at the apple orchard

my favorite way to welcome fall is with apple picking. needless to say, yesterday was my favorite day.

scofield and i went up to the north carolina mountains to meet our small group for apple picking -- along with the whole rest of the state. it is always so crowded! but, of course, we were running way behind and most of our friends were done picking by the time we got there. so we said our hellos, gave some hugs, and then headed out ourselves.

       ^do you see scofield? between this and his white water rafting trip this weekend, he keeps me on edge. "be careful!" gosh, i           can't imagine how uptight i'll be when we have kids...

and what is a trip to the apple orchard without the world's best apple cider donuts!? well, they're the only apple cider donuts i've ever had. but they are so good...the best out there, i imagine. and we did not eat all 6..we shared. [although we totally could have!]

you can see our adventures from last year's apple picking *here*

i hope you're enjoying this fresh fall weather wherever you are!

a fall to-do list

via

fall is by far my favorite season. between the crisp air, the pumpkin flavored treats, and the snuggling, it makes me feel most alive. days are full of inspiration and a yearning for adventure. so, as always, i put together a little fall to-do list this year. which isn't really a surprise, considering i'm completely OCD about list making.

1. spend a day "fall cleaning." i'm not the best at keeping up with those lengthy chores--you know, cleaning out the closet, wiping down the fridge, dusting the mantle. so i think some deep cleaning is due and will certainly add to the freshness of the season.

2. go apple picking in the mountains

3. bake apple chips...and pumpkin donuts...and pumpkin french toast...and pumpkin pancakes...

4. have breakfast in bed

5. drive the blue ridge parkway to enjoy the changing colors in the mountains

6. visit the food truck in town...i hear they have amazing pumpkin cinnamon rolls..

7. run the thanksgiving day turkey trot

8. drink a pumpkin spice latte

you can see my fall list from last year *here.* what's on your list!?

happy fall friends!

because ice cream makes everything better...

tuesday was just one of those days. not only does nothing really seem to be going right, but every little thing that goes wrong is magnified. with just the tiniest bit of miscommunication, you'd think one of my tear ducts exploded. blame it on the hormones and sleep deprivation...

so what are we to do? get ice cream for dinner, of course. [and i promise it tasted better than it looks in the picture] i'm a sucker for birthday cake ice cream, so it's always my go to flavor. paired with my second favorite--cookies and cream. then topped with a ridiculous amount of goodies from the toppings bar--just like we like it. 

a bad day gone good...

on marriage | 01

after a year of marriage, i think its safe to say that i have a better understanding of the statement "'til death do us part"...it's because it takes a lifetime to get this whole wife thing down. i went into marriage thinking that i should be able to be the perfect wife. dinner on the table every night at 6:30, the kitchen always clean, the laundry always folded. i even bought aprons, because of course i was going to look adorable every time i cooked...

in reality, we never eat dinner until 930, i never clean up from dinner until the next day [so much for a clean kitchen], and i've maybe worn my aprons twice.

i feel like so many of us come into marriage with unreal expectations, then we're surprised and hard on ourselves when we find we struggle to fill this role of wife. but of course it's hard...all of a sudden you have responsibilities, bills, taxes, furniture to buy, maybe a baby to feed, all mixed in with your once so simple love.

when scofield and i had our first big fight, i found myself locked in the bathroom, curled up in fetal position on the floor, sobbing "what is wrong with us!?..." [mind you, it was a 300 sq. ft. studio apartment..where else was i to go?...towards my husband would have been a good start] "...nothing," he said. Yes...he was right..nothing! in marriage, there's going to be conflict. In fact, conflict is simply a sign of close proximity. not only you, but your spouse faces your selfishness head on. and that's never a pretty sight. marriage is work. two different people are coming together as one. maybe different ideas, different plans...so sometimes this coming together can result in a collision. so what do you do? you get back up [in my case, get out of the bathroom], brush it off, and try that whole conversation over again...this time softer, gentler, and with more grace for your spouse and for yourself.

from the oh so wonderful movie, the wedding date, "i would rather fight with you than make love with anybody else."

lately.

      to see more, you can follow me along on instagram here.

baked brie with apricot jam and figs

a while back, i found a recipe for baked brie on pinterest. scofield and i are both huge fans of brie, so i knew we had to try it. since then, it's been a staple appetizer when having friends or family over. we also love to make it for date nights at home with a glass of wine. there's just something so romantic about cheese and wine. we put our own spin on it by adding some apricot jam and figs. it is so good that you just might decide to skip dinner all together...

