shelburne farms, vermont

In the light of day, the fire pit that you sit around at American Flatbread still looks pretty great. And the farm cats are cute, too. After we had breakfast at the Lareau Farm Inn (cottage cheese pancakes with lemon honey butter) we drove to Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, Vermont. From what I could tell, Shelburne Farms is famous for it's cheese (I loved the cheddar spread) and the huge property is laced with beautiful walking trails. Camilla tells me that this is and always was a hobby farm, which perhaps partly explains the amazing barn that is now home to a small cadre of pettin' animals: goats, donkeys, and fancy chickens, included. My personal favourite was this badger-faced goat. If you can swing a visit to this farm I highly recommend you go. It is ridiculously beautiful and the barn itself is so much bigger and grander than these pictures can convey. It made me realize that there is this whole part of this continent that I know very little about and that has a rich history and amazing architectural traditions. I definitely want to spend more time exploring New England soon!

I'm already looking forward to my next trip, which will likely be back home to Calgary for Christmas. Jeff and I have a busy month ahead of us because we're moving (again!) and so I'm glad we took this time to chill out with friends and goats between the craziness of getting married and the annoyance of moving. Our move will be worth it, though! Lots more space and even a fireplace to call our own! Do you have any fall or winter vacations planned?

from montreal

A few pictures of some of my favourite parts of our Montreal visit: amazing coffee, great friends, good shoes, and Wu Tang Bixis bringing da ruckus! Oh, we did eat a million delicious things. Thanks to Marigold, Jesse and Camilla for showing us around the city! Pictures of our Vermont trip and a little DIY tutorial to come!

taking five

Jeff, Lola, and I spent the Thanksgiving weekend in Powell River at the cabin. The cabin is actually our friend Grady's house, which he shares with his awesome daughter Clancy and their cat, Mittens. We spent the weekend in a town of 20,000 without a whole lot to do. So we drank a lot of coffee, we made some delicious food (including a Tofurkey and cranberry sauce, which I love), and hung out with a lot of horses, dogs, and even a cat or two. It was pretty much heaven. Above you can see a picture of me with my giant dog friends, Honey and Bear (a.k.a. Chunkstar and Leo). You can also see our black and white dog, Lola, taking five. We took a lot of fives, too. Have you seen Fubar? You really should. Most of it was filmed in the city Jeff and I used to live in. It's kind of a must-see movie, whether you're Canadian or not. This trailer is definitely not suitable for work:

I'm going to Montreal this weekend to visit with friends and to spend some time in a fun city that I haven't been to in over nine years. It's a long overdue visit and I can't wait to hang out with Jeff, Jesse, Marigold, and Camilla all week long. I'll be back when I can with pictures and stories!

an autumn to-do list

Inspired by Amanda and Caitlin, I've decided to put together a little list of things I'd like to make happen this fall. My New Year's resolutions are almost all no longer applicable (having graduated from my masters program this spring!) so I think it's time to put some focus on all of the fun things that I'd like to do as the manic craziness of the Summer of Getting Married subsides and the cool, calm days of fall start to set in. On the second-to-last day of summer, here's what I'm dreaming of doing as the seasons change:

1. Go camping on the coast

2. Visit a pumpkin patch (and conquer a corn maze while I'm there)

3. Bake a pie from scratch

4. Go apple picking

5. Visit friends in a different city

6. Have a Thanksgiving feast

7. Revamp the blog for a new season

8. Knit something (I'm thinking chunky yarn and big needles)

9. Go for a forest hike on the North Shore

10. Take photos with a new camera

11. Clean up the garden one more time

12. Walk home from work (it's a pretty long walk)

13. Ride the Stanley Park Halloween Ghost Train (Ivy and Jamie, I'm going to miss you guys this year!)

14. Check out the Parade of Lost Souls (Halloween seems to be Vancouver's favourite holiday)

In all honesty. some of these things are already in the process of being planned. The camera that I've been dreaming of is finally available in the States, so I might get my hands on it before too many of these other events come to pass...which would be nice. I feel like I've outgrown the camera that I usually use for blog posts and jewelry photography. I think an upgrade is needed so that I can get the kind of photos I want...crisper, brighter, more depth of field control. The picture above was taken on Broadway with my Golden Half 35mm camera. Speaking of which, my double exposure project is coming along...

You can also see that most of my plans involve being outside as much as possible. Here in Vancouver it rains most of the winter and the days are always grey and cloudy (just writing about it makes me feel a little depressed), so if we have sunny, crisp fall weather it's important to get out there and enjoy it. Luckily in Vancouver we can get outside year round because the temperatures are never too crazy (unlike the last city I lived in, which often dipped to -40, which is the same in ºF and ºC). Winter might be full of lame rain days, but you can still go for a walk in forests where you'll stay dry under all of the cedar trees...and our flowers do start coming out in January, which is always a welcome relief.

Jeff and I are going into our fourth year here in Vancouver, and yet, in some ways, it feels like our first year. He still has a year left in nursing school, but I am finally finished. It's a great, weird feeling for weekends to be full of possibilities rather than homework and stress. I'm looking forward to enjoying this new season with friends and family and sharing some of what we get up to with you!

five friday favourites

This week is the first time that autumn weather has made an appearance in Vancouver. It makes me excited to get a new sweater or two, bake spiced cookies, and watch a lot (and I mean, a lot) of movies. As much as I don't want summer to ever go away and though I would never say that I was ready for summer to end, there is a certain excitement brewing about the fall slow down. And my first fall without school in, well, almost forever. For me fall is a time to still be outside a lot, enjoying bike rides and trips to farms and mountains whenever possible, but with a little less going on in general. It feels like there is breathing room, though maybe that just has something to do with the fact that I finished school this spring and that our wedding is now a couple of weeks behind us.

Anyway, on to the fall-related finds. First of all, I was excited to discover that you can buy mini doughnuts on Etsy. I think I might have to order some of those dudes to our American mailbox address just because I can. The rest of these picks are all about thick knitwear, cold weather, and smokey campfires. Click on the links below to see more.

1. The gorgeous Blanket poster by Debbie Carlos

2. Woodsmoke and Vanilla perfume oil by FlourishBathBody

3. Two dozen (!!!) pumpkin spice doughbabies by donutsandmore

4. Crochet genius Yokoo's Soopascarf

5. Raincity Boot Warmers by Vancouver's own Kove

So, these are the handmade things that I think would really help me survive the non-summer months this year. What autumn-y things have you found lately?

If you'd like to see more of my fall finds, I have three new treasuries on Etsy: Around the Campfire, Sweater Weather, and Awesome Autumn.