I've Used Half A Jar Of Pumpkin Pie Spice In Two Weeks: It Must Be October

Once upon a time a few years back, I officially deemed October to be my favorite month. (This was before The Internet collectively decided October to be the best month, long before Pinterest and blogs led my life, mind you.)

In college it meant we were back in the full-swing of football season and theme parties (culminating this month with OU weekend and later Halloween). The air in Austin would finally be changing from relentlessly hot to pure perfection. It was a wonderful time of year.

Then living in New York brought me my first taste of real fall. I adored the necessary excuse for riding boots, blazers and scarves. I relished in the feeling of excitement as the city took advantage of the last hurrah before winter set in. (Ew, winter.) And of course, any excuse to come up with a great costume made my heart pitter patter.

Now here I am, new to a new climate, one not known for it's seasons. I was worried we would be too distracted to acknowledge my favorite time of year, but luckily I was wrong. It's only mid-October and thanks to friends (new and old) I'm way ahead of the game.

Last weekend, my childhood friend K invited us over to her and her husband's place to celebrate fall - complete with pumpkin carving! Spiros and I bought one of those little kits from Target, and although I feared it would be just another item number on the Why Did I Waste Money On That list, it more than paid for itself. Please see our magnificent witch below:

But that's not all! Since Target and I have spent some serious time getting reacquainted, I also stocked up on a few fall decorations. I mean, a trio of pumpkins to stay with us through the season, why not? (Especially considering our jack-o-lantern has already molded out.)

(Special thanks to my wonderful pal Ashley for the adorable Halloween wine glass charms that she gifted me when I saw her in September. She knew I would be hurting all alone on the west coast without any theme-y-ness, and she was right!)

Oh, and our French Bulldog Martin (is it weird we named a lamp?) couldn't resist in being part of the fun. 

And, last but not least, the pumpkin-related things we have consumed so far:

• Pumpkin pie bars (I accidentally left out the flour in the crust; it wasn't the worst idea)
• Pumpkin frozen yogurt (use pumpkin pie spice sparingly...I went a lil overboard and Spiros described it as a "really intense flavor"..and I don't think it was a compliment)
• Pumpkin muffins (thanks to K)
• KBC Pumpkin Ale (the best variety I've had I think) via Trader Joe's
• Pumpkin coffee (just add a half a teaspoon or so of pumpkin pie spice to your coffee grounds before brewing)

Anyone else have any delicious fall favorite recipes? Any costume ideas? We don't have any Halloween plans per se, but - not to brag or anything - we did receive a flyer from Chipotle announcing anyone who comes in on the 31st in costume gets a $2 burrito.