Impromptu park lunches and early fall dressing

24 September 2020

With all the hustle and bustle of moving I never got around to officially announcing it on here, but a couple of months ago we bought our very own house! We'd been on the lookout for some time and then in March our eye fell on this charming house in a quiet little neighborhood in Oudenaarde, about a half an hour from our former apartment. As much as I loved living in Ghent, buying a house in the city was a thing we just couldn't afford so this felt like the right decision for us. Now I'm not gonna lie it's taking some getting used to not living in the city anymore. Especially without a driver's license it's not so easy to go somewhere or even get to the mall. 

However it has been lovely getting to know our new hometown and its hidden corners. This weekend we packed our lunch and went to explore a park nearby. It was such a peaceful spot with a large pond in the middle and a 19th century castle looking over it. Autumn also seemed to have found its way there. Some trees were already changing color and there were chestnuts and acorns scattered all about. It got me really excited for sweater weather and berets and boots and tights (God I love tights!). But for now I'm happy living out my summer dresses and throwing on comfy cardigans while waiting for my favorite season to come back in full swing.

OUTFIT DETAILS | Dress: Mango - Cardigan: Esprit - Shoes: Inuovo via Zalando - Bag: Sézane - Nail polish: H&M Beauty

A visit to Charlottes Pompoenen annual pumpkin fest

15 September 2020

Visiting a pumpkin patch has always been on my fall bucket list, but in Belgium they’re really not that common. Every year I’m on the lookout for farms organizing any kind of pumpkin related events, without success. Until I recently discovered Charlottes Pompoenen (‘pumpkins’ translate to ‘pompoenen’ in Dutch), a farm in Ijzendijke just across the border with The Netherlands. I was absolutely stoked to find out they were doing a Pumpkin Fest during the first week of September. It took a little convincing to get my hubby on board, but we did end up making the trip and it was an absolutely amazing day. 

A visit to Charlottes Pompoenen pumpkin farm

There were over 400 types of edible and ornamental pumpkins and cucumbers to be discovered in the fields and at the outdoor shop in front of the farm. We also had a good laugh with the different activities and games they had put together like butternut bowling and pumpkin darts. 

A visit to Charlottes Pompoenen pumpkin farmA visit to Charlottes Pompoenen pumpkin farmA visit to Charlottes Pompoenen pumpkin farm

To top it all off, every hour a pumpkin would be fired off by a big catapult only to crash spectacularly into the patch.

A big catapult fired off pumpkins into the patch
A visit to Charlottes Pompoenen pumpkin farm

For a list of upcoming activities at Charlottes Pompoenen: www.charlottespompoenen.nl

A visit to Charlottes Pompoenen pumpkin farm

Are pumpkin patches and Halloween traditions a big thing where you’re at?
Would love to hear about your favorite autumn activities!