Pumpkin Carving

This past Tuesday we had a fun night of pumpkin carving--I have not carved a pumpkin since I was a child, so it was fun to get back in to it!

I shared a pumpkin with my international friend, Sammy. I was excited for her to get to experience this fun Fall tradition.
Artists hard at work!
Me with our finished pumpkin (you can't really see because of the light, but it was a bat)

NOLA

Some favorites from the trip to New Orleans with my friends Julie and Susie
We ate a lot (we basically ate our way through New Orleans)
Enjoyed some drinks, including the famous Hurricane from Pat O'Briens, which I had had at Nicki's bachelorette party, but since the one in New Orleans is the original we had to try them!
One of the craziest things about New Orleans is that you can get drinks to go. You can go in and order a drink to go and then walk around with it while you shop or site see. So one night after dinner we enjoyed some frozen drinks from Daiquiris
We also really enjoyed spending time looking at all the architecture and the cute shops throughout the Garden district.
And on Sunday we went to tour a couple of the plantation homes. This one is Oak Alley and it was absolutely stunning!

It was great long weekend with some good friends. But it's definitely nice to be home!

Fall Favorite #8: New Blog Design :)

So my fall favorite posts may have to continue, because now it's really finally starting to feel like fall and there are so many more things I am loving :)

But right now what I'm loving is my new Blog Design from LeeLou Blogs... a Blog template that matches my love for fall is just what I needed this weekend.

Now I'm heading over to my mom's to cheer on my Baylor Bears and watch them hopefully keep their rank and beat the Aggies! Sic 'em Bears!!

Fall Favorite #7: Decorating

Oh Fall decorations are some of my favorites! I tend to stick with the same decor in my apartment year-round. But when fall hits it becomes time for all the special decorations to come out for fall and eventually Christmas (eventually, like after Thanksgiving. Even though Hobby Lobby would like me to begin buying Christmas stuff in July)

So here is a peek at the new apartment all Falled Up

And that is all.

Fall Favorite #6: Family

Yes, I do realize my family exists all year long. I know I can (and I do) spend time with them in other seasons. But something about Fall just makes family time different.

And in our immediate family of now 6, we have 3 birthdays in the next 3 months. Add to that Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities and there is just a lot of built in family time.

I'm looking forward to lots of family dinners, laughter and stories. And Lily is looking forward to lots of play time with her cousins Sadie and Maggie-- well Sadie at least (once she finally meets them!)

And I'm mostly definitely looking forward to time with this precious family member

Even if he roots for the Longhorns (and the Aggies).

Fall Favorite #5: Pumpkin

One of my absolute favorite things about Fall is all of the baking! I love to bake and try new recipes. And one of my favorite things to bake is anything pumpkin related. There's nothing like baking pumpkin goodies to signify Fall.

Every Fall I start off with a batch (or a few batches) of Weight Watchers' Grandma's Pumpkin Muffins. Love them.

This year, I also made these cupcakes from skinnytaste.com the same night I made my first batch

Here are a few other things I'm looking forward to making:

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Butter

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

Oh I can just taste Fall looking at all those pictures!

Fall Favorite #4: Weather

Of course, the weather is a big plus for Fall. Granted, Texas doesn't really know what Fall Weather is. But considering how miserably hot our summers are, any reprieve is welcome! I spend most of the summer inside because it can be dangerous to spend too much time outside.

So once it gets out of the triple digit temps, I am ready for fall.

And so is this girl:

We love walks. And it is nice to be able to walk and not feel like we are dying after such a short time. I foresee lots of trips to the park in our future.

In addition to weather, I thought I'd add in a few of my not-so-favorite things about Fall (I mean it can't all be wonderful, huh?)

1. Darkness. It is really sad that as soon as it is cool enough to take long walks, it is almost dark by the time I get home. And I really hate late visits in the Fall and Winter when I am leaving a family's home and it's dark outside.

2. Allergies. I have always had bad allergies in December because I am allergic to pine trees. But last year and this year my allergies have started in mid-September and last through Christmas. It is so not my favorite thing.

But I'll take beautiful days as a trade in for these things any time!

Fall Favorite #3: Football

Every year I write at least one post about how much I love Fall Football, so it had to be included in the Fall Favorites List.

In a lot of Texas, High School Football is a way of life (Friday Night Lights, anyone?). The High School I went had a fairly good team that went to playoffs most years through my brothers' High School careers (of playing) and mine (of watching). My parents were season ticket holders and we went to a lot of games.

And even though the Baylor football team was less than spectacular during my college years, I still enjoyed going to the games and spending Saturdays tailgating and cheering on the Bears.

I'm excited to see how Baylor does this year... they've had an amazing start to the season and it will be interesting to see how the conference games play out. Today's game is televised on ABC, but since I don't have TV I am catching it on Gametracker. But as I sit here with the windows in my apartment open, my Pumpkin Roll Scentsy going and the Baylor Game on my computer it just feels like Fall.

And that is why Football is today's Fall Favorite.