goodbye, fall!

the rain these past couple of days has taken with it the last of the beautiful fall leaves that were left just barely clinging to the arms of the trees. here's a few pics from my sunday drive...what a perfect autumn day in the south.

i heart pumpkins

one of my favorite things about fall...pumpkins. last year I was all about my polka dotted pumpkins...this year, i think it's going to be all about painted silhouettes. i started with this cool crow. i found the idea for the picture online and just free-handed it.


then i added an old CZ stud for his eye and some small ones as accents around the words. NOTE: i PROMISE they're CZ's people...please don't come find my house and steal my punkin' cause you think you're getting real diamonds! you'll be sadly disappointed!

here's a closer up:


i'm going to try to do about 3 more, but have to go get more pumpkins first.

while we're on pumpkins, i made a batch of my favorite fall pumpkin muffins this morning. SO easy.

Easiest Pumpkin Muffins Ever... EVER.

1 15 oz can of pumpkin
1 box spice cake mix

Mix all ingredients (all TWO!) well . Pour into greased muffin tin and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Dust with granulated or powdered sugar if you like.

six mile sunrise

one of the best things about living out here in the "country" are the beautiful sunrises and sunsets over the mountains. this time of year, they are especially beautiful. i got up and looked out the window and saw the fog coming up off the lake and the colors starting to peak up over the blue mountains. it was so pretty. i have to remind myself to slow down every now and then and take a minute to soak things like this in.

just thought i'd share!

martha moments: polka dotted punkins

so maybe i won't be posting a martha moment once a week as planned, but maybe once in a while...
here's what i've done with our pumpkins on the front porch. i didn't want to do traditional jack-o-lanterns and i couldn't find a stencil to do one with justin timberlake's face on it, so here's what i came up with... i polka dotted them.

all you have to do is hollow out the pumpkin and take an apple corer and poke out the dots. put a candle inside and you're done!

happy haunting and carving!

time for the apple festival!

the sc apple festival is coming up--faster than i would like! it's a great little festival in my hometown of westminster and has become more of a homecoming to me than a festival in the last few years. it seems like a lot of people come back from wherever they've moved off to to come to the apple festival.

every year, i try to do a booth with my arts and crafts. seeing as how i sold off most of my goods in a yard sale last month, i have very little to take this year.

but i am still going and i have a plan for what i'm going to sell. if you want to know, you will just have to come see!

the festival runs the weekend of september 5-6 and there are all kinds of events that go on, not just the arts festival. there is also the big IPRA sanctioned rodeo and bakeoffs, road races, etc. etc. etc. i really wanted to do the road race but never can because i have to "man my booth" on friday, which is when the race always is.

so there's my shameless plug for the sc apple festival. come on down!

here's a sample of one of my wooden signs (these sell out every year!) interested in one? shoot me an email....lindsaystovall@bellsouth.net

they do make great gifts, if i do say so myself....

bring on the fall

i was so happy this morning to open the front door and be greeted by the cool morning air. cool being the key word. we here in sc have been hammered with a brutally hot summer with very little rain. we're in a severe drought and the grass is crunchy. (but to jeff's advantage, with the lack of rain, he didn't have to cut it very much this summer...)

in the past month, the humidity was so bad that i just let my flat iron take a sabbatical and i let the natural waves in my hair just enjoy themselves and hang loose. there's no use to straighten and style when the humidity is 100% because frizz takes over and you've wasted a half hour of your life each day with your CHI.

so it was literally a breath of fresh air this morning to feel a breeze and get a sneak preview to fall. fall is by far my favorite season. i love the colors, the smells, everything.

there's lots to look forward to this fall--

1. college football. need i say more? i seriously have ants in my pants waiting for the kickoff in a couple of weeks.

2. that wonderful, wonderful day that you realize you can drive without the A/C on, and so you roll your windows down, only to find you need to turn the heat on low. that moment is pure bliss. even the weird smell that comes with turning on heat for the first time in months.

3. gevalia's flavored coffees are always great in the fall. usually creme brulee and pecan torte. mmm.

4. the apple festival (which my next blog will be about, stay tuned.)

5. euphoria, the new wine/music festival started by edwin mccain in downtown greenville. the kickoff is the chris isaak concert, which we're going to!

6. our vacation to new england and canada in october. literally. cannot. wait.

7. WICKED IS COMING TO ATLANTA AND BUBLE'S COMING TO GREENVILLE. yeeah!

8. the colors around the upstate truly epitomize the term "this is God's country." when you look out and see the trees and the leaves, you can't help but wonder how anyone doesn't believe in God.

9. Thanksgiving dinner's just a few months away! I'm definitely doing a another turkey cake (see photo below of last year's)

AND......

10. ......CHRISTMAS is 134 days from today! Start your shopping lists!!

so, i say bring on the fall! i can't wait.