While out in the Berkshires this weekend, I had a lot of time to think because, gosh, it takes nearly three hours to get out there from Boston. I thought about how Williamstown, Massachusetts – my destination and a paradise-like country nook I called home in the late 1990s – was the perfect blend of rustic farm pastures, local abundance and a touch of chic due to the influx of city folk who settle on this bucolic village for relaxation and a bit of theater each summer.

Williamstown plays host to the annual Williamstown Theatre Festival, a summer showcase that’s become a silent powerhouse in contemporary theatre, featuring some of the best talent in the business. I stood in line in front of some of that talent, a very famous actress, at the local coffee shop Tunnel City Coffee yesterday. I think she was annoyed by my gawking at the pretty pastries in the bakery case for a bit too long. Sorry, famous actress who’s married to an even more famous movie director. It was just all so pretty!

The city folk, including those who have finally left the skyscrapers to settle in the town full-time, add a touch of modernity to this otherwise crafty college town. I like to think that Williamstown is a little bit country and a little bit fancy which makes for an exciting summer vacation destination. I can go from eating at one of the best restaurants in New England to visiting with a herd of alpaca during a maple syrup tasting. (More on that tasting and those beautiful animals soon.)

The “little bit country and a little bit fancy” vibe totally plays into the Eat Boutique brand, which I’ve been thinking about a lot. I started Eat Boutique as a food blog to capture my food exploits inspired by both city and country life. The blog is now a food business focused on sourcing local, pure and comforting handmade food (because food enthusiasts need good food to send to the people they love) and we’re finally releasing our very first apron, which I couldn’t be more excited about. It totally sums up our brand in one look.

The new apron is made of an all natural cotton and hemp blend that’s both very functional and rugged but almost linen in feel. The color is kraft, of course, and the Eat Boutique logo is printed in black. On a glance, the apron is rustic, but when you get a glimpse of the logo, which is the exact same logo from this site, it turns quite modern. Of course, I’m debating whether the logo should be bold, front and center on the chest plate of the apron, or sweet and quiet on the hem of the pocket. Help me, Rhonda: Which do you prefer?

What makes me the proudest (sniff, sniff) is the method in which these aprons were made. I certainly could have sourced them online from some big manufacturer overseas but that’s kind of anti-Maggie and definitely anti-Eat Boutique. Instead, I reached out to a dear friend who’s a seamstress. Carrie, from Carrie Sew Fancy, helped me source the fabric, design the apron and made them by hand, totally from an idea in our heads. Thank you, Carrie!

The straps are adjustable, the pockets are flat but deep and there’s the sweetest loop for a dish towel to hang by your side, because I think we need more dish towel loops in this world. The apron will be on sale in the store starting later this week. You know, right after you all tell me whether the logo should be big and center or small and off to the side. This brand needs your wise opinion, so please leave a note in the comments.

Speaking of brands, I’ll be moderating a panel on “How to Market your Blog and Turn it into a Brand/Business” at Boston’s TECHmunch conference next weekend. If you’re there, please say hello, okay?

All photos styled and taken by Maggie Battista, with some help from my friends/models Genevieve Sandifer, Elle Rapport and Dawn Baker – thank you, ladies!

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Send food that hugs you back today.

Just restaurant facades and nothing else. Enjoy all the bright colors and random medley of Paris foodie spots!

Design is such a priority overseas, especially when it pertains to food. I wanted to share the cutest little cafe/deli that has several outposts in Finland. I can’t understand anything on the actual Website for the Sis Deli + Cafe, but Remodelista did a little write-up to share the details of their interior design and sweet black/white checked pattern. I am going to explode from the cuteness. Sis focuses on ecological and organic delights in quite a peaceful and hip setting. Anyone seen any great flights to Finland? Yes, I’ve been known to board a plan just to hit a cafe or restaurant with local friends. Now I just need to make some friends in Finland!

It’s Fall, finally and unfortunately. My trip to California extended Summer, but only by 10 days. The moment my flight landed in Boston, I could smell Fall. At my farm, the bins overflowed with squash, fennel and lettuce greens. While there, I got over stimulated by, totally shoved in my face and kicked in the head by Fall. And now I’m more than ready for some delicious Fall-inspired cuisine.

Before that, I wanted to share a pretty table that got me too excited for my favorite season. This is my antique dining room table surrounded by bright white plastic chairs, chairs that we purchased in mass for huge parties but always seem to linger around the house because they just work. The wicker place mats are topped with bright white Williams & Sonoma plates and shiny forks and knives. My Simon Pearce candle holders do in fact hold white candles and a small pile of white, cream and sand-colored stones from a trip to a Long Island beach five years ago. The ghourds and pumpkins are from that day’s farm trip, a trip loaded with mighty specimens washed in beautiful whites, greens, golds, butter yellows and oranges.

In the background, a very good friend is putting bits and pieces of smoked bacon on his early Fall salad of local lettuce and celery root. I had to snap a picture because the evening and the table reflected good, brisk times to come, with roaring fires, dishes filled with late harvest vegetables and plenty of wine to keep us warm. (In fact, I’m considering doing something like this for Thanksgiving. That table will have more than 20 people around it, so I’ll need piles and piles of ghords, pumpkins and squash to make it all work, which will make for a rather fun farm trip, I think.)

It really doesn’t take much to make a table special and modern. The ghourds were cheap, the stones free and everything else, including the big paper napkins (because all our cloth napkins were in the wash), was stocked in my antique sideboard. We were dressed in jeans and garden shoes fresh from our farm visit, but the special touches on the table made us feel special, like we had treated ourselves to some old-fashioned hospitality, without going overboard, spending a fortune or exerting too much effort. My rule of thumb is to keep it simple and the good times will follow. And in this case, the good Fall times have just begun.