Top 5 Reasons Why I Love This Time of Year

First off, I have to say that the ultimate reason I'm in love with Fall is because of the beautiful weather!  Without the cool, crisp air that actually makes a Texan appreciate the feeling of warm sunshine... this season just wouldn't be the same. :)

Now that we've got that covered... *wink*

#1

The colors... 

I love earth tones.  From the chocolate browns, to the dark greens, to the golden yellows and deep reds -- I love 'em all! 

#2

  The books...

For some reason, this weather puts me in the mood to sit and read a good book outside... and our back porch is the perfect place to do it! ;) 

#3

The jackets...

I'm cold-natured and love a good excuse to wear cute jackets, sweaters, blazers, etc. 

Denim, suade, courdoroy, fleece -- you name it, I'll probably be wearing it. :)

#4

The coke floats?

Okay, our family doesn't typically get the chance to indulge in drinking a good coke float (or in my particular case, a Dr. Pepper float. ;)  But when we were talking the other day and realized Eliza and Samantha had NEVER drank one before, we just *had* to splurge a little bit. :) 

Hey, that was the first time we had gotten sodas in at least 4 months! 

And let me tell you... it was reeaallly gooood.

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Okay,

by now you're probably wondering about my "reason number five". 

SoOo, here it is...

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#5

This month (October 23, to be exact!) marks 10 years since the day I was baptized! 

(It's really weird to think that I'm old enough to say that now. lol!  10 years ago???  

I can remember the night like it was yesterday... :)

*Praise the Lord all the earth!*

 

Snippets of Scripture from ~ Nehemiah 9

"Blessed be your glorious name,

and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you....

You are the LORD God,
who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham.... You saw the suffering of our forefathers in Egypt.... You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven.... But they, our forefathers, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and did not obey your commands.... But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them.


You gave your good Spirit to instruct them....
You gave them kingdoms and nations.... But they were disobedient and rebelled against you.... From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.... But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight.... And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time.


Now therefore, O our God, the great, mighty and awesome God,
who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes—the hardship that has come upon us, upon our kings and leaders, upon our priests and prophets, upon our fathers and all your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today."

- Last weekend my sisters and I stayed with my grandparents who happen to have some beautiful woods behind their house, which I recently found makes for beautiful scenery and a very happy "Taylor-with-her-new-camera"! ;) Sister #1 and I took a ton of awesome pictures together, but unfortunately I won't be sharing all of them right now. These are just a few vintage-looking ones I thought you might enjoy!

First picture: Me

Second picture: Sis #1

Third picture: Me

Fourth picture: Sis #1

* A Delicious Autumn Dinner *

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Chicken with Honey-Orange Sauce


Ingredients:

2 navel oranges

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (about 1 1/4 lbs.), trimmed and tenders removed

1 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup white cooking wine

1/2 cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons honey

1 3-inch cinnamon stick

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1. Zest and juice one orange. Remove the skin and white pith from the other orange, then halve and slice. Reserve zest and juice separately from the orange slices.

2. Combine flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper in shallow dish. Dredge chicken in the flour, shaking off any excess. Transfer the remaining flour to a small bowl, add broth and whisk to combine.

3. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plate. Add wine to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Add the flour-broth mixture, the reserved orange zest and juice, raisins, honey, cinnamon stick and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan and cook, turning the chicken once or twice, until an instant-red thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 165 degrees F and the sauce has thickened--10-12 minutes.

4. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Discard the cinnamon stick. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and garnish with the reserved orange slices and almonds. ENJOY!

(As you can see, we didn't use any almonds.)

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Sides

Sweet potatoes just wrapped in foil and baked in the oven. Afterward we melted some butter and added some honey and brown sugar with it to glaze over the potatoes. Yum!

Squash and zucchini sauteed together with some chopped onion and seasoning.

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We cooked this meal a couple of weeks ago. We all liked the chicken, but we accidently didn't cook the sweet potatoes long enough... so we weren't too crazy about them! They weren't very soft. We really enjoyed the squash, though!

Anyway, I thought this was an interesting dinner meal. Hope you all are enjoying your autumn suppers! :)