Hello, Fall!!!

My poor, neglected blog!!!! Will it ever forgive me for being too busy to post on it?? I hope so. Things have been balls to the wall (pardon the term, but it just works) around here for the past couple of weeks. I started school with the kids and that's always a major adjustment for everyone. I didn't think I was ready to start, but it's been nice to have a solid schedule during the day again. So far, so good!! Ethan's doing 4th grade workbooks & readers and taking piano lessons this year, Abby's doing first grade workbooks & second grade readers and still doing gymnastics. I started doing some reading aloud with Olivia too and might work up to some 'letter of the week' if she seems interested enough. We're coming up on her third birthday next month! I can't believe it!!!

Summer went out on a good note, even though I wasn't quite ready for it to be over. We got to go to the county fair in our home town which is always the highlight of summer for me. There is nothing better than fair food!! I had a list that I was working from as far as what I wanted to eat and I pretty much made it happen - jumbo corn dog, lemonade shake up, fried oreos, red caramel corn, cotton candy, homemade vanilla saltwater taffy....... Ya. It was an amazing day. The week of the fair always signals the end of summer for me. That and the sound of the locusts in the tree out front. Those two things right there mean that fall is on its way!! Even my playlist is ready for fall. There are some good tunes about autumn and even more songs with the word "fall" in them. Who knew??

I happen to love fall - Halloween (dressing up and hello, the candy!), the cooler weather, football season (Go Bears!!), wearing jeans and cute sweaters, baking yummy treats, going to the orchard and winery, cooking in the crockpot. All of these are my favorite!! So, in celebration of the upcoming season I am posting a very delicious recipe for apple cake. And guess what, it's in a bundt pan. You know I love bundt pans - they look cool and bundt is just fun to say.



Apple Cake

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 and grease bundt pan. :) Stir all these together in mixing bowl and set aside......

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 large eggs, beaten
3 cups chopped apples

In small mixing bowl, stir together water, butter, applesauce, vanilla and eggs. Add to flour mixture. Mix well and add in chopped apples. Pour into greased bundt pan and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely. Then.......

Glaze

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla

Stir ingredients into small saucepan and heat over medium heat until golden brown. Pour over cooled apple cake!!! Yay, fall!!!!

New Music Monday 8/10/2009

This week is flying by already!! One of my regular blog readers (love you, mom!!) has kindly pointed out to me that it's been awhile since I posted some new music. So here you go!! The indie band 'The Feeling' could be compared to the likes of Keane and Coldplay, but it would only be because of the piano and vocals. The similarity stops there.

'The Feeling' is a five man band from Sussex, England that met in school and played gigs in the Alps to get started. Their debut album 'Twelve Stops and Home' is one of the happiest, most upbeat and joyful albums my ears have ever heard. F-U-N! It's got this 70's vibe going on, but is still very current. I just can't imagine anyone who wouldn't love these guys!! Take a listen...

"Sewn" great love song


"Never Be Lonely" - do you feel the 70s??? LOVE!!!!


"Love It When You Call"


"Fill My Little World"


"I Want You Now"


"Rose" as in the wine, not the flower....


"Same Old Stuff"


"Helicopter"


The Feeling also put out a second album called 'Join With Us' last year. It's a lot louder and missing some of that good stuff that the first album had, but it's still got that energy and happiness that IS 'The Feeling.'

"I Thought It Was Over"


"Without You"


"Turn It Up"


All in all, I really like this band and their sound. Can't wait to see what else they come up with on the next album!!!

Ellipse

I can hardly wait for this album to be released! Imogen Heap comes out with her new album titled 'Ellipse' this August 25th and I am chomping at the bit. If you're an Immi/Frou Frou fan, check this out!!!

'First Train Home' new single!!! soooooo good!!!


'Canvas'


I can't wait to hear the whole album!!!

Peach Blueberry Crisp

This past Tuesday the kids and I went over to the farmer's market down the road to partake in some produce-y goodness. I stocked up on Michigan peaches and blueberries. While they are super delish to eat just by themselves, I couldn't resist the urge to conjure up some sort of crisp or cobbler. I found a good recipe at recipezaar.com that I thought I share!!! With 216 calories and less than 6 grams of fat per serving (minus the vanilla ice cream on top!), it's not too terrible for you either!!



Peach Blueberry Crisp - serves 8

4 cups peeled and sliced fresh peaches
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 TBsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon

topping

1 cup quick-cook rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 TBsp soft butter

Combine peaches and blueberries in a casserole dish. In small bowl, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon. Add this mixture to the casserole and mix well with fruit. In another bowl, combine oats, sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly and sprinkle over fruit. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes until bubbling and fruit is fork tender. Serve warm or cold. Yummmmmm!!!!!!!!

Fireplace Re-do

Is re-do even a real word? I'm not sure, but if it isn't I just made up a new one. This summer has been beyond weird for a lot of reasons - the weather has been weird, we've had a lot of weird health stuff... so ya, just weird. A re-do on this summer might be nice!!! Just as summer is winding down, things are starting to fall into place. I've been shopping for curriculum for the kids and have made my decisions on what we'll be doing as far as school this year. I am going to order next Monday and hopefully start the last week in August. Olivia will be doing a little school this year too! I think as much as I don't want summer to be over yet, getting back into a regular rhythym will be nice.

Last weekend we got to work on a few things inside the house that have been labeled as "in progress" for far too long. The fireplace is finally just about done! Here are the pictures of its transformation through the years.....



bare drywall.... this was our first walk through of the house in '04


'nother one


then we added some wood, tile and molding to it... looks better, but still awkward







in progress....


drywalling....


Ta Da!!!!!


I finally got some pictures in those frames above the couch too!!!


We still have to add some small molding to the fronts/side of the columns and around the wall sconce to finish it


I am on the look out for a cool mantle clock and some candlesticks too!!

Kevin of course did all of the hard work and the building and I did all of the painting. And much like all of our other home improvement endeavors, this project wasn't without its share of catastropies. Upon trying to vaccuum up the drywall dust after sanding, our beloved shop vac had a little malfunction. The filter slipped and shot all and I mean ALL of the dust out the back.... all..... over.... the house! And of course all over Kevin and me. But it's done!!! I also finally painted that bookcase Kevin made last year! It was unfinished, so I finished it!!



It feels good to be able to check some things off the list and I'm super happy with the way these latest projects turned out. Big ups to my man for being able to turn the ideas in my head into something beautiful!!!