The Messy Mommies are putting a spell on you! Join us and watch Hocus Pocus 2 on Friday, September 30 on Disney + with your family and friends! We are so excited that the wickedly glorious Sanderson Sisters are flying back into our lives and are bringing some spooky Halloween fun! We love that the fabulous Sanderson Sisters - Winifred (Bette Midler), Mary (Kathy Najimy), and Sarah (Sarah Jessica Paker) shared their Top 10 Reasons to Watch Hocus Pocus 2! From great musical numbers to dark curses to zombies, we loved all of their reasons to watch Hocus Pocus 2! Our number 1 reason to watch Hocus Pocus 2 is to have a magical evening by spending time with our family and friends! We'll capture some of the magic from when we first watched Hocus Pocus 29 years ago and from watching with our mini witches over the past several years. We'll laugh with our kids as we welcome back our friends, Winifred, Mary, and Sarah and cannot wait to meet the new high school friends! Movies like Hocus Pocus and Hocus Pocus 2 cast a spell that binds generations  together in such a fantastic way. As Messy Moms, we love sharing these spellbinding evenings with our kids. We know that with the flick of a magic wand time will travel fast and our kids will be grown! So we are casting a spell to slow time down, especially on Friday, September 30 so we can all watch Hocus Pocus 2 together! 

You know the Messy Mommies love a good theme for our Messy gatherings! So, we are sharing some favorites to help you get ready for your Hocus Pocus 2 watching party! We love how even when things run amuck, the Sanderson Sisters help each other and cheer each other on! Similarly, sisters, you can wave your magic wand and support some fantastic female owned small businesses with your Hocus Pocus 2 gathering! I smell children! Or, I smell amazing Hocus Pocus 2 cookies and devilish treats! Check out these gorgeous treats by Becky from A Jill of all Treats! We ordered the festive "I smell children" cookie cake! We also love Becky's so cute book brownies and spooky cake pops!  

Max, Dani and Allison had apple cider in the beginning of the first Hocus Pocus movie and it would be a great beverage on September 30! You could order some spooky and funny Hocus Pocus cups from Perfectly Imperfect! They love glitter and so do we! And, Perfectly Imperfect is very funny, just like the Sanderson Sisters! 

Our favorite witch, Sadie also has some fabulous Hocus Pocus glasses at her spooktacular Posh West Boutique! These cute cups are flying off the shelves so hop on your broom or hover board and fly off to Posh West! Sadie also has spooky Halloween decorations to help cast your spells! And, check out her inspiring story when on her website! 

We are also all about the snacks! Here is Messy Mommy Holly's favorite popcorn ball recipe! We mentioned how movies like Hocus Pocus bind the generations and so do the snacks. This special recipe is from Holly's dad. 

We know you may be hungry from flying around the skies of Salem so check out this clever Sanderson Sisters cheese box by Russo's Catering! What a fun way to support another small business and provide fun snacks to your little witches and zombies! 

We will also be stirring up our cauldrons to make Hocus Pocus 2 chocolate bark and spooky cookies next week! 

Of course, these Messy Mommy sisters are breaking out our balloon talents for Hocus Pocus 2! And, have you seen the funny bats reels on Instagram? We ordered these fun bats for our Hocus Pocus 2 movie night! We also found festive Sanderson Sisters shirts and some other great Hocus Pocus 2 decorating ideas! Check out our Amazon favorites! Please know that the Messy Mommies witches are Amazon Affiliates and when you shop with us you help support our Messy events and Messy blog. 

Sisters, clear your schedules and don't run amuck! All those errands, dishes, and laundry are all just a bunch of Hocus Pocus! The real magic is found in special evenings together with your family and friends! Start planning! We'll meet you in Salem on Friday, September 30 on Disney+ to watch Hocus Pocus 2! Come, we fly! 
XOXO,
Witches Meg and Holly 

How is your summer bucket list going? We know what you need to add to your list! You need to go glamping at Sankoty Lakes near Starved Rock with your family and friends! The Messy Mommies booked two tents at the last minute for the Saturday of 4th of July weekend and our way to brief visit was so awesome!

 My parents have a beautiful cabin at Lake Wildwood which is near Lacon, IL and for the 4th of July weekend we had lots of family and dogs at the lake! A few days before the 4th weekend Messy Mommy Holly and I were talking about that maybe our two families should try to stay near somewhere near the lake so they rest of the family would have a little more sleeping room at the cabin. We started googling options. Stared Rock was sold out and there are not a lot of hotels or airbnbs in the area. I stumbled upon Sankoty Lakes and the glamping tents and the gorgeous property looked amazing! I sent the link to Holly and shared that it looked like they still had two tents available at this beautiful Midwest wilderness retreat!

