Crocktober

First of all, I feel like I need to document how amazing the weather has been this month so that when I’m hating on the cold weather in November, I can look back fondly on the month that was October. I know it’s only halfway over, but there have been enough 11’s on the Wizometer this month to make up for any bad weather that could be upon us. It’s just the right amount of chilly in the morning for a light jacket/cardi, then the midday lunch break weather has been sunny and in the 70’s, and when I’m heading home from work, I get to catch some breathtaking sunsets. We’ve gotten our boots and scarves back out, and we’re having a TIME not buying new fall wardrobes. Damn Pinterest.

A couple of weekends ago, I made it up to Clemson for the first time this season to watch our Tigers play Georgia Tech. It’s always great to be there, and being in Death Valley watching the team run down the hill at the start of a game is one of the only things that really really makes me miss college. 

 I love my life in Atlanta, but those 25 seconds get me every time. I got to catch up with some of my sweet Ultimate Frisbee friends and got some QT with my college roommate, Anna. Life is crazy, and it’s easy to lose touch with college friends after we all graduate and move away, but being in Clemson feels like no time has past. Thanks so much, Anna, for the tickets, the rides, and the mostly gluten-free tailgate (the south’s BEST). Oh yeah, we WON!

Roooooomiez

Ultimate LOVE.

Anyway, back at the homestead, we’re at that great point in the year where the air conditioner is OFF and so is the heat. Take that, utility bills! Also, the crockpot is up and running again in our house. Since it’s getting darker at night, and the advertising world is keeping me later and later, we’ve traded the grill for the crockpot. Someone’s excited…

We’ve already had the first chili of the season, and it was wonderful of course. I’m sure Pot Roast will be on the menu soon, and we’ve been pinning all sorts of other crockpot recipes. First on the list was this Crockpot Honey Apple Pork Loin recipe we found. What says fall like apples and crockpots?! Here’s what we started with.

Ingredients:

Pork Loin, 2.5-3 lbs.

Red Delicious Apples, 3 sliced

Honey, approx 4 T

Cinnamon, 2 T

Process:

Slice two of the apples, they place them in the bottom of the crockpot. There should be enough to cover the entire bottom.

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Cut slits in the pork loin (approx 1/2″-3/4″).

  Then place apple slices into the slits.

 

Drizzle some honey into the slits.

  Place the pork loin into the crockpot.

Drizzle the top with the remainder of the honey.

 Place the rest of the apples on top.

Then sprinkle the whole thing with cinnamon.

Cook on low for 7 hours.

We had the pork with sauteed zucchini and our favorite Butternut Squash Risotto. And we ate off of the china of course.

The meat came out so tender and delicious, and the house smelled amazing all day. Chris wasn't a huge fan of the apples, but I actually really liked them. And I think the leftovers were even better, maybe because the flavors had more time to soak in. This was such a simple recipe, the pork was on sale, and It was gluten-free all by itself. This is why we blog.

We're so glassy.

It’s a new season in Atlanta! As much as I love summertime and always will, fall is wonderful. Here’s what’s super great about fall so far:

-       The Braves made it to the Post-Season.

-       Fall Weddings. I’ve already been to two really beautiful ones.

-       Chili. We’re making it next week.

-       College Football

-       Boots & Scarves

-       Amazing weather. Can’t wait to spend time outside.

-       Fall TV! Our favorite shows are back on.

-       Reese’s Pumpkins. And really all things pumpkin.

-       Halloween, then Thanksgiving.

-       Fall produce. Like greens, and apples.
AND I ordered an iPhone 5!

To kick things off, we went on a little Labor Day adventure in North GA with some of our favorite ladies, Whit and Bet. We hiked and chatted and had an awesome day. The trail we found was kinda overgrown, and we forded a few unexpected bodies of water, probably due to the overgrowth, which caused us to be lost. The whole thing was pretty hilarious, but was great to get some fresh air and finish out the summer together.

After our lady day in the woods, we made our annual trip to IKEA. We hadn’t been since we moved into our house over a year ago! My how the time flies. We’d been eying several things in the new Fall 2012 catalog, so we decided to bite the bullet and brave the crowds for a few must-haves. Unfortunately (fortunately for our bank accounts), we didn’t see a lot of the stuff we wanted in the store, but we did some away with a few things we should have gotten a long time ago: a decent salad bowl and some wine glasses. At  $2.99 and $4.99 (for 6), respectively, we were obviously sold.

Chris was beyond excited about the salad bowl, so we had to have a salad that next week. Haley makes an amazing spinach salad, so Chris wanted to emulate hers as much as possible, and it was pretty darn great. And looked just as handsome in that bowl. Here’s what we did.

 Spinach + Pear Salad with Feta + Avocado

1 bag Spinach

1 Bartlett pear, sliced

1 avocado, sliced

Crumbled Feta cheese, as much as you like

1 hand-full of Craisins

1 hand-full of candied pecans

Your favorite Balsamic Vinaigrette, as much as you like

Combine the ingredients in a fancy salad bowl. Toss & Serve.

She's so proud

We ate our salad on the china, of course, and paired it with our favorite risotto and some white wine in our new glasses.

We’ve used the salad bowl a few times since, including Grey’s Potluck dinner/viewing party night! I guess this is what happens when you’re 24. Glassware excites me. Great.