This month we are focusing on Fall Fun!! Get ready for some great ideas, inspiration, tips, resources and how-to as you move along through the blog hop.

You may just be starting the blog hop or may have come from Fanny Seto at Living Richly on a Budget on our Living with Style Blog Hop. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you make sure to see and learn from all of the articles featured here today.

BEST.CORNBREAD.EVER
cornbread

Today I’m sharing the best cornbread recipe you’ll ever find as a way of welcoming FALL and the comfort foods that come with it! Not your average cornbread by any stretch, this creamy, sweet slice of joy will melt in your mouth and have you hopping up for seconds after the first bite! First, however, I need to share a bit of what’s on my heart today.

It’s that time once again where the days are still warm but not so blazing hot as the weeks that preceded and a distinct crispness lies just beneath the sun-kissed breeze. The boys are on the football field preparing for the games that are just around the corner. Fair week has come to an end. The leaves are turning, school will be starting in just a few days, and summer is coming to a close.

All of these markers are exciting and pretty typical of the changing seasons as Summer passes the baton to Fall and we race into the routine chaos of a new school year. This year, however, an unwelcome and merciless foe lurks in the changing breeze…. Smoke!

We’ve had an unusual season here in Washington State as it’s been exceptionally hot and dry all summer….ever since May, really. Although we’ve enjoyed the ample sunshine and the countless activities we relish while basking in it, it has come to us at great cost. Our beautiful forests, and those of neighboring states, have been burning up. Homes have been evacuated and destroyed. Firefighters (and countless others!) have been working day and night to fight off what Nature usually fights for us and it breaks my heart to say, some of these selfless heroes will not be returning home to their loved ones. This rare, scorching, rain-free summer has come to us at great peril.

Usually at this time of year I am clinging to the last of the sunshiny days and dreading the coming rain. I often spend Fall and Winter wishing the steady dripping would stop and sometimes even dream of living elsewhere…somewhere with less drizzle, more sun and higher temperatures.

Today, however, I have great appreciation for the glorious rain that typically graces the luscious Northwest and I’m praying for the return of abundant precipitation. Although a part of me still mourns the passing of Summer, I am joyful for the onset of Fall and the blessings that come with it. I am ready to embrace raindrops with the genuine, loving hug that they deserve. Friends, shall we do a little rain song and dance to try to bring it back? “Rain, rain… come back and play… we want you back…we want you today! Fill our rivers, water our plants…. We love you, Rain … this is our stance!“

Ok… I’m no songwriter but I’m sure Blake Shelton could do something fantastic with those lyrics!

I don’t know if my little dance will do any good but it certainly served as a reminder that I really need to get into better shape! I also need to get back into the kitchen and continue my efforts to draw out our old friend, Rain, with some yummy Fall cookin’. I don’t need Blake’s help to rock this one… and you won’t either.

Best. Cornbread.Ever
Best. Cornbread.Ever

A friend and former coworker gave me this recipe many moons ago and it has changed me forever. Yes… I am now a huge cornbread snob and I sometimes even feel sorry for people who are still eating the dry stuff. Cornbread is a gift meant to be savored, not endured. If you have never been a big fan of cornbread, do me a favor and just give it one last shot here. Seriously… this warm, moist, buttery treat is a delightful experience you don’t want to miss!

Before I bring on this recipe, let me just pour out my deepest heartfelt THANK YOU to all the fire fighters, heavy equipment operators, truck drivers and countless other volunteers and their families who have given so much of themselves. Thank you for what you have done and continue to do for the safety and well-being of others. Bless you, my friends… Bless you!!