[2023] Fall Bucket List: A Spooky Sweater, Decorating Our Home, and Baking a Sweet Treat
It’s September 23rd, officially the first day of Fall.
All the summer decorations have been packed away and football décor placed back in the attic.
What a better way to celebrate the new season and kick off the [2023] Fall Bucket List than a spooky sweater review, decorating my home for Halloween, and trying out a new recipe, Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake from Paula Deen’s website.
How are you planning to celebrate the season change?
I love to hear from my readers - Comment below!
A Spooky Sweater
I did it!
I finally hit the “purchase” button on a Kiel James Patrick sweater.
After very careful thought I decided on the Spooky Ghost.
The Spooky Ghost sweater cost is $148 making it $20 more than the average $128 cost of most fall sweaters on the KJP site.
I want to include the details before I launch into my review:
This is a wash cold/air dry or dry clean sweater. The material is 80% wool and 20% nylon which has earned a few website reviews where “itchy” was a problem. It does say that the KJP sweaters are unisex tailoring so its advised ladies size down. I like my sweaters to be a little on the loose side so I went with an XL but I am a true L in tops. If you appreciate something more fitted definitely size down.
I don’t feel like the material was too itchy, definitely wasn’t an issue for me. The sweater is thick and keeps its shape. I love the neckline, wrist, and hem shape. Wasn’t short in length to show the top of your jeans or your stomach when your arms are reaching for something but not tunic length giving a frumpy “too much weight” look. The colors and pattern are beautiful and exactly as pictured on the website. Overall I give it 5 stars with plans to buy a fall themed one next year.
Decorating for Halloween
Ghosts and Skeletons.
That is the base of every room I decorate for Halloween.
When we lived in Germany we had turned the house into a “condemned” mansion. The octagonal foyer was a dinner party gone horribly wrong. Filled full of candles for minimal light, a moving Ouija board, and even a face pie with a slice cut out showing a finger and some teeth baked in. The first year we added the Atmos FX system with the floating Victorian ghost family brought our home into a whole other “must see” attraction to all the German families. They weren’t just coming for the American candy anymore. All senses were under attack, kids were scared and the parents (who brought their fellow adult friends from other towns to come see the American house) would whip out their phones to record, they had never seen anything like it. Our home became such a big deal that neighbors would bring over dead leaves, suggest good scary organ music, or help spell check scary signs written in German. IT. WAS. AWESOME. and of course the theme had ghosts. It really became a town labor of love.
And then we moved.
My son became an adult.
Now I decorate our forever home for friends and family.
It doesn’t mean I am any less extra but the decorating has become different and that’s okay.
Some things are still the same, we have Ghosts and Skeletons.
Baking a Sweet Fall Treat
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
By: Paula Deen
Ingredients:
- 1 (18 1/4 oz.) package yellow cake mix
- 1 egg
- 2 sticks melted and divided butter
- 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
- 1 (8 oz.) package softened cream cheese
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 (16 oz.) box powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. nutmeg
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. To make the cake, combine cake mix, 1 stick melted butter, and one egg. Mix Well.
3. Pat the mixture into a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking pan.
4. Prepare Filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the 3 eggs, vanilla, and 1 stick melted butter and beat together.
5. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well.
6. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.
Serve with fresh whipped cream
