Back-To-School

All of the "kids" are officially back to school and we have finally had our traditional lunch/dinner. Because we did it after the "littles" already had a week under their belts, I got to hear all about their teachers, classes, friends, schedules, schools, etc. And, since both of the boys were in new schools this year (high and middle), there was lots to hear. I missed our pre-prep activities but I did enjoy hearing all of their thoughts so we might have come up with a new tradition.

The table was decked out in red, black and yellow-don't know why but those are the colors I think of for back-to-school...I guess red for apples and school houses, yellow for pencils and buses and black for chalk boards? Lucky for me, between my Halloween and Valentine dinnerware, those colors are super easy to pull off.

I use a lot of school supplies for decor and then let the kids take it all home. One can never have too many pencils, crayons or composition books...in fact, a trip to Staples was saved when Harrison saw the composition books. And, let's just say the book (gummy) worms were finished before they left!

Whenever I do a "real" from-scratch meals to serve a number of people, I wonder how I ever did this every night the whole time we were raising our family! Now a days, it is a PROJECT for me to get such a meal on the table. It took the better part of Saturday to get the tetrazzini made and all of the other things prepped for easy assembly on Sunday.

The tetrazzini is a Giada De Laurentis recipe and it is GOOD...many more steps than I am doing these days but definitely worth it for a special meal. I also made a large panzanella salad, broccoli ( 5 heads of broccoli for this gang and it was almost all gone. I think I'm glad I had girls because these boys can eat!), Paula Deen Brownies and Moose Track Ice Cream-their favorite. I will say, it made
 my heart happy to see how much they enjoyed the meal-worth every minute!

So now that all of the summer things are finished-even though summer isn't-I am moving on to autumn. My house is decorated and I am ready to begin sharing. Thought I might give you just a sneak peek of what I found this morning.

Aren't they gorgeous? I found them at a local garden shop. Right now, they are the only place in town with mums. They are HUGE. I bought 6 but if I could have fit any more in my car, I would have bought more. Once I have my mums, I feel like it is really coming and there is no going back! No matter what the thermometer says, it will soon be autumn! Ahhhh. Stay tuned.