In my little town in Northern California, Autumn comes just a bit later and fades to Winter grey all too quickly…So I constantly have been reminding myself to take in the best of what the season has to offer…Fall Fashion! Not the beautiful colored leaves…long sunsets or sunny brisk days?? Although I do love all those… I live to wear knee high boots, layers of fun sweaters, scarves and accessories Oh..and cuddling up with my favorite seasonal beverage of the moment Starbucks salted caramel mocha with whipped cream….Hold the calories

So, maybe I should be shopping for others as Christmas will soon be upon us…(According to retail stores it was Christmas as soon as November 1st hit…What happened to Thanksgiving? It’s getting treated like the forgotten ugly stepchild these days…) Anyway…here a few things I stumbled upon the web that I just adored.

The striped long sleeve dress paired with the brown belt and ruffly scarf from Ruche made me jump up and down for joy…And then when I stopped jumping I realized they were sold out   is there a more sad smiley face, cuz that’s what I need here…After I stopped pouting I looked on the bright side and realized this will give me a little challenge to find something similar. What can I say? I love to shop

Hi my name is Shannon and I’m addicted to Anthropologie.  I spend H-O-U-R-S in their stores, soaking it all in. Lavishing over every. single. item.

I simply adore boots and have been wanting a pair with a low heel or none at all for awhile now. I ran across theses at Zappos.com that I looooove

I have been wanting to step out of my usual eye make-up palette to something with just a touch more color. I really love this set I found on Sephora.com.

So, what does a fondue restaurant have to do with Fall fashion? Probably nothing…except now that I have all these cute items I will want to show them off and where better than a fun restaurant like, The Melting Pot? That and it’s almost dinner time here and food has started to enter my brain… If you have never been I strongly encourage you to try it at least once. It’s perfect for date night Oh and be sure to get a dessert fondue…they are heavenly!

I often dream of the day when at any time I can pack my bags, camera in hand, throw all cares by the wayside and board a plane with Milan. We’d travel the world with out any agenda…bouncing from one country to the next. I would happily document the essence of each place we stayed. And we would eat… a lot.

Someday this will be a reality, but until then I get my fix of travel through Anthony Bourdain’s – No Reservations. It is so much more than the average travel show. Tony and his crew of phenomenal cinematographers paint a portrait of the country they are in. Digging into every aspect of what makes that place tick. No Reservations more than pretty scenery – it’s great story telling. It is also a little off beat and made even more entertaining by Tony Bourdain’s snarky comments. Whenever a new episode comes out you can find me huddled around my tv happily watching, laughing and aching for the day that I too will travel the world.

A long, long time ago, in a far off place there was a time when I had no iphone. It was a time when I couldn’t have incredibly useful things at my finger tips, like Angry Birds (a really fun and addictive game), Facebook, and YouTube. I can’t even believe I survived such a time in those dark ages. The dark ages that just ended about a week ago After having a ‘dumb phone’ for over two years the transition to a smart phone has been awesome.

There have been some drawbacks…

1. Losing large blocks of time perusing the app store.

2. A wee bit less actual time with Milan. Sure we are sitting next to each other on the couch, but instead of talking to each other now we play with our phones and see who has found the coolest new app. Yeah, kind of ridiculous, but I expect that to die off now since it’s
been a week of playing.

3. And to be honest a few more dropped calls. HUUUHhhhhh!!! Yep, I said it. It drops some of my calls. EEK! But I’m not sure that it actually is dropping any more calls then my dinosaur phone or I am super paranoid because of all the hype surrounding the iphone4.
Time will tell.

So those are the drawbacks. The advantages? FAR outweigh any of the relatively bad stuff, like being even more addicted to technology.

1. The screen is AMAZING!

2. It functions as a great point and shoot camera. Which is great to snag a fun moment when I don’t have my big boy camera on me.

3. It shoots HD 720p video. At the moment my camera roll of videos consist of the dog running around because one must have a boston terrier running in circles in HD. Must.

4. Having a hand held computer with internet access anywhere is fantastic.

I have yet to name this handy little device, any suggestions? And is there anyone else out there with opinions on the iphone4?

I’d like to think that I am on top of all things new to technology, social media and fashion. Well, that’s what I’d like to think, because in reality I’m a little behind…As I just set up a Facebook fan page for my business. I know, I know….social media johnny-come-waaaay-too-lately.

And so I think to myself….

This clip is from one of my favorite tv shows, the IT Crowd. It is a British television show following the lives of two I.T. people and their boss who knows nothing about computers whatsoever. Hilarious.

It was a much needed escape. Away from the computer, cell phones and modern life in general. After a two hour drive up into the mountains past Antelope Lake we found what we were looking for. A beautiful forest, open meadows……and it was soooo wonderfully peaceful And of course, Sammie had to come too. I think it might have been the best day ever for Sammie as she ran, jumped, and rolled in mud to her hearts content…….for hours.

We met Randy, my brother-in-law who is working up in the area as a lumber jack cleaning up after a wildfire that took place three years ago. Randy is responsible for this amazing outing as he spotted the morel’s growing among the burnt trees and invited us up. In fact, the type of morel’s that were growing only grow after a wildfire has occurred. The window for foraging for these delicious mushrooms is very, very small. So we felt very lucky to have been able to have done this.

So, what’s the trick to finding morel’s? Look for hard wood forrests after a burn has happened in the past. Spring is the morel’s growing season and be sure to look in moist and shady areas in a somewhat higher elevation. But, honestly, there is no secret to finding them. We walked and hiked searching in places where they should have been and of course they weren’t there…and then out of nowhere you are smack dab in the middle of them.

The whole experience was very zen like and really just reignited my enthusiasm for the simple things in life.

And the best part?…….eating them at the end of the day in a delicious pasta dish

The image below is of a morel that I wouldn’t recommend picking as it is past its prime and is too dry. But I thought it had character and couldn’t help photographing it.

Thank you again Randy for inviting us up! Needless to say we had a blast!!

I’m reminded why I looooove white mocha’s. With whip cream please. That I should have picked up a straw before I started sipping away at the coffee deliciousness. That whip cream can and does go up my nose. And to hear the sounds of my friend and fellow photographer Jennifer Pearce laugh was definitely worth the whip cream up the nose.

I’m reminded that there is no better way to spend a Spring afternoon than hanging out at Upper Crust. White mocha in hand, cheesecake brownie by my side and a good friend across from me.

It’s small, but sweet moments like these that make me very very thankful.

Thank you to Jen for capturing this moment on her camera phone.

And, yes all that sugar, seemingly a good idea at the time…I’m reminded that it gives me a massive headache. But it doesn’t matter, I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

So, I thought it may have finally happened. Our little Sammie is all grown up. No longer the hyperactive, fern-destroying, shoe-slaying of-a-pup. No she’s a big dog now. She naps peacefully in her bed, small purple bunny by her side. What a good dog we have. Moments pass and my bubble has been burst, as she gutts small purple bunny. Leaving fluffy entrails all over the living room. Oh, well purple bunny had it coming. Puppy-steps, I tell myself. But it’s okay. I don’t want her to leave puppyhood too soon. Although my shoes wish otherwise.

Through the wreckage of household items-we still love her. And in our hearts she is the best dog. Ever.