texasgem we fired up the fireplace for the first time last night! Brrr but it is so cozy. We have yet to fire up the furnace, just can't do it. It is now 52 - started out at 48. Woohoo a 4 degree warm up! We are
supposed to be back in the upper 60's next week though. :D

I love your mantle. This cold weather has given me the fall decorating bug - last fall I didn't have it in me after 'the build' so I get what you are saying. We need to pick out pumpkins soon. I did make a fall wreath for the front door (thank you pinterest). I am not a crafty person per se but it was fun!

Ohhh pretty wreath!

I'm always so jealous of everyone who lives in a cold weather climate. I'm in So Cal and we are down to the low 80s today, but tomorrow we will be In the 60s with rain! Unfortunately it will be mid to high 80s again next week. It's difficult to get into fall decorating when it's hot!

First fire of the year in our fireplace today... and we're in the south! It was wonderful on this gray rainy day.

High of about 58 today in SC, with driving rain pretty much all day. I like the cool weather, but it seems to come on suddenly here. Hot, humid, shorts, T-shirts...BAM! Cold! As I get older, I notice the cold more. 50 degrees used to be T-shirt weather for me, but now I find I have to throw a long sleeve shirt on. Could be the 40 lbs. of 'insulation' I've lost, too.

Coast of Washington state, 45 minute drive from the rain forest, and it's been so dry and warm that the grass is still brown. Went outside with long sleeves on to do some work and changed into short sleeves. Clear blue skies, bright sun, high of 66 degrees. It's supposed to be 75 tomorrow. I'm loving it but it's bad for our watersheds.

Haven't needed any heat in the house yet, not even at night.

We're supposed to be in the 60's all week with some rain forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.

I'm never been much of a seasonal decorator except Christmas, even then, my decorations are minimal compared to most people. I'm lazy. And I really don't want the clutter of storing decorations away, storing the stuff I had to move out to make way for seasonal decorations, yada yada. Although with the 5 year old now living with us, I'm sure we'll be carving a pumpkin or two. Oh, DH did plant some gourds....I have no idea why...so I do have a couple of those on the dining room table in a bowl. That will probably be the extent of my fall decorations. :)

Guess who has the best hubby in the world? Oh, that's right, its me!!

Base cabs are in!

They need to be painted and right now we will have the plywood (painted) countertop but I hope in the future to put in a soapstone counter.

So excited!!!!

Melis- I understand, sometimes I don't decorate for fall until mid November, it is hard to get in the mood when it is so warm out. I could have, but didn't, swim on Thursday. Now I wish I had since it was the last day our pool would be warm enough.

Omelet- enjoy! We are having a lot of rain right now too.

Mushcreek- congrats on losing the insulation! It is worth being cold. :)

Funky- you'll have to show us the pumpkin when its carved. My kids want to carve one now and they don't understand that if we carve now, it will be mush by Halloween. Nice to see kids excited about seasons and holidays though.

OH, wow! That's gonna be a fantastic pantry, TG. Well, if you want a laugh over our bad pumpkin carvings, sure.

We haven't done much seasonal decorating for the last two years, since the house is unfinished. We should be getting our final inspection and COO soon, so we'll do more this year. We have the family coming for Thanksgiving, so I'm sure my wife has 'plans'. The last time they came the house was an empty shell, but we made the best of it, setting up our Thanksgiving table in the basement surrounded by building materials. This year will be much more civilized!

I always buy two pumpkins- one for decor, and one to make pies. I'm a pumpkin pie snob, always using fresh pumpkin if I'm going to go to the trouble of making a pie.

We've had an exceptionally warm, and uncommonly humid past several weeks here in Southern CA. Last evening, the weather finally took a turn and felt cooler and less humid. This morning we actually had something falling out of the sky! ...although only briefly.

I'm about an hour South of L.A. but this pretty much sums it up for all of So Cal. ;)

Turned cold here too -- like BAM! summer is finished for good. Yesterday was a good day to be at work all day! Today is lovely & sunny, I am planning to walk up to a near organic grocery for some specials later.

