Christmas Tree Farms: Old Stone Farm and Evergreen Acres

When we were little, my family almost always bought a real Christmas tree.  We picked it up from the stand the local men's group had in town, and somehow got it home each year.  Keeping in that tradition, Brian and I have always bought real Christmas trees each year we've been married.  In Arizona that meant going to a stand in the nearest shopping mall, and even in Delaware we shopped at the local Lion's Club that was so close we could just walk the tree home if we wanted.  But starting in 2011, we decided to start going to local tree farms in search of our Christmas centerpiece.  On the recommendation from someone at our church, we found a beautiful little tree farm, Old Stone Farm, in nearby Landenberg, PA.  This farm featured rolling hills full of trees, as well as some goats, horses, and small animals to visit.  I have such vivid memories of going last year to pick out Eli's first tree, as it was a beautiful but foggy day.  I highly recommend this farm if you are near enough.

Looking for a similar place here, we passed up some of the more touristy tree farms and instead went to Evergreen Acres in Nokesville, Virginia.  Though only a short drive away, I was surprised by how quickly we got into the country.  After passing lots of cattle farms, we pulled up at Evergreen Acres.  While Theo helped himself to the free cider, we checked out the map and learned about the three types of trees they offered (white pine, scotch pine, and Norway spruce).  We looked around for awhile, before finding our perfect, fat little tree.  The wagon ride to and from the far field, and sitting on all the tractors seemed to be the highlights for the boys.  It was great, though I wish I had brought gloves because we apparently picked the most prickly tree ever.

A Different Washington

Recently, two of my good friends from Indiana decided we should meet half way between our houses for a short girls weekend.  It was a great idea, as we all needed a bit of a break from our respective situations.  We kind of randomly picked Washington, PA just south of Pittsburgh, as our location.  We didn’t know a lot about the area, but we asked the concierge at the hotel for some suggestions, and just went from there.  A couple of our good finds included:

Juniper Grill:  The first night, we enjoyed drinks and food at this local favorite.  It was a packed house, and the food was just delicious.  Very nice for a dinner out.

The Upper Crust:  For a lunch option, this was a good little place for wood fired brick oven pizza. 

Rachel Rose's Boutique & Coffee Shop:  We actually got to The Upper Crust too early for their noon opening, but a cook noticed us and suggested we go down to the coffee shop at the end of the street.  Apparently, several of the shops on this street have the same owner and were all very good for what we were looking for.  We grabbed some filled-to-order cannoli, hot drinks (I got a vanilla milk steamer which I loved!), and other goodies.  They also sell local hand-made goods there, so I picked up a pretty little necklace as well.

Artemis Botanicals:  I’m not normally too into bath stuff, but I love peppermint scents so the sign advertising these drew us in.  Located amongst several other unique shops, this one had some beautiful, scented soaps and bath items that were too good to pass up.  I especially liked their hand-blown glass soap holders that matched the colors of the soap.  The owner says she hand selects the colors of glass based on what soaps she plans to make.

I would recommend any of these places if you ever find yourself in Washington, PA.

150th Gettysburg Anniversary

We now live in the south.  Officially.  It has taken some time to get used to, but we definitely saw the sign announcing we were crossing the Mason-Dixon line when we drove into the state.  We are just a town over from the historic site of the Battle of Bull Run (the first in the Civil War), and pretty much could head any direction and find another old battlefield.

My sister-in-law has started being a Confederate re-enactor in the last few years, so she traveled out to Gettysburg for the 150th anniversary festivities last month.  We drove straight north about 100 miles to see them and join in the fun.  It was a hot day with lots of people there, but it was interesting for sure.  I have always wanted to wear a hoop skirt and corset, but I think in the ninety degree heat that is best left to others.

When we went into town after, it was like being with a celebrity as so many people stopped and told Ravelle how they loved her dress. 

 Theo vacillated between carrying guns and umbrellas.  That's my son for ya.

 And Eli just enjoyed the day out in the sun.

First Out of State Trip

I have felt a little trapped in my own house since the baby was born.  I really can't leave with both boys, since I am not supposed to lift Theodore and there are too many instances in any trip where I would have to lift him and I haven't fully started driving yet after my surgery.  And Brian is working as much as possible, so he can't really take us many places.  But today, I made him take us for a little outing.

We couldn't really decide what to do, but I've been wanting to drive up to Lancaster for a while now, so we headed north without any real plans except to find some "orange trees" as we instructed Theo.

By the time we got there around noon, we were quite hungry so we searched for restaurants on our GPS and randomly picked the fifth one it listed - The Smoketown Diner.  Apparently, Smoketown is one of the many, many towns that cluster outside of Lancaster.  It was a small diner, loud enough that Theo wasn't too distracting to everyone else, but quiet enough that the baby stayed asleep pretty much the whole time.  It was a cheap meal, and pretty filling but not too large portions, though we had to wait a bit.  Though I normally don't order dessert, I was excited to see peanut butter pie on the menu and disappointed when they didn't have any.

