A Perfect Fall Outfit

I saw this jacket in my newest issue of Country Living Magazine. I have been pining for it for three days now. I can't stop thinking of it, and in my mind I have already created a perfect fall outfit using it in my head.The perfect outfit to go on a hike through a quiet wood enjoying the fall colors. Or maybe the perfect outfit to go to the Pumpkin Patch. Or maybe the perfect outfit to go pick apples from a local orchard. Or maybe the perfect outfit just to wander around the city doing some early Christmas shopping.

Anyhow... I wish I had it.

Jacket: Fred Flare

Jeans: Any ol' pair that feels good, really

Hat: Sweet little knit cap off Etsy

Wellies: Apple Print! Adorable! From Ebay

Autumn Harvest Party

How lucky am I to have a hubby with such photography talent?

Last week I left you with the teaser, tonight I am fulfilling my promise!

It started with this invite:

The Decor: I showed up early to my sister-in-law's lovely farm to help her get the place spruced up a bit. I had made the banner the day before to hang on the porch. We gussied up the front door and porch (a perfect farm porch by the way!) and got the dining room all ready for dinner after a visit to the pumpkin patch:

Favors and Goodies: The day before I made mini pumpkin bread loaves (courtesy of Martha Stewart "Baking Handbook" cookbook) for everyone to take home as a favor, and some "goodie bags" for the kids. The goodie bags had some pumpkin candies, pumpkin patch Pop Rocks, Halloween Fruit Snacks and an Orange "Izze" soda, all tied up with a Pumpkin Patch Ribbon.  I also created some awards to present to each child to go along with their goodie bags. Awards like : Biggest Pumpkin, Quickest Pumpkin Picker, Littlest Pumpkin, Most Perfectly Round Pumpkin, etc

The Food: After all the fun at the pumpkin patch, and running around the corn maze, we had homemade applesauce doughnuts and hot mulled apple cider! Yum! I found the recipe on the "Farm Chicks" blog, and they turned out great! We packed it all up in a perfectly autumnal picnic basket belonging to my sister in law. Dinner was just as delish... I created a potato soup from a hodgepodge of recipes and everyone topped the soup off with bacon bits, cheese and chives. To go with the Soup was a sausage and cheese biscuit recipe that was such a hit that I must share it with you! See recipe below. Salad was an easy mix of greens, dried cranberries, candied pecans and pear with a poppy-seed dressing.

 

I couldn't resist this "Pumpkins in the Field" recipe when I saw it. It was too perfect to pass up considering the occasion. Another recipe I will share. And to make it even better? These adorable polka-dot cupcake liners from "Confectionery House" (fear not... I ordered them in every color)!

Recipes to share:

Pumpkins in the field (from "Ghoulish Goodies" by Sharon Bowers)

1 cup butterscotch morsels  

2 cups chow mien noodles

1 cup dry-roasted, salted peanuts

24 candy pumpkins (I used Brach's Mellow-creme Pumpkins)

- Line baking sheets with wax paper (or drop them into cupcake liners like I did)

- Put butterscotch morsels in a bowl, and melt them in microwave: Heat on high for 60 seconds, then stir well. Microwave and stir in 10 second bursts until just melted through.... don't overheat!

- Stir in the chow mien noodles and peanuts and drop mixture by heaping tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.  While the haystacks are still warm, place a pumpkin on the top. Refrigerate to cool and harden. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Simple Sausage Ring (from Taste of Home)

1 lb pork sausage (I used Jimmy Dean's Sage variety)

2 tubs (12 oz each) refrigerated biscuits

2 cups shredded cheese (Mine was a cheddar and jack cheese mix)

- In a large skillet, cook sausage until no longer pink; drain and set aside

- Flatten each biscuit to a 3-in diameter. Press half of the biscuits onto the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of a greased 10 inch fluted tube pan. Spoon sausage over the dough; sprinkle with cheese. Top with remaining biscuits.

- Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate and slicing.

Wish List

***Greedy Alert***

It is exactly 1 month from my birthday. I have always liked that my birthday and Christmas come so close together, because I really only have to make one "wish list" for both. Whatever still remains on my list after my birthday moves over to my Christmas List. Hubby has been asking, so I happily have obliged by providing him my Birthday/Christmas wish list. Maybe you will find something here to add to your list as well?

With my birthday just before the holidays, it is a perfect time to get all my holiday hostessing needs taken care of!

1) A perfect Thanksgiving day apron from Heavenly Hostess. Really, I love almost all the aprons found on this website! You just can't go wrong!

2) I have already blogged about the fabulous jackets found at Boden... but they have amazing dresses and skirts as well!

3) I have so many lovely platters for Thanksgiving, but I have realized that so many things I bake are in a plain old Pyrex casserole dish! Solution: These beautiful pewter casserole holders from Holland Boone Home... just place your casserole in this for instant beauty and presentation!

