Wisconsin Autumn = rad

Since I'm such a seasoned Wisconsinite [ahem] and have been here a whopping year and four months, it's my duty to share the glorious parts of this state. That way when I start to whine about the horrendous winters you can't say it's all bad up here, because it isn't. It's just a little rough from November to April, that's all.

Anywho, where was I last fall? I know I lived here but I sure as heck don't remember the gorgeous leaves and the crisp air like I've noticed this year. Maybe I was still too busy acclimating to this new climate to notice that Wisconsin puts on quite the show in the fall. Love it. Visitors welcome in October, that's for sure.

On Sunday Nate and I ventured to a little fruit farm to pick apples and pumpkins. Not only was it entertaining to watch Nate leap for the highest apples but it was incredibly cheap: a huge bag of apples for only $10, pumpkins for $2 each, and the most pimped out carmel apple for $2.50:) 


Here are some of the reject Jonagolds fallen to the ground. 
And here are a whole bunch of Ira Reds laying low. Not sure what they do with all of these guys? Makes a pretty picture though!
Now technically they had ladders available 'at your own risk' but Nate thought that was the easy way out. He preferred to jump and grunt and nearly twist his ankle for the likes of these beautiful babies:
Irresistible! 

Then all of a sudden I heard, "Aw heck yeah!" and thought he must have found a real beaut. Sure enough, the boy found a freakin $20 bill on the ground! Nobody was around so we couldn't exactly be good samaritans and return it. We really like this apple orchard now:)


Tons of Jonagolds and Ira Reds = yummy treats for lunch. Plus we went ahead and bought some of the pre-picked Mackintoshes for an apple pie. Who knows how we'll manage to bake an apple pie but we gotta learn sometime, right?

I mean, it was basically a perfect day. Isn't this a pretty picture?

Next we headed over to the pumpkin patch. Nate intensely scouting out the perfect pumpkin:


I was quite fond of these little guys, myself.

But then I found a near perfect one, fit to be carved:

But there were so many to choose from we each took one home. I like to get artsy with the camera sometimes. 
Besides the fun Autumn activities up here, we are at the peak of changing leaves. In fact, I think we are probably past the peak since quite a few have already lost them...but I snapped these pictures one day on my way to work last week. I was totally that crazy girl parking her car and taking random pictures in odd locations, all because I was drooling over the colors. 

Here is our tree-lined street full of golden bliss. 
MUCH better than this shot I took in March, right? ::shudder::
Okay, let's stay in the present. Here is a gorgeous tree across the street a few days ago:
And here it is now, already ditching some of the green:


Love it!
When the sun comes out and hits the leaves it makes me want to cry [slightly dramatic, I know].
On the way to work, I found this guy:
And this bunch at a cemetery. Although it was a little creepy to take pictures here I'm so glad I did---this orange has to be my favorite:


But let's not forget about the yellows:
This could be a postcard, don't you think?
And walking up to the hospital on a picture perfect day:
Fall berries of some sort:
Mmmm, love this one. 
Here is the view from my floor in the hospital. This shot really doesn't do it justice but you get the idea. 
Some night this week, we are going to attempt that apple pie and pumpkin carving. I also want to roast the pumpkin seeds even though I have no clue where to begin with that, either. At least I'm trying to channel my inner Martha, right?

What is your favorite part of Autumn? The leaves? The smell in the air? Returning to yummy soups and chili and hearty meals like that? I'm loving it all right now. 






Go shawty, it's my burfday...

Henry, here, on the day of my birth. I can only assume that my birthday card is still in the mail from you readers, since everyone seems to have forgotten that October 18 is the best day of the year....the day my doggy mother brought me into this world. Today I am three years old. Or in human years, I'm twenty one and officially an adult. Or in other words, pass the brew!


