First Outing

Today was so much fun – we finally got to take Maggie outside for more than just a few minutes.

The weather has just been so cold since we got her and today’s temperatures were finally in the high 40s/low 50s.

Once I got back from the farmer’s market + grocery store, we ate quick lunches so we could get out to Glen Alton Farm.

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I made myself a sandwich with Nature’s Pride Honey Wheat bread, romaine, hard boiled egg, and avocado with a little dijon mustard – and some salt and pepper Popchips on the side :)

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Hard boiled egg + avocado is such a great combination! I can’t wait to have it again.

And then we headed out to Glen Alton!

Nick and I first went to visit this property last winter, and it’s just beautiful. It used to be owned by a business man/banker in town, but is now part of the Jefferson National Forest. There are still 2 houses on the property, 2 barns, and tons of little trails to walk.

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Maggie got SO dirty, and she loved every minute of it. She was jumping in puddles, racing through the snow, and eating as much deer poop as she could find :\  Which was a lot.

I know – it’s gross. But she’s a puppy…and she seems to like it for some weird reason.

But then she threw it up and didn’t touch it again before we left!

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There were a few other people out there, but we were never near them so it was almost as if we had the place to ourselves.

Every time we come out here, Nick and I say that we wished we lived here. It’s just so quiet and peaceful and beautiful.

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Maggie also loves sticks. She tries to pick some up that are 3 times her size, and she’s always so proud when she finds one.

But she finds a new one every 3 seconds.

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Basically, she wore herself out :)

As soon as we got home, we gave her a bath and she has been sleeping ever since.

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It was a fun day!

After we got her settled down, I made us some dinner.

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I made my own version of an Apricot Chicken Recipe I saw on Rachael Ray a few days ago.

I used a turkey loin and cut it up in to bite sized pieces before browning it in a pan. After it was cooked, I added in a can of apricots (drained and diced), a tablespoon or so of balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and some fresh parsley.

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We had that over some of the whole grain rice-a-roni mix and some broccoli.

And dessert was easy.

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Ever had “poor man’s turtles”?

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Just take pretzels and put 1 Rolo on top of each one. Pop them in the oven like that at 350 for about 5 minutes.

Take out and put a nut on top of the rolo, smushing the candy down. Sweet, salty, perfect.

Let cool, then eat! We each had 2 with pecans and 2 with walnuts.

*As I was writing this, I realized our internet was down – and our cable channels aren’t coming in – so it may be late!*

 

22 comments

  1. What a great day!! I’ll never forget the day we took our last puppy out for the first time…he was so curious!

  2. those turtles look great! i am definitely making them soon. i love easy recipes! i’ve had them before with just pretzel, a hershey’s kiss/hug and a single m&m on top – delish!

  3. I’ve never heard of poor man’s turtles! They sounds great though.

    The apricot chicken looks really good too.

  4. I love the “poor man’s turtles,” what a great idea!

  5. Yum! We made a version of the turtles a few years ago, but used M&Ms instead of nuts. So yummy!

    Our dog love deer poop as well, however it does not like her. She gets sick every time she eats it, and I think has final learned to avoid it. Ick!

  6. Mmm Popchips are becoming my new guilty pleasure. I wish I could find the cheddar or sour cream and onion near me!

  7. Great outdoor pics! Glad you had fun. I can’t wait for spring so I can be outdoors way more :)

  8. weekends are lovely, aren’t they?

    love the turtle idea.

  9. I love those! But I never new they were called “Poor Man’s Turtles” – that’s so funny!

  10. What a perfect day! You guys are so lucky to have such a picturesque walk close to your home. Maggie looks so happy!

  11. Your dog is too cute. I can’t take it!

    I love long walks and this was is so scenic! Makes me miss Amherst, but in a good way :)

  12. so you’re the one who took all of my warm weather ;) Enjoy it girl! Sounds like a beautiful day with your two loves :)

  13. Great sandwich combo! I would love to try avocado and egg together! Again, your pup is so adorable! Glad you got her out today! I’m taking my little pup out once it stops raining here!

  14. Gorgeous outing!
    Maggie is so precious <3

  15. Aw your pup is such a cutie pie. I love the poor man’s turtles–especially the walnuts on top–yumm!

  16. Those poor man’s turtles look great! Glad you had a good outing with the pup :-)

  17. I would never think to try hard boiled egg+avocado! Love blog creativity :)

    Aw I bet Maggie is worn out after a big day out and about!

    I made pretzel bites using hershey’s hugs+red and green M&M’s for Christmas treats! So good and easy.

  18. oh what a fun outing! i just love that paw print in the snow. so so cute.

  19. I love long dog walks with dirty pups. The snowshoeing paths today we went to had great places for dogs and wanted to take Leo and Peanut next time.

  20. I wish you guys lived on that farm too!!! It’s so pretty with all the snow!!! And I noticed that they boarded up that one barn at the back, I wonder why?? All the food looks delicious as usual and little Maggie is super cute too!!

  21. I love peaceful nature walks–that’s why I miss home up north, here it’s so busy and always noisy. You always need somewhere to escape to!

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