We picked up a guide and a map here, and were interested by a dairy, and a pretzel shop, and headed that way.

The dairy, Oregon Dairy, turned out to be the perfect place to spend one of the last nice days of the year with both boys.  We ordered some really tasty ice cream and ate out on the ice cream deck which was perfect with the sun warming us.  Theodore then had a great time playing on the playground, and I enjoyed seeing all the white deer they kept there.

Then we traveled just a bit more and came to a nice, historic town called Lititz.  We found  "the first commercial pretzel bakery in America,"  Sturgis Pretzel Bakery.  Though it was too close to nap time for us to take the tour, it looked interesting and was only a couple bucks a person.  We picked up some bags of pretzels, and a few hot freshly baked ones as well.

On our way out, we enjoyed the rest of our scenic, winding drive, and headed home a different route through Gap.  Of course, we had to stop at our cheese shoppe there.  Theo, always the chatterbox, thanked Bill for the cheese as we left with Manchego and an Irish cheddar with porter.

Elijah only cried a little on the drive home, as he was getting a little hungry.  Overall, it was a very successful first outing as a family of four, and Elijah's first time out of his home state.

Day Trip: Getting out and Around

I wanted to get out of the area for a little bit, so we drove up north and went on a few shopping excursions. As always, I want to chronicle the places we visited.

Before we even got out of town, Brian wanted to stop for coffee, so we stopped in at Newark (Deli and) Bagels. For a Saturday morning in a college town, it was packed! I assumed it would be deserted, but it was quite crowded. I had a very salty "salt bagel" and they slathered on plenty of cream cheese. I would definitely make a return trip.

Next we stopped at that favorite cheese shop of ours in Gap, PA. We got some Spanish cheese, New Amsterdam Gouda, and the mango dessert cheese.

]Next, we went to an antique mall. It was our first time at such a place. Brian found a lot of cool old books, but didn't get any. I brought home a couple old mason jars, buttons, and quilting squares. It was very interesting, almost like a museum-without all the reading. :)

Then, we stopped at a farmer's market in Bird-in-Hand. It was a little more market than farm-and Brian just grabbed some pie and dismissed the rest of the place. He was getting hungry for lunch.

After getting back to Newark, we grabbed lunch at Jake's Hamburgers. This popular place is order-at-the-counter fast food that is pretty good. We haven't tried their milkshakes yet. We will definitely be back to try them.

And that completed our Saturday.

Day Trip: Lancaster, PA

The hubby and I had a lovely drive Saturday. Our destination was Lancaster, PA, specifically for a friend's husband's art sale.

After a few errands, our first stop was at Bravo Pizza. There are only two locations of this restaurant, both in Pennsylvania. We were looking for a quick place, and this was perfect for that. You can simply pick a slice from a large variety of pizzas, and they will put it in the brick oven and have it to you within minutes. It reminded me of a place in Tempe called Slices. Definetly a nice little pizzeria.

Next, driving through a lot of little towns, we stopped at one called Gap. Here we entered  The Town Clock Cheese Shoppe, a surprisingly charming destination.  By simply "putting your hand in," you get a taste of whatever cheese any customer is trying. We tried Havarti, Swiss, cheddar, and mango cheeses. We came away with a Swiss and cheddar, as well as some cheese curds-which reminded me of squeaky cheese. It will definitely get our repeat business.

We then finally arrived at Josh Heim's pottery sale. He had lots of beautiful pieces, and we bought a few, most notably the platter below. He is also making a cylindrical vase for us in the same style as this one (for dips).

Hickory Run State Park, Poconos

On Oct. 10-12, we spent a chilly weekend camping in Northeastern PA. After a short 1 1/2-2 hour drive, we arrived at Hickory Run State Park. (Near Stanton-not as bad as Biden makes it out to be.) The drive was beautiful, and the road right up to the park was a canopy of perfectly Autumn colored leaves.

Top 6 things:

-cooking over the campfire (s'mores!)

-hopping around the boulder field

-hiking the trails

-exploring the Lehigh River

-taking in Autumn colors for the first time in years

-relaxing in the chilled air

I make a white chili at home a lot, and took it on the road with us. It was easy enough to cook outside (in relative darkness), and just as delicious.  I pre-measured out the spices and just packed all the ingredients ready to throw into the pot. This is from the Taste of Home cookbook.

1 pound chicken breasts, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cans (15 ½ oz each) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
14 ounces chicken broth
8 ounces chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
½ cup heavy whipping cream

In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add the beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in sour cream and cream. Serve immediately.

When we were leaving, we tried to stay off the turnpike to see a little more of the area. We eventually had to get back on the highway, but we stumbled through the enchanting town of Jim Thorpe (right in the middle of a town festival). We definitely have plans to return (perhaps by train), and will be sure to stop at a great ice cream/coffee shop-I'm not sure of the name, but it was right beside the Subway.  It was the best ice cream I have had in a while (even better than Cold Stone).