Harvest Time Orchards 2018 | Twin Lakes, Wisconsin

For some reason this year, Markus and I took longer than normal to head out to the orchards. When we finally made the trek out to Twin Lakes, all the trees were bare and the store was devoid of a single apple. It was kind of sad, but it’s okay because the main reason we drove almost two hours was the apple cider donuts. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take any photos, because we ended up devouring the entire order in minutes. No joke, I would probably drive another two hours to eat those amazing donuts!

Harvest Time Orchards | Twin Lakes, WI

It’s been three years since Markus and I went apple picking at County Line Orchardin Hobart, Indiana. I liked our experience there, but there are so many orchards near Chicago that we decided we wanted to check out another place this year. We’ll probably check out a new spot next year as well. Maybe I should make it a goal to visit all the popular orchards and see who has the best donuts. Because let’s be real, that’s why we go to orchards, for the donuts or maybe that’s just me?

This year, we decided to check out Harvest Time Orchards in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. They have lots of activities for the family: apple picking, donut shop, country smoke house, corn maze, cider barn, brat shop and more. Unfortunately we didn’t have a chance to pick apples, because you have to drive into the orchard and we were having car troubles. We didn’t want to breakdown in the middle of a family picking apples. There were a lot of people at the small orchard, but it didn’t feel too packed. There were lots of things to do so people were spread out all over. We did wait an hour and half for three apple cider donuts, but I have to tell you, those were worth it. I know it sounds crazy to wait that long for something so little, but these donuts were delicious. They were warm and light and not too sweet. I would wait in line again for those fluffy treats.

Apple Picking at County Line Orchard | Hobart, Indiana

Autumn came and went in such a hurry. I feel like I barely had the chance to enjoy cool evenings, sweater weather and pumpkin treats. A couple months ago, Markus and I drove to Indiana to County Line Orchard and pick some apples. It was my first experience at this Midwest tradition. There weren't many apples left, so we spent most of our time frolicking in cornfields and picking flowers. We had such a great time and can't wait to visit again next year!

The Foxy Man | Halloween Costume 2012

Halloween is probably my favorite holiday. It marks the beginning of the best three months of the year. Every year, I always say I'm going to dress up, but it never happens. I think that the magic of fall takes over and I always have good intentions but never follow through. Last year, I made a lame attempt at being a pumpkin. I put on an orange dress and pasted some leaves in my hair. It was a bit lame I know, but this year, I decided that I would put in more of an effort for my students.

Since I work at a library full of wonderful books, I thought it would be good to be a literary character, Mr. Fox from Fantastic Mr. Fox. I bought a generic fox mask at a nearby costume store. It was pretty awful. It was all white with gold sequins all over it. Markus, the artistic genius that he is, transformed it into the beautiful mask you see now. He used watercolors and added a few other small touches. I think it turned out wonderful and I know that no one else in the world has a mask like it. Now that I've made the effort this year, I've decided that I want to dress up every year! Maybe next year, Markus and I will have awesome couples costumes. Any suggestions?

Wandering Wednesdays│Prague, Czech Republic 2007 | 2 of 2

There was so much to see in Prague and after 13 days, we felt more like locals than tourists. As I said before, our Prague trip was unlike any trips we've been on before or since. We became like residents of the city. I don't even know how many times we walked across Charles Bridge, it must have been over 20 times. During the day it's beautiful and full of people, but at night it can be a bit creepy. There are 30 statues that line the bridge and at night, it's like a ghost town, not a soul in sight. Seeing the silhouettes of the statues is really eerie.

Prague is such a hauntingly beautiful city and while I was doing research, I read that it's also one of the most haunted cities in Europe. This definitely excited Markus, but freaked me out a bit. If you're a reader of my blog, you know I can't handle scary things, so the thought of being in a city full of ghosts for 13 days was not my ideal trip, but I deep down I was a bit excited. I didn't want to spend our trip looking for ghosts, but I did want to give Markus the opportunity to have one night. We decided to go on a ghost walk and tour through Old Town. 

We picked the tour that we liked the most and read online that we had to meet at night in Old Town Square near the Astronomical clock. I remember that it was really cold that night. We went in November so it was almost winter. Markus and I waited for about an hour and no one ever showed up. Words can't even describe how disappointed we felt. It was one of our last nights, so we never had the opportunity to go again. I felt really bad for Markus, all he wanted was to see some ghosts and I couldn't make that happen. We had to settle for walking down Charles Bridge late at night, which for me was scary enough.

Prague 1 of 2