion Multi Tea Light Holder and "Dreadful Drip" 12-inch Taper Candles
Although I don't own either of them, I really like both of these products. The "Dreadful Drip" 12-inch candles are a Yankee Candle classic. When you start to burn them, the wax below is red, and as the candle burns, the red wax drips, giving the candle a bleeding effect. It's really cool and kind of creepy. I like the Haunted Mansion tea light holder, because it looks like it could cast some really great shadows.

     Bath and Body Works's too-early contribution to the Halloween celebration is a little smaller.


A Halloween assortment of Pocketbac Deep Cleansing Hand Gels
Scents from left to right: Zombie Squad (White, Marshmallow); Bat Bite (Green, Green Apple);
Vampire Blood (Red, Plum); Spider's Web (Black, Licorice); and Candy Corn (Orange, Caramel)
I'm going to pick up one or more of these this weekend. Probably Candy Corn. BUT! I'm going to save it until at least mid-September, and probably longer. Autumn does not begin until September 23rd this year, and in DC, it is going to be warm up to and probably past that date. As much as I'd like to pull out my sweaters, I probably couldn't bear it. Until the weather cools, unfortunately, my excitement over autumn must cool as well.

Rain, rain, rain.

     It's getting warm lately, and humid. With the summer months come thunderstorms, and they surely appear to be getting close and soon.






Photo One is a picture of ducks in my in-laws' back yard in State College. Photo Two is a stormy afternoon in DC.
To quote my mother, it is weather for the ducks. I'm glad I found rain boots.

Spring is here!

     And I must admit, I really have been enjoying it. Summers can be incredibly stifling in DC, to the point where I forget that other seasons can be quite pleasant. Ask me again in two or three months, and I shall tell you that I hate this city irreparably. Right now, though, when the cherry blossom trees are blooming and there's a breeze through the streets, things are just lovely. I could live here forever if only it would always be this temperature.


That sky--talk about blue!
     I also just spent a nice and rainy weekend in NYC. My birthday was last week--26 years old!--and my husband took me to see a great new Broadway show to celebrate! It was a really fun trip, despite the rain.


Madison Square Garden in the rain--waiting for a taxi.


We saw a preview showing of The Addams Family, starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. They were amazing!


There are gargoyles outside of our room on the top floor of the Radisson Lex.
     A short summary of my trip in photos is above. Omitted are photos of the largest martini I've ever consumed, along with photos of restaurants, hotels, and all of the indoor fun that can be managed in NYC.

     Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Think warmer thoughts.

     Rain makes snow look icky. That's the state of DC lately. Yesterday, I wore regular shoes, but I found that to be a mistake, what with all of the melty, rainy snow, so I'm back to my Uggs. Super office-appropriate, I know.


     Some quick things that I saw and loved today:


Zipper Cups


Williams-Sonoma Steiff Bunny

As an avid tea drinker, those mugs are really charming. As the wife of a deutschophile, I really appreciate the Steiff brand of toys. Hand-made quality always gets me. I used to collect bunnies as a child, too, so I find this really adorable.

     For those not enjoying the cold, think warmer thoughts! March is less than a week away, and although the weather might not care, it just sounds like a warmer and more springy month!

Weather gone wild!

     Although it is essentially old news at this point, I tried to thoroughly photo-document the blizzard of 2010 that struck DC and the Eastern seaboard in this album:





2010 January and February: Snowbound!
     A series of photographs featuring me, my husband, and some stir-crazy cats during the biggest snowfall some people have ever seen. My husband and I were stuck in our apartment for ten straight days (although some of those days were spent teleworking on my end), which is unprecedented. We really had a lot of fun, though, being the cold- and snow-loving people that we are. I don't mind saying that I miss it and wouldn't mind another go, weather-permitting. Psst...don't tell anyone in DC that I said this, or else they may come after me with pitchforks.

     Yay for snow!