Fall for Apples

Tired of apples yet?  I'm not.  And today of all days, I really should be, but I'm not.

That's how I know.  Apples + Me = Luv.  4eva.  Today, I went to the apple festival, which was pretty much a marriage ceremony for me & apples.

Aaand that's all the further I'm going to take that metaphor.  The end.

Do you know what this is??  Love in a cup.  Others call it an Apple Cider Slushie.  For realz, people, it was everything you could hope it would be.  Just tasted like apple cider, but it was a slushie.  I love slushies.  And apple cider.  Hence my name for it, Love in a cup.  Because it was in a cup, and I love it.  Thanks for letting me spell that out for you.

On My Mind

This might seem a bit repetitive to you all, especially with the the picture (of that lovely, gorgeous specimen of the best apple variety to every grace this planet), but I can't help it.  Apples might just be my favorite part of fall.  No lie, I've bought 4 lbs before and eaten them all, with Handsome's help, in a week.  Because we're champs like that.

I swear, though, it's not just apples.  Nope.  Here's a little picture of what I've been thinking about, to see if you're not blind you can guess...

I'm so excited to make CARAMEL apples!  When I had flown into SLC a few weeks ago, there was a Rocky Mountain Candy Factory stand in the airport.  It seemed angels might just be singing.  I love love love (and don't even hesitate) to spend some of my hard-earned per diem on a caramel apple for lunch.  It's fresh, it's sweet, it makes me smile just thinking about it... in a word, D-lish.  And then I remembered.  I was doing #7.  Which for me meant no candy.  And while I wasn't sure if chocolate was actually a candy (don't judge, I worked it out), I knew that caramel was most definitely a candy.  Which meant that caramel apples were most definitely not in my future.  I'd have to waste my per diem on something else.  (For the record, I also tried to snag an AA's Hot Pretzel, but they were out.  Most disappointing airport food experience ever.)

Last year, for Handsome's birthday bash/Halloween party, we served, among other things, some caramel apple fondue.  Oh. My. Lawd.  It was heaven.  You slice up a pretty little apple, dunk it in some sprite then dry it off (for anti-browning purposes), and stick it on a skewer.  Then you make caramel, pour it in a crock pot, and keep it on low/warm.  Dip and much to your heart's content.  So good.  Problem is, I cant' remember the recipe we used.  So I started looking.  And then I started finding.  And now I have a slight obsession and want to try all the recipes I found.

In case you have the same problem obsession love, I've gathered the caramel apple recipes here for you, too!  Really, the recipes are just for the caramel parts, as God makes the apples.  But whatevs.  Oh, and I've taken the liberty of re-naming them.  Because I can.

Official Fall Dream List

Excuse me.  Excuse me please, I have an announcement to make.

{...} (<-- I don't know what that means, but for the remainder of our relationship, let's pretend it's a drum roll)

ASIDE: Usually at this point, if I told this to someone, I would have to preface my announcement with "... and no, I'm not pregnant."  Except now I am.  HA!  That probably doesn't crack anyone else up the way it does me.  Oh well.

I feel it is my duty to inform you that it is officially Fall.  Yep.  Autumn, if you'd rather call it that.  I know the month is August, which definitely felt like a Summer month, coming in.  Doesn't matter.  Two very important things have happened: classes have started, and I bought an apple-cider-scented candle.  I mean, really, who can argue with those facts?  They actually happened.  Can't fight that.

And both of those things (pie-themed seasonal candles and young-faced-18-year-olds-away-from-home-for-the-first-time-wandering-campus-and-making-bad-decisions) inarguably mean "Fall" to me.  I know that if I only had something concrete to show you, such as a delightful Honey Crisp Apple (I'm drooling here), you'd believe me for sure.

My love.
via
Note: It is only after reading the post I ripped this picture from that I realized
(1) The picture is from kitchendaily.com, wherever that is
(2) I could plant a honey crisp tree.  Or 9.

Let's call a truce, oh you who think that Fall doesn't start until the autumnal equinox.  Let's just agree to disagree (on everything but honey crisp apples [HCA's 4eva]).  And now that we've settled it, here's my list for things I dream of happening during this Fall season, however you wish to define said season.

Flummer - When Fall & Summer Collide

Flummer.

Yes, I made it up.  And I know, you're not "technically" allowed to start using made-up words in public until you "officially" have a PhD, but I've put in a lot of time, and I'd like to just try this one out for a while.  Don't worry, I won't try and publish it or anything.

It's Flummer, here in SC.  Since this word is new territory for... well, everyone except me, I'll expand a bit upon it.  Help you understand exactly what it means and how to recognize it.

It might be Flummer when it's dark in the morning (yes, this is morning, as in "straight on 'til morning," morning),
but still reaches highs of 90+ in the afternoon

It might be Flummer when both Chili and Watermelon seem seasonally appropriate.

Now that I've cleared that up, let me tell you that the creation of this word has eased my mind quite a bit.  Before, I was worried about not being content, as it was still summer and felt like fall (or fall and felt like summer, I couldn't really tell) and I didn't know which to want.  Now, I can be content that it is Flummer.  In Flummer, people do things, like take hikes and watch football, and yet still go swimming in the out-of-doors and drink lemonade when the sun beats to hot.  Flummer is a time for long-sleeved t-shirts and shorts.  There.  That last one really clears everything up.  I should have led with that.

Goosed by Fall

It's been glorious this week.

Don't misunderstand, I've thoroughly enjoyed summer.  Really, it was everything a summer should be.  And I was fully expecting it to continue.  I mean, we're in South Carolina, for goodness sake!  I expected summer to last right up unto the Autumnal Equinox.  

But then, last week, I'm just walking along, going to classes, minding my own business, and *pinch!*  Fall goosed me right on the bee-hind.  I turned around and boom.  "Hi, I'm fall, can I hang around you for a while?".

See those brown leaves there at the bottom?
That's my scentifical proof.
Fall has been here.
CSI taught me everything I know.

Handsome & I took advantage of the weather to head up to the mountains and hike to a waterfall.