Just One Photo

I'm sharing this one photo today. 

I took this on October 27, 2012 right outside my house here in Germany. We had our first snow and it was a little magical. I need a little magic in my life right now and something as simple as capturing these tiny snowflakes falling with all the autumn colors as a backdrop just did it perfectly. 

The snow didn't last long. We got just enough to create a pretty dusting on everything and then a few hours later it melted. The flurries continued though out the day though.

You may have noticed my absence recently. Please excuse me, I'll be taking some more time away from my blog for a little while. I just need some space as I have a lot of things taking my time and energy, both physically and emotionally. I'll be back when I feel more like blogging and sharing the going on's in our life. Right now I'm just enjoying every moment and cherishing the ones I love and our time together.

Autumn Roundup

Autumn is my favorite season! Halloween is my favorite holiday! I thought I would go through some of my old posts and create a Autumn roundup so you can see some of my Autumn tutorials, recipes, and posts in one place.

Make your own Autumn Lanterns here.

Make your own tutu for a Halloween costume here. 

 Create these delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes here.

Make a bowl of comfort Three Cheese Potato soup here.

Make a Starbucks inspired Pumpkin Spice Latte here.

 Spice up these cool nights with a bowl of Thai Chicken Noodle Soup here.

P64: Orange

I'm kind of sad that Winter is coming, because it means it will be harder to find pretty nature photos for each week's color.

This week Ariana and I found these pretty mushrooms in the backyard.

Autumn Lanterns {tutorial}

These Autumn lanterns are pretty and easy to make. And perfect for Thanksgiving!

First you need to gather some pretty colorful fall leaves.

Make sure they are dried well and not damp from being outside on the ground.

Lay them between pieces of newspaper and stack heavy books on top of them for a few days to press them flat and help dry them out.

Once the leaves are dried a few days later, you can start the work on your lanterns. Gather up your supplies: glass mason jars, mod podge, leaves, paintbrush and candles. (I used Yankee Candle- Harvest for my candles.) You may also want newspaper to protect your table and rubber bands for stubborn leaves.

Coat your jar with a layer of mod podge.

Place your leaves on top and coat with another layer of mod podge.

I broke off the hard stem of my leaves before using them on the jars.

Layer leaves around on the glass, overlapping slightly in a pretty pattern.

Let your jars dry overnight. If needed to back over stubborn edges that want to pop up with mod podge 

and help hold them down tight to the jar using rubber bands. I let my jars dry about 24 hours.

Place candles inside and light them for a pretty autumn lantern.

Happy Early Thanksgiving everyone!

Autumn is my favorite

I have a little secret.

I love Spring, I love Summer, and Winter is pretty with it's snowflakes.

But, I ADORE Autumn.

The colors in the leaves are like candy for the eyes.

The air feels so crisp and clean and pure.

I love sipping on hot cocoa and apple cider I love seeing pumpkins and Halloween is the best holiday!

Boots and sweaters and crunching leaves under your feet.

Yep, Autumn is my favorite.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes {Recipe}

Yesterday was my friend's birthday. Happy Birthday Andrew!

So, I made these yummy cupcakes to celebrate. They're perfect for Autumn, so I thought I would share them with y'all so you can make them too!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes

cupcakes:

2 cups flour (all purpose)

3 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

4 eggs, beaten

1 (16 oz) can of pumpkin pie mix

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

frosting:

1 (16 oz) package of cream cheese (room temperature)

2 tsp vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

Mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, and sugar. Stir in the eggs, oil and pumpkin pie mix. Pour into prepared paper cupcake cups and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

With a mixer, blend together the ingredients for the frosting until smooth. Frost when cool. I sprinkled mine with a little bit of pumpkin pie spice. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Colorful Autumn Macros

Autumn leaves through my macro lens. I love it!

I'm linking the first photo up with: Favorite Photo of the week Contest, Little Somethings, Texture Thursday, Show Off Your Shot, Macro Monday, and You Capture

Sorry for the photo overload. I am just in love with their colors and patterns.