Fall is here, and I am pretty happy about the season we are entering. I'm almost as frisky as Copper!
RANDOMNESS #1 - Josh's truck, Ethel, died. We tried to revive her, but to no avail. The old girl's GONE.
But, wait! This weekend, Mike and Josh made a trip to Oxford and purchased a new-to-him truck.
It goes so well with our fleet!
Three out of five Faulkners drive shiny red cars.
I think I'm stickin' to my neutral golden color.
It fits my mood.
RANDOMNESS #2 - We took our first Fun Fall Ride today. We didn't go to Trussville as previously planned, but since I've got five Fun Fall Rides planned, there is still plenty of time.
While we didn't see a ton of colored foliage, what we did see looked promising. Every week should be more and more autumnal.
Josh and Roxie bowed out of our first Fun Fall Ride of the season, and that is fine... as long as they go on at least one or two with us before 2012 ends.
We drove around the Crestline and Mountain Brook area today... and people are starting to decorate for Halloween.
These little ghosts caught my eye.
Melia and Austin actually WANTED to go with us. We rewarded them with frozen yogurts.
That's right. Mike and I pay our children and their friends to spend time with us. You can judge if you want, but as long as we have a few bucks in our pockets, we're hoping we'll never be lonely.
If you've ever wondered where The Lovely Melia's nickname came from, wonder no more.
The colors are going to be magnificent in a couple of weeks. I can tell.
Gray pumpkins are all the rage in Crestline and Mountain Brook. I just wanted to show you I was hip and happening... as far as pumpkins are concerned.
Blog Linkage - Head over to Confessions of a Pioneer Woman under My Blog List and read Friday's post entitled "Twelve Things I've Learned." Funny, enlightening and unfortunately, some of them are true.
Pumpkin Carving Date
I haven't carved a pumpkin with Mikie in years. When the kids came along, pumpkins became all about them. Suckerhead Pumpkins, Princess Kitty Pumpkins, Painted Pumpkins, Turkey Pumpkins, Veggie Face Pumpkins, etc. You name it, we've "created" them.
Now with all of the thousands of pumpkin decorating kits, ideas, tools, etc., I'm missing my annual pumpkin time... and I thought I would buy two for regular carving purposes.
I might even make a contest out of it.
I might even let the kids be the judges.
I might even give the winner a big ol' prize.
And if the winner is me, I might make the big ol' prize a beautiful new pair of boots.
And if the winner is Mikie, I might let him have some beef jerky.
Boot Story - I first shared this story last December, but since I mentioned "boots" in the post today, I thought I'd re-post it one more time.
I didn't tell y'all everything that happened the night I spoke at our church a couple of weeks ago. And there was a reason. What I'm about to tell you will let you know about a side of me I have kept to myself... until now.
Because I was representing the "fall" season of life, I didn't wear a new Christmas outfit to the event... even though it was definitely a Christmas event.
Instead I wore a burnt orange sweater with a dark brown camisole and a print skirt with a myriad of fall colors splashed all over it. My only problem with the outfit had to do with footwear.
I have pretty brown pumps that go with the outfit, but since no one wears hose these days (even in the winter), I had to decide whether the outfit needed boots OR tights. It wasn't a "tights" kind of outfit, so I opted for a new pair of boots. Suede boots. Brown suede boots. I tried them on. They felt marvelous. I bought them!
I left for the event before Roxie came home from volleyball practice that particular day. I thought I looked pretty spiffy in my autumnal outfit and my brand spankin' new brown suede boots. I walked with confidence to the podium. I gave my talk knowing I looked ultra-fine. And I left the event with warm feet AND calves because of the new boots.
I walked into our home, and I was immediately met by Roxie at the door.
"How did it go?" she asked. And with one quick glance up and down, she didn't give me time to answer the first question before the second question came out of her mouth.
"Tell me you did NOT wear those boots with that outfit!"
"Well, yes, I did. I wouldn't have changed shoes in the car on the way home. I thought you would like them. Look. Feel them. They are suede! So hip!"
"Do not use the word 'hip,' and I am NOT believing you wore those boots." The only thing MORE dramatic than Roxie would be me... Roxie's Mama.
"Why? What is wrong with them?" I was beginning to think I had gone color blind and maybe the boots were gray suede which would explain why Roxie was getting SO upset.
"You do not wear flat boots with a long skirt. You only wear flat boots with a shorter skirt and tights. You should have boots with at least a two-inch heel with that outfit."
"Well, I didn't want to trip in front of everyone, so I opted for the flat instead of the heel. These are fine. No one but you would ever notice that little detail."
"No, ma'am. Everyone noticed it. You broke a 'boot rule.' Promise me you will only wear those boots with a short sweater dress OR skinny jeans."
"Roxie. I am not wearing a short sweater dress. Those things are tight in the wrong places. And if I'm wearing skinny jeans, it is just because I ate too much the day before and my regular jeans are unbelievably uncomfortable. And I will NOT tuck my uncomfortable regular jeans inside boots... because then my boots would be too full."
"All I know is you cannot wear those boots again with the clothes you own. You look like an elf."
And with that, she hugged me and headed to bed.
Roxie is good, but I was sure she was exaggerating... until I headed to Wal-Mart the next day, the mall that weekend and church on Sunday. Her "boot rules" were exactly right.
I did look like an elf...
In front of over 500 women...
Who probably already knew the "boot rules."
And it normally would have bothered me a great deal except for how warm and cozy my feet and calves were that night.
And that confirms any doubt I might have had about being in the "fall" of my life. Comfort before style. That's my new motto.
Forgotten Chicken
I know I said I was going to have some kind of soup this past weekend, but I did not. After a Friday night dinner date at Jim 'N Nicks and a quick and easy Whole Foods $14.99 meal for four (Salad and Italian Sausage and Ziti), it seemed to me as if Sunday should be a chicken kind of day.
I went to trusty Pinterest and picked out the following recipe because it can be cooked during church and is ready to eat immediately AFTER church.
Plus, since rice is in the recipe, all I had to add was salad, sweet tea and rolls.
You will need the following:
Boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 packages of Success Rice
1 package Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can water
1. Mix together soups, 1 can of water and 2 packages of uncooked Success Rice.
2. Pour into a buttered casserole dish.
3. Lay chicken breasts on top of rice mixture and sprinkle onion soup mix on top.
4. Cover with tin foil.
5. Cook at 250 degrees for three hours.
NOTE - If you are a lover of "fluffy rice" only, you may not care for the rice side dish in this recipe. The rice is flavorful, but is thick in texture.
I decided to make a Skillet Cookie for dessert. Since Roxie is NOT a chocolate chip fan, I made half sugar cookie and half chocolate chip.
And this is the look I received when I told the guys to make room for everyone.
Needless to say, it didn't phase the rest of us. We all had our share of dessert.
Have a most fabulous Monday! I'll be back bright and early Friday with lots and lots of ideas, pictures and info.
Take care, and I'll talk to you at the end of the week.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
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