Tobins' Tastes: July 2016

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

45 Apple Dessert Recipes For Fall


As much as the teacher in my hates to admit it, Back To School is right around the corner. Which means that Fall can't be far behind. It may take months (maybe years?) for the Florida weather to start feeling fallish but that doesn't mean I can't take matters into my own hands and start making some seasonal recipes. 

I know most people are all about that pumpkin spice when it comes to fall desserts but personally I prefer apple flavors. Here's a little round up of some of my favorite apple desserts - perfect for fall or all year long. 

These photos are not mine but I have rounded them up for you to enjoy. If you want to pin an individual recipe or specific photo please click through to the original post and share from there. If you want to pin this post and the entire collection just pin the collage above!

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Freshly Picked Moccasins Giveaway!



I have a confession to make - I have been following Freshly Picked Moccasins on social media long before Easton was ever thought of. My friend Hannah's daughters wear them and I loved how cute they always looked in them.


Tank Jumper: June & January 

Once I got pregnant with Easton I knew I would be purchasing him a pair and I was so excited when my girlfriend got him a pair for my baby shower gift. She got me size 3's so he could get a good amount of use out of them so I put them on display in his nursery and patiently waited for him to fit into them.


Once Easton was born he quickly earned the title of "Houdini" when it came to his socks. I could put them on him and he could have one removed and lost before I could walk down stairs. No matter what type of socks we tried he could get out of them.



We lost socks in the car, at the grocery store, church, family members house. Basically, every time I did baby laundry I had more single socks then pairs. So we just started leaving him barefoot which was fine until he started crawling and trying to stand up everywhere we went.


Around 8 months old, I tried Easton's moccasins on and was thrilled to have them finally fit. Then I realized I had no idea how to "style" them. All the fashion forward moms on social media had these unbelievable handmade/small shop outfits to pair with their moccs and Easton's closet, while extensive, was mostly mainstream name brands. I decided that his need to not be barefoot any more outweighed my style dilemma so I paired his Swimming With Sharks with an Old Navy onesie and called it a day.



And guess what? No one in Target asked me where his outfit was from. They were too busy commenting on how cute his moccs were. And the rest is history. Easton's little moccasin stash is now up to 4 pairs and we are patiently awaiting the arrival his pre-ordered anchors.

Clockwise from the top: Butterscotch Licorice, Born In The USA, Weathered Brown, Swimming With Sharks 

 I am slowly but surely getting better and pairing them with outfits and have loved getting inspiration from Freshly Picked's Instagram and all the "cool moms" on social media. I am loving learning more about the Small Shop/Handmade baby and kids clothing world and have found some amazing shops that we love to pair our moccs with.


He is just starting to walk and I love how his moccs fit him and help make his transition to walking as easy as possible. We recently took a week long road trip and it was so easy to just throw a few pairs of Freshly Picked and not have to worry about packing Easton socks/shoes to go with every outfit. Check out some of his vacation outfits below.

Shirt: Hurley - Shorts: Freshly Picked - Moccs: FP Weathered Brown

Tank Jumper: June & January - Moccs- FP Weathered Brown 

Onesie: Old Navy - Moccs: FP Born In The USA (discontinued but check out Go For Gold)

Outfit: Carter's - Moccs: FP Swimming With Sharks

Onesie: GAP - Fedora: Gymboree - Moccs: FP Butterscotch Licorice 

I am so excited to have the opportunity to giveaway a pair of Freshly Picked soft soled moccasins on the blog this week! Please note that you cannot have won a FP giveaway in the last 60 days and that shipping is only available in the United States (sorry!). Once a winner is randomly chosen you will need to respond to your email from me within 48 hours so I can give your information to Freshly Picked. Good luck!





Full disclosure: I did not receive monetary compensation for this post but Freshly Picked did send Easton an awesome pair of moccasins and they are graciously providing the giveaway prize to the winner. All options are completely my own and we loved FP way before this collaboration : ) 

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Tobins' Travel - Summer Road Trip 2016


We recently did the unthinkable- we took a week long road trip with a baby. Our parents' told us we were crazy. Our friends advised us against it. We doubted ourselves once or twice. But minus a few minor meltdowns (Easton, not us of course), it was actually an incredible trip.


Easton has done a few short weekend trips to Orlando and Palm Beach but until this recent trip the most time he had spent in the car straight was less than 3 hours. We planned ahead, did our research and packed an excessive amount of toys and snacks and we all survived. Turns out the only way to get him to nap for longer than an hour is to drive him on windy, mountain roads.


Our main purpose for the trip was to meet up with my parents at my aunt and uncle's lake house in Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia for a few days of relaxation. My parents were driving my brother cross country in a U-Haul (who's crazy?) and would be ending up there on Sunday night. We weren't comfortable driving straight through from Florida to Virginia so we decided to break it up by stopping in Hilton Head for the night on the way up.


We left home around 10:30 am on a Saturday and stopped for lunch at a Moe's in Palm Coast, FL. If you are driving from South Florida north on I-95 the Palm Coast exit is a great place to stop for lunch. They had quite a few restaurants right off the high way and they were all pretty new and clean. Even before a baby we are the kind of people who plan out our possible meal stops beforehand because we hate getting stuck and having to eat at a McDonalds (no offense).

We try to eat at local places when possible but sometimes we stop at chains for the sake of convenience or due to lack of "cool" places close to the highway. We usually use Google Maps or Trip Advisor's "Near Me Now" feature to see what is right off the highway and have found quite a few fun places that way. We also love using TV Food Maps to plan meal stops in advance too.


For reasons I can't disclose to protect his dignity, Easton needed two separate outfit changes between Palm Coast, FL and Hilton Head, SC. This meant we had to make some unscheduled stops at places like Peaches World in Georgia. Yes, it's a place and it even has an official check in on social media. Don't worry, you aren't missing anything.


After a little traffic we got to Hilton Head around 5pm. My dad's best friend from college and his wife have a house there and they were kind enough to let us stay with them. It was great to have a place where Easton could crawl around and play after a day in the car. We we able to take a long walk on the beach, eat a delicious homemade meal and be on the road to Smith Mountain Lake by 8:30 the next morning.


We made amazing time thanks to a very long car nap and were able to make our planned lunch stop of Tupelo Honey Cafe in Charlotte. It was only about 5 minutes off the highway and well worth the detour. I was able to make an online reservation on my phone when we were about an hour away so we only had to wait a few minutes for our table. It's a small chain and we had visited their Asheville location on another trip so we knew it was good. Justin got the Fried Green Tomatoes and Tupelo Honey Signature Salad and I had the Havarti & Pimento Grilled Cheese. I'm so bummed we didn't take any pictures because it was all unbelievable.


We got back on the road and made it Smith Mountain Lake around 5pm that night. If you have never been to Smith Mountain Lake, Virgina, you need to go. Both Justin and I didn't know much about it but the area is gorgeous. My aunt and uncle have a beautiful Lake House and were the hosts with the most as we spent our days kayaking, jet skiing, having my uncle give us tours of the lake on the boat and enjoying my aunt's gourmet cooking.


It was Easton's fist time to a lake, first time kayaking and first boat ride. He loved it as much as a 9 month old can love anything and we were shocked at how good he was the whole time. After three days were were sad to leave but excited to take Easton to Asheville, a place both Justin and I love.


Coming soon:
-The Asheville leg of our trip
- A review of The Village Hotel on Biltmore Estate
- Road trip with a baby- tips, tricks and must haves



Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...