First Day of Fall!

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Good ole F. Scotty knew what he was talking about!

I'm sorry I've been a little quiet lately. I've been buried in Anatomy & Physiology (epithelial tissue, cellular respiration and bones oh my!), had my first Food Composition & Community Nutrition exams and some extra hours working at the olive oil shop.

Both of my Wednesday classes were miraculously cancelled today (I'm assuming to celebrate the first day of Fall, right?) so I'm lazing around and catching up on life things.

It's officially the first day of Fall and I couldn't be happier. It has been feeling crisp in the mornings here in Charlotte and there is pumpkin everything on grocery store shelves.

Judge me all you want, but I'm the girl beelining for the pumpkin greek yogurt, loading my cart up with pumpkin butter, and coveting my new plaid blanket scarf. And hey, pumpkin is a stellar source  of Vitamin A and Fiber. So the joke is on you!

I *may* have jumped the gun a little bit on Fall but now I can share my delight in the new season loud and proud.

Oh oh! This candle. So festive and not too sweet smelling. Bonus: Bath & Body Works had them on sale! Student budget...

This lil screen shot is from a few weekends ago, but this was the first morning I woke up to such a cool temperature. A squeal and victory dance definitely ensued.

This set-up appeared on the Student Help desk at Winthrop last week. The inspirational quote cracked. me. up. It makes it into this post because of the pumpkin and owl, obviously.

While this picture is no stunner, I promise this was one delicious and Fall-appropriate breakfast. 

The night before, combine:

1/4 cup oats

Scant 1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

2 T pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

Dashes of: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice

1 t honey

The morning of, top with:

Walnuts

Pumpkin butter (never too much pumpkin)

Chia seeds 

Hemp seeds

Fun fact: we learned in Food Composition that this recipe format is called "Action Style." Most recipes are "Traditional Recipe Style" (aptly named) but there are also "Narrative Style" recipes in which everything is written in a paragraph, and ingredients are interspersed in the directions (I find these ridiculous and would always forget ingredients on my shopping list) and "Descriptive Style" which involve 3 different columns - ingredient, quantity, and procedure. Anecdote over.

Last but not least, another Bath & Body works find. This soap smells so cozy and makes me smile every time I wash my hands. Yes, it really is that easy to make me happy. Fall, I tell ya!

Spill! What are you most looking forward to this season? I'm on the hunt for some Apple Cider Donuts this weekend...