Pumpkin Patches, Pizza, Bakery Business Update, and Fall Fun!

I can’t believe my toddler actually cooperated and is down for his nap. The odds are never in my favor, and I typically only get him to sleep 1 out of 5 attempts. I’m almost done writing my next travel blog post, but I thought I’d get a quick recap up before it turns into a 3-week recap next time.

I officially have no markets lined up for the rest of the year! I know Christmas and fall are huge times for sales and small businesses, but I wanted to make the best decision for myself and my family. Last year, I felt really sad about missing out on Christmas activities, fall festivals, and fun moments with my son. This year, he’s finally at the age where everything feels magical, and I don’t want to miss a single moment.

I want to be there with him at the pumpkin patches, take him to the zoo, and stop saying no to things like the Polar Express train ride or weekend trips to the mountains.

Last year, I was watching him full-time during the week, working late into the night, and spending my weekends at markets. I felt like I was never fully present with my family because I was always so tired or stressed. I realized things had gone too far when I passed out during family photos last Thanksgiving after pulling a 48-hour shift to make sure all the baked goods were finished and delivered on time.

So this year, I’ve decided to slow down the bakery side (and do it on my own time) to truly focus on being with my family. Life moves so fast, and I know I would regret missing out on these special, joyful years with my son. This also means I get to share more blogs, create more content, and post recipes from markets instead of just sharing photos. And when I feel like picking things up again, I will. Just for now, I’m ready to take a breather.  This was the last photo I took in Europe before we boarded the plane for our 8-hour flight back home! We stopped at a little café in the airport for some fruit and yogurt parfaits, split a turkey sandwich, and filled up on the most delicious hot coffee. Speaking of coffee, ever since the trip, I’ve been limiting myself to one cup a day, and it’s tough! While editing my travel blogs and looking at all the coffee pictures, I’m so tempted to head into the kitchen and pour myself another cup. Why is coffee so good?

The plane ride back was smooth, and this time, I had Kyle with me. I watched movies while working on the blog, and three out of four of them were really good. I watched The Challengers, Parachute, One Life, and Sweet Dreams. I thought The Challengers would be amazing because of the hype, but I didn’t enjoy it. Parachute was really good—realistic, but a bit dark. Sweet Dreams was a funny, lighthearted show, which I needed after watching One Life, the best movie of the trip. I’ve NEVER cried so much from any movie like I did with that one.

When we landed, we headed straight to the grocery store and then home! I had never been away from my son for that long, and seeing him was the best feeling. He sprinted into my arms, held me so tight, and gave me the sweetest kisses. I’ve been so attached to him ever since I got back. Also, why does no one tell you that one day your child will just wake up and suddenly start having full conversations with you? It’s such a fun experience!

One thing I loved while being in Italy was the simple yet delicious salads with olive oil, black pepper, sea salt, parmesan, and balsamic vinegar. I made sure to pick up all the ingredients so I could recreate them at home and get my salad fix!


The next morning, we jumped right back into our weekly routine. My son had his morning school (he goes three days a week for three hours, which is a great way to ease him in slowly!). After I picked him up, we went to our favorite lunch spot, Ilios, took a walk to the park and then made our best attempt at a nap.

He was so excited that morning when he opened a box General Mills sent over—it had his favorite Annie’s Bunnies! This one had a fall theme with pumpkins and bunnies, and he’s all about pumpkins and Halloween right now. Speaking of Halloween, I just realized I never shared his ‘scary’ costume from last year. Should I do a fun post about that?
Despite my son taking over the garden beds with his trucks, my basil is thriving! I made one of the yummiest cottage cheese pesto dips ever, and I’ve been enjoying it with my salads, chicken, cucumbers, pasta, and more! It’s amazing! I just added a bunch of fresh basil, cottage cheese, half a Good Seasonings packet, olive oil, honey, black pepper, and a pinch of garlic powder. I blended it all together, and we can’t get enough!

This was a salad I had on repeat for lunch last week. It included romaine, tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, cranberries, Honeycrisp apples, walnuts, Parmesan, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sea salt, honey, and black pepper.
 
