It's a Pumpkin Day

If you take one look around the blogosphere, I think it's safe to say that there isn't a soul out there who doesn't love Fall. It's official. 

Last week, I pretty much thought that the weather would never dip below 70 degrees here at the Brodie Abode, thus meaning that I couldn't wear my new boots, scarves, blazers, and tights. But today, I got to wear all four! It was even a decent hair day, despite the rain. Welcome, October!

Blazers are by far one of my favorite thrifty finds because they are so easy to turn from grandma-licious to fabulous. They are also perfect for those days when it's chilly enough to need some coverage, but not time to break out the winter coat yet. This one is a vintage Peabody House blazer I found at the State College Goodwill for probably less than eight bucks. The purple pashmina is from a NYC street vendor that my mommy scored for me, and the boots were a recent Marshall's find.

Ian and I arose this morning, put on our Sunday best, sold our car, then hightailed our chilly selves to Starbucks for a pre-church pumpkin spice latte date. A very productive morning, I must say!

This photo just needed to be in black and white.

With plenty of time to kill, we perused the stores that were bedazzled with Autumn goods...

...and after our post-church Giant stop (and convincing Ian that canned pumpkin and chocolate chips were absolutely a necessary purchase) I whipped up some Fall goodness in the form of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. And get this: they didn't turn out crumbly, runny, or yucky. Nope, no blog-worthy tales there, other than that they are absolutely perfect and you must bake them. Today.

Best enjoyed with a glass of milk/cup of coffee/mug of tea/loved one at your side.

It sure is a pumpkin day.

A Home-Brewed Fail

Last Christmas, I was thrilled to receive a Mr. Coffee Espresso Machine, a do-it-yourself, money-saving, Sayonara-Starbucks way to make my own caramel lattes.

The novelty of grinding and tamping my own espresso and steaming my own milk quickly wore off, but every now and then I would pull out the machine when friends came over and wanted a homemade cup of Bren. I would experiment with different flavors--Cinnamon! Chocolate syrup! Caramel drizzle!

In these tough economic times, when saving up for wedding things ALWAYS comes before spontaneous shopping trips and chai lattes (hmmm...sounds nice, doesn't it?) I thought I would be economical on this chilly Saturday afternoon and make a latte while I read up on Carbohydrates and Digestion.

The machine has this giant magic reservoir that needs to be full of water in order to make the steaming and espresso making work. It was full, the machine was plugged in, and everything was ready to go. I flipped on the switch, and suddenly lights started blinking.

But then, instead of pulling a nice, neat cup 'o espresso, the whole things started clunking. And then I smelled burning rubber.

And instead of steaming my milk, steam was coming out of the nooks and crevices.

And I started thinking that maybe this was my payback for spending too much money on coffee. Maybe the machine was angry that it had spent the past few months collecting dust in the pantry. Maybe I should be hitting the gym instead of steaming a fattening half-cup of milk.

And then I decided I would just have a cup of tea.

Starbucks: you might have won the battle, but I'll win the war. As I angrily sip tea out of a mug blaring your namesake.