Pumpkin Parade Link Party

It's party day!  You'll find me in the corner sipping on my pumpkin martini.  Avoiding eye contact.  Scrolling Instagram and counting the minutes until I get to go home.  

Wait.  This is an internet party. I can attend from my couch. Sweet. 

Enough about me.  Did you check out the fantastic pumpkin projects from my lovely co-hosts? 

 Shift Ctrl Art, Primitive & Proper, Decor and the Dog 

A Little Bite of Everything, A Swell Place to Dwell, NewlyWoodwards

Boxy Colonial, Wills Casa, Cuckoo4Design

Bliss At Home, Go Haus Go, Interiors by Kenz

Those are some classy looking pumpkins up there.

Now it's your turn! 

You can link up on any of our blogs listed below. Please use a permalink and link to as many projects as you wish, as long as the posts involve pumpkins. The linky below will stay live through Tuesday, October 15th. Next week, each of us will spotlight a few of our favorite projects on our blogs. We’ll also pin those projects on our shared Pinterest board.

The only rules: 
1. Please share a pumpkin post - could be decor, crafts, cooking or anything else pumpkin.
2. Please link back to the Pumpkin Parade and at least one of our blogs.  All would be awesome.  Just copy this!  

 Shift Ctrl Art, Primitive & Proper, Decor and the Dog, A Little Bite of Everything, A Swell Place to Dwell, NewlyWoodwards, Boxy Colonial, Wills Casa, Cuckoo4Design, Bliss At Home, Go Haus Go, Interiors by Kenz

3.  Put that pumpkin martini down and please go to at least one other blog and comment. This is what makes the parade extra fun.  Mandatory fun is the best kind of fun.

Can’t wait to see your projects!  Check back here on Sunday for our fall home tour!

Fall Cleaning Checklist

This post brought to you by BISSELL Homecare, Inc.. All opinions are 100% mine.

Fall decided to arrive this past weekend in Iowa.  It went from 88 degrees on Friday to the high 40's on Sunday.  Rude.

As much as I dislike the cold, I am looking forward to the wonderful things that Fall brings!  Hot beverages, boots, blankets and deep cleaning.  Oh yes, deep cleaning can be wonderful.  Wait, that's a lie but I do feel better going into Winter with clean windows and carpets!

I previously mentioned that I am big on surface cleaning but not so big on deep cleaning.  I try to make sure that I do tackle deep cleaning at least twice a year (Spring and Fall).  This weekend I whipped up a Fall cleaning checklist.  These are tasks that I need to complete in the next few weeks.  You know, before the chance of snow happens.  Here's what I need to tackle:

Our carpets need a deep cleaning.  Our living room carpet especially needs it.  This guy and his bear, Ted, aren't the cleanest things in town.

Poor Ted.

We use the BISSELL Proheat Deep Cleaner that we've had for a few years.  It's easy to use and brings our dingy carpets back to life. 

Ike tells me that he's not the only messy one around these parts.  Nate and I have been spending a lot more time in the kitchen and it shows.

Our deep cleaning list includes vacuuming out drawers and kitchen crevices.  You know, anywhere that flour can land.  

I previously mentioned that I had a new friend, the BISSELL PowerGlide.  It has come in handy as I have started on my Fall checklist.

Before I can start deep cleaning, I like to surface clean all of the baseboards and floors in the house.  This includes the stairs which were previously a giant pain.  I'm a weakling and hate carrying a heavy vacuum up and down the stairs.  The BISSELL PowerGlide has a removable pod that lifts off the base and allows me to carry only part of it up and down the stairs!

I love clean windows. I just don't love cleaning them.  It doesn't help that we have 1 million of them to clean.  I always start window cleaning by vacuuming out the bugs and dirt from the window sills.

The ability to use the lift off feature makes this task super simple.

The lift off feature and long-stretch hose is awesome for cleaning the tops of the cabinets.  I always used to assume that the tops of cabinets cleaned themselves.  Turns out that it was just my mom.  Who new?

So far I am a big fan of the quality and effectiveness of the BISSELL PowerGlide®.  We own other BISSELL Products and we appreciate their quality and performance! Here’s another look at the awesome features I mentioned when I first received it:

- No loss of suction and sealed system

- One-step removable pod for portable cleaning

- Long-stretch hose

- Lightweight

- Swivel steering for maneuverability

- Adjustable handle for easy use and storage

- 12-inch foot for stability

- Large capacity dirt cup

- 27-foot cord

- Included TurboBrush® and crevice tool

You can visit BISSELL on Facebook to enter to win their sweepstakes. Here are more cleaning tips to help you tackle that Fall cleaning. If you would like to purchase your own BISSELL Powerglide you can use the code POWERGLIDE on BISSELL.com for $20 Off Plus Free Shipping for the following products through 11/30/2013:

· PowerGlide Pet Vacuum with Lift-Off Technology – 2763

· PowerGlide Pet Bagged Rewind Vacuum – 38631

· PowerGlide Pet Vacuum – 1044

Have you started your Fall cleaning?  What's your favorite and least favorite Fall cleaning task?

Don't forget to check out today's fab pumpkin projects! 

Wednesday:Boxy Colonial, Wills Casa, Cuckoo4Design 

Cherry Almond Bars

I've decided to make Tuesdays "Tasty Tuesdays" here at Decor and the Dog.  Well, until I don't have my act together.  Then it will just be Tuesday. 

I'm kind of killing it in the kitchen lately.  I've been doing a lot of baking/recipe experimenting lately so I figured I'd share. 

My food photography skills will also amaze you.  Try not to be jealous. 

First up on Tasty Tuesdays is a favorite recipe for Cherry Almond Bars.  These things are ridiculously good and not super complicated.   Slightly messy but I associate messy with tasty.

Cherry Almond Bars

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups suagar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cans (21 oz each) cherry pie filling

Glaze

• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 2-3 Tbsp milk

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy. (I repeat it's so fluffy over and over.) Add eggs, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. Gradually add flour. 

2. Spread 3 cups batter into a greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan.  (I lined mine with aluminum foil because I hate cleaning baked good pans.)  Spread with pie filling. Drop remaining batter by teaspoonfuls over the filling.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. 

3. In a bowl, mix confectioner's sugar, extracts and milk to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over top. My patience got the best of me and I added the glaze a little too soon so don't be me and actually wait until the bars cool.

4.  Enjoy! 

***The Pumpkin Parade continues!  

Check out today's great projects!  A Little Bite of Everything, A Swell Place to Dwell, NewlyWoodwards 

Also, my mom had a great question.  "Do you have to have a blog to link up?"  (Seriously. She asked.) You don't!  Just upload your pictures to a site like Flickr and link that way!