I’m so glad we went to the reunion! (I am not glad this random man decided to photo bomb the hell out of a perfectly good picture though! 
)
Thank goodness my friends convinced me to go. It was really cool to see and talk to some people I hadn’t seen in a decade (!!!) and hear all the crazy places they’ve been and what they’re doing. Video game designer in LA, anyone? 
Festivities continued well into the morning and Ben and I called it quits over a plate of nachos at 2am. I haven’t seen that hour in a long time, and hope I can go just as long before seeing it again. Whee! WORTH IT.
I was still up pretty early today. The cozy, falling rain woke me up. 
Ben and I lazily lounged around for awhile before heading over to my parent’s house for lunch!
My Mom, God bless her, dodged the rain drops to grill us all sirloin steaks cooked to a perfect medium rare. (She’s been taking steak cooking lessons from Ben the grill master!)
On the side was super soft steamed broccoli. My Mom always made our broccoli very soft when we were growing up, which is how I still like it. I can’t stand when broccoli still has a bite to it. The mushier the better, imo.
Cheesy, chewy French Onion Egg Noodle Casserole rounded out the plate.
Two French Onion inspired dishes in one week. Lucky me! 
After lunch I went grocery shopping and received the BEST surprise when I rounded the corner into the produce department…Honeycrisps are back!!!!!
Honeycrisp Apples are probably my #1 favorite thing about Fall. These giant, shiny, sweet & crispy apples are seriously like dessert to me. And I am NOT a fruit is dessert kind of girl…unless it’s doused in caramel and/or chocolate and/or is buried under crisp.
$6 for four of ‘em definitely stings, but they’re only around for a short time each year so I say, to heck with it!
There was another variety of apple I found at the store that had me squealing – hedge apples!
Hedge apples actually aren’t apples – they’re in the mulberry family – but they’re readily available in the Fall and keep disgusting spiders and buggies out of the house.
I usually pick up a ton at the Farmers’ Market every year and place them inside outside doors. I swear they totally work! FYI I place them on a piece of wax paper or cardboard because they get a little gooey when they get old.
Well the basement, and Ben, is calling my name.
We’ve been napping and watching football cuddled under blankets all afternoon. It’s been AMAZING. I feel like one of us (ok, me) is usually always running around with a million things to do, so making a point of doing nothing today has felt really good.
To heck with the to-do list. It’ll still be there tomorrow, right?!
Have a great night!
~~~~~
“My favorite part of Fall is ________.”
My favorite part of Fall is, honeycrisp apples, hoodies, blankets, tailgates and pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins!!!
My favorite part of fall is the weather changing!
I was also so excited about Honeycrisp apples when i saw them at Hy-Vee. Sounds like a nice weekend! I about had a heart attack after that Iowa game! Go Hawks!!
Ooooh! I love honeycrisp apples too. I just bought some at the store, and I can’t wait to go apple picking!
And I just want to say that I love everything you AND your awesome mom cooks up. I grew up in Ohio and appreciate easy, yummy comfort food. Unfortunately, I’d rather bake and cook dinner. Gotta work on this! So, I’m amazed by your effortless ease to making and blogging about all these amazing meals.
i just found your blog and i’m so glad!!!!
)
your recipes look fabulous!!!
i’m a runner as well
i’m on twitter too — @jenngetts
I love chili, stews, and apple picking. I love your blog and recently made the baked panzanella salad…delish! Blogged about it over on my site!
PUMPKINS!!! I love to cook savory dishes with pumpkin, especially ravioli, lasagna, and soup.
I just picked over 10 lbs of honey crisp apples yesterday. They are the best! After seeing how much you paid, it makes me think I got away with it dirt cheap. $8 for 10 lbs. Enjoy your apples!
There were no honey crisps in the store I was at on Saturday, but maybe they will start coming out soon in Dallas. I love them!
My favorite parts of fall are…
1. cooler weather
2. changing leaves
3. football
4. pumpkins and eating pumpkin
5. sleeping with the windows open
6. hoodies
7. World Series baseball
Love your blog! My sons and I just went apple picking today and picked honeycrisps. So good. We live in BC (close to Vancouver) and paid $18 for 25 pounds of honeycrisp apples. Love the fall and all the yummy fall foods.
….hoodies, candy corn, brisk fall walks, scarves, an excuse to eat pumpking flavored everything, hot chocolate and football games!
Your outfit you wore to your reunion is adorable. Would you be willing to share where you got your tanktop and jacket?
Agreed!
Thanks! I got them both at Ann Taylor Loft!
Ooh, thanks!
Honeycrisps=the best fruit ever made in the entire universe! I haven’t seen them yet but I will be looking now for sure!!
My favorite part of fall is going to the pumpkin patch (ever been to Vallas? It’s getting insanely big!), also hoodies + jeans weather, thanksgiving/family time and of course those delish honeycrisps!
I JUST had a conversation with my mom where she gushed that she got her first batch of Honeycrisps at the market today! They really are divine & deee-lish!
My favorite part of fall is the feast it provides our senses. The brisk breeze on our skin, the scent of apples & cinnamon baking, the warm colors, the feel of a lusciously cozy sweater. It’s my favorite season.
Cheers!
Heather @ Find That Warm Fuzzy Feeling
Do you guys not have hedge apple trees all over in Iowa? We have them everywhere here in Kansas! I just pick some up along the trail while I’m bike riding in the fall.
We do out further into the country, but nowhere around here in suburbia that I’ve seen!
That’s so weird! Amazing how much the foliage changes. I mean, Des Moines and Kansas City aren’t THAT far apart…you know?