Stone Barns Harvest Fest

Nico's been begging to go apple and pumpkin picking now that it's starting to feel like Fall here in New York. Last year, we took a day trip to an orchard about an hour or two from Brooklyn. Sadly, I don't even remember the name due to some major sleep deprivation back then, but what I do remember is that as fun as it was to pick apples with Nico and take funny pictures of Leo perched in trees, most of the food we ate that day, aside from the apples, was disappointing. There were cinnamon sugar donuts that were stale and didn't seem homemade and don't even get me started on the lame snack bar at the pumpkin patch we went to after.

So, imagine my excitement when I heard about the Stone Barns Harvest Fest on Hither and Thither yesterday. Daniel, my Mom and I celebrated my 30th birthday at Blue Hill at Stone Barns back when I was pregnant with Nico. A farm-to-table restaurant, their food is right up my alley. On another visit, Daniel and I had some wine and appetizers before a friend's wedding reception.

I happened to get electrocuted that evening as well. True story, I swear. I was so enamored by the farm's adorably plump pigs that I didn't even notice the warning signs about their electric fences. The last time I went, Nico was about 18 months old and in the middle of a major acorn obsession. He could have cared less about the animals, or the farm-fresh lunchtime fare.

It was all about the acorns on that trip, but at least I was able to snap one of my favorite pictures ever of him that day.

Now that he's a bit older, I know he'll be into the hay rides, live music, farm activities (egg collecting! pig feeding!) and Leo, our mini foodie in the making, will be all about the unbelievable food at the Farmers Market, a lot of which is from places in Brooklyn, but nothing is better than getting out of the city and onto a farm. The Harvest Fest is Saturday, October 1 from 10am-3pm and you can buy tickets here. Stone Barns is truly stunning, especially during this time of year.