We knew the 4th of July weekend was so busy and crossed our fingers that we could still get in! Kim with Sankoty Lakes was so helpful! We were able to book the last two tents that happened to be right next to each other for Saturday night! I explained that we wouldn't be arriving until after the fireworks so probably around 10:30 pm and Kim said security would be able to check us in when we arrived. I have to give a shout out to the security team! They were fantastic with our late arrival and helping us check-in to our tents! 

The girls and our sweet dogs, Ginger and Rocky were as excited as the grown-ups to check out our very cool two bedroom glamping tents! We quickly unpacked and tried to build a fire. We didn't have much luck with our fire but enjoyed sitting out on our deck drinking wine and chatting with the bullfrogs and lake noises in the background.

Now, you may thinking that you are not sure if glamping and tent living is for you! Well, Sankoty Lakes glamping is fabulous! Our glamping tent walls were canvas and then there is a wood floor and wood walls! We had one bedroom with a queen bed and one bedroom with bunk beds. There is a nice kitchenette with a table with chairs and a TV that connect to your streaming platform. The girls had YouTube on in the morning! And, one of the best features - a great full, indoor bathroom! You also have a firepit, picnic table and so nice sitting area outside your tent. Great glamping design!

In the morning Rocky, Ginger and the girls loved walking down the road to check out Sankoty Lakes and I was impressed with the great attention to detail in the design of each glamping tent site and the beautiful grounds. As we walked you could tell families were well prepared for their glamping adventure as bikes were near tents, coolers, and outdoor lawn games dotted the area. The RV path seemed packed with happy visitors as well!

Our Messy crew was way less prepared! Holly and I had been planning with my mom for our fun 4th of July at the cabin and we didn't spend much time prepping for our glamping adventure! I had packed muffins and cereal for breakfast but had forgot the milk! Tony ran to a near by gas station and picked up coffee, milk, eggs, bacon and rolls for more provisions! Tony and Matt had a great time in the morning building a roaring fire and they cooked breakfast over the fire which was great fun! 

Matt, Holly and Eleanora had to get back to Chicago for other 4th of July fun and we had to get back to Lake Wildwood so unfortunately we did not have time to explore and experience more of the fabulous features of Sankoty Lakes on this trip. We did swing by to check out the pretty clubhouse that overlooks the lakes and check out the lovely Woolly Bugger restaurant. You could sit outside and have drinks while overlooking the lakes while the kids play yard games. There is a great place for swimming with cabanas and of course there is incredible trout fly fishing and other areas to fish at Sankoty Lakes! You can also rent kayaks and bike around the beautiful lakes!

Thanks to everyone that entered our July Messy Mommies Gas Cards Giveaway! Congratulations to Angela from Texas for winning two $25.00 gas cards! We hope the gas cards put some sparkle into your July! We thought this was a great way to kick off the 4th of July with a bang! We love to celebrate America with family and friends at the lake! We knew driving plans might be fizzling with the crazy gas prices and we wanted to help! We loved seeing all of our Messy friends' comments about their 4th of July plans and what they were making for the festivities! From backyard cookouts with BBQ and potato salad to pool parties with pasta salad, patriotic fruit trays, and red, white, and blue drinks, to fire pits with s'mores and so many other great celebrations - we loved hearing about how you all planned to celebrate! We hope your 4th of July celebrations were filled with great fireworks and great fun with your family and friends! We'll see you soon again on Instagram with another fun giveaway! Thanks Messy crew for joining in the 4th of July Gas Cards Giveaway fun! 

​April is still roaring like a lion and we are hoping May will come in like a sunny, cheery lamb! The Chicagoland sunny then stormy and freezing weather is giving us whiplash! Stella and Sophia wanted to celebrate Earth month with planting a blueberry bush and a raspberry bush which we did in pots last week. They loved picking out and planting the berry bushes and it was great fun. Then, April whooshed in more freezing weather and the pots are in our hallway!

​While these chilly April days have flown by, we are still cheering on people who care about our planet and are celebrating businesses who are being good stewards. The Messy Mommies love a good cocktail and we love even more spirits brands that are innovative and focused on sustainability! We toasted three amazing companies last year!

