Falling into Fall

This morning I woke up to a beautiful sunny view of the leaves turning colors in our yard. It suddenly dawned on me that it's almost November and only a few weeks until Christmas(!?!) and fall has slowly and quietly been happening all around me. I've been at home a lot lately as I don't currently have a job (if you have any Atlanta suggestions I'm all ears!) so I've been spening most of my time at home not wanting to spend money or gas OR I've been running around going to job interviews, running errands, etc and not paying any attention to the seasons changes. I love fall. The weather is wonderful. Today I was running errands and there was a slight drizzle. The smell of rain and burning firewood made me feel cozy and comfortable. "Fall is here!" I thought. Maybe this weekend I'll work on some decorations for the house so it feels more like fall inside.

I have more to share this weekend! Check back soon!
Have a bright night!
Bright Girl

Tasty Tuesday~Moroccan Chicken Tagine

Hello Everyone!
I made this delicious dinner and had to share. I've made several great crockpot meals lately and enjoy experimenting and trying new things. This week I made Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Couscous. Yummo!

I love the heartiness of this meal and all of the vegetables and couscous with raisins. I found this recipe on the Food Network website but tweaked it a little. We had chicken in the fridge so I used that instead of turkey and since I didn't feel like looking for dried red chiles I added red pepper flakes at the end. This cooked all night and I turned it off in the morning. From start to finish it took a little less than an hour to prepare and then just let it simmer all night. Easy!

I added raisins and craisins to 1 cup water, 1 cup chicken stock, 1 tbsp butter, let it boil, and added my couscous. Such a quick side dish and perfect for this meal. I also saved my butternut squash seeds, dried, and roasted them in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and topped my tagine with them. The green sauce is made from garlic, parsley, lemon juice, cumin, and olive oil. It adds a citrus kick to the meal AND it's a lovely shade of green :)

Here is the recipe I used for the chicken tagine: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/slow-cooker-moroccan-turkey-stew-recipe2/index.html

Be sure to check out some of my past meal creations for some inspiration of your own!

http://beautifullybright.blogspot.com/2011/09/dinner-inspiration.html

http://beautifullybright.blogspot.com/2011/10/happy-birthday-to-you.html

http://beautifullybright.blogspot.com/2011/03/tiramisu-tuesday.html

http://beautifullybright.blogspot.com/2011/04/cabbagetown.html

http://beautifullybright.blogspot.com/2011/02/fresh-fruity-trifle.html

Tomorrow I'm making Halloween Whoopie Pies!! Can't wait!

Have a bright night!

Bright Girl

Country Living Fair Atlanta~October 2011

Hello Everyone!
Well this week has certainly been an interesting one! Among all the daily chores, cleaning, job applications, etcetera of the week I was hired for a part time job and worked as a movie extra very last minute. Plus my blog has had tons of visits, today it's been visited over 100 times! I'm flaberghasted and extremely humbled that so many of you have been reading about my mini adventures, cooking, life in general. Thank you so so much for visiting and do come again! Gosh!
This weekend maman and I visited the Country Living Fair at Stone Mountain Park and it was amazing! I have been looking forward to this for such a long time and actually had time this year to make the trip. I have so much fun stuff to share I'm bursting! :)
Sunday was a beautiful fall day. The sun was shining and not too hot, in the 60s. {I went to the Apple Festival in Ellijay a few weeks ago and it was super hot, in the 80s. I'll share that trip soon!}
It wasn't too crowded which was nice and, if you're willing to wait, the last day many vendors drop their prices so they don't have to take things home. Take CASH too. Sometimes vendors are willing to give you a better price for cash purchases since they have to pay to process credit card transactions.

Here We Go!
 

Jane & Mr. Darcy are ready to get this road trip started!

We Made It!

Look at that view! Such a beautiful clear fall day.

 Checking out the flower & vessels presentation. I love those cottage roses in the galvanized bucket! I need to go junkin' to find some fun stuff like that. Hmm. I'm thinking a Thanksgiving tablescape is now in the works.

Jeff Floyd, Designer in Chief of Celebrating Home, made some adorable quick door and table decor from faux flowers. I LOVE this wreath with the owls:) We ALMOST WON IT! I was ONE number away, grrr. Guess we'll make our own. 

Hooty Hoot! 

 Candy Cane wreath. Cute:)

What a pretty topiary! The colors are so nice and soothing. I'm not sure what the greenery is but it's soft like lambs ear. Any ideas? 

So soft Jane had to feel for herself. Ahhh. Calgon take me away!

What a great idea! Use some old shutters to make pedestals for topiarys, planters, or roosters on your porch!

Happy Halloween! Great decoration ideas.

Jane's visiting the neighbors. 

We all got our pictures taken in the Country Living tent. October issue! 

Jane made a canine friend. Great listener. So well trained! 

 Time to shop! 

                                     Jane and I loved the silhouette bags!

Okay so these are my fav thing! Vintage flash cards. These would be sooo cute framed or hung from ribbon and clothes pins in a baby or childs room. Spell out their name! For example my name would be Cake, Hat, Egg, Ladybug, Sheep, Elephant, Apple.

 There are a lot of places you can find these. The ones pictured are large vintage pieces but for something quick, easy, and inexpensive you can find reproduced alphabet cards on http://www.amazon.com/. I really like the French ones by Cavallini or be sure to look at http://www.etsy.com/ for lots of vintage ones, custom pieces, or reproduced ones.

                                           She didn't look. Ugh. Moms.

                             Jane is doing some dress shopping!

 These were fun to play with;) Magnets made from old computer and typewriter keys.

                                                           Cute sign!

These made me think of Pink Girl! Mannequin with a pink slip, old ballet slippers, and a vintage Japanese umbrella.

I have a few of these and actually just put one on display a few weeks ago. Funny finding you here! They are vintage French agricultural awards. Mine are all sheep awards. Babe where are you?

One of my favorite booths! These pieces of wall art are made of old barn tin roofing. Of course I love this kitty cat! It's Binxy! The eyes and nose are magnetic so you can move them around or remove them.
Check out http://www.enniscountryusa.com/

Love the crow rack! This would be great for keys, dog leads, herbs, etc.

These chickens would be so cute in a kitchen! Again the eyes are magnetic so they can have eyes or not. I like their little beady eyes:)

Love the pumpkins. You can move all the pieces around and give your pumpkin its own character.

         We bought a few of these crows. They look so cute in this pumpkin!

Love the mini chickens! Great for a mantle or decorate a hutch.

Be sure to check out http://www.enniscountryusa.com/ to see more by the artists, Richard & Binky Ennis

 This scrapbooker likes this vintage scrapbook. Jane looks good with it too!

                            This vintage scale would look great in a kitchen!

                                     Love these cubbies in this old hutch.

                There were lots of things For Sale. Including this sign.

  Jane was pulled into an impromptu mass wedding. These vintage cake toppers are the tops!

                            Jane had no idea what this was.

 These purses made from vintage books were so cute! Didn't find any of Jane's books but these were just as good. In fact this one was golden. Although I still don't know how to take care of my dog : /

                                                 BARBIE!!! My favorite one!!!





Look at that sky! Great way to end the day. I'm sitting here eating my kettle corn. So yummy.

Did anyone else visit the Country Living Fair this weekend? Please share and tell me what your favorite finds were!

Have a bright day!

bright girl