Weekend Foraging at Rivermont

If you follow on Instagram, you know that Fall is in full swing in East Tennessee! Can you get over those colors? This weekend was good for my soul. We made some progress here on the home front, I did a little foraging, and I made meatballs.

I know under normal circumstances meatballs aren’t really that big of a deal. But for our poor Rivermont kitchen, which seems to pride itself on always looking like a disastrous “Before” picture, that evening of smelling delicious was homey bliss. So let’s just celebrate them for a second, ok?

*/blissful thoughts about meatballs… Dean Martin singing in the background…/*

Thank you. Maybe the best thing that’s happened in the last week was getting the chimneys inspected and repaired. A fireplace was high on my list of requirements for our next space so I was ridiculously excited about this. So excited, in fact, that we’ve been going through firewood like it’s our job.

Kindly ignore the oddly-sized mantle decor and the wood box in the left of that picture; I couldn’t resist the snapshot. When your house is one big work-in-progress, you’ve got to just roll with it.

On Saturday, I did a little foraging in the backyard. That’s where I clipped these beautiful berries from the nandina bushes. I’m pretty in love with their color, which is a very orangey red that’s perfect for autumn decor. I also went on a little treasure hunt for these beauties.

Guess who learned to shell pecans this weekend? I even have the little cuts on my thumb to prove it! And you see that guy below? That’s a brownie I baked with pecans FROM OUR BACKYARD! Foraging with delicious results is the best kind. I just can’t get over it. (Click here to get the recipe for Woo-Woo’s Quick-as-a-Wink Brownies.)

So Happy November from Rivermont! I hope your weekend was absolutely lovely.

Hello, Autumn!

Hello, Autumn–you taunting vixen you! It’s been so dry here that leaves were falling from the trees without changing colors, and I was beginning to wonder if Fall, my very favorite season, was just going to let us down completely.

Then yesterday, it happened! After a couple good rains, I caught a few glimpses of color in the trees on my drive home. Sure enough, I stepped out of my car and felt that familiar *crunch* under my feet. It is Autumn after all!

I always wonder if Fall energizes everyone the way it does me. Fall makes me excited, inquisitive, and restless all at the same time. Do you think the school year begins in September because Fall is the time that children get the most curious and mischievous? Or is it the other way around?

When I was in college, early morning walks to class in the Fall were so invigorating. I’d put Outkast on my iPod (remember the year of Hey Ya?) and clutch my coffee for dear life. It wasn’t quite cold enough in the afternoons to warrant tights with my skirts so there was a cold, damp chill on my legs might as well have been caffeine.

Art history classes, design classes, drawing classes, and printmaking followed by time at the library leafing through art books that were too heavy to carry home. In the afternoon, I’d grab a caramel apple cider and spend hours with my sketchbook. So many ideas!

Tomorrow, I’ll be talking to a group of students in the graphic design program at UT. I’m so excited to spend another early Autumn morning on campus.

Usually around this time of year, I’m setting goals for things I want to accomplish over the next year. (You can see a past list here.) For this season, I think my only goal may be to spend more time reading art history books, asking questions with no answers, and doodling in my sketchbook. Just making room for new ideas.

Fall’s Simple Pleasures

Cue Ella & Louis singing “Autumn in New York”…

Saturday morning Husband & I woke up with the windows open. There was a crispness in the air that was unmistakable: Autumn is on it’s way! It’s my very favorite time of year, and here are a few reasons why…

Our dining room table early this morning.

1. Buying candy for the sole purpose of making adorable decorations.

2. Having an excuse to order boots online.

3. It’s the only time “peeping” won’t get you arrested.

4. Having an excuse to say “bouquets of sharpened pencils” any time you go to the supply room.

5. The inexplicable urge to watch old episodes of “Coach” (and perhaps crush on a young Craig T. Nelson or fawn over Shelley Fabares 80s hair).

6. Apple Cider… Wait… Caramel Apple Cider.

7. Afternoon drives in the mountains.

So, tell me, what’s your favorite thing about this time of year?

Hello, Gorgeous! : Random Links to Start Your Week

Read:

When I first started reading blogs several years ago, Alicia Paulson’s “Posie Gets Cozy” was one of the first ones I read. Not only does she make incredibly beautiful things, she is a beautifully poetic writer. She’s also the type of writer that makes you feel like an old friend after reading just a couple of posts. Needless to say, when she announced that she and her husband recently had the privilege of adopting a precious baby girl, I couldn’t help but cheer.

In case you are unaware, November is National Adoption month, and this is a cause that is very near and dear to my heart. There are so many children out there who need a family or, more accurately, a safe place to be loved. So go read Alicia (and Amelia)’s story and then pray about maybe donating time or funds to those kids who haven’t been lucky enough to find their place yet.

Eat:

Last week I posted this photo on Instagram. (How did we eat lunch before camera phones?) I couldn’t resist. This is my favorite time of year to grocery shop! Fresh cranberries and cider are on display in every bodega while baking powder and Swanson broth are sold in bulk at the market. I am a firm believer that making your own food leads to a more beautiful life so if you’ve never been much of a cook, this is definitely the time to start! I’m going to be posting lots of basic recipes over the next few months to help us all learn some skills while we hunker down for winter starting later this week with this basic cranberry relish. It’s the perfect condiment for turkey sandwiches or tart taste to have on the side of your Thanksgiving plate.

J Crew | Portland Jumper | ASOS | Madewell

Wear:

This week, I couldn’t help but laugh when I came across these LIFE magazine images from 1945. Animal sweater are *everywhere* these days, and I must admit that seeing how adorable these girls look in them, I may actually have to give in to the trend. Although, I think this saxophone sweater may be a bit more my style.