Around this time of year, pears seem to sit in the shadows of their apple cousin. But this delicious fruit is in season from September to mid-November in Massachusetts and is amenable to all sorts of creative usage, aside from raw snack form. Today's Eat Seasonal feature offers 11 ways to incorporate your market or orchard pear bounty. Like my recent apple recipe roundup, I wanted to share recipes a bit further off the beaten path. Enjoy!

Click through the below links for recipes and more beautiful images from these creative bloggers!

1. This honey pear bread would make for a yummy breakfast treat or snack during the day.

2. Further fueling my love for Brussels sprouts is this pear and blue cheese roasted Brussels sprouts dish.

3. I shall be busting out my sandwich press for this bacon, cheddar, and pear panini.

4. This caramelized pear and gorgonzola flatbread would work equally well for brunch or dinner.

5. Whoa. The presentation of these honey pears in puff pastry is simply awesome.

6. I don't normally think of pairing chocolate and pears, but this stunning chocolate pear loaf cake is making me change that tune.

7. These mini pies with pear and blue cheese are so cute (and tasty sounding) that I'm ready to make the metric conversion.

8. These caramel dipped pears would give caramel apples a run for their money.

9. I think I'm going to try this salted caramel pear butter for holiday gifts. NOM.

10. Another amazing holiday gift (for those who enjoy libations): spiced pear vodka.

11. And you can use your spiced pear vodka for this Asian pear and ginger sparkler.

Image credits: pears via FreeDigitalPhotos.net; all others via linked sites above

I know that knowledge is power, but as I confessed before Mixfest, I have largely remained in denial (and subsequently in the dark) when it comes to college savings for Laurel and Violet. And via casual conversations with other parents, I know I’m not alone! So today -- as part of my work with MEFA/Fidelity -- I want to share 5 (totally not scary) ways to get college savings savvy. These resources have been so helpful -- and easy to process! -- for me.

1. Get a handle on the overall basics. I found this Make College a Reality slideshow super helpful, particularly regarding dispelling some of the myths related to college savings; for example, that saving for college means no financial aid or that it’s not worth saving if you can’t save at all. This is a really compact and streamlined (read: not an overwhelming amount of financial lingo) primer in just 19 slides!

2. Figure out what you need to do now. I find it less overwhelming to identify what I need to tackle right now (or in a year or two window) vs. thinking about a 15-year span. Check out this categorical grade planning breakdown, ranging from pre-K to graduate school, to help you figure out immediate action items.

3. Identify savings options. This savings guide identifies the differences between the U.Plan and U.Fund and offers helpful tips for saving for college.

4. Learn the MEFA U.Fund basics. I imagine most people would lean towards the more geographically flexible U.Fund. MEFA is a non-profit state authority that works to make higher education more accessible and affordable, and the Massachusetts 529 college investing plan is a tax-advantaged college savings plan professionally managed by Fidelity. This 529 overview offers a nice, concise outline for the tax advantages and basic financial details.

5. Get free advice. I will admit that reading about important, financial matters is not my forte! If you feel similarly, MEFA offers free seminars and webinars to help families learn about planning, saving, and paying for college. There are lots of time/location options, just in October alone.

Totally not scary, right? I hope these resources prove as helpful to you as they've been to me!

Disclosure: I’ve partnered with Fidelity & MEFA for this post in support of the U.Fund Dreams Tour. All thoughts and opinions are -- of course -- my own.

Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

OK you guys. After posting that roundup of no-sew Halloween costumes, I said to myself, man, if someone can make a no-sew UNICORN, surely I can handle Laurel's request to be an M & M! So on Friday I decided to give it a try since we were heading to Boo at the Zoo Saturday. This was the first time in craft history that I made up a project on the fly that turned out just as easy as I had hoped in my mind! Here's the DIY:

For supplies, you will need:

• Craft paper
• Two yards of felt (M & M color), for a max 36" diameter M & M
• One 8.5 x 11 sheet of white felt
• Fabric scissors
• Glue gun + glue sticks
• Pins
• Batting (totally optional)

1. Make paper templates. For the M & M, I taped together two large sheets of craft paper (I have a big roll in my office) and had Laurel lie down so I could figure out a size that would have impact but not be overwhelming; for Laurel's 10-year old body this was about 32 inches. I measured out a circle old school style, by taping a string to two pens, holding one pen in the center, and tracing out the circle with the other pen. Then I cut out the circle. While I was doing this, Laurel freehand drew the "M" and cut out that paper template.

2. Cut fabric. With your M & M color felt folded in two, lay paper template on top and cut out circles. If you use a sharp pair of fabric scissors you'll have no problem cutting both pieces at the same time. Do the same for the "M" (lay paper template on top and cut out).

3. Pin glue zones. Pin areas shown be red marks in the below image to guide your glue zones. You want the head, arm, and leg holes to be big enough to get in and out of easily while being closed enough so the M & M holds it's circle shape.

4. Glue pieces. Glue "M" to front of circle. Remove pins (I just in pins to mark the end of each zone to help guide me, then removed) and glue seams shut. Wait for glue to cool then test fit on your kid and glue openings a little more shut if necessary. Again, the more you can close the seams, the better the M & M will hold shape.