4) One of my favorite bloggers, Pioneer Woman,  has just come out with a cookbook with her most deliciously tasty recipes! Yummy

1) Doesn't every girl want to dazzle at all the Christmas parties? How about Diamonds by the Yard at Tiffany & Co? I have been eyeing this beauty for at least a year now.
2) And of course, you want to smell nice when you look nice? I loved "Daisy" by Marc Jacobs when I tested it out at the Nordstrom perfume counter.
3) Another dress from Boden!
4) An adorable Vintage inspired Christmas apron, again, from Heavenly Hostess!

Just a little list to start with.  wink wink

A Sneak Peek!

Been busy, busy today preparing for tomorrow's "Fall Harvest" celebration! All the details to come quite soon!

But in the meantime... Take a Peek at the official invitation!

Invitation Ingredients

Orange Gingham Scrapbooking paper = Bo Bunny and Pink Paisley Papers

Pumpkin = Big Bazzill Brad in Apricot + green ribbon

Announcing my first Giveaway winner!

I must say, I really liked doing a giveaway. It felt like a very small scale Oprah "My Favorite Things" episode! I also got to see some your blogs too! Fun Stuff! Fear not readers... this shall not be my last giveaway, so stay tuned.... and considering the amount of applicants I would say your chances for a win are MIGHTY good!

So, using http://www.random.org/ I randomly picked between 1-13 (4 comments + 9 followers) and came up with #5 Sarah Brown!

Please go check out Sarah's wonderful blog, Brown Paper Packages tied up with String. If you like giveaways she has lots of them! Currently she has a really neat artwork giveaway, as well as DIY project giveaway! Ahem... maybe I shouldn't have opened my mouth, that means more competition and more difficult odds for ME to win!

Thanks to all who participated, and Sarah, be sure to email me soon (allmylittleinspirations@hotmail.com), so I can get your magazine to you ASAP! I hope you enjoy it, and please be sure to show us if you find something within it that inspires you too!

My Very Own Magnetic Bulletin Board

I do adore Ballard Designs and when I received a recent catalog I immediately loved these magnetic bulletin boards.  As I looked at them I thought ... I can make that! So, with a few modifications, that is what my weekend was this past weekend and I am pleased with the end result. Mine ended up a bit more... ornate (nobody ever accused me of being a simple girl)

First off, I started with a 12x18 piece of sheet metal from my neighborhood hardware store (approx $7). These pieces of sheet metal come in various "thicknesses", I made sure to pick one on the slightly sturdier side. I had some black and white toile already (free! after I have owned it for more than a year I count it as free! heehee) that patched my black and white bedroom perfectly, and I picked up some velvet ribbon to add as an accent ($3). The more expensive and surprisingly difficult item to find was a 12x18 sized frame ($30). I was hoping to find a more decorative, but you will see how I jazzed it up in my own way.

Using a hot glue gun, I affixed the fabric to the piece of sheet metal. I then criss-crossed the velvet ribbon over the top, attaching when the ribbons crossed. *Note: I ran out of the velvet ribbon and had to go to three stores to find more. Really? Sheesh. Also, I think I would measure better next time. It just doesn't look as polished to me... but a good first try regardless.

The end product.... still maybe just a little bit too plain for my taste, and certainly, plain old refrigerator magnets simply wouldn't do. The magnets on this bulletin board need to be special. Another visit to my craft shop and I found these fun crystal and silver items in the jewelry making aisle, as well as some fun vintage-y medallions ($9) I used them to create some magnets, as well as a pretty little bow on the top corner of the frame.

So now, for roughly the same amount of money, I have a beautiful 12x18 magnetic board to coordinate perfectly in my bedroom, on the wall over my reading corner. I can easily hang pictures, magazine articles, wish lists and of course... inspirations.

Note: There is still time to enter for my Halloween giveaway! See post below...

An "Inspirations" Giveaway!

About 4 weeks ago I had happened upon a magazine, "Celebrate" by Phyllis Hoffman, while waiting to check out at my local Michael's craft store. It was the fall edition, and I loved it. I immediately subscribed to the quarterly publication. I wasn't sure when the subscription would kick in, so when I saw the "Celebrate" Halloween edition a couple weeks ago I couldn't resist... see my blog entry on 9/10/09, it's a problem. This Halloween focused magazine has fabulous articles featuring Matthew Mead and Amy Atlas, along with loads of creative decorating and cooking ideas. Imagine my surprise this week when I received another copy in the mail! Now I have two, and really... as much as I love Halloween magazines, I do not need two. So I now hope to make my over-abundance your Halloween inspiration!


So here it is folks! This is the time of year ghouls and goblins all come out of the shadows, so time for any mysterious blog lurkers to come out of the dark as well... otherwise, Corinne, my faithful reader... you're a shoe-in for my first ever blog giveaway!

There are two ways to enter (and if you do both, your name goes in twice!) Here is what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment no later than Tuesday, October 6th at midnight.
2. Become a follower of "All my little inspirations" by Tuesday, October 6th at midnight (anyone already a "follower" will automatically be entered! Yay!

I will select at random and announce the winner Wednesday. You should have your brand new "Celebrate Halloween" magazine in the mail in a week!

Good Luck!