The first glimpses of Fall

The temperatures are finally making their long-awaited dip downwards around these parts and the days are getting shorter, which means that fall is almost here.  I don't know about you guys, but fall is my favorite season of all; there's just something about that crisp feel to the air that I can't help but love.  We don't get a lot of fall love here in El Paso--it's a very short season and it won't be long before things have transitioned completely from summer to winter, so I'm trying to make the very best of the short window of gorgeous fall days that we have (though to be perfectly honest, the winters are pretty nice, too).

The cooler temperatures means breaking out the warm footie pajamas for the boys and spending most of the morning lounging about in them while the house slowly warms up from the previous night's chill.

The rose bush in the backyard is making one last colorful hurrah before it hibernates for the winter.

And of course there's an abundance of fall produce, like these Granny Smith apples that a sweet friend was kind enough to share with us.  I tried my hand at making apple crisp from scratch last night and while it was a bit labor intensive (I definitely need to invest in an apple peeler and corer if I ever want to make it again), it was definitely worth every minute spent slaving in the kitchen.  Has fall arrived in your neck of the woods?