Hiking: Cedar Falls, Petit Jean

I have a lot to post about lately!  This is several weeks old now, but I thought I would go ahead and get this posted while I get recent photos uploaded.

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Petit Jean State Park is one of our favorite places in the state.  James grew up at the foot of the mountain and it is only a short drive for us now, but it has a way of making us feel like we're way out.  It is a perfect way to take in "The Natural State."  

This summer, we packed up a picnic and a group of friends and went for a hike on the Cedar Falls Trail. 

The trail is gorgeous in the summer.  So green!

It took me a while to get this shot, actually.  There are always lots of hikers hanging around the falls and climbing around behind them.  It's a beautiful place to take a break, so there are always at least a few other groups there when we are.

The trail is only a couple miles long, but the trip back up the mountain can be a little difficult on a hot day.  We have hiked several of the other trails as well, but this is one of our favorites.

About a month ago, we decided to head back up the mountain to take in some of the fall color.  We brought my mom with us this time and had a really nice drive.

Not much hiking on this trip, but we stopped at several overlooks and enjoyed the view.  Cedar Falls looks much different this time of year!

Arkansas Times' Craft Beer Festival

Earlier this month, James, his best friend Jake, and I went to the Arkansas Times' Craft Beer Festival.  There were over 50 breweries (national and local) and many local restaurants serving samples.  

We sampled Brazilian rice and beans, barbecue, bangers and mash, and brats, but the beef stew from Cregeen's Irish Pub in North Little Rock was my favorite.  

Everyone was given a scorecard for keeping track of impressions of the different samples.  

We tried beers from Abita, Anchor, Evil Twin, Green Flash, Hermitage, New Belgium, Ommegang, Tommyknocker...  We tried a beer from Marshall Brewing out of Oklahoma City, which is the brewery that made the special Gentlemen of the Road Guthrie Stopover beer.  One of my favorites was a Pumpkin Pie beer from Core Brewing & Distilling out of Springdale, Arkansas.  We also got to try a sour beer for the first time (which was one of the last ones we tried...so far the life of me I can't even remember what brewery served it!).  I actually really liked it, but I can't say that I'd rather have a glass of that than some of the others we tried.  There were some local breweries, too, but we decided to stick to more of the harder-to-find-around-here brews because we get a lot of local beer anyway.

My hands-down favorite was North Coast's Old Stock Ale.  

We didn't attend the festival last year, but heard from several people that it was much better this year.  We had an awesome time and for $35, it was money well spent!  I will definitely try to make it next year...and bring more friends!

Camping: Toad Suck Lock & Dam

One of our absolute favorite things about fall is camping.  Things have been incredibly busy this year, but we did manage to get in our first camping trip of the season (besides our Gentlemen of the Road trip) a few weeks ago.  Although we live pretty close to the Toad Suck campground, we had never actually camped here before.  

And actually waiting until the last minute paid off this time!  Because the site is run by the Corps of Engineers, most people had moved to State Parks for that weekend due to the government shutdown.  The campground is usually pretty crowded, but our timing worked perfectly and we ended up with a very nice couple of days.

The site was beautiful and quiet and it was fun watching the barges go through the lock and dam.  A couple of friends went with us, so our new tent was perfect.

The weather got quite cold at night, but nothing a campfire and several layers of quilts couldn't fix!

And also the perfect excuse for s'mores!

I don't see us being able to fit in anymore trips this year before the weather gets too cold, but we will definitely keep Toad Suck in mind for future camping trips.

Ich Liebe Oktoberfest!

A few weekends ago, James and I reserved our neighborhood pavilion and threw an Oktoberfest party.  James brewed an Oktoberfest ale (we have yet to venture into making lagers) and my mom and I made lots of German food.  Dad announced the "tapping" of the keg with the traditional "O'zapft is!" ("It is tapped!") and the fun was begun!

Mom's apple streudel was a huge hit, and I had to include cinnamon-sugared almonds and gingerbread cookies.  We had pretzels, a cheese platter, German potato salad, and James's homemade sauerkraut.

My family lived in Germany for several years, so my parents have lots of neat items that we used to give the tables an authentic look.  So thankful to have a mom with such a great eye!  I didn't get many photos of the decor, but we used the traditional blue and white tablecloths and pennant banners.  

We ordered a spiral cutter/slicer to make Oktoberfest radishes.  The slices were a lot thicker than I'd like, so I intent to explore other options for this before next year.  Any suggestions?

James grilled TONS of brats!

We had lots of family in town which was so, so nice.  My awesome aunt Melissa loved spending time with Natalie.

We had such a great time.  The weather was perfect and food was delicious.  We are so blessed to have an extended family that is so close tight-knit.  We had family here from four states!  Lots of Oktoberfest music and of course "The Chicken Dance."  All of the girls were dancing and we even got Natalie joining in on it!  That was probably my favorite part of the evening.  I really hope that this is something we will turn into a yearly event....and Natalie should be a pro chicken-dancer by then. :)

Gentlemen of the Road Stopover: Guthrie

I'm a little late with this post, but several weeks ago James and I headed to Guthrie, Oklahoma for Mumford and Sons' Gentlemen of the Road tour.  We left Wednesday night after work and made the roughly five-hour drive to just north of Oklahoma City.  We set up camp about 10pm and took a little tour of the venue.

It was really exciting to see the stage set up for the first time, but of course our first stop was for beer.  We misunderstood the rules of the campground and didn't bring any drinks with us, so we paid the hefty price for a twelve pack of Mustang Brewery's special edition Stopover Session Ale.

