Pass the pumpkin

There's nothing I love more than a good themed party. All the details really get me excited, so for our Halloween party this year I wanted everything to go well together from the decorations to the food. One of the fall-themed food dishes I can't wait to try is pumpkin pie dip. I included a similar recipe below so you can wow your friends too if you have a Halloween get together to hit up this weekend.

Taste of Home

Recipe from Taste of Home.

What You Need

1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese, softened

2 cups of confectioners' sugar

1 cup of canned pumpkin

1/2 cup of sour cream

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger

How You Make It

-In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until it's smooth.

-Beat in the pumpkin, sour cream, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and ginger until blended.

-Serve with ginger snaps or shortbread (really anything you want).

Keeping it Cozy

With superstorm Sandy wreaking havoc across the country, I thought I would share one of my cold, rainy weather staples. Woodwick candles — they're normal wax candles with wicks made of wood — make you feel like you're sitting next to the fireplace as it cracks and pops. 

I love these so much. It makes any space so cozy.

Modern adornments

I'm loving the jewelry from shopAHC on Etsy. Simple, elegant and modern - the perfect compliment to any outfit.

Weekly tune-up: Red

If my co-workers have noticed that I've been listening to nothing but this album all week, they've been kind enough to not say anything about it. And I know you all aren't surprised that this is the weekly tune-up, but on Monday Taylor Swift released her latest album - Red.

I was a little nervous for this album, some of the songs released off it were different than her previous work and I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. But like I said, I've been listening to nothing but this album all week. I can't even pick a favorite track off the album so far, but I will tell you that the title track, "Red," "Stay," and "Begin Again" have been stuck in my head today. I definitely think it's worth the purchase, and you can do that right here.

Hanging jewelry box

Made this really cool jewelry hanger from a picture frame. I found the idea on Real Simple.

Here are the supplies you need:

• An old frame
•  foam batting
• about half a yard of material
• and straight pins
• staples

First off I cut the foam batting to make the backing in the size of the frame (I just put it around the back that came with the frame). I made an 8×10 for this one.

I cut the fabric  to match the size of the foam batting, wrap it around the batted back and staple it.

The insert it into the frame and started placing the straight pins hanging my jewelery from those.

Cooking with apples

I'm going to be honest with you all - I don't do a lot of cooking, and that's mostly out of laziness. I really enjoy cooking, but by the time I get home from work I just want to veg. Saturday though was an exception being the weekend and because my little sister was staying with me. So we made sautéed chicken with apples, and it was very simple and very delicious.

Photo from Real Simple.com

I used a recipe from Real Simple's website, which I've provided for you below with some of my notes. I think this is a great meal for the cooler weather and a nice way to use some delicious fall apples.

What You Need

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 firm apple, cored and cut into 1/2-inch slices

1 cup of apple juice

1 large onion, thinly sliced (I only used part of an onion)

1 garlic clove, minced (I used pre-minced garlic from a jar)

1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme leaves (I didn't use)

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard (I substituted stadium mustard because it was all I had)

How You Make It

-Place each chicken breast between two sheets of wax paper and pound with a meat mallet until they're about 3/4 inch thick. (I skipped this step due to lack of a meat mallet - chicken just needs to sauté longer)

-Heat the oil (you can use butter, too) in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

-Sauté the chicken until golden brown on each side (3 minutes per side, or longer if the chicken is thicker)

-Add apple slices, onion slices, garlic, apple juice, thyme and a dash of salt and pepper.

-Cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes, or until chicken is fork-tender.

-Remove chicken, apple slices and onion slices to a serving platter or plate and keep warm.

-Bring sauce to boil for 5 minutes, or until slightly reduced.

-Whisk in mustard.

-Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

Orange you glad

Here are some of my picks for perfect orange wear to add to your wardrobe for fall.

boyfriend sweater from Urban Outfitters

a sweater dress from Gap

burnt orange pants from Old Navy

fashion scarf from Target