Honey Pot Hill Orchards

What is Fall without a scenic drive through the windy roads of Stowe, MA to go apple picking with my better half? 

Orchard of choice ... Honey Pot Hill a 200-acre family owned and operated farm since 1923 in Stowe, MA.

Being that it was not only a beautiful Fall Saturday afternoon, but also a three-day weekend because of Collumbus Day, we were not the only ones who decided it would be a good day for apple picking. Although parking took some time, once we purchased our bag {before you enter the orchard you wait in line at the stand to purchase a bag depending on the size of your group. For us that meant the $16 10 lb. bag} and headed into the actual orchard there were more than enough apples to go around. 

They even had nifty ladders {some medal, others wooden} leaning against some of the trees for reaching the higher treasures. 

Also felt it was an excellent opportunity to show off my manicure.  

The best apple picking partner a girl could ask for.

Isn't he just the cutest?!

The 200-acre farm grows 25 varieties of apples, however, not all 25 are available during all parts of the season. We tried to pick some of every kind available - MacIntosh, Cortland, Red Delicious, Empire, Spencer and Macoum. 

 The delicious, crisp Empire. 

What kind of apple pickers would we be if we didn't follow up our outting with some baking! Check our our homemade {from scratch} apple crisp. 

Add some Breyers vanilla ice cream. BAM. delicious. savory. sweet goodness.

 

Betty Crocker's Apple Crisp Recipe 

via

 

4 medium tart cooking apples sliced (4 cups)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

3/4 tsp. group cinnamon

3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

 

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375* F. Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with shortening.

 

2. Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients except cream until well missed; sprinkle over apples.

 

3. Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm with ice cream.

AND Monday, in honor of our day off we decided to continue the Fall festivities with some warm apple, cinnamon pancakes and pumpkin spice coffee.

Air Force Ball

This year the United States Air Force celebrated its 66th birthday! To commemorate this milestone, Hanscom Air Fore Base {where we currently call home} decided to throw a formal Anniversary Ball in the base's Aero Club Hanger.

 

Fancy dresses.

Spiffy uniforms.

Special presentations.

Catered dinner.

Cheesecake.

Dancing.

Sore feet.

good night.

 

 

 

My handsome date, Lt. Daniel Langston 

 

My beautiful neighbors!

 

During the night's presentations, as is tradition at Air Force functions, all those in attendance were asked to recite the Airman's Creed:

 

I AM AN AMERICAN AIRMAN.
I AM A WARRIOR.
I HAVE ANSWERED MY NATION'S CALL.

I AM AN AMERICAN AIRMAN.
MY MISSION IS TO FLY, FIGHT, AND WIN.
I AM FAITHFUL TO A PROUD HERITAGE,
A TRADITION OF HONOR,
AND A LEGACY OF VALOR.
I AM AN AMERICAN AIRMAN,
GUARDIAN OF FREEDOM AND JUSTICE,
MY NATION'S SWORD AND SHIELD,
ITS SENTRY AND AVENGER.
I DEFEND MY COUNTRY WITH MY LIFE.
I AM AN AMERICAN AIRMAN:
WINGMAN, LEADER, WARRIOR.
I WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AIRMAN BEHIND,
I WILL NEVER FALTER,
AND I WILL NOT FAIL

This creed serves as a powerful reminder of all the Air Force stands for and the commitment of the men and women who proudly wear its uniform. In moments such as these I could not be more proud to support my airman and all that he has committed to.



 

The Fenway ladies! 





 

HAPPY BITHRDAY to the world's greatest Air Force. AND thank you to all those past and present who have served and protected this great Nation. For the sacrifices of the service members and their loved ones. For the heritage left behind, and for the freedoms I enjoy every day as a result of the sacrifices you have made I thank you.



How Did We Do?

At the beginning of the summer I shared a list of "to dos" for our "summer bucket list" (here). I thought it was only fitting, now that fall has officially begun to share just how we did on checking the items off our list! I also thought it would be fun to share some of the highlights via pictures!

Go to a drive-in movie { check √ }

Have a Fourth of July cook-out { check √ }

Watch fireworks { check √ }

Go to the beach { check √ double √√}

Make s’mores over a fire pit { check √ }

Have a picnic ...sadly this did not happen, but there is nothing to say this could not carry over into the fall! We will just have an ever more beautiful backdrop AND an excuse to bring something along that is pumpkin flavored. ;)

Go for a hike{ check √ }

See the Old North Bridge { check √ }

Go to Walden Pond { check √ double √√}

Make homemade ice cream { check √ } ....well, we might not have been the ones to make the homemade ice cream BUT we were certainly the ones to eat it! THANK YOU Bedford Farms!

