I Voted - Early

Oh man - seriously, how is it already Monday again? I feel like I blinked and the weekend was over! That has been a theme these last few weekends and this one was no exception. I actually got off work early on Friday and ended up on the walking mall in downtown exploring some stores and having dinner at the English pub called Union Jack's... I even had a Pimm's Cup to celebrate being UK-bound in less than nine days (that's the countdown as of today). 

After dinner I popped into a store I'd wanted to go into for a while: Runner's Retreat! This store caters to runners (obviously) and they'll watch the way you walk/jog and then advise you on the best shoes to wear while you exercise. Since I'm down just over 50 pounds now, I wanted to see about getting the right shoes to potentially start jogging as part of my work out(s). I did just that and I now have a shiny new pair of Brooks that are waiting to be broken in! 

Saturday started a little bit dreary with some light rain but happily the rain passed shortly after breakfast and so we set out to run some errands - starting with a stop to vote in person early! I also popped into the Hallmark with my Mom for a quick look and ended up leaving with a "Baby Yoda" ornament to add to my collection - I just couldn't resist that little Yoda face, ha-ha!

 

After lunch and a stop at home to change clothes, it was off to the Virginia State Arboretum because the leaves in the Gingko Grove finally turned their wonderful golden yellow and it's a sight not to be missed. I swear; to me at least, it's almost like some kind of wonderland of gold and I love taking it in every year. Watson could really care less about the leaves but he does love hopping around in nature... and always gets a wee bit annoyed when I pull him aside for a picture.

The weather started to cool off pretty considerably as the evening arrived - I ended up sitting on the back deck reading for awhile all bundled up before heating up some White Chicken Chili for dinner. We also did a little bake off with some of the apples we'd picked last weekend: one pie was made from dough with a latticed top while the other was made with crescent rolls and a closed top; I ended up eating a small slice of both while watching Crimson Peak - tis the season for all things creepy and it is one of my favorite creepy movies!

Sunday morning was dreary and sad - rain and much cooler temperatures! After church, lunch at Glory Days and a pop into Martin's to get a few items for the week, it was home to pass the afternoon! We ended up (finally) watching the Nationals World Series documentary called Improbable and then I actually dug out my two Christmas trees, checked the lights on them and ended up rearranging the living room so that my tree would have the perfect spot. 

Since I'll be in the UK for most of early to mid November, I plan to fully decorate for Christmas before I come back. I'll return the Sunday before Thanksgiving and with readjusting to the time zone, work and Thanksgiving all in one week - I want to have everything decorated so I can just enjoy! I rounded out the week with dinner, a nice bubble bath and watching an episode of The Great British Baking Show with Watson before calling the weekend done!

Five on Friday

Oh Friday - you arrived much quicker than last week, thank goodness! Last week seemed long and this week has seemed to sort of blaze by, ha-ha! There are ten more weeks in this crazy year...just TEN. So here's to making the best of those last ten weeks!

One. Epic Artwork - I stumbled on this glorious piece of art earlier this week and I am in love! It's from Etsy and the artist behind it is TheBattersBoxDesigns and since this picture is a wee bit small, I'll just let you know that the World Series trophy is made up of Charlie Slowes (the Nationals radio announcer) last out call of the World Series.

I think I'll hear this call in my head forever - it's such a moment in time that all Nationals fan will always hold close. I've already shared this delightful print with my family with a wink and a nudge that it would make a great Christmas gift! Ha-ha! :)

Two. The Countdown is On - I know I've already made note of this, but I'm going to the UK in November and I'm all about counting down to exciting things... and this is definitely an exciting thing! I'm UK bound in just twelve days and I cannot wait.

To further stoke my excitement, I discovered a mug at Home Goods on Wednesday that had all the great spots of London on it... and it was a whopping $2.99, so I couldn't refuse it. So I'll be here, sipping my coffee (not tea - sorry guys) and counting down the days!

Three. Some Beach - I discovered a slice of the beach in the middle of Northern Virginia and what a delight that is! MacDowell's Brew Kitchen is in Leesburg and the entire restaurant is outdoors, with a sand floor that makes it feel like you've been deposited seaside somewhere...

The weather this week in Northern Virginia has been unseasonably warm - the Indian Summer is definitely at play this week - so sitting at a wooden bar top, running my toes through the sand and eating Crab & Corn chowder was weirdly perfect for late October!

Four. Autumn Views - The drive to Leesburg on Thursday evening was absolutely stunning and I managed to snap one picture as I cruised along. Honestly, I don't think the picture does it justice - but then again, it was taken from the front seat of a moving car - how could it?

The color is really starting to explode all over the place here and while I initially thought the colors wouldn't be too bright, there are spots where the color is absolutely vibrant and I'm going to need to go in search of more of it!

Five. Weekend Things - I'm not 100% sure what I'll get up to this weekend but since I referenced the Fall colors that are suddenly bursting onto the scene above, I'll probably try to make sure I spend time outside this weekend taking it all in! Here's hoping that I'll have some lovely pictures to share on Monday! 

**********************************************

Y'all have a wonderful weekend and make the best of it - only ten more weekends left in this year to enjoy and make memories!

Watson Wednesday

 

It's a picture filled edition of Watson Wednesday because I took so many picture of him over the last weekend that I just couldn't resist sharing more than one! He wore his "new" bomber jacket to the VA State Arboretum on Saturday and the number of compliments he got was astounding - it's a miracle he got back into the car with such an ego, ha-ha! I must admit he looked pretty handsome! 

He went along on some time-tested Autumn activities last weekend - he went leaf peeping and "helped" pick apples. I even tried to get him interested in some gorgeous yellow and red leaves that I found in the backyard... and he actually bit the end off the yellow leaf. He's weird, what can I say?

