I never really understood Anne Shirley’s feelings on October until I moved here. It is so beautiful right now, I can barely stand it. The colours are gorgeous, and every day is a little bit different. I’m becoming slightly unhinged, talking about leaves to my family every day.
I mean, I am stopping perfect strangers on the street to talk to them about fall colours, which isn’t TOTALLY out of line for me, but I am starting to become a tiny bit concerned about my sanity. Also I’m starting to worry that people are going to recognize and avoid me from here on in.
For the first time ever, I will not be celebrating Halloween in the traditional sense, and so I’m a little early this month, talking about my Favourite Things! Some of these things are tricks, some are treats, and some are both.
Gourds, Decorative and Otherwise, Motherfuckers
You guys, I grew my own pumpkins!
Cute, right? Have you ever seen a more perfect pumpkin? There’s more where that came from, in addition to my massive haul of butternut squash.
And, of course, more zucchini.
I could not resist the siren call of the motherfucking decorative gourds. It’s the season, motherfuckers!
Fruit Is Nature’s Candy
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, grape harvesting is done, and so I have thoroughly enjoyed my own backyard Concords.
There is so much incredible fresh fruit right now, and my favourites are pears and apples. A neighbourhood girl was selling plums from her own backyard trees to raise money for the Terry Fox Foundation, so of course I had to buy some.
But the apples, my god, the apples. I cannot get enough of those delicious, tree-ripened McIntosh apples. I’m eating two or three a day right now. I may turn into an apple. HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES.
These apples are delicious! As a matter of fact they are, she said.
The Other Kind of Grape
We live at the bottom of a vineyard; we own, along with my mother-in-law, two acres of it, but the rest is owned by the founder of Tantalus Vineyards. What you may not know is that those vineyards were owned by my husband’s family until my late father-in-law sold them to Tantalus twenty years ago. They still have a block named after him, and they still have the Old Vines, planted by him – and my then-teenaged husband – in 1978. The winery is, therefore, a place I like to visit, particularly when we have out-of-town guests, and so I took my parents there for a wine tasting.
I love their homegrown Riesling, but I REALLY love their Syrah. The Syrah grapes are not grown on the adjacent property; instead they come from just south of here, and sadly they, along with 95% of Okanagan grapes, were decimated by the cold snap we had here in January. Yes, you read that right: 95% of ALL wine grape crops in the Okanagan were destroyed, which means that there will be little to no 2024 vintage. People, if you love Okanagan wines, get them now while you can.
I was disheartened to hear that of 110 Syrah grape plants, from which this wine is made, 108 are gone. You can bet I’m going to savour these wines that my dad bought for me, because it will be many years before they are available again.
Just An Ordinary Girl In An Ordinary World
On a less-apocalyptic note, let’s talk about Ordinary products. I have been using this line for a few years, ever since my wrinkle-less friend Denise (HI DENISE) told me about them. I have loved their caffeine undereye serum, but I branched out and bought the multi-peptide one, and I really think it’s made a difference.
I also bought Matrixyl for my forehead wrinkles, and while I don’t think these are miraculous, dermatologist office substitutes, I think they work pretty well. Things don’t seem to be getting worse, and sometimes the status quo is the best we can hope for.
Ghosting the Blessed Life
Whenever someone visits my house for the first time, there is a guarantee that they will comment on the volume of bananas on my countertop. I don’t blame them; as a family we go through a vast amount. I personally go through fourteen bananas a week, entirely in smoothie form.
My breakfast smoothie is made up of cashew milk, nut butter, a frozen banana, and a ton of spinach. I always feel great after consuming it; it’s a nutrition bomb full of vitamins, fibre, calcium, and iron.
The one thing it’s not super high in is protein. I mean, yes, there is protein involved, but I don’t feel it’s enough to adequately fuel my very active, plant-based lifestyle. This means that every lunch I make myself a smoothie with protein powder, cashew milk, and yet another frozen banana. It feels like a milkshakey treat, and I look forward to it. I used to buy the Protein Works vegan line, but it was a) expensive, and b) only available in the US or UK, and so I was always paying exchange rates and shipping. I decided to branch out and I’m so glad I did.
