Looking Back: November

I always hate to be the person to say, “Wow, can you believe it’s Insert Month Here?” But really, seriously, wow, can you believe it’s November? Because I most definitely can’t. I feel like it was February five seconds ago—February 2010 five minutes ago—and now, here we are, one month left of the year.

  

In November last year, John and I were hanging out on a beach in Punta Cana. Over those five days, I read two books (this and I can’t remember the other one), swam with stingrays, went snorkeling, ate coconuts on the beach and learned Prince William and Kate were getting married.

We did this excursion. 

While I haven’t had that need-to-be-in-the-warm-weather RIGHT NOW feeling yet,  I’ve already started turning the heat up when John’s not looking and yesterday I broke out the winter jacket.

But can you blame me? This is what the trees looked like in Punta Cana: 

And these were the trees outside our apartment on Saturday: 

(And that just made this post basically the same as this one. But that was March! It’s too soon for snow!)  

So what were you doing last November? And what are you looking forward to this year? 

Apple Picking Success

Although, truth be told, if you had asked any of us while sitting at a gas station at 3:30 p.m. last Saturday whether we definitively thought apple picking would have been a success, we likely would have had another answer for you.

Because, as you can imagine, we weren’t the only ones who thought going apple picking on an 80-degree long weekend in October was a good idea. But! The bright side: We found an orchard, complete with beer garden, cider donuts and live music. And once we got our bags and figured out where the best apples were, the day turned out pretty great.

All photos by the super-talented Dorna.

Facelift!

After some back and forth—and lots of Etsy research—I finally decided it was time for this blog to get a new look. And here it is! What do you think?

I bought the template from Yellow & Savvy Design and love the colors, the cuts and the fact that it reflects my own style a lot more than before. Next up, I'll (finally) be working on the About page and just overall editing some of the features. Baby steps, yes? Anyway, I hope you like it and that you're enjoying this lovely Tuesday!  

xo, m 

Apple Picking Inspiration

We’re going apple picking on Saturday—yay for all fall activities, all the time!—and as a way to avoid having like, five pounds of apples sitting around for weeks on end, I’ve been thinking about lots of different ways we can use them. I'm hoping to help John's mom make apple jelly (apple jam?), but aside from that, how good to THESE look? 

I found this recipe for "Classic Apple Crisp" over at Pinch of Yum. 

And hi, apple nachos. LOVE. The recipe, from Shugary Sweets, is here.  

And check out these Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes from The Craving Chronicles. (p.s., the rest of her food photography looks pretty awesome, too.) 

Have you made any apple-infused goodness lately? Any tips? 

All photo credits linked above. 

On Turning Twenty Eight

On Monday, we went on a wine tasting cruise on the Hudson River - so fun! 

I’ve been making a ridiculous number of lists lately. What we need to buy for the apartment. Recipes I want to try. Movies/books/music I want to see/read/listen to. And that’s in addition to my boring every morning “Things I seriously need to get accomplished today” list.

So it’s only fitting that when I turned 28 on Monday, I started to make a list of what I was looking forward to for the year and, since I am always all sorts of nostalgic, what the past year was like.