Alright, y'all, let's talk about my absurd love of Halloween (and all things fall)!

I've always absolutely adored fall. The changing leaves, the fire pits, pumpkin bread, apple cider donuts? I'm here for all of it, in spades.

Once upon a time in high school, I actually convinced my sweet parents to celebrate Pumpkin Month instead of just Halloween.

So, we ate something with pumpkin in it every single day of October. (God bless my mother for entertaining this constant barrage of recipes from a high schooler who didn't know how to cook or grasp the magnitude of what she was asking.)

They've been complaining and laughing about Pumpkin Month ever since! My mom claims she still can't stand the smell of pumpkin, and my dad says he actually left home for a conference a day early during that time to escape the pumpkin recipes.

This has become a Moore family legend, but I, however, maintain that Pumpkin Month wasn't that bad. So during this year's annual rehashing of our Pumpkin Month adventures, I committed to proving my mom and dad wrong after 20 years of relentless teasing.

I decided to cook 31 different pumpkin recipes during the month of October, having NO idea how completely unrealistic that goal was with my workload this month, and without running the idea by my husband first (dear man).

Here's what I learned from my Pumpkin Month experiment: that was a LOT of work. A huge shoutout to my mom for undertaking this task back when I was in high school! Half of these recipes were made at 10:30 at night after a long workday, and I gave this project a full 2 minutes and 7 frames to document the day’s recipe before falling into bed.

I also learned that not all pumpkin recipes are created equal! While most of the recipes were delightful (pumpkin falafel, pumpkin gouda pasta, pumpkin french toast), but others were a little bit questionable (pumpkin beer bread and pumpkin bourbon pudding).

It was an incredibly fun month, though I didn't quite finish my 31 recipes (I made it to 25) and my husband started stealthily ordering Thai takeout at dinner, but I will admit that it also might be a while before I try Pumpkin Month again!

A huge thank you and I love you to my parents for always being on board with my crazy ideas and supporting my need to celebrate every holiday in a completely over-the-top way.

Want to see more Charleston food photography by Reese Moore Photography? Check out this Charleston branding photography shoot with Park Circle Creamery and this menu shoot with Kairos Mediterranean.