And you are DONE! This took about a half hour! I did buy batting thinking we might need to stuff the M & M, but we didn't need it. And no stuffing made the costume easier for Laurel to negotiate (and easier to fold up and put in my bag!). If you want, you can have your kid wear white pants, shirt, and gloves but we didn't have any of that. And it didn't matter -- based on the number of comments and excited squeals Laurel received at the zoo from other parents and kids, the costume clearly translated! 

The only hitch with this costume (which Laurel and I discussed before starting) is that it's obviously not comfortable to have your arms sticking straight out the sides. So, she had her arms inside the costume, holding her treat bag, and she'd just reach a free hand to get a treat when it was time. If you want to avoid this problem, you could make a peanut M & M, which is a more oval shape. If Violet had been interested, it would have been cute to make her a peanut M & M companion for Laurel!

Images: Christine Koh

When I was younger, there were several outbuildings alongside my parents' driveway. One of them was a corn crib for hogs that became where we stored my horse Cutter's hay and grain. One of them was a hog shed that became Cutter's barn and my tack room. If I close my eyes and concentrate, I can still smell the inside of those buildings. They've since been torn down as they outlived their useful lives, but my father kept the wood.

I don't remember how it came up, but Pa offered to let Beloved and I have this wood if we would come help plane it down. Chateau Travolta's deck has a large footprint, and the wood appears to be near original. We patched it a little last summer, but it's getting really rotted. We're going to use the corn crib cypress wood to resurface the deck next spring. 

Here's what the wood looked like before we started.

It's pretty rough and still has a little bit of old white paint clinging to it.

Pa bought a secondhand planer and we bought some blades for it. Pa and Beloved gave me permission to use this pic of them and the planer. I was the catcher, so to speak. I would grab the boards as they came though the business end of the planer and help them through. Sometimes this was just holding and sometimes this meant leaning with all my strength when they got kind of ... stuck.

Each board took a minimum of one and usually more like two or three passes. 

First pass.

Second pass.

Getting closer.

You could tell things were rocking when the big shavings started to come out. 

So pretty!

I lost track of how many boards we did. I would guess somewhere in the neighborhood of sixty. Then I bagged up all the sawdust shavings. I think we had around seven 55-gallon bags of shavings, which Pa is going to add diesel to before using them for sweeping compound, whatever that means. He did push a little pile of the wood shavings outside the Morton building. When I asked him what he was going to do with them, he said, "I'm going to pour some diesel fuel on them and set them on fire, because that's the kind of guy I am."

I've got to use that in a novel somehow.

So he did, and that is how I learned how to control a fire without any boundary. I got to put it out.

It took all day. It was satisfying. I can't wait for spring.

Live on, wood. Good job.

When I was younger, there were several outbuildings alongside my parents' driveway. One of them was a corn crib for hogs that became where we stored my horse Cutter's hay and grain. One of them was a hog shed that became Cutter's barn and my tack room. If I close my eyes and concentrate, I can still smell the inside of those buildings. They've since been torn down as they outlived their useful lives, but my father kept the wood.

I don't remember how it came up, but Pa offered to let Beloved and I have this wood if we would come help plane it down. Chateau Travolta's deck has a large footprint, and the wood appears to be near original. We patched it a little last summer, but it's getting really rotted. We're going to use the corn crib cypress wood to resurface the deck next spring. 

Here's what the wood looked like before we started.

It's pretty rough and still has a little bit of old white paint clinging to it.

Pa bought a secondhand planer and we bought some blades for it. Pa and Beloved gave me permission to use this pic of them and the planer. I was the catcher, so to speak. I would grab the boards as they came though the business end of the planer and help them through. Sometimes this was just holding and sometimes this meant leaning with all my strength when they got kind of ... stuck.

Each board took a minimum of one and usually more like two or three passes. 

First pass.

Second pass.

Getting closer.

You could tell things were rocking when the big shavings started to come out. 

So pretty!

I lost track of how many boards we did. I would guess somewhere in the neighborhood of sixty. Then I bagged up all the sawdust shavings. I think we had around seven 55-gallon bags of shavings, which Pa is going to add diesel to before using them for sweeping compound, whatever that means. He did push a little pile of the wood shavings outside the Morton building. When I asked him what he was going to do with them, he said, "I'm going to pour some diesel fuel on them and set them on fire, because that's the kind of guy I am."

I've got to use that in a novel somehow.

So he did, and that is how I learned how to control a fire without any boundary. I got to put it out.

It took all day. It was satisfying. I can't wait for spring.

Live on, wood. Good job.

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you had a lovely weekend! The girls and I enjoyed a fun trip to the zoo (where the adorable costumes were out in full force!) and cheered on a few of our friends plus lots of other amazing runners at the Bay State Marathon in Lowell. I'm excited to get back to work today, and will kick it up with this awesome roundup of weekday events via the Weekly Blueprint. Enjoy!

