Hi chicks,

Seeing the leaves turn gorgeous colors, watching football games (go Tigers!), putting together a fab Halloween costume, pulling out my favorite chocolate brown suede boots, and hosting Thanksgiving for the whole family—-I love fall!

If you’re looking for ways to live frugally while oozing fabulousness, check out my book Chick Living: Frugal and Fabulous. It’s a Real Life guide for any budget-conscious woman and packed with thoughts and tips on everything from home decorating ideas to frugal beauty tips to wardrobe how tos to clever and creative entertaining secrets. And, it makes the perfect Christmas gift for any woman on your list. Check out the Hot off the Press link to find out more about the book, read excerpts, or order it.

Speaking of frugal and fabulous, here are some f&f (and fun!) things to do this fall:

Infuse fall into your home décor instantly and inexpensively by buying some mini gourds and pumpkins from the grocery store or farmer’s market. Fill pretty vases and bowls with them and scatter throughout your pad. Cut holes in the top, place tea candles inside, and voila! Display by lining them up on a window sill, mantle, or table. Or, create a unique pumpkin vase by cutting the top off a small pumpkin and filling it with water and flowers. (To get your arrangement looking perfect, try this trick: Put strips of Scotch tape horizontally and vertically across the top of the vase so that it forms a grid, and distribute flower stems equally in the squares until you can’t see the Scotch tape and your arrangement looks full.)

Have your buds over for some suds and to watch football. If you don’t want to make a thing, get a few different sub sandwiches from a nearby sandwich shop, cut them into bite-sized pieces, secure with fancy toothpicks, and rest them on top of garden lettuce on a platter. Set out chips and whip up this fab, easy dip that will feed an army: 12 oz. fine curd cottage cheese, 8 oz. sour cream, 8 oz. mayonnaise, and one package hidden Valley Ranch Dips powder dressing mix. Nix the plastic tub for holding beverages and hotglue marabou trim or a feather boa in one of your team’s colors and around the rim of a plain metal tub. Set out a basket of noisemakers such as clackers, horns, and whistles for fans to cheer with when your team scores.

Go for a walk and collect a wide variety of leaves in different shapes and colors to make your own leaf placemat. Select leaves that are not too dry (you should be able to bend them without breaking them.) Use double-sided tape to adhere leaves randomly to four pieces of 8” x 10” natural or parchment paper. Take your creations to a place like Kinkos and have the pages laminated. (You can even trim around the edges using pinking shears or other fancy edged scissors if you like.)

Spend a gorgeous autumn day in the country picking apples from an orchard. For an instant appetizer, slice up some Granny Smiths, heat up a jar of caramel flavored toppings for dipping, and enjoy.

If you want to get in the spirit of the spooks for Halloween but don’t want to don a full costume, buy a plain black witch’s hat and embellish it with feathers, beads, tulle, sequins, silk flowers, you name it. Curl pipe cleaners, poke them through the hat, and dangle plastic spiders off them. But if you want to get all decked out and go all out, host a Halloween bash. Dim the lights (or use an orange or green lightbulb), set some tealights in small orange glasses, drape some faux cobwebs everywhere, and put on some scary music. Make “grab ‘n’ go’s” of black and orange utensils wrapped up in paper napkins and secured with plastic spider rings; display in a big black plastic couldron purchased from a discount store. Brew up some Witchtinis (apple martinis), wrap Halloween garland around the glass stems, and toss in some dry ice to make them smoke (but make sure guests do NOT swallow the dry ice). Here are some festive, super easy Halloween party eats ‘n’ treats to serve:

Witch hats-—Dab frosting to the bottom of Hershey’s kisses and center them on top of the chocolate side of fudge striped shortbread cookies.

Graveyard cake-—Bake cake according to directions, spread chocolate frosting on top, and add crushed Oreos on top of that. Cover Lorna Doone shortbread cookies with white frosting, use black writing gel to note guests’ names and “RIP” on top and stick into cake to look like tombstones. Add gummy worms (optional).

Ghosties-—Dip Nutter Butter cookies into melted white almond bark (found in the baking aisle) and let harden on a sheet of wax paper. Use black icing to dot on eyes and a mouth.

Deviled egg eyeballs-—Make or buy deviled eggs, draw red lines on them with red writing gel, and add a sliced black olive on top of each.

Jack-o’-lantern cupcakes-—Bake cupcake according to directions and mix red and yellow food coloring with white frosting so that it’s orange. Spread on top of cupcakes and use chocolate chips to create the eyes, nose, and mouth.

Witch fingers-—Buy canned breadstick dough and cut each breadstick in half both lengthwise and widthwise so each one becomes four. Twist into “finger” shapes, lay an almond on the end of each finger so that it looks like a nail, and bake.

If you get the chance to go on a hayride and cozy up around a bonfire with your dearest, do it! Take along a thermos of my Hayride cocktail (I call it that because the first time I had it was on a hayride party in college and it’s the color of, well, hay!). Heat a cup of apple cider and add half of a shot of cinnamon schnapps to get warmed up when it’s cool outside. Plus, your whole place will smell delicious!

This Thanksgiving, create a side dish that can be passed down for generations. If you’re stumped for ideas, I’ll share the one that’s become mine: my Grandmother Koederitz’s stuffing (see recipe below). It’s so delicious that once it’s set out on the table it’s every-man-for-himself and there’s never a crumb left.

Happy fall!

Grandma Koederitz’s stuffing
1 lb. ground pork sausage
turkey liver (cut up)
1 chopped medium onion
2-3 stalks of celery (chopped)
1 loaf of white bread (torn into small pieces)
2-3 eggs
sage
salt
pepper

Brown the pork sausage, turkey, and onion in a pan; turn off heat and set aside. Place celery and bread pieces in a bowl and add the eggs. Add the sausage mixture and squeeze and mix all with your hands. Sprinkle in the sage, salt, and pepper to taste. Add a little water if the mixture becomes too dry. Stuff in the turkey and bake.