roasted acorn squash, kale and cannellini bean salad

whoooosh.

did you hear that?

the holidays are officially here. they swiftly swooped down upon us and have settled in for a while.

holiday parties, gingerbread men, lighting the menorah, hot chocolate with peppermint shnappes, egg nog spiked with bourbon, frying latkes, shopping until you d r o p.

with all the rich food, cocktails and general busy-ness that go hand in hand with the holidays, sometimes you just need to give your stomach and your soul a little break.

draw a tall glass of water (walk away from the bourbon) and cook yourself a delicious, healthy, hearty meal of a warm roasted acorn squash, kale and cannellini bean salad. add some shaved parm if you don't feel the need for it to be vegan...

hello, lovely

let me start off by apologizing to your favorite skinny jeans.

this pumpkin bread is pretty decadent- what with it's 4 eggs, 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of oil, butter and two (2!) different types of chocolate.

maybe give your skinny jeans a break, just for a couple days, and slip into those comfy yoga pants.

spiced apple crisps

let's talk about impulse buys.

now, i don't mean that $268 top you bought on a whim at anthropologie ( i'm sure its ab-so-lutely fab. keep it, don't take it back!). i actually mean impulse food purchases.

i am a girl that loves a good salty/crunchy/ sweet snack as much as the next, and so my usual impulse buys lean towards snacky foods- barbara's natural cheese puffs, oreos, sour cream and onion pop chips and sometimes, apple chips. i try to fool myself into thinking that since the apple chips are made from apples they (duh) must be healthy, but then i get home and look at the label and see that they are actually fried, and have preservatives in them with consonant and vowel combinations that my mouth and brain are unable to form.

fail.

so what's a hungry girl to do?

make my own, of course!

turkey 2 bean chili

the weather has been hectic in these parts- 82 one day, then hail the size of quarters the next, then a day full of light showers and then another sunny 76 degree day. mother nature seems to be feeling fickle and hasn't quite made her mind up about which season she favors, but in my head, it is, undoubtedly, fall.

squash is exploding out of every stall at the farmer's market, the nights have a little chill to them and we had to drag the down comforter out of the linen closet and lay it upon our bed.

fall is here.

roasted butternut squash stuffed with rice, thyme, bacon + gruyere

it is squash season, hooray! i adore all things squashy- pumpkins, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, and especially, butternut squash.

cut squash in half lengthwise. scoop out seeds and stringy flesh. cut each half into 2 or 3 smaller pieces. it's flesh gets all sweet and intense when roasted in the oven @ 375 degrees for about 45-50 minutes, or until a fork slides easily in and out. don't forget to rub it all over with olive oil, salt and pepper first!

yarn wreaths

while i have fall decor on my mind, this is a wreath i made last year for christmas, but i think it would be fun to make another one with more fall-like colors...

yarn wreath tutorial from take heart

felt leaf garland DIY

i stumbled across this sweet blog just yesterday, and already, i've bookmarked a few recipes and DIY projects. since fall is here, i have been thinking about adding some fall decorations to the house, but i have a hard time finding things at the store that i love enough to justify spending much money on them.

so, when i came across this easy little crafty project, i knew it was perfect for me.

crafty? check. simple? check. inexpensive? checkity-check. adorable? check!

green curry coconut pork

the clouds started rolling in yesterday, bringing with them promises of rain and much cooler weather.

fall is here. a change in the weather, a change in the leaves on the trees and a new season full of possibilities. this year, as always, i welcomed the arrival of fall with open arms and i like to usher in the new season with slow-cooking meals.  now that i am (temporarily + very happily) unemployed, i am in no rush to get dinner on the table.

chai concentrate

cinnamon is one of those distinct spices that brings to mind colorful leaves on the ground, cozy sweaters and a pleasant chill in the air. one sniff of its spicy aroma, and i'm thinking about fall and all the lovely and cozy things that come with the season.

longing for fall

please don't hate me for saying this, but i have been dreaming about fall lately. like, a lot. i'm just about ready to bid farewell to summer. soooo long shorts and skirts and air conditioning and leg shaving every day and tank tops and the endless attempt at keeping my feet "pretty" enough for the public!

helllooooo cardigans and jeans and scarves and gorgeous yellow/orange/red leaves on the sidewalk and cinnamon candles. tall boots and that crisp feeling in the air and steaming hot chai lattes and roasted butternut squash soup and homemade applesauce muffins and coziness, people, coziness!

our northern california summer has been surprisingly moderate and it actually has cooled off a bit most nights, enough for us to fling open the windows after sundown and climb into bed with all the windows in the house cracked just a bit.

and yet.

i have these images flitting through my brain...