Hooray! It’s officially spooky/cozy/pumpkin season! Since it’s the first Friday of the month, it’s time to link up with Coco and Deborah for the Ultimate coffee date. Let’s all sit down with a delicious cup of Earl Grey tea (what? That’s not what you’re drinking??? Hmm!) and have a nice, autumnal discussion.
Yesterday I returned to my favorite trail for a long run- I haven’t been there since March. Imagine my excitement when I saw that The Girl Next Door podcast “Fall Extravaganza” episode had dropped! I actually remember running on this trail last year and listening to the 2024 Fall Extravaganza episode.
In this year’s episode, Kelsey and Erica did an apple taste test. They rated each one, described the characteristics and gave them names. I was laughing so hard because they named the honeycrisp “Jenny”! They said there’s nothing not to like about Jenny- she’s sweet, but there are just too many of them. She’s also that “basic” person who gets way too excited about Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Hahahahahaha…
Moving on. I got an interesting piece of mail the other day! Engie sent me a card to celebrate our newest family member, Foxy!
The interesting part was, the envelope was damaged, so the post office delivered it to me in a larger envelope with a “sincere apology.”
Well! Lucky it arrived intact because Engie included a Starbucks gift card, with instructions to enjoy my Earl Grey tea on her and Zelda. What she doesn’t know about me is that, when I get a gift card, I love to buy something special. I did get an Earl Grey, but I also got this…
I love it so much! Did I NEED another fall mug? Er… that’s debatable. I gave my husband one of my old ones, so it all evens out.
I don’t have my Halloween decorations out yet- that’s happening this weekend. But our house is fully pumpkined, and Foxy is enjoying this Muffin hand-me-down.
It’s a little weird that we kept it, since Muffin hasn’t fit inside it for five years now. I guess I just knew we would have another kitten in our lives someday.
Is your house decorated for fall and/or Halloween?
Do you like to drink out of seasonal mugs?
What’s your favorite apple? –Mine is honeycrisp, aka “Jenny.”
Top photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
34 Responses
I love honey crisp but really any fresh apple that is crunchy and juicy would be good.
I love that small little house/pumpkin for Foxy!
Crunchy and juicy! Unfortunately not all apples fit those requirements. My kids have been lking cosmic crisp, but they didn’t get a super high rating on the GND podcast.
I love that Engie’s card made it through the post office drama! That mug was a great choice, too (and I’m with you: mugs don’t count as clutter, they’re seasonal necessities).
Absolutely, Catrina! Mugs only count as clutter if you can’t fit them in your cabinets… we’re getting there, but not quite yet.
Ha – I am loving the description of what “Jenny” means. Adorable. That mug is so cute, and what a fun way for Engie to treat you! I’m glad it made it, despite the envelope getting rather chewed up!
Honeycrisp apples are my favorite too. Although I have also eaten an apple called Ludacrisp that is very good! Haven’t seen it in a couple years though.
I’ve never heard of Ludacrisp! I”ll be on the lookout for it, especially if it’s a little cheaper than the honeycrisp.
haha, that is a very heartfelt message from the postal service! I guess that’s sweet that the Postmaster takes their job so seriously. And ooh, I’ll have to listen to the Fall Extravaganza episode soon. So funny about the Jenny comments, lol! (There WERE a lot of Jenny’s back in our day!)
Yes, you will like this episode- it’s really fun and fall-ish. And… when I was in second grade there were FOUR Jenny’s in my class!
Jenny is sweet, and I don’t care how many there are, it’s still a great name! I’ll have to listen to the episode to hear what they think of my favorite, the Pink Lady.
The only time that I got an item in a post office “we’re sorry” mailer was for good reason. It’s an obscure fact that grape leaves are allowable mailing devices, and one year at Boy Scout camp the boys both sent me grape leaves with notes. One of them made it intact, and one got a bit damaged. No problem, the PO put it in their special mailer. It’s pretty wacky that grape leaves stand up to the mailing process.
Oh wow- you learn something new every day. Grape leaves???
They didn’t review the Pink Lady, much to my disappointment. That’s a good one.
I’m definitely team honeycrisp as well. They’re the only ones I buy unless I’m shopping for baking apples.
After having “decorate for fall” on my todo list for several weeks, I finally accomplished the task last weekend. When my little grandson visited he asked, “Why are there so many pumpkins around here?” LOL
Foxy looks so cute in his pumpkin house! 🙂
Ha ha on the grandson comment. You obviously are all decorated for fall!
