Monday, September 30, 2019

Quotes of the Week

Oof, this weekend went by too quickly. Last week was a rough one — lots of work, not a lot of sleep and I was just in a weird mood. But this weekend has been a nice relaxation period...although I wish it were about three days longer. I've got another full week plus some events and one of my best friends is coming to visit this weekend. I'm excited but trying to pre-plan outfits and meals so I don't have to think a lot aside from work. What are y'all up to? — xoxo darling, Hayden

Images here.
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Friday, September 27, 2019

Marcus & Hayden Vlog

A week ago today I flew to Austin for a whirlwind weekend with Marcus — aka one of my best friends. I always like to make a vlog of our time together because they end up being my favorites to go back and watch throughout the year (see here, here, here). Although with his imminent graduation, I'm hoping we see each other more than once in ten months. We went all over — had epic milkshakes at the Domain, went out on Rainey, ate at the dining hall I used to eat at freshman year and went to the game. It was so fun and I already miss him like crazy. But I hope you enjoy this vlog — it's a short one this time — xoxo darling, Hayden.
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Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Week Re-Cap

Took Marcus to his second football game.
It's Wednesday....and y'all the last two days have seemed to go by at a snail's pace. Maybe because it's been crazy at work and I've been exhausted each morning...I'm thinking I still haven't recovered from this weekend. Marcus and I stayed up late each night — went out to Rainey on Friday and the game went late on Saturday — but we had the most amazing time. I miss him so much when I'm in Colorado but these weekends are so great because we just pick up right where we left off. Do y'all have a friend like that? — xoxo darling, Hayden
 We didn't win trivia but we had fun, so...
Bacon wrapped dates at Chocolate Lab.
The cutest little s'mores at Chocolate Lab.
 An early Friday morning flight to Austin.
 Croque Monsieur from Annie's in the Austin airport.
A over-the-top cookie dough milkshake at The Yard at the Domain in Austin.
 Got to stay with the amazing Marcus this past weekend!
Friday night at the Container Bar — makes me miss college!
 Saturday morning shots of the stadium.
 Double fisting Modelo because I was worried we wouldn't win...
 ...but guess what, we WON!
Late night dinner at Trudy's after our victory. 
Dinner at The Peached Tortilla before heading out of town. 
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Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Where to go Apple Picking in Colorado

Apple picking just screams fall to me. As a person who grew up in hot, humid south Florida and then lived in hot, dry Texas, I was always so jealous of my friends that lived in colder climates that got to do the fall things. So, of course when I moved to Colorado and discovered it was a possibility I started curating a list of places I could drive to with my friends. We didn't get a chance to go last year — football season got in the way — but this year we did! So, without further ado, here are my three favorite spots to go apple picking within driving distance of Denver. 

Third Street Apples

So this is the place I've gotten the most apples from. It's absolutely adorable with plenty of apple picking apparatus, other goodies in the farm store and all around cuteness. It's a great spot for photos as well. Plus, the apples themselves are amazing — I made apple bread twice with them a
nd ate about half the apples I cut first (then had to cut more). They grow lots of different kinds, when we got there most of the reds had gone and it was greens/yellows, which are my favorite anyway. 

Happy Apple Farm

This is probably the most experiential farm. They have a huge orchard, grow berries and have a cute pumpkin patch. They even have a restaurant that serves delicious bbq and the best apple cider donuts. They are more like cake but they're so moist and make me feel like fall to the extreme. You can take a hay ride down to the pumpkin patch/berry fields and they have those cute apple picking bags. I highly recommend going for lunch at this place and then stocking up on their apples, pumpkins and jams. 
If you're looking for an orchard that isn't as packed as the other two, Jenkins is for you! We got there on Sunday afternoon and there were only two other groups picking. They also make some of the best apple cider I've ever had. But they only make it certain weekends of the year, so make sure to check their website or call them before you head down. Make sure to get photos with their cute sign (see below). 


