An Apple a Day...

Saturday the boys and I headed out west to go apple picking!   The weather was fabulous, the views lovely and the apples delicious.  We had a great time wandering the orchards, chasing after fallen apples and picking a zillion to bring home.  

B ran around like a crazy dog trying to attack every apple he saw fall.  

It was pretty adorable.  

We ended up with a 1/2 bushel and I've already whipped up some applesauce, a gluten-free apple dumpling that needs some more tinkering with and a tasty apple crumble. Yay for Fall!

I wore my new clog booties for the adventure, mostly because the description of the shoe mentions how they're perfect for apple picking.  In truth, I'd have to disagree.  Climbing around a very apple/weeds/rocky hill in heeled clogs was actually rather difficult.  At least they looked cute :)

p.s. We demo'ed some Brussels sprouts the other night with dinner and are tentatively impressed, full dinner post coming soon. 

Brussells Sprouts, maybe?

Ok, I'm curious, are brussels sprouts really as good as everyone says they are? 

They don't look tasty, really at all, no matter the recipe.  

Ok, if I'm honest they look like little tiny cabbages.  Is that what they taste like?  As I read recipe after recipe I'm starting to worry that I never gave them a chance, I'd hear Brussels and run the other way.  Maybe its time to try them out?  

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Lemon

No way the boy will eat them, at least not the first try around.  Maybe, just maybe, if my little experiment works and I start raving, buying them in droves and cooking batches all week long...  Or, idk maybe he will give them a go.  He's weird like that sometimes. 

J likes cabbage, and so do I.  huh.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

If my local store has any tonight I'm going to grab some, roast them up and give them a try.  Might as well right?   Maybe I'll find my new favorite veggie.  

A Tale of Two Bags

Longchamp Pliage Shopper

Zara Pleated Shopper

One from the boy, one from the girl...er me. 

This past weekend J and I finally exchanged birthday gifts. Somehow this year we both knew what we wanted to get the other and had pre-purchased early.  I bought J a Stetson and it took FOREVER to arrive but it finally did, so we gave in.  I had earlier in the month birthday-treated myself to this fabulous leather tote from Zara to use as a carry-all for the multitude of stuff that I regularly tote around,  only to discover that my lovely hubby had the same idea!

Are we on the same mental page or what?

In fact, my pre-purchase caused a bit of trauma, mostly for me.  J raved for weeks how much I was going to love his gift and he was so proud that he had thought of something that I could actually use and then, of course, I go out and buy myself something for that very purpose.  Luckily, he loves me and loves bags and after way to much soul searching for something as silly as a bag I decided that two bags were way better than one and even though I had no idea exactly what he had gotten me I would trust him that it was different enough that I would be able to use both bags.

Of course, he was right and now we're all happy.

The end.

Hello Cruise Ship

Its that time of year again, when my lovely pier gets tossed to the cruise ships and tour buses and trolleys.  I actually took this picture from our second floor parking lot, they really are HUGE boats.  These last few weeks have been the worst, not only because of increased traffic and general chaos but also because every Thursday its 3 boat day and all our windows facing toward the ocean are blocked by a giant hull.  

So here to a beautiful Friday with tugboats and serene blue seas. 

Enjoy!