Honeycrisp are my fave apple! I bet you are a lot like a honeycrisp! Our post office is horrible the past few years-very slow and lost mail all the time. Enjoy your cooler fall runs!
Grr- we aren’t to “cool running weather” quite yet!!! Maaaybe by the end of the month. And, maybe the post office is trying to polish up their reputation a little these days.
I do like Honeycrisp — or any sweet-tart crisp apple.
That mug is gorgeous! I’m glad “your” Starbucks is still open! I feel personally attacked because three I go to closed, but the two closest to home are still open.
If my starbucks closed I would be SO sad!!! It’s in the perfect location, right near where I work, and I know all the baristas. And it has very comfortable seating for when I want to drink my tea while reading blogs… which is what I’m doing right now.
My favorite apple is Pink Lady, but I also like honeycrisp and they’re usually easier to find!
That mug is beautiful and perfect for fall!
Pink Ladys are good- my kids like those, Cosmic Crisp, and Honeycrisp. I actually don’t eat a lot of apples on my own so I just go with what the kids like.
A new mug!!! What a great idea. It’s pretty and you will always remember it “came” from Engie. All the gold stars from me for your purchase.
My favourite apple is Sweet Tango. I don’t know where all they grow, but they cost a small fortune and I rarely eat them, but they are SO. DANG. GOOD. I like Honeycrisp but find they can be hit and miss. Sometimes a bit flavourless. My go-to are local Galas. They’re reasonably priced and generally very consistently good.
I just bought 10 lbs of apples this week. I was supposed to make two big apple crisp desserts for an event this weekend…and then the event was postponed. So I have…a lot of apples!!!
I think you’re going to have to make the apple crisps anyway! You can’t let those apples go to waste. And I forgot about Sweet Tango- I don’t think I’ve seen them lately but I’ll get some next time I find them.
I love honey crisp apples, also Granny Smith. I have bought one mum thus far, and that’s it for fall decorating at the moment. I need to up my game 🙂
I like granny smith for baking but not for eating- too sour for me! My kids like them though.
Yay! I’m so glad Foxy is there to stay!
So I don’t usually drink hot drinks, but I do like seasonal beer can glasses. I’m a little addicted to those.
I love honey crisp and granny smith apples. Also, pretty much any apple that can be picked from an orchard.
I would say I like most apples that are crisp- not mushy. The last foavrite variety on that podcast was, predictably, red delicious.
My fave is the Janny…er I mean Honeycrisp apple. Haha!
I’m all decorated for fall here but not Halloween yet. That is a gorgeous mug!
Hee hee. I hope everyone thinks of me from now on when they eat honeycrisp apples!
The first Honeycrisp I ever had were amazing, so crisp and juicy…but I think they are not as good now, and while I sometimes like them, I sometimes find them to be a bit mealy, which is the WORST. I find gala to be somewhat dependable, and we are on the current Cosmic Crisp bandwagon. Haven’t had a mushy one yet. Time will tell as they overproduce them.
Yes- Cosmic Crisp seem to be dependable and they’re cheaper than the Honeycrisp. My daughter likes them, so I’ve just been getting those or Pink Lady.
Ooh! I love that cat pumpkin house! It almost looks to small for Foxy too but it’s gorgeous!
Since moving to a much smaller house I don’t really decorate anymore, other than for Christmas. I just don’t have space to store a lot of seasonal decor (or mugs). But having said that, my mother gave me crocheted spiders a few years ago and these HAVE TO be kept, and should be on the wall now, so thanks for the reminder!
Yes- eventually we’ll probably move to a smaller house and I’ll definitely get rid of a lot of my seasonal decor. It’s definitely hard to store it all!
Jenny aka honeycrisp fan over here. I don’t eat apples anymore bc not advised for SIBO. Grr. One of my Christmas poems arrived to a friend months later- maybe 5 or 6 mos. It was mangled. She texted me pics of it. I’m guessing she thought I’d dropped her from my list. Not the case!
I’m glad your gift card was safe.
Oh, she didn’t get a note of apology from the post office??? She deserved one!
That trail looks so pretty! Also, Foxy is absolutely adorable. <3 I want to adopt another cat but still not quite ready yet. I love the little pumpkin house! <3
That mug is perfect for fall! There is something to be said about indulging in some joys in life, esp with the timeline we're in right now..
My favorite apple = Fuji!
Before we head into the NaBloPo frenzy I am quickly trying to catch up on your blog.
A new kitty. Well that’s news I didn’t want to miss.
I had some Earl Grey today. I love it. We are tea sister.