My favorite season....

If you ask me in February what my favorite season is, I will certainly say SPRING

BUT  

If you ask me the very same question in August, I will certainly say FALL!

Today I bought a magazine, Autumn Cottage, and I look forward to fall colors, crispy leaves, colorful foliage, apples and pumpkins, sweaters and jeans, and crisp mornings!

This magazine is loaded with inspirational ideas and bloggers and IGers are beginning to share their fall decor, too.

I decorate for fall after September 1st (and I don't pull out any Halloween decor until Oct 1st).

I love the colors of fall: deep purples and aubergine....  

...mustards... 

...oranges and yellows, ...

...reds and burgundy and shades of greens! 

I hate to wish summer away, but fall in Central NY is often a beautiful season!

When do you start to decorate for fall?

Marshmallows - Not just for toasting.....

Marshmallows are an inexpensive candy and I have compiled a few ways to "doll them up".  They make a cute party favor, after school snack or a gift for neighbors!

Just click on the link under each photo for directions!

S'mores on a stick

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Chocolate-Chocolate  Marshmallows

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Caramel-Vanilla Chocolate Marshmallows

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Strawberry and Chocolate Marshmallows

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Candy Cane Marshmallows

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Marshmallow Flowers

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Lemon-Lime Marshmallows

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Chocolate and Peppermint Marshmallows

Hope you found a little inspiration here, and if so I hope you will leave a comment to let me know you were here!

Easy Stromboli....

Stromboli is super easy to make. 

Simply:

Roll out pizza dough
Add meat, cheese and toppings
Roll stromboli into a log
Brush with egg wash
Bake for 20 min

I don't think I have ever made it the same way twice!

Today, for lunch, I made a ham and cheese Stromboli, with a little mustard, red onion, scallions, bacon and spinach!

Pretty plates are a must!!

I served it with a side of salsa:

It was delish!

Here are a few different ways to make Stromboli:

Italian Stromboli

1/2 lb cooked lean ground beef

1 can pizza crust

1/4 c pizza sauce

1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup chopped red or green pepper

1/4 t dried Italian seasoning

Pizza Stromboli  

1 tube Pillsbury thin crust refrigerated pizza dough

1/2 cup pizza sauce

12 slices Italian salami

16 slices pepperoni

1 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese divided

1 egg beaten

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Sausage Stromboli

1 can thin pizza crust

1/3 c pizza sauce

1/2 c sliced pepperoni

1C cooked crumbled Italian sausage

2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

How do you make your Stomboli?

Banana Honey Muffins....

These were easy to make, not too sweet and delicious! Here's the recipe:

3 very ripe bananas

1/3 c honey

1/4 c canola oil

1 large egg

1 t vanilla

1 1/2 c flour

1 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

Preheat oven to 375'.  In a large bowl, mash the bananas with the honey, oil, egg and vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients and stir until moist.  Divide the batter among 10-12 paper-lined muffin cups, filling almost full and bake for 20 minutes.

 Benefits of honey: 

Honey has been linked to health benefits like improved heart health, wound healing, and blood antioxidant status. However, consuming too much may cause adverse effects due to its high sugar and calorie content. Thus, it's best to use honey to replace other forms of sugar and enjoy it in moderation.

Do you know the name of the tool used to serve honey? 

It's called a honey dipper!

Thanks for stopping by!

10 on the 10th - A Market Bag and a GIVEAWAY!

I came across these hobo bags that were only 3/$1.00.  Most of our stores and market are not offering plastic bags anymore and are charging for paper bags.  I always have reusable bags in my car and when I saw these inexpensive, sturdy canvas bags, I couldn't resist!

I took a piece of paper and quickly drew a pattern....

...and inserted it inside the bag:

I grabbed a few paints and a piece of aluminum foil.  I always use foil when I paint - it is cheaper than plastic plates and can be folded up and tossed away easily!

I painted a tomato with a blend of a few red paints.....

..when it was dry, I used white paint as a base for the green stem - this covered the red well....

...and when it was dry, I painted shades of green over it:

I used a Sharpie to write the words:

And then folded up the foil and tossed it away:

It's the perfect size to pick up a few veggies from the market and only cost $.33 and about 10 minutes of effort painting!!

This bag was delivered to a friend filled with a few goodies!

I painted two of these, so leave a comment to be entered to win the other one!

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Join my other 10 on the 10th bloggers and see what they created while spending less than $10.  

Click on the links below:

Apple Street Cottage

Creatively Beth

Patina and Paint

French Ethereal

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

winner is Jeanie at The Marmelade Gypsy

Faux Mackenzie-Childs Sunflowers....

I recently bought three MacKenzie-Childs sunflowers for $15 ea (additional 40% off). They are beautiful and of great quality:

I wanted to add a few more to the vase so I went to the Dollar Store and bought one bunch of three rust colored sunflowers on a stem and a roll of 'off brand' duct tape.

This was a very inexpensive craft that only took a few minutes to make some 'faux MacKenzie-Childs' sunflowers!

I laid one petal onto the tape, pressed it with my fingers to adhere and cut it to size:

I did this to every other petal:

Two flowers had the tape on the back petals and on the third I put the tape on the front petals:

These added a bit of height and an additional color to my bouquet!

This took all of 20 minutes and cost only $2 !!