this weekend was wonderful! a mix of so many good things. we celebrated my brother-in-law’s birthday (happy birthday, david!) & my dearest best friend visited the farm. 

we have been friends since junior high. we remember each other’s awkward teenage stages (honestly, tori has never had one. she’s always been beautiful). we’ve made so many memories in her childhood home & i dearly love her family like my own. we’ve shared our deepest secrets with one another. she was my maid of honor. 

we’ve also had our really hard moments. those moments that have stretched us as individuals & ultimately brought us closer. longer friendships are like that. the good always far surpasses the hard. i’ve got a deep love for that best friend of mine.

time spent with a friend that just gets you fills you up. we rested, we did a bit of yoga, we walked around the farmers’ market & we enjoyed bagels together at the local bakery. 

we harvested basil & made pesto together in the kitchen over good conversation. we shared in our passions for photography along the dirt roads leading to the farm. we talked about our loves & babies & life. all the good stuff in one wonderful afternoon.

wishing you all the good stuff this beautiful monday. 

love,

natalie

it’s that wonderful time of year again! apple season! autumn is almost among us & luke is bringing home big brown bags full of apples from the farm. there are so many different varieties & we are thankful to have such a beautiful bounty that’s organic, too. 

we are gifting big baskets brimming with colorful apples to friends & family. my dear friend, katy, just recently sent me a set of the sweet cards above & they are absolutely perfect for this time of year. check out her etsy shop to purchase a handful for your autumn gifts.

because we are swimming in apples & we don’t have a lot of extra time right now to preserve, can, dry or bake, i came up with a delicious way to preserve those extra apples you harvest from the orchard or purchase from the farmers’ market! crock pot applesauce is simple, easy, healthy & produces the most amazing autumn scent in your home. 

this recipe also incorporates the apple skins so you don’t have to worry about peeling! i would only recommend using the skins on organic apples. if you’re using non-organic apples, go ahead & peel to reduce pesticide residue in your applesauce. 

autumn is slowly creeping into our kitchen, but i am holding tight to the end of summer. happenings in our late summer kitchen…

– i spent an early morning this week chopping up the (almost) last of our bell peppers. i like to freeze the extras for the winter months. you can’t beat fajitas & stir fry late in the year with summer’s bell peppers.

– we gathered our first americauna egg from the coop this week. packaging up eggs this week for our dear customer (soon to be more in the spring!) was so exciting & colorful! thank you, penny, for the sweet green egg!

– we are still knee deep in blackberries & raspberries from the farm so i am freezing them by the gallons & placing them in the deep freezer for those late winter smoothies we enjoy so much.

– i hope to get out into the garden this weekend to harvest basil for pesto making & the last of our tomatoes for spaghetti sauce.

– our collection of succulents in coffee tins is growing thanks to sweet friends & housewarming gifts. 

– i made this delicious turkey chili in the crock pot this week. it was perfect for dinner paired with tortilla chips. 

– luke is bringing home brown bags full of apples from the farm. i am gifting baskets full of apples to friends & filling jars with warm cinnamon applesauce. yum!

– we will be enjoying fried rice & sweet potatoes this week along with pizza night on saturday! 

it’s a happening place in the kitchen this week. 

what are you doing in your kitchen these days?

love,

natalie