Well, like I said last week, September snuck up on me. Sure, the tomatoes are still growing on the vines & the weather might still be sticky & hot in most places. But the sun patterns are changing, the air is different, and school has started (or is starting soon). Autumn is my favorite season, hands down. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love summer… and this time of year, this weird funky not-quite-fall-but-not-summer-anymore time is kinda crappy. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the in-between time. I like when the sun looks different & the air isn’t the same as it was a week ago. But the days when you see the Halloween decorations in the store & get excited, only to leave the store & have the hair stick to the sweat on the back of your neck thanks to the crazy humidity? That sucks.

Once full-blown fall starts, I’ll be a happy gal! Pumpkins, baking, etc. Love it.

But this in-between time is for the birds. So for now… here’s my Friday Fifteen: September.

1. First thing I wanna tell you about is a giveaway from Milton’s Craft Bakers that I’m hosting. You can win FIVE boxes of these non-GMO, all natural, organic & naturally sweetened crackers, one box of each variety: chocolate, original multi-grain, honey & corn, honey multi-grain & blueberry. So go enter now! The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only, 18+ and it ends September 9th.
2. Last time I posted a Friday Fifteen, I raved about Fatty ‘Cue. That place is still the bomb.com, but this time I’m gonna rave about Sage Brooklyn (299-301 Graham Ave). Me & Jay stopped in here quite randomly & holy moly! Amazeballs. Fresh, amazing food. The pork & shrimp dumpling appetizer was bananas, so was the garlic chicken I had. And Jay had the roast duck which he loved. It was really nice to sit outside & eat, too. Suffice it to say: Sage is a dope place to eat. If you live nearby & haven’t eaten there yet- you’re doing it wrong.
3. Since getting tons & tons of gorgeous stone fruit from the Washington State Stone Fruit Commission, I’ve been going bananas making all kinds of stuff. This peach slab pie from Brooklyn Supper is one of them, & it was amazing.
4. Speaking of peaches, I also made this delicious peaches & cream cake from Chatelaine, and it also was AMAZING. Wanna see? Click here. And if you want to see it on the Chatelaine website, then trot on over here!
5. My newest obsession: space nails. Or “galaxy nails.” Have you ever done them? They look awesome. I did mine myself (here’s a bad picture) & I literally had checkout people at the store asking me where I got it done. Try it- I did mine just off the top of my head, but there are tons of tutorials on YouTube to help you out if you need it. I’m drawing nebulas like whoa!
6. Dana from Hot Pink Apron takes on the universe with pie… and so should you. This is the perfect time to start making pies. Peach pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, apple cranberry pie, plum pie, coconut cream pie, chocolate cream pie…
7. And this pie is one that I will definitely be making this fall!
8. I’m a total history nerd, so I found this (old) episode of History Detectives to be incredibly intriguing. Al Capone, George Washington & a WWII P.O.W. all in one hour!
9. Speaking of #6, hulu.com is one of my new favorite things. Thanks to my mom for telling me about it! Great for finding random 1920’s silent movies or for catching up on TV shows.
10. September is the start of apple season here in NY. Everything is gonna be apples, apples, & more apples nowadays; and starting next month it’ll be pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin! If you want a jump on all things apple, here are some of my favorite apple recipes from the blog: rose-apple tarts, caramel apple jam, caramel apple “syrup” (long story- read the post), apple hand-pies & of course… apple cider donuts! What’s fall without apple cider donuts?
11. Speaking of “the season”, it’s also eggplant season. If you’ve got a lot of it & you’re tired of eggplant parm, pickled eggplant or roasted eggplant, then try this.
12. I’m loving the book ‘As Always, Julia‘, edited by Joan Reardon. It’s a collection of letters to & from Julia Child & her “pen pal” Avis DeVoto. if you’re a Julia Child fan, you should read it. If you liked the movie Julie & Julia, you should definitely read it. Hell… if you like memoirs & that kind of thing, then you should read it too!
13. I’m excited for the colder weather to get here so I can make my famous baked potato soup! Maybe I’ll finally post the recipe this fall.
14. I mentioned last month that I found a jewelry website that I fell in love with. Well, I’ve found another: Trumpet & Horn. Gorgeous rings. Beautiful. Vintage & vintage inspired. One-of-a-kind rings for one-of-a-kind women. If I wasn’t already engaged with my grandmother’s beautiful vintage ring, I’d want the Charleston, the Fairfield, the Alpine, or the Pinehurst. Stunning!
15. Last, but not least, my grandparent’s anniversary would be this month. On September 28th, they’d be married 73 years. My grandpa was gone 25 years this past March & my grandmother is gone only 2 as of July… I miss them both, but I carry them with me everyday. Both in my heart & on my finger.