The first few weekends of fall are some of my favorite times of the season. No matter how hot or cold it is outside, we start decorating on the first weekend of Fall. I usually bake a loaf of pumpkin bread, apple pie, sweet potato pie, or pumpkin pie. However, the first thing we do is light up all the fall-scented candles. There’s nothing that gets us into the fall mood more than the fragrances of fall.
This post is sponsored by Stop & Shop. Lilies and Loafers was compensated for this post and exposure on our social platforms. We are already frequent shoppers at Stop & Shop, so we were happy to write about our experience.
Fatima and I wanted to spend the weekend decorating, baking our favorite fall treats, and have a movie night. We planned on making pies, hot cocoa, apple cider donuts, a roast chicken, and kettle corn. But as we talked it through during our first visit to the playground, we realized we did not have the time to make everything. One of the things we’re learning as parents is to just go with the flow; if ‘Plan A’ doesn’t work, there are 25 more letters to get through. Luckily, Stop & Shop had everything we needed to make the weekend a success.
All the pumpkins.
When we first walked into Stop & Shop, I saw all the pumpkins. Large, mini, orange, white, and so many gourds. Our local store had a fantastic deal on large pumpkins and I couldn’t pass up adopting at least two of them. At first, I was so excited when I saw them (and how perfect they looked) that I grabbed four large pumpkins and ten minis. However, after looking at my cart, I realized there was no way I was lugging everything back home. So I got two large and five mini pumpkins/gourds. Fatima couldn’t resist grabbing a mum, too!
As we were shopping, our fall mood plans evolved. We were still going to bake a pie but gave up making apple cider donuts when we saw a container of apple crisp donuts in the bakery section. They were really moist and tasted like we just picked them up from the local farm. We gave up on the roast chicken and settled for mac and cheese, but maybe that was the better choice all along? We were set on making pumpkin spice hot chocolate and kettle corn for movie night.
Stop & Shop had everything we needed to make the apple pie, pumpkin spice hot cocoa, and mac and cheese. I had all the spices, so I just needed apples and pie crust. They had my favorite farm-fresh apples and Pillsbury pie crusts. For the pumpkin spice hot cocoa, again I had all the spices but needed everything else: milk, heavy cream, whipped cream, cocoa powder, dark chocolate chips, and pumpkin puree. I even picked up a second can of pumpkin puree to have on hand :)! One can never be too prepared when it comes to baking in the fall. It’s so convenient when one store crosses everything off your list.
Fall Mood Medley
A few falls ago, we hosted a word fall party. We threw a bunch of fresh fruit and spices into a pot and let it simmer all day. This is an easy way to fill your house with the aromas of fall. So we included everything for that on our shopping list.
As we walked through the store, a Febreze Plugin caught my eye: ‘Fresh Pressed Apple’. Our entryway is filled with strollers and shoes so we rotate a plugin above to eliminate any smelly footwear and to greet guests with a welcoming fragrance. Although we planned on simmering the fall medley over the weekend, the plugin was going to get us through the month. No wonder it was the last one on the shelf; the plugin captures a crisp fall day in an apple field, it’s perfect.
Movie Night
When we got back home, we lit all the candles, started simmering the fall medley, set up the plugin, put the pie in the oven, opened the windows, turned on ‘Sunday Funday Brunch Radio’, and started decorating. Before we knew it, the apartment smelled like fall; fresh-baked pie, citrus and warm spices, the fresh-pressed apple plugin, and the candles. Our son loves the mini pumpkins, so we gave him creative control over where to put them. The mums, pumpkins, and fall fragrances tied it all together, and we were in a perfect fall mood.
For movie night, we settled on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Books aside, it’s an underrated movie because it’s a transition in the franchise: tone gets darker from the first two movies and introduces a new actor playing a more vibrant Dumbledore. It’s one of my favorites and more importantly, it features giant pumpkins growing in a patch right outside of Hagrid’s hut. It is the perfect fall movie for that reason alone, haha. Right after I put our son down for the night, I started on the pumpkin spice hot cocoa and kettle corn. I made both of them in under 15 minutes! After plating the donuts, we had a fantastic spread for our movie night. This weekend was the perfect kickstart into fall and we have Stop & Shop to thank for helping us pull it all together!