Ghost vegan protein powder tastes exactly like a delicious chocolate milkshake, not too sweet or cloying, and it has a perfect, non-gritty texture.
I’ve tried a few of the Blessed flavours, to much disappointment. The chocolate, usually a safe flavour for me, is frankly disgusting, and the strawberry isn’t much better. The chocolate coconut is okay, but this! This vanilla chai, which sounds like a risky choice, is really, really good. Once in a while I’ll even use it instead of nut butter in my spinach smoothie and it works great.
Outfit of the Month
It’s my Fall Uniform!
Suzanne (HI SUZANNE) recently was talking about buying multiples of the same clothing item, which is a very relatable topic. I have bought three pair of the Infinite Fit Silver jeans that I spoke about last month – they are stretchy and comfortable and, amazingly, don’t lose their shape. They fit like a more-structured yoga pant. These ones are the straight cut, which I like to wear cuffed with booties. The sweater is just a light old one from the Gap, and the tank top underneath is from Lululemon, both about six years old. I wear some combination of jeans, boots, and a black – or, if I’m feeling saucy, grey – sweater, often with a tank underneath, basically every day. Why mess with the uniform?
As previously mentioned, I won’t be celebrating Halloween in the traditional sense, and that is because I’m going on a big adventure! To that end, I will be taking a blog break. I can’t wait to tell you all about it, sometime in November, but until then, take care of yourselves, friends. Treat yourselves tenderly, and maybe treat yourself to a few treats as well. Or tricks! I don’t judge. xo
Oh, Nicole!!!!! Have a wonderful adventure and I can’t wait to hear all about it (and how your backpacks held up)! I don’t think I’ve ever been out of touch for so long since meeting you…
Your neighbor with the plums seems adorable–the way they decorated the bags is so charming and they have the best name ;). I will be on the lookout for Tantalus wines from now on now that I know of your connection to it. And I’m so impressed by your pumpkins and squash because those mean you’re kind of set for the winter months. THAT’S
some serious homesteading!
Please give Rex lots of pets from me, please? I so love his dear face. XOXO
I hope you can get Tantalus where you are! If you see it definitely try it!
I thought you might like the plums 🙂
So much fall fruit and veggies! I love it!!!
I recently ordered apples and pears from Davidson Farm located in Kelowna. Every year, my friend’s daughter, has to raise money for the swim club she belongs to. To support her, we bought a box many years ago and because they were delicious, we now buy a few boxes every year and a few of my friends buy them too. I wish the farm would also sell plums. 😋
Because I eat animal products, I don’t usually add protein powder in my smoothies. But I totally know what you mean about having tried many protein powders before you found a favourite. A lot of them taste like chemicals or chalky. I do love to add nut butter and hemp seeds to smoothies – so much nutrition! And protein too.
Farm fresh apples are just so great! I think plums are maybe harder to transport – also this year wasn’t great for stone fruit because of the cold snap last winter. Still, what we had was yummy!
Our leaves are still mostly green, but we have touches of color popping up here and there. I am glad you are getting to enjoy some fall color. I wish I could eat that much fruit, but I’m limited to 1/2 an apple or pear at a time (1/4 if it’s at breakfast). I am eating apple or pear every day, too, though. I had pear in my chia pudding this morning.
We grew pumpkins one year and one was big enough to use as a jack-o-lantern, but I picked it too soon and the rind was very hard and difficult to cut. Live and learn.
Have fun on your trip! Can’t wait to hear all about it.
Oh Steph, I didn’t know that about the apples and pears and I had to just stare into space for a moment.
These pumpkins are apparently “jack o lantern” variety but unless J carves one while we are gone (unlikely) I won’t know if they are good for it or not.
Wow, that really is a perfect pumpkin! I love all the gourds. And how fun that you GREW THEM YOURSELF.
I’ll come up to take care of Rex while you’re gone! Oh wait- I’m probably needed here (darn.) Or maybe you’re taking him with you- but for some reason I’m under the impression that you’re flying. Anyway- have a great trip! I can’t wait to hear all about it.
