Fall Inspired Potholder

I'm not ready to dive into Christmas quite yet, so I decide to complete one last fall project. Can you believe Thanksgiving is in a week ?!?! Where has the time gone this year?

I had some padded quilter's fabric leftover from my DIY Laptop Case project, and decided to make some potholders.We already have Halloween and Christmas kitchen accessories, but no Thanksgiving...well, not any more.

First, I created a template for the potholder by tracing and adapting a current potholder. I pinned the template to the fabric and cut.

I hemmed the edges and sewed the two fabric pieces together, inside out.

All sewn up!

Flip right side out.

For the applique, I cut out a leaf and flower bundle from some leftover fabric I had from making curtains last weekend. I used Heat-n-Bond in applying the applique.

After finding the placement of the applique, I secured it by using my flat iron. I hate dragging out the iron and ironing board for simple things, like adhering an applique or ironing a hem. One, because I'm lazy, and two, my iron and I do not get along since I burned my hand down to the muscle two Thanksgivings ago. Stupid tablecloths.

Voila! A cuter way to pull the stuffing and pies out of the oven!

Almond Pesto

I love making pesto! Especially fresh pesto, with basil and tomatoes straight from the garden.

 I also, love the smell of fresh basil.

Saute tomatoes and garlic until tender.

Blend basil, almonds, Parmesan, and olive oil until smooth. Or as smooth as possible. Usually, pesto is made with pine nuts, but have you seen the price of pine nuts lately?? Ridiculous. So I opted for almonds to provide the same nutty texture and taste.

Once blended, mix the pesto in with the tomatoes.

Fold in with pasta. I suggest not using egg noodles as shown, instead opt for penne. While the egg noodles tasted fine with the pesto, the texture was off and mushy.

Turnovers for Luna

My mom was suggesting I make an apple pie with the bag of apples she bought, however, since I've never made a pie, I was frightened. I decided to make apple turnovers instead.

First, peel and slice apples. Your family dog is happy to eat the apple peels, if needed.

Mix the apples with 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves.

Roll out puff pastry and cut.

Fill with the apple mixture.

Close the puff pastry with an egg wash.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15- 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Enjoy! Have you ever made an apple pie? Is it hard? Should I still be frightened?

R.I.P. to our hedgehog Luna, who passed last night. She was sweet and endearing and loved watching Micheal Phelps swim. We will celebrate her life with apple turnovers and planting tulip bulbs in her honor.

Pumpkin Cookies

The first Presidential Debate, here in Denver, caused a lot of anxiousness in drivers with major road closures for 7 hours! So I already disliked the debate before it started, for the stress it caused of getting Little Red (the girl I nanny) from her school located south of DU to her dance classes north of DU.

I won't get into politics, however all I do know is, that they needed to warn someone that there would be no commercial breaks, because damn did I have to pee! If you are, for whatever reason, interested in my thoughts on tonight's debate you can follow my twitter feed. Disclaimer, wine and muscle relaxers were consumed this evening.

So during a much needed bathroom break, I decided to make pumpkin cookies! I get distracted easily.

Here's what you need:

• Box of spice cake mix
• Can of pumpkin

Mix together thoroughly. You could use a hand blender but I prefer mixing by hand with a thicker batter.

I used an ice cream scoop to put on a pan. Since these cookies do not spread while baking, you are able to put more on the pan at a time.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

Delicious! The texture is more similar to a cake than a cookie, so they can easily be transformed into breakfast muffins on the go!

Seamus loved them too! I may make smalled balls next time and store as treats for him!

Fall in Colorado

Fall has officially arrived in Colorado! Time to unpack my sweaters, boots, and knee high socks. I love the crisp air, crunching of leaves beneath your feet, and the sight of new beginnings. Bryan and I drove the foothills yesterday evening to spy the changing aspens before their leaves fell. I love spotting the pop of yellow an aspen provides in a forest of evergreens!