The smell of fresh coffee on a cold morning.

Making a huge pot of chili on a weekend afternoon, football on in the background.

Putting on that first sweater.

Listening to a new song in the car and realizing that it’ll remind you of the changing seasons every fall from now on.

New to me this year: planning a birthday party for my daughter.

I’m not usually one to get excited about sales online and especially not in stores, but earlier this week I was putting together a very short list of things I might need for fall and winter (a rain jacket, a hat) and realized that Gap was having a pretty awesome sale. Watching Sophie grow so rapidly these past 9 months has me pretty much refusing to pay full-price for any of her clothes, so I decided to buy a few things for her own little fall and winter wardrobe! Now I’m even more excited about autumn’s arrival and daydreaming about what she might wear for her birthday and Thanksgiving.

There’s tons of stuff on sale (I have my eye on these joggers), I just went a little crazy on the baby stuff. Here’s what I got for Sophie (and a couple of things I wish I had grabbed…although there’s still time):

• The hat that started it all—I kept thinking it would be so cute to get Sophie a pom pom hat for the winter and this is the one I got.

• I ordered three of these little onesies: the polka dot one you see below, a striped one, and a really pretty yellow color that I loved.

• I didn’t get this dress because they don’t have the size we need but holy cow did I love it. If one of you has a younger baby please get it and send me a picture so I can live vicariously through you.

• Sweet little denim joggers. I mean, come on.

• Sophie has a pair of lighter overalls that she wore this summer, but I love these darker ones for fall and winter (probably paired with one of the long-sleeved onesies!).

• Another hat—this one I found after I placed my order and am wondering if it’s worth ordering on its own and paying for shipping. What do you think?

The sale goes through the 15th, just make sure to use the code COZY at checkout! Like I said, I don’t usually post about sales like this but I texted enough friends about it that I figured I might as well share on the blog, too!

This post contains affiliate links.

I personally think the best kinds of recipes are the ones you throw together without a plan and then realize it’s so good that you have to write it down so you remember how to make it again, and that’s what this is! I’m a huge fan of a delicious, slow-simmered meat sauce on spaghetti or zucchini noodles (or over rice, or with a fried egg, or some greens…really I’ll put meat sauce on or under anything), but sometimes I don’t have the time, energy, or ingredients to make it happen.

This “sauce” has like 6 ingredients and took me 20 minutes to whip up. I spiralized a couple big zucchini and tossed the noodles in a skillet, threw them in a couple bowls, and topped it with my quick meat sauce and some fresh herbs from my patio. It was a quick, easy, and delicious Monday night dinner when I otherwise might have ordered takeout.

Ingredients:

• 2 large zucchini, spiralized

• 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

• 3/4 of a white onion, diced

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 pound of ground beef

• 1 1/2 tablespoons of tomato paste

• About 1/2 cup of water or broth (chicken, beef, or veggie would work)

• A handful of cherry tomatoes, if you’ve got ‘em

• A couple tablespoons of chopped green onion and fresh basil (optional but recommended)

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• Parmesan cheese for topping (optional but also recommended)

Instructions:

1. In a large pan, heat olive oil and sauté onion over medium heat. Cook for 4-5 minutes and add the garlic. Season with salt and pepper. (While that’s going on you can salt your zoodles—I recommend putting them in a colander and letting them sit with a generous amount of salt on them for at least 10 minutes.)

2. Add the beef and cook until browned, using a wooden spoon to break beef apart into smaller chunks. Raise heat slightly and cook for 2-3 minutes. Pour the water in and add tomato paste, stirring well to combine until smooth.

3. Add about half of the green onion and basil. Toss in the cherry tomatoes and allow them to cook until some of them start to wilt or burst. Season everything with salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside.

4. Rinse the zucchini noodles and add to the pan. Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, or until cooked to your liking (I prefer mine a bit on the underdone side so they’re still nice and crunchy).

5. Transfer zoodles to bowls, top with sauce, and finish with some Parmesan cheese and the remaining green onion and basil. Serve immediately.

Like I mentioned earlier, you could serve this with regular pasta, stir it into rice, or even eat it plain (which is what I did for breakfast yesterday)—it’s pretty chunky so it’s not soupy or super saucy to eat on its own.