Today I was hoping to show you the progress we're making with our kitchen but we have been blessed with a dreary, cloudy day which is not conducive to picture taking, but which is conducive to baking. So to honor this day, I'll be baking these. I've gone pumpkin crazy. This weekend I made Jayme's amazing pumpkin cake which can be found here, only I made it as a layer cake and added a little fresh ground nutmeg and I might possibly have made a little extra frosting to make sure there was plenty to go around. That cake is insanely good. Luckily we shared with friends so there isn't any left.
This kind of weather always puts me in the mood for movies. My favorite Fall movie is You've Got Mail, although I also love Practical Magic and When Harry Met Sally. Do you have a favorite movie for this season? With the arrival of the first crisp day it's just a matter of time before I MUST watch it. I think today is the day I give myself permission to curl up with my knitting needles and enjoy. I'm not sure why I feel like I have to give myself permission to do something enjoyable during the day but that is my little crazy reality. Even as I type that I feel the need to justify it by listing all the work things I will also do in my day. I think I have a sickness. Homemaker's Disease. I'm pretty sure it's a real condition.
I'll be back in a few days with more about the kitchen. Be prepared for the good, the bad and the horribly, hideously ugly. I'm not kidding.
I'm a huge fan of You've Got Mail....huge! I found a recipe for Apple Butter in a new magazine I picked up. Going to try that! I'm also one that thinks they have to give permission to sit and enjoy something. My fall pleasures, besides reading, is either cross stitching or rug hooking. I have a project of each just waiting for me to get permission! Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteOur day is starting out that way. Chilly and cloudy.
ReplyDeleteNice to be off most of the day. I think I will bake somehting as well. I loved "You got Mail." I loved the little book store she ran and how she did story time. I also loved, "Fools Rush In" "One Fine Day".....I could go on. I'm not that much a movie repeat but these I could watch over and over. Have a good week.
Practical Magic is one of my favorite movies, year round, but I think you're right--it would be even better in fall! And since the Southeast has a bit of a cold-front coming on, that might be what I pop in as I make supper tonight :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your cozy day!
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ReplyDeleteI sincerely hope you are curled up on your couch right now watching You've Got Mail. I've always loved the scenes of New York in the fall in that movie too.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, I was just saying to my husband that sometimes I feel guilty for spending time blogging or doing something else for myself during my days. Like somehow I need to justify the time I spend around here. But the truth is, as Mom and homemaker, I am always working. My workplace just happens to be here in my house! Enjoy your movie... what are you knitting?
I know just what you mean about the "permission" issue. I feel much guilt about being cozy at home when my husband is off working a job that he doesn't enjoy. On a happier note, I love "You've got Mail" and the other day I found myself watching "Sleepless in Seattle" for the first time in years. Today, I'm planning on watching "Gilmore Girls" while I work. I've watched them all at least a dozen times, but there is just something happy and soothing about that series. I'd move to Stars Hollow in a heart beat. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteI've got to admit... I've never seen When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle.... I'm not sure WHERE I was during those years??? Oh, my kids were babies and my husband is NOT a movie guy... We didn't see one single movie from July 1988 to August 2007... really! Maybe it's time to put it on my netlix list :)
ReplyDeleteAnything pumpkin or spicy is sounding quite fabulous right now.. we've had some grey dreary days here as well... time to break out the sweaters!
~Chris
Aren't we funny that way? I think it's just built in with our DNA, I'm pretty sure it's part of the same strain that guilt comes from...lol
ReplyDeleteThat Meg Ryan haircut gets me everytime. I just love it! I am in the baking mood today, too. I think I smell some Paula Dean pumpkin bars in my future, oh yeah, and you gotta have extra frosting. ;) Patty
Ooooh Ugly is GOOD! It prepares us for the Great! Good luck and happy kitchening.
ReplyDeletexo jeanne
bees knees bungalow
Can't wait to see your kitchen pics!
ReplyDeleteThose pumpkin choc-chip squares are calling my name. I think I will bake some this week. I love pumpkin goodies!
I also would love to try the cake recipe, but the link is for the squares. Just thought you should know.
I watched When Harry Met Sally last weekend, it is my fall go-to movie! I love Practical Magic too, because of Sandra Bullock and the house and scenery, but the book was WAY better. I can't wait to see your photos!
ReplyDeleteThat is one of my must watch movies too. Can't wait to see your kitchen!
ReplyDeleteenjoy your overcast pumpkin-lovin baking day!
ReplyDeletei love all three of those too my friend.
i'm goign to pretend i'm hanging out with you, i brought brinkley of course, we're watching meg & tom while eating pumpkin bread.
amen
I want to live in her apartment. Love, love that movie.
ReplyDeletexo
Claudia
mmm, baking and curling up with a movie sounds divine! It's drizzly and cool here, perfect weather for curling up and relaxing:>) Those pumpkin chocolate chip bars look perfect:>)
ReplyDeleteI made those pumpkin bars last week. Oh.my.goodness. I used mini chocolate chips to spread out the chocolately goodness. Better not make them too often :)
ReplyDeleteI have the same disease you do! ;)
ReplyDeleteEvery fall I am right there with you watching 'You've Got Mail'- love that movie! I also watch the 'Anne of Green Gables' movie every Sept/Oct- even Husband watches it every year, and we all cry when Matthew dies.
can't wait for the kitchen pics. those goodies look delish, maybe i'll try them this weekend. My favorite curl-up movie is "the Holiday", Jude Law is soo adorable in this movie. I also like the english cottage. enjoy!