Go to a new park { check √ }

Try a new breakfast place { check √ }

"Wild Blueberry" in Ogunquit, Maine

 

Go berry picking ...we missed this one, but fully intend to make up for it by going apple picking in the very near future!

Visit a local farmer’s market { check √ }

Go to a Red Sox game at Fenway { check √ }

Take Chewy to the dog park { check √ }  ...pictured below, Chewy with his buddy Sam.  

Go to a concert ...never made it to one

Try a new restaurant { check √ } ...this picture was taken the second time we visited, but you get the idea. SO GOOD.

Go rock climbing { check √ } THANK YOU Groupon and the Boston Rock Gym.

Go camping ...never happened, but we're not giving up.

And there you have it. Our summer bucket list.

More Fall adventures to come!

Red Sox Game

In honor of Labor Day, Daniel and I decided to enjoy one of America's favorite pastimes... baseball. What better place than our new love, Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox.

Our view from right field.

 

Scoreboard

 



The Green Monster

 



They even let me sit next to the cutest fan in the stadium ;)

 



We took the sign's advice and took the T into Fenway. MUCH easier. No parking. No fighting traffic {on the way in or way out}. AND Daniel has become quite the expert navigator ... from the red line, to the green line and off at Park Street.



 

Taking advantage of already being in the city, we ventured over to an amazing, authentic BBQ restaurant. It was totally worth jumping off the juicing wagon for the weekend to eat at Sweet Cheeks. Introduced to us by some dear neighbors, it has quickly become a favorite spot for all things southern eatin'.

 "Sweet Cheeks is the American south north of the Mason Dixon." -Sweet Cheeks

These AMAZING, mouthwatering, homemade biscuits with a divine honey butter spread simply melt in your mouth.

 so good.

 

 

I believe I can confidently say there is nothing better to wash down this deliciousness with than ice-cold, homemade sweet tea, served in an adorable Mason jar.  

And for the pièce de résistance - BBQ ribs, slow roasted pulled pork, brisket, potato salad and mac n' cheese. PARTY in my mouth.

 

Choosing to Juice

Some may recall my post several months ago about the juice cleanse/reboot Daniel and I were doing based on the documentary, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" by Joe Cross {here}. WELL, we've decided to take some of what we learned through our ten day juice and apply it to our life day-to-day. What does that look like? For starters Daniel and I both knew that we didn't want to do another ten days of juice only SO we decided to continue to juice, but in addition we would start incorporating a normal sized, healthier dinner at the end of the day with a small non-juiced snack in the afternoon. Our hope is to continue to increase our fruit and vegetable intake and decrease our intake of carbs and processed foods. So far, so good.

The lovely machine that makes all of this juicing possible.

Previously, during our ten day reboot, a typical day's menu looked something like this:

Breakfast: two glasses of warm water & {orang} juice
Mid-Morning: coconut milk
Lunch: {green} juice
Snack: {green or red} juice
Dinner: {green} juice
Dessert (optional): {purple} juice
  *lot of water throughout the day

Now, our menu looks something like this:

Breakfast: two glasses of warm water & {orange} juice
Mid-Morning: black coffee with Splenda
Lunch: {green} juice
Snack: fruit, trail mix and/or nuts
Dinner: grilled chicken with a green leafy salad {we try to change up the type of chicken and salad for a little variety}
Snack (optional): fruit, nuts, yogurt, granola etc.
  *lot of water throughout the day

If you're curious, all of the recipes can be found by clicking here. All of the information, including the full length documentary can be found on Joe's website. Here are our two personal favorites - a typical breakfast and lunch any given day:

 

 

Carrot Apple Lemon {Orange}
4 carrots
2 green Apples
1 lemon

 

 

Green Lemonade {Green}
6-8 kale leaves
1 cucumber

3 handfuls of spinach

1 green apple

2 celery stalks

1 lemon

Pictured above is a salad from dinner a few nights ago - grilled Cajun chicken, mixed leafy greens, dried cranberries, fresh sliced Avocado, and crunchy tortilla strips.  Another one of our summer favorites has been spinach, fresh strawberries, blueberries, and mandarin oranges, with pecans and a lemon poppyseed dressing. {Recipe credit my awesome sister-in-law Janelle.}

 

Some quick observations about juicing:   1. Eating healthy is expensive {On the flip-side, we are saving a good bit of money from not eating out as frequently and not having daily trips to Starbucks/Dunkin Donuts}   2. We have to make more trips to the grocery store in a given week in an effort to keep all of the produce as fresh as possible   3. You NEED to drink a LOT of water.   4. Both Daniel and I have lost several lbs.   5. It's not as hard as you think   AND   6. I miss baking - my Kitchen Aid has been temporally replaced by my juicer.