    ^super fancy, yet so easy. you're sure to impress your guests..

    ^and when you can't stop eating it, don't say i didn't warn you...

baked brie with apricot jam and figs

ingredients:

• apricot preserves
• can of crescent rolls
• circular block of brie cheese
• fresh figs, rinsed and chopped
• crackers
• fruit (grapes, sliced apples, pears...)

roll out the crescent bread into one large, square piece. make sure that it stays together, and does not come apart into the individual rolls. unwrap the brie and place it in the center of the dough. pour the apricot preserves over the brie, completely covering the top and sides. fold the dough over the cheese and jam, cutting off any excess dough, and pinching it together on top so that the brie is covered completely. top with the chopped figs, pressing them slightly down into the dough so that they cook into it. place the brie concoction on a prepared cookie sheet (sprayed with cooking spray) and follow the directions on the box for cooking the crescent roll (this is usually 350 F for 15-20 minutes).

remove from heat, transfer to a plate, and serve immediately with crackers or fruit.

and for all you pinterest lovers, you can follow me here

around town || coffee to a tea

on saturday, we woke up to what felt like the perfect fall day. i sensed it when i got out of bed. i just knew it was cool out there, as i looked out my window. so i threw on my sweatshirt, we brewed some coffee, and stepped outdoors...sixty.five.degrees. with the beautiful weather, we decided to try out a new coffee shop downtown [well, new for us] that had the most delightful little courtyard and outdoor seating. not to mention, they have an array of gluten free bread options and dessert goodies. 

     ^seriously the best sandwich. vegetarian sausage and cheddar omelette on portobello mushroom and rosemary gluten         free bread. it's a mouthful to say, and it sure was a mouthful of flavor. yum!

   ^and i know the orange is just a garnish, but i always eat them. am i alone in this, or does anyone else do that??

we love finding new treasures in our town. we will definitely be back here again.

a sunday.

in our book, sundays are for relaxing and time together. it's one of my favorite days to cook and bake in the kitchen. then we like to snuggle up on the couch and nap or read. as you can see, i'm still working my way through bonhoeffer. one day i will finish it.. one day.
i have a goal this month to take a true sabbath..that is, a full day of rest. maybe by having a day without busying myself with house chores, i can make some progress in my reading. we'll see...

hope you're rested and that your week is off to a great start!

a few shop additions...it's been a while, eh?

i haven't been able to update my shop in quite sometime, but i finally had a chance to add some new items. planning a wedding? we've got some handmade boutonnieres for the groomsmen and vintage books for decor. 

to see more, click the link on the side bar "shop lola vintage." or visit at: lovelolavintage.etsy.com

hope your week is going well! 

spinach pesto + gouda grilled cheese

i feel like the first year of our marriage can be marked by grilled cheese sandwiches. i was trying to figure out how to navigate working, being a wife, taking care of our home, and getting dinner on the table. a grilled cheese was always the easiest thing, and scofield certainly didn't have a problem with it. even before we were dating, a grilled cheese was always the way to my man's heart. scofield would come to my house to hang out, and we would just sit in the kitchen while i made him a sandwich. at that time, i never would have guessed i'd be doing the same thing three years later, but as his wife. it's funny how things like that work out...and i'm SO glad that they do.

spinach pesto + gouda grilled cheese

serves 2

ingerdients:

• 1/2 cup spinach pesto (find recipe here)
• 4 slices whole wheat bread
• 1/2 cup chopped grape tomatoes
• 2 slices gouda cheese
• 2 tbsp. butter

heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. while it's warming, butter one side of each piece of bread. for each sandwich, layer 1/4 cup spinach pesto and 1/4 cup chopped grape tomatoes. place the layered bread on the skillet. top the grape tomatoes with the slice of gouda cheese, then close the sandwich with the second piece of bread (buttered side facing out). let cook about 5 minutes before carefully flipping over. the sandwich is ready when the cheese is melted and the bread is browned. repeat for the other sandwich...

