1. This is awesome.
2. And because there is a special place in my heart for Pachelbel’s Canon in D (I walked down the aisle at our wedding to a live guitar version), there’s this.
3. My parents visited this weekend, and included in our New England fall activities was – of course – searching for fresh local apples…

… and eating cider doughnuts!

Except we actually didn’t go to any of the numerous orchards in Massachusetts.
Nope.
Instead, I took my parents to Volante Farms, (in Needham, for locals!), a farm stand-inspired store chock full of local produce, baked goods, and other food items.
They currently have 20 varieties of local apples, (each with a listing of precisely how far away they grew + a description of their flavor), and though they aren’t labeled as certified organic, many local orchards do in fact use organic growing methods.
Then there’s the freshly baked cider doughnuts, the intoxicating aroma of which wafts into the parking lot to greet you as you pull in.

A freshly baked, warm cider doughnut puts all other doughnuts to shame!
4. 5 Reasons to love Boston.
5. I haven’t loved a movie starring Daniel Day Lewis since The Last of the Mohicans (fabulous film!), but Lincoln looks promising.
6. Beer is all the rage over on The Back Burner this week, and given the cool fall weather that has descended upon New England (yay!) it was a given that I chose to share my Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, & Black Bean Chili.