Blogtober – Day 6 – Favourite Things About Autumn

Autumn is my favourite season. There are so many reasons why that I’m not sure how to narrow them down. Let’s give it a try. Here are some of my favourite things about Autumn.

The Weather

I love misty mornings with a chill in the air. My favourite weather in the world would be a cool, rainy day with a light breeze carrying the leaves aloft. Unfortunately, now that we’re in Alberta, rainy days are like unicorn’s tears. Any day it’s not snowing by this point in the year is a day to be thankful for. We’ve already had our first snowfall of the season. Don’t get me wrong, I love the snow. But I generally prefer it during the winter. Even so, we still have our fair share of breezy, overcast days where the leaves billow around.

The Clothes

Cozy sweaters, cute boots, long skirts, plaid, scarves, leggings, knitted accessories, lots of denim, I love it all! Honestly, if I thought I could get away with dressing up in my rain coat and rubber boots and going out puddlejumping, I would. In a heartbeat.

The Food

If it had nothing else going for it, Autumn would still be the season of Thanksgiving. This year, we’ll be cooking:

  • Turkey with cranberry sauce and stuffing
  • Tangy mashed potatoes with sour cream and chives
  • Yams with marshmallows
  • Cauliflower baked in cheese sauce
  • Buttered Brussels sprouts
  • Flaky rolls
  • Pumpkin pie with whipped cream

And if you happen across any of those articles telling you how to do the holidays low-cal, tell them where to stuff it. One kick-ass meal isn’t going to ruin your diet or your life.

Halloween

Ever since I was a tiny little baby goth back in the 90s (yes, really) Halloween has always been my jam. I love the music and the costumes and the spooks and spectres. Not such a fan of the horror movies, though. However, this year will mark my 25th annual Halloween night viewing of The Nightmare Before Christmas. SO EXCITE.

Blogtober – Day 4 – 5 Tips: Working from Home

So far for Blogtober, I’ve been working off prompt lists from other sites. Part of the reason I’m so terrible at blogging is because I struggle to come up with anything I think anyone else will want to read. Today I didn’t like any of the prompts I could find so I’m going off-list with tips on working from home from someone who has been doing it for 2.5 years.

So you’re working from home?

Your alarm goes off. It’s 8:30 a.m. The sun is glittering brightly on your windowsill. The gentle spring breeze carries birdsong through your window. You smile as you stretch. You roll out of bed, pad downstairs, and make yourself a nice cup of coffee before taking a nice, relaxing shower. It’s now 9:15 as you slip into some comfy lounge clothes, settle onto the couch with your laptop and crack into pinterest for a few minutes before deciding what you should work on for the day.

This is what a lot of people think the experience of working from home will be like. And, if you can find a situation like this and make it productive, more power to you! But from my experience, in the vast majority of situations, this is far from reality.Continue reading “Blogtober – Day 4 – 5 Tips: Working from Home”

Blogtober – Day 3 – Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Today’s Blogtober post is to share your favourite Autumn treat. Mine is Betty Crocker’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake (as I mentioned in yesterday’s post.) It’s delicious with a nice, hot cup of coffee (obviously) or, as I prefer, a good, strong cuppa.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Prep: 20 Minutes     |     Total: 1 Hour 40 Minutes     |     Servings: 16

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Coffee  Cake

  • Recipe: Sour Cream Coffee Cake3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups sour cream

Glaze

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease 12-cup fluted tube cake pan or 2 loaf pans.
  2. In small bowl, mix all Filling ingredients; set aside.
  3. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, 3/4 cup butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla and the eggs with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in flour mixture alternately with sour cream on low speed.
  4. Spread 1/3 of the batter (about 2 cups) in pan; sprinkle with 1/3 of the Filling (about 6 tablespoons). Repeat twice.
  5. Bake about 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool 10 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, in 1 1/2-quart saucepan, heat 1/4 cup butter over medium heat until very light brown; remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until glaze is smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle cake with glaze.