Fall House Decoration

The weather has turned here and I couldn't be happier!  I like summer when it is a nice 75-80 with no humidity and a nice storm every now and then.  We did not have that at all this past summer in Michigan, and I am loving snuggling up under blankets due to the cold air coming through the windows not because of the central air (which I am very grateful to have in this house).

As soon as that chill hits, I start envisioning fall decor.  Having a new house to decorate got me reinvigorated from the past year when I was burned out from the house and ready for the move.  So, here are some of my new favorite fall things I have put up or planted this month.

Flowering cabbage...my new outdoor fall obsession.

Sunflowers from Eastern Market...love the brown ones.

My stackable designer pumpkins from Eastern Market

Various gourds in glass containers and my Happy Halloween recycled cardboard garland from Etsy Seller CardboardSheek

New Place...2nd Floor

And finally the 2nd floor of our house, the "living quarters". :)

Our room...with Kiko getting in on the action

Guest room/Steve's xBox room

Our small little bathroom.

The office.  This is one room we might paint if we ever feel the need to :)  I am not one for white walls.

New Place - Living Room, Family Room, Kitchen

To continue the tour of our new place, here are some pictures of our first floor which is a living room, dining room, kitchen and family room.

View of the living room from the dining area

Our fireplace!  Can't wait to get some fires going this winter

From stairs looking over living room and into dining room

More living room looking into dining area

Dining area...love the corner built ins

View into the kitchen from dining room, looking into family room

Other view into the kitchen from family room

Part of the family room

Kind of dark view into family room.  Note Benny in his favorite spot at the patio door!

Our New Place...finally!

Certain people that haven't been over to see our new place since we moved in May have been asking for pictures, so today, when the sun was shining, the house was clean and new fall decor was put up, I decided to finally take some pictures.

We have been happy so far in our new place. The neighborhood is great, safe, quiet...all the things we were looking for. The animals have finally all settled in and have their new routines here. We think they are all very happy given all the windows to look out of (for the cats) and nice places to walk (for the dogs). There is also an abundance of pigeons and squirrels thanks to the neighbor that feeds both constantly. The dogs like to chase the squirrels and the cats like to eye ball the birds. We also have a resident chipmunk that has taken a liking to our yard and my flower pots. If I could trust my shot, the thing would be dead by now...but they are mighty little and mighty fast. Ahh, nature.

So here is our new home for at least the next couple of years. All of the paint colors were like this from the owners and we got pretty lucky in that regard! They worked well with our "stuff".  I am still waiting for my "dream" kitchen, but this is a great house for us for the next few years.

I will post outside pictures today, the rest will come during the week.

Backyard...we love the privacy fence!  You also can't see my flowers so well, but there are a lot.

View into the yard from the driveway

Back of the house (deck, sans grill and bench...getting ready for winter!)

White Chicken Lasagna

This is another recipe I found on Allrecipes.com. It was a winner! I have only made one other kind of lasagna before (Fiesta Lasagna), so I was eager to try out a different one. I love lasagna, but wish it was easy to make it for two...instead of 12! I did assemble this ahead of time and then baked it at another location...still turned out great.

9 lasagna noodles (I used the no bake kind)
1/2 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (I used just 1)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse with cold water. (You can skip this step if you use no bake noodles)

2.Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and salt, and simmer until bubbly. Mix in the broth and milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Season with the basil, oregano, and ground black pepper. Remove from heat, and set aside.

3.Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer with 1/3 of the noodles, the ricotta, and the chicken. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the chicken, and layer with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, spinach, and the remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Arrange remaining noodles over cheese, and spread remaining sauce evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

4.Bake 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.