Exploring Tillson Street in Romeo Michigan
When it comes to Halloween, one of my favorite traditions is to visit Tillson Street in Romeo, Michigan. Tillson Street is best known for elaborate Halloween displays that adorn the homeowner\’s front yards. With COVID-19 still lingering and cases increasing daily, I wasn\’t sure that my favorite Halloween tradition would be happening this year. I am excited to announce that a lot of things may have been ruined in 2020, but the spirit of Tillson Street was not one of them.
Terror on Tillson Street is in fact happening, and it looks a little different this year. About 3/4 of the houses are participating and the houses that draw the biggest crowds (my favorite display the ball for example) are not present. Even though the heavy hitters may not be up for your viewing pleasure there are still plenty of houses for you to checkout on Tillson Street to give you your Halloween fix.
Don\’t forget to check out the street over from Tillson Street, where you\’ll find even more spooktacular decorations to enjoy (I especially love the ghosts). Here is a peek at my 2020 Terror on Tillson Street adventure.
Michigan Autumn Tradition: Yates Cider Mill
With a history that dates back to 1863, Yates Cider Mill is one of my favorite autumn traditions in Michigan. The Clinton River cascades over the Yates Dam (located across the street from the cider mill), creates the stream that the cider mill uses for water power. In 1876 the Yates family installed a cider press and incorporated the press into their existing water-powered process where they began to produce the best Michigan apple cider.
Today you can enjoy the same kind of fresh 100 percent all-natural apple cider that folks enjoyed back in 1876 at Yates Cider Mill – seriously how cool is that?
What is a cider mill?
A cider mill is a location and equipment used to crush apples into apple juice for use in making apple cider.
Does all apple cider taste the same?
Nope, all apple cider does not taste the same. The taste and color of the apple cider will change over the course of the fall season. In late August or early September apples such as Ginger Golds and Paula Reds will make up the apple cider and give it a lighter juice color as well as a tart flavor. As the season progresses more apple varieties ripen and come available. By mid-October, as many as six different varieties of apples are combined to make the apple cider.
While I love apple cider from Yates Cider Mill from the beginning of the season to the end of the season I do have a personal favorite time to pick up some apple cider. I love the mid-October apple cider from Yates Cider Mill. As mentioned above as many as six different varieties of apples are combined to make the mid-October apple cider and it gives it a taste like never before. I typically buy multiple gallons so I can freeze them and enjoy a glass of hot apple cider all winter long.
How many apples does it take to make a gallon of cider?
It takes about 40 apples to make a gallon of apple cider.
Can you freeze apple cider?
Yes! I love to freeze mine, let it thaw out and then heat it up in the winter with some mulling spices on a chilly day.
Where is Yates Cider Mill located?
The historic site of Yates Cider Mill is located at:
1990 E Avon Road
Rochester Hills, MI 48307
Kroger Chefbot: Recipe Ideas from your Pantry Items
Figuring out what is for dinner, has become harder than ever – especially for those of us who are single. I have managed to cook my way through my Pinterest board and am getting sick of making the same thing weekly, so I have started to resort to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner.
While parents hear \”what\’s for dinner?\” my friends hear it from me, because I am always looking for new ideas. If you\’re like me and are completely exhausted in the kitchen there is a new solution. Let me introduce you to Chefbot.
Kroger recently launched Chefbot, a first-of-its-kind AI Twitter tool that delivers personalized recipe recommendations based on ingredients you already have in your kitchen. You simply tweet @KrogerChefbot three ingredients you have, and you will be provided with some delicious ideas for dinner. I have used the Kroger Chefbot a few times now, and it has definitely sparked some new inspiration.
I am loving salmon lately, but keep preparing it the same way, so I let Kroger Chefbot help with dinner. My kitchen was looking pretty bare and I only tweeted Chefbot two ingredients: salmon and rice. Kroger Chefbot came back with some delicious recipes and ultimately I decided on Crispy Rice Salmon.
If you\’re struggling with dinner ideas, I highly recommend giving Kroger Chefbot a try.
Snap: Users snap a photo of three ingredients from their refrigerator or pantry
Tweet: Users tweet their photo to @KrogerChefbot. Through artificial intelligence, Chefbot identifies ingredients and then scans thousands of unique recipes on Kroger.com
Cook: Within seconds, Chefbot responds to the user’s original tweet to deliver a list of personalized recipe recommendations based on the selected ingredients
Click HERE to tweet your ingredients to Chefbot
and begin cooking your next meal.