enjoy with your honey...it will do wonders for your relationship.

celebrating the end-of-the-week with an end-of-the-summer picnic

there's nothing nicer than laying in the grass, feeling the sun warm your skin, while at the same time a breeze to cool you down. the perfect equilibrium, and one of my favorite ways to relax ---->> that does not describe this picnic! with all this rain we've had in the carolinas lately, the grass was quite wet. we'd only taken a few bites of our lunch before the water had soaked through our blanket, our pants, and onto our skin. so we moved it over to a bench. but... it was still a lovely afternoon.

for our picnic, we decided to try out a restaurant downtown we had yet to visit--sassafras. [we have a goal to try something new every time we go out to eat.] so we grabbed some wraps and coupled it with fresh fruit. for a drink, i chose deer park® brand nature’s blends™ fruit flavored beverages, going with the lemon-mint flavor. the flavors were delicious together, and it was perfect on such a warm and humid afternoon. lemon-mint.. doesn't it just sound refreshing!?

hope you guys have had a great week! how do you plan on celebrating the weekend? share your story on deer park®'s facebook page and read how other people are celebrating too!

*this post is sponsored by deer park® brand nature’s blends™ fruit flavored beverages, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

falafel.

if there's one thing you should know about me it's that i am hopelessly in love with falafel.

my love relationship with falafel started on a rainy summer night when we were house sitting. we didn't come prepared with food of our own, so around 8 o'clock (late dining) we slapped on our rain boots and headed to the grocery store. we were planning to get just enough for dinner--preferably in the frozen foods section, due to the hour. i scooted my way over to the frozen vegetarian shelves...veggie burgers, pizza, frozen dinners...boring. and then (cue the angelic chorus) i saw it... falafel. "hmm," i thought, "i've never tried this before." so i bought it, tried it, and ate the entire box.

sadly, i wasn't able to find falafel in the grocery store again. so, i researched falafel online and started making my own recipe.

finally, over a year later at another store, i found the exact falafel product i had met on that rainy night. so i bought it, took it home, and unwrapped it like it was christmas morning... and then...

 ...i was disappointed

what i had been making at home was so much better than the processed, boxed version in the frozen foods section. aren't most things?

and so all that to say...here's to homemade falafel, the best there is out there...

homemade baked falafel

ingredients:

• 1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups chopped cauliflower (preferably chopped with a food processor)
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp. dried parsley
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 egg
• 2 cloves garlic
• juice from one lemon
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 cup gluten-free all purpose flour

preheat oven to 400 F. clean, chop and place the cauliflower in a food processor. process until you get a rice consistency. transfer to a bowl. next, place the garbanzo beans in the food processor and process until smooth. add the onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, salt, pepper, egg, lemon, garlic powder, and onion powder to the food processor (all the ingredients but the flour). process until well mixed. transfer the mixture to the bowl with the cauliflower and mix fully together with a spoon. next, add the flour to give it a thicker consistency. if you like your dough thicker, you can add more flour.

i used gluten free, but you can certainly use whole wheat flour or even breadcrumbs.

using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough out into balls and transfer to a prepared cookie sheet. bake in the oven for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. remove, let cool, and serve over vegetables or with tahini sauce (available at trader joe's / whole foods). 

hope you enjoy these guys as much as i do!

labor day

it's hard to believe that yesterday was only the second time we've been on the lake all summer. time can really get away from you if you let it. but..labor day on the lake filled us enough to make up for all the time we missed. we met up with some friends from church for boating, tubing, swimming, paddle boarding, and wake boarding. and of course even the kids were braver than me on the tube :/ ... i'm not too adventurous when it comes to high speeds behind a boat in open water. but scofield, on the other hand, tried wake boarding for the first time and got up! whoohoo, go husband! then there was gracie [the dog]. i'm pretty sure she outplayed us all. she loved the water and even jumped in and swam after the boat on one occasion.

 it was a good day...filled with good people and good food.

how did you celebrate labor day!?