Bopril

Gone Apple Pickin'!

Last week, we took Friday off work and headed to a nearby apple orchard with our fur babes. We picked the perfect day, without a cloud in the sky, and we loved every minute of our Fall inspired adventure. It was a bit late in the season for apple picking, so we didn't take much home in the way of direct apple loot, but we certainly made the most of our theme---leaving with a full apple pie and delicious apple butter which instantly took me back to my childhood---gathered around my grandmother's table, eating her homemade apple butter directly from the jar with a spoon.

There is truly no better season than Fall. Love, love, love.

Happy Halloween!

The holiday season has officially arrived with this beautiful, crisp Halloween day. We're back from our early morning coffee walk and looking forward to the little ghouls and goblins who will visit later in the day. We've also got a walk planned up and down Damen with our little lion and tiger.

As I do each year on this day, I'm thinking of my Gramps and hoping he's got an extra spooky mask picked out, wherever he is. I know he'd get a big kick out of our fur babes, all decked out in their holiday best.

To get into the appropriate spirit of things, say it with me now: "lions and tigers and ....OH MY!"

From our house to yours, happy, happy Halloween! Hope you eat loads of candy and soak up every mums and pumpkin filled moment.

New Toys

Last weekend, Hubby and I spent some quality time roaming the aisles of Best Buy -- I know this has long been designated a guy's playground, but the truth is, I love it there as much as he does (maybe more?) -- and we left with a couple of new toys to keep us occupied.

I'll spare you the play by play, but Internet, we have yet another flat screen television in our home -- this one proudly displayed in the bedroom -- and we absolutely love it. Even before we have the HD box hooked up so we can really take advantage of our new gadget in all its glory. In our defense, the television we were using previously was Hubby's from when he first moved to California, weighed about 3 trillion pounds and was always threatening to collapse the dresser upon which it perched. That thing had to GO is what I'm sayin.

Hubs quite enjoyed pulling the new guy out of its box and setting it up in its new home -- all in less than half an hour. There's something to be said for the smaller variety of flat screens. He decided to balance the brand new TV on our tiny outdoor cocktail table, giving me a small heart attack (but also a photo opp...bonus!):

 

Here is he is hard at work so you can get the full picture:

Moving so fast, I actually caught a blur on the camera! And here is our new flat-screen baby already tuned in to a much beloved channel:

Perhaps one of these days, all the Food Network watching will actually lead to a desire to cook - what do you think? Stranger things have happened, but just in case, I've suggested to Hubby that he might not want to hold his breath.   

In other news, Mama got a brand new lens for the fancy camera. So of course, I've been clicking away and am already amazed by the difference and the new limits I can push this photography thing - all because of a few focal points and the ability to zoom. Yep, I'm in love.

The fur-babes enjoyed a little midday sunlight (and the requisite nap to accompany it):

 

And look, things are starting to get really green around these parts:

Speaking of green, we leave bright and early tomorrow for some Derby fun and green is the preferred color for this year's dress. Sneak peek in 3...2...1...

Yep, it's purposely vague and cropped! I am evil. Oh and one more thing, I can really, seriously ZOOOOOOOOOM with my new toy:

Next time I am not leaving without an iPad. And that's final.

Happy hump day, folks. Thanks for reading.    
 

Mindful

Over the past several years, I've given a lot of thought to the concept of time. More specifically, of its passing.

Like almost everyone, I happily wiled away many youthful years oblivious to this reality. Time's passing left no mark on me. I was young. And happy. And completely immune to nostalgia and age and the act of present being quickly swallowed by future.

I can't say for sure exactly when I began noticing - feeling time's aggressive pull - thinking that all of this has its limit. Acknowledging that in every beginning, there is most certainly an end. But it happened - an almost imperceptible shift - and I started to think (albeit in brief flashes of moments that so far, I'm able to shove back down into the dark where they belong) that it was maybe possible that my best days were behind me.