I am with funkycamper, don't decorate seasonally except for Christmas (which is one of the things that keeps that season special for me), just switch out the scents that I keep on the candle warmer -- from light citrus mostly to fresh apple (my absolute favorite and not that easy to find always).

I was in Richmond VA to watch the cycling world championships last week and had great weather for most of the races -- how lucky was it to be finished before all the rain? Then to Tampa for my cousin's birthday and nearly died in the humidity.

I finally got up the nerve to actually get out the saw and start to cut down the Ikea drawers (that I bought 18 month ago!) to fit in one of my uppers (didn't have the cabinet maker make pullouts for that one at the time because my $$ were maxed). The Ikea drawers are just about 1/4 inch too wide for this cabinet. So far so good -- got the measurement right, so it just fits and clears the door. Now have to cut the backs down and probably will make new fronts out of a piece of trim instead of trying to cut those down too. Boy do I miss Ikeafans. Ikeahackers I notice is still live, but they don't seem to feature anything that involves actually cutting down, reshaping, or really altering any Ikea products -- must be why they are still around.

Happy Birthday, Texas Gem!

Agreed Raee, we had beautiful weather around Richmond for the races and then it started to rain.....and it is still raining! Set the thermostats to come on just in case it dropped low enough, but these are usually the free months...no heat and no air ;^). I think we're supposed to be back into the 70's this week. My son had his break between school and work so he did a lot of clean-up for us in case the hurricane came inland. Yea, it's going out to sea!!

We used to have a HUGE party for Halloween, 100+ at the farm, but the kids are in college out of state now, so I will decorate for Christmas after Halloween. I know, I know that is soooo early, but I want it done for Thanksgiving when everybody is here so we can bake, relax and have fun.

Trying to get cabinets ordered from The Cabinet Joint today, at least the first iteration for them to see. Getting unfinished. I hope the weather holds, so I can paint in the well ventilated kitchen.

Just a little green Texas Gem....I can only imagine how excited you are! I get it Mushcreek, I prepped all of Thanksgiving last year on a 3X3 fold up table. I tried my hand at a fresh pumpkin pie years ago and DH said, "I can't tell the difference"....so since I do not care for Pumpkin pie, I now use the can with homemade crust!!! All others are from scratch and if the birds can be thwarted, cherries from our own trees.

I really appreciate this thread every week, it helps to see the accomplishments of others and put into perspective how life happens to all of us!

Heather

Uh oh. I better come clean. As a rule do not decorate much at all - more like raee and funkycamper. That wreath is only the second one I have ever had. The first one was a gift. Most of my other holiday decor is hand-me-down from my Mom (which is maybe 5 things spanning all holidays) except for our tree. Since we are in a new house that just has landscaping and grass I got the bug to add a wreath to kind of push it over the 'house to a home' edge? I don't know maybe it's because it seemed to take so darn long that I wanted a wreath to make it look lived in (ha) and inviting. It makes me smile when I drive up so that's all it took. I'll probably be making a Christmas one too. Other than that it's slim pickings over here for decorations...but now I also have a mantle and that does give me the itch for adding just a couple small easy things to switch out. The kiddos love to carve but honestly I could skip it. :O I hope the weather is decent this year. Sometimes it's so cold that your hands freeze and I really prefer to do it outside.

mush-I just made a new pumpkin recipe that was more of a bar and it was so good with cream cheese frosting. Yum. I am not a huge pie fan so the bars suited me better and well with that frosting it's what makes it for me. I just buy the canned pure pumpkin though.

texasgem Happy Birthday and wow that is an amazing pantry!

The weather here in Illinois has been in the 60 degree range and in the 40s at night. Not normal, it should be a little warmer. We have not had the heat on yet, but have been have been using the fireplace to get the chill out. Sat by the fire this afternoon and ate popcorn and watched TV.

Today I slept in, watched movies, played video games and hung out with my kids while hubby spent all afternoon working on the pantry cabinets.

