EcoLavish: An Eco-conscious Fashion Show

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Welcome to The South 47 Farm

The South 47 Farm in Woodinville is a great pumkpin patch for kids and adults alike! The farm has tractor rides, a large pumpkin patch, live music, kettlecorn, and more. My favorite find at this farm was the variety of unique pumpkins. Some of the distinctive pumpkins included cotton candy (a shade of pale pink), cinderella (the type of pumpkin with a long, curly stem), and lumina (a ghostly shade of white). I picked out a squatty, deep orange colored pumpkin, a medium sized lumina, and a small striped pumpkin-esque gourd to create a pumpkin tower for my front steps.

The South 47 Farm has a great family atmosphere and is a perfect example of a classic pumpkin picking experience.

You can check out their website at http://www.south47farm.com/.

My New Favorite Cider Mill!

To kick my week of fall-themed blogs off, I figured I'd start with some of the most delicious apple cider I've ever tasted. Although I've driven past a number of times, this was the first time I stopped at Minea Farms Cider Mill. I don't know why I haven't stopped before (they are open year round!), but I'm so glad I finally did.

The shop inside is relatively small, but the retail area is connected to the actual mill area and you can see through the windows inside into the cider mill area and watch the cider mill in action. The owners were in the shop when I stopped in, and Wanda Minea was offering tasty samples of their ciders. I was delighted to try their cherry cider!

Cherry cider was my favorite type of cider as a kid, and I hadn't found it since I moved out here. Not only did they make cherry cider, but it is probably the best cherry cider I've ever had! It's made with honeycrisp apples and dark cherry juice and is smooth, crisp, fresh, and delish!
They also have a spiced cider, a cranberry apple cider, and a variety of ciders depending on what apple varieties are in season (such as Pink Lady apple cider).

Minea Farms Cider Mill was a perfect way to start off my fall-inspired trip!

The cider mill is on Redmond-Woodinville Road. Minea Farms Cider Mill does not have a website.

On This Harvest Moon...

Autumn is my favorite season. Perhaps, because it is my mom's favorite season, or perhaps because my favorite holiday, Halloween, comes around each year in the fall, but for whatever the main reason may be it is a most delightful season! There's always a bevy of autumn-time activities that I enjoy, and it has been so much fun embarking out on the Eastside to discover some new farms, cider mills, and pumpkin patches to enjoy.

As a child I remember driving out to the country and stopping at a number of farms to pick pumpkins, buy some gourds and Indian corn, and then pick-up some cider and donuts to bring home to enjoy while we carved pumpkins. This week, I'm going to focus on some of the fun farms and whatnot I've discovered for the Halloween season!

The one thing I haven't found to make my fall trifecta of sorts complete is a good old fashioned cake donut. Now, I can't figure out yet if this is unique to the East Coast, or if my PNW friends just don't happen to know what I'm talking about, but if you have a good lead on a farm or cider mill that makes a mean cake donut (plain, glazed, or covered in cinnamon sugar) to go with my cider please do share! Oh, and as much as I love a good Top Pot donut, or other donut shop donut, in this case I'm really trying to find a farm or cider mill with a bakery or homemade donuts on site.

So, I'll start sharing my autumn-time finds, and look forward to hearing where yours are!