October 20: Family game night. (Dorchester)

October 21: Help us Read for the Record (ASL interpreted). (Boston)

October 21: Exercise your mind, body and soul. (Boston)

October 21: Another special Read for the Record storytime. (Boston)

October 21: Healthy kids summit, a free afternoon of fun and fitness. (Foxboro)

October 21, 22 + 24: Figure out the sweet side of chemistry by making candy! (Acton)

October 22: Fill your day with art and play. (Lincoln)

October 22: A spirited preschool storytime. (Waltham)

October 23: Meet a real live archaeologist. (Acton)

October 23: Boo! A Ghost in the House storytime. (Boston)

October 23: Create your very own haunted gingerbread house. (Lexington)

October 23: Live indie-rock music performances. (Boston)

October 23 + 24: Put on your favorite costume, grab a flashlight, for a silly, spooky Halloween tradition. (Lincoln)

October 23: Help us carve pumpkins into Jack-O-Lanterns for our annual Halloween Prowl. (Sharon)

October 23 - 25: Celebrate the power of words at the Boston Book Festival. (Boston)

October 24: Take a walk through an enchanted forest. (Barnstable)

October 24: Learn more about how and where to find local food in Boston. (Boston)

October 24: Punkin’ fest. (Boston)

October 24: Ghost stories story time. (Boston)

October 24: The pumpkins are all aglow. (Carver)

October 24: Frightful Friday ghost stories in the mansion. (Waltham)

October 24: Explore our “haunted” pine forest after dark. (Wellfleet)

October 24 - 25: Bring your family together to make a change in your community. (New Bedford)

October 24 - 25: All access pass to lots of wine. (Boston)

October 24 - 25: Guided walk along our Halloween trail. (Ipswich)

October 24 - 26: Fun and non-scary Halloween prowl. (Sharon)

Image credit: Mass Audubon

Happy Friday everyone, I hope you're enjoying a great short week! Are you ready for weekend? I have a busy day today and then I can't wait to dive into the weekend, which will include fun and games at the Stone Zoo (come join me!), marathon spectating, and Halloween costume making (I've got my mojo on thanks to this no-sew costume roundup!). Meanwhile, if you're looking for something to do, enjoy this roundup of 27 events!

1. Discover the wonders of chemistry and celebrate National Chemistry Week. (Acton)

2. BBQ, guided hikes, and a day of family fun. (Andover)

3. Arlington International Film Festival (Arlington)

4. Pumpkin lit stroll through the forest. (Attleboro)

5. Everything you wanted to know about sustainable seafood. (Boston)

6. Family day at Mass College of Art and Design. (Boston)

7. Free lecture by Raun K. Kaufman Author of Autism Breakthrough. (Boston)

8. The leaves are changing and fall has arrived at the Children’s Museum. (Boston)

9. Interactive storytime with visiting author Babs Bell Hajdusiewicz. (Boston)

10. Be part of the audience as a cappella groups battle for the win. (Boston)

11. Ben Rudnick and Friends. (Brookline)

12. Little Red Rosie and the Dragon of Duum puppet show. (Brookline)

13. The pumpkins are all aglow. (Carver)

14. It’s time again for the Head of the Charles. (Cambridge)

15. Have a ghoulish good time at the Halloween romp. (Easton)

16. A food and wine festival on the Vineyard. (Edgartown)

17. An animal safari right in Framingham. (Framingham)

18. Pumpkin fest, tractor parade and dedication hike. (Hadley)

19. Mass Audubon’s biggest celebration of the year! Daniel Webster Farm Day. (Marshfield)

20. Reading and book signing with Rosemary Wells in honor of Read for the Record. (Newton)

21. Rides, crafts, music and food. (Newton)

22. The Farm Festival. (North Andover)

23. So much fun packed into Applefest at Wachusett Mountain. (Princeton)

24. Halloween parade and costume party. (Salem)

25. Boo at the zoo. And come meet me at the Fidelity/MEFA tent! (Stoneham)

26. 14th annual Wellfleet OysterFest. (Wellfleet)

27. Westport Town Farm fall festival. (Westport)

Image credit: Stone Zoo

As I said last week in my roundup of adorable free Halloween printables, I am so, ridiculously grateful for the creative people online who share their how-to's. Case in point, though I do own a sewing machine, it is, in fact, another piece of gear and another step if you're trying to DIY a costume. Today I wanted to share a roundup of 10 clever no-sew costumes, where your primary tools generally will be scissors and a glue gun. AWESOME.

I'm feeling less intimidated now to riff and attempt Laurel's desired M & M costume! Click through on each of the below links for the full tutorials. And thank you, fellow bloggers, for being so awesome!

1. Use adorable pajamas as a Halloween costume base (that they can then go right to sleep in....WIN).

2. Turn baby into a popcorn box with felt and a glue gun.

3. Literally. Time to make the donuts.

4. You won’t be saying Let it Go to this easy no-sew Elsa costume.

5. Is it weird that I want to make myself a pair of these mermaid leggings?

6. OMG family of Care Bears!

7. Create a unicorn in under an hour.

8. Every dreamer needs a jet pack.

9. Get spooky in a hurry with these easy bat wings.

10. Take your pick of any of these adorable super hero costumes.

Image credits: all images via linked sources above; click through full the full DIYs!

"He's in the forest. Behind my house."