Weekend outing: Windy Hill Orchard & Cidery

It appears the weekend has come to a close and another Monday is upon us. The weather in Charlotte perfectly reflects this. Guys. It has been the dreariest here. I kid not when I say that I haven't seen the sun in 5 days. I actually had a dream last night that the sun came out! It's like the weather Gods heard of my excitement about Fall and all said "we'll show her!".

But I digress...

Gloomy weekend weather called for a festive outing to 1) get me out of the house and 2) remember why I love Fall.

Torsten and I drove (through pouring rain) down to South Carolina to pay a visit to Windy Hill Orchard & Cidery!

It's only a ~45 minute drive from Charlotte and definitely worth a trip.

Hard cider flight (the Rusty Gold was my favorite!) and *hot out of the fryer* apple cider donuts. 

This is probably the most Autumnal photo we will ever take. 

Even on this rainy Saturday there was an intrepid crowd of cider + donuts seekers. There is usually live music on weekends but I think the rain was too much for the band. Alas.

Windy Hill also makes there own Apple and Pumpkin butters (I snagged some of the Pumpkin butter for my oatmeal, yogurt, sandwiches, etc. etc.), cider, pies, apples and more. 

There were also some hogs and hens to hang out with and feed because.... well... I don't know.

If you live around Charlotte you should definitely spend an afternoon at Windy Hill. There aren't any more apples to pick (the season in this neck of the woods seems to peak in early September) but the cider and donuts are more than worth the trek.

And now... if you're reading, Weather Gods -- PLEASE send some sunshine!

First Day of Fall!

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Good ole F. Scotty knew what he was talking about!

I'm sorry I've been a little quiet lately. I've been buried in Anatomy & Physiology (epithelial tissue, cellular respiration and bones oh my!), had my first Food Composition & Community Nutrition exams and some extra hours working at the olive oil shop.

Both of my Wednesday classes were miraculously cancelled today (I'm assuming to celebrate the first day of Fall, right?) so I'm lazing around and catching up on life things.

It's officially the first day of Fall and I couldn't be happier. It has been feeling crisp in the mornings here in Charlotte and there is pumpkin everything on grocery store shelves.

Judge me all you want, but I'm the girl beelining for the pumpkin greek yogurt, loading my cart up with pumpkin butter, and coveting my new plaid blanket scarf. And hey, pumpkin is a stellar source  of Vitamin A and Fiber. So the joke is on you!

I *may* have jumped the gun a little bit on Fall but now I can share my delight in the new season loud and proud.

Oh oh! This candle. So festive and not too sweet smelling. Bonus: Bath & Body Works had them on sale! Student budget...

This lil screen shot is from a few weekends ago, but this was the first morning I woke up to such a cool temperature. A squeal and victory dance definitely ensued.

This set-up appeared on the Student Help desk at Winthrop last week. The inspirational quote cracked. me. up. It makes it into this post because of the pumpkin and owl, obviously.

While this picture is no stunner, I promise this was one delicious and Fall-appropriate breakfast. 

The night before, combine:

1/4 cup oats

Scant 1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

2 T pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

Dashes of: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice

1 t honey

The morning of, top with:

Walnuts

Pumpkin butter (never too much pumpkin)

Chia seeds 

Hemp seeds

Fun fact: we learned in Food Composition that this recipe format is called "Action Style." Most recipes are "Traditional Recipe Style" (aptly named) but there are also "Narrative Style" recipes in which everything is written in a paragraph, and ingredients are interspersed in the directions (I find these ridiculous and would always forget ingredients on my shopping list) and "Descriptive Style" which involve 3 different columns - ingredient, quantity, and procedure. Anecdote over.

Last but not least, another Bath & Body works find. This soap smells so cozy and makes me smile every time I wash my hands. Yes, it really is that easy to make me happy. Fall, I tell ya!

Spill! What are you most looking forward to this season? I'm on the hunt for some Apple Cider Donuts this weekend...