I HEART Fall

I should be upstairs taking a nap right now, since this would be my only chance of the day, but instead, I am here with you, writing about something I love, fall, and sharing some of my all-time favorite memories.

In the years before DH and I met, I had a best friend named Nate. Every single Friday, Nate and I would go out and do something fun together. It was our day. Usually we went to dinner and a movie, hung out downtown, went on a quest for some new music, or went hiking. The latter was our favorite. At the time, I had a little dog named Ruby. She was my first ever Border Collie, and on top of that, she was red. Nate and I loved my dog, and we loved taking her hiking in the mountains near our homes. We have so many wonderful memories of going up into the mountains with Ruby, some that still make us laugh to this day.

Not only did we love hiking, we loved doing it in the fall, and we went as often as we possibly could. Here are a few pictures from some of my favorite hikes. I usually took my camera, and I am so glad I did because I will always have these moments to cherish forever.


Here Nate and Ruby pose for a fantastic picture moment in front of some golden quakies. According to the date on this picture, Nate and I had been friends for about three years at this point. Man we used to have fun. Sometimes I really miss those days.


This is one of my absolute favorite pictures of Ruby and me. It caught in one picture the heart of our relationship. We were both supposed to be looking at the camera, but Ruby reached up to give me a kiss just as the shutter opened. She did this a lot, and the paw always came up when she did. I always loved her kisses, and was always happy to take them. She was my pup.


The scenery was always breath taking. We could have spent hours upon hours in the mountains. We didn't care how cold it was. Light was our only enemy on these gorgeous fall days.


I was occasionally afforded the opportunity to let Ruby off leash. She loved these moments, as it gave her a chance to run through the brush and explore.


Seriously, does it get any more beautiful? In real life the golden trees look as though they are glowing. It is incredible, and there is nothing like it. I really, really miss my mountains, especially at this time of year.
I guess Ruby needed a break. Nate loved taking his turn walking her on our hikes. We took this dog everywhere we possibly could.

I just can't resist sharing these gorgeous pictures. I hope you can't get enough, because I sure can't. I had a hard time eliminating pictures from this post. I wanted to share them all.

Finally, I wanted to share a slightly quirky picture of me in what Nate and I liked to call the swamps. This area reminded us of the movie, LOTR. You can see on my face how happy I was in those days. I was so young and carefree. I valued and looked forward to my time with Nate every weekend. We were never romantic, but we were certainly the best of best friends.

I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane with me. I know I will enjoy looking at these pictures all next week at work. :)

Falling for Fall with a Knee-placement

The past couple of weeks I have been meaning to get around to pulling out my fall wreath for the front door. I LOVE fall! Last weekend, the Munchkin and I went out to the shed to see if it was located where I last remembered seeing it. Much to my pleasure, it was right where I remembered. Even more to my pleasure, I found a matching garland when I opened the bag to show the wreath the light of day for the first time in two years. I didn't remember purchasing the garland, so it was like Christmas to find it. Sadly, my wreath hanger was not in the bag. So for the next few days, the wreath sat next to the front door until I could locate a hanger.

On Saturday morning, I went out into our fancy and super organized garage to find a Christmas box I was sure had a hanger in it.


Enter idiocy.

You see that ladder haphazardly propped up against the boxes? My Christmas box was on a shelf just above it. I thought to myself, "I wonder if that ladder is sturdy enough that I could just climb up it just like that and get the box down." I did. Only two steps from the bottom of the ladder, I knew I had made a HUGE mistake. Max was waiting patiently at the bottom of the ladder and barely got out of the way in time. I remember falling forward, looking at all of the crap all over the floor and thinking, "Oh sh*t, this is gonna hurt!" Oh boy did it ever! I landed smack dab on my knee. Within nanoseconds I was seriously nauseous and dizzy. DH came running to make sure I was okay. I was totally not okay. I couldn't breathe the pain was so intense. Tears were streaming down my face. I wasn't crying, it was a reflex from the pain shooting through my knee. I sat back on the ladder, trying not to vomit and trying not to pass out. I know, I was stupid. STUPID.

In my defense, our garage is not supposed to look like that. I have been trying for some time now to clean it out and put most of it where it belongs. In this currently empty shed:


Okay, that's not much of a defense, but I like to think it is. *sigh* DH felt so bad that he went out and started cleaning out the garage a few hours later. What a sweetie. I love him.

I did, however, find the wreath hanger. I hung up my wreath and garland, while my knee throbbed. It still hurts like a beast. I'm still waiting for the bruise to come to the surface. Lesson totally learned.


I wanted to show you that Max was completely unharmed by my stupidity. She was so happy to pose for this picture, especially since it was her all by herself with no Red. Welcome to my newly decorated fall doorway.


The garland turned out fantastic, if I do say so myself. I love it. I love fall.


This table is just below the stairs and right next to the front door. The plug-in puts off the most wonderful fall aromas. I love those dual air fresheners, especially in seasonal fall scents!

Yes, I seem to love everything. Its true. I guess the anti-depressants I'm on are really working huh? I love them too. :)

P.S. If you missed it, the directions for cheese soup are in the post below. :)