Hello and happy Fall to all!!  While I realize October is almost over, I am a firm believer in “better late than never” and since I have a few tidbits I’d like to share with you all, this newsletter is going out but it will be a shortened version of past newsletters. 

I spent most of September joyfully prepping for Will and Ada’s wedding!  We had a spectacular wedding weekend in VT, filled with friends and family who came from far and wide to celebrate with us.  I remain grateful for them all!    

 We DIY-ed a lot of the decor and tent accents, but the natural setting (as you’ll see from the pictures) was the real show stopper!  We stuffed wedding welcome bags with goodies that were not only Vermont made, but most of them came from local vendors.  Bev, Ada’s mother, and I made the candle centerpieces which were simple, but provided lots of ambience. Never underestimate the impact of candlelight!  We decorated the tent with Boston ferns and fresh flowers.   William made the arbor for the ceremony and assembled it with Bill the day before.  Bev and her friends did an amazing job of decorating it with fresh flowers.  Paul, Ada’s dad, brought apples and pumpkins from his farm in Maine which adorned the aisle, the arbor and the tent.  Here are just a few pictures from our memorable wedding weekend.  While trying to set up a gallery of wedding photos, I've encountered some technical difficulties so hopefully I'll have it resolved by next month.

I don’t feel like it’s ‘officially’ the Fall until October rolls around.  On October 1st I change the wreaths on the doors to a Fall themed and swap out the hydrangeas for mums in the planters outside the front and side doors. This October I kept it very simple as you'll see. I start thinking about tablescape & mantle decor ideas, Fall menus that include hearty soups, & Oktoberfest and Halloween themed gatherings with friends and family. I think this Halloween will be very different for us as our new home is in a community with lots of families with young kids.  It’s been 16 years since we’ve had trick or treaters, so I’m looking forward to seeing all the kids in costumes! At the time of publishing for this newsletter, I hadn’t finished my Halloween wreath, so I hung a skeleton on my Fall wreath just to make do.  Easy peasy!

My To Do List this Month:

One of my goals for this newsletter is for it to become a way of interacting with each other, so I’m adding an additional feature to the newsletter this month:  A ‘recipe exchange’ if you will.  Some will be brand new and some will be, as my dear mother used to say, “oldies but goodies”.  I feel that the time honored tradition of sharing recipes with one another is slowly dying.  Recipes that have been passed from generation to generation??  Priceless! 

 To kick it off, this month I’ve asked my friend Ellen, who is an amazing self taught baker, to share one of her Fall favorite recipes with us.  Her choice?  An apple cake recipe which appeared in the New York Times, but like me, Ellen usually puts her own spin on it.  It’s absolutely delicious and addictive! I know you’ll all love it!  Click the button below for the recipe and a little bit about Ellen.  

Well, that does it for this month. I'll be back on track for November and I'll have plenty of recipes for Thanksgiving and some 'secrets' for making and re-heating "the best mashed potatoes" eva! 

 I invite you to head over to my website where I have recipes, tutorials, DIYs and so much more! I’d love to hear what’s on your mind so please leave me your comments!