I have a craft and paint-loving toddler, so I set up an arts and crafts station at the table for him. He loves bouncing around the house, either playing with his trucks or wanting to paint. I stocked up on craft supplies from Target and Hobby Lobby for little activities to keep us busy during the day. I bought a pumpkin painting set from Target, and it was a hit! I was shocked that it kept his attention long enough for him to paint the entire pumpkin. After we got back from the park, we decorated it with stickers!
I’ve been breading my own chicken in almond flour, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan! I cook it in the air fryer, and it’s delicious on salads. Even my son loves it, and he’s pretty picky about his chicken!

The storms from the hurricane started to come in on Thursday, and my son’s classes were canceled for the rest of the week. Since we had to make an early morning Target run and they weren’t open at 7:30 a.m. (like Alexa said they would be!), we stopped at our favorite donut place, Momo’s, to kill some time before Target. I think I’ve created a monster because my son always wants to go to Target. Even when he wakes up in the morning, he says, ‘Mama, Target, Halloween!’ so he can look at the Halloween decorations.
That morning when we got back, I finished making some pumpkin spice sourdough bagels, and we headed outside to play in the rain a bit (it wasn’t too serious at this point.)

For dinner, I had my favorite go-to salad! I think we’re going to make a trip to the farmer’s market this weekend to pick up more of those juicy heirloom tomatoes. It’s still in the upper 80s here in South Carolina, so the tomato crops are still going strong.
Friday morning is when the weather took a turn. It was around 5 am, and I decided to head upstairs and just take my son out of his room and bring him downstairs with us. We get some pretty rough storms here, but nothing like this. The rain, and the winds had our trees in the woods almost bent in half, and things were flying all over outside as if it were a tornado. It was so scary, and areas all around us were having trees fall on their houses, our river flooded the trails, he local parks, and many local businesses. 

The real devastation hit Western North Carolina. Those beautiful mountain towns, like the one we got married in and the ones Becca and I always travel to, are completely destroyed. So many lives have been lost, and many people are still unaccounted for. They’re trapped without food, water, cell service, roads, or homes—some even stuck in the mud, in trees, on roofs, waiting to be rescued. It breaks my heart knowing that I get to go on with my life while they’re up there trying to stay alive.

Seeing surrounding communities step in with relief efforts, rescue teams, donations, and resources has been beautiful. But I know so many smaller towns in Western NC are being overlooked. I’ve been trying my best to stay updated on social media and donate where I can. We’ve had some amazing women in the neighborhood gather supplies to drop off at the police station for distribution. Not being able to do more is tough, especially knowing that so many moms are up there with their kids, with nothing. That’s one of the scariest things in the world.

I continue to pray for them and help in any way I can—by staying informed and donating when possible. If you have family in the affected areas or have been impacted by the hurricane, my heart goes out to you, and I’m praying for you. I wish more media would focus on what’s truly happening in Western NC—it’s really bad. Almost 200 people have died, and there are still over 600 people unaccounted for.

We lost power for the day, so we took the opportunity to clean out the toy rooms and declutter the house. I kept my toddler busy by having him help make no-bake cookies. He LOVES helping in the kitchen, although it can be tricky because every time I’m in there, he says, ‘Mama, me make!’ These no-bake cookies were a fun little snack for him to make, and since they were just for him, it made him even more excited to eat them! Let me know if you’d like the recipe from our little chef.