​Today, we are sharing why we love how Maker’s Mark is making a wonderful mark in supporting our planet! A little back story first! The iconic Maker’s Mark bottle has been a part of our cocktails story for years. My husband, Tony’s grandfather, Anthony was a spirits salesman. Some of Anthony’s old cocktail glasses have found a new life in our home. Tony and my siblings love to make Manhattans and Old Fashions in those glasses and we toast to family, friends, old stories, and being together. I gave Tony a bar cart for Christmas which he loved. When I pass by the cart with the cocktail glasses and Maker’s Mark it makes my smile and think of special toasts together.
 
During the pandemic some of my family mastered fun cocktails. While there is an abundance of spirits choices for mixing the perfect cocktail, we love to support brands that also care about our planet. The iconic Maker’s Mark takes their responsibility of not only crafting exceptional whiskey but also executing exceptional sustainability practices.

​My daughter, Sophia did a school project on Kentucky so we love that the Maker’s Mark Distillery is located in Loretto, Kentucky! We love the innovation of the Maker’s Mark team and how they created a zero-landfill initiative that will re-purpose or recycle all waste from the Distillery by this summer! That is so amazing and it is so cool how employees and community neighbors can bring their recycled materials to the distillery. You might wonder how do you get to zero-landfill?! We sure did! Maker’s Mark has embraced onsite composting, recycling, and waste-to-energy processes. Collaboration and being a good neighbor are core to Maker’s Mark as you can see by how for decades they have provided spent distilling grains to local farmers as feed for animals. This also helps reduce the carbon footprint and impact on landfills.
 
Just like so many elements add up to make the perfect bottle of Maker’s Mark whiskey, so many eco-friendly actions add up to make a big impact for the distillery and our planet. From creating a 33-acre Natural Water Sanctuary of its grounds to preserve the watershed that feeds Bourbon Lake to pulverizing empty glass bottles into sand that can be reused for other projects to converting waste into reusable compost, helping our Earth is a way of life at Maker’s Mark.

​You know the Messy Mommies love deep traditions, family stories, and how to preserve things for our Messy kids and future generations. Well, we think the bourbon barrels are such a cool part of the bourbon story and are impressed with how Marker’s Mark is caring for the American White Oak trees which are used for the bourbon barrels. Maker’s Mark created the world’s largest research repository for American White Oak trees which acts as a living laboratory for more than 300 families of white oak trees. We love how they have collaborated with the University of Kentucky’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources to study the sustainability of the trees. This important work will help preserve the trees for many years to come!

While Earth Month is wrapping up, we know the amazing work to care for our planet will keep growing at Maker's Mark! We love how the Samuels family is carrying on the deep traditions at the Maker's Mark Distillery at Star Hills Farm! Rob, the Messy Mommies and our Messy crew would love to visit you all this summer! We can toast our families and friends and how you all are leading the way in sustainability and being wonderful stewards of our planet! In the meantime, Messy friends check out these great Maker's Mark cocktail recipes and how you could visit the Maker's Mark Distillery too!  

1. Noble Oak and Noble Hearts
If a bottle of Noble Oak Whiskey falls in a forest and no one is around, does it make a sound? We don't know the answer but you just might find a bottle of Noble Oak Whiskey in a forest since Noble Oak is planting an enormous amount of trees! For every Noble Oak bottle purchased, Noble Oak is planting a tree with the One Tree Planted organization! Noble Oak has already planted more than 203,496 trees! That is an amazing amount of trees and an amazing impact! We love Noble Oak's noble heart. Noble Oak is "on a mission to revitalize the earth by planting trees, building communities, and of course, enjoying great whiskey." We love this mission and the Noble Oak Double Oak Bourbon! You can also enjoy Noble Oak Double Oak Rye. 

Huge thanks to Tom from Noble Oak for sending us the great video message and toast from Noble Oak for our April Girls Night In! We talked about the impressive work of Noble Oak with planting so many trees and our Messy Girlfriends shared how they make great bourbon cocktails, put bourbon in hot tea, on a baby's gums when we were little, and even in sugar cookies! The Messy Mommies also love how Noble Oak is part of the Edrington brands. Edrington's sustainability strategy includes great people, giving more, cutting their carbon footprint, protecting water resources and more. Pick up a bottle of Noble Oak Whiskey today and they will plant a tree for you! What a fun way to celebrate Earth Month! Outstanding work Noble Oak and Edrington! ​

