fall leaves

photograph by kristen bach

by the river

if you're looking for the antidote to feeling hurried, stressed out, or anxious, the answer is nature. spend an hour or two at your nearest nature park, woods, or botanical garden. the japanese have a word that translates into 'forrest bathing', and studies have shown it reduces stress and calms your nerves and helps depression, too. pack a snack, your water, a sweater, and get lost in the woods! leave your phone in the car. unplug. breathe in, and walk. . . . 

photographs and words by rebecca wood

screen and sun

photograph by rinne allen

hawkes creek farm

i visited yvonne at hawkes creek farm this weekend. a glorious fall day to visit a real treasure. the house was built in 1840 and is largely intact. all wood walls inside and patina to die for. when you first come in the driveway, it is all but obscured by the deep shadows of ancient oaks. inside is poetry…..

photographs and words by rebecca wood

corn etc.

photograph by rinne allen

cotton fields

we just got back from a trip to south georgia...cotton country. my heart is filled with so much beauty when we pass these fields. there is something about the cotton fields that brings me so much joy.  is it the white of the cotton that reminds me of the snow...? i don't know, but i love passing the fields. we stop at every field and take in all of the striking beauty! a true landmark of the south!

photographs and words by kristen bach

remnants

photograph by rinne allen

weeds as ingredients

late fall...time to pull weeds, but they are so, so pretty!

arrangement and photographs by rinne allen

butterfly + blooms

photo by kristen bach

bourbon and pear upsidedown cake

ingredients
the fruit
1/3 cup butter, browned
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 TBSP or a glug of bourbon
6-8 pears, peeled (hard country pears work great)
a heavy sprinkling of cinnamon

the cake
2 cups unbleached AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
a sprinkle of cinnamon

directions
pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

the fruit
-in a cast iron skillet, melt the 1/3 cup butter, cook for 15 minutes on med /low to brown it. pay close attention and make sure you do not burn it
-stir in the brown sugar and stir until combined
-stir in the bourbonand cinnamon and stir, remove from heat
-slice the pears as thin and uniform as possible and layer nicely in the butter and sugar mixture
-let sit while you are making your cake batter

the cake
-mix the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar together
-add the wet ingredients and mix, only until all ingredients are combined
-spoon mixture over the pears and place cast iron in oven
-bake for 40 minutes or until fruit is bubbling and the cake is slightly browned
-remove from oven and let it rest for a few minutes
-take a butter knife and run along the edges of the cake
-using a cake plate or any large plate but over the top of the cast iron to flip,
flip the cake and re-arrange any fruit that may have come loose during the flip
-enjoy with ice cream or whipped cream. 

this is the dish that i brought to share at the flower social at 3 porch farm. if you haven't caught up on our last few posts about you you should!  it was a magical day!   i promised many of the attendees that i would share this recipe....so here is another pear delight!

it's a perfect fall treat!

photo and recipe by kristen bach

cosmos

photograph by rinne allen

sacred feminine flower portraits

for the flower social at 3 porch farm this week, rebecca made a big flower backdrop. she hammered nails through a large piece of plywood, then stabbed blocks of oasis on the front. next it got flower decorated and set up for photos. " i wanted to celebrate the sacred feminine. i was thinking of religious icons and frida kahlo. i shot each guest in front of it and the glowing portraits turned out amazing!

photographs and words by rebecca wood and rinne allen

vines

photograph by rinne allen

3 porch flower social cont.

we have so much beautiful content from this day that we could almost make a whole week of posts about it. this was the 2nd annual flower social out at mandy and steve's flower farm, 3 porch farm. as autumn and frost approaches quickly, friends gather to make arrangements of the last batch of flowers. 

photographs by rinne allen

wood brick

from habersham mill. wood was cheaper than brick at the time.

photograph and words by kristin karch

habersham mill

two dear friends of mine just got married this weekend at habersham mill. i had never been to a place like this size before, which sits on a thousand plus acres of land and has almost 200 years of history. the mills sit on the soque river in habersham county and once used the water to power energy. it was used to make canons during the civil war and later became an iron ore manufacturing plant. after, it ran through multiple purposes and businesses before russell athletics bought it in the 1970s. now, it is owned by a lovely couple who vision it as an event space. they have already created four beautiful airbnbs, one of which I got to stay in for the weekend. 

there are so many rooms, buildings, rocks, & pools to explore. i highly recommend taking a trip to see the beauty of this place.

photographs and words by kristin karch

stalks

photograph by rinne allen

3 porch farm flower social

last monday we had our 2nd annual flower social out at mandy and steve's flower farm, 3 porch farm. before the frost takes everything out, we like to have a last blast with all the beautiful flowers and foliage. mandy and steve collect buckets and buckets of dahlias, zinnias, cosmos and other flowers. i helped mandy gather some wild persimmon branches weighed down with orange fruit. there are branches of maple and sweet gum and oaks, as well as ornamental grasses, pods, and beautiful cotton. we invite a few ladies out to spend the day arranging flowers to their hearts content. we hung a few backdrops in her unfinished flower workroom, where the light is nice. then we all go to town making insane flower arrangements! after a potluck lunch of wonderful homemade food, we get back to the flowers until we're too tired to do any more.

it's a day i look forward to all year.

photographs by rinne allen

fall ground

photo by kristen bach

fall pear cider

this weekend we actually had some fall weather!  we decided to fill our house with the the aroma of fall and make some pear cider.  this recipe is such a great way to enjoy the country pears that many of us have growing in our yards.  the pears that never seem to ripen, but are actually quite tasty!

here is a recipe for fall pear cider that is so simple and will have your house smelling like fall for days!

-fill a crock pot with pears, washed and quartered (seeds and stems are fine)
-add 1 orange, peeled
-add 6 cinnamon sticks
-pour water over pears and fill to the top of the crock pot leaving 1 1/2 inches
-let cook all day or overnight
-mash the pears with a potato masher
-drain juice through cheese cloth or a fine colander 
-enjoy....outside on the porch is best!

photos and recipe by kristen bach