He filled in any knots or imperfections with wood filler and sanded everything. He even rounded the edges so I wouldn't scrape knuckles while reaching into any shelves. First coat of paint is on now.

Tomorrow, the second coat will go on and the counters will get painted as well.

Can't wait to use my pantry to its fullest potential!! :)

I've also taken to using canned pumpkin, and we can't tell the difference in our baked goods. Oddly enough, what I do miss is that goopy task of cleaning off the pumpkin seeds and then roasting and salting them. Fresh roasted pumpkin seeds are really a special treat!

Our weather has dropped to between 14 (57F) and 17 (62F). A bit chilly but not bad if there's no wind. It seems chilly because September was super warm. It's been quite windy lately so I'm going to have to start gathering up the leaves from my 60 some odd year old maple in the back yard. I have two trees in the front. We get a TON of leaves.

I don't seasonally decorate except for Christmas. I don't have a lot of room/money for all that stuff. I will put out kitchen towels for Hallowe'en though. You can always use towels.

omelet I haven't had roasted pumpkin seeds in ages. Maybe I'll try that with my kids this year. Thanks for the memory.

I love love pumpkin and take advantage of the clearance prices right after Halloween to get several....I'll store a couple down in the basement, and roast one or two for freezing right away. I don't usually cook it down to make pies, just use it in soups and chili, or muffins, or as a side vegetable. Sometimes I roast the seeds but not always (although I should, very nutritious!)

I have 2 pumpkins that are growing as volunteers right now. One is a large one on the fence that looks about ready to harvest, the other is a late starter from the compost pile, about the size of a cantaloupe. I think that I did have a "pie" pumpkin last year so maybe that is what it is. Hope it can ripen. Its vine is still blossoming.

This has been such a peculiar year for my backyard plants. Such a long, cool wet spring and really little very hot weather this summer -- my fig set about a dozen fruit in the spring, but has only ripened half . With this cool weather now I suppose I should just pick the others to save the plant's energy. The same with my calamondin-- set a lot of fruit, but dropped most of them and never really grew the 3-4 that remained on the tree -- still there but small and green.

Strange weather for many of us, raee. For us, our harvest has been more bountiful than most years. And still yielding. I can hardly keep up with it all.

T_G, I turned a whopping 57 on the 1st. Why does that boggle my mind?

Here in the Maryland, DC suburbs, we finally got a heat break. It rained for 3 or 4 days, and it's come back with weather in the 60s. Thank GOD A'Mighty! I have so much to do outside I can't do in the heat.

My Japanese Maple collection suffered horribly this year. Burned leaves, dryness, baking heat. Other things did ok, if they weren't eaten by those EFFING deer. The Deerstop worked very well, but the last rain of 4 days must have washed it off, because the struggling elephant ear was gone.

By the way. I purchased a bunch of things from Hirts Nursery on eBay. I've done it before and there was nothing remarkable to report. This time, communication stunk, and the elephant ear and a hosta weren't correct. Although I got the lame "immature plants take time to develop their characteristics." HUh!? It's a HOSTA and should be a black elephant ear. Anyway, just a warning.

This week I'm going to start repotting JMs. CL still running strong. I sold a set of French doors and some lumber today. $500 this week. Oh, plummmmmmber friend. I can Payyyyyyy you to come by......

Happy birthday, Christine! I'll have a Reese's and glass of wine for you! :)

Texas! Forgot to say the pantry looks great!

Happy birthday, Christine. I'll celebrate your new year with a good cuppa joe and apple cobbler. :)

Cheers Christine - I'll have a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup for ya. I am sworn off the sweets until I can get that sweet tooth under control.

I hear ya on the weather and outside work but I am not worried about heat - worried about rain and wind and the 's' word. AND, it gets dark so early now, grrr! By the time I get home from work the clock is a ticking for getting anything done outside.

Happy Birthday Christine!! I knew you were another October baby, but I couldn't remember the day.

Hubby put the second coat of paint on the pantry cabs tonight and we ordered our dining room set!!

My pantry should be useable by tomorrow night and my table will be delivered on Friday!!

