Fabulous Fall

I LOVE Fall! And in Florida, that doesn't give me too much time to enjoy one of my favorite times of the year, ya know?

So, on the first offical day of Fall, I pull out all the Fall decor and deck my house out, from the front door to the patio and everywhere in between. It works for me because we aren't big Halloween people, so I don't use Halloween decor and then Thanksgiving decor...although I'm sure one day when we have a kid or two I'll deck everything out for Halloween in their honor!

This year, I also spent a bit more time in the kitchen, cooking delectable fall things I pinned to my "Fabulous Fall" board on Pinterest. (Are you following me? You really should! CLICK HERE!)

I discovered my "signature" cookie for the Fall! It's called Spiced Apple Cookie, and I made a TON of them: for my husband, for our neighbors, for the family here and the family reunion we went to...and everyone LOVED them! Score for me!

But I didn't want to just take people cookies in a sandwhich bag, so I found these awesome baggies and accents at Michael's, and of course, I already had the twine. (Take my advice and get yourself some twine, people. You will use it. I promise.)



Ta-da! Aren't they cute??? Oh, you were wanting to see the cookies themselves? Picky, picky, picky...

No, this is not a picture I took, because I'm really bad about getting in the midst of things and NOT taking a picture. This is the Pinterest picture, and, believe it or not, mine looked just liked this!

I also made several batches of pumpkin bread, to take along with us when we went on our Fall trip and to the homes of friends for special occasions. These are regular disposable pans you can buy at the grocery store, but with added twice and accents!

What special things do you do for Fall? I'm always looking for new ideas!

Utensil Bouquet

Sometimes I know the perfect gift for someone, but it seems SO simple! I mean, I know they'll love it, but the packaging just seems off. Sooo...sometimes I make my own packaging!

*Please note: these pics are just phone pics, so I apologize in advance for their quality!

These are utensils from Bob Evans restaurant. The last time we ate in there with my in-laws, my mother-in-law was ooing and ahhing over these items as we waited for the guys to check out. They ARE pretty cool - great quality with nice bright-colored silicone - the Bob Evans special brand!

So when it came time for her birthday, I figured I'd get her a nice assortment. But then I didn't know what to do with them!

I actually saw this at Walmart and thought...hmmm...this might just work! I liked that it was a nice bright color, too!

Yep, they all fit and the colors blended nicely! Perfect!

Entre some cellophane (that I ALWAYS keep on hand)...

And voila! Finished product!

I think there are countless ways to do something like this! Next time I'll have more fillers of some sort to add, but it turned out pretty good for a first effort, I think. The important thing is, my recipient liked it!