For the love of October

Oh, October. 

How I love thee.
You have always been my favorite month.

October 1st is one of my favorite days of the year because to me, that means Fall is really here.
I know the first official day of Fall is September 22nd, but to me, it is October 1st
(probably because in California, we can still get temperatures in the 90s at the end of September)
But, October?
That's when the weather starts to change.
Days get shorter, it gets dark earlier and the air is crisp.

October is the gateway to the holiday season.

Once October arrives, that means it will soon be Halloween, then Thanksgiving & then Christmas.

My heart sings a little song once October arrives.
Leaves changing colors.
 Football.
Soup. Chili. Stew.

  The rustle of fallen leaves underfoot.  

Crisp & cooler weather.  

Casseroles. Pot Roast.

The smell of wood burning in the fireplace. 

Pumpkins.  

Cozy sweaters and boots.

Baking.

The smell of the Fall air.

Is there anything better than Fall?

It is surprising that I am born & raised in California. 

I am not your typical California girl.
Sure, I love the pool, the sunshine, the beach & the summer months.....but Fall.
Oh, Fall. How I love thee.

We barely get Fall colors here. 

Going to college at the University of Colorado was when I first fell in love with Fall because it was the first time I had experienced a "real" Fall.

I really should live in New England or the Pacific Northwest.

On my bucket list is to travel to New England in October to see all the Fall leaves & foliage.
So, every October 1st, it is like a holiday around here.
That is the day I bust out my Fall decor....not a day earlier....you know I am OCD about these things....holidays must be celebrated in order & not too much ahead of time. 

Yes, I have issues ;)

This year I decided to keep my Fall decorations to a minimum.
This summer I finished 40 bags in 40 days and did a MAJOR purge of my house.
I got rid of so much stuff and simplified.
Here are the decorations that I have up....which are barely any.
Front Porch:

Close up of wreaths...I've had these for years!

 I love mums!

 I will keep the mums out until the end of November.

Here is the most boring Fall decorated house...

 Mantle with 5 pumpkins for the 5 of us:

These are fake pumpkins from Target a few years ago:

 Miniature pumpkins in my candle holder:

 Mini Pumpkin from our garden:

Pumpkin Patch sign in our Dining Room

 Into our kitchen and all I have is this pumpkin on our table. Boring & Simple.

It's made of yarn...I got it at Target a few years ago.

 On our Kitchen counter, I also have our Pumpkin candy jar filled up.
The first week of October I fill our glass pumpkin candy jar with candy corn, harvest corn, pumpkins, Reese’s pieces and some peanuts. I keep it on the kitchen counter. It’s the one and only time I fill it up...the kids know this and have to pace themselves and have self control.
Let’s see how long it lasts this year, I think the longest it’s lasted is 6 days. Not that tempting to me, I only like the Reese’s pieces, not a fan of candy corn :)

October also means my pantry is stocked with canned pumpkin & making everything pumpkin. In 2009 or 2010 there was a canned pumpkin shortage....do you remember that? Ever since then I stock up on canned pumpkin :)

October means baking pumpkin bread (Recipe HERE) & Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (Recipe HERE) weekly: Here are more of my favorite pumpkin recipes:

Sweet Potato Black Bean & Pumpkin Chili {HERE}

Pumpkin Spice Cake {HERE}

Pumpkin Cheesecake {HERE}

Pumpkin Bars {Recipe HERE} 

Pumpkin Dip {HERE}

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies {HERE}

 Pumpkin Cream Cheese Crumble Cake {HERE}

  Can there be too many pumpkin desserts? No! :)

Last Fall I discovered that the Hallmark Channel had Fall Harvest movies.
The girls & I think they are the best :)

Just as cheesy as the Hallmark Christmas movie, but with a Fall setting.
I LOVE THEM. There are 5 new ones this year, set your DVR's!

So many other good ones from years past as well!

October means Casseroles, Crockpot/Instant Pot meals & Soups for dinner.

 Taco Soup is one of our favorites...YUM!

 

Last year, I converted my taco soup recipe to an Instant Pot recipe (and made it with chicken instead of ground beef. 

 It's SO easy & so good! Recipe HERE.

Other favorite soup recipes that I make:
Creamy Tuscan Tortellini Soup:

Chicken Fajita Soup is another family favorite.

October means getting Boo-ed and Boo-zed by friends! 
Of course, then we love Boo-ing (and Boo-zing) our neighbors & friends in return! 
Here is what we usually use to Boo people...I love boo-ing with cupcake (or cookie) mix, so that families can bake together :)

Download them {HERE} 

The adult version of boo-ing......Boo-zing!

Download them {HERE}
It's so fun to Boo friends. My kids love it! 
We can't wait to Boo & Boo-ze our friends this month!

October means going to the pumpkin patch & seeing all the varieties of pumpkins & gourds....they are so photogenic!

 Oh, October.

I love you, so!

What do you love about October?