Fall in Atlanta

It's Fall; my most favorite time of the year. The crispness in the air, the amount of friendly people outside all taking advantage of the weather, opening the windows to air out the house from the long summer, eating myself sick from candy corn, and of course, all things pumpkin. I love everything about this time of year.

 

Especially watching Chubbs come alive now that it's not 610 degrees outside. He's a different dog in cold weather and it's pretty cute to watch. I think we were asked about 14 times if he was a puppy this weekend :) I wish! So needless to say, we've been spending most of our weekends lately at dog parks and outdoor restaurants (so Chubbs can come of course!) to watch football and sip on some fall Brewskies.

 

Some of my favorite pictures as of late:

This bag might have been gone in one week...I have problems when it comes to candy corn.

Football Sunday

My favorite Octoberfest

Piedmont Park - Atlanta, GA

Do you see what I have to put up with? ;)

The Mom's Chili...nothing like it.

No caption necessary...

Date Night!

SPECIAL DELIVERIES

I LOVE to bake...surprise right?

A sunny day in the kitchen, windows open, apron on, pandora streamed quietly in the background and a recipe just waiting for me to fix it up? Heaven.

There's just one slight problem. 

I only have so many neighbors, coworkers, friends, mailmen boyfriend and dog to consume my creations.

My coworkers are conviced I'm trying to get them all fat and I think my neighbors are getting sketched out by all the random goodies (I promise they're not poison!). And although I believe most things in moderation are ok and I usually healthfully-amend my recipes, trying to consume an entire batch of cookies before they 'go bad' is not good for anyone.

Soooo my recently-discovered solution?

Surprise! Special Delivery :)

I whipped up a batch of these BEST-EVER Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, these Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate! Cookies, and [modified] Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread (all compliments of Pinterest) over the weekend and off they went!

Nowadays with all communication going electronic everyone loves receiving some good-old-fashioned, non-bill mail right? Now imagine that mail edible and delicious...JACKPOT

Keep an eye out, you might be next!

IT'S PUMPKIN SEASON...

...Although, I think it's always pumpkin season in my house. Ask The Mom, she's the only one that truly understands this; the boy is learning, but I think he still just assumes I've got the temporary cold-weather pumpkin bug.

Sorry Pete, it's not temporary. And I can't help it, I just. Love. Pumpkin.

Flashback 2 months ago, a vendor brought these adorable Starbucks Birthday Cake Pops into the office. A perfect bite-size piece of cake on a stick covered in frosting. Genious. Could not get them out of my head, but needed perfect recipe.

Enter perfect recipe: Pumpkin-Spice Cake Balls dipped in White Chocolate Frosting. Oh my. So yummy. And the extras make for some very happy co-workers.

(adapted from bakeat350.com)

Pumpkin Spice Cake Balls1 Box Yellow Cake Mix

1 Can (15oz.) Pumpkin Puree
2 t. Cinnamon
1/2 t. Ground Ginger
1/4 t. Allspice
1/4 t. Ground Nutmeg
1/2 C. Water
1/4 C. Vegetable Oil
3 Eggs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1/2 - 3/4 can cream cheese frosting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
White Chocolate Candy Melts

Beat everything together (ending with the eggs) and bake in a 13 X 9" pan according to the package instructions. Make sure the cake is completely baked before removing from the oven. Let cool completely on a wire rack.


Crumble the cake apart in a bowl and add cream cheese frosting. Using your fingers (this is the fun part!), mix thoroughly until the cake holds together when formed into a ball. Add more frosting if necessary. Roll into bite-size balls, place on cookie sheets lined with wax paper and refrigerate several hours.

When ready to dip, melt the white chocolate following the directions on the package. Roll with a spoon and place on another waxed paper lined sheet to harden. Store at room temperature.

Enjoy!