Getting ready for fall....

I love fall and with the cooler air moving in.... Ahhh, I am getting excited.
I am already starting to decorate a little, nothing much yet but big plans ahead. We'll see if I even make it close! So many things to make, try out, so little time!!

I have found several ideas here and there but my favorite place to look lately is... yep, Pinterest. Lots of pictures to get inspired by and blogs to tell you how in some cases.

So here is where it starts in my house...
Candles. Love the look and the smell of them. From a vanilla, coffee bean, pumpkin spice (my fave for fall) or a cinnamon spice... or all... put them in a nice container or in a nice display. Set it up, don't just set them out...


It doesn't matter if they are just out for the decor and looks of it or if they are there for the ambiance, lighting them all and smelling the wonderful scents. Be creative.

What about pumpkins! Can't have fall with out those. So why not mix the two...candle sticks and pumpkins.
I love this idea! It is such a simple way to dress up a harth, fireplace, entrance way, table.... anywhere really.


Another of my fall favorites is candy corn and peanuts! We always have candy jars out. I love mixing different containers around and filling them with different things.
I have used large mason jars before with raffia bows tied around the lids. (now I use those for this)


But with some candies, I needed a container with a lid.... so off I went on a search.
I wanted ones that looked great in my homes decor. One's that didn't scream look, I am only out for fall! Ha! I wanted to use them at any time of year.
I found these at our Hobby Lobby and had to have them! Of course they were 50% off!


Of course fall wouldn't be fall without a crow would it? Had to grab him too...


As far as the candy, well it doesn't last very long!
I tried to find different colors. Peanuts with candy corn, black licorice...no one eats, I wanted the green apple gummy rings but they must be overly popular this year because I can't find them... well, I did but I would have to pay by the pound and thats NOT happening...yet!


So when choosing your container, find one you won't mind looking at empty... (if your family is anything like mine!)

Next, I have to get out all of the scarecrows, hay, tree, flowers...yes tree... you'll have to wait for that one....

Heaven In A Glass

We are coffee fanatics in this house and we are always stopping by the Big Name Coffee shops for a fancy schmancy cup of something…and paying the price that goes along with it.
SO, we decided to make some of our own. Now through our Pinterest addiction I found a blog that set me in the right direction. Although we went, for the most part, with the recipe that they suggested, I will definitely change it the next time we make it (and did a little this time). I will tell you how and why below.

What you will need for this Creamy Iced Coffee recipe:
1 Gallon of water
1 Pound of course ground, Strong as you can find, coffee
1 Large bowl
1 Strainer
Lots of coffee filters or cheesecloth
1 Container to hold your coffee in the fridge for up to a month

What you will need for the Cream recipe:
1 12 oz can of Evaporated Milk
1 8 oz can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 Container for the mix

Now, this is where I changed things up a bit. No course ground coffee here but for now… here is what we did…
I could not find a pre-packaged pound of coffee, that I thought I would like the flavor of, that was “cheap” enough for me. So I bought a regular brand name, DARK Roast, that I know I like and weighed out the pound it called for. (This is after all suppose to be less expensive that the Big Name Coffee shops.)


So, I weighed out my coffee and placed it in my bowl.


Poured the gallon of filtered water (we filter ours anyway, doesn’t have to be though) over the coffee. Now, the coffee will want to float so that is where my handy whisk came in.


Start whisking the coffee around to make sure that it is all nice and wet. Put the bowl in your fridge for 12 hours or so or overnight. The longer the better, the stronger!
So while that is brewing, you can mix up the heavenly creamy part of this drink! This gets kind of tricky so keep close… open both the milk products and mix together. Got that? Yep, I know. Nothing so Schancy or Fancy about that, JUST GOOOOOD!


It would be great to put it in a schmancy fancy container to but…I didn’t have one, so my dressing shaker did the trick this time. Maybe later, after I have saved all of this money making my own, I’ll buy one….maybe.

Now comes the FUN part, not! (this is what I would change)
So because a cold brew is supposed to be better for this particular process, we now get to filter all of that coffee. And filter, and filter!


Place a filter in your strainer and place your strainer over your final container or one that will work to collect your hard work!

I did not have the traditional, round, type of coffee filters so I used my cone shaped ones. This worked for a bit BUT busted out the bottom in no time and guess what…. Yep, I had to start over!


So I started over with the traditional round type and never looked back.
THIS IS A SLOW PROCESS!
It seems to take forever… and it doesn’t seem to leave you with the massive gallon you started off with, wondering if you would ever drink a gallon of cold coffee. But anyway, it is all good.

Now you get to sit back and enjoy all of your nice, long, hard work. Especially if you have a husband like I do, who just LOVED all of this going on in our kitchen for days! But he sure did love the end result!

Here's how to fix it up...
Fill your glass FULL of chopped ice.


Now fill your glass with your coffee about 2/3 full.


Finish off the top with the Heavenly Cream mixture.


Mmm, mouth...watering...YUM!!!


I stirred it all together to blend it all up. (It was too much for everyone not stirring it.)
You can mix this up however you like, more coffee, more cream...


Lil’ Monkey wasn’t so sure about it at first. She doesn’t like coffee!


Slowly....maybe....


Must have been ok…


Hammie was excited to get some…


Of course, she LOVES coffee!!!


Lil’ Monkey gave it the thumbs up



Everyone here loved it, even Miss “I don’t like coffee” LOVED it and wanted more!....and got it, but just a little. Dad did not like that so much… (it wasn’t the decaf kind…ooops)

Lil' Monkey said "You’re not getting this back!"





So, what would I change next time?
Well for starters, I would NOT cold brew. Too much time and work.

I think I will brew a stronger coffee and let it cool and put it in the fridge for the same use.
The rest of it, well, the rest is nothing.
I am just not the most patient person in the world when it comes to this type of thing and if the regular brewing process yields the same results, I am ALL for it! (only time will tell on that one)

I also think that I might try a decaf…
ok get back up off the floor.
I know, I know.
What’s the point of decaf!!!
Well, when my children LOVE the drinks as much as they do and MY kids and caffeine DON’T mix well...
...don’t ask...remember!... that just calls for decaf and NO other reason!

Hope you all enjoy your little bit of Heaven In A Glass as much as we do!