3. Ketel One 
Drawing on 300 years of distilling expertise, we love how the Nolet family and Ketel One are a driving force in promoting sustainability in cocktails and in inspiring bartenders to be innovative while thinking about their communities and the planet. Ketel One is helping the cocktail industry think differently about sustainability, is highlighting the positive impact of working with local growers, and is sharing how to create delicious zero-waste cocktails. Think about the lemon peel garnish in your favorite Ketel One Vodka Martini. What happens to the rest of the lemon? What happens to so many garnishes and other elements of cocktails? Instead of tossing so much waste into the trash, Ketel One is helping bartenders and bars around the world re-imagine cocktails and how to provide an even better drinking experience that will also care for our planet! Ketel One created the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Awards to highlight innovations such as climate-positive cocktails, sourcing raw materials with local farmers, and thinking about the use of straws and coasters. Even during the pandemic Ketel One Sustainable Award winners are adapting and innovating!  Cheers to your innovative work Nolet family and Ketel One!

We are also big fans of the garden inspired Ketel One Botanicals and love of the refreshing drinks are infused with natural essence of fresh, crisp and fragrant botanicals! The Messy Mommies are toasting the Nolet family and Ketel One with the Peach and Orange Blossom Ketel One Botanicals! Cheers! ​

Huge thanks to Noble Oak, Sunny with a Chance of Flowers, and Ketel One for caring about our planet, for driving innovation, and inspiring people make positive changes that will help the Earth for decades to come. Cheers to all of you from the Messy Mommies! ​

Baseball is back and the Messy Mommies are making a "Walk Son Song" playlist to share with you!

Walk on songs got a start in 1972 when Yankees reliever, Sparky Lyle, walked onto the mound with "Pomp and Circumstance!" Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" was a tune for one of our favs, @arizz_44. Join in on the fun and become part of our spring playlist! Share your Walk On song in the comments below!

One of my all time favorite Grammy Award winners is Sheryl Crow, winner of nine Grammy Awards! Several of her songs appear on my current workout playlists, but If I had to pick my ‘walk-on song’ for this spring season, Soak Up the Sun tops my list! Best line….”For every time I feel lame, I’m looking up!”
Meg’s ‘walk-on song’ would be Firework by Katy Perry and loves the lines, “If you only knew what the future holds, After a hurricane comes a rainbow, Maybe a reason why all the doors are closed, So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road.”

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Join us this weekend and be like Betty!
1. Donate to an animal shelter
2. Eat a hot dog
3. Eat red licorice
4. Drink vodka
5. Watch the Golden Girls marathon on the Hallmark Channel
6. Follow your passion
7. Make people laugh
8. Be kind
Thank you for being a friend Betty! You have inspired us with your kindness, wit, and passion. Cheers to all of us being more like Betty! 
#bettywhite #bettywhite100 #goldengirls #honoringbettywhite #thelostvalentine #animalshelters #hotdogs #vodka #laughter #kindness ​

Looks like this is another year of small gatherings with family and friends for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day celebrations. While we can't wait to kick 2021 to the curb, we do want to find some more laughter and joy. The super easy game, Empire is the perfect way to lighten this New Year's Eve weekend!

We played Empire this Christmas with our family and had so much fun! We started playing Empire a few years ago with the Tortorello crew and then started playing with the Murer team. We love this game because all ages can play together and people are so clever with their name picks! We promise your New Year's Eve celebration crew will laugh tons and will have fun playing Empire. Here is how the game is played! 

Empire!
One person is the organizer of the game. Each person is given a piece of paper and pen. Write down a name of a person you want to be - it can be a famous actor, a singer, a politician, a family member, a cartoon character, a superhero or any name. Fold up the paper and the organizer collects all the names in a bowl. The organizer mixes ups the names and then reads the list twice. The youngest person goes first. When we played Stella was first! The first person tries to guess a person and the name they wrote. For example, Stella guessed that her dad, Tony was Justin Fields. He was not Justin Fields. If the guess is wrong, the guessed person goes next. If the guess is right that person joins the guessers team and starts an Empire. People move seats to sit with their Empire. The game becomes really funny as people guess wrong and try to remember all of the names. The teams can whisper amongst each other to try to figure out the other names. The game ends when the last Empire guesses the final person. The head of the winning Empire starts the next round. Stella was so clever by being Betty White! She looked up famous people on my phone. Sophia cracked us up by being my cousin's cat, Angel and Eleanora stumped many of us by being the famous soccer player Rose LaVelle. Molly had a great trick of thinking about the name in categories when you get towards the end and can't remember someone. For example, what actors, what singers, what superheros were named.

