This weekend, we simply enjoyed fall.
On Saturday, we started off with the gym and a few errands. Then we went apple picking (again). Michael’s sister, Cristina, joined us for this trip.
This was the first time we had been out to the orchard in actual fall weather. The two previous times this season, it was pretty hot!
The orchard was picking four different types of apples this weekend: Ida Red, Crispin, Golden Delicious, and Fuji. The Fujis were pretty picked over, and the Golden Delicious apples were really small. So we decided to stick to Ida Red and Crispin.
Sunny and beautiful, but cold! I actually probably should have been wearing my winter coat.
30 lbs. of apples later, we were back on the wagon and then heading home. Michael and I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things we needed for dinner, and we stopped to browse the beer section.We ultimately decided to go with a pumpkin ale, which neither of us had ever tried before. I got a tremendous kick out of the package design:
I mean, come on… doesn’t that just put you right into a “fall” mood? We enjoyed a beer or two while we were cooking dinner. Afterward, I made apple heaven on a plate for dessert, then had a few glasses of wine and watched the Sex and the City movie while Michael watched the hockey game.
This morning, we got up and took Tessa out for a walk in the glorious fall sunshine. I grabbed the camera to take with us. Look at all the pretty colors!
We did our “long walk” route, which is probably around two miles. Once we got back, we loaded into the car (Tess, too!) and took a ride to a neighborhood farm market to buy pumpkins.
Tessa fit right in. (And yes, that is a Gap hoodie. I found it a couple of years ago, and it is too damn cute.)
With three pumpkins in tow, we went back home to set them out on our porch. While I got to work arranging pumpkins, Tessa got to work on her relaxing in the sun (her favorite thing).
And more relaxing…
And just a little more relaxing…
Until we finally had to put an end to it and pick her up to go inside. Because c’mon… we weren’t going to miss the Bills game.
Due to power outages at the stadium, we were unable to watch a lot of the game, but they finally got it all figured out for the second half. And… let’s go, Buffalo! They are now officially 5-1.
And I am officially in love with Trent Edwards (plus, he’s easy on the eyes).
And Kawika Mitchell (um, well, at least he’s good at football–I can’t get past the hair).
Not sure whether I have mentioned this on my blog yet, but our nephew, Brendan, is going to be a big brother in March. Last week, my sister-in-law had “the big ultrasound” and we found out that they are having… ANOTHER BOY! :) His name will be Logan. So cute, I can’t wait.
Also, we found out about a week ago that my brother, Trevor, and his girlfriend, Kara, are expecting a baby in May.
BABIES! Lots of babies.
Just call me Aunt Heather! :)
Oh, Katie. How I love you so.
I know you’re probably all wondering whether I make anything other than recipes I find over on Good Things Catered. The answer is yes, just…
…not lately. :)
Last weekend, we had a bit of Indian summer, so it did not feel like fall. This weekend? Fall is back in full force, and it’s actually quite refreshing. There are so many things about fall to enjoy, and baked goods is certainly one of them. Tonight, I was in the mood for something good, so after we made dinner, I threw together these apple spice cookie bars from Katie.
I curled up with a few glasses of wine, the Sex and the City movie on DVD, and waited for these babies to come out of the oven (I also enjoyed the baking apple smell!).
And I’m not even kidding when I say that these are the best things I have eaten in a long time. Flavorful, moist, chewy, delicious. BEST. APPLE. DESSERT. EVER.
So good. You must make these. You simply must.
Apple Spice Cookie Bars
(Source: Good Things Catered)
Ingredients:
– 2 cups + 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
– 2 tsp. baking powder
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
– 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
– 1/8 tsp. allspice
– small pinch ground cloves
– 1/2 cup (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
– 1 cup packed brown sugar
– 1 cup white sugar
– 2 eggs
– 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
– 2 apples, peeled, cored and diced (about two cups)
– cinnamon sugar for sprinkling
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 9×13 pan with foil and baking spray.
2. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Whisk to combine well and set aside.
3. In bowl of stand mixer, combine sugars and butter and beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to combine.
5. Add vanilla extract and beat to combine.
6. Turn mixer on slow and fold in flour mixture a little at a time until just combined.
7. Fold in apples.
8. Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan and sprinkle top generously with cinnamon sugar.
9. Place in oven and bake until cooked through, when top slightly bounces back to the touch, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from pan, cutting and serving. (Bars will be very soft.)
OK, we all know I am not a fan of John McCain. And as expected, during last night’s debate, all he did was solidify my opinion. I mean, holy crap, I can’t even believe some of the stuff that came out of the man’s mouth.
There was one particular issue that ignited a fire within. Made me want to yell at him through the television: Do not call liberals/democrats “pro-abortion.”
It’s pro-CHOICE, you asshat.
It’d be like me going around saying that pro-lifers are “anti-freedom.” This type of talk has driven me crazy for years.
I have told this story to people before (but never on my blog). During the 2004 election season, I was employed at a different company than I am now. Politics were discussed pretty openly. I liked the discussions. Mostly, everyone was respectful of the opinions of others, and it was pretty interesting to debate the issues with others.
However, there was an administrative assistant/receptionist that was very, very conservative. Someone said something to me in front of her one day that made it clear I supported the democrats. She looked at me and said, “You’re a democrat?” I said yes. She replied, “Oh, so you’re a baby killer.”
