Squash and Apples

It's finally my favorite time of year! Two of the best things about fall are butternut squash and apples.

Butternut squash risotto (Martha Stewart recipe)

 

Applesauce!

 

Applesauce muffins

The life seduction challenge

For the  month of October, I want to do all of these at least 31 of these things:

1. Give something broken a new life (a skirt, a squeaky wheel, scuffed shoes).
2. Put something beautiful on a bit of blank wall you see every day.
3. Wear something you love that you think “just isn’t you.”
4. Send a thank you note, for anything.
5. Spend an afternoon reading.
6. Cook in a vintage apron.
7. Have luncheon: a slow midday meal with cloth napkins and wine.
8. Go out of your way to do something kind for a stranger (offer a seat, hold the door, leave your copy of Us Weekly on the elliptical).
9. Donate five items from your closet that don’t make you feel unstoppably gorgeous.
10. Take care of a nagging life admin item (a trip to the post office, filing an insurance claim, making a doctor’s appointment).
11. Buy an utterly frivolous piece of lingerie.
12. Invite friends over for cocktails, dinner, or brunch.
13. Wake up an hour early to have a leisurely morning.
14. Try something that looks like pure fun (accordion, crochet, burlesque).
15. Dance. In public, in the living room, with a partner, with yourself.
16. Flirt with a stranger. (Smiling counts.)
17. Get rid of five things in your home that don’t bring you pleasure.
18. Go to a parfumerie or department store in search of a signature scent.
19. Buy flowers for your home or office.
20. Make a recipe from a fruit, vegetable, meat or fish you’ve never cooked before.
21. Walk barefoot in the grass or on the sand.
22. Have a media-free day.
23. Write down everything you feel grateful for.
24. Hold a baby.
25. Pet a puppy.
26. Ask someone to tell you their life story.
27. Read a biography of your favorite glamorous screen star, or the bravest, most badass real life heroine.
28. Eat fresh berries, straight from the green paper pint.
29. Create an occasion to wear your most impractical pair of shoes.
30. Write down your wildest dreams.
31. Take one itsy-bitsy, teensy-weensy step to make one real.
32. Have a proper weekday coffee break: ceramic cup, idle gossip, and staring out a window.
33. Visit a playground and swing.
34. Make lemonade. (Literally or figuratively.)
35. Go to a junk or antique story; consider what your favorite object has seen in its life.
36. Jump in a body of water. Float.
37. Give someone a hug; let them let go first.
38. Look at the stars.
39. Replace one utilitarian item you use every day––a measuring spoon, a file folder, a key chain––with something really, really beautiful.
40. Pamper your body with a massage, an overdue haircut, a trip to the sauna, or a soak in the tub.
41. Research something that sparks your curiosity (Arthurian legend, photosynthesis, investing). If you’re still curious after a 15-minute google session, dive deeper.
42. Make a collage of beautiful images that resonate with you.
43. Read aloud to someone you love.
44. Forgive yourself.
45. Forgive someone else.
46. Spend an hour in silent reflection.
47. Dine by candlelight on a weeknight.
48. Take a walk after dinner.
49. Wear your no-fail, cheer-me-up lipstick.
50. Give a genuine compliment to an acquaintance.
51. Have a glass of champagne, just because.
52. Spend one day taking pictures of everything you find beautiful.
53. Describe your perfect day in writing.
54. Block out an afternoon (or day) on the calendar to make some (or all) of it real.
55. Select one drawer or surface and organize it.
56. Write a love letter.
57. Do something you loved as a child.
58. Upgrade your sleep wear, or go Marilyn-style.
59. Do the one thing you were relieved/sad wasn’t on this list.
60. Pretend for one day that you are as confident and amazing as you want to be.

Early freeze

I salvaged what I could from the garden yesterday and covered up the pumpkins. Hopefully they survived the cold night!