Brownies topped with Chocolate Chip Cookies & The Changing Autumn Leaves

Hey there! I never meant to wait so long to update my blog.When I came back from my adventure to Italy I thought about sitting right down at my desk and sharing stories about all the amazing food I ate, the super fun cooking class I took and all the great people I met. But it was summer on Cape Cod and I knew my son would be leaving for College soon, my daughter would be starting her senior year of High School and my youngest would be starting fourth grade. In short, I went straight from living happy in the moment in Italy to living happy in the moment right here at home.

The weather has been amazing here lately and even though we have been making and eating lots of good food these past couple of months I haven't paused long enough to post about it. Although, I have written a few food related articles including two that will be published in the local Dining Guide soon about "Preparing an Italian Meal" and another called "Five Desserts your Guests will Love".

  My son is home this weekend from College and I've found myself in the kitchen again. It has felt something like Christmas waking up on Saturday, Sunday and Monday with all three of my kids in the house and in their beds. Each morning I woke before them all and peeked on them while they slept. It's one of those simple joys of mother hood that I will probably cherish for as long as I live.

 I've been cooking a lot because my son said the thing he misses most is home cooking. I made a batch of dark chocolate brownies topped with a layer of chocolate chip cookie bars yesterday afternoon. The house felt all warm and cozy and smelled good in the way a house does when there's a chill in the air and an oven is turned on.  I love listening to the sounds of my kids throughout the house as they wait for the baking to be done. 

As for the changing colors. I took the two photographs above of the same tree in my front yard within hours of one another. One thing the fall always inspires me to do is bake more bread, pies, soups and even pull out my crock-pot while keeping a fire going in the fire place.