September 21, 2013 by Stephanie

Autumn on my Mind-Autumn Outside Activities

Who is ready for another fun fall inspired link-up?

“Autumn Activities Outside”

There are so many outside activities that are associated with this time of the year. We have hay rides, pumpkin patches, apple picking and so much more. What are activities that you are doing this year in your neck of the woods? Or what is your favorite fall outside funtivities?

Rules of the Link-up:

1. Do one entry or all! It’s up to you!

2. Add your entry’s link below, and be sure to put the button in your post!

3. If you do link up, check out a couple fellow bloggers to see something new.

4. Your hosts (Elizabeth and Stephanie) would love a following on Bloglovin, but it is not required! We are just glad you stopped by for “Autumn on My Mind!”

I tend to drag Tom along to many different events for the sake of fun. This fall funtivity was no different.

Clarksville has a weekend festival every fall that usually is around Labor Day weekend. Last year the event was the weekend before Tom was deployed, and we went for the evening music scene. It was jam packed so I wanted to see a different part of it this year and avoid the crowds.

Rf Map

We got up early on Saturday to see the Riverfest Regatta.

This is an event where groups enter their boats that are made purely out of recycled materials. They have several different prizes for the design and costumes the teams are wearing, plus the winners of the racing part. Cool right?

It was super fun to watch and see the creativity. We also saw a few sink despite their best efforts.

This helicopter was the sweetest make up in my opinion. Too bad it didn’t last long.

Since we were there, we had to check out some of the festival food stands. It was super hot that day so I couldn’t pass up the fresh lemonade!

This is a great event in this area. It is located in a gorgeous area of town right on the river, which I love. It spans two days with a variety of things to do for all groups of people. And going to the event is free. Each year we only paid for the food we consumed, so you really cannot pass up an event like this. Good time had by all as soon as Tom got over that I dragged him out of bed for it.

What are your fall outside activities? Link your posts up below! The link will close in October, so you have plenty of time to join us!

We hope to see you return on Thursday for your Fall Fashion Trends! You can see the full schedule for our Autumn link up here.

Check out my lovely partner!

September 20, 2013 by Stephanie

Friday Filter-TV Review Premiere Week 1

One of my favorite things about fall is all the shows coming back from their summer hiatus.

The next couple weeks shows are beginning again, so I figured I would do my initial reactions to the season openers.

Ellen Season 11

I adore Ellen. A life bucket list item is to get on her show (preferably the 12 day give away). She is truly a role model for life. I usually end up having a marathon every weekend to catch up on her daily shows. It is a constant reminder for me to laugh and live in the moment. She always has the greatest YouTube clips too! She has had some good guests the past two weeks. And like clockwork, I cry every episode and also bust a gut laughing so hard. My favorite story so far is the Homeless to Howard story. Look it up if you haven’t seen it. Just wonderful. I also am loving that she is doing different Deejays everyday. It really spices things up, although I do miss her daily razzing of Tony. I love the message that she ends with every day. “Be kind to one another.” I am so glad she is back!

Dancing With The Stars

This is my favorite reality show out there. I love love love this show. Every season I groan and mumble that I don’t really like the cast, and then opening night happens and I am hooked. To be honest though, I actually did have a lot of favorites before the season stated which is not typical. This will be a tight race because there were so many high marks that first night. I don’t think I can ever recall a 9 in the first night let alone how many 8s there were. I am interested to see how this new format will go with only having it one night. Now that I don’t have Monday night meetings, I can get to the voting apps much easier, but still, I am just not sure. Besides watching the stars out of their element, I come back each week for two reasons. One) I love dancing, and I secretly wish that I had done more of it when I was a kid instead of just choosing basketball. And Two) I love Derek Hough and Tristan Macmanus, who are two of the professional dancers. I have always swooned over Derek, but Tristan may be stealing his place…It must be the darker hair and accent. Also who wouldn’t love a show that Tom Bergeron hosts? So happy to see this back!