Of course, the logical side of my brain recognizes this as ridiculous. I've just entered my thirties after all - life is still completely mine for the taking! Still, I see the signs. They're everywhere really. People I love, their faces lined and taut, hair peppered with grey. Creatures that colored my childhood happy - now rambling slowly from point A to point B - still sweet yes, but energy and passion and joie de vivre distinctly lacking. Even the mirror tells the story. Softness where I used to know firm. Lines where smooth previously reigned. Circles and fatigue that once knew only fun and late nights under bright lights. People - both admired from afar and loved deeply, up close and personal - no longer here.

Lest you think this is a sad, whiny, nostalgic post, let me be clear: I'd change nothing of the passage of time, and nothing of my life today. Except maybe my own practice of being mindful of it.

Because maybe - just maybe - living mindfully will color time's passing with deeper meaning, more relevance, more gratitude.

Every moment is a blessing and I want to squeeze each drop from it. To that end, I'm selecting a couple of projects that I'm attempting to embrace for the year ahead. There are so many of them canvassing the interwebs, but I'm keeping it simple. I've chosen two in particular that resonated with me and that, I hope, will help me take 2010 as it comes - but also to revel in each moment and live it fully. A mindful year - that's a concept I can really get behind.

If you'd like, you can follow along. I'll be participating in Shutter Sisters' annual 365 project - combining my love of photography with my need to pay attention - every day. It will result in a photo for each day of the year - sometimes I'll post daily - other times weekly (or even monthly) but I'll be taking at least one photo a day. And I look forward to reliving 2010 via one of my most treasured mediums - photos.

And I'm participating in the lovely Glen Bell's #mindfullist project - I'll follow her prompts and think long and hard on each day's topic. Mostly, I'll post quick thoughts via twitter, but when I'm particularly inspired, I'll post about it here.

And you? Do you think about time's passing? Do you yearn to document it any way? Or are you content to roll with the punches and take it as it comes?

Gwen Bell says often on her blog that our lives are as good as the quality of our attention. I believe that - this year more than ever.

Here's to living mindfully.

 

Weekendings: A Kentucky Wedding

We're back from our Southern fried weekend and we had such fun. The scenery was extraordinary as anticipated, the company exceptional, the bride & groom gorgeous and special, the days not nearly long enough.

We danced and hugged and talked and drank wine. We walked and ran with the dogs, petted goats and oxen and horses and I took my usual motherload of photos.

Sadly, we did not do our holiday card picture taking as I'd planned. What can I say - good times got in the way and before we knew it, we were packing up the car to return home.

Here's a photographic recap for your viewing pleasure. If this merely tickles your curiosity, you can find much more here.

The entire weekend made me want to sing 'My Old Kentucky Home' at the top of my lungs. And also? It was a nice reminder that my family and friends and seriously ROCK THE HOUSE. I'd gladly take a do over - it was that much fun.

Becky and Adam - I wish you every joy on this magnificent journey we call marriage. You're perfectly suited for one another, and I'm thrilled you finally made it official. It was an honor to celebrate with you - XOXOXOXOXO

This was our "home" for the weekend:

 

The grounds were stunning. We walked them time and time again and captured images like these:

 

 

 

We hung out near old barns and played on retired carriages:

 

 

 

We attended a gorgeous rehearsal dinner on Friday night where we caught up with friends and had a grand 'ole time. The room was beautifully decorated by the groom's Mom and her aptly named "groom slaves:"

 

The menus featured an Autumn theme:

 

And everyone had a terrific time celebrating a terrific couple. I had many options to display the fun for you, but I thought this one was most fitting. I'm sure you'll agree:

 

You're welcome. We attended the beautiful wedding on Saturday night. It was so beautiful in fact that I forgot to take a single photo. I was too caught up in the moment, so you'll have to take my word for it: it was terrific. The bride wore a dress that's been in her family for generations and I loved everything about the colors and overall presentation: most especially the bridesmaids dresses. They were gorgeous: a grayish blue in varying styles that the ladies picked out themselves. Stunning.

The reception was held at a beautiful horse farm in an elaborate barn. God, I love Kentucky. I was much more focused on fun than photography, but I managed to snag a few shots. 

