$22 of apples + little A = yummy danishes!

So the great thing about picking apples at the apple orchard is that we now have $22 worth of apples to bake with! Yay! I plan on baking a classic apple pie later this week. But I first wanted to try something new & yummy! I was super excited to try this recipe. It did not disappoint! I love this recipe. I wanted to make something special for Nate. He loves apple pie, and danishes, and cheesecake - so I figured this would be a treat (the deliciousness of sweet cinnamon-sugary apples, sweet cream cheese, and a flaky powder-sugar-topped danish!). I have a feeling this recipe will be a Cartwright favorite for a long time! You will love this! It would be delicious for a Sunday brunch or a sweet autumn snack. I made a couple changes to the recipe: I used Haralson apples. I didn't use ricotta cheese or lemon zest. Also, I made mine into mini little 'cake-like' danishes instead of doing one large danish. It's messy when you make the danishes (and when you bake them!), but it's nice to have individual cakes. I think next time I'll try just making one large danish & slicing it. I actually made the first batch last night & had tons of the apple mix left over (and it was way too yummy to waste!), so I made another round this afternoon. This recipe makes a ton! Oh, and my secret to making an excellent, delicious batch of apple-cheese danishes is to find a darling little kitchen helper to help you bake! Nothing better!

apple orchard

Today started out like any normal Monday morning. I had a list of things 'to-do' & was getting started on my day when I decided we needed to take a trip to the apple orchard. I found an orchard online & we headed out for an afternoon at the apple orchard! It was one of my favorite days with the girls. Such a beautiful autumn day (chilly & sunny!) and the girls were so sweet. Adelie was loving picking the apples. She was so cute. She tried out an apple (or two!) & picked a bag full of delicious Haralson apples for us. We now have 25 apples on our counter, ready to be baked into some delicious treats! I'm so happy I took the girls there today. I will always remember this afternoon. Such a sweet day with my favorite little ladies!

a girl and her...goat friends??

I realize that this is a little goat-overload...but it was just so cute that I can't hold back the photos! Adelie LOVES the goats! I'm not sure where this stems from (I am terrified of goats!). She has no fear. I wanted to see how she would react to the goats, so I didn't say anything or direct her in any way. I simply said, "Adelie...Look! 2 goats!" and she was loving it. They were wandering free in the playground area of the apple orchard. They had collars on...and they were very nicely groomed. So I wasn't very concerned about these goats. They were friendly little guys. She was so sweet with them. She'd follow them around & laugh at them. Then she found a corn cob that someone must have been feeding the goats with - and she picked it up & started feeding the goats. Hilarious. My favorite part of the goat-playtime was that she was giving them HUGS!!!! (look closely at the last picture - I'm glad I captured it on film!) She gave the goats lots & lots of hugs. So sweet. She loves to hug, but I've never seen her hug an animal! I was a little worried that they were going to nip at her - luckily we were fine. She hugged them goodbye & we left without any problem....until....

We had walked about halfway through the orchard (a good distance away from the goats). We were on our way out and all of a sudden we heard the 2 goats coming up behind us (rapidly!!!) making this awful 'bah-bah-bah-bah' noise & coming up quickly behind us. They were chasing us out!!! It was like something set them off & all of a sudden ALL the goats in the orchard were making the same noise!!!! The 2 goats following us were harmless; they just followed us with a quick-step all the way to the entrance of the orchard (where one of the workers started laughing at us & said "you know they're following YOU!....we've NEVER seen that before!!!"). What?!! Why were they following us? And the noise!! The noise was terrifying!! I was so frightened. I had Kennedi in the baby bjorn & Adelie in the stroller & I was so worried the goats were going to go for one of them! Thank goodness, we survived the goat-chase. I really have no idea what they were thinking. Adelie did have some raisins in a little baggie that she was snacking on (but I highly doubt the goats could smell those little raisins from so far away)...I took them away from her right away & hid them when I saw the goats speedily approaching. 

So, just when I thought maybe I was getting over my fear of goats....I was reminded clearly of why I don't like those animals! Goats are not to be trusted!! Well, maybe they just liked Adelie's hugs? Who knows?!!

colder weather

It's been a bit colder the last couple of days, but Adelie doesn't mind a bit. In fact, I think she is loving this weather! What's not to love?!! I'm a big fan of autumn. I love the crisp air! Adelie has been loving all the leaves in our backyard. We spent the afternoon playing in the leaves on Saturday, and now every time we leave the house, she wants to jump in the pile (see photo proof above!). Such a fun girl. She doesn't hesitate a bit! I love that quality. She isn't afraid of much - and she loves to just 'go for it' with just about everything. It's so cute & so much fun to watch.

someone is going stir crazy when it's chilly outside!

love love love this little bundle.

 I love love love this little bundle of joy. She is such a sweetheart. So tender. I just adore her!

someone found her feet!!

yum! yum! yum!

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