Fall: The Best Time for Baking!

I love baking in the fall, the cooler weather is one factor, but also the flavors, Cranberry Oatmeal pecan cookies, Dark Chocolate Chunk cookies. Yum! And the holiday season is coming with all the baking I can stand!

Gingerbread Cookies for Christmas

We're working on a line of gingerbread this year at Country Cupboard Cookies. It took awhile to get the recipe right, spicy but not too spicy, soft but not too soft to travel, just the right size, etc. We're going to decorate them individually so they will all have a different look.

Wind Turbines near Indian Lake

Wind turbines...are they an eyesore or do they enhance the landscape like the old farm windmills? I kind of like them especially against a beautiful fall background. But still, not sure.

Dan & his Kayak

Dan trying out his birthday present this year, a new kayak. I now want one too! So much fun once you get in!

Wine tote

toby's totes

My friend Toby will be offering these beautiful grocery and wine totes this fall and holiday season. Watch for them on our website at http://www.countrycupboardcookies.com/. I plan to offer them as a great gift with one dozen cookies. Go Green and purchase a cookie & tote gift for a good cause. More on this later. Below is her story and a link to her website.

Carry the Cause
http://www.carrythecause.net/

When I couldn’t find an eco-friendly, durable, eye-pleasing shopping tote, I decided to create my own oil-cloth wine carriers and recyclable grocery bags. Reusable bags are an easy way to reduce waste and go green. Profits from your CtC purchase will be used to enhance the lives of individuals across the world.

Proceeds benefit these non-profit organizations:

Heifer International is an organization seeking to help end world hunger and poverty through self-reliance and utilizing resources. HI gives animals and their offspring to communities around the world. From this, skills and knowledge are spread to teach families how to care for the earth and how to create and encourage a long-term solution to sustainable living.

Darfur Peace and Development Org. seeks to support peace and development in Darfur, Sudan. DPDO provides development assistance to victims, and promotes awareness of the genocide worldwide. DPDO works to foster the reconciliation process through facilitating just governance in order to find a peaceful resolution to the devastating conflict.

More Asheville Photos

Enjoying sweet tea in Asheville in September, an awesome lunch of grits, roasted red peppers and grilled shrimp, and me trying on a new look.


Tupelo Honey CAfe in Asheville: I've had Shari's shrimp and grits twice now and just love the meal. First of all, one of my favorite foods is grits, and I only can find a decent serving when we travel south, so I try to have them as many ways as I can while I'm there. Served with shrimp and these hot roasted red peppers and a glass of sweet tea is the best way yet. I also enjoyed them for breakfast with pancakes the day before. Oh, my the carbs! I live in the north, but my culinary tastes are really in the south! Don't even get me started on the subject of pralines.


Tupelo Honey Cafe's wonderful shrimp and grits with red peppers.






I didn't buy but should have bought the fedora. I tried it on for a joke, but looking at it now, I think it's a good look for me!.

One of our favorite Vacation Spots: Asheville NC

On the way back from our daughters graduation in Atlanta last month, we stopped for 2 days in wonderful, quirky and beautiful Asheville, NC. We just love it there, hopefully we can spend time there every year. We listened to great bluegrass music at Jack of the wood, visited the NC gardens located just outside of Asheville, ate at the Tupelo Honey Cafe ( worth the wait) and stayed for 2 nights at a fantastic bed and breakfast inn , Cumberland Falls Inn.

What a great trip, we can't wait to return!

Stop in Asheville, NC

The Creative Circus

Creative Circus Graduates Lori Wittig & her Roommate Karen

Oh, we are so proud of our daughter, Lori who just graduated from the Creative Circus in Atlanta. (Lori is the blonde to the right, her wonderful friend, Karen also graduated with her! ) We just got back a couple of weeks ago from the graduation , meeting Lori's very creative and great friends and families from around the country. Creative Circus is a school taught by advertising pros that helps creatives develop a portfolio of work so that they can build a career in advertising. It seems like an amazing place from what we saw and heard during our short visit. We had just a great time while we were visiting, from fantastic pancakes and grits for breakfast , a fabulous dinner out at One Midtown Kitchen, and a great brunch hosted by the grads and their friends at Lori's and Karen's apt. It's exciting to see your kids grow up!! What a great group of young adults, makes me feel so optimistic about the future of our country and world when I meet people like I did on this trip!