Afternoon In Northville & Parmenter’s Cider Mill

Happy Monday!

I hope you all had a great weekend filled of fun and relaxation. Ours was pretty busy, so I spent the morning catching up on life and chores around the house today. It’s amazing how different the house feels when it’s vacuumed and the laundry is folded and put away.

It’s the little things, right?

Anyways, fall has definitely entered our neck of the woods, and we got into the spirit with a Sunday bundled up outdoors. Here’s a look at some of the highlights!

Mill Race Village – Northville, Michigan

Looking for a new cider mill to visit, we drove over to Northville and stumbled upon a charming circle of shops called Mill Race Village.

The village is a focal point for the community of Northville. It’s dedicated to preserving the architectural styles from the area prior to 1900!

The leaves are just starting to turn in Michigan, so we picked the perfect weekend to get out and explore. There was a brisk chill in the air, so Scott and I bundled up and kept moving.

We went in and out of buildings and houses, and my favorite part was seeing how people of the community actually lived in the 1800s. One house was built by hand and even displayed the tools they used for construction. Amazing, right?

The Village is available for private rental for weddings and luncheons, and it would be a beautiful spot to gather with loved ones.

The end of the loop took us to a dam with breathtaking views.

There were picnic tables close by, so we’ll be sure to visit the cider mill first and bring our treats over here to picnic next time.

If you’re ever in the area (Northville is about 30 or so miles from where we live in Rochester), it’s definitely worth a stop into Mill Race Village. From what I believe, however, The Village buildings close for the season on October 18th, so make sure to visit the website and see if it will be open if you decide to go!

Parmenter’s Northville Cider Mill & Winery

What brought us to Northville was a quick search for the best cider mills in the Detroit and surrounding areas. Scott and I had been wanting to visit a new one (to us), and we eventually found Parmenter’s Cider Mill & Winery on Baseline Road.

After church and lunch, we plugged in the address and drove out to Northville. It took us a few tries to find the cider mill, which is actually how we saw the village first. By the time we wrapped up our time there and drove over to the cider mill, there was a lot going on!

The grass out front was lined with tents selling goodies you would find at a festival, and there was live folk-like music playing in the background. It was a beautiful fall day to visit!

We weren’t the only ones who thought so, either. The mill was packed and the line to buy cider and donuts was way out the door!

As much as we love the cider mills closer to our area, Parmenter’s proved to be worth the drive. They sell much more than cider and donuts. One thing they are known for is their house-brewed and bottled hard ciders!

I’ve always said that the only thing missing at cider mills is hard cider, so you better believe I was excited when I found out this one delivered! The bottles aren’t cheap, but each bottle provides 2-3 servings. They offered tastings for $1 each, and we tried the cherry, blueberry, and bourbon flavors. They were all delicious, and we ended up taking home bottles of the cherry and bourbon. Yum!

Northville Winery is also located right next to the mill, and it looks like a great spot to relax and sample a flight of pure Michigan wines. Our hands were full from the cider and donuts, but we want to come back and visit the winery again soon.

I ordered a hot cider, Scott ordered a cider slush (amazing), and we bought a half dozen donuts to take home. Half of them never made it home, though. Obviously.

I just love cider mills. That’s one thing I will truly miss about the fall season if we end up moving away from The Mitten. This year, we are soaking in as many trips as we can!

Other Weekend Highlights

As I mentioned above, our weekend was pretty eventful.

It included getting home from work and running errands around 8 p.m. Friday night, so I quickly put together a pan of nachos with the leftover chicken fajita ingredients Scott made earlier in the week for dinner when I returned.

Corn tortilla chips topped in chicken, red and green peppers, onions, black olives, and cheese.

I couldn’t wait to dig in, and I had a snuggle party on the floor with the fur kids the minute I sat down to eat. That’s only standard around here.

We cleared through the DVR while I assembled a few projects for a bridal shower the next day. A full recap on that is coming soon!

We met Alex and a few friends out later Saturday night to see The Martian in theaters. Per the recommendation of a client, we paid extra for the 3D showing and it was really, really good. Matt Damon does an amazing job portraying a pretty bad a** astronaut I would never want to mess with. It’s a great film!

And finally, Scott and I ran around town before our afternoon in Northville yesterday. We stopped into a Mexican restaurant called Grand Azteca after church, and I decided that I need to recreate the chicken tortilla soup as soon as possible.

It came with rice on the bottom and filled me up pretty quickly!

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Well I’m off to get busy for the day before working at the gym later this afternoon. I hope you all have a great start to the week. Thanks for checking in, and I’ll see you later today or tomorrow morning with Weekly Workouts.

» Linking my Weekend Snapshots up with Erin and Katie.

Questions of the Day

• What was one highlight from your weekend?

• What’s a great movie you’ve seen in theaters lately?

I can tell that we’re getting back into a movie kick. We go through phases from going to the movies every weekend to taking a break for months at a time. With Halloween just around the corner (ah! really?), I’m itching to see a good horror film. I’d love to hear your suggestions!