ReplyDeleteYum...I am so making the pumpkin cake!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your movie and don't feel guilty, I so remember years ago when I was between jobs I felt so guilty for those 2 weeks.....but now since hubby is retired I feel no guilt at all!
Can't wait to see your kitchen!
Hi Jen- I am the same way-I always feel like I have to justify doing something enjoyable for myself during the day. I, too, feel guilty sitting here typing! I think it is the burden of womanhood that sits on our shoulders like this telling us that we must DO more-like our ancesstors before us.
ReplyDeleteThe movie that always makes me think of Fall is Sleeping With The Enemy with Julia Roberts- funny, huh? xo Diana
Home makers disease! I think I have it too!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see that kitchen!
you've got mail!
ReplyDeletewell, we will get together and lament about our kitchens over coffee.
xo
k
great idea Jen, think I will grab a cup of cocoa and pop my copy in the dvd as well. I need to share this yummy pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe sounds odd but it is so good.
ReplyDeleteI love You've Got Mail and When Harry Met Sally. I also love Tom Hanks in Castaway and of course Sleepless in Seattle. I adore watching old movies over and over. Did you know that John Mellencamp and Meg are dating? I guess there have been some John & Meg sightings in Bloomington, but I haven't ran into them, yet!
ReplyDeleteI, too, have been baking more as we have our own farm-fresh eggs! AND...I am crazy for all things pumpkin. xo, Cheryl
Looking forward to trying the cake too!
ReplyDeleteJen ~ why do us women do that to ourselves...feel the wave of guilt if we want to do something "just for ourselves" during the day? I work outside the home 3 days/week and on the days I'm at home all day, I feel I must be productive with all the housework, laundry, projects, etc. I do take mini breaks throughout the day but just to carve out a chunk of time to read or watch a movie or work on a craft...I find it hard to do that. Then we wonder why we're so tired, right? ;-)
ReplyDeleteWith Thanksgiving right around the corner here in Canada... I can't wait to try these...yummy
ReplyDeleteYour kitchen/dining room is lovely...even without the improvements you have planned. Love all 3 of your favorite movies! Enjoy the fall! :)
ReplyDeletei love you've got mail...any time of year. but especially now. and pumpkin baking is calling my name...
ReplyDeleteI'm coming in late on this (I found your blog through Pinterest — yay, Pinterest!).
ReplyDeleteI always do the fall movie thing, too! And I'm also looking for some new ones. There just can never be enough, so I've learned to get pretty creative in the hunt over the years.
In addition to "You've Got Mail" and "Practical Magic," I also religiously watch "Hocus Pocus," "Lady In White" (one of my absolute all-time favorite films, so nostalgic), "The Worst Witch" (cheezy, yes, but okay, so I turn 12 again in autumn, what can I say?), and "The Good Witch" (Hallmark movie available on DVD, and the house is to DIE for).
Other movies I love in autumn that aren't specifically autumn-themed but just feel right for the season are "Ever After," any of the "Harry Potter" movies (I love these all year 'round, but they just feel BETTER in the fall), the first "Nanny McPhee" (the second feels more like a springtime movie to me), "The Company of Wolves," "My Dog Skip," "The Witches of Eastwick," and "What Lies Beneath." That last one stars Michelle Pfeiffer, and it just occured to me that another Michelle Pfeiffer film, "The Fabulous Baker Boys," would probably be great for fall. I think I'll get it out and watch it!
For scary-ish movies in the fall, I like older things like "The Howling," "Silver Bullet," the original "Salem's Lot," the original "Fright Night," Roger Corman's "The Raven" (which is really mostly humorous), the musical version of "Little Shop Of Horrors" (also mostly humorous), John Carpenter's 1982 version of "The Thing," the 1978 version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," the original "Stepford Wives," the 1964 version of "The Last Man On Earth," and "Rosemary's Baby." Two newer movies I love this time of year are "28 Days Later" and the remake of "War Of The Worlds."
Jane Austen movies are nice in fall.
Last December I bought "An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving" and "An Old-Fashioned Christmas" (both Hallmark movies). Since Thanksgiving had already passed, I only watched the Christmas one (which was the sequel) and I adored it, so I'm eager to watch it, but I'm waiting until November.
A movie I saw for the first time last autumn, which turned out to be a VERY autumn-y movie, was "The Lovely Bones." Even though I knew the general gist of the theme beforehand and was expecting it to be really depressing (especially since I was grieving the sudden tragic deaths of both my mother and husband at the time), it wasn't at all like what I was expecting. I found it strangely comforting and hopeful (though, as critics complained, yes, it was a bit sappy in spots). But I don't care; it made ME feel better. So now that's going to be one of my regular autumn films, too.
I'm sure I'll remember more as soon as I post this. But I think my response is officially longer than your post by now, so I'd better stop before I overwhelm you even more. LOL I just love movies sooooo much, and autumn is my favorite time of year!