Goodbye Summer...Hello Fall!

one last look at summer...

Well, Fall is officially here and I couldn't be more excited!! Erik and I have been really busy this past month, but we took time on Saturday to drive to the shore and bid farewell to summer. It was a cloudy day and we kept thinking it was going to pour, but we were still able to enjoy a nice walk on the beach and smell the refreshing salt air. When I have some time this week I will post a few photos! Sorry for the lack of blogging in September. I have lots of make-up posting to do! Erik's birthday was on the 16th (Happy Birthday hun!) and we had a great meal at my parents house last weekend to celebrate. Dad made his famous German Chocolate Cake...yummy! I started taking an adult hip-hop dance class with my sister on Wednesday nights. (Yes...you read that right...I'm dancing!) I haven't danced since elementary school, so this should be very interesting. I'm just trying it out for now, it's a good workout and it's nice to spend some time with Mary. As far as crafting goes... I've been busy with 3 different projects. I can't seem to focus on one project at a time, so I've been working slowly but surely on all three whenever I get the chance! This week I will be knitting a comfy plum colored scarf, practicing my crewel embroidery skills (and still looking for the proper yarn to use...), and making a few felted projects that will be given out at Christmas. I promise I'll post pics of some finished projects soon! Hope everyone has a good week!

Leaves are falling...

I was amazed to see how many leaves were already on the ground this weekend while out and about with Lisa on Saturday and Erik today (it's his birthday!). I hope a few stay on the trees for the fall. This leaf was floating in the water at Nod Brook on Saturday and for some reason it caught my eye. I can't wait for more leaf peeping soon! But for now, it's Sunday night and in a few hours I'll be back at work, doing the same old things and counting down the days until next weekend. I might have jury duty on Tuesday...I'll keep you posted! Have a good week!

Guess what time it is...

It's birthday time!! Happy Birthday to my wonderful hubby Erik. Today he celebrates the big 3-1. We ate out at Rein's for breakfast, sipped on yummy coffee from Starbucks, went for a walk at Nevers, ran into Lisa and Krystal, did some light shopping, hiked a bit at Gay City State Park and then ended the day at my parent's house for a yummy birthday supper. We had a birthday feast fit for a king and dined on steak, sausages, grilled pork chops, corn on the cob and roasted potatoes! No birthday dinner at Mom and Dad's is complete without a delectable homemade birthday cake. Erik wanted my Dad to make his famous homemade German Chocolate Cake and it turned out great! I look forward to this cake every year when he makes it! Happy Birthday hun!

Fall is in the air...

Today Lisa and I took a mini day trip out to Nod Brook Wildlife Management Area in beautiful Simsbury, CT. It was a gorgeous day and we could sense that fall is just around the corner! We didn't plan on going to Nod Brook, we just sort of stumbled upon it. We like to go on "Adventure Rides" and this looked like a neat area to explore. Yippee! I can't wait for more outings this fall!

The dog days of summer...

Well, we are one week into September and it's still very hot outside. Not just kinda hot...real hot. I think it was close to 90 degrees in Manchester today, yikes! I love summer, but I'm starting to get excited about fall. Apple picking, cool nights, pumpkins and beautiful fall foliage here we come! After all, it's right around the corner. I think Jake and Rudy are sick of the heat too. We saw them last weekend for Labor Day and they were both pretty lethargic. I guess nothings worse than being a 145 lb. black dog sitting outside in the blaring sun. Jake was sitting by the gate when I took this picture of him. He looked like he was staring off into space... probably dreaming about bunnies in the yard...or trying to figure out how he was going to get the teriyaki steak off the grill and into his mouth. Rudy on the other hand was posing for me in the yard. He was sitting in the grass by my dad's beautiful flower garden just asking to have his picture taken. He's a lot more patient with the camera than Jake. Anyways, hope everyone is having a good week! Enjoy the warm weather!

Sunrise over the ocean...

Sunrise in Nags Head, NC


"In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary."
--Aaron Rose

Self Portrait

Say Cheese! This is me in my parent's backyard last weekend attempting to take a quick photo of myself. I am contemplating chopping my hair off and needed a good "before" picture. Hopefully I will take the plunge and cut it, what do you think? Should I cut it off (chin length) or keep letting it grow long? I'm torn between the two and being the most indecisive person in the whole wide world doesn't help the situation either!

Busy as bees...

"In times of great stress or adversity, it's always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive."
-Lee Iacocca

One of those days...

"AHHHH!!"

Today was one of those days. You know, one of those days that nothing seems to go right, everything frustrates you, and you're ultimately reduced to tears while driving home from work. If you haven't had one of those days, count your blessings...you are one of the lucky few. Maybe its due to lack of sleep (since I can't blame it on PMS) but I'm not spending much time analyzing what went wrong during the day. Nope. No over-analyzing Annie here. Instead Erik and I went out to eat. I eat when I'm pissed. Tonight I was soothed by baby back ribs, French fries, and an ooey gooey brownie sundae. It helped tame my temper and melt away the frustrations of the day. Thank goodness for food.

Cool Crewel...

I was browsing at the craft store the other day and ran across The New Crewel book, written by Katherine Shaughnessy. I LOVE it! This is some pretty cool crewel. I've dabbled in crewel before in the past and I have many vintage crewel pieces made by my grandmother and her many, many sisters. I've always enjoyed crewel work and this book has lots of modern patterns that are super easy to do...the only downside is I can't find the correct crewel yarn to use ANYWHERE in the Manchester area. So, for now I am forced to practice with plain old embroidery thread. Oh well, at least I can get some practice with the stitches before the real yarn comes in. Yeah!

The photos above are of a crewel pillow made by one of my relatives on my Dad's side of the family sometime in the late 1960's or '70s. I'll be posting pics of my first project once it's completed!

Man's best friend...

Jake saying goodbye to Erik on Labor Day

Jake, one of my parent's dogs, LOVES Erik. It's cool to watch them interact. Jake follows either Erik or my Dad around all the time. He's a true guy's dog.

Road Trip Time!

Krystal, me, and Lisa (l-r) striking a pose as the sun sets over South Windsor, CT

This past weekend Krystal, Lisa and I took a mini road trip up to the Yankee Candle Factory in South Deerfield, MA. We hit the road around 9am, stopped for breakfast at Bickfords, then made our way to the candle factory. After lots of candle fun we headed back to CT and had dinner at Bellini's in South Windsor. Yummy, yummy salads! After filling up on yummy food and re-fueling at Starbucks, we headed over to enjoy the sunset at the Major Michael Donnelly Land Preserve. We ended the day (literally...we were up past midnight) at the studio making an awesome slide show of our day! We had a blast! I will post the side show soon, but until then here are a few pics to tide you over...

Lisa, me and Krystal (l-r) in front of the Yankee Candle Cow

...a yarn pic for Cassandra! We saw some beautiful Alpaca yarn at the farmers market outside of the candle factory.