So I have some pictures to show you, beginning with my Dad's new great idea: "Bazooka Dog" as he calls it. I'm thrilled as you can see: 



But onto the good stuff: my presents! Mom said she dropped a pretty penny on my 'furry butt' today but obviously, I'm worth it. 
Oh yeah, those are all gourmet treats...plus a new toy, a stupid hat, and my dry [boring] food. Here is my birthday cupcake:
I go in for the kill, choosing the organic pumpkin cookie first. 
Mom made me pose in front of my toy box. It's overflowing these days, no?
Obviously, my parents don't hesitate to spoil the crap out of me. Can't wait to see how wretchedly spoiled their human children will be. 
So this is my new yarn toy. Mom knows that my favorites are always the messiest [ie anything that leaves the floors dirty = awesome]
But it's hard work being three years old. 


Mom made me go outside for some 'natural light' pictures but I wasn't feeling it. After all, I'm an adult and can make my own decisions these days. 

So we came back inside and it happened: she forced me to wear the stupid hat. 

Grrr, I will kill you.
hold on a second, this reminds me of something...

Flash back: here I am on my second birthday. Yep, this was last year and mom is too cheap to buy me a different hat. She told me not to eat the hat because we need to 'make it last' whatever that means. Something about the economy being crappy, blah blah blah. I think I look so immature here....so young, so naive. And my beard isn't even brown yet!


See, this is me now on my third birthday. Older and wiser, but still ticked off at mom for the hat. Funny how my expression didn't change in a year. 

The hat starts to go....
And it ends up here. FYI: I always win staring contests:
Is it over yet?
Mom, please. So embarrassing. 
Dad, you are such a loser. 

As if that weren't humiliating enough, please look at what they did to me the other night. They are laughing because I'm furious.  They want me to use my paws like hands [their fave]...but I hold out as long as possible. 


So yeah, I'm three years old today and it doesn't feel any different. Besides the satisfying fullness in my tummy from downing so many treats. Tonight might be a fun night with many trips outside, if you know what I mean.

Does anyone else celebrate pet birthdays? Anyone up for a doggy get together, because my party would have been a lot better with other canines:)


How many days 'til Christmas?!?!

I've decided that I love Wisconsin Autumns. I have pictures [coming soon!] to prove that it truly is one of the most beautiful places to see the leaves change. I don't even mind that it's getting colder and darker in the evenings...not just yet, but give me another month and I might be sobbing all over the place again.

You see, Christmas is RIGHT around the corner. No joke. I can't even bring myself to count the days....although I love Christmas, I know that means Wisconsin winter full of reDONKulous amounts of snow. Sob.

I say all this because of my album design business [bear with me a second, I'll get back to Christmas in a bit]. I have to show off an album I completed some time ago, but never had a second to gather my thoughts and post about it. Jenna is a bride with stellar tastes: she got married and had her reception at the very same location as moi, just a mere five days after me. We met through wedding planning and it was quite the trip down memory lane to design her album. Jenna used SJMacky, one of the most popular St. Louis photographers, whose talent has grown with her booming clientele. Did I mention that I love to stare at wedding photographer's blogs?

Here are a few of my favorite layouts from Jenna's album, but as always....go to my website under 'examples' for all of the pages.






Fun, right?

But what about Christmas? Since the season is upon us and my side business seems to be taking off, I need anyone who wants an album by Christmas to get on the ball. I'm thinking the beginning of November [a few weeks away!] is a realistic deadline because I only have so much free time to devote to J.Lorene [although if I had it my way, you know I'd ditch the full time real job in a second for this fun stuff.]

So here is my plea: if you are considering using my services for a Christmas gift album, contact me a.s.a.p. [julia@jlorenedesign dot com]. And be prepared to get your images organized and sent to me by the beginning of November. Mama Clause might need to make a few hot dates with Mr. Computer before Christmas....the whole idea of 'sharing the computer' is a little rough lately. I miss the days of our dual-computer household:(

[As a side note, I finally raised my prices ever so slightly. It's about time I took the plunge so take a look on the 'investment' tab. Yay for business growth!]
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...