More about Chefbot right from Kroger
“Last year, we launched Kroger’s Fresh for Everyone brand transformation campaign to underscore our commitment and belief that everyone should have access to fresh, affordable and delicious food,” said Mandy Rassi, Kroger’s vice president of marketing. “Chefbot is one of the ways we’re delivering on that brand promise by making it even easier for our customers to achieve their meal aspirations, especially as the majority of shoppers are eating meals prepared at home multiple times a day during the pandemic. We’re thrilled to partner with industry thought leaders like 360i, Coffee Labs and Clarifai to bring Chefbot to our customers, and we look forward to this innovative technology inspiring fresh and delicious meals in kitchens across the country.”
Chefbot provides an interactive experience to help make life at home more manageable and reinforces Kroger’s commitment to Fresh for Everyone as well as encourages professional foodies and amateur cooks alike to utilize use all the food found in their pantries to help reduce food waste. Chefbot’sexperience includes multiple touchpoints, offering fun social engagement through Twitter paired with Kroger.com e-commerce integration. Over time with learned insights, Chefbot’s food recognition and recipe search technology will evolve and improve, allowing the possibilities of this powerful tool to advance.
\”Never has it been more necessary for people to be able to find quick, sustainable, and easy solutions for making meals at home – and no place makes it easier for food brands to engage directly with these people than Twitter,” said Dennis Bree, Twitter’s Director of Catalyst + Government & Causes. “Through the use of innovative technology, Kroger is bringing meal-time inspiration to the people on Twitter who are actively Tweeting about the need for new recipes more than ever before.\”
“Chefbot illustrates how marketers can tap into augmented intelligence to deliver true service and value,” said Menno Kluin, Chief Creative Officer, 360i. “Innovation often happens during times of seismic change. By leveraging visual AI in a bold new way, Kroger is bringing their promise of Fresh for Everyone to life while addressing pain points and helping shoppers maximize their purchases.”
Friday Favorites 10.16.20
Did anyone else think this week flew by? I feel like I blinked and it was suddenly Friday. This week I packed in some quintessential October adventures. I went to Yates Cider Mill to get some hot spiced cider and donuts, went for a leaf peeping drive with Jack, went to Tillson Street to get all our spooky season feels, and made some delicious apple butter.
This week Amazon held Prime Day, and many stores held sales to compete with Amazon. Were you one of the people that shopped Prime Day? I was not, I actually have only shopped on Amazon a few times, one time being for blue light glasses, aside from that I prefer shopping local businesses. In fact, next week I will be sharing gift guides that feature some of my favorite small businesses!
I hope you had a wonderful week!
Here are some of my favorites from the past week
This apple butter recipe turned out amazing and I highly recommend you make it if you like apple butter!
Planes is coming to Disney + this November.
I won an All The Feels blanket in a recent giveaway they hosted, and Jack is obsessed.
I am loving the hand sanitizer from Shea Woods Co.
I recently realized how disgusting and dirty my produce is and have been using Sea Witch Botanicals Produce Wash ever since.
My favorite local shop Lottie Mae has some adorable Christmas products available. I absolutely love this fireside plaid woven throw!
This honey and walnuts mixture would be great on a charcuterie board.
Zoya released their holiday 2020 collection titled Intriguing and it\’s everything I could hope for in a holiday collection.
Jack and I are back at it car camping and I think I need this around the campfire recipe book to keep track of all the fun camping recipes I try.
Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker: Christmas Stream GIVEAWAY CLOSED
I am thrilled to announce that I have a pass for you to see the Moscow Ballet\’s Great Russian Nutcracker from the comfort of your living room. See the details below.
Go back to a simpler time and celebrate this Christmas tradition with the whole family! See Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker from the best seat in the house; your living room! Take this opportunity to spend quality time with loved ones and experience the smash-hit Holiday tradition in this ground-breaking Video on Demand debut. Take a trip backstage with the cameras for a look at how the magic is made. Hear it first-hand from world-class artists, designers, and the creators of this cherished production. See the full performance as captured on stage plus an up-close look at the behind-the-scenes action.
Fashion meets Food 