Games like Empire are a great way to bring some much needed laughter into the holidays! Shout out to Mackenize for teaching us this game years ago! We hope your New Year's Eve celebrations are filled with deep laughter, great guessing, and cheers to a brighter 2022!
xoxo,
Thelma and Louise 

Tony and I are late to watching the funny and inspiring Ted Lasso Apple TV+ series and it is fantastic. We are now on to season 2 and just watched the 4th episode, Carol of the Bells which has a great Love Actually vibe. For months people have been telling us that we need to watch this clever, witty show. Ted Lasso had an impressive 13 Emmy nominations and won 7 Emmys including Outstanding Comedy Series. I can see why. This is a show all about kindness and we can all use more kindness these days! So, in honor of Ted Lasso, we hope you will join the Messy Mommies in celebrating World Kindness Day on Saturday, November 13! 
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You could give toys to a holiday toy drive or donate to a local food pantry. You could call to check in on family and friends or send cards to a nursing home. You could make thank you notes for health-care workers or buy coffee for the person behind you in line. You could post a “believe” message on social media or say hello to people while going for a walk. You could smile at people at the pub or give someone spare change. You could give someone a favorite book or bake biscuits for others. Every kind action, big or small, helps spread kindness and makes our world a better place! You can find more information on the Inspire Kindness website! Thanks for joining us for World Kindness Day! 

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Our kids are the apples of our eyes and we love making memories together, especially during apple orchard and pumpkin patch season! So, we are throwing it back and are sharing a favorite post about apple orchards from 2016! Start making your plans and we'll meet you in the orchards! xoxo, Meg, Holly, and Brooke

We love fall in the Midwest! We pack September and October weekends with quick road trips and afternoon outings to so many fantastic apple orchards and pumpkin patches in the Chicagoland area! Our kids love picking apples, searching for the perfect pumpkins, devouring apple donuts, playing in corn pits and corn mazes, and exploring the farms and orchards.

As parents, we know it can be a bit overwhelming when mapping out your fall family fun plans! Fall agtourism is booming and it can be a bit tricky figuring out admission prices, which places are all inclusive and which have add on costs, and food options. Parking, strollers, and wait lines can also impact your family fun. We want to help you plan a great fall outing so we put together a list of some of our favorites! Happy Fall! Brooke, Holly, & Meg

We love Apple Holler so much that we visited twice last year! Apple Holler made USA Today's 2015 list of 10 best apple orchards to visit in the nation!

You will have many choices in Apple Holler's 74 acre apple orchard that contains more than 30,000 dwarf apple trees in thirty varieties! Plus you can find peaches, pears, and pumpkins! When you arrive, you checkin at the red building and select your picking bags. A 1/2 peck bag per adult will give you lots of great apples for baking and eating. Click for details on adult and children apple picking pricing.

Apple Orchard is busy so I suggest planning your trip to arrive right when it opens and head out for apple picking first. You can bring strollers and park them when you go out into the orchard. You have the option to walk out to the orchard but I highly recommend you take the festive tractor pulled wagon! The great Apple Holler staff will direct you to which apples are ready for picking. Our twins, Sophia and Stella were three and a half last fall and were fascinated with picking the apples off of the trees. And, we all loved that you can eat/taste as many apples as you want while picking! Be sure to put your apple picking receipt somewhere safe, you will need to show it to the Apple Holler staff when you come back in from the orchard! 

Your apple picking admissions includes the Farm Park. Our kids loved climbing in the corn pit, on hay stacks, in the cow maze, and on the jungle gym after we picked apples. There are also lively goats, chickens, ducks,  and bunnies as well as playhouses for the kids to climb around. For a low charge you can add pony rides, pedal carts, and a train ride. We spent a lot of time in the Farm Park after apple picking and the girls loved playing in the fall festivities! 

You can smell delicious apple cider donuts and kettle corn as you wander around the Farm Park and the ice cream is excellent. The live music makes you want to dance a bit in the fall leaves.  Be sure to go in the bakery and country store! We loved the apple cider donuts, apple turnovers with ice cream, and caramel apples! We also picked up some great jam and popcorn. The restaurant looks good too, though we didn't have time to dine. And, they even have a dinner theater! 

This fabulous apple orchard is just a quick trip from Chicago to Wisconsin and is right off of I-94 between Kenosha and Racine. 

