Hello Fall!

I have been a bit behind in my blog posts. Life gets in the way here at my house, but that's not a bad thing! My son is not sleeping as much anymore so we are pretty busy during the day, and when he is sleeping that seems to be the only time I can get any cleaning done. I am sure I'm not the only parent out there familiar with this haha. 

Woodstock Orchards, Woodstock CT

Anyways, few things I wanted to write about. First thing is, Happy Fall! This is and will always be my favorite season. I live in hoodies all season long, I drink loads of tea, my house smells like cinnamon, vanilla  and pumpkin all the time b/c I constantly am simmering home made potpourri on the stove, gorgeous mums of different colors decorate the front steps, the local orchards have hot apple cider and donuts and outside the smell of wood burning is returning to our town. I love it!  Fall is also a great time for farmers markets. We have a few good ones around here and I am embarrassed to say  I have not made it to any yet. I just have not been able to afford it. I am planning on going very soon however. Are you a farmers market lover? If you are I am sure you probably already know where to find yours, but if you don't, there is a website that helps locate.

http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/ Just click and search your surrounding areas!

My husbands family owns an apple orchard in our town, Woodstock Orchards LLC. It has been a part of Woodstock for many years. They have a wide variety of apples, along with other fruits such as peaches, pears and plums. This time of year there are fall/winter vegetables ready. They also make THEE best apple cider around. I don't say that just b/c its family, but it really is the tastiest cider I have had. If you ever find yourself in the quiet corner, make sure to stop in! Blueberries are earlier in the season, then the stand shuts down for a couple months until its apple time. My husband worked at the farm when he was younger but left about 12 years ago. It is now mainly run by my father in law and brother in law. It is a great place to stop in during the Fall season. CLICK HERE to check out the website. (it's a little out dated, but you get the idea)

Another thing I thought I would share was one of the potpourri recipes I make during this time of year. This is such a great way to make your home smell wonderful without the use of chemicals/perfumes. It is super easy. 

What you will need:

1 Cut up apple
1 orange peel
2 cinnamon sticks
1tb cloves
1tb vanilla extract
1tb almond extract
1.5 cups water (plus more to refill as it simmers down)

Place all ingredients into a pot, and simmer all day long! Just add more water to the pot when you notice it simmering down. You don't want to burn anything.
 Mix is good about three days and you can refrigerate it over night.

I found this recipe on Pinterest last year. Sometimes I add other things or leave some stuff out. It is all preference. Believe me though, it smells SO good and is not harmful to your health. If you have a wood stove at home, you can place this on top (preferably in a cast iron pan) so you dont have to leave the kitchen stove on all day.

Lastly, in keeping with the Fall theme....here is a cute little printable if you plan on doing a lot of Fall related activities this season!!

Save it to your computer and print it out!!! If it does not print full size, here is the link to the original post.

Have a wonderful day everyone!!!

Oh Annie NO!

 As many of you have probably heard, our beloved Annies Organic has sold out to General Mills for a whopping 820 million dollars. It is not that I am a boy cotter of all large corporations, because I am not. I am just not willing to support any major companies that are against the labeling of GMOs. General Mills is one of those companies. Was the money really worth it Annie? 

If you have not heard, here is an article from realfarmacy.com


Another FYI...if you are curious as to what other large companies own some of your favorite brands (specifically organic) just check the photo below. 

So sadly, this home will be saying good bye to the mac and cheese we love, the cheddar bunnies and the salad dressings. I am not by any means saying any one else should do the same...but if you care at all about GMOs and where your money really goes...it is something to consider.

Labor Day Weekend Round Up

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Labor Day weekend! Mine was wonderful. Every year at this time my town holds its ever famous Woodstock Fair. It is certainly a fun time, and who doesn't like to scarf down fair treats!! For those of us who live here though, it can get a little crazy because of the amount of traffic the fair draws in. This year we decided to pack up and head to Maine. We left Friday afternoon for my mother in laws home in Rockland. I absolutely love her area. There is so much to do out there. She is close to the ocean, shopping, eating, etc. We arrived at about 930 pm Friday and stayed until Monday afternoon. Below is my "weekend round up" in photos. We did quite a bit in the amount of time we were there, but I don't want to overwhelm, so I'm just showing a few things.

1. On Saturday, we went to the beautiful town of Camden. Every year they hold "Schooner Days/Windjammer Festival" There is a little outdoor market where you can buy local arts, jewelery, food, etc. There are wood workers building boats, and informational booths too. There are Schooner tours where you can pay for an hour long ride on the ocean and learn about the boat. There are so many beautiful boats on the water too. In fact, at one point a wedding party sailed by on one! It was amazing!! What a way to celebrate the big day!!! Another thing I love are the lobster crate races. There are a series of lobster crates in the water, connected of course, and young kids take turns to see how fast they can cross them all without falling. Its so much fun, and the kids are good too! If you find yourself in Camden this time of year, you should definitely check out the festival. It lasts all weekend.

2. Rockland Breakwater. It is about a mile long I believe. It is SUCH a gorgeous walk. It was built in 1880 in an effort to keep storms from causing damage to the harbor. (Years ago it had)  We had perfect weather for our walk. It is a little bit cooler once you get out on it for obvious reasons, so I wore a sweatshirt. Out on the rocks we could see seals perching, catching some sun. So neat. CLICK HERE if you would like to see more information on the breakwater.

3. Sunday by my request, we spent part of the day in Port Clyde, visiting Marshall Point. I have been here before but never got to take photos. This time I brought my camera. This is a pretty nice area, with a sweet out door restaurant right on the docks. The photo is of the Marshall point lighthouse. Fun fact: if you have seen the movie Forrest Gump, this is the light house he runs to!! CLICK HERE if you want to check it out!! (It starts around minute 1:33)
It is a beautiful view...my husband and son liked playing in the tide pools at the bottom. There is a cute little museum that used to be the home of the lighthouse keeper many years ago. Inside there are souvenirs for purchasing along with tons and tons of information on Marshall Point and the lighthouse.  CLICK HERE for information.

4. The last day we were in Maine, we spent it at Drift Inn Beach in Port Clyde. It is kind of hidden...not like the public beaches you see. This beach was amazing though. At low tide the water was as shallow for as far as you could walk out. The water was so clear, with nothing but soft sand under your feet. We all went in. What a beautiful day we had, we got very lucky with the weather this past weekend. There were tide pools here too that the hubs enjoyed looking for critters in. That is what him and our son are doing in the photo. Well, actually the baby just enjoys doing whatever daddy is doing. I hate things that pinch and crawl haha so I did not help.

I wanted to share something else quick that we saw...which is pretty neat and many of you have probably seen this movie...

Recognize that animal? I had no idea that Andre the Seal was in fact based on a real seal! This is a statue of him in Rockport Maine.  He was indeed real, and for about 25 years at that! Harry Goodridge found him as a pup many years ago (abandoned my his mother we assume) and from that day he became like one of the family. It is a very sweet tale, one that is far too long for me to write about. Now of course I need to watch the movie, I have never seen it! If you would like to read about the seal and how he became so famous, please CLICK HERE. This is a good little write up through Yankee Magazine.

Well, that is how we spent our weekend...I hope everyone had something fun or relaxing to do!!! I cannot believe summer is coming to an end. I secretly love it though, Fall is my favorite season.

Take care!!!

xo