Not to worry, Jenny, Rexie will be living his second best life (his first best is with me!) while we are gone!
Your pumpkins are pure perfection! You had an impressive harvest of everything, and I’m so jealous of all the fruits & veggies you have access to right out your front door! I can totally see why you talk about the fall foliage so much – it’s gorgeous. I go on about it here, and ours isn’t nearly as colorful as yours. We have a lot of golds, but not as many reds, purples, and oranges. When I see a red tree, I’m screaming, “Ooooh! Look at that!” I hope you have a wonderful trip, Gnicole, but WAAAAAAA. I’m going to miss you!!
THE RED TREES!!! There are some near the lake that are a brilliant red and I’m always internally screaming/ dancing like Maria in the Sound of Music.
I’ll still be around the IG world! But I’ll miss you too (will be catching up on the gnome party in November! Then it will be Christmas Gnome Season!)
Concord grapes are mom’s favorite. Macs are my fave apple. Right now I’m chomping a lot of apples from the farm and damn they are delicious. Enjoy your adventure!
There is nothing so delicious as fresh-from-the-farm fruit! Love it.
I am pretty lame in the face care department but my daughter is loving The Ordinary products and they seem quite inexpensive? Can you get them other places than Sephora? She ordered some from there with a birthday gift card, but I haven’t actually looked to source them closer to home.
LOOK AT THAT HAUL OF PRODUCE. I am so, so jealous. I have zero desire to garden myself, but I really wish I lived next to you and could piggyback on the bounty.
I have friends who have a counter overflowing with bananas – they eat A LOT of smoothies!
Have the best time on your adventure. Can’t wait to catch up when you get home <3
The Ordinary products are very inexpensive! And they last for quite a while, so really great value. Allegedly they are also available at The Bay, but I can’t confirm that personally – I’ve always got them from Sephora.
If you lived beside me you would be INUNDATED with produce!
I always enjoy your posts. And your produce is astounding, and yes, I worry when I don’t catch a glimpse of bananas on your counter because I think something must be wrong! As for the colours of fall, I can’t get enough of them. I remember when I first arrived in Canada (many many years ago) and had never seen fall before. And I couldn’t understand why everyone around wasn’t just gasping at it and instead had their heads down in a book or their eyes closed on the bus on my morning commute.
Aww thank you Pearl! I agree with you – how is everyone not walking around amazed all the time at the gorgeous colours?
That really is the perfect pumpkin. I’m struggling with the colder temps, so haven’t been outdoors much to enjoy the fall colors. We did go apple picking a few weeks ago, so I’ve made a caramel apple pie, cinnamon apple waffles, ginger apple bars, and many salad combinations that include apples. There’s still a big bowl of them looking at me. Have a wonderful adventure!
That’s lovely, Bijoux! Not the cold, but the apples. I haven’t made a thing with them, we are just eating them straight up!
What are you going to do with all that squash? Enquiring minds and all that!
Rex! Such a happy face. I can hardly stand his adorableness.
As you know, my husband is allergic to bananas and I sort of hate them, so…no bananas here!
Have a GREAT trip!
I gave away a lot of the squash, but I still have a ton. I plan to use it for soups and to roast.
You know what, I don’t think I DID know that about bananas! No bananas for you!
I love plums and totally would buy Maya’s plums…even if it weren’t to raise funds.
Love your fall uniform and thank you for turning me onto The Ordinary products, I love them. Just got a fresh order of them from Target this week.
Can’t wait to hear about your big adventure! Have fun.
Enjoy your adventure! I can’t wait to hear about it.
Dem pumpkins! Dem apples!
Ghost is a great name for a protein powder because that’s exactly the right taste – nothing. We go through bananas like no one’s business, so you’d feel right at home here.
I love your home-grown pumpkin! I love that Tantalus wine label, although I’m sad about the grapes. My parents have a plum tree and I had many, many plums from it, but Maya’s bag art is awesome. I got a bag of Macs from the pumpkin patch on Wednesday and they are next-level delicious.
I think I need to get a better smoothie maker, because I think spinach would be really good for me to eat more of, and my immersion blender will not cut it for spinach.