A shot of one of my favorite wedding moments, the father/daughter dance:

 

And of course, the Mother/Son dance too (with Dad looking on):

 

And because I really love dancing at weddings, here's one of the happy couple during their first dance as Mr and Mrs Bowling:

 

At the end of the night, they gathered with their pals from college for a fun-loving group shot:

 

 

The dance floor was seriously rockin' all night long:

 

It was marvelous and we loved every minute.

And you?

Majestic Skies

It's no secret that I have a thing for clouds and the sky in general. A few weeks back, I was working from home on a Friday and I looked up to notice a pretty wicked sky. It lasted for about 45 minutes and I went a little crazy with my camera.

I'm going to print these out and hang them in my office so inspiration is always a mere glance away.

 

 

Love Paints the Best Pictures

Last night as I was perusing my 4738476251 feeds, I noticed an interesting trend.

It's no secret that I'm obsessed with photography and therefore, shouldn't be surprising that I follow a large number (and variety) of photography related blogs. But all of my favorites have a common theme: they beautifully and artfully capture love. They are the kinds of images that will leave you breathless, punch you in the gut and elicit an immediate and powerful emotion (for me usually tears - SAP alert!).

I stumbled upon this image during our morning commute today courtesy of this awesome Tumblr feed:

Tell me you don't feel sucker punched right now. I do NOT believe you. Emotions still running a little high from all of yesterday's celebrations, this hit me particularly hard. Sobbing ensued, but in the best way possible. What an awesome moment - captured forever.

In an entirely different way, the following two images have the same effect:

Please visit this blog immediately - I love everything about his work. Beautiful.

Another must visit site - I die regularly over the amazing, stunning work they do with weddings and other key life moments.

And then one of my own faves - shot in the park on one of my favorite trips:

I watched these two for quite awhile; their glee was catching.

Happy Love Thursday; I hope you're remembering to paint your own pictures regularly.

Central Park Will Never Get Old - NY/CT Trip Part 1

I can't believe a week has already passed since we headed to the Big Apple to catch up with Ash and get a little Fall fix, Connecticut (and Central Park) style.

The trip was fantastic and I think the best way to describe it is to allow the photos to speak for themselves.

But before I do, I'd like to publicly declare that Connecticut is simply awesome. I literally love everything about it (except for real estate pricing). 

I feel better now.

On Thursday, we flew into LGA and Rich dropped us off at their adorable house in Stamford. We grabbed lunch at a nearby restaurant and enjoyed our walk back to casa Kraska immensely.

The path to their driveway and house looks like this:

 

Beautiful trees exploding with color all over their neighborhood look like this:

 

Their mailbox looks like this (tell me you didn't just die of cute):

 

 

And their fabulous house, nestled in a stunning "woodsy" view looks like this:

 

I rest my case (and that is only a smidgen of the eleventy billion photos I took). On Friday, Hubby and I explored the Big Apple together. We've both been countless times over the years for work individually, but had never visited Manhattan in each other's company. My favorite highlight had to be our 3 to 4 hour adventure through Central Park. That place truly never gets old.

Everything was stunning and photos don't really do the colors of the leaves justice, but that did not stop me from taking another 3 billion of them on our adventure.

 

The leaves were blowing all around us. See?

 

We conquered the self portrait (sort of):

 

But only after we failed miserably (several times):

 

We oohed and aahhed and wanted to pitch a tent and stay forever:

 

 

 

We came upon 2 paths diverged in the woods and Hubby pondered which to choose:

 

And we realized we had to get going so we could meet Beck and Jason for dinner. We met at their friends' place and he had a most serious wine collection (those cabinets are full. of WINE.):

 

The fun didn't end there Internet. Come back for part 2, won't you? I'll tell you about a 30/40 birthday party in a small, but hip gallery in NYC. There will be decor. And costumes. You won't be sorry.

Ash & Rich, a million thanks for being excellent hosts. We had a blast and we love you guys. Also, do you mind if we move into your guest room? 

Headed to the Big Apple

It's been close to a year since I've been there, and several more since I've visited during my favorite season. But tomorrow, bright and early, we are heading to New York and I'm beyond excited.

