WATCHING THE LEAVES CHANGE

Fall is truly magical upstate. I love waking up each morning and seeing the bright, beautiful leaves out my bedroom windows. And with all of the trees up here it's like every room in the house has a brand new view!

This is what I see when I walk out the front door...

And this amazingness is right around the corner...

I'm not that into the earthy palette usually associated with fall---browns, burnt oranges, yellows, maroons---but I REALLY respond to the crazy neon oranges and electric reds that I see on these trees around town. Apparently it's impossible to capture with my camera...but I swear, they look radioactive.

ACCESSORY INSPIRATION

My accessories game has become really predictable. I pretty much ONLY wear necklaces. Specifically long jangly pendant necklaces. Every once in a blue moon I'll throw on some bracelets or a brooch or two...but thats about it. As far as rings are concerned, I just wear my wedding band. Never anything else. And I haven't worn earrings in like a decade.

But I'm ready for a change. Dare I add STATEMENT EARRINGS into the rotation?!

I'm talking Edie Sedgwick style over-the-top, long, dangly, shoulder-grazing earrings.

Go big or go home. Who's with me?

PUMPKIN, SAGE, and PECORINO RAVIOLI

I know posting has been spotty around here lately....but we've had LOTS of guests the past few weeks. So much entertaining means we've had a chance to try our hand at cooking some new seasonal dishes. Our latest: pumpkin, sage, and pecorino ravioli.

Justin and I make homemade pasta a lot but this was our first attempt at ravioli. It turned out pretty darn delicious...and now all we can do is talk about all the things we can fill ravioli with. FIGS! KALE! GOAT CHEESE! PROSCIUTTO! So many possibilities!

The recipe we used came from the cookbook In Season, by Sarah Raven. Her recipe isn't available online so I scanned the page from the book with the ingredients and directions in case anyone wants to give it a whirl. It's posted here.

RAINY DAYS and RUMMAGE SALES

Today is the kind of gray, rainy day that usually makes me want to curl up under the covers and never get out of bed. That is unless the church around the corner is having a rummage sale. Then I'm up and out the door by 9.

I got a few things we have been looking for: fireplace tools, a log holder, and a magazine rack.

And wouldn't you know it, they had a vintage raincoat for each of us! Justin's has tiny yellow and white stripes and mine is red with a plaid interior. Cute, practical, and perfect for the walk home. Now all we need are duck boots.

BOOK VILLAGE and BIBLIOBARN

Last Sunday, Justin and I drove up to Hobart, NY...the self-proclaimed "book village" of the Catskills. It's a sleepy little town that has several used and antiquarian bookstores on its main street...and not much else. Our favorite stop was Bibliobarn...which is a few miles up the road in South Kortright. It's a treasure trove of old books housed in a converted barn and run by a couple of adorable old hippies. It's a magical place full of good vibes. And guess what. It's for sale! The whole kit and kaboodle -- the barn, the books, and the five sprawling acres of loveliness.

HELLO FALL

We've been DYING to use the fireplace ever since we moved in back in April...but the weather didn't really call for it. Finally, the evenings are getting cold enough to deem it appropriate...and last night we gave it a whirl.

Justin is quite the little fire builder (thank you Camp La Junta). He had it up and going in no time. We had our fingers crossed, and thank goodness, the smoke was indeed going up and out the chimney and the whole thing seems to work like a charm.

The cats were mesmerized by the whole process. Steve kept a safe distance from the actual fire...but Julian, in his usual fashion, wanted to be as close as possible. You'd think he would have learned his lesson after singeing off half of his whiskers from a too-close encounter with a candle a few weeks ago...but, no.

It's looking like fall is gonna be as dreamy as I'd hoped.

CONCORD GRAPE PICKING

On Monday Justin and I drove down to DuBois Farms in Highland to pick our own Concord grapes.

In case you don't already know, I'm a HUGE fan of Concord grapes. I basically have a countdown every year until the season starts in September...and proceed to eat as many as humanly possible right through October.

We ended up getting about 12 pounds worth. I plan on taking half of them and attempting to make some sort of grape jelly. I've never done it before...but how hard can it be? Anyone have any tips?