Mellidelphia: Fall in Philly (11/6/11)

I seriously don't think I've ever enjoyed the Fall like I have this year. Partly because it came as such a nice reward at the end of such a hot, humid summer and partly because the trees around here are simply breathtaking. I am tempted to take our camera with me wherever I go because the trees change EVERY day and are more and more beautiful as time goes by. Here are a few of my favorites....

This one was taken at the very beginning of the season when Ben and I took a drive up by Westminster in October

This is a tree on our street....I love how the tips of the tree change color first....yellow then orange then red

These trees are at the school where Ben has been coaching...girls soccer just finished and soon he'll be coaching jr high basketball. I love when I can make it to the games! I REALLY miss youth group and seeing him around his soccer girls reminded me a little of that.

This is my favorite tree on Penn's campus...the building in the background is where I have a class on Friday mornings and every week I leave the class and am greeted with this beautiful, changing tree.

Another thing I have enjoyed about fall is the produce. In California it was easy for me to forget what was in or out of season because there is a plethora of nice things all the time. It is a little easier to tell here. The farmer's market drastically changed as the temperature dropped. I have enjoyed experimenting with various new recipes. We are also on a much tighter budget so rather than eating out once a week, I've been trying to make something special on Friday nights as a replacement. Here are a few of my experiments...

Butternut squash baked with apples and sausage (I like how our kitty timer got the spotlight...thanks Olsens =)

White bean and turkey chili with jalapeno cheese biscuits

Plus a dollop of sour cream

This I made for breakfast one Saturday morning...pumpkin bread with apple pancakes and tea...

Because this is what it looked like outside....

A few weeks ago my cousin came down from New York for a visit. I haven't seen her in a long time and it was so fun to catch up and to laugh about east coastisms.

Hanging out with Ben....a strangely familiar Ben (do you recognize him, Mel?)

One thing we love about having visitors is that it gives us the excuse to do things we haven't yet done in Philly. Erin's visit gave me the opportunity to finally witness (if not taste...I still can't force myself to like them...and our dinner that we gathered in the Italian market and cooked at home was way better=) the Philly cheesesteak rivalry.