Monday was quite a rainy, dreary day here in our corner of Ohio. Sunday was so beautiful and sunny and warm; Monday was a complete change, and it truly felt like Autumn had arrived!  And then Tuesday it wasn't rainy, but it was decidedly cooler and now going outside with the children involves putting on two sets of socks, shoes, coats, and hats. ;)

The Autumn weather gave me this nice warm nesting feeling (which I get rather often, pregnant or not!) and the motivation to tackle some of the larger items on my mental to-do list. One of which was cleaning the garage!

(See "after" photos!)

Today's apple recipe is this Fancy Springform Apple Cake! It was fun to make, and didn't last long at our house when I made it last week. :D I really love having apples on hand to bake with!

Since this week was mostly about apples, I decided to make a poll about everyone's favorite variety of apple. You get 10 different choices, so be sure to cast your vote for your most favorite apple. ;)

I'm not sure what I have planned for next week, but I'm thinking of posting more potato recipes. I also need to catch up on blogging about what we've been doing lately! I always have so many ideas of things to post about :)

Did you know that whole wheat flour goes rancid within 72 hours of being ground, unless refrigerated? Why, then, do we see it sitting on the shelf right next to the [dead] white flour in most grocery stores?

Did you know that whole grain bread products made without preservatives will go bad within a week, unless frozen or refrigerated? Why, then, do the loaves of bread we buy from the supermarket seem to last for several weeks? Read the rest of what my friend Elizabeth wrote about whole grains!

Here's another wonderful autumn dessert: Apple Brownies. Now, before you start imagining chewy chocolate brownies with apples inside, relax! These aren't chocolate at all, but they have a wonderful brownie-like texture! You can see a picture of them at the recipe. They taste even better than they look!

My mom has made these apple brownies for years, and often gets asked for her recipe. They're a great lunchbox treat or afternoon snack. We like ours well-browned, so they're not extremely chewy, but you can bake them to whatever texture you like. If you want an easy and delicious apple dessert recipe, try Apple Brownies!

Today's apple recipe is a delicious quick apple coffee cake! I made this a couple weeks ago, and we all really enjoyed it. It's a soft, cinnamon-y quick-cake with apples on top, and it's easy to make, too! We were given some flavorful cooking apples and this was one of the things I made which used them. If you want a fast dessert or an afternoon snack, this coffee cake is great served warm or cold!

I love apples. I think most people do! They're so fun to cook with. Perfect Homemade Apple Pie is probably my favorite way to eat apples, followed by apple crisp. We also like to add fresh chopped apples to our morning oatmeal. There are so many ways to serve apples. If I had more time I'd make more apple recipes and take pictures to share with everyone! ;)

Okay friends, I need your help! I'm terribly behind in many different things, and one of them is getting my links page set up. I figured out how to do it, and I'm all excited about getting it filled out! I can't believe it's taken me so long!

I know a number of you link to this website on the sidebars of your blogs, or on your journals. If you link to me, will you please contact me with your blog or website's address so I can link back to you? Thank you so much!!

Yehoshua and Eliyahu have been plotting to escape. Click to see more of their tricks!

Today's guest chef is Cheri Cross of Colorado! She's sharing a recipe that's one of her family's favorites: Gourmet Potatoes.

These potatoes may not look like much, and they're simple to make, but the taste is amazing and you'll be reaching for seconds! Read more about Cheri and her recipe!