Coordinates Collections: pumpkinishness.

I love orange. It looks great with anything, I think. It makes me feel creative.

I guess that’s why I’m so fond of pumpkins. I’m pretty sure I decorate more for the autumn months than any others. Not only are pumpkins cute and bright orange, they celebrate the end of the Texas blistering heat. When I start seeing pumpkins around the stores, cooler weather can’t be far off...

I made this card because I loved the cute little pumpkin scene on the Wild Card. The only thing better than pumpkin stuff is vintage-looking pumpkin stuff! (All of the papers, stickers, and Wild Card are from October Afternoon. The flower is a reeeeeeeeeeeeaallllly old Heidi Grace embellishment.)

When I took the photo of the card, I thought that it might be fun to just walk around my house and take pictures of other pumpkin-ish stuff I have sitting around at the moment. I didn’t move anything or clean up for these pictures, so don’t look too hard in the backgrounds, or you might see some unfolded laundry in one and a pile of almost-overdue library books in another...

If you walk up to my front porch, the first pumpkins you’ll see are the ones outside. I have some near my little scarecrow (who will be likely to be laying down flat if you come over today, because the wind has really been blowing!). Please ignore the baby broccoli plants in the background that are waiting to be either planted or watered or killed - I'll let you know.

On the front porch I have a few real pumpkins waiting to be carved by my eager kiddos. My youngest child is especially impatient to cut his open. I think it’s funny because he gets all excited, then he gets grossed out by what’s inside and I have to do all the work! I make them wait until the very end of October because it’s so warm and humid here that a carved pumpkins gets moldy and disgusting pretty fast. I guess I could have at least blown off the front porch before taking this picture, but then it wouldn't be "real," now would it?

Here’s another porch pumpkin on the little old school desk I keep just outside the front door. I love the way this desk looks, no matter what season it is, but it has really been threatening to fall apart lately. There is a LOT of Gorilla Glue holding that thing together!

I made this topiary last October and it stored so well from December to September in my attic! I just put it out again, and I love having pumpkins and flowers in the entry. The rusty container it is in sits on the front porch from February through September with plants growing in it, but when October comes around, I empty it out for temporary indoor decorating.

I really prefer to decorate with real pumpkins. These little ones were a dollar apiece at the pumpkin patch, and my boys picked them out. I think they are so cute up there with my typewriter...

I put some more of those little pumpkins in the window sill over my kitchen sink along with the very last of the zinnias from my garden. It makes me smile to see them when I’m doing dishes. It makes me smile even more when I see someone besides me looking at them while they do the dishes.

My window sill usually has seasonal stuff on it that I change every couple of months, although the recipe box is always there with the chicken timer. The recipe box says, "Ruth Washburn's Favorite Recipes," and it belonged to my husband's great-aunt. The chicken timer is from the Anthropologie store in New York. I bought it for myself, and it was just such a thoughtful gift. I love it. Oh, and the big yellow candle is called "Laura's Lemon Loaf" by McCall's Country Canning, and it is my favorite candle ever. Ever.

Here’s the kitchen table with more of those last zinnias and some little pumpkins. To deviate from the pumpkins for a bit, I fill little bitty old pharmacy jars with water and each jar gets a flower. I love how this looks on a cake stand. I find the little jars at thrift stores, antique stores, garage sales, etc. and keep them full of flowers from my yard about 9 months out of the year. In Central Texas, it's not hard to have something blooming most of the time!

Back to the pumpkins:

Saturday night I made Pumpkin Muffins for my people to eat on Sunday morning. They smelled lovely, but of course, I did not eat any!

Here’s the recipe:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 scant teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can pumpkin puree

1/3 cup melted butter

1/2 cup evaporated milk or half-and-half

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped pecans or raisins

cinnamon-sugar, optional

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to blend In separate bowl, combine pumpkin, melted butter, milk or half-and-half, the beaten eggs, sugars, and vanilla; mix until blended. Stir pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients until moistened. Fold in pecans or raisins. Do not overmix. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease well and dust with flour. I use a baking spray. Fill the about 3/4-full with the pumpkin muffins batter, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar if desired, and bake at 375° for 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 12 to 16 pumpkin muffins.