We're going for my BFF's 30th birthday; she and her hubby are throwing a dual bash to celebrate each of their entries into a new decade (the 30's for her, 40's for him). I cannot wait to relax and catch up with friends. I plan to pop open the wine frequently and walk as much of the awesome NYC streets as I can squeeze in.

In an extra special twist, another of my favorite gals is going to be visiting the Big Apple at the same time, so we've arranged a fun dinner with another rad couple. Internet, this is going to be fun.

Also? My camera is feeling very neglected so I plan to be really snap happy while we're there. To kick things off, I've borrowed a couple of images from Google and Flickr to inspire what I hope to see in my beloved Central Park:

 

Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous.

 

Yes please, take me here. Now.

I'll check back next week with plenty of updates and tales from our big city adventure. Until then, have a great weekend all!

Weekendings

Last week was - well - just ugly. Long nights, anxiety, the works. So when Friday rolled around, I was beyond ready. I'm always more than willing to embrace a weekend, but this one in particular? Could not have arrived any sooner. It also got me thinking. It is dangerous when that happens.

I thought about stress and the physical, emotional and psychological havoc it can wreak. I thought about my dental woes over the last year and how much of it was attributed to stress. I thought of my ongoing battle to maintain a consistent level of fitness and how I'm always blaming my "lack of time" and "crazy schedule" for my failure to do just that. And then I thought of my family - my amazing Hubby and his never ending patience with my stress and meltdowns and dramatic declarations that I just. can't. do. this. anymore. And then I thought of my little fur-babes and how I often rush out the door in the mornings with just a mere glance in their direction and a hurried "bye boys - see you tonight, love you" shouted in their direction. And then I thought - very randomly and inexplicably - of my friend Chris and the tragedy of his loss - way too soon. I thought of his family and the millions of other families just like them. Families that would probably give just about anything to be able to deal with some of the stress I'm constantly allowing to control me. And then, Internet - I thought simply this: enough.

And I went about enjoying a fabulous fall weekend with the little family that makes my heart so full.

It went a little something like this:

The boys and I enjoyed a little mini Friday afternoon dance party (as is becoming our ritual) in our living room while we waited for Hubby to battle Friday traffic and rain to get home. Then it was date night and we spent it laughing our asses off at Vince Vaughan and Jason Bateman. Seriously, I'll watch anything with those 2 in it. Check out Couples Retreat if you get a chance - it has plenty of light hearted fun and breath taking scenery.

Woke up early on Saturday morning as I'm apt to do - left the boys and Hubby snuggled beneath the blanket and realized we were going to have to give in and kick on the heat. Our thermostat read 59 degrees - brrr!! I spent some time browsing the Interwebs and catching up with good reads and then, because I'm crazy, I started another blog. Don't worry - this one will still remain as is - the new spot is really about photography. And sharing images in real time with a new technology that blows my mind with its awesomeness.

Hubby and I tackled our closets - mine is now fully ready for fall and winter and is organized by color which brings me endless pleasure (nerd alert). We also cleared out a few garbage bags full of clothing for Goodwill and did not shove it into a corner or closet for a month before taking it to their offices. Yay us!

We wrapped things up with some time on the treadmill and a lovely Saturday night indoors after grabbing dinner at our new Whole Foods - aka The Coolest Place On Earth. No seriously - you should be really jealous. You drink wine. While You Shop. Please re-read that sentence. Thank you. I immediately told Twitter all about it, of course.

Sunday's biggest news...? Someone went to the groomer. And did NOT get kicked out. It is nothing short of a miracle - this is our 6th city groomer and finally, we had a successful experience. Naturally, he is cuter than ever:

Hubby and I also enjoyed lunch at a favorite spot and a brisk walk through our 'hood before grocery shopping (yep, at the coolest. place. on. earth. AGAIN) and a Yoga class that kicked our asses in the best way.

Next weekend, the boys and I are on our own and I think we'll finally grab our large pumpkin for the deck, look at costumes for Bow-Wow-Ween and maybe...just maybe...I'll try my hand at these gorgeous little devils from PDub:

Don't they look heavenly?

And you?