Falling into home.

Fall has definitely descended upon our little town. While the colors still aren't quite as spectacular as you see a little further inland (not sure what that's about!), it's getting there, and we were inspired to take lots of walks this weekend. First, a walk from the house to downtown and back via the beach.

Brad always carries the poop. What a gentleman.

Today we got up early and hopped in the car to try... da da da... yet again... Grand Mere State Park. If you remember, this park has bested me twice in the past -- once when I was 26, once again this summer. I must confess, technically, it has bested me a THIRD time.

Georgie's just happy to be here.

While we hiked the trail for a few miles, and it was beautiful and more than enjoyable, the dunes remain my nemesis. There's one dune about a 1/2 mile into the trail. We decided to push forward on the trail, hoping we'd hit the water eventually without having to travel straight up. Well, eventually we dead-ended on the trail and had to turn back around.

I hike at super speed.

We stumbled upon another dune and figured we'd see what that was all about. Well, it was about me nearly passing out and trying not to vomit. We made it to the top of two small climbs, and the water looked pretty close, but those dunes are deceiving... and we'd eventually have to climb our way back up. So I succumbed. Back to the trail.

Brad takes both dogs so I can recover

What do fall hikes inspire? Fall feasts, of course! We decided to stay in Saturday night, so I set to making some delicious treats. First up, a pumpkin carrot cake, which I know I've made at some point in the past, but it was long ago enough that it was like new. I kept mostly to the recipe, only substituting out the oil for applesauce and skipping the cranberries (they were $4!), and while I made a giant mess of my kitchen, it was pretty simple.

Cooling on the 'sill with zombies.

Once it was cooled, I frosted it with a thin layer of homemade cream cheese frosting (I used no fat even though all the recipes say to use 1/3 fat, and it tastes delicious still). And it was heavenly. The orange was a tad more noticeable than it probably should have been, so next time I might cut that down a little bit. But otherwise, the perfect fall dessert.

Fall into my belly, cake!

Of course, before you can eat dessert, you have to eat dinner. Duh! And much to my surprise, when I was flipping through my recipe book, Brad stopped me at one of my older recipes, pasta with mushrooms and pumpkin Gorgonzola sauce. Brad hates mushrooms! I've made this a handful of times, including for a dinner with Rachel last fall (I remember writing about it), but it's always a pleasant surprise as to how delicious it really is.

Is it possible to beat the smell of sauteing oil, mushrooms, and onions?

I also made a mess making this, but it's also a pretty simple recipe. It just takes three pots, and I hate dirtying pots. It's definitely worth the hassle, though.

Seriously, you want to be eating this right now.

And to round off our weekend, we finished our bedroom. With the exception of one spot that needs an "item," our bedroom is 100% complete. Woo! The first fully completely officially finished room of the house (although I suppose the kitchen is totally done, too, but there are still a few tweaks to be made eventually). We even have curtains. And stuff on the wall. I am officially madly in love with our cozy little bedroom.

LOVE these curtains almost as much as my new sheets. Got these 50% off at Kohls. Score.
BTW, I canNOT get this picture to center and it is making me SO angry! I hate you blogger!

And finally... a little Medusa for that final splash of green.