Apple picking

Yesterday the fam and I took a little day trip over the mountain to Hood River and the cute surrounding towns. It's so beautiful over there! Plus we had an absolutely gorgeous day. Clear skies, orchards everywhere you look, and Mt. Hood towering seemingly right next to us.

We visited two orchards, Kiyokawa Family Orchards, and Draper Girls Country Farm. At Kiyokawa they greeted us as we walked into the huge green barn, filled with countless varieties of apples and pears, pumpkins and other produce. Plus a cooler with fresh apple cider, and shelves of jams, spreads and preserves. We told them we were first-time apple pickers, and were given a map of the property and recommendations as to which apples to pick. We were also told to taste any apples we wanted! We loaded Ty in a red wagon and pushed Beckham in the stroller, and set out for the fields. But first we had to stop at the cute kids play area so the boys could ride the John Deere tricycles and climb in the fort.

 Once out in the orchards, we were in awe at the different varieties and the fact that we could just pluck an apple right off the tree and take a bite. We fell in love with several-- Empire, Gala, Jonagold, and especially Honeycrisp. Ty sat in the wagon finishing off each taster apple. We picked maybe 15 pounds total, and I have big plans to try my hand at homemade apple butter. We also brought home some mini white pumpkins to decorate my table, some green beans, a jar of pumpkin butter (oh, yum), and a bottle of apple cider. Loved this place! Can't wait to go back again!

At Draper Girls we had fun browsing the antiques scattered around and throughout the barn, petting the goats, and swinging on the huge swing out back. They also have a vacation rental home on the property! What a cool place that would be to stay. 

The boys had so much fun. So did hubby and I. 

I'll post once I figure out how to make this apple butter, one of my favorite things!

Picnic bag and sandwich wraps

I've seen these reusable sandwich wraps on etsy before and always wanted some-- what a great way to save on foil or baggie use! So I recently decided it would be pretty easy to make my own. I looked at a bunch of different ones and experimented with shapes a bit...

This one is just a rounded rectangle.

And this one has angled corners. They both work equally well... I think the angled corners look more finished, but the rounded ones were way easier to do!

So the outside is just lightweight cotton fabric, and the lining is waterproof laminate fabric. That way you can just wipe it clean to use again, or if it gets really messy you can throw the whole thing in the washer and dryer. 

Plus they are so cute! They just wrap right up and secure with an elastic loop and decorative button.

I am loving these! We recently went on a long weekend trip, just us four, and made tons of little picnics. I used these over and over the whole time-- not a single baggie wasted! I can't wait to make a bunch more, they are so easy!

And in preparation for the above mentioned trip, I decided to make a nice big insulated picnic bag for us to pack food and snacks. We did lots of bike rides and walks and hanging by the pool, so this came in so handy! And again, super cute!

It's basically just a large, drawstring top purse...

But lined with the same waterproof fabric, and with a hidden layer of insulated batting.

I also added a couple straps to tie a bottle of wine water.

 

Isn't this little embellishment cute? So easy to make with a fun little tool thing I got at the craft store. :)

Fun projects! I'm also working on perfecting some reusable snack baggies, but they have a ways to go. I'll post 'em when I'm finished!