New Girl

Ok so I may just say that all these shows are my favorite…I really love this show though because the character Jess really resonates with me. She is a little dorky and awkward, which is basically my life. The season ended last spring with Nick and Jess finally getting together! So there was much anticipation to see what would happen to these two beloved and must be together characters. You are always nervous though to put two main characters together because you don’t want to curse your show and have reached the pivotal point to early. I honestly was not that engaged in the first episode. I think I may have anticipated too much. It was still funny, don’t get me wrong; I laughed. But I always expect a laughter that will make milk come out of your nose, and that just didn’t happen this week. Maybe I was having an off day. Work is hard; Tom was gone, who knows…Anyway, I only assume though that it will continue to get better in the wittiness. Hopefully Schmitt decides on a woman instead of dragging two women along on his journey of love. Winston just may be my favorite character, and he was awesome as usual with his puzzle masterpiece. So I still liked it, I just wasn’t as wowed as I hoped for this season premiere.

There are a whole bunch coming next week! Tom watch out! This lady is takng over the remote…or DVR!

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with this work or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

Come back on Sunday for “Autumn on My Mind.” Sunday’s episode is about fall activities that you do in your community. You can see the full schedule here.

September 19, 2013 by Stephanie

Autumn on my Mind-Fall Creation

Today is another day for Autumn fun!

“An Autumn Creation”

With the changing colors and impending holidays, do you have some inspiration to make something? Link up here to release some creative juices and share some autumn inspiration and craftiness.

Rules of the Link-up:

1. Do one entry or all! It’s up to you!

2. Add your entry’s link below, and be sure to put the button in your post!

3. If you do link up, check out a couple fellow bloggers to see something new.

4. Your hosts (Elizabeth and Stephanie) would love a following on Bloglovin, but it is not required! We are just glad you stopped by for “Autumn on My Mind!”

So it has been awhile since I finished a crochet project. The blanket I am currently working on is pretty tedious. It may be another year before that beast gets done…

So I decided to make a scarf to include in the Carabox I made last month for the gift exchange. I can whip out scarves within a few days. Feeling accomplished!

The yarn I used screamed fall and I looked up a new pattern on Ravelry. That’s my one requirement for each crochet project is that I do a new stitch.

This pattern called Urban Shells looks really complicated when you read through it. I also hate patterns that don’t have pictures, but I was determined to make this scarf happen. The first couple rows are tricky, but it is actually really easy once you get through that and understand the abbreviations she uses.

There are different textures on each side. Hopefully you can see the difference in the two shots below.

Isn’t this yarn delightfully fall?

I love the way it turned out! I still have a skeen and half left of this so I may just have to make one for myself…

What are your fall creations? Link your posts up below! The link will close in October, so you have plenty of time to join us!

We hope to see you return on Sunday for your Autumn Outside Activities! You can see the full schedule for our Autumn link up here.

Check out my partner!

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September 17, 2013 by Stephanie

Do they make nose strips for dogs?

A lot of people have been asking how Grace and Crosby are adjusting to each other. They are now inseparable best friends.

We have really lucked out that both dogs have been pretty easy. They seem to really like each other. We have had a few minor issues with Grace adjusting. She is a little jealous, but we can honestly say that she has been doing better when we are gone since she has a pal now. Thank the Lord there is hardly any poop vomit anymore to deal with. Her separation anxiety is really being subsided by Crosby! She is just having anxiety now when we are home…

This is Grace playing her version of catch. She just pounces and then leaves it there.

They keep each other occupied for the most part. They have had a few little fights, but only one time did we have to intervene because we thought it would go bad. Tom brought out a voice that surprised both of us and the dogs. Grace is kind of a diva and starts most of them, but that makes sense since she was here first.

I love when you can get shots like these two.

He is a pretty cool dog. He loves standing at this corner. He would lay there all day if we (and Grace) let him.

They do a really good job taking turns eating. It is really adorable. I am not exaggerating that they will literally take turns and line up behind one another to eat and take mouthfuls to the rugs so the other one can get their share.

They have started playing tag with each other in the back yard. Grace is faster than Crosby, but she never actually picks up the ball. So he gets it every time and then they will chase each other around as Crosby throws it up in the air like he is playing monkey in the middle with her. One of these days I will get a good video of it.

They even share toys well. They usually end up chewing on the toy together. There is a bone there if you look under Grace’s chin that they are both chewing.

Seriously, we have the best dogs.

I have underestimated how big Crosby is though. He has a good 15/20 pounds on Grace. Yesterday I was playing around with them. Crosby attempted to give me hug, and I wasn’t ready for it and accidentally fell into our curtains in the second bedroom…pulling them down off the wall. Then he just slathered me with kisses as I laid there laughing.

