What's So Special About a Trip to the Pumpkin Patch?

Every October, we do a traditional visit to the pumpkin patch with Danny’s parents. They only visit about twice a year, so this is a big occasion for us. Last year, Forrest could have easily spent about 2 or 3 hours in the pumpkin patch. This year, he wasn’t quite as obsessed with pumpkins, but he still had a lot of fun.

We went to Lone Pine Farms in Eugene, which is where we go every year. I suspect they did not have a great pumpkin harvest this year; a lot of the pumpkins were rotten, damaged, or just starting to turn already… and the patch has only been open 2 weeks! We still found quite a few great pumpkins, though, so we can’t complain.

It was one of those perfect Fall days that feels absolutely perfect. It wasn’t too hot (mid-60s, a little windy), but it was sunny. The patch was crowded, but not like last year, so crowded that it felt claustrophobic. There was room to take all the photos I wanted of Forrest. It was just a day that felt really perfect and special.

Some of my friends often ask why our trip to the pumpkin patch is such a big deal. Well, first of all, pumpkin patches are really only open for one month a year. October. That’s it! That’s all the pumpkin patch you get! As well, the farm stands attached to pumpkin patches really depend on the business, as they often close for the season on November 1, or shortly after. Visiting local farms during the summer to buy produce, and then buying pumpkins from them instead of from a grocery store, helps me to support a local business.

Second of all, pumpkin patches are fun. There is always a lot to do. Lone Pine even has a whole playground set up so kids can play for a little while as their parents pay or browse the farm stand. There are games. There are hayrides. A cow train. Horses and goats to pet and feed.

It’s a special trip we take every year and one we all look forward to. If you don’t regularly visit a local pumpkin patch, you’re really, really missing out on an opportunity to not just have fun, but support a local business.

What’s your October tradition?

Product Review: Photowall*

If you're like me, you have photos of just about everything. I have more photos of Forrest than I truly care to admit to (it's numbering in the 10,000 range, ok?) and I have a lot of them printed. I am a little obsessed with creating collages of all kinds. I love being able to see photos throughout my house; I think it makes a house feel really warm and lovely to have photos everywhere. Plus, I just like showing off our cute little family!

So when I was approached by Photowall to review a product from their website, I jumped at the chance. 

Photowall is a Swedish-run website that produces wallpaper and canvas prints. They have hundreds of designs available, plus you can upload your own photos and have a canvas printed with that photo! There are lots of websites that do this and I have used them before--but I'll be honest, Photowall is the highest quality canvas I've ever received!

It took me what felt like forever to choose an image for my canvas! I originally wanted to have a family portrait printed, but I couldn't decide on one, many of my photos (being from my iPhone) were just a bit too low resolution, and I really hemmed and hawed. Then I started browsing Photowall's catalogue of available prints and realized there were so many options! I almost got a floral design; I almost got a print of Portland, OR's skyline; and then, I found this one. 

It's a grove of aspens with yellow leaves. As we all are probably aware of at this point, I love Autumn--and I have a grey painted wall in my living room. I love grey and yellow together; my kitchen is grey and yellow themed. So it seemed perfect to get this canvas and do a little redesign in my living room. 

Ordering was super easy; you choose your print, or upload a photo, choose your sign, pay, and that's it! Shipping was super fast too. I ordered this on a weekend, I believe, and it arrived on the following Friday. 

When it arrived, my husband said, "this is way too small for a canvas!" That's because Photowall ships with everything for you to stretch your canvas yourself. You have a roll of canvas and a few pieces of wood for the frame, plus screws to secure it together and a hanger for mounting on the wall. Putting it together was super easy and the instructions were very clear. It was also really fun! 

In the future, I think I would go bigger; I got the smallest size canvas, as I just wasn't sure how it would look in the space (it's a little less than 16 inches). I definitely wish I had gone 24 inches or larger, I think it would work just as well! But I really love how it looks and I feel like I'm slowly but surely sprucing up our living room to look like grown ups (and not just a toddler) live here. 

If you'd like to try Photowall, just visit their website here and use my code MichelleLockeCampaign2018 for 20% off your order. My code is only available until the end of April, so order soon! 

*Disclaimer: As always, the asterisk (*) in the title of this post denotes that I received product from Photowall in exchange for a review. However, all thoughts and opinions remain my own. I really love Photowall and hope you will too!