Something strange happened. A beautiful fall transitioned into an early winter!  Of course, I have nothing to complain about compared to our friends in Buffalo!

I do think it was one of our nicest falls in recent years.

 

I went to two college football games filled with family, friends and all the pageantry of a football weekend. My 85-year old mom joins us for a tradition started by her and my dad.

A number of years ago, I bought my husband a buckeye tree. This was the first year it produced buckeyes! My husband was so excited to see the pods on the tree. A number of days later, they were on the ground and broken open. But I only found one buckeye.  Last week, I saw this little guy enjoying a feast on the front lawn. He didn’t budge as I walked by numerous times. After he left, I saw where he had dug a hole and buried the buckeye, just yards from the tree!

In the high school sports arena, we went from cross country to hockey. This is my son’s first venture into hockey. He has been skating in our back yard for years, but I never dreamed he would be playing for high school. Well, he dreamed it and now he is!  One of the traditions? Dyeing hair black. Yep. For a woman who doesn’t dye her own hair, this was a bit of a shock. But boy rituals won out, and I performed my first dye job.

It’s a little hard to get used to….

“Does She….or Doesn’t She?”  Haha, I think it’s pretty obvious!

With our busy fall of moving kids into college and attending football games, the date of our Tuscan dinner was pushed into late October. I didn’t anticipate that we would have our dinner outside.  I kept everything fairly simple.

 

I used my candle holders from TimelessnChic. I love them!  (Please check out her shop. Her creations are wonderful and she has a heart as big as her state of Texas!)

Our decor and setup was greatly simplified. But the purpose of the Tuscan dinner is to gather with friends over wonderful food.  And, once again, we had a great time!  The evening ended with a little bit of Grappa and Limoncello.

I used a drop cloth as my tablecloth. One of these years, I’d like to paint it to coordinate with my Tuscan theme….some sunflowers perhaps?

We are now pushing into December and the weather feels more typical. It is cold and gray. Sometimes the gray stretches last so long you forget the lift you feel when the sun it out.  I am always grateful to see it again and immediately feel my mood improve.

I hope that you had a lovely fall and that you are enjoying the anticipation of the holiday season.

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