autumn is for apples

I love apples. Granny Smith, Macintosh, Gala, Empire, Golden Delicious, delicious, delicious... they all have a place in my heart. I definitely subscribe to the "apple a day" policy... a crunchy varietal makes its appearance at lunch time every afternoon. I also adore autumn in Vermont and try to squeeze as much enjoyment as I can out of every available opportunity for a good leaf-crunching. So K and I went apple-picking at Shelburne Orchards on Sunday, for no good reason except that it was a fun fall activity (the only other time I went was during my brief stint as a Girl Scout in 6th grade -- I do still have the badge for it somewhere). I hope the apples hold up until Thanksgiving, when I am responsible for baking the apple pie. It was a lovely, lovely day:

I was not the only one snacking -- many apples had been unceremoniously bitten into (and left dangling from the tree).

I was definitely not built for apple-picking. My mere five feet (+ two inches) could only reach the more pathetic, picked-over branches. Luckily, K is giraffe-tall and takes direction very well.

After our bags had been filled to bursting, we relaxed on some hay bales and sipped hot cider (especially delicious).

The view was magnificent -- the orchard is right on Lake Champlain and with the mountains in the distance we really couldn't have asked for a more breathtaking landscape.

My outfit was born after almost an hour of closet-rifling theatrics... I have a wardrobe-related panic attack about once a month, where I can't find anything that I want to wear and decide that I absolutely must fill my closet with brand-new clothes. This despair was aggravated by the fact that I didn't want to be tromping around in an apple orchard in three-inch heels (but I own exactly one pair of flat shoes and they're just so--flat). This dress always wins whenever I have a wardrobe-related crisis, whether it be due to body image or boredom. It's basic black and simultaneously loose&fitted shape allows for comfort and brings me back to the relatively calm place I had been before opening the closet door to my insanity circus.