It had arrived. The most perfect fall day with its crisp air, bright sky, and vivid colors. Days like this should have theme songs and fanfare. We had spent the morning working and were ready for a bit of outdoor adventure so we headed north toward Apple Valley and one of our favorite apple orchards in the Carolinas.
Because fall hits so late here in South Carolina we often don’t get up for apple picking and cider donuts until after Halloween but as luck would have it this was our second trip to an orchard for the season. We never turn down another opportunity for fresh apple cider donuts.
It was no coincidence we choose a scenic orchard to visit. The colors were popping in the Blue Ride Mountains and we wanted to bring along the camera to photograph a very special gift I had just received in the mail.
A few weeks ago, the Portland Leather Goods team reached out to me wondering if I wanted to pick out a handcrafted, leather tote from their collection. Made in Oregon, Portland Leather Goods has some of the most stunning leather pieces I have seen, so the offer was too kind to turn away.
Before settling on an outfit to wear to the orchard I had one of those “nothing to wear” moments. Even while staring at a closet full of beautiful items fashion bloggers sometimes have no clue how to dress themselves – or at least this fashion blogger does.
Thankfully, leather goes with literally everything, especially the color-way I picked out: a deep cinnamon color (Moab) with dark handles. And although I’m partial to mine, I have no doubt any of the colors would look stunning in person.
But it was a day for the classics: white and black. One of my favorite “throw on” looks that’s simple and easy and feels like me (so apologies if you’re tired of seeing me wearing the same items in blog posts over and over).
So the perfect fall day ended successfully. A dozen donuts in hand, a walk through the orchard making remarks like “everyone should smell the smell of dirt and apples and trees and horses every so often”, a peaceful, golden hour drive back home.
And even now as I’m typing out this post to the soothing cadence of the only music I can write to (Olafur Arnalds if anyone is interested) I glance over and see my new Portland Leather Goods bag hanging on our entryway hooks.
It’s a statement piece for sure. Some women carry dainty designer bags – ones that are stored in dust cloths or displayed in glass boxes. Some women only grab for diaper bags or briefcases or might not have the ability to grab for a bag at all.
I prefer my bags to have a bit of grit. I don’t like to baby my bags and goodness knows they’ll see a bit of everything in their life with me. From airport floors to coffee shop tables, my bags take a beating and it’s nice to know I just added to my collection a beautifully crafted, high-quality item that has space for my essentials, no room for anything to get lost, and a special snap for my keys to hang.