Right in the middle of an office of professionals. Honestly, now. What a bitch.
Four years later, as I remember that moment, I get pissed that she had the audacity to say something like that to me just for supporting a particular candidate. She had no idea about my stance on abortion. (If you haven’t already made the assumption based on this post, yes, I’m pro-choice. But that’s not the point.)
She had no idea of my history. What if I had had an abortion in my past? In that case, I guess this coworker would have had reason to call me a baby killer. But would it have been right for her to do so? Hell no. Again, she’d have no idea about the situation. No idea if I had been raped, if my health had been at risk, etc. What if it was a decision I had made, but it was really hard for me? She would have been drudging up all of those old feelings, right in the middle of a work day in the middle of an office.
I know that all of what I just said is hypothetical. But the point is–she didn’t know. And still, she had the nerve.
The other side of this issue: I will go out on a limb here and say that I don’t think anyone who is pro-choice is pro-abortion. We simply support the right of a woman to make the choice. I honestly don’t understand how people can’t see the difference.
If you are pro-life, I completely respect that.
If you are pro-life, don’t ever have an abortion. It’s as simple as that. But you know the beauty of it? It’s your choice. And what gives you the right to try to take away the choice from someone else?
The other part of the abortion portion of the debate that absolutely knocked me over was when they were talking about Roe v. Wade, and whether or not Obama and McCain would nominate someone to the Supreme Court if the person didn’t agree with them on Roe v. Wade.
McCain started rambling on about how he would nominate people based on their qualifications, not their beliefs, blah blah blah. He was pressed to give an actual answer to the question, and what did he say? He said (paraphrasing), “Well, I don’t believe that anyone who has ever supported Roe v. Wade would have the necessary qualifications.” And then he LAUGHED.
Pardon me while my head explodes.
OK, enough. I’m more than ready. Let’s vote.
Our first location probably ate up 2.5-3 hours of time.
The entire time (no lie) we were inside of the brick factory, I had to pee sooo badly. Seriously, every time we moved or I had to get into different positions, I was dying. And I felt so bad for Judy and Darsi because they had to put up with me complaining about it. I tried not to be too annoying, but my god, it was torture. And hey, I still did everything they asked. Well, until the end of location #1.
The original plan was to spend some time around and/or in the ponds surrounding the brick factory, but there were no restrooms available and there was no possible way I could wait any longer. So they took me to the nearest Wendy’s.
(I can’t even tell you how funny I felt walking in there. Here I am, wearing a wedding dress with a zip-up sweatshirt over it, with like an inch of makeup on my face. Walking into Wendy’s. I’m convinced customers thought I was some kind of hooker. But I digress.)
After the bathroom break, Judy and Darsi decided that since we were already in the car, there was no point in going back to the brick factory. Instead, we’d take a detour and go to a completely different location–the beach.
Oddly enough, the beach seemed to be at least 5 degrees warmer in temperature. In the brick factory, I was freezing. On the beach? It was cold, but not as cold.
Again, all photos taken by Judy Cormier of Elementz of Fotographie.
It was a lot more comfortable, too. Lying in nice, cushy sand (as opposed to brick walls, beams, and scrap metal)? No problem.
As I was lying in the sand to get shots like the above, I saw something coming toward me out of the corner of my eye. I look, and there is this dog, running down the beach at full speed, coming right at me. Behind her, her owner, screaming, “Tasha! Tasha!!” and then, to us, “WATCH OUT! She’s going to try to kiss youuuuu!!!”
Too late. I had time to sit up, thankfully, but there Tasha was, jumping up on me and kissing my face. After she attacked me with her tongue, Darsi got the brunt of it. She was trying to speak (or scream) or something when the dog jumped up on her and managed to french kiss her a bit. No, I’m not kidding.
It was hilarious. All of us were laughing, and Judy kept snapping. Eventually, Tasha’s owner caught up to her and managed to get her attention to call her back. She apologized profusely.
Still laughing.
And then? Tasha decided to turn around to come back for Round 2. Here is my “OH NO!” look. But Tasha’s second attempt was thwarted as her owner managed to wrangle her.
And then I had the giggles. Could not stop laughing at the replay in my head.
OK. Back to business.
An old lifeguard shelter on the beach. The weathered steps were very cool. And whoops, I just noticed you can see my flip flops in this shot. I’m surprised Judy didn’t photoshop them out. I guess maybe they add to it since it’s the beach? :)
Then we moved right down near the water.
I like this one.
Putting an old lifeguard stand to good use. Bride–to the rescue!
Time for a little nap.
If everything had gone according to plan, I would have actually gotten into the water after this. But in the end, we all agreed that it was too cold (I’m pretty convinced I would have come out with hypothermia).
I’m actually really glad that I didn’t get in the water. I don’t think my dress would have been ruined or anything like that, but it would have been a bigger pain in the ass to haul home and take care of.
Now, I’m just trying to decide what to do with my dress. I need to get it cleaned, but am not sure whether I should go with a local place (can’t find any recommendations!) or ship it off to Wed Clean. I need to figure it out soon, given that my dress is currently hanging in the entryway of our house. What to do, what to do…
About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
