Autumn in the Apple Orchard

This morning started earlier than usual for me.  I couldn't sleep, but only because I had this energy that made me want to get up and be out in the world instead of lying in bed.  So, I decided to take a stroll through the orchard and do a little apple picking this morning.

I've been looking forward to apple picking for quite some time and actually bought this red gingham dress from ChicWish specifically with my time at the orchard in mind and I'm glad I did.  

I like to be comfortable when I am here, but no matter where I am, I like to be fashionable too and this dress does both.  

I think I may have to do this every week while the apples last.  The trees are so full of ripe, juicy apples, that the branches are weighed down to the ground and the ground is covered in windfall apples.  

I always leave some for the birds and the deer and the raccoons, but I don't like for things to go to waste so the windfalls will become applesauce while the crunchy apples from the tree will be sliced up for lunches and after-school snacks or put into tarts and pies.  With the abundance there will also be plenty of apples to dry.  

My daughters and I love to snack on dried apple slices all through the winter...not that they ever make it through the whole winter, but we snack on them daily with home roasted and salted pecans.

Every now and then I get a little adventurous and try to re-hydrate them into an apple sauce, but I don't quite have a knack for that.  

Shopping Info:  Aulic Chic Gingham Midi Dress in Red from ChicWish, COZY UP OPEN-FRONT CABLE KNIT CARDIGAN from Blooming Jelly, Chase and Chloe Heels

That Jane Austen Life

I see this #thatjaneaustenlife flying around Instagram a lot.  I wonder if most of us know what it means.  I've read most of Ms. Austen's books and loved them all and in some way related to each of her heroines, but to put a #label on what it all means--I'm not sure I could do that.  Maybe it's just that dreamy romantically simple life where flowers are always in bloom and everything works out in the end?  I hope so.

Shopping Info: Top from: SHEIN, Classic Simplicity Skirt from Chicwish

the wild rose 

by wendell berry

Sometimes hidden from me

in daily custom and in trust,

so that I live by you unaware

as by the beating of my heart,

Suddenly you flare in my sight,

a wild rose looming at the edge

of thicket, grace and light

where yesterday was only shade,

and once again I am blessed, choosing

again what I chose before.

Shopping Info:  Get It Hot Eyelet Embroidered Organza Cami Dress $69 from: ChicWish

Forest Bathing

Taking time away from the stressfulness of life to find quiet in the wild sounds rather common sense, and yet the concept of "forest bathing" seems to be a novel trend sweeping cities around the globe.  So, what exactly is forest bathing?  Here's what forest bathing isn't:  driving to a park with a friend, hop onto one of the hiking trails carrying a speaker blaring your music which the two of you then have to shout over to carry on a meaningless conversation pausing only to vape.  Without cracking a single book or reading a single article I can quite simply define Forest Bathing for you:  Turn your distractions off and simply be...but, in the forest.  Find a natural setting and then turn your phone off, music, and 9-5 mind.  Soak in the sounds, the sunshine, the stillness.  Appreciate the fierce beauty of it all. 

 Shopping Info: Top and Skirt from Shein

Have Cake Pops, Will Travel

I've gotten a lot of great outfits from this Traveling Cake Pop Dress and if you'd like to see more pics the links are here, here and here, but here's a quick overview:

The thing about a great dress is that is should work in lots of outfits and for lots of different occasions.  This is one of those dresses!  It has the classic style that works at casual events as well as dressier occasions, and it has a wonderful color palette that naturally lends itself to many combinations. So, after nearly three years, this dress is still going strong.

Shopping Info:  Traveling Cake Pop Dress and Heels from ModCloth, Forever 21 Sweater from Poshmark