Fall is here

Fall is here and that means no more beach time, boating or bathing suits. It means a significant reduction in margarita drinking and cheese-filled smokie eating. It means jean shorts, sandals and block rockers are being put away.

The arrival of fall makes me want to type a frowny face. This feeling usually comes and goes pretty quickly, because I force myself to remember that there are a few things I actually like about fall. In case you are suffering the loss of summer as well, I will share my list and hopefully bring you back to Happy Town. No promises, but let's give'er a whirl...

• fall means new clothes. Back to School clothes, if you will. Oh.. not going back to school? Doesn't matter. Go shopping, buy new things. It's cold out for god sakes! Boots and a jacket at minimum.
• Fall means my birthday is around the corner. October 19th for those of you who haven't memorized it. Put that on your list of things to remember, along with present shopping for said birthday. Hint: shiny is good.
• fall means delicious comfort food. soups, stews, chili and things covered in cheese. *Drools*
• it means fall-inspired baking can begin. You can't even imagine how fast I typed that. I super love pumpkin in baking and apples and doughy things topped with ice cream.
• On my To-Bake list: pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin loaves; apple tartlets (so I can perfect my tartyness); something with beets (see previous blog).; and Halloween themed something - cupcakes or cookies perhaps.
• it means thanksgiving, a day of turkey and thanks for turkey, is 8 days away. Oh yes, turkey AND time to hang with the family as well, which is, of course, my favorite part. Oh and lots of wine, which is my second favorite part.
• fall means Halloween is nearly upon us. Super excited to see my dogs dressed up like hot dogs, my new nephew dressed up as a pumpkin. Side bonus: a whole lot of mini chocolate bars. Not that I would overindulge, that would be wrong.
• fall means Christmas is almost here, which makes me giddy. *spoiler alert* I'm decorating my Christmas tree in pink this year.

Welcome, Fall! If you could please ask your friend Rain not to join us, that would be splendid.

xo Shelly.

that's me in fall. nom nom nom.

Spookies!

6:06 AM Sunday morning, pouring rain. Sounds perfect for a sleep in, right? Wrong! Time for breakfast and baking. It's sugar cookie Sunday!

Once I put something on my baking to do list it haunts me and yells at me in my brain until I make it. Some items are on my To Do-one day in the future if I happen to have all the ingredients and a special occasion to fulfill-List and others are on my To Do-as soon as humanly possible as my brain will give me no rest until said recipe adventure has been tested-List. Trust me when I say it's a debilitating character trait. It's 6:30 on Sunday morning and I'm elbow deep in sugar cookies. I'm also face masking. Lucky I don't have a roommate, they would hate me. A white-clay faced, sweat panted baking monster who listens to Norah Jones on repeat for hours on end at the crack of dawn. I'd probably hate them for the very reason that they are not OK with that.

The SPOOKY cookie cutters that sara got me for my birthday after finding out the only shape i had was a circle. For a girl that bakes a lot i have an embarrassingly pitiful collection of cookie cutters. I decided the cookies, being Halloween themed should be called SPOOKIES. Spooky cookies. Get it? I used the sugar cookie recipe off the back of the Wiltons cookie cutter packaging. IMHO (that's geek speak for 'in my humble opinion') any brand recipes result in the best baked goods. Think Rice Krispie squares and Kraft peanut butter cookies, both recipes right off the package make delicious treats. I whipped up a batch and went to the gym then came home and decorated them. Viola! Halloweenified. Spooky right? Distributing to any suckers that'll take em.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! May you rot your teeth with sweets and get your pants scared off you by a horror movie or two.