We got power back that evening, and the storm finally subsided.
The sun was shining on Saturday morning, and we finally got out of the house after being stuck inside for two days due to the rain. One of our favorite Saturday morning activities is taking Leo for a walk, especially now that I have my Saturdays back. I used to wake up at 2 a.m. to make cinnamon rolls for the market, pack everything up, sell all morning, come home by 1 p.m., and then jump straight into mom mode until 8 p.m. I was exhausted all the time.
My dad turned 67 on Saturday! We took my son to the park for a little playdate with Grandpa, and then we stopped by the sub shop to pick up one of my dad’s favorites—an Italian sandwich!
I surprised my dad with the most delicious pumpkin spice olive oil cake with vanilla cream cheese frosting! I know I mentioned it on the recipe blog, but this truly is the BEST dessert recipe on this blog and one of the best pumpkin-flavored cakes I have ever had in my life. I can’t wait to make it for Thanksgiving when family visits. I’m hosting this year, and this pumpkin cake will be a star guest. On Sunday, we headed to Wise Acres Farm for a fun day of activities. I made sure to book well in advance since it’s become a little family tradition—we’ve been going to this farm every fall for three years with our son. I have the cutest photos of him in the same spots each year, and it’s amazing to see how much he’s grown in just twelve months. I also have a bunch of photos from last fall that I never posted on the blog. Let me know if you’d like me to dedicate a post to fall photos with cozy coffee, changing leaves, and Halloween moments from last year!  
We watched Charlie Brown’s The Great Pumpkin a few days ago, so he had a blast running through the pumpkins yelling, ‘Great Pumpkin!’ Honestly, he would make such a cute Charlie Brown for Halloween… We are thinking construction worker or firefighter since he loves those things, but he’s said “no” to everything. I’m not sure he understands fully what we mean just yet. We picked out some of the best pumpkins!  

He loves farm animals, and spent so much time feeding the goats and having conversations with them. He does this with horses at Anne Springs, too.
One of the highlights was the tractor barrel train ride—he went on it so many times! Last year, he would’ve tried to jump out, but this year he was so excited for it. It’s the little things that make your heart burst when you get to experience those ‘firsts’ with your kids.
The first time we visited Wise Acres, we experienced their pizza. Yes, it’s an experience! Who would have thought that pizza made at a farm would be the best in Charlotte? So many people agree! We had the pepperoni and the Farmer Cathy pizza, which had fresh veggies, a garlic white sauce, corn, and insane flavors. An entire pizza comes with one ticket, which is such a great deal. We’re going to try to go again in October, and honestly, it’s just for the pizza (and the little train ride)! Even my son, who doesn’t care for pizza or really anything Italian (he won’t even let us put pasta near him!), loved it and ate 2 1/2 slices by himself!
  And of course, what is a trip to Wise Acres without a little donut? They’re only kids once! 
We spent over five hours at the farm, which is a record for any place! They have the best playground made from recycled materials that resemble boats, tractors, and trains—it’s such a fun spot for kids to explore. Sometimes I hesitate to share places I love for fear they’ll get too crowded, but this farm deserves all the recognition, as do so many others in the Charlotte area. Some of my favorites are Bush-N-Vine, Union Exchange, Hunter Farm, Wise Acres, and Windy Hill, and we have so many more on our bucket list for this fall! I’m so happy that I get to actually experience them this time. And speaking of time flying by, I’m planning a remodel for this room this winter. My sweet little boy is now outgrowing the nursery! He’ll get a big boy bed, a theme he loves (things that go!), and some fun new decor.
 
After breakfast yesterday, we headed to Hobby Lobby to pick up some crafts to keep us busy. They have the best holiday crafts, always 40% off, that are so fun to do with a toddler. We made little hedgehog pinecones yesterday, and he can’t stop talking about them! This morning, he woke up and ran straight to the table to say good morning to them.

Afternoon jeep rides! We do so much in a day that I’m completely exhausted by the end of the night. I don’t know how parents with more than one kid do it—hats off to you!!! I feel like I’m always running from one thing to the next with this little guy. We recently did a toy sweep and are now practicing toy rotations, which is keeping my house cleaner and helping him feel less overwhelmed. So, Grandma, if you’re reading this…no more toys!! Lol!
I made some yummy spaghetti squash for dinner yesterday and another batch of the basil pesto cottage cheese dip! 

I hope to have my travel blog up by the end of this week! I can’t wait for you to read it!!!

Questions for you!

1. Do you have a local farm you like to visit in the fall?
2. What do you like putting on your salads this time of year?
3. I need a good crockpot meal for tomorrow, what do you love making in the crockpot?