Monday, September 23, 2019

Quotes of the Week

Happy fall y'all! I am coming off one of the most relaxing weekends but a long travel evening home has made me super tired this morning. After work I'm planning to unpack and crawl into bed with Gilmore Girls or Schitt's Creek because that sounds fall to me — xoxo darling, Hayden.
Images here.
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Saturday, September 21, 2019

Articles I'm Reading

  1. If you're a creative, this is a great read // The Creative Independent
  2. Omg the town that A Good Year was filmed in // The Londoner
  3. Love Julia's house // Gal Meets Glam
  4. Who doesn't want a blizzard candle? // PopSugar
  5. Such cute costume ideas // Sugar & Cloth
  6. As a huge fan of Chili's, this is the greatest // Good Mythical Morning
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Friday, September 20, 2019

Fall Baking: Apple Walnut Bread

A while back — like a long while back — I wrote this post about some apple walnut bread my dad and I baked. The recipe comes from Deep South Mag (aka my first internship) and I love it. It's incredibly easy to make and tastes so good. It's the perfect thing if you have too many apples from apple picking adventures or want something fall without a lot of hassel. 

Apple Walnut Bread Recipe:

You'll Need:

-1/2 cup vegetable oil
-2 eggs
-1 cup sugar
-1 1/2 cups flour
-1/2 tsp. baking soda
-1 1/2 cups apples, peeled & diced
-1/4 cup orange juice
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
-1 tsp. vanilla
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
-parchment paper
-bread pan
Instructions:1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Cut parchment paper to size for pan.
3. Peel and dice apples, put in bowl and douse in orange juice.
3. Mix oil, eggs and sugar together.
4. Add flour, baking soda, apples, salt, walnuts, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.
5. Pour mixture into pan, top with some leftover walnuts and apple slices.
6. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. And you're done!

Troubleshooting:

I had no problems with the recipe, it's incredibly easy to mix up — the worst part is cutting up the apples — you pop it in a pan and a little less than two hours later and you're done.
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Thursday, September 19, 2019

Apple Picking Look

Okay, this might be one of my favorite shoots I've ever done. It definitely is in competition with the pumpkin patch look from last year. A few weeks ago I sent out in my gal pal group text that I wanted to go apple picking in September and low and behold, four other ladies wanted to go too! So we did. We drove down to Penrose (a little south of Colorado Springs) and visited three orchards. These photos were taken at Third Street Apples by my lovely friends. A whole post is coming about Colorado apple picking soon — and tomorrow is a recipe for apple walnut bread using the apples from this trip! Anyway, I bought the top on sale at Dillards. I couldn't find the red version but here is the navy version. It is one of the most flattering things I've ever owned and it's comfy. It was a hot day for apple picking and I never got overheated. Plus, the quality is excellent. What do y'all think? - xoxo darling, Hayden

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Week Re-Cap

A girlfriend trip apple picking.
Okay, this week seems to be going by s l o w. Like molasses coming out of a plastic jar when you're trying to bake gingerbread quickly slow. Maybe it's because I'm so looking forward to spending the weekend in Austin with Marcus or maybe it's because I had a great week last week but I just want it to be not the middle of the week! Although I do have a dinner tonight that I'm looking forward to and some political functions tomorrow that look good. How has your week been? Over the weekend some gal pals and I went apple picking because...we're basic and it's basically fall! It was so much fun, I loved it. Other than that I ate a lot of food, take it away photos  — xoxo darling, Hayden
A salad at a newly discovered restaurant near my office, Blue Sky Cafe.
Biscuits (above) and empanadas (below) from Acres on Tuesday night.
Debz and I grabbed dinner while she was in town for work. 
Pierogis Factory does magical pierogis.
Treated myself to a little casual Friday night — had Jimmy Johns, 
went to a book store and ended the evening at Nella's Frozen Yogurt. 
Early morning walk on Saturday.
Followed by coffee at Unravel.
Third Street Apples is already growing some cute pumpkins.
Happy Apple Farms does a mean apple cider donut.
Kind of obsessed with this green pumpkin.
A little group shot to end the post with because I love these ladies! 
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