I love fall as much as the next girl in Uggs, but to tell you the truth it can be kind of a bummer missing out on Pumpkin Spice Lattes and apple pie (I still maintain that the former tastes like a Yankee candle, but whatever) because of Paleo tendencies. Obviously no one is forcing me to give up dairy or sugar, though, so every year I try to make some kind of Paleo-friendly seasonal treat.

This year I went with a baked apple dish, partly because I had some gorgeous apples from our wedding florist's orchard, but mostly because I am the proud new owner of a mandolin slicer and I'll literally make a chip out of anything these days.

These baked apples are delicious, comforting, and make your house smell exactly like fall. Amen.

Ingredients:

• 4 apples, washed and sliced evenly--I use this handheld mandolin (affiliate link)
• 2-3 tablespoons of grass-fed butter
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves)
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Melt butter in a large bowl, add honey and vanilla, then the apple slices. Mix well. Sprinkle in pumpkin pie spice and mix again.
3. Layer apple slices in small pie dishes or a larger baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes.
4. Let cool for a couple minutes before serving, but have them warm! Enjoy.

My brother came to visit us in Charlotte last week and we made plans to cook a huge meal together. Sean is great at making even the most regular of things feel really special, and we love cooking together, so obviously I decided to go all out and attempt to roast a duck.

Even though it seemed a bit intimidating at first, everything came together into a beautiful meal and such a fun way to celebrate the beginning of fall in our new place! La Crema was nice enough to send us a few bottles of pinot noir, too, so that didn't hurt.

Thanks to La Crema for sponsoring this post. Visit their blog to get our roast duck recipe!

Last "spring" (April in Minnesota), I scrolled through my Instagram feed with frustration and jealousy. Flowers, patios, iced coffees! People on the east coast were baring their shoulders and eating salads outside while I sat under a blanket, watching the snow fall outside.

And now "autumn" is upon Minneapolis (I use quotations again because those two in-between seasons are a little iffy up there), and friends are wrapping themselves in scarves and sipping on warm, pumpkin-flavored beverages. And once again I'm jealous, this time as I force a pair of jeans into the mid-80 degree North Carolina afternoon.

I lived in Minnesota for one winter--not long enough for it to become my new normal, but I let it in and felt it down deep and somehow it became a part of me, like I was supposed to be there; or like perhaps that winter had been within me all along.

I may not know what it's like to be there year after year as the snow piles up, feeling it in your bones and wearing on you. I have never hunted down the best patios all spring and summer or, in late August, exchanged groans and anxious faces, greeting people on the street like Game of Thrones characters--"winter is coming."

But I loved it there and felt at home-- loved the way the snow seemed to fall more often than not, loved the way you just dig in and deal with it, bringing your gloves with you everywhere and driving a little bit more slowly across icy roads. And yet here I am, settling in down south on a warm September day, daydreaming about fall and winter and sweaters and hot tea; laughing as I unpack our heavy winter coats and hoping to soon wake up to a hazy chill and that smell of leaves. Wondering where I belong, and already missing that impending northern snow.