Quick update and new camera!

Today has been a hot and busy day! I made a veggie pot pie, two platters of enchiladas, Mexican rice, and a blackberry cobbler. It was 100+ degrees outside today, and baking all day didn't help with the heat, but I'm excited to have a few days of dinner already cooked :)

For my birthday Michael bought me the nicest Canon DSLR and I have been going picture crazy! Speaking of my birthday, Michael took the day off and took Michelle and me up to Oregon where we played in Ashland at Lithia Park, shopped in Medford, and got ice cream. We got dinner in Yreka, and ended the night with cake at home. He is so sweet.

Of course I have to post some of the pictures I've taken with my camera ;-) Here they are below.

Autumn Love

I think it has taken me a million years to update, but since we had such a fun weekend I felt inspired to write again.
It is my very favorite time of year - Autumn. The brisk weather, the smell of rain in the air, and comfy cozy clothes. This Autumn is especially lovely because those fall colors are particularly vibrant up in Northern California/Southern Oregon. If it weren't for the flawlessly blue skies, I'd bet we'd have snow by now (it's been SO COLD), but instead we get a prolonged Autumn and I'm definitely not complaining!

Playing at the park in Y

This past weekend my in-laws came up to Y to spend time with our little family. We were super excited to have them up here, and we made sure to do something fun all weekend long.

Spin spin spin!

Saturday we went up to Oregon and had breakfast at Morning Glory, this amazing breakfast place with the best Lemon Ricotta Stuffed French Toast! Then we spent the first part of the day in Ashland shopping and hanging out by the duck pond we love so much. Fall colors were out, and the pond was stunningly beautiful.

Ducks, leaves, fall colors, oh my!

Mama and her best girl

After, we went to Medford and spent way too much at Victoria's Secret (hey, our boobs deserve some love now and then!), walked around the mall, then had sushi at a restaurant with great food and despicable service.

She is always happy when on the go!

Sunday we made breakfast at home, watched the 49ers game, then went to a pumpkin patch close to Y. It was at a small family run farm, and was so flipping cute. It was the last day of pumpkin selling, so we got 4 huge pumpkins for only $5! Good deal!

Wagon ride

Michael's shadow says hi ;-)

A few weekends ago we hit up another pumpkin patch in Napa with my in-laws and got the CUTEST pictures! I'll share all of those below :)

We can't wait until Halloween! Our little lady is going to be dressing up as a cow! AH!

Look at that pose! Diva!

With Grandma and Gramps

Fun weekend with family

This past weekend, my sister and 3 nieces came up to Y to visit and have fun. It was so nice seeing them, and it made me miss home much more than I thought it would.
Michelle had so much fun playing with the girls and being doted on lovingly. She's definitely spoiled by her cousins!

My sister got to town on Friday night and we just spent the time relaxing and catching up. Saturday we got up and headed up to Oregon in the morning. We went to the farmer's market, walked through a little craft fair, and had lunch on the balcony of a restaurant that overlooks the creek.

After, we went to a couple stores and did some window shopping, and hung out at the duck pond in Lithia Park. The girls loved it there! Then we drove back to Y for some ice cream (50 cent soft serve, yeah yeah!).

Sunday we went to breakfast at the worst restaurant in Yreka - the Black Bear Diner. Normally I love Black Bear Diners, but this one always has horrible service. 3rd time here, 3rd time it sucked.Three strikes and you're out, right? Bleh. After breakfast (thanks for treating, Nikki!) we went to a big park in Yreka and played at the playground, chased geese, picked blackberries, and went on a mini hike to a little ghost town. After we headed home for lunch and my big Y plans for my sister and myself.

Sunday was supposed  to be the day we went antiquing and thrifting store hunting, but unfortunately Y is the sleepiest little podunk town, and everything was CLOSED! So my sister and I (the kids were with Michael running in the sprinklers and watching movies - what a good uncle/daddy!!) went to the fanciest stores that were open (Raley's and The Dollar Tree, holla!) and did a little shopping. I was just happy to be out with my sister and to have a break from my little loving baby :)
After our glamorous shopping, we went to dinner at a local Italian place and came home to watch movies. We watched Wreck It Ralph and it was super cute!

Sadly, my sister left early Monday morning. But I am so happy I got to see her and my nieces. It made this little house feel much more fun and homey.

Ashland? Awesomeland!

Yesterday Michael and I spent the day in Ashland, OR. It was such a great day and really made us feel like we found a bit of "real world" up here. We kept repeating over and over how cute the town was, and how much we wished we lived up there.

If I had to describe it, I would call it a cross between Berkeley and St. Helena. It's quaint and cute, but also has a hippy, nature loving feel about it. 

We started off our day by going to the farmer's market and wandering around some cute cobble stone streets. We bought lots of delicious fresh vegetables from the cutest stands, and Mish especially liked sampling the microgreens and sunflower sprouts. 

After we walked to an artisan fair and had lunch outside by the river/creek. It was so hot outside, but under our little umbrella table with ice water and fresh fruit, we never felt the need to go inside. We got the BEST baklava for dessert, and knew that we made a great choice for our lunch spot. Green Leaf Restaurant, we'll be back! 

We did some window shopping in all of these cute shops, and tried on masks a a costume shop. Then we walked to Lithia Park and watched ducks play in the pond, and ran around in the grass. 

Then we did some shopping at our staple stores (Trader Joes, Costco, etc) that we don't have access to in Yreka. Lastly, we went to Red Robin for big delicious burgers (chicken for Michael, boca for me) and ended the day by renting a movie. Some lady gave me a promo-code for the movie, so it ended up being free! A perfect end to a wonderful day!