Pumpkin EVERYTHING: Compulsive Fall Disorder

My friend, Heather, shared a video about "Compulsive Fall Disorder" (language warning: last few seconds) with me, b/c...well, let's face it: I may be a victim. If I liked coffee, I'd be posting selfies at Sbux on the 1st day of PSL. (Don't worry: I get my fill of Sbux venti 8-pump no-water chai lattes - modified to be extra spicy. I believe my mom said upon tasting, "That tastes like I just drank a spoonful of pumpkin pie spice." Yes, exactly! ;-))

I've had a slightly bipolar relationship with fall the last decade. It was ALWAYS my favorite...until we had to move up north for a few years to a region where fall meant *real cold* instead of 70's. (Hey, 70°F is down right chilly when you've been in the upper 90's for over 4 months straight. A 30° drop! It's my PERFECT fall temp!) Now that fall no longer ushers in snow coats or erases all hope of seeing my cold-as-I-prefer 70°F, I have re-donned my crown as the Pumpkin Queen. ;-) [Note: the one symptom of CFD I don't exhibit is sweater-weather obsession. Y'all can have your sweaters; I prefer not to need to take mine down from their high shelf in the closet. I'm fine with jeans-and-long-sleeved-tee weather! Brrrrrr! :-D]

I lovelovelove apple picking, hayrides, FOOTBALL, and PUMPKIN EVERYTHING!!! Why yes, I *did* just pull another batch of my fave easy, healthy(ish) Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Muffins out of the oven. And yesterday, I hit the pumpkin jackpot at Aldi! [Aldi is a German-based grocery chain with EXTREMELY LOW prices! Depending on where you live, it's either considered kind of slummy or super trendy. (My #1 fave Trader Joe's & Aldi are sister-stores!) We are in the super trendy camp! You cannot beat their produce prices or their Simply Nature organic line. Period.]

I had to take a pic of my cart yesterday to give Heather a good laugh:

Yes, even pizzelles!!! Not shown: pumpkin spice bagels (I hadn't hit the bread aisle, yet) and pumpkin pomodoro pasta sauce (b/c we have too many sauce jars I haven't opened, yet, in the pantry. ;-)) Yes, those are two big carving-size pumpkins in the bottom. Guess how much they cost? $2.99 (I know, right?!?! They'd be at least $10 at a "pumpkin patch"!) I'm really excited for the sparkling pumpkin cider: the kids & I are going to share it together in our BOOT MUGS! :-D