Much like me, he was sad to see the weekend come to a close but he knows there is another weekend on the horizon and he's sure there will be more exciting things to do when it arrives. Until then, he'll be napping on the couch!

Apple Fritter Bread

Apple Fritter Bread - 100% a Pinterest win! My Mom posted snapshots of this on Facebook on Sunday afternoon and the clamor for the recipe was pretty crazy! I must confess that this bread turned out light and full of flavor - it is definitely delicious and perfect for Fall!

What You Need

- Brown Sugar Cinnamon Mixture

•  1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

- Bread Loaf

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs @ room temp
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk or almond milk @ room temp

- Chopped Apple Mixture

• 2 large apples of any kind; peeled & chopped small but not fine. Toss the applies with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

- Old Fashioned Cream Glaze

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 - 3 tablespoons of milk or cream, depending on the thickness of glaze wanted.

What You Do

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a 9x5 inch loaf pan and spray with non-stick spray or line with foil & spray with non-stick spray to get bread out of pan easily.
• Mix 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon together in a bowl. Set aside.
• Combine & whisk 1 and 1/2 cups flour and 1 and 3/4 teaspoons baking powder together in another bowl & set aside.
• In another medium-sized bowl, beat 2/3 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup softened butter together using an electric mixer until smooth & creamy.
• Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time until blended in; add in 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract & mix in.
• Add the flour mixture into the creamed butter mixture and mix until blended.
• Mix 1/2 cup milk into batter & keep mixing until smooth.
• Pour half the batter into the prepared loaf pan; add half the chopped apple mixture with sugar & cinnamon added in. 
• Sprinkle 1/2 of the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture you set aside earlier on top of apple layer.
• Pour the remaining batter over the apple layer and top with remaining chopped apples, then the remaining brown sugar/cinnamon mixture.
• Lightly pat the apples into the batter; swirl brown sugar mixture through apples using a knife.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean; about 60 minutes.
• To make the glad, mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar & 1 to 3 tablespoons milk or cream together until well mixed.
• Let the loaf rest until cooled before removing from pan. Drizzle with glaze. 

This recipe makes just one loaf but it's quite a substantial loaf and because of that, I'd note that we actually cooked our loaf about 70 minutes. When I checked it after 60 minutes it wasn't quite done in the center, so it went for an additional 10 minutes. You could also add in nuts if that's something you enjoy... another comment on the recipe suggested chocolate chips but I can't say I see cinnamon apple and chocolate chips as two things I'd combine.

While there are a few steps, all in all this recipe is quite easy and the result is well worth the time spent whipping it up! Enjoy!

Monday Mentions

 

Well. I 100% started this post on Friday but when I tell you that work was absolutely hectic, please believe me. I stayed after 5:00 for the first time in 5+ years (on a Friday that is). Since I never got to Five on Friday, I decided to share not just my weekend snaps but some other things I think deserve a mention!

I'm playing catch up over here - but I've definitely got tons of pictures to share, ha-ha!

One. Autumnal Pursuits - The weather on Saturday was; in my humble opinion, the most perfect Autumn weather and I had to take advantage of it. The Gingko Grove at the VA State Arboretum will be turning golden any time now and so I loaded up my pup and drove over to check it out on Saturday morning. 

 

The trees weren't quite there yet but I'm betting by next weekend, that entire grove will be a golden yellow vision. So, I'll be returning next weekend at some point (the weather this upcoming weekend is also forecast to be excellent) to peep the leaves again!

Watson wore a little bomber jacket that a friend passed on to us recently and the amount of compliments he received was incredible! Every person we passed had something to say about how handsome he was/how stylish he was/how amazing he looked... ha-ha! I don't know how I fit him back into the car when we were done with such an inflated ego! 

Two. Apple Picking with the Pup - Sunday was another perfect day and so I decided it was a great idea to get outside and take advantage again! My parents, my pup and I went to Marker Miller Farm Orchard to pick apples and of course - so many pictures were taken!

There were people everywhere but because Marker Miller is so large, there was plenty of room for everyone to spread out, explore and pick apples. There were three varieties currently ready for picking: Rome, York and Fuji and we selected about 6-8 of each type, until our bag was filled to the brim!

Watson loved sniffing every branch, bramble and apple that had already fallen off the tree and as soon as we were back in the car, he was falling fast asleep! Once we got home I discovered another way he's quite like me: he likes apples cooked in things, not just plain apples... he had 0 interest in tasting an apple but he would have liked a whole slice of Apple Fritter Bread!

Three. The 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time - So, I stumbled on this late last week and was absolutely fascinated with scouring the list to see what books were chosen! The link for the story is included in this post and the panel of writers that chose the books included two of my favorite authors: George R.R. Martin and Diana Gabaldon! 

A few of the books on the list that I've read: A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis... just to name a few. The list spans hundreds of years and oodles of authors; there are also books from the Harry Potter series, the Golden Compass series and more. The list itself is incredibly interesting to peruse and might offer reading suggestions! Check it out!

Four. October Splurge - I haven't posted about my side hustle in ages but I am once again because just a few days ago the October Splurge dropped and I love it because it's all things lips! There are three new lip balms in awesome Autumn scents and a lip scrub to go along with the balms - perfect for cooler weather that normally wrecks havoc on lips!

The lip scrub is a yummy Pomegranate & Blueberry scent called Pom & Get It and the three lip balms come in the flavors of Pom & Get It, You're So Sappy (Vanilla & Maple) and On the Bright Cider (Apple Cider). You can peruse these awesome items and more at http://NatalieSummerlin.po.sh

*******************************************

That's all I've got this Monday morning - catch up complete! I'll pop back on tomorrow and share the recipe for Apple Fritter Bread and then; of course, I'll be back with some snaps of Watson for Watson Wednesday! I hope everyone has a great week!