Creating the Perfect Ambiance

I’ve mentioned that I love the autumn season where we live in Pennsylvania (see my recent post on this!).

I find it so funny that my cat sits halfway inside and outside this time of year. I open the door for him while I’m journaling in the mornings, and he enjoys that crisp fall air- just not enough to go all the way outside.  😽

During the fall days, we make festive visits to local pumpkin patches and apple orchards, and go on the hunt for decorations for the porch, like corn stalks and colorful mums.

It’s a time of year that requires some work for us home-owners as well: putting away the hot tub, outside furniture, and air conditioners. And the leaves! Cleaning them out of the gutters and raking them up to take away. It’s some tiring stuff.

So in the evenings, I enjoy putting together warm and cozy nights for me and my husband, or the girls when they are around.

“October is crisp days and cool nights, a time to curl up around the dancing flames and sink into a good book.”  John Sinor

Or movie! There are some comforting foods and drinks that capture the fall spirit, and some ways to set up for the perfect relaxing movie night! (see my upcoming post on my top movies for mature moms)

Setting Up Your Fall Movie Night

Set the stage with some incredible fall scents. I use candles every night so am pretty much obsessed with them! I love to peruse places like Target or the back of a TJ Maxx or Marshalls for some unique seasonal varieties. They not only give your living room an amazing smell, but the soft lighting of candles makes for a lovely romantic vibe.

My coffee table is the centerpiece of the spread we put out for our movie night. I use fall colored place mats on my kitchen table, and arrange these fake leaves in a little pitcher that I think is so cute. When the girls were small, we used to walk around the neighborhood collecting the most colorful leaves and make our centerpiece out of those!

Add a few apples and/or small pumpkins and gourds to the table, candles, and fun serving dishes that fit the rustic theme.

For a movie night, I’m all about having snacks for nibbling as opposed to a full meal.

Fall-Themed Charcuterie

This is a MUST for a comfy fall night in. Use leaf cookies cutters (see my post on clever ways to use them) to cut cheese for your board…it’s adorable.

See my post on how to put together the perfect charcuterie board. You want a balanced mix of different textures, flavors and colors. I use an assortment of fruits, vegetables, cheeses, crackers and nuts. Fruit that lends itself to a fall board are:

• Dried apples and apricots
• Pears
• Apples
• Cherries
• Figs

I recently found fresh figs at Trader Joe’s and was thrilled, since they are hard to come by in this neck of the woods. See how beautiful they are on this board?

Other Delicious Fall Snacks

• Apples with dipping caramel
• Pear bruschetta (see my post on delicious bruschetta for this recipe and others!)
• Cinnamon pita chips with hummus
• Apple chips with cheese dip
• Candied nuts
• Baked Brie with apple cranberry preserves- recipe below

Baked Brie with Apple Cranberry Recipe

This is a crowd pleaser while incredibly easy to make with literally three ingredients. Use any other preserves you’re in the mood for.

You will need:

• 1 round of Brie cheese
• 1 can of crescent roll dough- chilled
• 1 jar of apple cranberry preserves or chutney- or whatever flavor you love **

Steps:

• Wrap the brie in strips of the dough until it’s covered
• Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes, until browned
• Remove from the oven and slit the top of the beautiful cheese with an ‘x’
• Scoop the chutney on top, as much as you desire
• Serve immediately with cinnamon pita chips

** Note, you can certainly make your own chutney fairly easily by simmering chopped fruit in a saucepan with a bit of water until soft. Drain, cool, then pulse with some sugar to taste in the blender until the desired consistency.

Festive Fall Drinks and Cocktails

Moscow mule mugs are so perfect for fall drinks since they work with either hot or cold drinks and are so cute.

Some fabulous autumn flavored drink ideas:

• Cider with caramel vodka
• Hot mulled cider with whiskey
• Apples Cider Spritz- see the recipe in my post ‘Fall in Love with PA”
• Mulled wine
• Flavored wine- Adirondack Winery makes amazing seasonal varieties
• Cranberry and vodka (with cranberries for garnish)

Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL). We love our coffee year-round, and with the Nespresso, we can make a rich and flavorful espresso. With the built in frother, we make either hot or cold lattes with milk, creamer and syrups (see my post on making the perfect cafe coffees at home!). Sugar-free pumpkin spice is perfect for this time of year. Add a little Irish Cream, Fireball or whiskey to your coffee if you prefer too!

Scrumptious Fall Desserts

If it’s just the family enjoying a movie (or football game), I wouldn’t go to the trouble of making dessert, since we don’t really need the extra calories. Plus I put any leftover candy from Halloween into the freezer, so if someone really craves something sweet, there should be a selection of chocolates available.

If you are having company over, though, have something sweet to serve with your coffee or hot toddies. I like to put a dessert over by the coffee maker/service bar, so people can make their own coffees and help themselves to a piece of dessert.

Apple Pie. I am not a pie fan, because I don’t like a lot of dough. But I love this apple pie version, so it’s one of the few I make in the fall. Use leaf cookie cutters to cut out the pie dough, then lay a few leaves on top of chopped apples. This doesn’t use nearly as much dough, which lightens it up considerably, especially if you leave off the bottom crust. It turns out great.

Serve it with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Other than the apple pie, I rarely make desserts, since I am not a baker whatsoever. But there are lots of other delicious fall desserts I like to buy at the bakery or apple orchard, such as:

• Pumpkin rolls
• Nut rolls
• Apple crisp
• Apple dumplings
• Cider donuts
• Cinnamon rolls
• Fall-themed cookies- leaves, acorns, apples, pumpkins

Do you have special ways you make your home cozy for chilly fall evenings?

I’d love to hear about them!