I'm not sure why but I feel guilty sitting around relaxing while hubby is working, even though it is a gift to me.

To help assuage that guilt, I put up two shelves in my mud room/utility room tonight while hubby was painting.

These shelves are above my desk (which I purposefully excluded from the photo as it is a huge mess)

I run the entire household from this "station."

Pay bills, manage schoolwork, doctors appointments, etc.

For the past two years, all of these functions have been spread out and difficult to manage. Now that I have 8 feet of storage capacity right above a work space, it should be much easier.

Tomorrow I'm going to clean my desk and organize my shelves.

It is hard to believe that after 2 years, I am finally coming to an end.

I feel like I've been living out of boxes this whole time (I haven't) and I'm finally "unpacking" and setting up/decorating my space to live in! Yay!!!! :)

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, I finally have my pantry!!! :)

I may just spend some time tomorrow moving things back in, rearranging, admiring, etc. :)

Later this week, or maybe this weekend, we will finish the flooring. Cabs had to be in first.

I can't believe I'm actually on the cusp of being able to do a reveal!!

I have already started drafting it but I've got a lot of before pics I need to hunt down.

Birthday KAW

Sour Cream chicken enchiladas with spicy refried beans and tortilla chips. :)

Off to have a slice of cake now!

Happy birthday, Texas_Gem!! Your pantry and shelves look great. And so does your dinner! Enjoy! :)

Oh Happy Birthday Texas_Gem! I hope you had a great day. Enjoy your new pantry.

That looks delish TG!

Happy Birthday! We turned on the furnace days ago. Also, turned on our heated granite island. Life is too short to be cold. I don't know why but never have any desire to do seasonal decorating. That includes Christmas! I like it when my family does it and I just enjoy it.

I enjoy it, too, debrak. But I don't do it myself. Always caused a momentary sadness, but then I look outside at all my gorgeous trees. At the Christmas time, I just work. I enjoy everyone's Christmas sweaters.

I'm in New England and it is indeed chilly! High of 60 today but 53 yesterday. In a few months I'll be wishing it was 53!! The trees are now all fiery red, golden and orange. I love this time of year and love to cook in this weather. Sweet potato soup, chicken pot pie, beef stew. Here are some shots of my decorated house. Kids love all the decorations!

awwwww! how fun. :)

Oh - and Happy bday Texas Gem! Your pantry looks amazing. And, I want that sour cream chicken enchiladas recipe, please! I'm drooling over here.

I've had to cover my tomatoes twice - one night this week it got down to 27°. I'm not ready to give up on the tomatoes yet, though the cool weather makes for slow ripening.

This weekend it is supposed to hit 80° - that's fall in North Dakota!

Rebeccamom- here is my recipe. I don't actually measure when I'm cooking so the amounts are approximate.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

1 pound chicken breast

1 medium sweet onion

1 bell pepper

2 cloves garlic

3 Tb olive oil

2 Tb butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1-4 oz can green chilies

1 cup shredded Colby jack

8 flour tortillas

Heat up olive oil in a skillet and add chicken. Mince garlic over chicken. As chicken is cooking, chop up onion and bell pepper and add to the oil. Stirring and tossing until cooked. Remove chicken and chop or shred then return to pan and remove from heat.

In a small saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour (making a roux). Add chicken broth and stir constantly until it is boiling, boil for one minute and remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and green chilies.

Now time to assemble! Preheat oven to 350°F

Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray. Take a flour tortilla, add some chicken mixture and shredded cheese and roll up. Place seam down in pan. When they are all rolled, pour your sour cream sauce over the top and sprinkle any remaining shredded cheese over it.

Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.

Hope you enjoy it!

Christine- I have to ask, did you by any chance get a new table? Carrie got one on her birthday, my table was just delivered today, seems like a pattern! ;)

I also finished the flooring and all the trim in the pantry. In fact I was laying the very last section of flooring as they carried my table in. :D

Yes, the photo doesn't show much but I want to have SOMETHING that will be a surprise on my reveal!