Sunday strolls...

Isn't Fall just beautiful? A few weekends ago we went out for a hike and on the way to my parents house for dinner we stopped at Soapstone Mountain and took in some gorgeous views from the observation tower. It was a bit hazy, but other than that the view from the top was quite colorful.

Beautiful Beads

Tonight after dinner I felt inspired to finish a necklace I started in June, yes folks, JUNE (yikes)! I received some lovely beads from Cassandra for my birthday back in June and tonight I put the finishing touches on the necklace. So...I present to you the first necklace I have made in quite awhile courtesy of Cassandra! Thank You! It felt so good the be making things again after a long creative siesta!

Jake thinks he's a fire engine...

So, this video is definitely not the best quality...I'm a bit crazy with the camera angles and for most of the video Jake and Rudy are sideways (sorry!!), but I think it's cute. The video shows how goofy Jake is every time a siren sounds in the town of Tolland. He loves to howl along with the sirens. He's done this since he was a pup and Rudy tries sooo hard to copy his cool brother...but he just can't pull it off. Sorry Rudy!

A day in the life of Ms. Anne...

I don't talk much about work here in the land of blog, but I took a few pictures of some projects Sarah and I did with the kids the past few weeks and thought I would share. Too bad I can't post the pics of the kid's making their projects...they are adorable! Anyways, here is a brief glimpse into "Anne-Land"...

Window art and hand print trees...

Apple taste testing and yes, I'm a nut!

Pumpkin prints w/silly stories and our goofy pumpkin creatures...

...one big happy pumpkin family!

So, there you have it...a glimpse into Artsy Anne's day job, at least the creative side of it! (trust me, not all sides of it are pretty--working with 3 and 4yr olds is always an adventure!)

Girl's night out!

Last night the guys had a surprise poker birthday party at our house for Ben (Happy Birthday Ben!) and that meant that Krystal, Jen, Lisa and I could finally have a girl's night out. We ate dinner at Sukhothai in Manchester and then headed over to the new and beautiful Blue Back Square in West Hartford for dessert at the Cheesecake Factory and a stroll through the gorgeous new Crate and Barrel. I'm in love with Blue Back Square and I'm sure this won't be the only time I write about it. Ahhhh....it was a much needed evening of fun, food and friends!

Meet Jack...

Here is the Jack-o-Lantern Erik and I carved at Ben and Jen's fall outing. Isn't he cute! We were going for a goofy-Cheshire-cat look, but he ended up looking just plain goofy. I love his smile. Happy Fall!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!! Here are the pumpkins I carved at school with the kids...their favorite part was "scooping out the goop" on the inside of the pumpkin! :)

Well, it's the end of yet another busy weekend and I feel like I need 2 more days off just to recuperate! I should have spent this afternoon catching up on some cleaning and laundry, but instead Erik and I went for a walk at Never's Road Park and enjoyed the breezy, beautiful day. Nothing beats being lazy on a Sunday afternoon. :)

I have no idea why I like taking pictures of things in the middle of the road, but I find it quite amusing. Here are some pictures of an acorn we found along the trail, the beautiful nature preserve in South Windsor and the trail at Never's Road Park.

Jones Family Farm!!

Today we headed off to the Jones Family Farm in beautiful Shelton, CT for a day of wine tasting, pumpkin' picking, and frolicking in the beautiful fall weather with friends. First stop was Ben and Jen's house in Waterbury where Ben cooked up yummy egg sandwiches for us to start the day! Next we headed to the Jone's Winery. After the wine tasting we drove over to picturesque "Pumpkin Hill". The place was packed! While at Pumpkin Hill we walked around and...

pretended to be farm animals...

got lost in a corn maze...

and chose the perfect pumpkins for the carving competition back at Ben and Jen's. It was lots of fall fun!

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.

~Elizabeth Lawrence

It's Apple Pickin' Time!

Decisions, Decisions...

If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise. -Robert Fritz

Paper or plastic, chocolate or vanilla, change jobs or keep the same? We all face decisions each day, both small and large. You would think that as we grow older decisions would get easier to make...not when your a worry-wort like me! AHHHHH!!!!