​We loved both our trips to Apple Holler last year and made so many delicious treats with our apples. I even made my first apple pie! Be sure to add Apple Holler to your fun fall plans! We can't wait to visit again this fall! Meg


County Line Orchard is another fun destination for those looking for a great selection of U-Pick apples. The Orchard is located in Hobart, Indiana, on County Line Road (between Lake and Porter counties), one mile south of Route 6, and easy to find. The address is 200 S. County Line Rd., Hobart, IN 46342.
 
County Line Orchard has over 40 acres of apples and the cost this year is $1.79/pound.  You can take a tractor ride out to the orchards where you will find many varieties of apples. Some you’ll be able to pick and enjoy include Suncrisp, Melrose, Shizuka, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Jonagold and Rome.
 
If you bring home apples you may want to check out my favorite apple pie recipe that will be featured in my cookbook. Chicago’s The Chopping Block owner, Shelley Young, shared this recipe with me over 18 years ago and I’ve been baking it ever since!  Click here to find the recipe.
 
County Line Orchard also offer pumpkins, squash, gourds, mums, Indian corn, corn stalks and hay bales if you want to pick up some fall things besides apples!
 
But don’t think the fun stops here – this place is full of fall adventures waiting for you to discover.  We first visited this orchard on a school field trip when Eleanora was in second grade. We’ve been back two times since the school visit with our family and friends and are always excited to find what each visit brings. We have been to many orchards and pumpkin patches and we find this one to still be quaint with enough to keep everyone entertained but not too much to be overwhelming. You can plan your day using this link to determine hours of operation and admission http://www.countylineorchard.com/hours-admission/.
 
We made sure to take a ride on the “Moo-Choo.” They use Farmall Cub Tractors to pull “barrel” cars on a trip through and around the orchard for an unforgettable view of the farm. We did find on our visit that the Moo-Choo ride is appropriate for both young and old.  You will also have the opportunity to see and feed animals, learn about bees in the Bee Yurt, and even wander and weave through a Corn Maze. This year’s maze theme is appropriate being an election year – you will maze your way through Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump.  Last year Eleanora and I got quite messy with mud (it had rained the night before) on our tour through the maze, and while it was great fun, make sure to come prepared with appropriate shoes or boots!
 
There are so many fun things for kids to do, but adults will be thrilled to see that County Line Orchard showcases local musical talent every weekend in the fall with “Barnyard Jams.” You can find a full schedule of the entertainment offered through October 30th on the orchard’s website. www.countylineorchard.com
 
Also, during weekends The Country Grill is open serving up such things as a fresh grilled burgers, hotdogs, bratwurst and pulled pork sandwiches.  Don’t forget to try the fresh roasted Indiana sweet corn! You can enjoy your food in the picnic area while listening to some of the great entertainment offered during the Barnyard Jams!
 
​Have a great visit! Holly


Who doesn't love the Fall crisp air, homemade apple pie and apple donuts? Yummy! I love reading about Holly and Meg’s favorite places to go- I can’t wait to check them out myself!
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We, of course, have a family favorite that we all look forward to visiting every year, sometimes we make the trip twice just for the donuts. If you haven’t been to Garwood Orchards in LaPorte, Indiana it’s a must. It’s located less than 2 hours from Chicago, and in the country of Indiana. As a country gal myself, I must admit I feel right at home. The fresh air and taste of warm deep fried donuts are worth the trip. It’s a family owned operation that offers the best of both worlds, you get to ride on a wagon which takes you out to pick the apples or fresh veggies yourself or you could just hang out at the Farm Market and get some yummy treats at the Bake Shoppe or Gelato Bar. From apples, to strawberries to blueberries, peppers to pumpkins-all your fall favorites are at your fingertips.  

They’re open daily, and of course the weekends will be busier-but we’ve never felt the crowds to be unbearable or waited in extremely long lines. They have more than 400 acres of fresh fruit and veggies you can pick yourself, and you pay for what you pick. There’s no charge to go out in the fields, and the prices are very reasonable for the freshest produce. I know the family takes great pride in making sure you are getting the very best and take great pride in their growing practices.    

While the Honey Crisp are a family favorite, of course there are several types of apples to choose from. In fact here’s the list of the types of apples they have: Red and Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Fuji, Pink Lady, Gold Rush, Ida Red, Granny Smith.
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On the weekends you can check out free live music featuring local talent. If you’re looking for a laid back family friendly fun filled day Garwood Orchards is the place to go-I promise you will love it!

As a social media guru myself, I must admit I’m impressed with Garwood for their customer engagement, regular updates and posts through their Facebook and Twitter accounts. You go!

They’re open through November 6th!! See ya on the Farm- Cheers Friends! Brooke