Ever have one of those days that includes a lot of goodies? And you enjoy each and every one that calls to you? Then go home that night overly full and wake up hankering for a bowl/plate/cup full of health? I just ask out of curiosity. I have absolutely no experience in that scenario. 😉

Yesterday after our donut breakfast, outdoor walk, and Halloween bark production, we had a fall party to attend with a group of friends.

I could not ask for a better group of friends to spend a Saturday afternoon with. Many hours can quickly pass while just hanging out, sharing a meal, and playing with all of our (many) kids. That is exactly what we did yesterday. We started off with lunch.

I had about 2/3 of the hamburger, plus some veggies + spinach dip, and a scoop of Apple Butter Sweet Potatoes (recipe below). I think I would have been happy with just a large plate of those sweet potatoes and the spinach dip! I can’t forget the few pieces of Halloween bark that made it into my mouth as well.

We spent a good chunk of time doing crafts with the little ones. Makenzie created a handprint spider and a field of palm-print pumpkins from finger paints. Then, she decorated some pumpkin shaped sugar cookies with icing.

We finished our time at the party watching some SEC football action before heading out to Babies R Us. We wanted to get an idea of what we will need before he arrives. I don’t think we will need too many things for Braedon. He’ll look cute in Makenzie’s old pink clothes, right? 😉

Based on the title of this post, you can probably figure that we ended the night with more food. We were in the area of an old favorite Chinese food restaurant that we haven’t been to in at least a year. It sounded so good. Sadly, something has changed over the past year and the meal totally let us down.

We shared an order of steamed pot-stickers, which lacked much of the taste and texture they used to hold. We also shared an order of black pepper beef. Disgusting. Normally, the meal contained way more vegetables and the beef was never fried. What came out this time was a mound of fried beef with a few carrots, water chestnuts, and baby corn thrown in. We both had a minimal amount before deciding we could not stomach anymore.

To make up for dinner, we broke out a Groupon for some frozen yogurt. Self-serve frozen yogurt is one of those blog crazes that I totally get. I chose a combo of cheesecake topped with toffee bits and pumpkin topped with graham cracker.

What could be better than yogurt and a wide choice of toppings? Definitely not black pepper beef, that’s for sure. 😉 Now, for that recipe I promised you. Thanks to my friend, Krista, for sharing!

Apple-Buttered Sweet Potatoes

• 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 medium Granny Smith or other tart cooking apples, peeled, cored, and cut into wedges
• ½ cup dried cherries or dried cranberries (optional)
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup apple butter
• 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In a 3 ½ or 4-quart slow cooker combine sweet potatoes, apples, and, if desired, cherries/cranberries.  In a medium bowl combine whipping cream, apple butter, and pumpkin pie spice.  Gently stir apple butter mixture into sweet potato mixture to combine. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 6 to 7 hours or on high heat setting for 3 to 3 ½ hours.

• What would be your dream frozen yogurt creation?
• Do you like arts and crafts? I’m not crafty but I love doing those things with Makenzie

Check out the Bloggers of the Day (chosen from yesterday’s comments)!

• HomeCookedEm – Em is also pregnant and a great friend of mine! She’s the sweetest and most genuine person.
• Love Eat Now After – Lena writes about her life, while sharing great recipes in the mix (like this Veggie Paella)
• Snacking Squirrel – Kelsey exudes such beauty and confidence…and knowledge on putting together amazing healthy concoctions

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Yesterday defined a perfect weekend day for me. During the day I enjoyed a lot of free time, despite Peter off helping a friend on his car. I also still managed to accomplish a fair amount of to-dos. Then, I ended the afternoon and evening with a fun family night.

We had a Groupon for a pizza joint that we needed to use before it expired. So, last night we headed out to the Virginia Highlands area of Atlanta.

The Virginia Highlands occupies a small area of town and includes many beautiful  craftsman style homes, delightful restaurants, and small shops to explore. We took awhile before eating to do just that.

Finally, fall is here! Yes, it is! 😀 I adored venturing out into the cool early evening hours. We headed into a few of the kitschy shops. I love little places like this!

Those magnets = the story of my life! How fitting for a blogging, fitness fanatic mother! 😉

We also stopped into a high class kitchen and fine foods shop called Bella Cucina. If I had money to spend I could do some serious damage in there. They have all sorts of amazing spreads, pesto, cute dishes, etc.

Can I please move that same setting to my back porch? Pretty please! And I think all of us can agree with their tagline…

Cropped right from a picture of their business card. Don’t you love it?

Now onto the good food. Of course, when you choose to dine on your favorite food at a place that knows how to prepare it you can expect good things. Everybody’s Pizza did not disappoint. We split a medium with spinach, mushrooms, onions, olives, and pepperoni.

Or more accurately, we split half of it and took the other half to go. I knew we needed to save stomach room for something special. I give you three guesses what but you will only need one.

Oh, yea. The perfect end to the perfect evening. I heart thee, Pumpkin Pie blizzard! And how you help watching UGA lose again go down a little easier. Le sigh.

• What was the highlight of your weekend?