one. The fires in Napa have been very much on my mind these last few weeks. From where we are, 2 hours away, we smelled lots of smoke last week and my kids had to play indoors due to the air quality. We have family who needed to evacuate and close friends whose wedding was cancelled and replanned locally in less than 3 days. For anyone interested in donating towards Napa disaster relief, here’s one place I found where you can give.

two. It finally feels like fall around here, after a visit to the pumpkin patch! The one we visited had such a beautiful array of pumpkins, so many different colors and shapes and sizes.

three. Pumpkin recipes and toasted pumpkin seeds!

four. I’m on week 3 of getting a CSA box and I’ve been loving it. I thought that I’d have to supplement with more vegetables from the grocery store, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that I have more than I can use in a week. One of the cool things already has been cooking with new-to-me vegetables! I’ve now cooked with escarole and collard greens, and both were great.

five. Has anyone else out there been browsing Target’s upcoming Hearth & Hand with Magnolia line? When I first heard of it, I was sure I would be wanting to buy the entire line. After looking through every single item (!), I was surprised to find my “want list” pretty small, which is probably a good thing. A few of the things on a list? This pitcher, this tree skirt, and this doormat.