It's My Favorite Time of the Year!!

I love this time of the year...there is a chill in the air, even here in Tennessee, and the mist over the mountains is so intense. I love the night sky and the way the moon and stars seem a little clearer and a little closer as the nights grow longer. Maybe it's the changing color of the leaves or maybe it's because I am a November child...maybe it's simply that this is the time of year filled with holiday anticipation...but whatever the reason, I feel more confident, peaceful, and grounded as the calendar begins to wind down.

Recently, we gathered up the brush and dead leaves, invited family and friends, built a fire pit, and hosted a small bonfire party. The evening was perfect...clear and just almost cold with stars dancing all around. The food was pretty good too...veggie dogs and chili, and, of course, plenty of marshmallows to roast. Oh, and really good beer to warm the blood. It was wonderful!

I talk frequently about the virtues of a simple life, but sometimes it seems beyond our reach. These are the moments made for bonfires and friends...when everyone is comfortable and the conversation is easy...when you can hear the wood popping in the fire and feel warm food in your belly...when you can see your breath in the air and be overwhelmed at the beauty of the stars. That's when life kind of boils down to it's roots and we can see who we really are.

I love this time of year...!

Smores and such...

We've all enjoyed smores by the camp fire and it's hard to beat the basics of graham cracker, chocolate bar and roasted marshmallows. Still, it's fun to play around with new combinations, so here are a few options you might want to try at your next cookout or camping trip. Enjoy!!

• Make the basic smore recipe but sprinkle cinnamon on the marshmallow after it's been roasted.



• Substitute chocolate chips for a chocolate bar (mash them into your roasted marshmallow.) Experiment with other chips including peanut butter and butterscotch or even use chocolate candies like M&Ms. Combos are great...how do you think they came up with the Reese Cup?!



• Substitute a chocolate chip cookie for the graham cracker. Any other cookie will do...peanut butter (yummy!) sugar cookies, or even oatmeal cookies work great!



• Drizzle carmel sauce over your smores or skip the smore entirely and simply drizzle chocolate or carmel sauce over your roasted marshmallows!

Have fun making memories!