We have figured out the sleeping arrangements now so that has been better for all of us. Although the next couple nights will be glorious with a little extra room while Tom is at field training. Some times long distance has its plus sides. Usually, Tom and I end up with no blankets and on our respective edges while both dogs snuggle each other in the middle of the bed with scads of extra room for stretching. Or we will make an obstacle course for them to the bed so we can get to sleep before they do and have our own snuggle time. It has become a production to go to bed in our house. And we are getting used to the snore machine.

Every day is a new day with things we have to figure out. I would say that the transition is a success, and we couldn’t be more happy right now with our little family!

Grace is trying to show Crosby that she has all the power.

Tom is testing out all of his hunting gear, and the kids wanted to be involved.

They are so much fun, and I love moments like this that they are side by side…and still.

We will be traveling for the first time with them in a few weeks. That will be the true test of how the transition is going.

Hope to see you all back for the fall craft on Thursday!

September 15, 2013 by Stephanie

Autumn On My Mind-Fall Food Must

“A Fall Food Must”

Do you have a favorite food that you associate with fall? This is the time to highlight those yummy fall goodies!

Rules of the Link-up:

1. Do one entry or all! It’s up to you!

2. Add your entry’s link below, and be sure to put the button in your post!

3. If you do link up, check out a couple fellow bloggers to see something new.

4. Your hosts (Elizabeth and Stephanie) would love a following on Bloglovin, but it is not required! We are just glad you stopped by for “Autumn on My Mind!”

We had a rough day yesterday. Years of training in housing came in handy when our washer decided to flood our upstairs while we were out. Luckily we came back when we did, for we only had a slight bubble in the downstairs ceiling, and nothing of great value was damaged. Come to find out the hose had slipped out of the machine…whoops.

Anywho, this mess along with the non-stop talk about grinding up deer meat and hunting season (we went bow shopping and shooting yesterday), I was glad to do some fall baking this morning.

I love baking. For me, it is a stress relief. I have not done much here, because I don’t really have anyone to give it to as I did back in Iowa. You see, I like baking it, but I can’t eat all of it fast enough. And I hate wasting food.

I figured, if Tom and I couldn’t polish this off, he could take it into work for those ever hungry Army men.

And who doesn’t associate fall with pumpkins? The pumpkin lattes, pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin pie.

I decided to brush up on my baking by putting a twist on the traditional pumpkin pie.

So enter cinnamon cheesecake with pumpkin pie frosting!

I got this recipe from here.

I did adapt it a little bit. I don’t believe in “bathing” my baked goods….

I also didn’t make individual cups or the crust. I just bought a pre-made pie crust and made one full pie.

Ingredients

Pumpkin Pie “Frosting”:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup heavy cream

Cheesecake:

2 bars of cream cheese (8 oz each), room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

Did you know that they made pumpkin pie spice? We sure didn’t. You can find it in the spice isle. They also make apple pie spice!

Baking and Making Part

To Make Pumpkin Pie Frosting:

Do this first since the cooling time will overlap the cheesecake prep time.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients until well blended. This will be very soupy, so don’t freak out. It will thicken up. Pour into a greased 9-inch pie pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean. Remove and let cool, then refrigerate.

To Make Cinnamon Cheesecakes:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and sugar, then mix on medium-speed until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla and cinnamon, and mix until smooth. Do not overmix. Pour batter into each crust-prepared baking cup until 3/4 full.

Then place the cheesecake pan in the oven, and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the edges appear to be set and the center still has a slight jiggle to it. Turn off the oven and open the oven door slightly for 5 minutes. Then remove the pan and place on a cooling rack until completely cooled.

The pumpkin pie frosting is on the left and the cheesecake on the right. They can both stand alone, but definitely make each other better together.

When ready to “frost” the cheesecakes, remove the pumpkin pie and spoon the filling into a piping bag. We don’t have a piping bag so we just used a ziplock bag. Use as you would regular frosting.

Tom’s much better at frosting then I am so I had him do that part. We did end up just smoothing it out though because the color and the way it laid out it looked like something that came out of the dogs’ butts. I assure you, it is delicious despite the looks. The look of baking, I have not yet perfected…