saturday fall craft-day

it's saturday! is anyone as excited as i am?

i had a short day at work, cleaned up my apartment, did laundry, and then got down to business with some fun fall crafts. i know, i know, i may be a little bit late for decorating for fall, but better late than never, right? my apartment looks like perpetual spring due my shabby chic pastels, so i decided to autumn-ize it a bit this year! i was inspired by some of these pinterest pins 

first, i used a sharpie to write "fall" using 4 adorable pumpkin-ettes.

* i wrapped twine around several vases

* placed fall potpourri (from dollar tree) + apple harvest tea candle from (tuesday morning) into a mason jar  + tied some raffia paper around it

* placed cinnamon sticks and scented acorns in a teacup 

* wrapped an apple harvest candle with cinnamon sticks with raffia paper

 * wrote "fall is here" on a platter i spray-painted with chalkboard paint + hot-glued a felt flower (i made this a few years ago + haven't had a chance to use it until  i found it in my craft closet today!)

* the paper pumpkin was made last night during a craft night with friends by glueing together circle-shaped construction paper in an accordion-style until it was a circle, added a leaf-top + stem, + cut off the bottom to level it.
* i also pressed some leaves i found outside so that i can make this soon

here is my living room all dolled-up, or rather, all fall-ed up!

lastly, i made some delicious apple compote! originally a french creation, compote is also a romanian fall staple that i grew up with. my grandma makes the syrup very watery so that it is more of a drink than a jelly. it is so tasty warmed up but is also perfect as a cold drink. i loved sipping the cup full of the juice and then gobbling up the softened apples with a spoon.

i made my own version (that's the fun part about growing up; you can revamp childhood favorite recipes to your own liking!) and, well, not to toot my own horn, but it is delish! (toot!)

i don't have an exact recipe because it's the type of thing you make by taste rather than by recipe (i remember my grandma saying this the first time i attempted to make it on my own and i was so aggravated by this as the schedule/itinerary/recipe-loving person i am!), but it's true!

1. chop up apples in large chunks. i left the skin on and used 6 gala apples, but any kind work!

2. place apple chunks in a large pot of water and place on medium heat to boil. i started off with roughly 4 quarts water and ended up adding another few more quarts later. 

3. add cinnamon (i used both sticks and ground powder), lemon slices, and sugar. honey also works. again, go with the flow and taste-test to decide if more of each ingredient is needed.

4. boil for atleast 30min, then use a fork to test the apple chunks. they should be soft.

5. enjoy!

have you fall-ed up your home yet? if so, have you blogged about it? i'd love to see how you all have added some fall spice for this season!