All About Autumn

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Here’s a post all about autumn and our recent seasonal activities!

The boys and I went to Whole Foods to stock up on pumpkins. We are hoping to go to a pumpkin patch this weekend to get more! But this was a good start. I also was thrilled to find burnt orange mums. I am not crazy about yellow mums. Yellow makes me nervous. It’s alarming!

We all love the swan gourd!

Puking Pumpkins!

We also got two carving pumpkins and I got some good practice for Halloween because we needed a carved pumpkin for our KiwiCo craft! Let me tell you after 39 years of using the wrong tools for pumpkin carving, we finally have everything we need to make it easy! This guy took me no time to carve. Get a punch-out kit like this.

As I mentioned in a previous post, KiwiCo sent us their Puking Pumpkin Kit. Needless to say, it was a HUGE hit!! (And it’s only $12.95 to order.)

We did at least 5 rounds of colors / puking episodes

And it was easy enough for both of them to participate in the mixing and pouring.

So cool!

Eggcelent Breakfasts

Had to share this croque madame we got as take-out from MarieBette for weekend brunch. On house-made sourdough with ham and gruyere and a few pastries on the side. Perfect fuel before a soccer game later in the day.

And on the lighter side, a juuuuuust done hard-boiled egg (my trick is a rapid boil for 8 minutes sharp) with grapes and half a cinnamon raisin bagel.

And also I shared this LOL moment on Instagram when I finished Birch’s half-eaten plum as part of my breakfast. Oh how times have changed.

Fall Solstice with Ferns

Another fall-fun activity was a fall solstice party at our friends’ house. They live on top of Wintergreen mountain so it was a hike to get there with beautiful views!

Ferns….

And Ferns!

If you recall, Birch and Fern had the same due date! We miss seeing Fern everyday at school since she moved to another school last year. Luckily these two are still good friends whenever they reunite.

4 years of mom friends <3

That view! Right in our friends’ backyard.

Erica used my Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board as a template for this beautiful arrangement.

Pumpkin decorating

Trying Green Chef

I saw Brittany of Eating Bird Food was using Green Chef and asked her how she liked it. She sent me a promo code and I promptly ordered a box to try.

Pluses: I like that they are a bit more health focused and are a USDA-certified organic company. I also really liked that a lot of the ingredients were one-step ahead of prep (the cabbage was already shopped; the sauce was already prepared) so the cooking time was super fast!

Downsides: the 4-person plan came in two separate boxes which was simply more to unpack. And it is a bit more expensive.

We loved the recipes!!

Chicken and Potato Soup

Sesame Shrimp Stir-Fry

And a really amazing pork tenderloin with roasted potatoes and a sun-dried tomato kale salad. Mazen actually said at the dinner table, “This is really good pork.” (And he rarely compliments the chef.)

If you’d like to give it a try, my affiliate link should get you 50% off your first box and 22% off a few after that for a total of $135 off.

Date Night with Gary Clark Jr.

Thomas and I went to see Gary Clark Jr. at the Ting Pavilion. He was incredible!

Beforehand we had dinner at Petit Pois and enjoyed lobster and shrimp bisque, kale salad, mussels, and smoked salmon small plates.

Beautycounter’s Fall Gift Sets Launch This Week!

The most wonderful time of the year is upon us because Beautycounter launched its limited-edition gift sets ahead of the holiday season. There are 16 new shades, 8 new scents, and 5 new product drops included. See them all here!