How to have a successful rainy day...

... Choose to go on an adventure despite the lousy weather report.

This is exactly what two of my girlfriends and I did this week. Since we are still currently between school and work, we've had some time off and have been trying to take advantage of our days. Naturally, given the season, we planned a day of apple picking and shopping at Woodbury Commons, a premier outlet complex. It wasn't until the night before that we discovered the forecast was questionable with a 30% chance of rain all day. We woke up that morning to cloudy skies and decided to take our chances.

We made our way north to a small family owned apple orchard excited to indulge in this fall tradition. Despite knowing that we might get rained on, none of us dressed appropriately - me in leather boots, one in canvas sneakers, and the other in flip-flops. Well, we lasted all of 10 minutes at the orchard before the drizzle started. With our poles in hand we reached for apples taking breaks under the tree branches to avoid the rain drops (we did take advantage of this "down time" to sneak an apple as a snack... they are just so sweet and delicious when they have been just pulled off the tree). Though the rain came and went, and then came again, we were determined to fill our bags - which we ultimately did. Apple picking is always a treat and a must-do activity when given the opportunity. Plus, its and excuse to make fall favorites, such as apple crisp (post coming soon!)

Happy with our adventure! 

In nice weather, Woodbury Commons is packed with hustle and bustle. The people swarm along the cobblestone paths though the different clusters of shops. With over 200 stores, this is a place where you could easily get lost. If you live in the Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam county region of New York - this is an adventure you should take... hopefully on a nice sunny day. Unfortunately, the rains picked up just as we arrived turning from a drizzly rain to a downpour. We first made our way to the food pavilion to warm ourselves up with some hot soup. Before we left the food pavilion we made a plan to go directly to the stores we wanted to go in, no meandering in this weather. We darted around to Nine West, American Eagle, Gap, J. Crew, Puma, and Loft outlet before calling it quits... By the time we had gotten that far, we were pooped. Next time, hopefully I'll have better material to write about with out the weather stealing the show. All in all we still came home with apples and new goodies from the outlets :)

Our drive to Woodbury Commons