Thursday afternoon we made the walk a few blocks into the old downtown.  All of Guthrie was decked out for the stopover and it was so much fun to see all of the signs, shop windows, and just general enthusiasm for the event.

We ate lunch at the Blue Belle Saloon... 

and caught a group of "wild west" re-enactors in the middle of a gunfight!

Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors (one of my very, very favorite bands) played on the downtown stage that afternoon.  Besides Mumford and Sons, they were the highlight of my trip.  Unfortunately Ellie had to stay with their baby, but the show was great anyway.  We got to meet Drew (again) after the show and get an autograph and photo.  (I'll spare you that photo since we had been out all day in nearly 100 degrees!)

It sounds terrible, but we did spend a lot of time at our little campsite.  We had great "neighbors" and with the crazy heat, we needed the time to rest during the day.

 Saturday afternoon, we camped out at the main stage to see Alabama Shakes (amazing show!!) and get a good spot for Mumford and Sons.  We took a quilt and I may or may not have caught a quick nap in between sets.  This was one of my favorite parts of the weekend. :)

We weren't very close to the stage (I'd rather enjoy the music than fight to keep my position) but it was an awesome show.  Mumford and Sons played an almost two hour set, including an incredibly long encore and two Beatles' songs with special appearances by all of the other bands from the tour. 

 I had read what others said about previous stopovers before we went, but I truly didn't expect to have such a great time.  The music was incredible, the historic downtown was right up my alley, and I really, really enjoyed the time with James.  I definitely wouldn't rule out another stopover next year!

Five on Friday

I'm trying a little something new today and joining this "5 on Friday" link-up.  
Click the logo below and join me!

1.  Florida

A few weekends ago, James and I hitched a ride with my parents to visit my Gram and Mim in Florida.  It was a short weekend (we weren't able to leave until Friday morning and had to be back at work on Tuesday), but it was very nice.  I love looking at the beach...but I much prefer spending my time by the pool.  Never a long enough trip, but it was so nice to see my family and get some time to relax.

2.  Dark & Stormy

I love the Lilly print "Dark and Stormy," but I never knew it was a cocktail!  There was one on the menu at the resort bar in Florida, so I gave it a try.  Rum cocktails are usually my favorite and I am a huge fan of ginger and lime, so this was a no-brainer for me.  It was fantastic!  Definitely something I'd like to try making at home.  Simple and delicious.

3.  Smocking

I have been really interested in smocking for several years.  My mom did a little bit of smocking for my sister and I when we were babies and I think I would love it.  The pleating equipment is fairly expensive (my mom got rid of hers years ago), but I am picky about fabrics so I'm not sure I would want to buy premade dresses to smock.  Have any of you tried it?  Any recommendations?  Any great sources for pre-pleated items that you've found?

4.  My Old Room

My mom has been in the process of redoing my old bedroom at their house.  (I lived there 7th grade through graduation).  It's a terrible cell phone photo, but isn't the room beautiful?  She isn't happy with the wall color, but I think it is perfect with the blue and white (and I love how it matches the monogram on the pillow and scalloped trim of the sheets).  My favorite part is the little oil painting (above the nightstand) that my dad bought.

5.  Scotch Naturals "The Southern Charmer"

I am kind of a nail polish junkie.  I love the bright, fun colors but I tend to stick to nudes because of my job.  I also don't usually have time to re-do polish during the week if it chips, so this makes it less noticeable.   So of course when I saw a snippet in an issue of Southern Living several months ago about this special collaboration they had done with Scotch Naturals for the perfect southern polish color, I snapped it up!  I love the way it looks in this photo, but I'm not sure I'm totally sold on it yet.  I know Scotch Naturals formulas are healthy and eco-friendly, but that (to me) came at the cost of a smooth formula.  The color was a little more apricot than pink, which isn't exactly what I was looking for, either.  I'll give it another shot in a few months and hope that I like the color better with my fall wardrobe than with my spring/summer one.

Relaxed Arkansas Gameday

Since we have been out of town for the last two weekends, I was really looking forward to sitting at home and watching the game this weekend.  While in Florida, I followed the game on Twitter and last weekend in Oklahoma I didn't have enough phone service to follow much of anything.  My parents, sister and brother-in-law, and Natalie came over this morning to hang out and watch with us.  I made a few new recipes (jalapeno popper pulls, saltine toffee) and a few classics (my aunt's lemon bundt cake and cream cheese with spicy cranberry jam).  I usually make a big effort to serve only red and white dishes (that's where my cream cheese with spicy cranberry jam comes in) but I didn't want to do much planning for this weekend.  I love a spicy jam over cream cheese served with Ritz crackers and I had been waiting on an occasion to use the jam we got in Austin, so this was perfect.  I think I could eat the whole plate of it by myself!

My favorite new recipe was P. Allen Smith's Razorback Pom Pom!  I made a couple of adjustments and the result was perfect.  This is definitely something I'll be making again!  (I used cranberry-pomegranate juice and pomegranate vodka).  This photo also makes me think of Christmas, so I'll keep it in mind for that as well.

Our local station that was airing the game had a little bit of an issue with color...where's our Razorback red?!  Just before halftime everything on the station turned a shade of blue.  It was funny and of course my twitter feed was filled with witty comments on the problem... #bluepigsooie! 

My brother in law has been working with Natalie on one of her newest "tricks"...

Touchdown Arkansas! :)