Happy Howl-O-Ween

Marley wants to tell everyone Happy Halloween!

I know it's cruel to make her put it on - but she's just so darn cute in costume.

leaf peeps

I was in Tennessee over the weekend for a wedding and saw the most beautiful colors.

Like this

And this

More

And even more

And met a little friend along the way

How super duper lucky to see such beautiful colors in the fall!

caramel apple cider martinis, minus the apple cider

I am confident in my decision to have stayed in and watched the TX/OU game. Friends came over, brought us yummy grub from Whole Foods and we didn't have to fight traffic to get home after it was all over. Plus, with one touch of the remote, we were watching Texas Tech's victory over Nebraska!

Last week, Kelly from DesignCrush had a Caramel Apple Cider Martini recipe on her blog that I just had to try (you can see the post here)! As I was making the delicious libation, I realized that I had forgotten the Apple Cider part of the drink. Oops. It actually turned out to taste just fine without it though!

It's the perfect October drink - think candy apple in liquid form!

That night we had friends over for dinner too and baked an absolutely delicious blackberry pie - with fresh blackberries my friend Clint picked up that morning from the farmer's market. They were huge and plump and just perfect for baking into a pie!

It was such a lovely weekend with friends, football and amazing Dallas fall weather!

The State Fair of Texas 2009

Well, my wish for a warm State Fair of Texas day, which I asked for here, was put on the low priority list for the weather gods - I'm sure they meant to get to it, but for the first time in four years the sun was nowhere to be found at Fair Park on Saturday.

It didn't stop me from making a beeline to a Fletcher's Corny Dog stand and devouring the genius food-on-a-stick, not once, but twice. Sadly, there are no photos of the corny dog consumption.

I did however, catch J holding two beers (what, a surprise).

Ate fried butter (it was like a delicious biscuit)

A lone butter ball left

This goat gave us one look and went back to his food

This is Trey, the 1,100 lb pig. Yes, those are his cojones.

We said hi to Big Tex and he gave us big "Howdy" back.

And at last we had to say goodbye to the Texas Star until next year.

But not before one last cotton candy.

I want to go back on Sunday before it closes, but I have to convince J. Help me!

fall is here!

The weather gods were smiling upon Dallas today and gave us the perfect first day of fall! A little drizzling rain and cool temps make me a happy girl!

I only ask one things of the fall - to give me a warm State Fair of Texas Day!

That's right, the State Fair of Texas is nearly here! Last year I had a countdown to the State Fair of Texas before I had one to my wedding. That is how much I love the State Fair of Texas.

Let me tell you why I love it.

1. Cotton candy to my hearts delight

2. Corny dogs from Fletchers (the only place to get a corny dog)

3. A full day of fun with my hizzle and my friends

4. Fun rides and silly games

If I continue listing more I may not be able to contain my excitement until October 10th, which is the day I have scheduled to give Big Tex a big howdy!